Promise Me

A thick cloud of smog covered the dark warehouse, it slightly burned the Empath lungs and made her cough. The sharp smell of rust, sweat and burning rubber lingered in the air and only made her stomach churn in disgust. Her eyes looked at the hanging lamp that swayed and cast it light around the room. It was the heat of battle twenty minutes into it and she was already cursing her leader under her breath. She held her cape tight as she step forward expecting to be attacked at any moment. It her right hand she gripped her lifeline and kept the soft static going hoping that a familiar voice would announce itself over the static.

But it didn't.

Anxiously she turned a corner and saw her friend sitting on the ground. She crept forward her eyes darting around as she drew in closer to the man. As she neared she saw the reason for his lack of stature, the robot was currently using his finger as a blow torch. His left leg completely a miss while his right one was open exposing wires and electric surges. She tapped his shoulder silently while her eyes asked if he was okay. 

Victor gritted his teeth nodded in the direction in front of him. He let her know that what ever awaited her in the next room wasn't a friend. She paused letting her fingers linger on his cold metal shoulder before she whispered, "Garfield." She didn't wait for his answer but quickly moved hiding along the shadows. Once she reached the door frame she cocked her head in looking left and right. 

The room was completely bare except some old painter sheets. She moved in and looked behind the door before looking back over her shoulder. Raven then heard the sound before she felt it. A the sound of something solid, a pipe perhaps collided with her skull. She fell to the ground with a soft thud as black blurred her vision. 


Raven awoke to a searing pain in her shoulder. Biting back her tears she forced her eyes open to see the one person she actually feared the most. A woman similar in her height and stature sat on her chest her knees pinning her arms in place. Her yellow amber eyes pierced deeply into hers as her wicked smile grew. 

"The demon witch awakes." She announced in a stomach turning tone. Raven kicked her feet but couldn't seem to shake the girl off. Her mind raced as her adrenaline kicked in. 

"Get off." She barked her eyes suddenly glowing. 

"Ah, so the magic begins." She giggled. The pain in Raven's shoulder magnified a thousand percent. She cried out briefly and looked down. The girl had twisted branded blade into the space of her shoulder and collar bone. Inches lower and it would have been her heart. The villainess seem to take account of that and slowly twisted the blade with her two fingers. 

"That's right, yell and scream. No one will come save you now. And while your magic is strong my knife wields magic of its own." She explained. Raven felt her body scream in pain as she tried to will her powers. Teleport, grab something heavy, anything, but she couldn't conjurer any magic large enough to produce a fight. She glared up at the girl and tossed her head around. 

"You think that killing me will end this?" She spat her anger boiling. "Malkora, you kill me, and that's just the beginning." The knife was twisted again and Raven could actually feel the blood pouring down her shoulder. "Do it. Kill me. You be signing your death certificate." she hissed. 

A loud growl echoed off the empty walls and Raven felt her her heart leap in response. "Get off her, you fucking bitch!" Came his voice. Raven couldn't help a small smile that formed on her lips. Her savor. Raven didn't even have time to blink before the villain ripped the knife from her shoulder and stabbed it back into her chest. Her breath stilled right there in her chest. She didn't even realize she was screaming until her ears told her that it was being produced by her very lungs. She stared at the girl watching her face as her plan seemed to have worked. 

It was short lived for Malkora because as soon as she did that a gut wrenching growl sounded and the woman was knocked completely off Raven's body. She began to choke as she tried to watch the fight play out. He was pissed, his animal side winning he had utterly lost control. She watched as he grabbed the girl slamming her head in the wall over and over again. Grunting and growling the whole time. 

She could see the knife sticking out her body. Her quivering hand rose and she forcefully grabbed the handle. Choking fighting for air she decided the magic knife needed to leave her body and fast. Using the rest of her strength, she pulled the knife out, she thought about tossing away from her body but decided that she may needed it. 

Raven struggled to breath as she figured the knife must have missed her heart and punctured her lung instead. She forced herself to breath slowly as hot tears of pain streaked down her cheeks. Leaving a clean line down the sides of her face and into her hair line washing away the dirt and grime of the warehouse that had gathered there. Without the knife in her skin she felt her magic slowly start to seep back into her veins.

She groaned as she flipped onto her side. She could see the battle taking place in front of her Malkora nearly looked unconscious and Raven thought that they may actually win at this point. Closing her eyes in relief, it wasn't long before her eyes tore open as a piercing animal cry ripped through the room. Her eyes flashed up to see Malkora with another blade. This one was larger and she had stabbed it right into the Changeling stomach. 

"NO!" She screamed forcing herself up. Malkora milky yellow iris looked up with glee and she moved her hand down. The sound of Gars flesh ripping was the worst sound she had ever hear. It didn't even come close to the noise he was making. Raven gritted her teeth and gripped the knife in her hand. As Malkora looked back at Raven to view her reaction, that's when Raven wasted no more time and threw the same knife that she had tried to kill the dark one with. 

Raven didn't know and frankly didn't care if evil vile woman even saw it coming or not. The knife soared through the air until it found it mark. Raven glared at her knowing her face was going to be last one Malkora would ever see. She had an abandoned look in her eyes as she fell forward the knife sticking straight though her forehead lodging straight into her frontal lobe. Her body hit the floor with a thud and Raven watch as something evil inside her purred. 

She didn't let the feeling dwell before she was making attempts to contact her team. She gripped her commutator firmly in her hand as she tried teammate after teammate. But no one answered, just the same static that was there the moment she stepped into that hell hole. From where she was sitting she could just see Garfield on his knees. His back shook with every breath he took his right arm hidden from her sight. She inched her body forward as the pain in her chest magnified to the brilliant sharpness from before. 

She choked out tears as her hand was placed over the hole in her chest. She gathered her strength and began the daunting journey towards the green one. She crawled a few paces then had to stop to catch her breath. "Gar?" She called but he never answered her and that is how it when she crawl or scoot her body across the hard cement floor stopping every so often from the pain and fight to get oxygen. Once he fell from his knees onto his back she cried out his name and bit through the pain. 

Years later, or maybe it was eternities later, she couldn't absolute she grabbed his ankle. "Gar." She spoke alerting him of her presence. She pulled up herself up and let out a pain scream as she sat up. The burn in her chest was enough to make her want to pass out. She blinked multiple times and then turned her head to him. Now that she was close she could see the damage that had been done. There was a wound that was at least seven inches long that stared from his hip bone up to his ribs, and she knew if not for the dim lights she could see his insides pushing up through the skin. 

"Raven." He finally answer his voice gravely low as his head was tossed back. 

"Gar look at me." She told him, taking both her hands she pressed them against his ever bleeding wound. 

Garfield gritted his teeth as did his best to keep his eyes on the girl in front of him. Shock by this Raven couldn't help but cursed as she looked down at his bleeding wound. "You're going need stitches." She responded stating the obvious as warm blood tried clot but only seeped out of her hand. She seemed to be justifying it as a small wound when it clearly wasn't His entire countenance changed as more blood gushed from his wound. His breath grew shallow and he suddenly felt very cold. Raven tried the commutator once again but just the haunting sound of static returned her reply. 

"Shit." She muttered as she rested the yellow device against her lips. She looked back down at the man in her arms, a frown appearing on her mouth. "You're loosing a lot of blood." She grabbed a hold of her cape began trying to tear it. When that didn't work grabbed the metal jewel from her collar an unfastened it. 

"Do you remember going to Wally and Jinx's wedding?" his voice was soft and thin. Almost paper thin. Doing her best she could she began to take fabric and shove it inside the non stop waterfall of blood. She had to slow down the bleeding, before she could go for help, or attempt to heal him. His response caught her off guard, and she found herself shaking her head at his words. 

"What are you doing?" She inquired "You what to take a stroll down memory lane?" She remarked a bit to harshly but Gar seemed to unfazed by her tone. 

"Do you remember?" he pressed again this time his blood covered hand reached out gently tucked a violet lock behind her ear smearing his blood across her face in the process.

She sighed giving into his need never keeping a silent moment between them. She nodded involuntarily, "Of course I do." His emeralds lit up in that moment. His famous lopsided grin was placed on his mouth.

"You were so beautiful that day. I never told you but that's when I knew, you walked out in that midnight blue bridesmaid dress that fit you like dream and I knew. One day I'd marry you."  His eyes bounced back and forth like he wasn't actually bleeding to death in her arms but instead he was actually dancing in grandeur ballroom with her. 

Raven couldn't help but let a fraction of smile as she looked down at the simple diamond on her finger covered in his blood. "It only took you two years later and four attempts." She muttered as she pressed her hand against his wound. He began to laugh but stopped with hiss mid-chuckle. Closing his eyes he felt slightly bitter that he had been robbed from laughing one last time. When he looked back up at her it was then she could see the brightness and glimmer slowly draining from his eyes. 

"Gar?" She started but he cut in.

"Did you ever think you'd end up with me?" He asked his voice serious now and almost far away.

She gulped as a new emotion began to sink into her soul. She felt her eyes prick as tears began to threaten to spill out. This wasn't a desperate need to keep conversation going or keep the awkward silence far away.

He was saying goodbye. 

She licked her lip as a shallow breath escaped her lungs. "Gar, you're going to be fine." her voice broke at that last word. She could tell even with the aid of cloth pressed into his wound that it wasn't enough to stop the bleeding. 

"Answer the question Raven." He ordered. She could see the color fading from his face. His dark green skin was ashen and a ugly pale green. She tried to answer, no words came out so she simply just shook her head. Her magic starting to fade back into her body. She cried out in joy feeling it return. She placed her hands on his wound, but was met with cruel fate. Her healing wasn't back yet. This cause the damn to burst. Tears flooded down her cheeks and dripped off her cheek. 

"Cy-" She began screaming but her voice still wasn't doing what it was suppose to. "Victor!" "Kori!" "Anybody!" She all called out but no one came to their aid. He kept his eyes trained on her as felt like each and every part of his soul was dying. Her eyes glowing items began swirling and hurling straight into the walls with loud crashes. 

"Rae." He moaned trying to get her focus on him. "Raven Logan." He spoke clearly. Her head moved back down as she looked at him. 

"You not going to die, we have things that we still need to do." Her chest heaved as she fought to keep and get her breaths. 

"I know." He whispered tears welling up in his eyes. "Raven." he stated firmly. She didn't answer but just kept her eyes on him. He knew her, better than anyone ever could or would know her. He had seen the parts of her that made her who she was, he had witnessed all the happy times and the sad times. The joy of beating a villain, the heartache of loosing an innocent life, the simple pleasures of her quiet time, or the moments when they fought over the most ridiculous things. 

He had been the one who opened the door to her heart her soul and with that he only saw the absolute beauty of her. Standing next to her in battle. Watching her train. Comforting her after a hard day. Listening to her fall sleep. Tasting the tea off her lips. 

Every joke, every sarcastic comment, every moment they shared together was burned into his memory for ever. He cherished each and every second he got to spend with her. 

"Raven promise me, no matter what you're not going to stop, just because I'm gone. Keep fighting, keep living." He begged letting his hands tangle into her hair. She was now sobbing uncontrollably as a the warehouse was now being ripped apart by the powers she did possess.

"No you're going to be fine," She repeated. "You have to be, your-" She gasped " You're my everything, I'm nothing without you. And we are suppose to go Peru and Greece." She began rattling off all their future plans. "We suppose to retire and live until we are old and decrepit and buy a house that has a giant library for me and a enormous kitchen for you." She rapped her hands around his wrist and laid her head on his chest. Her heart was pounding as she decide to try her powers once more. 

Feeling nothing she realized that what ever power she get back wasn't going to help the amount of blood that he lose and continued to leak out. She cried as he did his best to comfort her knowing he didn't have much time left. 

"Baby, I want you to do all those things." He said in the breath of whisper. "I want you to read every book that crosses your path, and I want you to go explore the world and other worlds too."

"but you're not going to be there."

"I will. I'm never going to leave your heart." He answered it was getting harder to keep his eyes open no matter how hard he fought to keep them open. 

"I'm never going to get be the mother of your-" She broke down and wept into his chest. They had just started trying just over a year ago. But every month came and when with no positive results. This broke the Changelings already damaged heart. He had been the one pushing for baby. He wanted a baby more than she did. Begging pleading for months convincing her that it would be so perfect for them. All those times of build up and let downs he had been upset while she seemed nonchalant about the situation, there was always next time. 

Except now there wasn't going to be. 

With tears cascading down his cheeks he grunted at the pain. "I'm sorry Rae, I wanted to give you child so badly, and I'm sorry I'll never get chance to." Grief took over her as an entire wall fell opening another room. This was unthinkable, unimaginable, and yet something that they lived with every day of their lives, for 12 years. 

"Please don't leave me." She cried sitting up and grabbing his face. "Please, stay. You're strong, you're so brave, and so stubborn." She sniffed loudly. 

Black was stealing him quickly and he began trying to wipe the tears from her beautiful face. "I love you." He whispered. "Promise me, you'll keep going." She bit her lips not knowing how to even make such a promise. How do you promise to keep living your life when your entire world was dying in your arms. She leaned down and kissed him. She willed God, Azar, and every high power that she could think of to keep him there with her. Pulling away she could see her lip mark on his dust filled lips. 

"I love you Garfield Logan." She whispered, thinking maybe if she said the words that they would be some source of magic that could bring him back. His finger moved up and traced a heart around the place where he marked her. The mark that told everyone that she was his. 

"Until next time little bird." Were his last words to her. How Ironic the phrase that started it all, he had said that very first night of their first date, the thing he hadn't repeated since after they were married, would be the last time she would hear his voice.