Chapter 3

He could feel Raven. He was nowhere near her, yet he could feel what was going on. He knew she'd somehow gotten herself in trouble. He smiled at that thought. His perfect half-sister, the one who sacrificed so much to save this… this shithole, this wasteland, for love of it, for love of the lives in it, for the love of her friends, and still, his father preferred to identify her as his daughter before identifying HIM Shyama. The monks of Azarath chose to shelter her and her mother, not him, not his poor mother. No! His mother died protecting him from the stupid humans. She had been raped, and yet she still valued his life. She still tried to love him. She did love him.

He'd show them. He was worth acknowledgement. He was worth effort. He was worth love. He was worth respect.

Trigon had said, "I respect Raven. I respect her for her sheer power, which you lack. To have the power, the courage, and the will to shove me out, to scheme and defeat me, when I took so much from her. Even in a weakened, saddened, odd little form, she held more power than you, my son. You serve your purpose. You serve your purpose well, but your sister… Raven exceeds what is called for from her, even if she does the opposite of what we all expected of her."

And so, Shyama would be sent on another errand for the court. Baby-sitting full demon "children." Don't complain when they burn you, when they rip through your flesh. Learn to heal yourself. Go walk Cerberus. Don't touch the river Styx. Don't cross paths with any of the greater demons. Get out of my way. Go provide a distraction elsewhere.

He'd use Raven's little weaknesses against her. He'd utilize chinks in her armor. He'd start with the green pest. Then move to the orange flying-girl, then Nightwing, then Cyborg. He'd end with her. Their deaths would be her torture.

He felt Raven's heart skip a beat, and his mind returned to the present.

He had to wait, and so he would. He'd wait for as long as necessary.

And hey, getting paid to do it by one of the humans he was going to destroy when this was all over wasn't all that bad either. Who knew idiot corporation owners would pay him to bring down rivals AND the Titans?

Raven's mind processed the facts as she and Changeling burst into the common room. She saw Starfire's eyes light up. She saw Nightwing's confusion. She saw Cyborg about to laugh. She processed that this, Changeling and herself being together, had been expected by Cyborg and Starfire. She also knew that Nightwing would be angry, not remembering that he had dated Starfire, not remembering who else on the team, whether honorary or truly a member, he'd dated. He'd even forget that he'd blessed Cyborg dating Bumblebee. That he'd sanctioned Gar's relationship with Tara when she'd been here. He'd only remember getting very angry when Raven had dated Jericho. He'd remember he'd been angry any time she'd dated anyone but himself. He'd be jealous. Of course, their short "relationship" had consisted of six dates before Raven told him she loved him, but not the way that he wanted.

Of course, their relationship had also been secretive, unlike the other relationships she had had. Unlike this one was about to become. At least this one had been a well-kept secret till now, and that still trumped each of Nightwing's relationships by years. All of his "secret relationships," which everyone had known about, had lasted no more than 6 months. Her relationship with him lasted two months. Two months of hell.

She'd have to remember to use that argument.

Gar looked around, confused for a few seconds. He blushed lightly, turning his skin and odd, darker shade of green before he looked into her eyes, shrugged, pulled her closer to him, and squeezed her hand. He looked at the group. Nightwing's eyes blazed at him from beneath thick brows and the dark mask.

Changeling felt a growl start deep in his chest. He couldn't truly help it, with the way that Robin had treated Raven before and after they had dated, and he couldn't simply ignore the possessive edge he felt toward his love, but he couldn't blame Nightwing for being angry that he'd stolen his ex. At least Nightwing still treated Raven with respect, he supposed. He could imagine that Nightwing could be a jerk toward his ex-girlfriends, and that he could hold a grudge even through the transition from Robin to Nightwing.

Nightwing looked surprised for a few seconds, debating whether he was angry or disappointed. He chose angry. He opened his mouth, about to scream at the blushing, giggling (Raven? Giggling? He'd striven for two months to get her to giggle!)couple. Raven's eyes narrowed, her giggle stopping, just for a second. His mouth slammed shut, and he found he could no longer move it. He growled.

"Look, Robin, I've been dating Beastboy for six years. Without your permission, without your knowledge, and we've definitely trumped your record. How can you complain?" Raven took a breath in, releasing Robin, mostly because it felt wrong to bind a non-criminal, much less a friend.

Robin glared at Gar, then punched him once in the face. "That's for asking out someone I see as a sister."

Cyborg's head turned to face Nightwing. "A sister? You dated your sister?"

"It took me a while to figure out why I was so attached…" Cyborg began to laugh. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Gar got up, grinning at Raven. "Well, that went better than planned."

"Well, that's just sweet, friends, but we must be leaving to reach the warehouse!" Starfire said, flying about.

Everyone shrugged, turning toward the door.

"Ti-" Nightwing began, before STANKBALL wrapped in Raven's power slammed him in the face.

"Come on, guys, let's just go," Raven said.

Starfire giggled and followed her out, the boys just staring at the door, helping Nightwing up. By the time they got to the car, Raven was in the driver's seat, waiting. Soon, they were all sucked through Raven's teleporter and landing in front of the warehouse.

"Raven is the best driver ever!" Starfire squealed.

Everyone rushed inside, meeting the police to find out everything they could. It was a simple burglary, the teenagers who committed the crime were found not far away, and the team returned home.

Raven and Changeling parted ways, fully intending to meet up later to clean his room and, later, to go to bed.

Changeling heard his door close behind him, and reached for his cell phone. He knew, after six years, what Raven's favorite restaurant was, and after a nice date with great food, he'd take her to the theatre, and then to the park, where he'd (hopefully) have the courage to propose.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Raven sat on the sink, two little white sticks in her hands. She stared at the little, mockingly innocent display window, her feet swinging back and forth as her eyebrows furrowed.