Chapter 2
Going Up & After

SilentlyWatches: It is fitting that you got to become the first reviewer for Collapse from Misunderstandings. I was trying to at least get the style of your story to match this spin-off and I used some of the developments that occurred in Coincidence and Consequence to get a level of plot down for Collapse. There will be a number of notable events on the side of the Titans (such as those referenced in Consequence, such as the death of Red-X and in this chapter, Robin sending Star and BB to Canada) and other events not mentioned that further disrupt the Titans. Based upon the portrayal of Robin and Starfire in both installments, you can be sure that they won't be very sympathetic. Beast Boy, on the other hand, I seemed to notice there was a bit of change regarding his attitude on Raven - he will get his moment of development sometime in the story - I'd say quite a bit into it. And thanks for the shout-out at the end of Consequence - it gave a nice little boost to Collapse.

amado15: I think there was enough character movements - you just have to imagine it. Some things are better to be assumed.

And to all of those who still doubt SilentlyWatches that this story had her involvment - this story was my idea, SilentlyWatches merely greenlit the story a few weeks ago (when I started). I am more than proud to be a part of the Misunderstandings series, and even if she asked me to write this, I would do so very gladly.

Disclaimer: Was Robin the only Titan to see Raven in less than her leotard (the "bikini" in Birthmark)? If so, I don't own the Teen Titans franchise; it belongs to DC Entertainment, Glen Murakami, and Warner Bros., nor do I own the Misunderstandings story, which belongs to SilentlyWatches.

Now, let's continue the story.

Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth had finished moving their things from their former HIVE base to a storage facility at Fort Pell, Montana. After doing so, Gizmo sent a fake alert on the BOLO bringing Robin and Starfire to the now empty base. Raven, meanwhile, had brought some of her things to the facility at Fort Pell while the rest of her belongings remained in storage in Jump City.

Now at Fort Pell, their training for the Perseus Initiative could now begin. The four of them each knew what was at stake - not only was their entry to the world of mercenaries, but also their status as non-criminals. As Ruiz reminded them when they were first recruited only a few days earlier, "Should you fail your basic or be deemed a disruptive element, you will be tried and convicted in a military tribunal for espionage and subsequently imprisoned."

Jinx thought, these stakes could not be much higher. Not just for us, but also for Raven. She gave up the Titans for us and if we fuck this up, she'll have nowhere to go.

Currently, the four members of the HIVE Five were awaiting their physicals in the doctor's office at Fort Pell. They needed to pass their physical if they were to move on to training - and if they failed it, they knew the consequences of it.

Suddenly, the doctor's assistant, a bright twenty-something medical student, called out in a light voice, "Nirupama Dasgupta, report for your physical."

Jinx thought, Better now or never. This is it.

She got up from her chair and walked out into the doctor's office. Jinx soon met with the doctor, a Doctor Sam Whitaker. The doctor said, "Okay then, Miss Dasgupta."

Jinx requested, "Call me Jinx, please."

Dr. Whitaker smiled, "Okay then, Jinx. Let's begin. Please take off your dress."

Jinx complied, slipping off her black dress, leaving her just in a pink bra and a back pair of panties. Normally, Jinx was not wearing underwear, but she knew what a physical entailed, so she decided to wear underwear. And besides, there was only one person that Jinx would show herself in the buff to.

The doctor grabbed a stethoscope from his cabinet, putting the earbuds in his ears as he placed the bell on Jinx's chest, calmly hearing the beat of Jinx's heart, noticing that her heart was functioning normally, as if there was nothing wrong with it.

Then, the doctor shifted his focus from her heart to her lungs, monitoring how Jinx breathed, seeing if there was a problem that could manifest itself during training or on the field.

Much to Jinx's relief, her lungs were working normally - no noticeable defects that could prove to be a problem. So far, so good. Just a little bit more, then it's on Baran, Giz, and Rae.

Then, the doctor put away the stethoscope and pulled out a sphygmomanometer (or blood pressure meter to people that are not doctors). He attached the strap around Jinx's arm and began to squeeze the air valve rapidly, testing to see the level of Jinx's blood pressure.

Jinx proved to have a desired blood pressure of one hundred eighteen over seventy-three (or 118/73). With blood pressure, pulse, and breath measured, it was now a test of Jinx's reflexes.

The doctor requested, "Please sit up on the table."

Jinx propped herself up on the table, awaiting for the doctor to begin the test. Dr. Whitaker grabbed a small hammer designed for testing reflexes and began testing the pinkette.

At random times, Whitaker motioned the hammer against Jinx's knee, testing just how long it took for Jinx to react to the impact, which ultimately proved to be remarkably quick. Jinx's reactions were naturally fast.

Once that was done, testing the reflexes on her knees and elbows, Jinx had the test of her eyes to see just how well she could see. The doctor pulled up a random eye chart to test Jinx's pink eyes. Few people knew that the doctor had several different eye charts so nobody could try to cheat and fake having good eyesight. The doctor had already seen several people try to cheat the system - they got kicked out of Perseus quickly afterwards, never getting a second chance. One of the big no-no's of getting into Perseus was lying on your application.

The doctor applied an eyepatch to Jinx's left eye before asking, "Please read the third row."

Jinx asked, "Letters or phonetics?"

The doctor replied, "Letters will suffice. Once you begin training, you will use phonetics."

Jinx quickly read off the letters, "C, F, E, L."

"Sixth row."

"W, Z, P, M, G, V, Q."

"Bottom row."

"A, X, I, U, B, H, D, J, N."

"Nice work. Now, let's proceed with the other eye."

The doctor flipped the eyepatch to Jinx's right eye. "Read the second row."

"K, O, R."

"Fifth row."

"U, X, F, E, G, M."

"Eighth row."

"A, C, H, W, R, Z, H, Y."

"Excellent work, Jinx. Now, let's proceed with the test of your ears."

The doctor pulled out a sort-of flashlight and used it to examine Jinx's ears, seeing if there were any defects that could affect her hearing. Much like the other components of Jinx's physical, her ears were found to be in condition for field duty.

"What next, doc?"

The doctor soon pulled out two miniature speakers, showing them to Jinx as he soon began to explain

"The hearing test and that will be it. Then, it will be Mr. Flinders' turn. I will be broadcasting sporadic noises on two sides.

"If you hear this noise", the doctor said as a low-pitched shriek emerged from the speaker on the left, "raise your right hand. If you hear this noise," he continued as a beep came from the speaker on the right, "raise your left hand. Got it?"

Jinx replied, "Got it. Let's begin."

The doctor placed the two speakers on small platforms before Jinx followed. He signaled Jinx that the test has begun, getting her alert for her ears to begin listening.

Back at Titans Tower, while the new Perseus recruits were getting their physicals, life continued for the Titans.

Robin and Starfire were currently in the medical bay with Beast Boy, who was still recovering from the massive damage inflicted upon him when he tried attacking Raven (and failed miserably when Raven sent one of Starfire's starbolts his way).

Starfire asked, "Love Robin, have you found anything on Traitor Raven?"

Robin responded, "No. Ever since we got that bogus BOLO result, they seem to have vanished off the face of the Earth. Even if we got a result, we can't go after them officially. If anyone finds out we're going after them, we'll be the ones in trouble."

Beast Boy lamented, "Because they got their slates cleaned for some ridiculous reason. Why would the government choose to pardon them?"

Robin commented, "Damned shady government officials. Always manipulating things for their way. Regardless of what they're going to do, they don't deserve redemption. Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth have stolen so much and destroyed a lot, they should be behind bars or frozen like the Brotherhood. I still don't fucking understand why Gizmo and Mammoth were released along with Rancid, Mumbo, and Control Freak.

"And Raven, she executed Dr. Light, who was the only one that could tell us who has been upgrading these criminals. She must be taken down."

Starfire inquired, "Does Operation Exorcist even exist?"

Robin thought, And she finally asks if I have contingencies. Won't be long before she realizes that I have plans against all four of them.

Robin finally answered, "It does, Starfire. As much as I hate to admit it, Raven was right about that. I don't know how she found out, though. I had her sever the bond before I began designing Exorcist."

Beast Boy questioned, "So was what Raven said about Exorcist correct?"

Robin replied, "Yes. Six months ago, I designed the plans for Operation Exorcist. I got the cage and then contacted the League to see who would ward it.

"And yes, Zatanna warded them. I don't know why, though, but she was more than willing to. Not to mention being the only one willing. Doctor Fate refused to do it."

Beast Boy commented, "Guess magic-users don't want to create prisons for magic users, even demonlings that have sadistic urges."

Starfire noted, "Maybe Zatanna could help us locate where Raven has vanished to. We cannot let her get too far."

Robin lamented, "Raven teleported away using her soul-self. I can't track teleportation, neither can Zatanna. Her communicator was left behind in the Tower when she came on Cyborg's stupid request."

Beast Boy noted, "Hope she doesn't wind up on Slade's side."

Meanwhile, also in Titans Tower, Cyborg was currently manning the computer, hoping to find whoever supplied Mumbo, Johnny Rancid, Control Freak, and Dr. Light as well as enhanced the White Monster and Plasmus.

Cyborg thought, Maybe interrogating Light wouldn't have done a damn thing. We already interrogated Mumbo, Rancid, and Control Freak. None of them had any useful information, just that they were shipped parts by an anonymous benefactor. Whoever this guy is, he is brilliant for sure.

Thus far, Cyborg had tried to track the shipping information back to the benefactor, but he discovered that the benefactor was definitely brilliant, knowing how Cyborg could track the shipments, hiring random individuals to ship the upgrades from random post offices across the city. This was definitely too random to suggest the guy was dumb. If they were all shipped from the same place, then a pattern would be surmised.

Still, Cyborg was hoping there was some pattern in this man's madness, hoping that there was some clue to see where he was headed next, if he was planning on giving enhancements to other relatively low-level villains. And if destroying the Titans were his goal, then his job just became ten times easier upon Raven's departure from the Titans, which was national news for days.

Lisa came into the living room, watching as Cyborg was trying to pin the pieces together of the recent villain attacks in the city.

Cyborg asked, "Hey, Lisa?"

Lisa countered, "What do you need, Cy?"

Cyborg responded, "A second set of eyes. I'm trying to figure out who could have been responsible for all of this. Someone who could dabble in both science and magic."

"Not a whole lot of people. Have to be methodical, willing to wait. Only guy that I can think of is Slade."

Cyborg slapped his head in frustration, coming to a realization. He cried out, "Of course! Slade is a technical genius! He created all of those goddamn robots and the nanoscopic probes and the nanobots in the suit he used to control Terra. He knows about dark magic. He summoned a fire demon and he worked for Trigon. It all makes sense! Slade's the only person that could have done this."

"Now we have to find him. Like that will be easy. He only shows up when he chooses to show up. How the hell does he do that? Nobody should be that good."

"Because he always pulls his punches. He may be Slade, but he used to go by Deathstroke. What do you know about him?"

"That he is nothing short of a monster. He can make a man suffer so much it is like they have died fifty times, and makes people want to have died. I am honestly glad he hasn't been that cruel. He is a cold-blooded killer."

"Now we just have to prove it was Slade. We need to find evidence, and that is going to be harder than making a conjecture. No matter how much it seems easy to pin another crime on the bastard. Looks like Robin's mad-dog hatred of Raven is about to be overshadowed by his animosity and desire to take down Slade."

"How is Robin like when Slade is on the loose?" When Cyborg gave a discouraging face, Lisa continued, "I take it that it ain't good."

"So how about we keep this a secret until we can prove it? Don't want Robin to be going nuts over a faulty direction."

"No matter how much of a dickhead he is." When Cyborg gave her a fairly scornful look, she continued, "Well, he is."

Over in Steel City, life also continued on for the Titans East. In his room, Speedy was working on his arrows - he needed to create his arrows for battle, seeing how most (if not all) stores did not sell the arrows Speedy used in battle, especially the trick arrows.

Speedy was still thinking about his conversation with Aqualad a few nights prior. Are we going to break up? If we do, who is going to fill in the gaps. With the Titans, it was Lisa. Here, we never had a sixth member, except for Cyborg, who was helping us get on our feet. All the other Titans are content where they are.

Speedy was soon interrupted by a knocking on the door. Speedy quickly grabbed his bow and pulled out one of his completed arrows before aiming it. Speedy questioned, "Who is it?"

He was met with, "Let me in, Roy. And drop the bow and arrow." With that, Speedy set down the bow and arrow and walked up to the door to see Bumblebee at the door.

Speedy greeted, "Karen, what are you doing here?"

Bumblebee replied, "Needed to check in. Whatcha doing?"

"Working on my arrows. I'm running a little low on my basic arrows and some of the trick ones as well."

Bumblebee walked in and saw Speedy's arrow workshop. "Okay, but something seems off."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't seem to be making them as fast as you normally do."

"Have you been watching me?"

"Something just tells me that you've slowed down. You should have had another ten arrows done by now. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing, Karen."

"I call bullshit, Roy. I know when something is on your mind. I can just feel it. What is it?"

"I guess it's about Raven's sudden departure. It's gotten me thinking about what if we suddenly begin to divide. What's going to happen then?"

"I honestly can't tell you. The Titans were fortunate to have another member on hand to patch up the spot left by Raven. We don't have one. I guess, the best we can hope for is not dividing."

"Maybe, but sooner or later, we are going to face that decision. I'm absolutely sure of it."

"But let's not fret on it until it actually comes."

"See ya later, Karen."

As Bumblebee walked out the door, she muttered to herself, "What will happen when it comes?"

Over at Fort Pell, the four new recruits of the Perseus Initiative were awaiting the results of their physicals, sitting patiently in the waiting room for Doctor Whitaker to go over the results.

Jinx asked, "So how did the physicals go?"

Gizmo replied, "I guess it went okay, especially with me being this size", as he pointed out his small size.

Raven noted, "Sort of explains why you changed your name to Mikron O'Jeneus. Who changes their name to Mikron? What kind of name is that?"

Gizmo answered, "It's based on the word micron, which is equivalent to ten to the negative sixth power. Like in micrometre."

Mammoth commented, "Makes sense. I think the doc's coming."

Dr. Whitaker soon arrived in the waiting room. Jinx thought, This is it. Our fates are revealed.

The doctor arrived with an unknown man besides him. This man was obviously military, with his combat fatigues, sidearm on his belt, and beret. He looked to be at least forty years old with hints of gray hair along his black-haired scalp. His face was entirely clean-shaven as his now cold blue eyes stared at the four of them. Doctor Whitaker said, "Okay, I have finished with your physical evaluations. You all have passed, some with flying colors. I'll let him explain the rest."

The doctor walked away, leaving the military man with Jinx, Raven, Gizmo, and Mammoth. He shouted, "Rise", without any emotion being expressed on his face, as if he was incredibly pissed off. Not even Raven would wish to trifle with him.

The four proceeded to stand up, waiting to hear what he had to say. He continued, "I am Lieutenant Mark Hollingsworth, your new commanding officer. The four of you will begin training tomorrow at 0600 hours at Basinger Hall. Do not be late, or you will be disciplined severely. I expect the most out of you four.

"Dismissed."

With that, Lt. Hollingsworth walked away from the four of them. Raven deadpanned, "He seems charming."

The next day soon arrived, and the four of them soon began training. Gizmo, Jinx, Mammoth, and Raven were awaiting Lt. Hollingsworth to arrive, just standing in the gym in Basinger Hall.

Hollingsworth arrived and barked, "Okay, recruits. For now on, when you are in training or briefing, when you encounter a superior officer, that stance will not do."

Raven inquired, "Then what stance will work, Lieutenant?"

Another man soon came into the room, emerging right next to Lt. Hollingsworth, looking at his newest trainees. This man had a short crew cut as he emerged in his green combat fatigues, his face completely devoid of emotion. Raven easily tasted the honey and tin of fear and concern.

The lieutenant introduced, "I would like you to meet Staff Sergeant Baker. He will be responsible for your strategic and courtesial training. Baker, you may begin."

Hollingsworth proceeded to walk away from the group of five as Baker began to speak in a neutral tone. "Okay then, here is the first thing you need to know. Stance. Unless you are told otherwise by a superior officer, you will follow this stance. If you hear attention, you will enter this stance."

He proceeded to demonstrate what he was talking about, as he proceeded to move his feet out so they were roughly one foot apart. His hands were behind his back, holding each other as his posture was straight.

"Do you understand what I have just told you? If you are asked a question, you are to respond. You are not to talk unless spoken to. Understand?"

The four responded, "Yes, staff sergeant."

"For now on, when you address a superior officer, it will be as sir, regardless of rank. Whether they be warrant officers, majors, hell even the President, you will address them as sir unless they say otherwise."

Raven asked, "And what if they happen to be a female?"

"Then you will call them madam or ma'am, if that is what she would like to be called. Do I make myself clear?"

The four responded in unison, "Yes, sir."

"Now, we can begin your training. We'll begin with your intellectual training. This is as important as your physical training will be, so pay attention. This may save your life someday, if you manage to get into the field.

He doubts us, he'll be sorry that he doubted us. We will get through Perseus training.

"Please follow me to the lecture hall."

With that, the four of them followed SSgt. Baker to the lecture hall, awaiting the lesson that he intended to teach them.

It has now been roughly two weeks since Raven departed from the Teen Titans (now known simply as the Titans), and things were going well with training for the Perseus Initiative at Fort Pell.

Their training for the first week was largely in military formalities such as the NATO phonetics (which Mammoth wasn't performing excellently in, unlike the other three), stance and other military manners, and strategizing (which Jinx was given more emphasis on seeing as she was the team leader). According to Hollingsworth, 'knowing is half the battle'.

Most of the recent training has been more physical, testing their strength and abilities, as well as conditioning them in hand-to-hand combat. After this, it was weapon and specialty training for the others. Raven and Jinx were expecting currently additional training in magic to enhance their abilities while Gizmo was expecting additional training in computer hacking and mechanics, whilst Mammoth was likely going to get more weaponry training.

The team had recently finished close combat training with Sergeant Miyagi, one that soon was causing some significant changes to some of them.

Miyagi was testing their skills in non-power hand-to-hand combat (hoping to make a point and not be turned to ash in the process).

First he tested Gizmo, the smallest of them, managing to grab a hold of him despite the tiny techy's quick movements. Miyagi commented, "Not a whole lot to work with. You are going to need some technological help. Do you know the R & D lab?"

Gizmo responded, "Research and Development. Where Perseus makes their tech. I do, and I've been there evaluating my designs and gadgets for a little bit. Trying to refine them."

Miyagi said, "Return to the attention with the others. Next up, Miss Dasgupta."

As Gizmo walked back to where Mammoth and Raven currently stood and waited, Jinx walked up to Sergeant Miyagi, readying herself for hand-to-hand combat.

Miyagi swung a punch at Jinx, who blocked it before delivering a kick that sent Miyagi to the grass-filled ground. Jinx ran up to Miyagi for another blow, but Miyagi got back up and punched Jinx in the stomach before violently grabbing her by her hair (one of her pink horns), lifting her up over the ground.

Jinx tried to attack Miyagi, but he either blocked her attacks or let them pass as they were out of range for her to impact him. Miyagi told her, "Your hair style may have worked while you were fighting in the streets, but out here, it is a terrible idea. Makes you an easy target for someone to grab you and give you no mercy. I suggest you visit the barbershop and get a haircut more sufficient for this type of combat.

"Roth, your turn", he said as he dropped Jinx onto the ground. Jinx soon got up and walked over to where Gizmo and Mammoth were in attention stance as Raven made her way over towards Sgt. Miyagi.

Before starting, Raven asked, "Do you wish me to hold back?"

Miyagi responded, "No. Come at me with all you have."

"Are you sure? I may end up killing you, which wouldn't be good."

"As long as you are not using your magic, throw away."

"If you want to avoid my magic, I'd suggest you avoid my hair."

With that, Raven readied herself for combat with Sgt. Miyagi. He threw the first punch but Raven swiftly dodged it as she sent a spinning sidekick that sent Miyagi back.

Raven charged at Miyagi, who swung another punch that was blocked by Raven. She sent her hand at Miyagi, intending to (superficially) claw him, but he backed away and caught her hand, pushing it back towards her, fingernails pointed at Raven herself. This never got that far as Raven scratched Miyagi on the arm pushing towards Raven, forcing him to let go and tend to his wounded arm.

Miyagi went after Raven again, jumping over her to grab her hair, aiming to yank Raven onto the ground. This attack did not work as he was hoping and found his hand got burned.

Miyagi backed away from Raven, asking her, "What is the deal with your hair?"

Raven responded, "When touched by an attacker, it causes the area touching it to be burned. That's why I told you to avoid my hair."

"And your claws?"

"My fingernails. Dark as coal but tough as diamond. I'd say they are almost unbreakable and even if you got them into me, it wouldn't do any effective damage. Do you want me to heal your hand and arm?"

"Since you brought it on."

Raven hovered over to Miyagi and encased his arm with a blue healing glow, patching it up within mere moments. She did the same thing with his hand, treating the heavy burn.

"Is that good, sir?"

"Much better, now. Flinders, you're up."

Raven walked back to where Gizmo and Jinx were standing as Mammoth walked over towards Miyagi, readying himself for combat.

Miyagi watched as Mammoth charged at him, sending a furious punch Miyagi's way. The instructor ducked beneath the punch before swinging himself onto the brute via Mammoth's arm. He grasped onto Mammoth's hair, jerking on it and causing Mammoth to walk around in random directions. Miyagi soon jumped down behind Mammoth before grabbing his leg, pushing him down.

Miyagi noted, "Much like with Miss Dasgupta, your hair is going to be a problem. And you've got quite a few blind spots. Return to the others."

Mammoth said, "Yes, sir."

Mammoth got up and returned to the others, with Raven tasting the water of his submission. Upon arriving back with the others, still in attention position, Miyagi said, "Okay, you guys have things to improve upon, some more than others. Report back here at 1500 hours tomorrow. Understand?"

The four said, "Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

Once dismissed from their close-combat session with Sergeant Miyagi, Jinx and Mammoth decided to get haircuts as per his recommendation. As much as they wanted to keep their hairstyles intact, they would much rather change them than die.

Raven went with Jinx to the barbershop on base while Gizmo was busy working on his equipment and gadgets over at the research and development labs.

Mammoth soon entered the barbershop while Raven and Jinx were outside.

Raven asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? Do you want to change who you are?"

Jinx countered, "Are you sure you'd love me even if I do this?"

Raven brought her hand up to Jinx's face, saying, "I'd love you no matter what you do to your appearance."

"Then you can understand my decision. Are you getting your hair cut?"

"No. As you saw with Miyagi, it proves to be a weapon against attackers, and my hair now regrows very rapidly. Cutting it wouldn't do a thing. You don't have to do this. I'll be there to protect you, keep you safe. They'll never lay a finger on you if I have anything to say about it."

"But what if we are separated? What if they do try to get to me and you can't be there?"

"Then we hope your hexes can keep them off of you. I'll be damned if I lose you."

"Technically, you're damned if you keep me. Remember, you're..."

"I know", Raven interrupted Jinx before she could finish.

Jinx and Mammoth soon walked into the barbershop while Raven waited for them. There was something on her shoulders that she needed to get out, something that is concerning her.

Just before her lover's haircut was finished, she noticed that Lt. Hollingsworth was headed her way. She quickly got into attention position as he came her way.

Hollingsworth noticed her and asked, "What are you doing outside of the barbershop, Roth?"

Raven answered, "I am waiting for my teammates to be finished with their haircuts. And sir, please call me Raven. Roth is just a pseudonym, an impersonal one at that."

He said, "Okay then."

Soon after, Jinx and Mammoth left the barbershop as Hollingsworth began to walk away. Jinx had her horns cut off, leaving a thick pixie cut in its place. Raven thought, Could have been worse. Just have to clean it up and she'll be good. Mammoth's long reddish locks were cut off, leaving a thin crew cut in its place.

Jinx asked, "So how does it look?"

Raven responded, "It looks beautiful, darling."

Hollingsworth turned around to notice Jinx now holding Raven's hand as they walked back to their quarters from the barbershop. Raven soon noticed their commanding officer was watching them - the feta cheese of disgust was roaring through her mouth.

Back at their quarters, Jinx and Raven were talking with Gizmo and Mammoth (who resided in one on the next floor).

Gizmo inquired, "So, Raven, how are things going since you dumped those kludgeheads two weeks ago?"

Raven answered, "I think it's going well. Though it could be better, seeing as our commanding officer is a homophobe."

Mammoth said, "He's prejudiced against you two. You sensed it?"

Jinx interjected, "She did and she told me. Anything wrong, Rae?"

Raven responded, "I'm just thinking about Victor and Lisa. Maybe I should send them an e-mail, tell them that I'm alive and doing just fine."

Gizmo deadpanned, "Sure and let's lead the Titans right back here for some milk and cookies. The other Titans want our heads on a silver platter, and I'm sure they won't care about the pardons to do it. We can't compromise the base to send an e-mail to them. I know their security measures - they will trace any e-mail back to its source that is received at the Tower."

Jinx added, "Maybe we won't send it here."

Over at Titans Tower, Robin was on the computer, doing a sweep of the city through the traffic cameras. Beast Boy was recovering from his injuries, though a few more weeks were required until he was back to full strength. Cyborg and Lisa were out patrolling in the city, doing a good job against the criminals that dared attack during the Titans' temporary moment of weakness.

However, he soon got an e-mail alert - that somebody just sent an e-mail with priority keywords. Robin opened the e-mail and saw what it read:

Victor and Lisa,

I figured I would check in and tell you that I am still alive, as are Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth. As you probably have heard, we're now officially on our new path, and they are no longer criminals. I hope things are working out at the Tower.

-Raven

Robin, realizing that they (them being Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy) had a prime chance of getting Raven, immediately rushed into the medical bay where Beast Boy was. Robin soon called in Starfire and she appeared there as well.

Beast Boy asked, "What is it dude? What's so important?"

Robin replied, "Raven just sent an e-mail to Cyborg. I've just got the results back on the trace. Pack your bags, you two need to go to Ottowa, Canada. I bet that Raven is still there. And we can't allow her to get away. Covert mission, you two. Tell me what you find. Call me the second you find Raven. Got it?"

Beast Boy replied, "Got it."

Starfire responded, "I have gotten the it."

Back at the base in Fort Pell, Raven's soul-self landed back in the base, her mission having been successful. Raven inquired, "So, was there a trace?"

Gizmo answered, "Yes. They traced it to the terminal in Ottowa. Robin's probably going to send someone to investigate it."

Raven added, "I'm sure of it. Now, how do we communicate with Lisa and Cyborg without raising alarms?"

Okay folks, these aren't the only references to Consequence of Misunderstandings. There are to be plenty more coming throughout the rest of the story. Up next: Lisa begins communicating with Raven, Slade resurfaces underground, and a Thanksgiving with "the kids". We'll also be seeing more of Aqualad and Speedy soon - their part in the collapse won't come until I'd say around two years before the events of Consequence.

storytell18 out.