Soaring through the wind and shadows of the night, the visions slowly unfolded one at a time. Through the darkness the mists began to separate, until they had revealed the cold walls of the San Quentin prison. Slowly the vision carried its viewer through the gate. . .and into the lobby, observing as two tall shapes emerged from a room, and began walking through the compound.
One of the figures happened to be a dangerous convict by the name of Xavier Nyx. He was rough edged, criminal who was given a life sentence for the murder of a security guard during a bank heist. Because of his nasty track record, and the violent confrontations he'd had with some of the inmates, Xavier knew the opportunity for freedom would once again pass him by. But this time, he had plans. . .big plans. And by the snug attitude of the ward, he couldn't have devised a more appropriate
time to carry it out!
Having snuck an ice pick from the kitchen during the lunch hour, he broke off the handle and hid the tip between his index and middle finger. From there, Xavier began to pick his way through the handcuffs without ever being detected by the guard.
During this time, the two of them were walking through the narrow hallway that led up to the main complex of the prison. In this section it was dark, and they rarely had any cops standing guard. Xavier knew that if he were to make his move, it would have to be now. By the time they reached the door of the main complex, he was already free but waiting. . .waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Deliberately he stood off to the side, watching as the guard stepped forward in an attempt to unlock the door. As he reached for the keys on his belt, he began to torment Xavier as he'd always done.
"Too bad, huh Nyx. You was hoping for that free ticket. But I don't know what you were thinking. What's this make? Your THIRD parole, hearing?" he said, laughing cruelly. "Ya might as well get used to it. From the looks of it, you're NEVER gonna get out of here." For Xavier, that was the last straw. Before the guard knew what was happening, he lunged from behind, wrapping the cuffs around his throat.
"Oh, yeah?" he hissed, as he brutally squeezed, "That's what you think!" Bug eyed the guard could only let out a choking gasp, desperately clawing at his neck in a frenzy. Not wanting to draw attention, Xavier quickly drug him inside the supply room.

After a few minutes of eerie silence, he came out dressed in the guard's outfit. Grabbing the revolver off his belt, he checked it to make sure it was loaded. Shoving it back into the holster he put the police cap on, tucking it down just below his eyes. Taking a deep breath, Xavier knew it was now or never. Silently walking through the compound, he nodded at the other guards who waved as he passed by. By the time he reached the third gate, Xavier knew he was home free. Until one of them hollered out,
"Hey, Tom. . .Wait up."
Freezing in his tracks, Xavier felt the guy approach him from behind, until he was at his side. Keeping his head down, he heard the young guy say, "The warden thought you might've wanted the rest of this pie to take home. His wife can't bake, if you ask me."
Now instead of answering him, he nodded, attempting to reach for the pie. As he did, he noticed the way the guy eyed the tattoo of a spider web on the top of his hand.
"Whoa. . .Cool tattoo. . .when did you get that?"
By then Xavier's other hand had already unfastened the strap of his gun, and was tightly gripping the handle. Out the corner of his eye, he watched as the guards eyes narrowed with suspicion, as though realizing that something wasn't right.
"Hey. . .wait a minute. . ." Was all he had time to say. By then Xavier whipped the gun out and put it to his head. As the thunder clapped, the sound of a gunshot echoed along with it.

Lunging into a sitting position, Raven let out a startled gasp. Panting uncontrollably, she watched as the lightening continued to strike outside of her huge bay window. As her hand shakily gripped her chest, a knock was heard at her door.
"Who is it?" She timorously asked.
"It's me, Garfield. . ." Relieved to the sound of his voice, Raven allowed her dark energy to unlock the door. "Oh. . .Come in." she replied, weakly flopping back down on her pillows. Turning on her side, she watched as Beastboy approached until he was sitting on the edge of her bed. "Hey, beautiful."
"Hi. . ." she whispered, watching as he slowly bent down toward her. Closing her eyes she felt him gently kiss her on the lips. Lazily Raven gazed up into that smile she knew so well. Shaking his head, Beastboy mocked, "Boy. . .It's a good thing you were only supposed to nap for an hour."
Scoffing under her breath, she weakly muttered, "Hmph. . .If you want to call it that." Noticing the sweat on her brow, he suspiciously gazed into her eyes.
"You were dreaming again, weren't you?"
"Yeah. . ." she whispered, staring ahead in a daze. "And it's the same thing over, and over again, with that weird image I still can't make out. But this time everything turned red. Almost like. . .like blood." She replied, as he moved a strand of loose hair from the side of her face. "I'm telling you, Gar. If this don't stop soon, I'm not going to want to sleep at all."
Unable to help himself Beastboy just couldn't stay serious for very long. Giving Raven a mischievous smirk he replied,
"Uhh. . .well, if you're scared. I can always come and keep you company." Although deeply troubled, the nerve of his frisky comment caused a tiny grin to cross over Raven's face. Narrowing her eyes she coolly replied, "I don't think so. . ."
"Aww, come on. Haven't I been a good boy and respected you all year?" Knowing without a doubt that was true, she nodded.
"Yeah. But it's still better not to take any chances."
"But why? I thought you trusted me?" Knowing her true feelings, Raven inhaled deeply, then dared to confess.
"I do. . .But I wasn't talking about you. . ."
Gaping at her, a surprised grin crossed his face. "Oh?"
"Umm-Hmm." She whispered, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. "Now will you get out of here so I can change?" Giving her a devilish grin, he leaned forward and asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to stick around and-"
"NOW, Gar. . ." She sharply replied, causing him to jump off the bed. "Yes. . .I am so gone." He said, quickly heading for the door. "In fact I'm already here, see?" Shaking her head, Raven headed for her closet and replied, "Tell the others I'll be there in a minute. . ." Now she watched as he hesitated, then turned back around.
"Uh. . .Well. Cyborg and Star already left. They're going to meet us at the restaurant. Robin called and said he's running late. . ."
"AGAIN?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow in a skeptical manner. "What does this make. The third time?"
"Yeah. But this is the five-year anniversary of our being a team. He promised Star he'd meet them there. Soooo. . .it looks like we'll be going in my car tonight. Which means we'll be alone." he playfully cooed. Catching onto his little hint, Raven glanced at him out the corner of her eye and added,
"Which means that maybe, you'll finally be able to talk to me about whatever it is you've been avoiding?"
Completely caught off guard by her allegation, Beastboy's playful expression slowly disappeared and his eyes widened with apprehension. As with recent times before, he found himself growing so agitated that he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. For as long as he'd dated her, that penetrating gaze of hers was one thing he never could handle. Letting out a nervous chuckle, he muttered, "Heh. . .heh. Uh. . .I don't know what you're talking about. . . I haven't been avoiding anything." he stammered, breaking out into a nervous sweat. Noticing this familiar reaction, Raven raised an eyebrow watching as he continued to fidget. "Uh. . .I'll think I'll go warm the car. . ."
Glaring at his reflection through her mirror, she watched as he quickly darted off. "Yeah. You do that. . ."
Slowly shaking her head, Raven scowled and muttered, "I rest my case. . ."

Thirty minutes later. . .

Although Starfire looked beautiful on the outside in her silky pink evening gown, she certainly didn't feel that way. With a knot in the pit of her stomach, she watched as Cyborg stood up, looking over the maze of tables, servers, and customers until he spotted Beastboy and Raven in the front of the restaurant.
"Hey there they are." Leaning back in her chair, Starfire slowly folded her arms.
"Um-Hmm. But there is still no Robin?" Giving her a nervous glance, Cyborg cleared his throat. "Nope. No Robin." He exclaimed, waving an arm out to get their attention.
"Over here."
By then the sharply dressed couple had approached the table.
"Hey guys. . .Sorry we're late. Did we miss out on anything?"
"Well. . .If you count customers fighting over a table, or two waiters bumping into each other. No. . ." His voice trailed off when he noticed how pretty Raven looked in her navy blue cocktail dress. Giving her a second glance, Cyborg just couldn't help himself. "Whoa Raven. . .I'm not used to seeing you all decked out, girl. You look good!"
"Yeah, tell me about it." Beastboy playfully cut off, in a very crafty voice. "She looks hot enough to stop traffic. . .that's for sure!"
"I'll say. . ." Although still perturbed with him, his unexpected compliment threw her so off guard that she began to blush.
"Uh. . .Thanks." She whispered, watching as he pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit down. By the clever grin on his face, Raven knew he was trying to make peace through flattery. And sadly enough, it was indeed working. Coolly smiling in return, Raven sat down next to a very quiet Starfire. Noticing the upset expression on her face, Beastboy wanted to lighten the tense moment, he quickly replied, "And she's not the only one who looks good. Starfire's a knock out, too!"
"Why, thank you. . ." she chuckled, rather appreciative that he noticed. "And you also look like a killer of ladies." As the others smiled, Cyborg playfully leaned toward her and said,
"You mean, a lady killer, don't ya?"
Feeling her face heat up, Starfire let out an embarrassed snicker. "Yes. . .Yes that's what I meant. And I cannot wait to see what Robin looks like. I will probably not even recognize him." Giving her a playful peer, Beastboy replied,
"Oh, I'm sure you will. The dude will be the only one in here wearing a mask with a tuxedo!"
"Speaking of Robin. Since we're all the way in the back of the restaurant, I think it would be smart if I went and met him up front." Cyborg replied, now standing up from the table. At the same time, Beastboy quickly jumped back to his feet.
"And I think I'll tag along." Now he looked down at the surprised expression on Raven's face. "If that's ok. . ."
Assuming that he was only trying to avoid her again, Raven glared down at the table and muttered, "Whatever. . ."
In a tone that was cold enough for him to get the message. Swallowing hard, he nervously whispered, "Let's go. . ."

By the time they got to the front of the restaurant, the guilt had caught of with Beastboy, causing his head to shake with frustration. Already knowing the true picture, Cyborg looked at his best friend and asked, "Uh. . .I take it you still haven't talked to her, yet."
Swallowing down a lump in his throat, Beastboy could once again feel himself break out into a nervous sweat. "Dude. . ." he hissed in a cracked voice. "I don't even know where to start. . ." Raising an eyebrow Cyborg mocked, "Simple. . .How about from the beginning. . ."
"Even that's hard!" he fussed. "Every time I try, I freeze up and babble like an idiot!"
"So? Since when did that ever stop you?" he playfully mocked. Not finding it so amusing, Beastboy sighed with frustration.
"Dude. . .I'm serious. For as long as I've been with Raven, I still don't know how to read her yet. And what I have to say is so-MAJOR. . .that I really don't know what her reaction will be."
Before he had a chance to say anything further, Cyborgs communicator went off. Giving Beastboy a look of dread, he flipped it open to find himself staring at the nervous expression on Robins face. "Uh. . .Something's come up. . ."
Slowly shaking his head he replied, "Dude, don't say it. . ."
"And I won't be able to make it. . ." As Cyborg moaned under his breath, Robin hopelessly shrugged. "Look, I'm sorry man. But this is really important."
"When haven't we heard that before?" Beastboy muttered under his breath. "So where are you this time?"
"I can't get into details, but I'll explain everything when I get back. . ." By the way he began to fidget, Cyborg already knew what was coming. "Uh. . .Could you break the news to Star, for me?" Gaping at the nerve of his request, Cyborg scoffed and replied, "Dude. . .Why can't you tell her yourself?"
"Well, I would but. . .my hands are tied. Besides. . .I don't know how long it'll be before I get back. Please?" Sighing with frustration, Cyborg reluctantly replied,
"Alright, man. But this is the last time I do your dirty work. . ."
Nodding with relief, Robin replied, "Understood. And thanks. . .I owe you one." As his face quickly disappeared, Cyborg muttered,
"Boy if I had a nickel for everytime you said that. . ."
At the same time, a now very nervous Beastboy attempted to spin around. "Uhhh. . .I'll go meet you by the car. . ."
"Ohh no! I'm not facing the Starfiring-squad alone!" He said, dragging him by the shirt collar. "You're coming with me!"
"Great. . ." he muttered through his teeth. "Like facing one isn't enough!"
"Yup." Cyborg replied with a derisive chuckle. "It's times like this where I'm glad I'm SINGLE!"

Before the two boys even reached the table, Raven could already pick up on their uneasy vibes. She watched as they silently looked from her to Starfire, as though not knowing where to begin. Clearing his throat, Cyborg timorously replied, "Looks like the parties over, girls." Feeling the disappointment overwhelm her, Starfire asked, "He is not coming, is he?"
"No. . .I'm afraid, not. . .I'm sorry, Star." he answered, watching the hurt expression on Starfires face, immediately flashed into one of anger. "Oooooooh!"
She hollered, furiously slamming her fist so hard on the table, that it caused two glasses two overturn. As she got up and stalked toward the front, Ravens head slowly began to shake.
Keenly raising an eyebrow, she muttered, "Not as sorry as Robin will be when he gets back. . ."