Disclaimer: Every single character used in this story is property of DC Comics. Oh, and I guess Warner Brothers and Cartoon Network too since Teen Titans…yea…I wish I owed them though.

Author's Note: I've seen a few fanfictions where the characters somehow end up in their future. The thing is though, it's always ten, twenty or maybe even thirty years in said future. The plot ends up being that they meet their future children and ackward hijinks occur while facing some sort of threat. Well, I was thinking...what if instead, a character just ended up a few years in the future? Since the show was cancelled four years ago, the title of this plot bunny became, surprise, 'Four Years Later'.

There will be romance, action, new faces, old faces and best of all? Conflicts galore! Characters solely from the comics will appear, but they'll be playing a secondary role to our favourite five!

Edit: I decided to change some things; for one, Starfire is no longer living in the tower...but the conflict between her and Nightwing has not been cut. I hope you enjoy the revised edition of the first chapter!


"Teen Titans Go!"

It was quick; lights flickered, each brighter than the last, breaking through the dreary darkness.

BEEP!

SYSTEMS REBOOTING.

SYSTEM CHECK. MEMORY DEFRAGMENTATION IN PROGRESS.

The bold warnings flashed across the once pitch black screen.

"Cyborg!"

"What happened to him?"

"Starfire, help Cyborg! The rest of you, follow me!"

"Watch it!"

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

There was another beep, shriller and longer than the first. The short audio clips began to overlap one another until they became nothing more than an unintelligible jumble. The darkness flickered and was replaced by a constant static imager. A barely audible buzz was heard in the background as the voices began to seperate themselves into coherent phrases.

"I'm not going anywhere!"

"Raven! You have to heal him! Please! You've got to help him!"

"I can't, Beast Boy. My powers don't work that way."

"C'mon Sparky, wake up!"

BEEP!

CATEGORIZING VIDEO.

The bold red letters disappeared in a blink and a series of images began to play.

"What's going on? Where are the Titans?"

Gnarrk and one of the massive creatures plaguing the area by the dozens were locked in battle. The caveman was thrown back to the ground and, out of nowhere, Kole swung in feet first. Her crystallized body pushed the creature back, with enough force to make it howl in pain. Gnaark shook himself off and ran forward, grabbing Kole by the knees. The pink-haired girl turned into flesh and blood for a second, allowing her back to bend into the shape of a boomerang. She morphed back into crystal and Gnaark threw her roughly at the monster.

"Does anyone know what happened to the rest of them? Does anyone know what happened to the Teen Titans?"

"His central processing unit is failing. I cannot fix him."

Fix-it hovered over his face; a hint of grief flickered in his usually stoic features. Behind him, there was a flash of colours. Green, purple, blue, pink, yellow, red. Any colour that represented a Teen Titan, whether in a team or merely an honorary member, was visible in the milieu. They were all there; mourning the loss of Cyborg.

"There's nothing we can do."

Just as Fix-it had done so in the previous video clip, four teenagers were staring down at him. Robin, the closest to his head, was moving his mouth inaudibly. His mask was in place, hiding any emotions, but his whole stance seemed tense and squared. At his left was Starfire, who was hovering slightly in the air. The alien princess was trying to keep a straight face but soon, it became too much for the poor girl to bear. She lowered to the ground and clasped her fists together defensively against her chest, feebly attempting to stop the teardrops falling down her cheeks. On the other side, Raven stood alone, pursing her lips together in a thin line. Whilst Robin used his eye-mask as his front, Raven concealed her feelings from others with her cloak. Her mouth was the only part of her face visible underneath her hood. Lastly, Beast Boy was standing at the mechanical man's feet. The final member of the five had his head bowed and his shoulders were trembling.

He was whispering something underneath his breath. At first, it seemed that just like Robin, his mouth was just moving without any sound. Then, a message flashed across the foreground of the image.

AMPLYFING SOUND.

"Wake up, Cy. You can fight this, I know you can."

The changeling's voice sounded hoarse and at the mention of his best friend's name, his voice cracked.

Starfire leaned towards Robin and buried her face in his shoulder, despite the fact that she was much taller than he was. Her crying became much more pronouned with every sob. Robin shifted and wrapped one of his arms around his girlfriend. His gloved hand stroked her long red hair soothingly until her crying slowly subsided into short sniffles.

"Raven."

The Boy Wonder looked across the room at his teammate. His voice sounded just as worn out as Beast Boy's and not even his mask could hide the desperate hope behind his tone.

"Are you positive that you can't feel anything from him?"

Raven opened her indigo eyes but kept them locked on Cyborg. She answered Robin's query in a low whisper.

"I don't feel anything from him. Nothing at all."

The scene was cut and the image blurred and inactivated. The static flickered on the screen before a new image replaced it. It was set in the same location as the previous clip, but the people there were different.

On one side of him, the side that previously held the grieving Starfire and Robin, stood Titans East. Bumblebee, Speedy and Aqualad were all staring at him morosely. The top of Mas y Menos' heads were barely visible over the counter. Bumblebee's wings were fluttering rapidly behind her as she turned her attention across from her at Robin. The other leader had his arms crossed and his head kept darting anxiously from his fellow Teen Titans to the ceiling above.

"Why did this have to happen?"

Robin sighed and lifted a hand to slide through his gelled hair.

"I don't know."

Speedy leaned forward.

"And Fix-it couldn't help him?"

"Nope."

"Have you tried Doctor Mid-Nite?"

Aqualad's dour suggestion was met with a stiff nod.

"Yes."

"And-"

"Nothing."

"Giz-"

"No."

"Oh."

With a click, it transitioned to another day. The unknown room was now dark, with only one small lightbulb to provide any light. It shone a few feet away; the long string connected to it dangled and every so often it would graze green hair. Beast Boy was sitting on a wooden chair, staring up at Cyborg with a grim frown on his jade features. The chair was facing away from the cybernetic man and Beast Boy's legs hung loosely at either side. His arms were crossed over the top of the chair, hugging the edges, and his chin was settled awkwardly in the empty space between his wrists. His head lolled to the side and he shifted uneasily in his seat, making the chair creak. He looked tired, with dark bags circling the bottom of his eyes.

"Tofu?"

Beast Boy's ears perked up at the sound of a familiar voice and he craned his head back.

"Huh?"

Raven walked over to the chair, her long cloak billowing behind her. She was holding a small plate of the white, gelatinous substance commonly referred to as tofu. The dark sorceress looked down at the hastily prepared meal and spoke in her default monotonic voice.

"You skipped dinner again."

The changeling turned back to face Cyborg, all the while shaking his head.

"Not hungry tonight. Sorry."

Raven sighed, and it was one suprisingly full of pity and disappointment.

"That's okay. I...can see you want to be alone. I was just..."

She trailed off and turned to leave when Beast boy jumped out of his chair and grabbed her shoulder.

His voice was suddenly vulnerable.

"You don't have to leave...if you don't want to."

Raven seemed surprised by his invitation to stay but nodded intently.

"All right."

Beast boy's gloved hand still rested on her shoulder, even when she took a step closer to him. Neither one said a thing but there was some sort of silent understanding between them. They stared at one another for a few more seconds, almost lost as to what to do next when Beast Boy suddenly retracted his arm. It was as though he had been stung by something hot. He took a step back and gestured towards the wooden chair, stuttering his words.

"Uh, y-you can sit down. I don't mind."

"No. You sit. I'm more comfortable in the air."

Raven directed, shaking her head promptly. To prove her point, she crossed her legs together in lotus position and she levitated a foot off the grimy floor.

"Are you sure you don't want food?"

Beast Boy leaned back in his chair; his back rested against the wood and his legs stretched out in front of him.

"I didn't know you cared."

As he drawled the short response, Raven shot him what was supposed to be a glare. It quickly softened however when she noticed the truth behind his words.

"Neither did I."

Raven encased the plate in a sphere of black energy and carefully set it on the bottom step of the staircase at the entrance of the room. Satisfied, she looked forward, her eyes boring into Cyborg's inanimate body.

"Do you do this every day?"

Beast Boy blinked.

"Huh?"

"Do you do this every day? Visit Cyborg?"

"Not every day."

Beast Boy's answer was a poor attempt to sound gruff, something he realized straightaway.

"Sometimes I just...keep him company, y'know? Sometimes I speak to him- tell him what's been happening since...since..."

He trailed off and dug his teeth into his bottom lip. Raven looked sullen but still tried to comfort her teammate.

"It's all right, Beast Boy, you miss him. It's only natural that you'd want to hold on to-"

She was interrupted by a long groan. Beast Boy had buried his face in his hands and was rapidly shaking his head in disbelief.

"Oh god, it's been months. I can't believe how long it's been since it happened."

Raven extended her legs so she was standing. She walked over to her friend and kneeled down at his side. Beast Boy lowered his hands and placed them restlessly on his lap, one hand for each leg. The next whisper carried itself across the room quite well.

"He was my best friend, I-I just miss him so much, Rae."

"We all do, Beast Boy, we all do."

They sat in silence until Raven slowly reached out and placed her hand over Beast Boy's. His frown twitched and he gave her a questioning glance. She patted his hand gently and for a mere moment, the corners of her mouth seemed to have curled up into a tight almost-smile.

"Thanks."

Beast Boy slid his hand out from underneath hers. She looked slightly hurt by the detached reaction but quickly reverted back to an impassive expression. That is, until she was taken by surprise by the changeling grabbing her pale hand and squeezing warmly. Her breathing hitched as she replied.

"You're welcome."

She got up, not letting go of Beast Boy's hand. With a small smile, he stood up as well and led the Empath over to the staircase, where he picked up the plate she had prepared for him with his free hand.

"Maybe just a bite-"

The image distorted and black blended with grey, green, blue and purple until all that was left was darkness. A click reverberated somewhere in the distance, between the grit of the static.

Robin was standing in front of him, hardly recognizable as the teenager that Cyborg knew him as. His hair was slightly longer and just as unruly, but with a considerable lack of hair gel. His uniform was not that of the vivid streetlight colours that formed his Robin costume but a black spandex suit with only one design; a wide blue bird insignia across the chest. His mask had a different design, giving his face a more mature shape. The young adult rubbed the back of his neck as he stared directly at the proverbial camera.

"I know you probably can't hear me but I...just thought that I should say good-bye. I'm not Robin anymore. I'm Nightwing now and..and.."

He ducked his head, suddenly feeling ashamed.

"I'm leaving the team."

The image blurred and the last thing that was heard was a warped: "g-d by-y-ye."

Beast Boy was standing at his side, and this time he had Starfire with him. Beast Boy was humming the Happy Birthday song under his breath while Starfire gently bopped her head in rhythm to his song. She was holding a platter with a giant piece of chocolate cake covered in chocolate icing. There was a lopsided candle wedged in the middle of the dessert, already lit. The flame danced around as the alien girl hovered up and down in place. Beast Boy ended his hum on a soft note and Starfire blew out the candle. The two were engulfed in the semi-darkness but, thanks to the low fluorescent light, an elegant trail of smoke was seen wafting up to the ceiling.

"Happy birthday dude."

"We a-eee do-o-i-ing the mi-missing u-u-u ter-rrrrr-ribly..."

"No veo nada importante!"

Two blurs were running around the room, rummaging around for something. The twin speedsters stopped in their tracks and the one with a plus on his chest spoke.

"Se me olvido. Que era la cosa que Senorita Starfire queria denuevo?"

Menos shrugged, balancing a saxophone and a discarded pizza box in his hands.

"No estoy seguro...deviamos preguntarle denuevo!"

They connected their fingers together and disappeared in a blur of red and white.

And they were gone; replaced by another memory. Two girls were facing each other, screaming at the top of their lungs. There was a group of five people in front of him but none of them were a recognizable Titan.

"You can swim underwater like Aquaman and Tempest? Ooh! Please, you can't even talk to fish! We need members with REAL powers- like Zatara and Miss. Martian!"

The scoffing remark came from the brunette clad in a red and white costume with a red eye-mask and three long strips falling down her shoulders, mimicking wings. She was facing a young woman who was wearing a wet suit bearing a similar design to Aqualad's, except that it was divided into two separate pieces and the top was a midriff. She was also a brunnette but her hair was much longer. Looking affronted by the insult, she screeched at the other girl with a snarl.

"Real power?" What's yours, Birdie? I mean, besides whining?"

The first girl hissed and her mouth took on a livid sneer as she tried to bound forward, attempting to claw out her adversary's face with her bare hands.

"The name's Hawk and don't you forget it! Guess what we eat, Fishy?"

"Hawk!"

The reprimand was shouted by a third girl, who was holding said heroine back in an attempt to stop her from jumping at the other. She had white hair tied back in a loose ponytail and what could be seen of her face shared similarities to Hawk. The young heroine was wearing a light blue uniform with white gloves, a blue mask and two wings spread out from her backside. A fourth girl was holding back Hawk's opponent; her hair was blonde and tied back, and she was also dressed in a superhero costume. It was a red leotard with a short yellow cape; two golden gauntlets hid the lining of the red gloves and a maroon eye-mask finished the costume.

She was grumbling under her breath.

"Why did I let Arsenal talk me into this?"

A boy was leaning against the far end wall, watching the fight unfold with slight interest. He resembled a stage magician; wearing a tux and holding a top hat and black wand. He sighed and shook his hat, watching boredly as a few doves flew out, as he spoke to the blonde heroine.

"I'd like to stay and help sort this out, Speedy, but I've got a big show tonight. Gotham city, eight o'clock."

The image started to blur just as the new Speedy called out to the magician.

"Give me one minute, Zatara, and help Dove get her sister away from Aquagirl."

The next video clip that was shown was the shortest yet; the memory was brief and the only person in the room was staring up at him with tear-stained cheeks. The familiar blonde girl lifted her hand and stroked something beyond the screen.

"I just got back from college- I'm volunteering at a school now...I thought I'd visit you."

BEEP!

"You don't know what you're doing, Wendy!"

BEEP!

"You're the one who replaced his internal generator with a responsometer. They don't work on organics, genius!"

BEEP!

A male's chest was inches from the screen; whoever it was wore a casual white tee-shirt. The first voice, coming from the direction of the male, retorted.

"Well, they should!"

A girl's head popped into view and she pointed at something below the screen.

"Wait! You see that?"

The male took a few steps back, and examined what Wendy was referring to.

"You mean the seventh blue wire to the right? Yea, it should be plugged into his temporal lobe."

"Not that! I'm talking about the wire wrapped around his Sony medulla oblongata six-point-one."

"There's nothing wrong with that one! I'm going to connect the wire..."

"Marvin! Don't-"

BE-EEEEE-EP.

MEMORY DEFRAGMENTED.

SYSTEMS READY.

Cyborg opened his eyes and stared around at his surroundings. The room was dark and stuffy and seemingly unfamiliar. A man of quick action, Cyborg glanced down at his arm and opened the control box. He pressed a few buttons in quick succession. A light snapped out of his right shoulder and illuminated the dark room.

"Ugh," Cyborg groaned, "where am I?" Unsurprisingly, there was no response outside the eerie silence. He turned back to his arm and tried to start the GPS program but was met with an error message. "Great. Beast Boy? Starfire? Robin? Raven?" Once again, no one replied. "I mean it, B, if this is your idea of a joke.." He swung the door open and walked up the staircase. He reached out to open the next door. "Its not-"

He was met with the sight of a girl standing inches away from his face. "Well, what a surprise," she said coolly, staring up at him. "Everyone will be glad to know you're awake."

"R-Ravager?"

"Well, looks like there's no brain damage." The girl smirked and her dark blue eyes twinkled.

Cyborg hadn't known Ravager, better known as Rose Wilson, for very long. She had mysteriously come into the lives of the Titans a few months ago, seemingly out of nowhere. She had hunted the HIVE Five, harassed Dr. Chang and intimidated many other people who had dealt with Slade in the past, demanding that she was to take over for her father. Luckily, after a quick fairly-matched duel with Robin, the Titans managed to convince her to change her ways. She seemed in denial at first, but thanks to Raven and Jinx, both who could relate to the confused girl's problems, she allowed the Teen Titans to help her. She stayed at the tower for over three weeks before deciding to go off on her own. He hadn't seen her since but Robin had kept constant contact with her.

Although the young woman in front of him shared many of the same physical attributes to Rose Wilson, he was well aware that Slade's daughter was a fourteen year old girl while this girl seemed to be around her late teens- perhaps eighteen or nineteen years old. Regardless, both girls had the same natural white hair but Rose's had barely passed her shoulder blade, let alone her lower back like this older girl. The costume was different too; she was wearing a faux-scaled aquamarine shirt underneath a navy vest with spaghetti straps. Her navy pants were flared at the bottom becoming orange from her knee to ankle. She wore a thin orange belt that was most likely for show and thick orange and black striped gloves. She was not wearing the Slade-like mask that The Ravager had originally worn, and thus, she was revealing her strikingly pretty features.

Cyborg's human eye glanced down at her hands; she was holding a glass of milk in one hand and a piece of toast in the other. Like Robin, Ravager always had a bo-staff on hand but this girl seemed to be completely vulnerable to an attack. Hoping his cannon arm was operational, he lifted it up to her face and accused, "who are you? How did you get past my defences?"

"Calm down, metal-butt," she replied calmly, the smirk never leaving her face as she nibbled on her toast.

"Calm down?" Cyborg repeated, flabbergasted by her lack of reaction. "I-answer my questions!"

The young woman rolled her eyes. "Fine," she shoved his arm away, "I will. One: I'm Rose Wilson aka The Ravager."

"You're not Rose. I know Rose Wilson and you're definitely not her."

"Yeah, I am...just an updated model." She winked and he couldn't help but turn crimson. "Oh, and to answer your other question, I didn't get past your defences...I live here."

"Say what?"

Ravager took a huge bite out of the toasted bread. "Let's just say a lot of things can happen in four years."

Cyborg's human eye twitched, not truly believing what he was hearing.

"F-four years?"

"Hmm, maybe I spoke too soon about the brain damage."

"What do you mean, four years? What happened to me?"

Ravager sipped her milk and shrugged. "I don't really know what happened to you. You'll have to ask the nerd twins about that. It has something to do with your central producing unit or something." She waved her hand slackly in the air, "no one told me much about it."

Cyborg's heart dropped and his mouth instantly dried up. If his central processing unit had been damaged, it would explain the fact that he had been inactive for four years as this Ravager claimed. It was one of the weak points in his system; if it shut down, Cyborg would be put in a permanent catanotic state. While he wouldn't technically die, he would be nowhere near alive either.

"Central processing unit?"

"That must be it," the white haired Titan said, "now come on, I told you everyone would want to see you."

She motioned for him to follow her and then started back down the hallway. Cyborg hesitated and, like anyone else in a similar situation, his mind filled with possible questions. His mind could not wrap around the idea that he had missed four years of his life. He had time-travelled once before, but to the distant past, not his own future. 'This must be how Star felt during that incident with Warp,' he thought. The Tameranian princess' face materialized in his mind and was soon joined by three other faces. The only consolation he had was that if this was for real, then at least the Titans were still a team- or so he hoped. There were many different explanations as to why Slade's daughter was living in the tower again and many were not good. Had she merely been his replacement or had something much dire occured? Were his friends still here? Were they still alive?

"Yo! Ravager, wait up!"

Of course, Cyborg still had doubts about the girl but he knew that it was probably his best bet to recieve any answers. He caught up to her and slowed his run down to a fast-paced trot. They walked in silence until they reached the familiar door that led to the Operations Room. Ravager walked forward, springing the detectors and with a fluid motion, the doors spread apart, letting Ravager and Cyborg through. She jumped down the first few steps and stuck her fingers in her mouth, whistling loudly enough to get the attention of all its occupants.

"Hey," she announced, "guess who's back?" Not waiting for their reactions, she made a beeline for the kitchen, grabbed one of the empty stools and slammed her glass of milk on the counter. She glanced at the two teenagers sitting on the couch and exhaled noisily. "Oh, it's just you two." She twisted around in her seat and went back to her breakfest, "just tell me when it gets interesting."

Cyborg felt his stomach tighten, having not recognized either of the two. The boy and girl seemed frozen in their spots. The girl, a blonde with blue eyes, suddenly queaked and jumped off the sofa.

"Cyborg? Is it really you?"

The voice struck a cord in his memory database. "Cassie?"

She twirled a piece of hair around her index finger. "Actually," she said sheepishly, "I'm Wonder Girl again."

He had first met Cassandra 'Cassie' Sandsmark as a thirteen year old Wonder Woman fanatic with the dream of not just meeting the Amazon warrior but being her sidekick. She had stolen two items from the Gateway City Museum of Antiquities in order to gain superpowers and prove that she was the best candidate for the position of Wonder Girl, despite Donna Troy already holding the coveted title. Robin, Cyborg, Aqualad and Beast Boy had tracked her down to Paradise Island where some of the Titans girls had been competing in an island-wide contest that determined who would become Wonder Girl. In the end, the two girls teamed up against Trident, saved Paradise Island and Cassie relinquished the name. Wanting to become a heroine in her own right, she joined Cyborg's 'New Teen Titans' training program. Last time he had seen her, she had been mulling over a new heroic identity while waiting for her mother to pick her up from the tower.

Now long gone were Cassie's dual pigtails and snowboarding goggles; instead, she had a red headband on the medium length hair that now hung loosely around her shoulders. Instead of the red and black tee-shirt with a spray painted 'C' just below the Wonder logo and the jean skirt with black leggings, she had donned a short sleeved red shirt with the giant golden 'W' plate over the chest, red capris and a golden belt. She had grown out of her awkward pre-teen frame and was about a few inches taller than he remembered her. The only similarities in her appearance were her light blonde hair and the same single silver star hung from her black cuff necklace.

"What happened to-?"

"Donna?" she cut in, "she's fine, goes by Troia now."

"Oh," he replied, unsure what to say next. He made a note that Cassie wasn't wearing either of the godly items she had stolen from the museum; instead of the sandals of Hermes, she wore grey shoes and sported two silver gauntlets in place of Atlas' golden one. "Who else is here?"

Cassie - Wonder Girl- exchanged a troubled glance with the boy beside her and hurriedly mouthed 'get up' to him. The bulky teenager, perhaps seventeen or eighteen years of age, stood up and faced Cyborg. Despite the fact that the infamous crimson 'S' was emblazed on his chest, Cyborg originally wondered what a civillian was doing in Titans Tower. Unlike many of the Titans, there was nothing odd about his appearance; Cyborg merely saw a young man wearing worn-out blue jeans with short black hair and rebellious defiance about him. Even the fact that he bore Superman's logo was not strange, since dressing up and commemorating their favourite heroes was a very civilian thing to do.

"This is Superboy," Wonder Girl introduced him, "he's another member of the Teen Titans."

Superboy flashed him a toothy grin, "sup? We've never met before but I've heard a lot about you."

Cyborg nodded stiffly and replied lamely, "yeah, nice to meet you." He had not been aware that a Superboy even existed but felt it not wise to mention that. Cyborg speculated the ways that this new Titan could possibly be connected the Man of Steel; a relative perhaps or maybe a clone? He shook his head at the unlikelihood of that theory...but he suddenly noticed all the similarities between the two.

He watched as Superboy and Wonder Girl walked around the sofa and joined Ravager at the kitchen. They had left the television on and now that introductions were out of the way, Cyborg couldn't help but drool when he saw the High-Definition of the screen. It was currently playing a movie trailer for a film called 'Scabs of Gore IV'. It looked like a thriller, Cyborg noticed, as he watched in low volume as a woman screamed just as a knife landed in the wall mere inches from her head. He had been planning to go to the movie theatre and see a similar plotted movie with Beast Boy and Robin the following week. With everything occuring to him at the moment, it was obvious that this was impossible now.

He heard Superboy laugh. "Aw, man! Movie of the year. You want to see it with me, Wonder Girl?"

Wonder Girl shook her head, "not on your life."

"You face terrifying monsters and villains every day," Superboy asked with disbelief, "but you're too chicken to see Scabs of Gore?"

He had no qualms with the people he had already seen; he was friends with Wonder Girl and he always thought Ravager was cool, if not a little rough around the edges. Superboy seemed like a cool guy and under any other circumstance, they'd probably get along well. Nevertheless, his suspicions and worries regarding the fate of the team were becoming stronger. None of the Titans of the future had been a part of his team. The whereabouts of his friends were still unknown to him, for all he knew, they were dead. No- he had to keep positive; they had to be all right and were probably just somewhere else in the tower. Beast Boy was probably sleeping in, Raven was meditating, Robin was in the gym doing some early morning training and Starfire was walking Silkie- just like they did every morning.

Before he could speak -let alone ask them about his friends- a bright red and white blur ran past him.

A boy appeared on the couch, flopping all over the cushions while yelling, "I call the video games!" Cyborg blinked as graphics brightened the television screen. The boy was already pressing buttons on a long video game controller. It took a moment for him to realize he was not alone; he slowly craned his neck back and asked, "Kon, you wanna you play two-player?"

Superboy groaned. "Shut up, Imp! Can't you see we're in the middle of something serious?"

"What do you me-" the boy caught sight of Cyborg and his jaw swung open in surprise, "Cyborg?" With a bout of superhuman speed, he appeared beside the metallic man, "it is you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I- who are you?"

"Name's Impulse," the boy introduced himself, now at Cyborg's other side, "fastest boy alive." Impulse poked Cyborg on the arm and whistled, "co-ooo-ol! I didn't think-" the blur had stopped beside Wonder Girl and set his hands on the counter, "-you'd ever wake up! Wait 'till the others find out!"

"I thought Kid Flash was the fastest boy alive," Cyborg asked, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"He was," Impulse rolled his eyes at the mention of the other speedster, "but he's dropped the Kid part so he's just the Flash now." He noticed his video games were still on so he started to run around the kitchen island when Ravager put her foot in his path. He stumbled, crashing into the ground. "Not cool, Rose."

"You're giving me a migraine," Ravager scowled at him, "where are the others?"

Impulse rose to his feet and dusted himself off. "Dunno. The slowpokes were behind me last time I checked." He sat down on the stool next to Ravager and spun around aimlessly. "They should be here soon. I can't wait until they see you," he nodded at Cyborg, "ten bucks says Gar has a conniption."

'Gar? Beast Boy?'

'How do you even know what a conniption is?" Wonder Girl teased him.

"I read it in a book," Impulse shrugged, "hey, here they come now!"

The group of teenagers turned their attention to the closed door where the soft echoes of voices were becoming louder and louder as they neared. Cyborg held his breath; this was the moment of truth. He had no idea who –or what- was going to enter through the door. The doors whirred apart and two people waltzed in carrying bags full of groceries. Beast Boy and Raven saw him at the same time, and with a simultaneous gasp, all the contents in their arms dropped to the floor. Impulse zoomed to their rescue and brought all the groceries to the kitchen.

Cyborg had never been able to comprehend the phrase that you could cut the tension in the room with a knife until that moment. He didn't know what to say, staring at these two in front of him. They were his family, his best friends, yet they looked so different...they were strangers to him.

Raven's indigo eyes had widened and her mouth hung open in awe. Beast Boy, strangely enough, was staring at Cyborg suspiciously. He glanced over at Raven and mumbled something under his breath. She shook herself out of her shock and nodded slightly. Beast Boy's mouth quickly formed into a bright grin and he spoke.

"I can't believe it!" His voice was deeper and more mature but still had the same good humoured attitude that was a trademark for Beast Boy. His best friend had grown plenty in the past four years. He looked much taller and had probably had his growth spurt a long time ago. His build was still lean, and although he was muscled, he was not burly like Cyborg or Superboy. He was wearing a primarily silvery white costume with shorter sleeves and sleeker boots than his original Doom Patrol outfit. The design was altered so that the undersides of his arms were purple, as were his boots, belt and collar. He was lacking his signature gloves and Doom Patrol belt. The changeling started to outstretch his arms, as if initiating a hug, when he lowered them sheepishly.

"I-I thought you'd never wake up," Beast Boy muttered softly, looking back over at Raven for a brief moment, unable to look at Cyborg for long.

Ravager scoffed, "aw, what a sweet moment. Excuse me while I barf up my breakfast."

Wonder Girl elbowed the other girl in the ribs, "could you be any more insensitive?"

"Wanna find out, Wonder Witch?"

Neither Beast Boy or Raven seemed to have heard the little exchange. The dark sorceress walked up beside the changeling and lowered her hood. Long hair fell down her shoulders, just as it had looked after her defeat over Trigon. Her outfit had barely changed, except that her boots came up to her thighs, her cloak was clasped not by one, but two, jewels at each side of her chest and that the bottom of her leotard resembled a loin cloth.

Raven opened her mouth to say something but closed it immediately, unsure as to what to say.

Beast Boy ran a hand through his hair and smirked over at Raven. "Raven's just trying to say she missed you."

"Since when is Raven mute?" Cyborg kidded, feeling much better now that he was with his friends.

Raven frowned and shot a dirty look in the green man's direction. He didn't flinch, if anything, his grin grew wider. "I'm not...Beast Boy just felt the need to speak for me." Her voice was also slightly different but it was not as noticable as Beast Boy's voice drop.

Cyborg laughed. "I missed ya too, Rae, or I would if it didn't feel like I saw you guys five minutes ago...well, the younger you..."

Raven smiled softly, something that was quite rare for her to do. "You haven't told us...how did you wake up?"

"Well," Beast Boy beamed, "it must have been Marvin and Wendy!"

"Who?"

"We hired these two kids to fix you after the accident. You'll meet them later."

Cyborg had an inkling that he had heard those names before but he couldn't remember from where. He looked past Beast Boy's shoulder at the door, hoping to see Starfire and Robin's entrance. "So, uh, how's our spiky-haired leader and resident alien princess doin'?"

Raven grabbed the corners of her hood, instinctually raising it over her head. Beast Boy glowered and sighed, and Cyborg realized this was a sore topic for the two. "I think we need to bring you up to speed now," Raven finally said monotonously, crossing her arms defensively.

"Wait," Superboy cried from the kitchen, "shouldn't we get Tim first?"

Beast Boy nodded. "Ravager, go get him and hurry back."

"Check," Ravager mumbled dryly. She lifted herself from her stool and casually strolled out of the room.

"Who's Tim?" Cyborg asked.

Beast Boy hesitated for a moment and then said, "Tim is Robin. The new Robin. The guy you remember as Robin is Nightwing now...for years now...and he's not on the team anymore."

The words took a second to set in; they all knew that Robin might become Nightwing, information gathered by Starfire when she had been transported to a now alternate universe, but hearing that Robin, or Nightwing, had quit the team was strange to his ears. Yet it also felt familiar; his head throbbed and he winced but no one else noticed.

"What about Starfire? C'mon, tell me she's here!"

"Starfire is...no longer on the team," Raven explained vaguely, "we will explain everything soon."

Robin had left the team for a solo gig and Starfire's fate remained unknown...Cyborg's fist curled into a tight ball; this was not supposed to be their future. He had hoped that all his friends were safe and still together as a team. It figured that when faced with the shocking revelation of a four year gap in his life, what was prominent in his mind was still his friends. Hadn't they always said that they weren't just friends or just a team but rather a family? How could this have happened?

With a pang, Cyborg realised that even though Beast Boy and Raven were still together, the chances that they were still the same people that he knew them as were slim to none. They was older and more mature than the last time he was awake, even Beast Boy who was two years younger than him, would be mentally his senior at nineteen or twenty years old. Cyborg then paled, realising that although he still felt like a seventeen year old boy, he had probably aged physically during his comatose state. He stared down at one his hands and squinted, trying to catch a reflection of his face in the silver of his palm.

Ravager arrived back inside the room with a teenage boy accompanying her. He was wearing a bright costume that seemed to be an updated version of Robin's. However, his face was unknown and it was obvious that the boy was not-

"Robin?"

"Yes and no," 'Robin' replied, "it's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot from you from Nightwing."

"Speaking of Nightwing," Beast Boy suggested, "we should probably give him a call." Cyborg shot a side glance at his best friend, who was once again looking slightly annoyed.

"We might as well tell everyone else too," Raven added, sensing Beast Boy's discomfort, "but first, I think we really need to tell Cyborg everything."


Cyborg sat down on the sofa, just on the right of Superboy and Wonder Girl. The blonde was sitting on the far end with her elbow propped against the armrest and her chin balanced on her fist. Beside her, the Boy of Steel sat casually with his arms crossed together as hewaited for the story to begin.

On Cyborg's other side were Raven and Beast Boy. Raven was sitting in a very composed manner and was waiting patiently for the alien princess to begin speaking. The changeling sitting on the other end of the couch was stretched out all over his space; his arms hung behind him but what Cyborg found slightly peculiar was that his left arm had slowly made its way around Raven. His index finger was barely just touching the sorceress' left shoulder, but even more peculiar, she made no motion against it. Cyborg furrowed his eyebrows in confusion just as a vision of the two holding hands in the dark room he had woken up in flashed in his mind. He shook his head, making a note to ask Beast Boy about him and Raven later.

Ravager sat cross-legged on the floor with Impulse, who was staring absent-mindedly out of the window. The white haired Titan was using a worn-out rag to polish a long sword, and she seemed uncaring to what the other Titans were talking about or doing. Robin, the new Robin, was leaning against the sofa, wearing an expression on his face that was way too familiar to his namesake. His masked eyes glanced down at Beast Boy, "so..."

"Where should we begin?" Raven asked, leaning forward a little.

Beast Boy nodded his head. "Loads of crazy things have happened..."

Wonder Girl suggested, "maybe we should start with how Cyborg ended up...you know."

"Just start somewhere," Impulse snapped, "I'm getting bo-ooo-red!"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell it," Beast Boy eased the others down, "Cy, what's the last thing you remember?"

Cyborg strained himself, he closed his human eye and groaned, "not sure, something to do with Madame Rouge or Blackfire...urgh, I don't know, man."

Beast Boy grimaced and straightened up in his seat; he looked conflicted about something. Raven placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered something only he heard. He shook his head and said, "no, Rae, it's okay. I'll tell it." He turned back to Cyborg, "-and I might as well start at the beginning."


So, what do you guys think so far?

If you have trouble imagining Beast Boy and Raven's new outfits, then go look up any early issue of Teen Titans Volume 3. The white/purple ensemble was my favourite look for Gar...wish he'd go back to it.

Some of the recollection scenes were taken from the first issue of Teen Titans during the OYL arc, where Cyborg wakes up after a year. Don't worry; this fanfiction will be very different from that, it's just that some of the scenes fit here too (the new members having fights and Marvin + Wendy) and well, I dunno, it's gonna be different...that's for sure!

Sorry, Starfire and Robin fans! They didn't make an appearance this chapter but don't worry, they still have huge roles in this story. In fact, the next chapter begins with one of them.