Fan Fiction ❯ How Forever Feels ❯ A Bad Day For A Picnic ( Chapter 1 )

How Forever Feels

By

Brandon “GoldenSama” Rice

 

Chapter I

“A Bad Day For A Picnic”

 

A/N: Howdy. Konnichiwa. Wazzup? Name's Brandon, but I'll answer to GS. Anywho, this is the sequel to Ten Years Later, my rather popular BB/Rae, Rob/Star, Slade/Arella story. If you haven't read TYL, I suggest you go do so. It's only eleven chapters, so it won't take you too long to get caught up.

My other two TT stories have not been forgotten or abandoned, and will be updated very soon. I've just been busy with my job lately, and not had a lot of time to write.

The title, “How Forever Feels”, is a Kenny Chesney song, and is copyrighted© to him and all rightful owners. A good song, BTW; I recommend it.

 

[Sequel to Ten Years Later] Between an alliance of Titan's enemies, her relationship with Beast Boy, a surprise from Slade and Arella, and her new powers, Raven has quite the story to tell. [Rae/BB] [Rob/Star] [Slade/Arella]

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

My name is Raven, and I am one fifth of a team of superheroes called the Teen Titans. We are located in Jump City, and we've had our share of crazy, dangerous and downright creepy adventures over the years. Though, nothing can compare to what happened recently.

 

You see, my mother was a woman named Arella Roth. She was young and stupid and joined a cult that worshiped a demon lord from another planet known as Skat; also called Trigon the Terrible. I was the result of Trigon's rape of my mother; a half-demon, half-human hybrid. I am a human's soul, with a demon's powers and abilities. I though the world would never accept me, I thought I would never find a home outside of the dimension Azarath, where Arella escaped to during her pregnancy.

I was wrong. I found a home, and friends, in the Teen Titans. Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy did not care what I was; but I hid a secret from them. A secret that I feared would destroy our relationship. I was to be Trigon's gem; his portal into our world. I was to bring about the end of mankind by releasing him onto this dimension.

However, during a battle with one of his minions, I fell into a coma, which lasted for ten years. I woke up to find my friends had changed, and so had the world I lived in. Beast Boy became a Hollywood heavyweight and a millionaire, Cyborg crashed at his place and did the electronics for Beast Boy's hit sci-fi show, Space Trek. Robin became Nightwing and worked in Gotham, and Starfire lost her alien ways and became a huge hit in the fashion world. After a long time, I reunited the Titans, and with the help of my mother Arella and our former archenemy, Slade the Terminator, we managed to destroy Trigon.

 

After my father's defeat, time rewound ten years, and I got back everything I had lost in the coma, and then some. I gained a romantic relationship with Garfield Logan - Beast Boy - during the adventure, and I also gained a deep respect and understanding for my friends and the bonds of love and friendship that run deep between us.

 

Not everything went how I had hoped. When I last saw her, my mother's bad taste in men was continuing as she road off into the sunset with Slade as her hired bodyguard, and new lover. Though I dislike it, I must admit Slade is better than my real father, Trigon.

 

I had hoped that this whole messy business was over; but I was wrong. It was my powers that had rewound time ten years, and with Trigon dead, I was now experiencing new powers and abilities that had been sealed by him before. With my father gone, I now had a deeper understanding of my abilities and what I could do. I also had a connection with my emotions, and I could - if I wanted - show them without fear of repercussion. Don't think that means I've become some ditzy valley girl, though.

 

All in all, things are quite the same as they had been ten years ago. However, that was about to change. For my friends Robin and Starfire, a vicious rival was about to launch a dangerous plan to get revenge on Starfire, and unfortunately, she had enlisted the help of an adversary of Robin's. The attack would test their love in a way that no relationship should have to go through.

My own love life was about to change, too. Garfield and I's relationship would hit an unexpected twist that neither of us could have foreseen; and as if that wasn't enough, my mother was about to reveal some very disturbing news that would make me wish I was back in that coma.

Oh, and of course, there was an evil force at work, watching from the shadows and making us dance like puppets, waiting for the right chance to crush us all beneath his boots and watch the blood ooze from our broken flesh.

 

… Hey, it's a demon thing, get used to it.

 

Well, with that said, I suppose this story begins not long after the last one ends. It began one day when the Titans were relaxing from our usual superhero duties, and instead hanging out in Jump City's park. It was a picnic, of sorts; and the start of our greatest adventure ever.

 

----

 

The Titans were spread out in the heart of the park, surrounded by lush trees, green grass and fresh air. It seemed like a perfect day, and everyone was enjoying themselves. Cyborg and Beast Boy were in the middle of a game of Frisbee, while Starfire and Robin operated the barbeque; roasting hotdogs in the heat. Raven, as was her usual manner, was sitting in the shade, floating just above the top of the green grass, meditating peacefully.

 

Life had gone back to normal over the last year. It was nearing Raven's nineteenth birthday, and she had to admit, it felt good that this time she would not sleep through that milestone. Aside from being her first birthday since the time rewind of a few months ago, it was also the first time she would have a birthday without fear of the prophecy; because Trigon was dead and gone. She had killed him, nine years in the future, and it was all over. Her father was gone, his evil was gone; and Raven was happy.

 

A lot had changed over the last year, but a lot had stayed the same. The Titans, for the most part, had gone back to being teenagers. Sure, they all had ten extra years under their belts, and some things would never quite be the same. The street-savvy ways Starfire picked up while in New York had not faded, and the naiveté alien girl was gone for good. Beast Boy's ego also remained inflated; even if his bank account did not.

Still, the last year had been the best of her life. Raven had a boyfriend who she loved, and who loved her back. She had friends who would - and had - given their lives for her in the past, and would always remain at her side through thick and thin. And most importantly of all, she was free from Trigon's dangerous clutches for all time; and that felt pretty good.

 

“Raven, do you want mustard on your hotdog?” Starfire asked, interrupting Raven's meditation as she floated over to her friend to get her lunch orders.

 

“Sure Star.” Raven smiled. Then, as Starfire turned to return to the grill, Raven opened her eyes and added to her last comment: “But let Robin put my mustard on, okay?”

 

Starfire shrugged, not understanding why it mattered who put the mustard on. Raven however, knew that if Starfire was in charge of condiments the hotdog would drown in mustard, and Raven wouldn't be able to stomach it. Robin seemed to get the joke, because his face split into a grin when Starfire returned and gave him Raven's request. Raven smiled to herself quietly and closed her eyes again, taking in the sunny day and the fresh air.

 

“Hey Rae.” A small, annoying voice said in her ear.

 

“Hello string bean.” She replied, smirking a bit at the nickname he hated.

 

“Harsh Rae. Very harsh.” Her boyfriend replied with a frown.

She opened her eyes and grinned at him. “You going to do something about it?” She asked, teasingly.

 

“Maybe.” Beast Boy replied with a grin. “You know I can be very tricky with my pranks Rae.”

 

“And you know I can tear open the plains of space and time and lock you in a parallel dimension full of hungry demons and imps.” Raven threatened him in a playful way.

“Can you really?” Beast Boy asked intrigued.

 

“Want to find out?” Raven smirked. He glared at her, but the glare melted away into his trademark goofy grin a moment later. Beast Boy leaned back and laid his head down in her lap, looking up at her without saying a word; just grinning. She sighed and rolled her eyes at him, but made no move to push him away. However, she may act for appearances, she truly did love him, and she enjoyed spending this time with him.

 

“Hey Rae, what do you want for your birthday?” Beast Boy suddenly blurted out of the blue.

 

“I thought you'd forgotten.” Raven smirked.

 

“Me? Forget your birthday? How can you even think that?” Beast Boy acted hurt.

 

“Robin reminded you, huh?” Raven asked, knowing better than to fall for that.

 

“Yeah, this morning.” Beast Boy admitted with a laugh. “So what do you want for your birthday?” He pursued with his original question.

 

“Why? Don't you know me well enough to pick something out?” Raven asked, raising an eyebrow. She already knew how this conversation would end, but she enjoyed teasing him.

 

“Fine Rae, I'll pick something out, then you can return it and get what you really want.” Beast Boy said sagely.

 

“That'll work.” Raven smirked. Both of them laughed.

 

A few feet away, where he was grilling the hotdogs, Robin watched the pair with a small smile on his face. Starfire floated up beside him and noticed he was watching the two of them.

 

“What's with the grin?” She asked.

 

“They just amuse me.” Robin replied. “It's been a year, but it's still strange to see the two of them together like that; but strange in a good way.”

“Yeah.” Starfire leaned one of her hands on Robin's shoulder, and then leaned her head down on top of it. “It does take some getting used to; but I think all the changes are for the best, don't you?” She nibbled on his ear softly as she asked him this. Of course, Raven and Beast Boy had not been the only ones to fall in love over the course of time.

 

“Mmm. I definitely agree with you there.” Robin replied. He turned his face to the side, intent on kissing her; but unfortunately for the boy wonder, it was at that very moment that a loud explosion echoed through the park, and all five Titans turned to their right in search of the cause.

 

The cause turned out to be a gigantic purplish-pink blob with several yellow pus-like balls on its head.

 

“Plasmus,” Robin breathed in annoyance as he recognized their foe. He grabbed his bo-staff from his belt and whipped the oven-mitt off his hand. “Titans, GO!”

“Aww, why does this always happen on our day off?” Cyborg complained. Then he ran forward and opened fire on Plasmus with his sonic cannon built into his arm. The bright blue sound wave smashed right through Plasmus's chest, knocking a hole down the middle. Starfire quickly followed suit, throwing a starbolt on either side of the hole and the explosions from her solar powered attack wound up severing Plasmus right in half.

 

“Wicked,” Beast Boy grinned. “That was easier than usual.”

 

Suddenly Plasmus began to stir. His top half grew new legs; long spider-like legs, while his legs grew several large crab-claw arms out where its body had once been.

 

“Beast Boy, love, from now on you're not allowed to talk during battles.” Raven said sarcastically, then she floated up and her eyes became black. A moment later, a tree uprooted from the ground nearby and smashed into the spider-legged Plasmus, sending him falling onto his back.

 

Robin ran forward at the crab-clawed Plasmus and threw a freezing disc at it. The disc smashed into a claw and soon the entire crab-clawed Plasmus froze in a gigantic block of ice. However, it shook, cracked and broke; freeing the beast, which charged right at Robin in fury.

 

Robin did a back flip to avoid one of the claws; but as he landed on the ground, a second claw came straight at him. Luckily, a starbolt smashed into the claw exploding and turning the claw into several drops of purplish-pink goo. Robin was covered in the goo, but unharmed.

 

“Thanks Star.” He called as he ran forward, placed an explosive charge on Plasmus, and jumped away a moment later. The charge exploded and as the smoke cleared, pieces of Plasmus rained down from the sky into several large puddles.

 

Meanwhile, Beast Boy, who was now a tyrannosaurs rex, stepped on the spider-legged Plasmus, smashing him into a puddle. When Beast Boy took his foot away, a sleeping man was all that remained where Plasmus had been. Beast Boy turned back to normal, and then cursed loudly.

 

“Yo BB! Watch the language man.” Cyborg scolded him.

 

“Well dude, I can't help it.” Beast Boy complained. “Didn't we just stop Plasmus a week ago? How'd he get out of jail so fast?”

It was true; it had been less than a week since the Titans last defeated Plasmus. Robin shook his head.

 

“Forget it; let's just take him back to jail and get back to the tower. Maybe there was a jail break, we'll have to scan the police radio.”

 

“You guys head back, I'll take care of Plasmus.” Cyborg offered, picking up the unconscious man and hoisting him onto his shoulder. Cyborg turned and headed off towards the T-Car to take Plasmus to jail. Robin and Starfire headed back to the grill to pack up the team's belongings to transport them back to the tower. Raven leaned against a tree and shut her eyes.

 

It was depressing, to say the least; that their day had been ruined so easily. Though really, she should have expected it. This was part of her life, the crime fighting, and she should be used to it by now. That did not make it any easier to accept the fact that some punk criminal committing a crime could ruin any day at any moment.

 

That is when Raven felt something in her mind. It was the presence of someone else in the park besides the Titans. At first, Raven believed it was just one of the locals relaxing, but she realized it could not be a normal civilian, because whoever this person was she sensed a great energy field around them. Raven looked to her left, and then her right, but she saw no one.

 

That's odd. Raven though to herself, but she disregarded it as meaning anything. Even if there was someone else here, someone with powers, it did not matter. If they were a threat, the Titans would come face to face with them eventually. She looked over to her right and saw Beast Boy out at the street, reaching down to pick up the Frisbee he had dropped before. She let her eyes linger on him for a moment; but a split second later, the honks of a horn made her turn the other way.

 

A truck was spinning out of control. A gasoline truck; and it was heading right towards Beast Boy. Raven cried out for the truck to stop.

 

To her surprise, the truck did stop.

 

Beast Boy seemed to be frozen in fright, the truck inches away from him as he shook on the spot. However, it was unfair to say Beast Boy was the one frozen, because as Raven looked around she realized he was the only one not frozen. The truck, the other titans, everyone and everything around them had suddenly stopped moving. Raven remembered this happening once before, when Slade had delivered her the prophecy.

 

“Gar, move.” Raven commanded him. Beast Boy opened his eyes and blinked. He stepped away from the gasoline tanker truck, and looked at Raven wide eyed.

 

“Dude, what did you do?” He asked her.

 

“Don't know.” Raven replied shortly. Beast Boy, however, began to grin.

 

“You're like a big TV remote.” He said in an awed voice.

 

“Gee, how sweet.” Raven's sarcasm bit back.

 

“No, think about it Rae.” He said, running over to her side, still admiring the frozen world around them. “Remember before? When you killed Trigon and then rewound time and stuff? Well, you paused it this time. Dude, I think you can control time. That's sweet.”

Raven ignored her boyfriend's rant about her `time control'. She did not understand how time had just stopped still this time, or the last time it had done the same thing. Shaking her head, she turned to Beast Boy and smacked him in the back of the head; which caused him to wince and then look at her offended.

“What was that for!?” He demanded.

 

“For being an idiot.” She replied. “Don't play in traffic.”

 

A moment later, to both of their surprises, time returned to normal and the tanker truck crashed into the ground exactly where Beast Boy had been. A second later, Robin called out his trademark line upon seeing the crash, and Raven shrugged her shoulders and used her mental powers to contain the gasoline that was now spraying all over.

 

----

All the while, she thought something strange was going on; and all the while, someone was watching from a nearby rooftop with a frown on her face. The girl was using a pair of golden binoculars, covered in strange alien symbols, to watch Raven and the rest of the titans. She had long black hair and her eyes were dark and depressed.

 

“Damn, that didn't work.” She muttered to herself.

 

“Told ya.” Her partner said as he stepped onto the rooftop. While she wore a black and silver skirt and matching shirt, her partner dressed in a more typical super villain fashion; a black body suit, white skull mask, and tattered cape. Of course, there was his namesake tattooed on his costume: a large scarlet letter X.

 

“Shut up.” The woman snapped to the man. “If you had crashed the Gas Truck sooner when Plasmus was still there, this would have worked!”

 

“Doubtful.” The man replied as he sat on the edge of the rooftop next to his new partner. “Those Titans aren't idiots.”

 

“Tell me about it.” The woman sighed and sat down on the rooftop as well. She crossed her legs and shrugged her shoulders. “What I don't get is it seems like the boss would've realized how stupid these attacks are. Why'd he hire us to attack the Titans in such a stupid way?”

 

“Don't know, don't care.” The man replied as he picked up his partner's binoculars and looked down at the group. “I'm only in this for the money. If the boss's plans fail, no skin off my bones.”

 

“You might be in this for the money, but for me it's personal.” The woman replied, glaring down at the Titans in the distance with distaste.

 

“Yeah, yeah; spare me the jealous sister routine, okay?” The man replied, and then he yawned before finishing his sentence. “It's getting old.”

 

The woman glared at him, and her eyes turned a furious shade of pink as she did so. He stood his ground, however, and did not appear afraid at all.

 

“You're kinda cute when you glow.” He said with a chuckle in his voice.

 

“Puh-lease don't even start.” She replied bitterly.

 

“Enough. Both of you.” A voice like thunder barked in their ears, however there was no one else there to speak, and no one but the two of them could hear the voice.

 

“Whoa, boss; didn't know you were listening.” The man said, but this time the amusement was replaced with reverence in his voice.

 

“I am always listening.” The voice responded in the world-famous thief's head. “And I am becoming annoying at your stupidity. You both have personal reasons at stake here. If you want that which I promised you, you will keep up your end of the bargain. Now get ready for phase two.”

 

“Yeah, whatever.” The man replied. He and his female partner stood up, and hurried away from the roof. The woman flew; he jumped down into an alleyway and vanished into the darkness on foot.

 

----

 

The titans, with the exception of Cyborg who was taking Plasmus back to jail, arrived back at the tower. Beast Boy yawned as he opened the front door and headed straight for the living room couch. He crashed down on it and shut his eyes. Starfire and Robin went to the kitchen and began to put the uneaten picnic food away; while Raven sat in one of the red chairs in the living room and leaned back.

 

Then they all went wide-eyed at a sound that seemed to fill the entire tower. They all recognized the sound in an instant, but it seemed highly out of place for a tower that was supposed to be occupied only by teenage superheroes.

The sound was that of a baby crying. All four Titans regrouped at the bottom of the staircase and looked at each other with puzzled looks, then they all rounded on Beast Boy.

 

“What did you bring home now?” Robin asked.

 

“Nothing! I swear!” Beast Boy replied. Robin still seemed suspicious.

 

“That isn't an animal.” Raven declared.

 

“It sounds like a infant.” Starfire said quietly. All the titans looked at each other again, and then they hurried up the stairs, following the sound, with Robin in the lead. The sound led them directly to Raven's bedroom door, which was closed; but there was no mistaking the baby's cry came from inside.

 

Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy all looked at Raven.

 

“What? I don't know what's making that noise!” Raven insisted. Then she stepped forward past her friends and opened the door; then she gasped.

 

There was a baby, no more than a few months old, lying on her bed. Standing above the child was a woman dressed much like Raven, though her clothes were entirely white and her hair a deep velvety purple. Raven froze in the doorway as she looked at the woman who was standing over the child, and the other titans all just blinked.

 

“Oh, hello dear, you're back.” Arella smiled at Raven as she proceeded to change the baby lying in her bed. “I wondered where you were.”

 

“Mother?” Raven managed to choke out. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hanging open. “What are you doing here; and what is that?” Raven pointed to the baby.

 

“That, as you so rudely put it, is a baby.” Arella replied, stating the bluntly obvious. “You're little brother Corbin, to be specific.”

 

“Brother?” Raven echoed, her voice flooded with a mixture of surprise and fear. “Tell me he's not -”

“A demon? No, no; this one's fully human.” Arella replied.

 

“That isn't what I was going to say.” Raven replied coldly.

Arella seemed both amused, and a bit anxious. She picked up Corbin, whom she'd finished changing, and put him on her shoulder. Then she looked over at Raven and smiled.

 

“Do you mind if we stayed with you for a few days?” Arella asked, changing the subject to better suit her needs.

 

“Not until you answer my question, mother.” Raven replied.

 

“I was asking Robin, I believe he is still the leader around here?” Arella replied swiftly to her daughter, and then she turned to Robin. Robin squirmed beneath her gaze, and her could felt Raven's hot eyes on the side of his face.

 

“Sure.” Robin replied at length, which caused Raven to make a clicking sound with her teeth in annoyance. Arella smiled and patted Robin messily on the head with her free hand.

 

“Thank you dear. The two of us won't make a peep. We just need a place to stay for a few days while we look for a new house.” She explained, then she turned handed Corbin to Starfire, who had been staring at the baby the entire time without making a sound. “Would you like to hold her?”

Starfire's face lit up like a Christmas tree and she nodded her head furiously. While Starfire took the baby and held her tight, Raven rounded on her mother, still full of question.

 

“Why are you looking for a new house?” Raven demanded.

 

“There was an incident in Chicago.” Arella replied.

 

Raven had not seen her mother in almost a year, since the time they destroyed Trigon. The last she knew, Arella had not had a child, and she had left Jump City with a man called Slade, who was one of the titans' oldest and most powerful enemies.

 

“What kind of incident?” Raven pressured.

 

“It wasn't a big deal.” Arella insisted, and then she began to walk down the stairs. Raven quickly followed.

“What wasn't?” She insisted.

 

“Someone detonated a bomb in our apartment.” Arella admitted as she turned the corner and headed to the kitchen. “But we weren't home at the time.”

 

To Raven, a bomb in the apartment was enough to quality as a `big deal'. She cut her mother off in her walkway and glared at her. Raven and Arella's relationship was not the best, but despite the occasional fight, she loved her mother very much, and was not about to let her do something stupid to jeopardize the relationship. Although the words she had were harsh.

 

“Why did someone want to kill you?” Raven asked. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

“Don't be absurd, Raven.” Arella replied at once. “The bomb was meant for Slade, not for me.”

 

Raven groaned as her worst fear was realized. “You two are still together?”

 

“Yes. Do you have a problem with that?” Arella asked.

“Yeah, I do.” Raven replied coldly, but Arella seemed oblivious to her daughter's objections. Then Raven realized something else, and she felt sick to her stomach. For a moment she believed she might actually vomit, but she shook her head, swallowed, and then asked a question she already knew the answer to.

 

“That baby—”

“Corbin has a name, and yes, he is my child born by Slade.” Arella said shortly, then used the moment that Raven took to look horrified to brush past her and walk to the kitchen. Raven shook back awake and followed her mother at once.

 

“Mother, did anyone ever tell you that you have awful taste in men?” Raven asked, sarcastically.

“At least Slade is human.” Arella replied as she opened the refrigerator.

 

“That's a matter of debate.” Raven muttered.

 

“You do not seem to recall that if not for Slade, your father would have taken over the world and we would all be dead.” Arella said matter-of-factly.

 

“One good deed doesn't -”

“Good deed? Is that all you think it was?” Arella asked, and her voice took on a tone of genuinely being hurt. “Raven, I am surprised. You have such a narrow-minded view of things.”

And without another word Arella turned around and walked away, leaving Raven alone to think about what she had just said. Raven was too busy thinking about something else though. She had a bad feeling that this could not bode well for anything. Plasmus escaping from jail and Arella's arrival were only the first signs. She read deeper into things. She noticed that Arella admitted living with Slade still, but did not tell her where he was, or why he wasn't with her. That was suspicious. Plus, every other time she'd ever seen her mother, trouble had followed. Not to say Raven did not love Arella; but she knew Arella had a habit for bringing problems behind her.

 

And she was right.

 

----

 

Cyborg had just dropped Plasmus off at the jail, and now he was on his way home. Or at least, he would be soon. His metallic feet made a clanking sound as he walked down the sidewalk, being lead by his nose towards a local hot dog vendor's cart. He was heading for the T-Car when he smelled the smell of roasting hot dogs and was forced to come straight over. After buying a large, meaty frank he turned down a nearby alleyway between two buildings. It was a shortcut back to where he parked.

 

Cyborg chewed and walked absently, not aware of the kind of danger he was in. He took a step when he heard a swishing sound, and looked up ahead to see a familiar face - in a manner of speaking. He actually could not see her face, but he saw everything else. She had had back to him, but judging from the long red hair and the purple clothes he knew it had to be Starfire.

 

“Hey Star, what are you doing out here?” Cyborg asked as he walked over towards her. He was about three feet from her when he heard a soft sound, like something landing softly on the ground behind him. He didn't realize it, but that was the sound of someone jumping down from a fire escape on one of the buildings overshadowing the alleyway. Just as Cyborg began to turn around to see what the noise was, someone jumped on his back.

 

“Whoa!”

“Shut up tin-man.” The man barked into his ear as he slapped something on Cyborg back. Suddenly Cyborg felt electricity surging through his systems, and then he felt his eyelid become heavy; then he passed out, hitting the ground with a thunderous clang.

 

`Starfire' took off the redheaded wig and walked over towards Cyborg's unconscious body. She kicked him one to flip him over onto his back, and then she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

 

“Well, we got him, now what do we do with him?” The woman asked.

 

“Eh, keep your shirt on, I'm uploading the program now.” The man replied, and he connected a small black box device in his hand to Cyborg's back with a small cable. Then he chuckled to himself. “Actually, now that I think about it don't.”

 

“Don't what?” The woman asked, confused by his sudden comment.

 

“Don't feel the need to keep your shirt on.” He replied, then he laughed.

She just glared at him, her eyes a furious pink. She turned around and sighed, walking down the length of the alleyway. “Just tell me when you're done.”

 

----

 

Robin was sitting in his room, on his bed, slightly worried.

 

Cyborg had called about an hour after they returned home and told them not to wait for him. Apparently, he had run into an old friend from his high school days, before he became a half-man, half-machine crime fighter, and he was going to go to dinner with them. Robin didn't think it was usual of Cyborg to act that way. He'd run into a friend a few months ago, and the first thing he did was bring them by the tower to show them all of his cool stuff.

Robin sighed. Maybe he was reading into things too much.

 

His attention shifted focus to Arella. Something was wrong. Since they got back, she had taken baby Corbin and disappeared into the guest room, not saying a word to anyone. Robin had a feeling there was more reason behind why she left Chicago than Slade's enemies. That didn't explain Slade's absence from her side. Robin knew something was going on; but he did not know what.

 

He sighed again. Still reading too much into things.

 

“Robin?”

Robin looked up to see Starfire leaning against the doorway of his bedroom. She had one arm above her head and leaned against her elbow joint, the other arm was at her side. Her head was slightly tilted, and in this lighting, she looked breathtaking.

 

“Hey Star.” He said quietly.

 

“Is something wrong?” She asked, dropped her arm to her side and walking over towards the bed. She sat down next to him.

 

“Just thinking.” He replied quietly.

 

“You look stressed.” She replied, and she put her hands on his shoulders and massaged them softly. Robin moaned a bit and smiled.

 

“Yeah . . . maybe, it's just been a long day.”

 

“Then you should go to bed.” Starfire replied. She leaned down and kissed his neck softly. Robin squirmed. He was ticklish on his neck and he always squirmed like a child when she kissed him there; which amused her to no end.

 

“No, I thought I'd wait up for Cyborg to get back.” He responded.

 

“Then I'll wait up with you.” She decided, and then she kissed him again, this time on his cheek. Robin turned around so they were facing each other and he slipped his arms around her waist. Without a word their lips met, and suddenly he wasn't so concerned about all the things bothering him anymore.

 

----

 

Raven was back on that cold street. The sky was stained as red as blood and the clouds were as black as pitch. Trigon loomed over her, his laugh filling the empty air. The dead bodies of her friends and her mother lay around her, and only Beast Boy was left alive; squirming in Trigon's massive hand.

 

“Let him go!” Raven shouted up at him.

 

“No, I think not.” Trigon grinned, and then he raised Garfield up to his mouth. Raven watched helplessly as Trigon bit down and took Garfield's head off with one of his enormous teeth. She screamed and tried to fight. She tried to blast him, to fly up and use her psychic powers; but it did not work. Trigon just looked down at her.

 

“You thought you could beat me? Har, har, har… that is funny. You thought I would die and stay gone!? Stupid bitch, how wrong you are!”

 

She saw Trigon raise a foot up. Then she saw him bring it down on top of her; and she was frozen in the spot, unable to move. Raven could feel her bones snapping, she could feel herself being crushed to death; and she screamed.

 

“RAVEN!”

 

Raven's eyes opened and she looked up to see the black ceiling of her bedroom. She sat up in bed, her slender body covered in sweat and her eyes wide and white with fear. It took a moment for her to realize Garfield was right next to her, bent over her bed looking at her with a terrified face. He was wearing only his boxers and his pajama hat, and she understood that he must have run all the way from his bedroom. She looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was well after midnight. She slowly calmed down, and stopped breathing so hard, as she realized it had only been a dream.

 

“Rae, are you alright? I heard you screaming all the way from my room.” Beast Boy said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her skin felt ice cold - as cold as a death. She shook her head and pulled the blanket back up over her bare chest, slightly uncomfortable having him so nearby while she was undressed.

 

“I . . . I'm fine.” She lied, and he knew it was not the truth. “It was just a bad dream.”

“Was it just a dream?” Garfield replied, staring at her face, which she kept pointed towards where her bare legs had become tangled with the blanket.

 

“What are you talking about?” She asked, finally taking her eyes from her lap to meet his own gaze.

 

“Rae, I remember you telling me about the prophecy, and back then when you had dreams they -”

 

“Trigon is dead, the prophecy is gone; it was just a dream.” Raven snapped, slightly irritated.

 

Beast Boy sighed. “Okay Rae. Well, if you're sure you're okay -”

“I am.” She replied shortly.

 

Beast Boy's head fell like a child who had just been scolded, and he turned towards the door and began to walk away. Raven sighed with annoyance, and then sighed again at herself, and she called out for him to stop.

 

“I'm sorry. I'm just tired. Don't take it personally.”

 

“Naw. I never do.” Beast Boy reassured her, then he left; however she knew better. She knew he was hurt that she had been so callous and rude to him when he was only worried about her. Raven sighed and threw he blanket off. Now she had to go talk to him. She stood and hurried to her closet, pulling her usual black clothing on over her skin and then fixing her cape and hood around her neck. As she was fiddling with the clip for her cape, she heard the door open again.

 

“Oh good, I was just about to come find you.” She said over her shoulder, not bothering to look to see who it was, and too tired to realize that it wasn't Beast Boy using her mental powers.

 

She turned and saw Cyborg standing in the doorway. She gasped, then shook her head.

 

“I was expecting someone else. Did my screaming wake you up too?” She asked.

 

Cyborg did not respond. Raven looked up and noticed he was standing with a blank stare on his face, and suddenly she felt something cold move up along her spine. A moment later, Cyborg's arms both turned into Sonic Cannons, he aimed them at her, and fired two large blasts.

 

The explosion was so big it knocked out the wall, and flames could be seen high in the air all around the tower. The bay waters were illuminated by the explosion in Raven's room, and the entire tower woke up.

 

And on the shore, the man and the woman who had attacked Cyborg earlier watched and smirked.

 

“Brilliant.” The man said with glee.

 

“I guess this job worked after all.” The woman replied.

 

“It is not over yet. Make sure things go as we discussed.”

“Yeah, yeah, relax boss.” The man replied.

 

Then Red X and Blackfire, two of the titans enemies who had met completely by chance when they both made deals with a very shady source, hurried towards the Tower to finish the job.

 

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A/N: And thus concludes chapter one. ^_^ I'm sure you have a LOT of questions, but I promise they'll all be answered in future chapters. Now you know the drill - reviews will speed up the updating process; so leave `em! XD

Thanks for reading; have a good day.