Uneventful and Exploration

(AN - For the longest time I thought Rachel was Raven's real name, not the alias she uses. I'm unsure about which one to use)

Deciding he’d take a proper shower after eating, Cole wiped his face after washing up in the sink. Mainly splashing his face with ice cold water several times, the shock sending shivers down his body. Finally convinced he wasn’t going to wake up, or possibly in a coma, Cole ran a hand slowly down his face while he reached out for a towel with the other. This was going to be a long day.

The master bathroom he found himself in was pretty lavish, reminding him of some of the cribs he’d seen from more famous boxers. It was a brilliant white, which was surprising compared to the dark cool colors of the bedroom. Tiled all along the surface of the floor walls and ceiling; it featured a large mirror and basin, a modest sized shower with a built-in seat, and a bath with ample room to stretch out in. Or other activities that needed room. The shower too had just enough room for two people to bath but just tight enough to encourage something more.

“Feels like someone took cues from one of those reality shows.” Cole mutter to himself, craning his head around in the off chance he could spy a hidden camera. He wasn’t sure if he’d be glad or mortified if that was the case. Not finding one, he slouched with a heavy exhaled and got dressed. His sleep clothes stuffed into the provided wooden hamper, Cole picked out a pair of faded light blue jeans and a gray t-shirt, the color swirling in places to give it a very non static design. Shirt felt a little smaller though.

His stomach growled which made him get moving. Heading back into the bedroom again, he noticed that his ‘wife’ Rachel wasn’t there. Still in the dressing closet probably. Deciding to let her have her privacy and time, Cole just made his way to the doors leading hopefully out of the bedroom. What awaited him beyond was…, a tad surprising as he really didn’t expect to see it. He wasn’t entirely sure what he expected; a mansion? A film set? Perhaps simply the empty void?

Library was not one of them. Or at least what it looked like a Library.

He stood in a large room, divided across three floors. On the level he was on, there was basically a balcony with a few other doors sharing the same wall he just walked through. On the edge of this platform was a small spiral staircase that descended to the ground floor, with a stop at the second. From here he was, Cole could see the rows upon rows of book shelves just below him. It seemed the second floor was just a ring around the walls, with heavy book shelves seemingly built into said wall. Besides the books, there were just a few closets here and there.

The ground floor when he reached it also had these same style of book shelves, the two floors having little reading areas set up. Ground floor also held what looked to be a welcoming area and cashier station. The front windows and door currently covered in both curtains and a set of security shudders. Besides what looked to be a storage area, and a few rest rooms, neither floor held living amenities.

“Back upstairs I guess.” Cold grumbled as he walked back up the staircase, “Least I’m getting a work out but these are gonna be **** in me. Wish the walk wasn’t so far.” Nothing to do but suck it up and just head up though. He took a few more steps and found himself back on the third story balcony.

"Weird, that felt like the distance to the second… maybe I’m just out of it.” Odd but something to look at later.

Tackling the third-floor doors, the first one lead back into the master bath. Another door led to a rather noteworthy office, having a rustic old style but with modern utilities. Another door opened up to a stocked living room; filled with entertainment system, comfy seating, more books and a few other recreational items. A door in this room connected to the goal of his search, the kitchen. But he wanted to make sure his search was through enough. The kitchen lead back out to the balcony landing, and the last door he checked lead to a laundry and storage room.

“So, living arrangements and amenities has on floor three, books and storage on floor two, and books plus store on ground floor. Probably a garage and attic around here too.” Cold thought to himself, interrupted only by the grumbling of his stomach. He only had a slice of left-over pizza last night so he was pretty hungry by this point.

Heading back into the kitchen, it was just a common kitchen and dining room combo. On side had all the appliances and kitchenware, then a stone top island (at least that’s what Cole thought the term was), with a fully set table with six chairs carefully placed around it. Shelves, cabinets, baker racks and other storage dotted the room here and there, starting from the cooking side and slowly tapered off. Checking the fridge and cabinets, Cole was surprised by the amount of stock they had to work with.

Of course, it was all the cheaper discount brand stuff, but whoever was in charge of food made sure to pick out a ton of long-lasting food. Canned veggies, dried fruit, jerky and salted meats, plenty of soup; and then all the crackers, chips and snacks, never mind the fridge. There was at least half a year’s with of food for two people and while not the most extravagant meals, the kitchen was ready and stocked to feed.

“Right so…, flour..., vanilla..., baking powder...” Cole noted as he moved from cabinet to cabinet, collecting what he needed. His mom had taught him how to cook a good deal of foods; mainly the old-fashioned stuff that stuck to your ribs. Full course fancy meal, no but he could handle making waffles.

If only he found the black berries though. He’d have to dig through the fridge again after he placed down some eggs. But he should go grab the sugar while was here. Kneeling down and digging through a cupboard, he finally dug out the pack of sugar and stood up. Only to see a carton of blackberries on the counter. He could have sworn he didn’t find them. Was that Rachel girl messing with him? Or something else was going on here…, “Or I’m just going crazy.” He thought.

As the smell of fresh waffles drifted from the kitchen and wafted through the third floor, Cole almost jumped as a black hole appeared in the middle of the room. The shock almost made him burn the mix in the waffle iron. A figure stepped out and with a wave the darkness vanished. Raven simply glanced at Cole as she made her way over to a bar seat that was near the stone topped island. She had tied using a few spells to confirm things while waiting for breakfast. Not to mention to do a few scans on Cole to see what he was about before coming for food.

Currently, she wore a deep purple or black crop top(or maybe it was a leotard as it went into her bottom clothes) and jeans, a short jacket helping to pull the look together. Pair of shades and backless gloves were the only accessories she wore and her footwear was some kind of long boot; Cole couldn’t really tell but know the sound of how boots traveled across wood. She’d also found time to put on make up, as her face was complimented by lipstick or lip-gloss along with eye-shadow. Or maybe those were always a deep purple…, Cole was starting to second guess things.

https://www.deviantart.com/morganagod/art/Stylin-Raven-330595521 (I love Morganagod's take on Raven)

“Right, got your waffles. Made sure to put blackberries in ‘em.” Cole started as he slid her a plate holding three, “I’ll let you fix them up yourself though Rachel.” He added, sounding the butter and syrup over as well. The goth woman seemed like she’d be the kind of gal that would bite his head off if the food was too sweet, so just let her do it.

“Hrmmmm,” She grumbled as she started to make her waffles to her tastes. The surprising bit was when she opened another portal of darkness and brought out a few strawberries, which she promptly cut into small diced bits and sprinkled it throughout before digging in. She spent a good amount of time chewing, moving it around her mouth and tongue before audibly swallowing.

“…Acceptable.” She said in her monotone voice.

Cole leaned back against the counter, folding his arms with a roll of his eyes. “Oh, I’m so glad you find the provided food to be your liking! Please let me know if I can be of any other service to you, Madam Rachel.” He ended that little bit with a slight mocking bow. He really shouldn't though, Cole was just venting about this. And the fact the woman just seemed like... a doll, wasn't helping. Or maybe that was the smart move.

“While I get your frustration, taking it out on me will not change the current state of things.” Raven plainly stated, her voice still flat but her eyes glaring intently, “We will have to work together to deal with this mess, so do not call me that again.”

“What, Madam?” Cole asked, cocking an eyebrow upward as he leaned back again.

“Rachel.” The answer came, her voice coated in a bitter ice. She didn't even give him the glare this time.

“Don’t tell me you want me to call you Roth. Or maybe Mrs Roth?” Cole asked, turning away to make his own plate now. If this girl turned out to be one of those high and mighty types, he’d just walk out now. Try to find a ride home or something.

“Rachel Roth is reserved for only my closest friends or family. You are neither.” The woman said after wiping her mouth from her last bite, “You will call me Raven.”

“Of course, you are.” Cole muttered as he sat down at the stone countertop, continuing to roll his eyes. “Lemme guess, you were friends with someone named Crow and Moonlight?” He wagged his fork at her while he said that before he started to shovel waffle cuts into his mouth. He really didn’t care for that whole goth scene stuff, mainly because it was all rich kids playing moody back in high-school.

“Robin and Starfire if you must know.” Raven spoke but her eyes betrayed the rising anger simmering inside her.

“Right right; you know I had friends that had nicknames like that too but they dropped them when they became teenagers.” Cole replied. The hell kinda set up was this, what was she going to start spewing poetry or larping next? Someone was having some kinda cosmic, or karma joke at his expense.

“Oddly, it was the name I took when I was a teenager with the Titans.” Rave replied as she used her weird port to get a cup of… was that apple juice? Cole just shrugged as he ate.

The shock of his circumstances was starting to wear off, the memory of sleep leaving him, and the food in his empty stomach helping to get his engine started; Cole wasn’t stupid but could be behind on things if he’s paying attention to other factors. But now his mind had the attention, time and energy to start piecing things together. ‘Raven’, ‘Robin’, ‘Starfire’, ‘Titans’; an easy puzzle to the point he would go on to kick himself later about it.

His mind just decided the identity of his new ‘betrothed’ was further down the process list. Cole’s eyes went wide, mid bite/chew with the fork still in his mouth. His eyes slowly turned towards the woman some weird being thought he should marry; Teen Titans member Raven, a bloody comic book character. He kept this dumb look of disbelief long enough for Raven to pick up on it.

“It seems you finally put it together,” She started, the smallest of an upturned smile finally forming on her lips, “and… from your reaction,” she pushed her empty plate away and leaned back into the bar stool chair she was in “I take it you’ve heard of us.”

“…….’gulp’…, nooooooooo...?” Cole answered after swallowing, not daring to meet the heroine’s gaze now. Oh, he had fucked up. Oh no doubt he had fucked up his behavior if she had been just a normal or odd goth girl but…, he had very clearly fucked up here.

It had been years since he read or saw anything dealing with the Titans series. He fell off comics in high-school and every time he saw or heard about them, it sounded kinda bad. So, he just shoved that info way off to the side of his mental storage, something to be brought out for the odd trivia or fan art discovery. So the fact he was here and supposed to marry a fictional superhero that he’d been kinda brash towards…, he kinda felt like a heel.

“You are. Without a doubt. A horrible Liar Mr McKay.” Rave stated with her narrowing eyes and her arms folding. Her hands glowed with that same dark energy, and a series of black energy chains appeared behind her. They simply hovered there for now, but a few stated to wrap tightly around one another. One chain even squeezing down so hard it made it captive had vanish in a small burst of shadow.

“Most people that know of me aren’t always on the same side of me or the Titans. So, if I find out you had a hand in this…,”

“… threat clear, got it.” Cole replied, moving to shuffle as much food down as he could. Plate clean, he stood up with a jolt and ran his palms over his face. Letting out an exasperating with he met with Ravens eyes. “So... as not to insult you and to make up for... being kinda an ass, I’ll just rip the band aid off and show you. Just need to find something first.” He thumbed at the door to the main book section of the house.

“If you so much as even twitch funny, and you’ll find yourself on an island. But lead on.” Raven said as she stood.

---

Raven turned the page, scanned the words, and then turned back to the previous one. She flipped forward several pages and then back to the start, the ruffling of pages the only sound currently. Cole stood by leaning against a book case. He had a feeling in his gut he would find what he needed in the stacks. And that thing happened to be a section for comics on the first floor, complete with marked sections. All he had to do was give her a few comic books and let her do the rest. To his surprise, Raven seemed to be taking it well, better than he was. Her eyes were a little wider when he showed her the cover and she had trembled every so often but there wasn’t any overt break down or denial of what was happening.

“…. I see.” She muttered before putting the comic back on the shelf. She took time to gloss over all the provided covers. Pulling out another comic, a Justice League title by the look of it, she sat back and flipped through its pages. Cole had to remind himself that Levitation was a power of hers so Raven hovering in the air as if she was in a chair wasn’t too off putting. He made a weak cough to try and get her attention.

“You’re… taking this better than expected. …, or bottling it all up which probably isn’t a good thing in the short or long run.” He said, keeping his voice as even as he could while trying to recall parts of the show and comic he remembered. Raven was emotional driven with her powers so having her freak out would go poorly…, but so would just keeping that pressure building up.

“Control Freak.” Raven flatly stated, not even looking up from her comic. She folded her legs into a more meditative pose, something Cole was familiar with seeing her in.

“Come again?” Cole asked before a comic floated up to his face. He quickly grabbed the offered comic, and flipped through it. His eyes glossed over the pages until he saw a familiar short fat guy with a trench coat and somewhat greasy red hair. The name and face rang a bell in his head, his mind trying to fully unpack all the stored Titans info. He was some sort of villain or rip on overly aggressive fans.

“He was able to take us into the worlds of cartoons or comics at times. At the time I thought them as just other dimensions or realms. Or a sort of created plane based off that setting.” Raven explained as she deliberately flipped to the next page. The clearly telegraphed sound of the paper made Cole look up and saw violet eyes looking over the top edge of the comic, observing and judging again.

“But now I wonder if those weren’t their own worlds, their own realities. And if Control Freak could take us down into a comic, what would happen if we went upward instead?”

“That voice from Cupid’s Wishes did say something about the Multiverse…” Cole muttered, eyes turning back to his own book. Raven’s eyes had a sort of intensity that was hard to meet. “But yeah, this is how I know about you and the Titans. Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Beast boy…., “one could almost hear the mental rummaging going on in his head before he looked back up at Raven, “So about Beas…”

“Be VERY careful about how you finish that.” Raven cut him off, a small vein pulsing on her temple.

Cole just gulped the question back into his throat as Raven put her reading material back on the shelf and turned to face him once more and drew closer. Still floating; it was a tad off putting to see her move close without actually… moving.

“How much OF me do you know?”

Letting out a wave of air that he didn’t even realize he was holding, Cole started to stammer and stop, trying to figure out just WHAT he knew and the order of things. Raven’s mood eventually got the better of her, and a pair of dark hands gripped Cole’s face and brought him in close to her face.

“I’m not asking for a presentation or an essay. But you know enough to ask me something stupid, don’t you?” he nodded and Raven continued, “Now, just work off that and start going.”

With that she had the conjured hands pull him back to a straight standing pose and then flicked them out of existence. Her foot tapped against nothing as she hovered there, waiting for him to start.

And so, he babbled, coherently but babbled none the less. About his memories of the show and comic, unpacking long forgotten knowledge. That she was a half demon, about her powers linked to her emotions, of her days with the titans and how Beast Boy had flirted on and off with her. Of some sort of prophesy around her, her emotions and soul self. Of her love of cute things in private and how much she cared about her friends, and possible crush on Aqualad….

His info dumping was stopped when a black band wrapped around his mouth. Raven’s face was just as plain and unmoving as before…, but he could see a light flush of red over her gray skin. She rubbed a palm on her face, pitching the bridge of her nose with a sigh.

“Alright…, alright. I get it. While you don’t seem to have fully intimate knowledge, you DO have a very good cliff notes version. Or maybe script.” She sighed out before letting him go.

“To answer your question…., that isn’t something you need to know as I do not believe either of us WANT this **** marriage, now do we?” she asked, just hovering there with an expectation. When Cole gave her a nod, she continued, “So the relationship I had with Garfield, or Aqualad isn’t really important at this point in time, now is it? Still…, I do thank you for showing all this to me. This does confirm some things for me.”

“Such as…” Cole asked, rubbing the area around his mouth. It hadn’t felt like the duck-tape pain from before but Raven had been a little rough with her magic this time. Nothing he couldn’t handle but she did not have an easy setting with her magic. Or at least didn’t deem it to use on him.

“While you were cooking, I used a few spells. Trying to figure out where we are, and if I could contact my friends.” Raven explained with a wave of her hand, “We’re on an Earth, and a magically active one. And I couldn’t get in touch with Robin or Cyborg… or anyone really. At first, I thought it was a trick, and still do but this is a much… deeper trick than just mental trap or false world. I felt the pulse of this world’s energies and while it’s familiar it is different, enough for me to believe I am in another world if slightly different from my own.” She shot him another look, “And then you showed all this to me.”

“You were expecting this then?” Cole asked folding his arms and leaning backwards against the book-stack.

“I was…., ready for some sort of odd explanation.” She replied, looking over the comics next to her, her gaze lingering on a few, “I was not expecting the stories of my life to be broadcasted or recorded or just plain… made up in another world.” She let out a heavy sigh, “That one was… not something I was mentally prepared for.”

“Kinda hits you in the gut huh?” Cole went on, giving her a comforting grin as he patted his stomach.

“Something like that yes. However,” Raven stretched her legs before standing on them and walking back to the staircase, “Getting worked up about is pointless. Come, there’s something else I want to check.”

“Hmm, what’s up?” he asked catching up in a small jog as she had taken off without him expecting it, “Back upstairs?”

“One of the spells I used let me see around the house we’re in. So…,” She cocked her head to the side to look at him, “I want to see that office.”

Cole nodded and just followed as she kept moving. He tried his best to keep up but the woman walked at a pretty brisk pace. That and… well she wasn’t trying to but those jeans looked really good on her…, he really couldn’t let her know that or sense that. “Wait can she read minds or was that someone else?” Cole thought as he tried to think cool thoughts as he followed her right up the stairs.

---

He hadn't spent a lot of time exploring it but the office had a nice… calming feel to it for some reason. The furniture here was an older wood make, highly crafted and well-polished oak. A few cabinets and bookshelves containing some supplies like folders, papers, pens, and a few business guides and employee forms. The large oak desk had a computer on it, the modern flat screen makes. There was also a collection of papers neatly stacked on top, along with two other items. A small purple gift box and a carefully crafted wooden box of some kind.

Both had a letter in front of them with a name; the normal gift box was for Raven, the wooden one for Cole. Additionally, there was a box off to the side that contained…, strawberry flavored condoms. Raven’s eyes flashed and the box of protection went flying against the wall. Cole just whistled as he let her approach the table first, making sure to give her plenty of space.

“So, what are we looking for here?” Cole asked as he inspected the box for himself, “Not these I take it.”

“If there’s anything about the marriage, I figured it would be here considering the rest of the rooms. Given the boxes which are more than likely our wedding gifts, the paper work should be our marriage contracts. Perhaps we can find a way to break it.” Raven explained as she used her magic to pull the stack to herself and flip through it. Her eyes scanning the words on them before flicking one page off to the side and handing it to Cole. “I believe this is yours.”

Cole took the offered page and read what it was before quickly realizing it was his profile set up from Cupid’s Wish website. Guess that’s how he got wrapped up into this whole mess; but who’d expect some sort of dating site would have reality warping powers like this.

“Wonder how many other people got pulled to a new world like this huh Raven” A pause but no response.

“Raven?” He looked up from his paper work and noticed Raven was burning a look into a certain letter of some kind. “…. You… okay?” He asked moving just a step closer.

Raven took a long breath and released an equally long sigh. “It seems while you were looking for love, my mother gave me yet another burden to deal with. Wonder how long this as been sitting here waiting for someone like you to be matched to.” Raven plainly put before carefully putting the letter to the side and going back to the paperwork.

“Well sorry to be a burden.” Cole grumbled, “But at least this baggage is going to help out.” Raven just nodded and kept reading. Cole racked his memory about the show; Raven was always in control of her emotions but still had a few moments where that punched through. It seemed she had gotten better at controlling them though as she got older; it was like talking to a wall most the time.

Given that Raven was currently going through all the paperwork, Cole was left to his own devices. He looked over the office just a bit more but the main draw was the gifts. What do you give as a wedding present for a kicked-out boxer and a sorceress? Eventually his curiosity got the better of him, and he started to undo the latches on the box, Raven giving him a side glare as she heard his motions. “What are you doing?”she asked with her eyes narrowing.

“Look if Cupid wanted us Dead it would have just been so easy to have killed us in bed… or have the food poisoned. Or just…, I don’t know I think we’ve could have died maybe 50 times before now. Or at least me, I’m not a super hero.” Cole said, turning to face her before making a thumb jab at the two boxes, “I’m just curious as to what they would think to get people like us.” He followed up with before getting back to the latches.

“…. Your carefree nature reminds me of someone.” Raven quipped as she shot a damning glace at her own box. Cole just shrugged as he cracked his open, showing off two rows of glass bottles. They almost looked like wine shots or something. He picked one up, trying to tell what it was from the label.

“You said people ‘like us’…, but said you weren't a hero. What did you mean by that?” Raven asked in an almost deflated tone and once more summoned her magic. The box addressed to her floated towards her and slowly cracked the lid open. When nothing happened, she fully opened it and looked inside, before a cloth choker floated out of the box. She turned it over and over a few times as it floated before her.

“No…, I mean… You’re a Heroine Sorceress, the hell do you get someone like you as a gift?” he asked, looking over to see her gift just floating there, “…That’d look good on you.” Raven grumbled something out as he turned back to his box, “I was a boxer but had to…. Stop. Now I just work in a gym. So, you got a nice accessory and I got…, wine?”

He looked through the box a bit more and found some sort of pamphlet and after reading a few lines before putting it down and popping the bottle open. He gave it a few whiffs, shaking the bottle just a bit to make it slosh around before chugging down the whole bottle.

“Boxer huh…” Raven muttered as she gripped the cloth band that was her gift. T

he texture felt nice and it was in her favorite color…., perhaps Cole had a point. Or perhaps she was beyond caring at this point as she teleported the band around her neck. She’d worn something like this a few times and preferred to put them on this way, to not stretch them out that much. The collar fit perfectly, Cupid probably knowing the perfect size to make it, and felt oddly soothing on her skin. A simple gift but one she could at the very least appreciate. She turned to see what Cole thought, only to catch him finishing his drink.

“…. WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?!” she cried as she ripped the bottle from his lips in an instant. …., wait… why’d she shout that out?

“I didn’t get a drink with breakfast so kind thirsty after all those waffles. Besides it’s an energy drink.” Cole defended himself. Besides he had just said that Cupid wasn’t just going to randomly kill them…, wait why did Raven look worried?

“I… just…, did you fully read the pamphlet?” Raven asked, trying to get control of her tone again as she hovered the info packet over to her.

“I read enough…., why?” he cocked his head to the side.

“…. It’s some sort of empowerment potion. It’s supposed to enhance your body not just give you energy like some sort of sports drink.” Raven answered, her tone coming back to her normal pitch but the pace of her words was a tad faster than before.

“The Pamphlet says the provided ones were... it's smudged. Great. Twenty Bottles of two labels, each one giving you different abilities. ...oh here's a cheat sheet." Raven stated as she pulled out page with a series of icons and abilities. "Hmm... they seem to be all Moon related, even if it's perceived. Like Lunar Magic, Shadows, Light, Water, Ice probably due to the cold..., Gravity..., Hunting? Couple more..., what was the label you drank from?

The two looked at the bottle Raven currently held, turning it over to find the label.