Chapter 1
She steped towards the wormhole, uneasily, she turned to face her friends."Please, must this really be our future?" she asked pleadingly. No one responded. "Is there nothing I can do to change
it?" Nightwing slowly walked towards her, and looked at her, closely in the eye.
"I'm
sorry, Star. There isn't time." he gently took her hand and placed the
clock that Warp had stolen, for a moment
she lowers her head in defeat. Nightwing places a friendly hand on her
shoulder, as she slowly looks up at him. She smiled at him tenderly,
tears forming in her eyes. Knowing she was ready, he took a few steps
back, joining the
broken team. She took a step foward towards the wormhole and
disappeared in a flash of light. Beast Boy looked
uncertainly at the baby.
"Who's up for baby-sitting?"
"I'm heading back to Gotham," Nightwing simply said.
"But-" Cyborg started.
"We didn't make any promises getting back. And anyway, I have business to take care off." he turned his back on the
group before disappearing into the dark.
"Well?" Beast Boy looks hopefully at the remaining team mates.
"I'm up for it," Raven said quietly.
"Me too," Cyborg smiled.
"So, she came back?" Batgirl's voice asked, through the communicator.
"She went back," Nightwing responded, "Now where is he?"
"Where do you think he is?" she asked, heatedly, "He's with them." he could hear a couple of grunts in the background.
"Need a hand?" he asked, quietly.
"No," she responded, "All done here. Look, just call him when he gets back, O.K? He just retreated up there when he
heard you were paying a visit."
"I think I'll wait."
"Your death wish," Batgirl muttered.
"Do you think anyone would adopt him?" Beast Boy asked, as they dropped the baby Warp at the orphange.
"Maybe, if he's lucky." Raven muttered, as they headed back towards the destroyed tower.
"What should we do now?" Beast Boy asked quietly, the snow seemed thicker than usual.
"Survive the cold winter's night," Cyborg murmured. They slowly reached the tower, both Beast Boy and Raven gasped at
it's apparent state.
"I can't believe it..." Raven murmured.
"Neither can I." Beast Boy nodded.
"The rooms are the only thing intact," Cyborg sighed quietly.
Oracle,
well known to help in the cyber world, rested her head gently on the
key board in the batcave. Batgirl and Robin
had taken off earlier, cutting off their com-links. She smiled grimly
to herself. 'They're all becoming like him.' After hearing from the boy
wonder, Starfire had returned, Batman had quickly took refudge to the
Justice League tower. Slowly she lifted her head, from the key board,
at the sound of a soft beep. It was Nightwing.
"Yeah?" she asked, pressing the button.
"Anything I need to know?" he asked.
"Batgirl probaly mentioned it already, but Batman's up with the League."
"She mentioned it," Nightwing sighed, "And both aren't responding, why?"
"Being stubborn," Oracle simply responded, leaning back on her chair, "How've you been, former boy-wonder?"
"Fine. Just took care of some business at Jump City."
"I heard, so she came back, huh?"
"We sent her back."
"Shouldn't time for us change than?" Orcale murmured, typing a few things in the bat-computer.
"If time were to change, it would have done so by now."
"You have a point there," Oracle sighed, pushing up her glasses, that was slipping of her nose.
"I think I'll be heading back to the Haven," Nightwing announced, bored, before cutting his line. Oracle sighed, turning
around to see Alfred approaching her.
"They'll never change," the English butler sighed.
"They are Bruce's kids," she added, she stole a quick glance at her old costume, which still hung, next to Dick's old
Robin suit.
"A lot has happened." Alfred murmured, following her gaze.
"It's
been a long time," she added, "Life has been busy for all of us."
smiling at the aging man that stood behind her, Barbara Gordon patted
the butler before walking out of the cave. It had been almost three
years since she gave up the
role of Batgirl. Another girl, however, found her way to the life of
Batgirl, steeling the suit, avenging the murmuder
of her parents. Cassandra Cain, however didn't stay at Wayne Manor, but
with Barbara at her apartment, where she learnt
the skills of original Batgirl.
Raven studied her old bed room. Cyborg was right, the rooms were the only thing that hadn't been destroyed. She slowly glided past old belongings she had left behind. She stopped short at a picture that had been taken many years ago, before Starfire's disappearance. She closed her eyes, remembering that Nightwing... Robin tried endlessly to search for their lost friend, till eventually, as months went by he gave up. She remembered Beast Boy leaving the group to fight crime on his own, before joining the 'show-biz'. Cyborg had remained in the tower, having no where else to go, and also hoping that one-day the group would get back together. Opening her eyes, she slowly picked up the pickture, rubbing the dust it had collected away. Maybe there was hope. Maybe Starfire was still out there, waiting to be found. And maybe, maybe one day the group would one day get back together.
Beast Boy walked around the tower. Almost everything had been destroyed. He shivered, as he walked past broken windows,
which reminded him of the Titans broken friendship. Moments later he found himself back in the main room. He remembered
this place clearly, especially the times where he would argue with Cyborg with what to eat. His smile faded, when he
remembered the last time when Starfire was here. He was arguing with Cyborg over the game station, when Raven had
refused to give him back his nail clipper. Robin was playing at the boom box, the music blaring. Starfire was still new
to the human custom.
"I guess she'll know..." he said to himself, before heading back to his room.
Dick Grayson stared quietly out the window, he still could see the snow decending from the sky. He was still in shock, seeing his oldest friend suddenly appear. Robin had quickly called him about spotting Starfire looking for help. Dick knew very well that Oracle... Barbara was upset about this. Especially the feelings he had harboured, along time ago for his alien friend. What troubled him more was the fact Barbara had suddenly become quiet. Usually when he contacted her this late, she was still full of energy, and would talk to her heart's content. He glanced uncertainly at the invitation that sat on the kitchen table. Barbara had sent it to him, weeks before. Bruce had asked him to spend Christmas with the family. He knew very well, everyone was expecting him to be there. Tim Drake, his younger brother, Cassandra, the new Batgirl that looked up to him, and especially Barbara, who still wanted to be part of his life, no matter how many times he mistreated her. 'She never really knows when to give up,' he smiled to himself. He still loved her, but with the enemies he had made here at Bludhaven, he didn't want his family to get hurt by these people, though they were nothing compared to the Joker. Something in his guts told him that one of them would get hurt, if they ever met up with these people, and he didn't want to take that risk, not after what happened to Starfire...
"I had enough of this," Robin grunted, kicking Two Face in the guts as hard as he could. The villian groaned in pain, as he hit the ground. Robin quickly tied up the villian and disappeared before the Gotham Police arrived. After Commissioner James Gordon retired, Commissioner Caroline Greenway took charge, destroying the legendary bat-signal. Lucky for the dark knights, some of Gotham's Police still respect the fact that they help fight the villians who roam the streets, and go against Greenway's orders to arrest them if spotted. Hidden in the shadows, he witnessed the police praising what had happened, before they arrived. He smiled to himself, these people were new to the force, he could tell. 'Maybe they aren't so bad,' he concluded to himself, 'the detectives trained them well,'
"Thought I'd never see the day," Wally West whistled over the phone, "So, where's he now?"
"Back at the Haven," Barbara sighed, "You know him, always runs away."
"How did he take it though?"
"I'm not sure exactly, he didn't stay on too long to chat." Barbara sighed, resting her arms on the balcony railing.
"Do you think it'd be a good idea for me to check up on him?"
"I don't think so. Running away means, 'Back off, I need time to think,'." Wally laughed at her impersination of the man
that had walked out of her life.
"You still got it in you, Red."
"I know," she smiled to herself.
"So, is he coming this year?"
"I don't think so, he hasn't got back to me about it, which normally means no." Barbara closed her eyes breifly, when
Wally didn't respond, "It's going to be another quiet Christmas."
"I'm going to talk to him, despite what he may do to me, I'm going to make him come."
"Wally, I-" Wally had already hung up. Groaning, Barbara pressed the off button on the cordless phone and walked back to
the warm apartment. She noticed that Batgirl... Cassandra was already in her room, fast asleep. She wrapped the black
robe around herself tightly, as a slight chill filled the room. She turned around to find an opened window.
"Hello?" she whispered awkwardly, "Is anyone there?" when no responce came, she made her way to the window and shut it
tightly. Shaking her head, dismisivly, she went to bed.
He awoke at the sound of crashing. Cautiously, Cyborg followed the sounds, to the main room, where most of the furniture
had been destroyed.
"Who's there?" he asked, his voice dangerous. When no one responded, he noticed some of his robotic repairers had been
destroyed. "Anyone there?" he asked. Slowly a figure came out, her clothes had been torn, but unmistakenly it was her.
"Cyborg?" she asked. She even sounded the same.
"Starfire? Is that you?"