The Big One

by Stephen Stryker

Just when the year is off to a quiet start, things start going wrong. Strange, dark days are coming. Can the Titans see through the clues to learn the real threat to the world? And will they survive unscathed? Rated M for a few suggestive scenes and occasional foul language.

3. Chapter 2: Love and Riots

A large man stood up in the shadows at the rear of the club as everything ground to a halt, and the crowd mobbed the floor before the stage, either to see if Raven was injured, or to see why everyone else was headed there. "Well... I suppose the show is over now, unfortunately. Although I must admit, that's one hell of a way to end it. Felling Raven when many villains couldn't do it is quite a feat. And if you can sweep that girl off her feet... I might just be able to use you."

Full Metal Panic

Part Two: Love and Riots

Pain... thin, half-thought notions. Where? Images... a dream... or was it?

A band was playing, loud, raucous, incredibly strange music. She was surrounded by people dancing to it, though she could recognize no one. Not even the band, though something about it was very familiar to her. "Wait, I know who it... it's him!" she exclaimed, lunging to the front of the stage to see him clearly. She reached for him, but inadvertently pushed the mike stand into him, banging him in the mouth. He glared at her angrily, his lips cracked and bleeding, his eyeliner running with black tears. She tried to appologize, but her own lips felt as if they were sewn shut. He cut her off anyway, yelling invectives and obscenities at her, then gave voice to his hatred in song.

I want to smash you to pieces!
I want to smash you up and screaming!
I want to smash you helpless!
Down on the floor!
Smash you until you're not here anymore!

He drew back his guitar to do just that. "NO!" she cried, throwing her hands up in defense, but she couldn't withstand the blow from the instrument, swung with all the fury of a battle axe. The pain was terrible. She dropped to the floor lifelessly, unable to do anything as the crowd danced all over her like a floormat.

He pushed them aside, anger suddenly becoming sorrow and regret, pouring his heart out to her in a stream of appology and affection. He smashed the stage into the rought shape of a boat, laying her in it, and gave her a tender kiss on the lips. Then, he set off on a grand journey into a dangerous land to save her. Monsters lived there, rising from the ground where they hid, and began unleashing their fury at him as he bore her, stiff as a board, over his head. It became quite funny just then as this strong, proud warrior began crying out like a frightened schoolgirl for help, chased by the fire-wielding demons all around them.

Four imposing figures appeared, looking sleepy and annoyed, demanding her. Sheepishly, he lay her before them, but when they saw her condition, they were outraged. He tried to speak with them, appease them, but they only grew angrier.

I didn't mean to... it just sort of...

Happened?! You idiot! Do that again, and we'll smash you right into the floor!

I'm sorry... really sorry-!

Just get out! Get out! Get the hell out of here!

The lad ran as fast as he could back from whence he came. One of them roused the monsters again out of spite, and he ran for his life back to the boat he'd made. She felt very sorry for him, intending to make it up to him later, if she could.

They tried to speak with her, but the pain all through her form welled up again, and all she could do is moan in feeble protest. They relented, and she found herself cradled in thin but very strong arms. Grateful for the peace, she curled up in the darkness, pulling it in around her like a comforting blanket of oblivion, resting her head on their bosom. But her trouble was just beginning.

She found herself stuck in a dense mob of people shrouded in black, wandering aimlessly, and pressing against her from all sides. She could hardly breathe, the air was so thick, and she realized they were all smoking joints, and doing their best to blow smoke into her mouth. She tried to yell at them to leave her alone, but her voice wouldn't respond, her words soft and timid. And then the worst thing possible happened.

One by one, they shed their dark clothing, flinging their robes into the air with a roar like a tidal wave, and underneath were...

Brightly colored garments, dominated by a cheerful, eye-piercing yellow! The sun beamed forth, the land became lush, green and dotted with wildly colored plants. A rainbow spread over them all, butterflies fluttered over happily hopping pastel colored bunnies, and one of them proclamed loudly, "It's time to change from that nasty winter wardrobe into the new spring fashion line!"

"Oh flaming black hell - it's the end of the world!" she gasped in horror as they began closing in on her, holding up skimpy lemon colored garments that only Starfire would be caught dead wearing. She blinked in astonishment as a small being of some kind, wrapped in robes and turban of gold, like Mas or Menos, scampered up and began babbling excitedly in adoration. "Hey Raven Raven Raven zomygod I am like totally your most devoted fan ever yadda-yadda-gimmegobbyslobby...!" It became an unending incoherent blather.

"Oookayy... I'm just going to pretend you're not here and back away-" she began, then gurgled in alarm as it attached itself to her leg, beginning to hump her like a puppy. "Get it off get it off GET IT OFF!" she screamed, kicking it into the mob still intent on forcing her into the obscenely cheerful and much too revealing... whatever they were. She bolted, knocking over several of them like bowling pins, but they all promptly began chasing after her.

It struck her that she had dark powers, and sought to manifest them to use against the enthusiastic hoard, beginning to intone, "Hat-rack, Mazeltov, Sinpost!" but the words were completely wrong. The blackness wouldn't leave her hands, and instead became shackles around her wrists. "Oh, this is just grea - hey, stop it!" she growled, as hands began groping her very rudely. "It had better be you," she snarled warningly, still unable to think of her friend's name, "or you are so dead!"

She gasped as Robert appeared in a shaft of light before her, that handsome, lovely, tortured man, parting the mob like the waters of the Dead Sea. He held forth his hand, saying to her humbly, "I hope you don't mean to kill me, love."

Those simple words burned deep into her heart. Her stomach did flops as she fell against him, her body melting with urgent desire as his arms closed around her, the shackles of blackness crumbling away. She reached for that smooth, soft cheek framed by a jaw of iron, stroking him lovingly as her eyes burned in his. Such a wonderful contradiction of a man. "Oh, Robert... I-"

She couldn't say more, as he pressed against her, taking her lips in a hungry, savage kiss, his tongue sliding along hers like a serpent, twining deep into her mouth. Her stomach turned to jelly, her whole body limp as he pulled her into him. She could feel every muscle moving against her curves, and one thing more, as her fingers curled into his mop of black hair. She trembled as a tickle ran from her loins to burn all through her with carnal hunger. She couldn't speak, but she thought as hard as she could into his soul, 'Please... don't mess around, just... make me yours. Let me partake of your sweet torture, forever... please-'

She blinked in surprise as he threw her over his shoulder, grasping her legs tightly, making her shiver from the raw, animal strength in his hold. But rather than taking her to a bed, she was thrown roughly into a seat, a car seat, she realized. And as she looked around the insides in confusion, she saw that it was Cyborg's T-Car. She reached for his hand, but he was already belting up, his eyes shining with delight as he gazed around the gadget-laiden interior. She gaped at him in shock and disappointment. What was wrong with men, that it didn't matter how much they showered their ladies with feigned devotion and romance, all it took was one glimpse of some shiny man-toy for them to drop everything in their adoration of a stupid machine! "Drive, Raven. You know you always wanted to," he told her eagerly.

She shook her head in disbelief. "Wait... no I didn't! Where in hell did you get that idea-!" But before she could even finish, he had pressed the start button, and that instant, she found herself gripping the wheel in wide-eyed fear as it roared through traffic the wrong way. "You maniac, I can't drive!" she exclaimed, doing her best not to get everyone killed - everyone, because the other Titans were in the car with them.

"You're doin' great, Ray!" Cyborg shouted. "But go faster!" The others joined into a building chorus of "Faster! Faster! Faster! FASTER!" The car was more than willing to obey them, hurdling down the road at ever more terrifying speeds. It didn't help that Beast Boy and Starfire were practically screaming on either side of her head, deafening her and giving her a headache, and making it even more of a struggle to avoid the oncoming traffic and crowds of pedestrians. "Are you all insane?!" she cried, close to tears. "How do you stop this crazy thing!"

"There is no stopping, now," came a voice of silk and stone beside her. She gasped as she turned to look, afraid she was going to see someone else, and it was, but not who she thought. Instead, it was her Power in the silhouette of a man. Her blood froze in her veins at what it said next: "You are going to kill everyone, at this rate. Look."

A Church loomed in front of her, lofty spires reaching high into a dark heaven. She held on for dear life as the car slammed headlong into the ancient structure. Every beautiful window shattered, the glass clattering around her in dazzling rainbow hues. The immense front doors were smashed from their hinges, old glyphs from a forgotten race embedded in them; a gift, a seal of protection for the Earth, and she had just destroyed it. "Oh, my god," she gasped. "I've done something terrible... how do I mend this!" She picked up a fragment of the door, but winds blew past her, decaying the wood to splinters which were carried off by the breeze. She looked around frantically for her friends, but both they and the wreck of Cyborg's car were gone. "Guys... anyone? I need help!" she called, but there was no sign of them. "Robert?!"

"Come in, come in!" came a cheerful voice from inside the Church, and she blinked in disbelief at what she saw. On either side of the sanctuary, rows of tables were laid out with elegant feasts and drinks. To the left were priests and other clergy, dressed in chef's garb and cooking away like mad. To the right were gypsies, witches and magicians, dressed the same, and throwing all manner of ingredients into cauldrons. Both sides were beckoning and calling to her frantically. "Choose, you must choose!"

She gaped in trepidation as the disturbing little yellow clad child-thing was jumping up and down, shouting for attention to the right with the other mystics, and began backing away warily. "Uhm... is it okay if I just grab a pizza? I really don't feel like-"

She was pushed roughly back into the sanctuary by the hoard of youth all dressed in that dreadful yellow, chanting over and over, "Choose! Choose! Choose!"

The din grew in volume, afflicting her with a splitting headache and nausea. "Why... what difference does it make! What if I don't want to!" A scream died in her throat as a huge tray bearing the roasted body of Beast Boy was laid on the table. But... no; she gasped in relief as it was only a pig, a real one. Or so she prayed...

"Oh, but you must," insisted a priest in one side, a fortune teller on the other, speaking in unison. "If you do not, then-" Everyone froze, the noise faded instantly to dead silence as a cooking timer dinged.

Her insides clenched in alarm as they all hung their heads in silence. "What... what's wrong?" she asked urgently.

She spotted Vulnavia in the rear, speaking for them all, and she sounded like a court accuser. "You could not hold your liquor. You could not choose a mate. You could not drive a stick - you could not even drive an automatic!"

Raven was ready to pull her hair out, and tried to, much to her regret as her headache seemed to split her skull. "So freaking what! What the hell difference does all that nonsense make in the grand scheme of things!"

The strange woman asked, her eyes beginning to glow, "If you do not know how to handle liquor, or a boy, or a simple machine, how can you possibly know what to do at The End Of The Grand Scheme Of Things? Behold, the hour is come! Time to wake up and face judgment, dear!"

She pointed to the high ceiling, and Raven had to duck as it was ripped apart by a horrible tornado. She gaped upwards in confusion as she saw that the whole thing was staged. Curtains of red edged in gold lined the four sides of a huge theater around them all, and hovering above it was Puppet Master. He was holding a pair of his control bars, but instead of marionettes, he manipulated crude figures of stars and planets, intoning morbidly, "It is The End, the curtain call has been sounded. Time for the Grand Finale, so I can collect all my precious toys!"

The Herald appeared in the darkness below all this and sounded his trumpet, though it was a wretched, blatty, embarrassing noise it gave forth. "Yech... that was bad."

"Yes it was!" shouted Puppet Master. "You've ruined my show!" He threw down his grips angrily, but one caught in his hand and pulled him down with it, and then this entire mess trapped The Herald and down he came as well. The Puppet Master began screaming, "No, no! Save me - don't let me be destroyed too!"

The whole thing fell in on her, curtains, walls and all, and to her horror, Raven could see clearly that those stars were real, dragging down every planet, moon and asteroid with them, even Space itself, to obliterate everything.

"NO!" she wailed, sitting bolt upright, her chest heaving, blood rushing in her ears from the sheer terror of facing Death. Then she saw where she was, the Operations Room, and slumped back down to the couch she was lying on. She squeezed her eyes shut as the glow of morning poured in through the immense plexiglass windows looking out over the bay, light which set her head throbbing. But why did she feel so bad? And that dream! "Oh... my gosh," she wheezed, "that was so messed up-" And then she wondered in growing fear why she was there, instead of in her bedroom?

Then her stomach clenched tight as she heard Robin ask of the room, "Did you say something?" Her senses were way too slow in waking up! Bacon was frying; he must be helping with breakfast, and the nauseating succulence filled the chamber.

"We all said somethin'," Cyborg replied, though he added with a smile in his voice, "Or, do you mean our little sleeping beauty?"

"Ohmygod," Raven hissed, eyes wide in terror, "it really is the end of the world! I have to get out of here!" She couldn't remember everything, but enough tatters of memory fell into place that she knew she had a lot of explaining to do, and tried to slip below the surface of the couch. Nothing but a few black tendrils formed, and an excuciating pain shot through her stomach. "Oh, please... how could my powers fail me now, of all the times I need them to save my life!" She edged onto the floor and began crawling as fast as she could towards the crime computer array.

"Oh Raaayven," Beast Boy called from that way, causing her to freeze in place, then scurry the other direction. His voice grated on her ears worse than she could remember. "Wakey wakey, breakfast is almost ready!"

"Yes, please do-!" began Starfire way too loudly for how the mystic felt right then.

"Guys, keep it down," Robin told them from the other side, "in case of... you know."

"Well, it would serve 'er right, after puttin' us through all that crud in the middle of the night-" began Cyborg, coming to the sofa's middle. "Hey, where is she!"

"I'm trapped!" Raven whimpered, pressing into the side of the sofa footing, and wished she could punch a hole through one of the drawers large enough to slip into. She tugged her hood down as tightly as she could over her tender head, praying it would magically bestow invisibility. "Guys, go away go away go away, I'm not here... there's nothing but air..." she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. After a few moments, she realized that it had grown quiet, and timidly opened one for a peek.

Three glum faces - save for Starfire, who just looked concerned - were staring down at her from the other side of the couch.

She gave a girlish squeal and jumped to her feet, forcing a guilty smile and a wave. "Oh! Hey, guyyyaaauuuhhhhhh..." she began, faltering as a wave of dizzines overwhelmed her, the room began to tilt like a sinking ship, then to melt like a candle, and she found herself collapsing back to the floor.

"Are you all right?" Robin asked a bit sternly.

"I'm... greaaat..." she replied in a voice like gravel. "Just... have Cyborg tip the Tower back upright... will you?" She gave up trying to rise, and left her arm dangling on the edge of the sofa seat.

"Have a nice nap?" Beast Boy asked mischievously.

"Sssshut up," she moaned.

"So, how about some breakfast?" Cyborg asked, grinning. "Want some pancakes?"

There was a liquid, gurgling belch from the miserable, nauseous girl. "Rohh...obin," she whimpered, "kill him for me, please? You'd be much kinder than I would." She felt a wicked satisfaction as Cyborg squeaked, crushing Beast Boy as he tried to jump into the lad's arms.

Robin went around to kneel at her side, offering her his hand. "Need help?"

"No," she began weakly, then knew she couldn't bluff all morning. "Uhm... yeah." As she reached up to take his hand, she withered at the sight of his face. He looked much more than disappointed in her, though with that awful mask, it was hard to tell. She couldn't bear to look at any of them as she tried to steady wobbling legs, tugging her hood more over her face.

"You should probably eat something," Robin said to her quietly. "Feel like it?"

"Uhm... maybe," she muttered. "Eggs... hard boiled. Cold. And pepper. Lots of pepper. And tabasco. Cold tabasco. Aaand..." she added with a whimper, "could you please turn down that bacon?"

"Oh, crud," he gasped, leading her hand to the back of the couch. "Sorry, I have to take care of that right now. Starfire, would you tend to her, please?"

"Of course," she said meekly, going to the stricken woman's side as she leaned over the couch, trembling, struggling with nausea and pain running all through her body. She had never seen her friend looking so pathetic and ill before, and reached for her hand gently. "Raven... look at me," she urged softly.

"I... don't want to... just yet. But I need you to make those two go away," she muttered, indicating Cyborg and Beast Boy. "They look like junior and senior prosecutors... and I don't need this right now."

"Gee, I can't imagine why you'd think that," the cybernaut said in an acidic tone. Robin looked to his friend for a moment, but remained silent, increasing the ventilation to clear away the smell of food for Raven's sake.

"Cyborg, come on-" Beast Boy began, afraid an argument was about to erupt.

"I mean, after all," he continued, "you just went off on your own with security up, don't let any of us know you're gone so we could leave a porch light on, or defenses limited, and wake us all up at three in the freakin' mornin' with the trainin' field blastin' away at intruders! Or so we thought."

Her eyes widened in shock, and she gasped, "That really happened?"

"Damn right it did! And you're damn lucky that you or your boyfriend didn't get seriously injured! Maybe worse." He held his hand out as if awating a typed explanation. "Come on, Raven, you gotta know we're gonna be cheesed off about that. About... what could'a gone wrong."

Beast boy began to chuckle. "You gotta admit that it looked kinda funny, with whatzisname runnin' around all back 'n forth with you on his back and no clue where to go-"

Cyborg leaned into his face, growling, "Now's not the time for that, you pea-brained runt." The youth looked downward, his ears drooping in sorrow.

"Stop it, all of you," Raven growled, falling heavily to the couch, wincing, and leaned sideways against the back. She knew she had to be in a sorry state to feel sympathy for Beast Boy. She explained to them in her ever gravelly voice, "I didn't mean... for any of this to happen. I just... wanted to see a band, that's all..."

"And get drunk too?" Cyborg continued, relentless. "What the heck you been drinkin' anyhow? Your breath reeks."

"Nothing that bad!" she snapped as loudly as she could, and earned a throb in her temple for the effort. "Just... something with... vodka in it..."

The males all gasped, and Cyborg nearly exploded, his voice painful for more than just the volume. "Girl, vodka is friggin' Russian whiskey, and one step down from paint thinner! How long you been drinkin' that crap!"

"Cyborg!" Robin and Starfire cried together. He went on, "We'll discuss this later. For now, let's just have breakfast, and leave Raven alone till she feels better."

"Not much later," he grumbled, taking his place at the counter where the Boy Wonder was laying out the meal he'd prepared, a substantial pile of it in front of Cyborg.

Starfire stroked her fingers lightly down her friend's arm, asking her gently, "May I get you something?"

Raven's eyes stared out vacantly, sadly, as she replied in a faint voice, "A bottle of aspirin, maybe? A few glasses of water? And some Ice. In a pack, and some I can chew on. Okay?"

"Certainly," she said with a smile, leaning closer as she rose, whispering, "Cyborg is merely upset and worried... as are we all."

"I know," Raven murmured, her eyes fluttering shut. "I'd... give him the business too... if he pulled a stunt like this..."

Starfire squeezed her friend's shoulder gently, telling her, "I will get those things to help you feel better."

Everyone had caused problems for the entire team at one time or the other. But this time, she was fully capable of dealing with this awkward situation on her own, though no one else could understand that. At least, that's what Raven told herself. She didn't have long to debate the topic, as restless sleep overtook her again. It was better than enduring the nausea and pain, and the whispered arguments coming from the others, which were more hurtful.

Starfire found her slumped over and unconscious as she came back, eying her friend sadly as she put down a bucket of ice as gently as she could on the table, and the aspirin bottle and glasses of water within easy reach.

"Here. Raven?"

Her eyes sprang open in shock as she had been dreaming... she couldn't remember what, but it was traumatic. She put her had up to shield her eyes, as the glare of morning coming into the room was still quite painful. "Robert?" she croaked weakly.

He blinked at her in confusion, echoing, "Robert?"

She witherered in embarrassment as she sat up, mumbling, "Sorry... Robin." She wondered how many people she'd called that name so far, feeling stupid.

He was holding out a plate to her of hard boiled eggs he had made, and she was grateful to feel that it was ice cold. Beside her was a tray with another plate of sliced carrots, celery and bell peppers, along with a glass of iced juice. Salt and pepper shakers and a bottle of tabasco made things complete, and she mumbled her thanks as she accepted it.

Then she saw that she wasn't in the Ops Room at all, but her bedroom. Feeling a twinge of violated privacy, she grumbled as she salted and caked an egg with pepper, "You're not supposed to be in here."

"And you aren't supposed to get drunk," he fired right back as he dimmed the sunscreen within the pane of her window.

She sat there for a moment, searching for some smart reply, but came up blank, finally returning wearily, "Touche."

"But one thing," he added, "I didn't bring you here to pry into your world. I thought you would feel better in your own space, where you could have some privacy."

For that misunderstood act, she was very grateful and murmured, "Thank you." She still couldn't quite stomach food just yet, and licked the salt and pepper from the egg. "So, I guess... you want to talk, now," she muttered gruffly as she re-seasoned it.

"We have to sometime," he replied, sitting across from the tray. "Look... we're just... worried, that's all. This isn't like you. You abstain from almost everything, except whatever causes extreme adrenaline rush, and then you pull this. I would leave it to Starfire to drag it out of you, but..." He placed his hand over hers, causing her to gaze into that weird eye-concealing mask of his. "Raven, we're like family. And because of... that incident, when Slade invaded my mind, and you reached out to me, we should be even closer. I'd hope you would confide in me."

She looked down with a melancholy smile. "It would help if I understood it all, myself." As she licked the spice from the egg, re-applying more, she tried to fight down a blush, as some things she would rather die than anyone know. "I'm... depressed," she offered up, but that sounded so dumb, trite and fake that she fell silent, licking the egg clean and seasoning it yet again.

He blinked at her in surprise, knowing that there was far more to it than that. "Can you elaborate? And I don't mean to pry. I just want to understand."

She gazed at him again, feeling a strange mix of irritation at his prying, and a sisterly warmth for him, and a hint of something more, though those kinds of feelings were verboten. 'Robin, you are so right, but... what can I tell you that will satisfy you and get you off my back? I guess I can try being honest, at least partly.' She licked her egg thoughtfully for a moment, wondering where the starting line was, then sprinkled it once more, daring to take a small bite, chewed and swallowed it. "I'm not sure where it all begins, but... I just feel... lost," she croaked. "Like I don't even belong here."

"But... Raven, that's ridiculous. You know better than that. How long have you been here, with us-?"

"Don't you dare use some pre-readied speech on me," she growled, causing him to edge back, blinking in surprise. Her irritation faded, and she gave him a shrug. "Sorry. It's just... I know all you were going to say, and you're right. Sort of. But... Robin, I'm different. Really different, in ways that even Starfire isn't. I'm not even from this universe... not really." She looked down, biting the egg in half.

He sat there blinking in confusion for a moment. This sounded ominous. "W-what do you mean?"

She swallowed the morsel, but sat quietly for a time, brooding, unsure of what to say. "Robin... I am a very unique being. Unlike everyone else in this universe, the parents are of the same substance. The same matter, the same time-stream, the same physics. But..." She heaved a deep breath as she collected herself. "You... remember who my... father was."

He nodded somberly, fretting over where this was headed. "How could I forget."

"Yeah..." she murmured, nibbling the rest of the egg. "Trigon, the great demon-king, with the power to alter the nature of a whole planet, and then some." And he had, using her as a key to unlock the secret gate to their universe, reducing the world to rubble, the entire human race to stone in one terrible sweep, and nearly killing everyone she held dear. "On the other hand, my mother, Arella, a simple human woman who had her life wrecked by that bastard and his dark scheme. And you have no idea what that means."

He clasped her hand, telling her earnestly, "Raven, it doesn't matter. You aren't your father-"

She wanted to leave her hand in his, let his speech continue, let him be right. But she knew better, yanking her hand away and gripping his wrist in a surprisingly fierce, painful hold. "Yes, I am... in a sense. Now, listen." She let him go, sorry to be so brash and rough with him, but Robin had a tendency to talk over one unless you got his attention in a big way. "There is a strange dimension which co-exists alongside this one, coincident but untouching. It's more or less the flipside of this one, and obeys laws similar but still very different. It's the dimension of monsters, devils, dark spirits, dark matter, and dark energy. There are seals put in place by..." She shook her head, continuing, "Actually, no one knows for certain. But they keep that malevolent world and this one separated from each other. Except that the forces pass through freely, and are so strong, they even influence the movements of galaxies." She held up her hand, and tried to manifest her power. This time it obeyed, cloaking her hand in darkness. "The forces I wield."

Robin was always fascinated by her dark powers, how she could manipulate energies of pure blackness to do her bidding. But now they, and she, took on an entirely different, perhaps sinister connotation. "Trigon... a being made up of dark matter... and why he needed you to break through to our world. Someone with the nature of both universes, to serve as a portal."

"Yes," she told him in a strange voice. His eyes opened wide in reflection of his growing fear as the darkness began to slowly spread down her arm to envelop her. She rose up to stand before him, black filaments like tentacles writhing around her. Her eyes glowed an angry red, and two more slits opened above them, a hideous masque he had witnessed only once, and from a safe distance. His heart began pounding in his chest, and beat all the harder as dreadful words were invoked from those dark lips in a pair of unhuman voices. "A being who's body consists of dark matter. Who's life is the essence of dark energy. Who's powers are those of dark magic. Trigon, the devil-lord. I am his only spawn, and heir to his realm, inheritor of his powers, successor to his authority. Raven, the Dark Wraith, who overcame him and did smite him mortally, banishing him to Gehenna to suffer eternally the Second Death!"

Robin screamed, tumbling from the bed as she spread wings of blackness with a shrill cry that rang painfully in that now tiny chamber, and he found himself face to face with an angel of Death. And even though he had seen her in this dreadful form before, he only had so much as an inkling of the true nature she hid within, from everyone.

That horrid cry rang throughout the Tower, and the other three shivered outside that otherworldly girl's door as they eavesdropped on a conversation that had abruptly turned into a literal Hell. Cyborg gasped, "Ohmygosh... Raven's killing Robin."

And then, before the Boy Wonder even realized it, she was sitting quietly on her bed, nibbling her egg once more, and washing it down with a drink of juice as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "Well... I feel much better now," she remarked in a satisfied tone.

He had to shake his head to clear it, then once more just to be sure. "Raaaven?" he gasped in an awestruck voice, slowly rising to his feet and edging cautiously to her bed, afraid of upsetting such a drastically volatile creature. Fortunately, Starfire caught this exchange, as they were just about to blast their way in.

She sighed, looking down. "I'm... sorry that I put you through that, Robin. But sometimes... you have to be hit over the head to see the obvious." She flashed him a thin smile again, but the look on his face only made her feel miserable. "Great... I just ruined everything, as usual..."

"No."

She looked up sharply as he clasped her hand again. He was still breathing a little heavily, but his voice was calm. "No, Raven, not even. This is... a side of you I'd only glimpsed before, and ignored. But it doesn't change a thing, not really. You're still the same person, still the same girl, as always. The same Raven who risked your life countless times to save us, and to save others you didn't know in the least. There's nothing dark about that." He gave her a warm, lopsided smile, adding, "And you're still my friend."

She closed her eyes, squeezing his hand back warmly, murmuring, "You are... the most amazing guy I've ever known, Robin. And Starfire is so damned lucky to have you, because..." She knew better than to finish, but the blush which tainted her cheeks said it all.

"Well..." he said softly, his own cheeks flushing pink as he sat back. "I'm... glad that's overwith, and we can get back to normal, now."

Raven gasped in dismay, pushing his hand back. "Oh, for crying out loud... I'm afraid you haven't learned a damned thing."

He blinked at her in surprise, wondering what it was he didn't grasp. "W-what do you mean? I thought things were okay now-"

She grumbled, "Sweet Hades... how can you be so logical and lucid, and still forget like that what we just discussed a few moments ago? I confess a few things, and you think all of a sudden, everything is fixed like magic? I swear... everything is either hunky-dory, or on the verge of nuclear meltdown with you. You are so bipolar!"

He gaped at her in shock. "I'm bipolar-?"

She continued, "And so stubbornly myopic, like a brain made of gorilla glue!"

He shook his head, blinking in dismay. "How in the world did we end up talking about how I'm messed up?"

"How come boys have to be so dense that every damned little thing has to be spelled out to you!" she went on relentlessly.

He cringed, unsure if it was just the hangover from the previous day, her depression or what was making her so crass and blunt, but sighed resignedly. "Okay... just spell out whatever the heck it is I'm too thick to understand-"

"Do I have to wig out on you again?" she growled, snapping her cape out wide like wings of darkness.

"NO! No." He put up his hand defensively. "That's okay. It was... awesome-"

"Oh yeah, so awesome you nearly wet yourself! Don't you get it yet?" she exclaimed, beginning to sound frustrated. "I'm... dark!"

He wasn't quite sure how to respond. "Well... hey, you've always been... dark..."

"Yeah, and you guys aren't! Do you know what it's like to spend almost my entire waking life with people who are nothing like me? The pair of shallow two year olds who's entire world is either wrapped up in video games or arguing about video games? Every freaking DAY!"

The pair of males lurking outside the door fell against each other wanting to cry. "She hates me..." Cyborg whimpered, his eye beginning to water.

"Hates both of us," Beast Boy sobbed, then they fell into each other's arms, bawling, and Starfire had to muffle them quickly.

Raven went on in her tirade, unaware of the audience outside. "And then there's Miss Congeniality, who wouldn't dream of letting me be myself once in a while, constantly sticking her nose into my business and being like-" She went on in a wide-eyed falsetto caricature of her friend, "'Hey, Raven! Let us go do something all happy and pointless!' It's like living with a ditzy schoolgirl, every crapping day the same annoying garbage, as manipulative and overbearing as that damned Mother Mae-Eye!"

"Well... Starfire is a little... enthusiastic-" Robin admitted.

"Yeah, like a mouthful of maple syrup!"

The alien girl fell across the cybernaut's shoulder, blubbering in tears. Cyborg patted her back gently, murmuring, "Ice cream."

"Lots of ice cream," Beast Boy agreed with a sob, and they trudged off to the kitchen area of the Ops Room, though Starfire lingered tearfully, unable to leave the door to this secret unveiling of Raven's innermost thoughts. Painful though they were...

Robin continued trying to placate the mystic. "But... Raven, she just wants everyone to get along-"

"Damn it, it gets on my nerves after a while!" she cried. "And then there's you."

Robin stiffened, bracing for impact. "Oh boy..."

"The one guy I might possibly find something in common with, raised in a cave full of bats for company, one of the few darkies I know that's worth a spit."

He blinked, repeating, "Darkies?"

"But no, you have to be all-business no-vacation Rambo Robin, nothing but work and the mission and the team! You wouldn't dream of doing something as human as taking poor Starfire out on a damn date! But even you can't hide what's really going on inside! I've caught you staring at my legs like a typical male!" Outside, Starfire fell heavily to the ringing metal floorplates with a muffled cry.

Robin gasped sharply, turning away as his cheeks blossomed a vivid cherry. "Uhm... w-well... it's not like-"

"Oh? What is it like? Are theeese why you keep me around?" she snarled acusingly, stroking a thigh as his face somehow grew even redder, and random syllables caught in his throat. "Or do you need someone dangerous nearby when no one else is bad-ass enough! Someone with dark powers who can force the world to bend to your will when you can't! And how has that been working out! Do you remember why we have to be insured by Lloyds of London?" She planted her hand on her bosom. "Me! Miz Collateral Damage! You know I can't use my powers directly on bad guys... they're too deadly! So I have to grab whatever's handy, and that means cars, trucks, parts of factories... all I am is frigging Demolition Girl! And that stuff has to be paid for!"

All that was true, and it did cut rather deeply into their budget at times. "Well... yeah, but... that's what insurance is for-"

"Damn it, the world shouldn't have to be protected from me, like I'm one of the bad guys!" she shouted, driving her fists onto the tray. The whole mess flew into the air in majestic, tumbling arcs, and ended up in the floor.

Robin blinked at the stormy outburst, and grew afraid as black tendrils began to form around the mystic. He grasped her hands, hoping to reach her before things spiralled completely out of control. "Raven, listen, please. You wanted in on this deal, remember?"

"Yes, and I knew you guys wouldn't want me because there would be days like this!" The blackness began spreading...

He groaned in exasperation. "Raven... no! It's not like that at all! You're part of a team now, and this is disrupting it-" He realized that this particular tact might have been precisely the wrong one to start with, as the otherworldly girl seemed to gather herself, and the black essence, in coils like a cobra.

Her eyes blazed yellow as she cried, "Damn you, you're as stubbornly single-minded as that psycho man-bot Mento! You don't have a heart anymore! We're just pieces in your stupid chess match you play with the world of evil! All you can think of is the team and the mission and your damned superhero games-!"

"Raven!" he shouted over her, scrambling for something to say, but he realized with a faint heart just how much of a people person he wasn't. "Come on... calm down. You're just getting yourself worked up over nothing, and it's clouding your thinking. You don't get it-"

"Well," she began in an unnervingly calm tone, "since I don't get it, and you don't get it, maybe you should just GET OUT!"

Before he could blink, the black tendrils had him, driving him through the fortunately open door of her room with a cry, and threw him out into one of the others against the wall opposite. The door slammed shut, and the walls of her room became covered in black.

Cyborg and Beast Boy stood there with bowls piled high with scoops of various ice creams, Cyborg's twice as big, gaping at the scene as Robin tried to recover. The cyberman remarked dryly, "I take it your little chat didn't go so well."

"She's... depressed," he replied as he struggled to disentangle himself gingerly.

"Man, is it 'State The Obvious Day' or what?" Beast Boy asked sarcastically. "So, what is her deal, anyhow?"

Robin was about to brush off his question, then blinked as he realized who he had collided with, gasping, "Starfire!"

"Do not speak to me," she whimpered, brushing off his offered hand, and wandered to stand behind the other two, facing away.

When it struck him what the girl's reaction meant, Robin felt as devastated as if the Tower had landed on him. But crushing humiliation quickly became burning outrage, and he roared at them, "Have you guys been EAVESDROPPING ON US?!"

They did their best to cower on the floor behind the piles of frosted dessert as Cyborg offered timidly, "Uhh... have some ice cream."

"I DON'T WANT ANY FFff - FRIGGING ICE CREAM!" he cried at the top of his voice. "That was a private conversation! Raven wasn't in her right mind! NOW how do you guys feel!"

"Like if you don't stop yellin' your head off," Beast Boy hissed warningly, "she's gonna come out and turn us all into hand puppets!"

"She's sealed her room off; she can't hear anything," the young leader noted to them, then knelt down menacingly. "You have someone else you should be worried about!"

As the two males quivered before him, Starfire stood up haughtily. "I think your conversation with Raven was quite revealing."

"Saved by the outraged girlfriend," Beast Boy whispered in relief.

That was all it took to snuff out his anger, and he stood awkwardly, wondering what to say as he came around the groveling men, reaching for her hand. "Starfire, hold on. That talk with Raven... her angst was clouding her judgment-"

She turned away from him, folding her arms with a hmph. "It sounded to me as if she saw matters with great clarity, judging by your reaction. And I do not know why you show me such favor, since I am not certain that my legs are as good looking as hers."

He grew flustered, blurting out, "H-hey, I look at lots of girls' legs-"

Cyborg dropped his spoon with a ringing clatter. Robin gaped at himself in shock, as did the others, smothering his mouth with both hands, but it was far too late.

Beast Boy said to him, sounding appalled, "Dude... you did not just say that."

Tears welled up in the heartbroken girl's jewel-green eyes, and she sobbed, "Ohh... Robin..." Then she turned and flew down the hallway without looking, and plowed right through the wall at the end.

Cyborg sighed tiredly, "Well... I can see what I'm gonna be doin' for the next hour or so..." He wasn't about to let his ice cream go to waste, and gulped down the top half of the Everest-like mound, stiffening from the resulting brain freeze.

Robin fell to his hands and knees, his head bowed in anguish, moaning, "Oh, man... where is the reset button on this day, so I can do this whole disaster over?"

Raven sat quivering with pent up emotion on her bed as black essence seethed and bubbled all around her, wanting to scream, wanting to fly away somewhere, wanting... anything to unleash this frustration onto. A small sensible part of her knew that she really should calm down and meditate, re-establish balance, but the rest of her was too caught up in her emotions and she knew it wouldn't happen. But she did know one thing she wanted desperately: to commune with Robert. This, she could do, so she went to her computer to start the mp5 player with its list of his music, and turned the stereo up loud.

But as she sat on the edge of her bed expectantly, her stomach twisted in shock as a flatulent rattle and shrill buzz came from the speakers. She practically jumped over to the stereo to turn it off, gaping at it, devastated. She wondered what could have possibly happened to it, when she realized that she had happened to it; last evening, when she lashed out at the room with her powers. If that wasn't bad enough, the smell of the mess she'd made beside her bed wafted to her, especially the eggs. The black shroud enveloping the room melted away as she collapsed in tears, wailing, "Oh, damn it to Hell... I ruin... everything...!"

Cyborg looked through the structure behind the wall Starfire had demolished like a wrecking ball. Fortunately, she drove through the middle, as all the important systems and supports were on either side. "Man, did we ever luck out," he remarked in amazement. "Otherwise, we'd be doin' plumbing, electric cabling and runnin' new data lines, not to mention replacing crucial support beams holdin' this thing up."

"So don't mention it," Beast Boy chided, looking at the time on his communicator. "But I'll mention that I'm outta here in half an hour."

"Dude," Cyborg grumbled, "TiVo your darn toons. We got the dang thing for situations like this."

"It's not a show," the changeling protested. "I got... stuff to do."

"But B.B., I need a hand... lots of hands," he groused back. "This is gonna be a lot more work because..." He nodded behind him towards the mystic's room. "We usually get a lotta help from you know wh-HEY! Raven!" he cried abruptly with a nervous grin, hiding behind the wall panel he was preparing for replacement. Beast Boy caught sight of the hooded wraith and gave a yelp of fear, becoming a green jay and flew off as fast as he could, skreeking his way down the corridor. "Thanks for the support, bird brain," Cyborg grumbled under his breath, then blinked at the girl in perplexion, as she was toting her stereo on a circle of black beside her, the entire thing.

She visibly withered at the reaction from the guys, turning around and murmuring in her grainy voice, "Uhm... sorry, I didn't mean to bother you-"

Cyborg stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, and in spite of his robotic form, he was surprisingly gentle. "No, I'm sorry. We're all just a little... jumpy lately, that's all."

"Who can blame you?" she moped back. "I haven't exactly been... sane company."

"Oh, come on now..." he began, catching sight of Beast Boy peering around the corner at the far intersection, and shook his head at him. The lad turned away sadly, but he was afraid of what might happen with the abrasive teenager trying too hard to cheer up the miserable occultist. "Hey," he said to her softly, reaching for her. "Why don't we lose the hood-"

"No!" she snapped, pulling it further down over her face.

He gaped at her in surprise, saying, "Girl, what the heck's got into you, anyway? Actin' all weird 'n emotional..." He pulled the hood down in spite of her half-hearted efforts to stop him, gazing at her in concern as she faced downward, her cheeks red. "Hey... have you been cryin'? You never cry." When she wouldn't respond, he stroked under her chin softly, trying to get her to look up. She hadn't appeared so frail and vulnerable since those very first days, when she was almost afraid to speak around them, or those awful days of Trigon's impending release. "Raven, come on... I'm your friend. We all are. Tell me what's wrong."

"I don't know!" she wailed, throwing herself against him and hugging him tightly. It wasn't entirely true, but there was no way she was ever going to willingly reveal her secret desire.

He wrapped her in his massive metallic arms as she quivered and snuffled through tears, stroking her back softly. "Hey... let it all out, hon. You'll feel better. And don't worry, this armor is tear-proof stainless alloy."

She choked out a brief, bitter laugh, then pushed her way out of his embrace, snuffling and wiping her face. "I'm... okay, now," she said quietly.

Cyborg wasn't convinced. "You sure? That wasn't much of a cry-"

"Yeah..." she interrupted, waving him off. "Come on, let's... get to work on these repairs. There's no question that I'm to blame. Besides, if I don't do something, I swear I'll go crazy."

"Well, we can't have that now, can we?" He offered her his hand with a smile as he stepped into the gloom of the Tower's interior structure, activating his shoulder light.

Beast Boy turned away with a sigh, wishing that he could have played a part in helping Raven find her emotional feet. "How come everyone treats me like I'm the comedy relief fall guy!" he lamented, then admitted to himself dejectedly, "Maybe because I am the comedy relief fall guy." Then a scary thought occurred to him, making him blink. "Woah... it looks like Cyborg and me are the only two Titans still taking to each other, really talkin'. And that's not good. So... it looks like a job for..." he began with a wide grin, though it quickly faded, as he recalled countless times his good intentions blew up real good in everyone's faces. "Not Beast Boy. Dang it... why can't I save the day once in a while, like Robin and Cyborg?" He answered his own question as he trudged down the corridor. "Because they're sensible. Hey, I can do sensible... I think I can be sensible-"

Not looking where he was going, he rounded a corner and bowled right into Robin, who was just as deep in thought, sending both of them to the floor. "Oh... hey, sorry." He offered Robin a hand up. "You wanderin' aimlessly, lost in your own head too?"

"Uhh... not really," he replied. "I went to check on Starfire, but she's still not speaking to me, so I thought I'd see if Cyborg needs a hand with the Tower repair-"

"Not to worry, mi amigo. Cyborg and Raven are patchin' things up with the Tower and each other, thanks to me..." He noticed Robin staring at him in doubt, and finished quickly, looking aside, "Uhm... staying out of it-"

"Are you serious?" he asked, amazed. "About Cyborg and Raven, I mean."

"Well... yeah. Which brings me to you and your little disaster with Star-"

"Beast Boy..." Robin began with a voice of iron, "do I have to remind you just why that little disaster happened?"

He cringed, whimpering sheepishly, "Uhmm... could we overlook one tiny detail for a minute? Now listen. I have a foolproof five-point plan guaranteed to patch things up between you 'n Star." The Boy Wonder heaved a sigh and began to walk around the teen, but he lunged in his way, beginning to count off the points on his fingers. "Candy. Flowers. Profuse appology. A monkey suit."

Robin stared at him, with a chimpanzee cry obviously ringing in his mind.

Beast Boy frowned back. "You know, a dress shirt, blazer and slacks. And real shoes, not those steel clods you stomp all over in all the time."

Robin continued to stare. "That's four."

"Glad you're payin' attention," he gushed, "as the most important factor in this equation of restoration is number five: a night out on the town with Star doing whatever the heck she wants!"

The Boy Wonder should have seen this coming from the start, but needless to say, he was more than a little distracted. So when all the pieces fell into place, he gaped at the changeling in shock. "You mean... a date?"

"Duh, Captain Oblivious! What the heck do you think I mean! A night run through the Training Grounds?"

"Uhh... I think I'd rather try that..." he began, trying to push past the shapeshifter.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, shoving him back. "What is your problem! The whole freaking universe knows you two have the hots for each other! This is the most open non-secret ever! It's in all the finest publications!" He held up a copy of The Inquisitor, which had a massive front page splash reading, "Gotham, London, Paris, Munich, everyone's talkin' 'bout LIP MUSIC!" Below the headline was an extreme close-up of he and Starfire mauling each other's lips while locked in a torrid embrace, credited to someone noted as BB.

"WHAT?!" he exploded, grabbing the paper in shaking fists. "HOW...!"

"Hey! Careful, that's a mint copy," Beast Boy warned, snatching it back from him to slip into a clear plastic protector. "So anyway, you got your marchin' orders. There's a few hours before Dating Time officially starts. Plenty o' time to order five dozen roses, pick up a mega-chocolate sampler, buy some nifty threads - unless you still have that tux from prom night-"

"Can you please not mention prom night-?" he interrupted.

"And come up with a good appology line perfect for snaring a young Tamaranian's heart." Just then, a familiar tune beeped out from the changeling's communicator.

"Trouble?" Robin asked much too eagerly.

Beast Boy gave him a dim look. "Yeah, for you if you drop the ball. That's just my alarm. Now stay focused! The fragile heart of a totally sweet alien princess is on the brink of a bottomless abyss, in danger of bein' lost forever. Only you can save 'er, and give 'er the love she's been searching all over the universe for."

Robin blinked at him in perplexion. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

"Oh... I been watchin' a few romance flicks with Starfire," he admitted. "Pretty good, actually, good pointers 'n stuff. Anyhow, gotta scoot. Make me proud." He punched the young leader in the arm as he dashed off for the stairs, calling over his shoulder with a grin and thumbs-up, "Just remember, your name is Robin, not Chicken!"

The Boy Wonder shook his head, muttering, "I'd rather take on Slade solo for a month than face Starfire again, at least in this atmosphere. Still... he could have a point. I wonder how many flower shops have five dozen roses in stock...?"

Two pairs of eyes in a ventilator grate watched the young leader wander off on his uncertain mission. "Wow... I don't believe it," Cyborg said guardedly. "B.B. did somethin' right for a change! That's about what I would'a said. Except for that five dozen roses thing."

"Beast Boy does have his moments," Raven admitted with a thin smile. "Still... they're so rare, I'm going to mark my calendar."

"Word on that," Cyborg agreed. "Anyhow, can you get that duct into position - yeah, just right there... perfect." Raven held the ductwork in place with her dark powers until Cyborg could secure them, screwing support straps to the cross braces overhead. He kept peeking at her, watching as the mystic became calmer and more at ease with herself. Finally, he decided to broach tender subjects. "Uhm... Ray? I was just wonderin'... what's up with the stereo?"

She wilted like a dying flower, drifting over to sit on a cross-beam, hugging herself to a vertical support. "I... I broke it," she whimpered. "Cyborg, I'm so sorry..."

He was afraid she was going to start crying again, and sat beside her. "Hey, hey... come on now, it's not the end of the world-"

"It is to me," she interrupted. "I prize all the gifts you guys have given me - even that silly stuff from Beast Boy. But... I love music more than anything, so your stereo... it's the most precious thing I've ever owned. And now... it's just ruined..."

"Hey," he said to her softly, "it's really sweet of you to say that. But... how the heck did it happen? I made sure to get a system that even Beast Boy couldn't blow."

"I... had a bad dream yesterday, and... blasted the entire room with my powers," she confessed meekly. "I didn't realize what I'd done until I tried to play something a while ago. I hope the stereo isn't fried too..."

She sat there sadly, and he felt led to lightly rub her back. "Well listen, I'll prob'ly have to replace all the drivers, the sub's too, and those ribbon tweeters are proprietary. But I tell you what, I'll call Audio Haven and see if they got the stuff in stock right now. With any luck, you'll be rockin' again tonight."

He found the young mystic wrapped tightly around his neck, murmuring, "Oh... thank you, Cyborg... you're the best."

He hugged her back, blushing deep red as she kissed his cheek. "Weh-ell... I got some pretty stiff competition from the four of you, but I try. And listen, I'm sorry about the heavy scene this mornin'. It's just that I'm worried for ya... everyone is."

"I know..." she replied as she drew away. "I would've probably been harder on you if you'd pulled something like that."

He had to chuckle. "Hey, no need to tell me. I've seen how you are with B.B. when he gets out of hand."

"Yeah, well..." she said with a wink, "he deserved it."

He had all of a second to wonder how to ask what had flipped her world on its head, when tinny music began playing, and Raven abruptly flew back out of the latticework of steel for the opening in the wall. Cyborg scrambled after her, picking his way among the crossbeams, asking, "Hey, since when did you have a cellphone?" It occurred to him as she began to act rather secretive just why she had one. Looking to her disapprovingly as she answered it, he asked in a stony voice, "Is that Scab?"

"Hello... Stab," she corrected, giving him an irate look as she wandered off towards her room, pulling her hood over her face to shield her. "Hey... slow down."

"Whatever," he muttered as he emerged into the corridor, watching as the girl entered her sanctuary, and the walls were coated with black. "Man... I'm havin' serious doubts about this." He noticed the stereo lying in the floor where Raven had left it, shrugging with a sigh. "Well, a promise is a promise. But I'd better get a cart, 'cause no tellin' when that girl's gonna leave her room-" And then, it struck him what that meant as he looked back into the open wall, groaning, "Oh maaan... hey! Does anyone wanna help out Mister Fixit?" When his answer was an enormous silence, he continued with mock cheerfulness, "Well, awrightie then."

"...I'm sorry Raven I'm really really sorry about what happened are you okay I just got up a little while ago or I would'a called earlier I can't believe I did that-"

"STAB!" she yelled into the phone, having tried for a couple of minutes to get a word in edgewise through his stream of consciousness, something that reminded her way too much of a little yellow dream-munchkin. "Breathe! Okay? I'm fine." Although as she tried to pierce the liquor-fogged memories of the previous night, she had to wonder about a few things. "Did you... kick a mike stand into me?"

"Listen... I'm really sorry about that - I don't know why I did-" he practically wailed.

"Okay! Okay, it's no big deal. Really," she said as she looked herself over in her full length mirror, split with cracks from yesterday's disaster, undoing her leotard to look herself over. Curiously, while there was a lingering ache in her temple where it might have struck, there was no straight bruise that would have been caused by a long rod of metal hitting her. "Just... don't do that again. If you hit some sorry kid like that, they could be seriously hurt."

"I wasn't thinking... I was like... someone else on stage last night," he confessed, then gave a wry chuckle. "Vulnavia put me through some kind of Inquisition over it. I was afraid she was gonna skin me alive."

She smirked in her reply as she closed up her garment. "Yeah, she's overly protective of me, treats me like some... long lost sister or... daughter, or... something. Anyway, listen. Just keep your head on straight, and remember, stage stuff is fine, out in the audience is bad."

"I'll try 'n remember that," he chuckled.

"Hey, there is one thing..." She looked over the vague slightly purplish shadow of the bruise on her cheek again, deciding to fudge the truth just a bit. "I don't think the mike stand really hit me. It seems more like... some sort of energy wave came out from you. I think you must have some kind of power."

There was an obvious frown in his voice. "What kind of power?"

"Something attuned to the music you do," she replied as she sat on her bed. "You should harness this, and control it, and if you can, you're going to be performing the most powerful music in the history of rock. I could... probably help you with that." She had to smirk at the way that undoubtedly came across to the young guitarist.

"Hey, whatever you wanna do with me is just... awesome," he laughed.

"I'm serious," she insisted. "It would probably explain a lot of the... really strange things I experienced in your show..." Her voice drifted to silence as she tried to sort the fragmented memories into a semblance of what she had lived through last night. A magical night, under the power of a wondrous, mysterious, dark young man...

"What kind of things?" he asked, and when the silence wore on, he said more loudly, "Raven?"

"Oh! Uhm... sorry. It's just that... it's hard to describe. It must be like... a drug trip, and I guess it didn't help that there was so much pot smoke in the air. Still..." she murmured dreamily, "I've been through that stuff before, and it was nothing like this. It was just... surreal... like another world opened up in your music..." Her eyes closed as she chased after the vivid but elusive sensations, wanting to relive the best parts.

"Really? That's... interesting. So... you really liked it... enjoyed the show?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh, Stab... it was incredible!" She was afraid that she was gushing like a typical fangirl, but she knew how important her praise was, and this time it was well earned. "Hangman was pretty good last time I saw you guys, but last night... it was like magic, and I'm not exaggerating. Even as loud as you were, I could hear how well everything was played, and it was so trippy, my head was spinning the whole time! I just wish you'd played more than five or six songs before your little accident," she finished regretfully.

He seemed to audibly frown. "Raven, we played the whole set except for the last tune. It was twenty-four songs without a real break. You polished off everyone's drink within reach, and kept passing out, hanging half off the stage. I wanted to go to you and take you somewhere, but the crowd wouldn't let us stop."

"Are you serious?" She frowned herself in consternation, rubbing her temple out of reflex. "No wonder I woke up with several hangovers this morning..."

"Hey... I'm really sorry to hear that," he told her sympathetically, then went on in a more husky tone, "I just wish... I could have stayed... helped you. You were moaning the whole time, like you were in real pain-"

"Oh sure," she smirked, rolling her eyes. "I have no doubt you'd just love to play doctor with me."

"Hey, come on," he protested. "I mean... it's not like I wouldn't, but I knocked you out solid for a while, and you were barely conscious as I got you back home. You were completely helpless the whole time." She shrivelled at the realization that she had been alone with him, utterly vulnerable, for however long it had taken him to get her back to the Tower, and curled into her robes as if his eyes had been undressing her the entire way, and were once more. "But I couldn't do anything but kiss you, once..."

Something about that simple, honest, forlorn admission touched her, and her trepidations faded away, and she unclenched. Her only memories of that time were muddled, cloudy dreams, but she hoped they still had some bearing on what happened. A kiss, tender, sweet... a boat cut out of the wood from the stage... yeah, that had to have been confused by the liquor, but she had to know what it meant. "Did you... steal a boat?"

"Uh... I prefer the term borrowed, but yeah. I mean, I can't exactly walk on water or anything - and I did take it back as... close to where I remember I got it from..."

She had to giggle as he blustered his way through the response. "Okay, okay... just remember that the Port Authority has a pair of skiffs set aside for that sort of thing, if this ever comes up again. They had too many incidents of boat stealing by kids in the past, determined to come see us."

"Well, okay, next time I'll know that, thank you," he muttered chidingly. "Hey, listen... could you open the video link on that thing? I wanna see you. I hate talking to a black screen."

She caught herself looking in the mirror to make sure her face wasn't mussed up, and then scolded herself inwardly. At times, she thought she was cute; at others, like a homely fish, or a bird, only lacking a beak. Even so, she combed her fingers through her hair. "Oh, come on..." she grumbled, "you know what I look like. A big round head with big round eyes and a small mouth-"

"I wanna see..." he insisted, "that big round head with those big round eyes... those soft lips... framed by that unearthly blue-violet hair of yours."

Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart skipped a beat, and she felt like she was melting as she lay down. She wasn't entirely sure, but if he was just leading her on, he sounded awfully sincere. Turning on the speaker and video feed, she held the phone out as his face appeared on the screen; cute as always, but lacking a certain something from last night. "Hey," she said with a thin smile. "See? Same old Raven. But you... need more makeup."

"Hey, I'll put it back on!" he laughed, then said to her somberly, "You, however... I wouldn't change anything about you-"

"Okay, butter lips," she interrupted with a smirk, snuggling into her pillow. "There is a price for this little video chat. So, tell me... all about what it's like inside of this Stab person..."

---

A rather slender, pretty middle-teen girl in a school uniform with long blond hair began the long walk home, toting a bag loaded with gym things and a backpack full of books and homework. About that time, she felt a brush against her legs and a mew, and looked down, beginning to smile. "Oh, a kitten-" Her words caught in her throat and she bore a look of distaste when she got a good view of it. "Eww... a green kitten. I bet you have mange and a small flea circus in that fur - go on, shoo!" she scolded at the persistent creature, beginning to walk on her way, and gave a kick at it though she didn't mean for it to connect. "Oh, sorry-"

"Hey!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he assumed his normal form. "I'll have you know that I give myself periodic tongue baths!" He licked his hand and smoothed his mop of green hair back as the girl failed to completely stifle a laugh. "And I've had all my shots too... though I don't have the dental records to prove it..."

She was growing red from the fight against laughter, beginning to continue on. "Uhhm... medical records."

He snapped his fingers, keeping pace with her. "Dang, that's why I never got 'em!"

She tried to stifle herself with her free hand, but only succeeded in making a rude noise and popping her ears

"Gesundheit," he said to her, and she couldn't hold it in anymore, practically crowing with laughter. "Man... I can say anything and this girl laughs! I should sell tickets to this gig."

"Stop!" she cried, having to stop herself to catch her breath. As she settled down to mere giggling, she reflected that school had become a wearying chore, and she had been missing the young green changeling when he had actually respected her wishes and left her alone for almost two entire years. Now, with him back around, really around, not just sneaking looks at her from a distance she somehow knew of... did she want this? She decided out loud, "Okay... school blows, you make me laugh... you can walk me home."

"Aww-right-!" he began, pumping his fist, then found an index finger jabbed in his face.

"But one slip up, and you never speak to me again," she declared. "Ever. Got it?"

He snapped to a cringing, sweat-dripping attention and saluted. "Uhh, yes ma'am!"

"Okay. Just want to lay out the ground rules," she told him with a thin smile, then looked disgusted. "Because before, you were just... aughh..."

He visibly withered. "Ohh... that charming, huh?"

She visibly cringed. "You have to ask?"

"Okay okay," he said, "lesson learned. Uhm... carry your bag?"

"No, that's okay. I'm trying-"

"Carry you?" he asked with a grin.

She gave him a dim look, muttering, "Here," handing it to him.

"Okay - woah!" The weight of it caught him off guard and it nearly pulled him over. "Dang, girl... what you got in this thing! Two weeks worth'a laundry or somethin'?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," she informed him haughtily. "Well... sort of. It's the last day of gym class for the month. Why, too heavy for big bad Beast Boy?"

"No! I got it," he replied a bit hotly. "I just didn't expect bowling balls to be part of the dress code, that's all."

She giggled, then informed him, "Nine towels, nine pairs of socks, nine gymsuits, five soccer outfits, nine... unmentionables-"

He began to blush a bit at that. "And all drippy wet, right?"

"Well duh. We get worked into a sweat and have to shower, ya know..." Her voice trailed away as she realized she was double dipping into a subject best kept from a young hormone-rich teen's pointy ears. And sure enough, he was looking down with a snaggletoothed grin and a bigger blush, drawling, "Yeaahhh..."

She cringed, covering her face in embarrassment, blurting, "Okay... change of subject..."

"Yeah... change of subject," he croaked out, almost as flustered. "Okay, so... to start with, what's your name? I can't keep callin' you girl, babe, or luscious lemon top, ya know."

She needed a good laugh to clear the air, and when she stopped giggling, she murmured, "Wow, are you persistent. But... I guess that's fair, since I know yours. Uhmm... Angela Zitchin."

"Hey, that's pretty good. Initials from A to Z," he said to her, though he added under his breath, "Still not as cool as Terra-"

"What was that?" she snapped.

"Oh nothin'! Not a thing!" he exclaimed a bit too brightly. She didn't look too pleased by her expression, so he hoped to move things along quickly, admitting, "Ehh... just to be honest, ya don't really know my name either. It's not Beast Boy; it's, uhhhmm... Garfield."

He didn't expect the reaction he got, as she gaped at him in shock for a few seconds, then fell onto her backpack, howling with laughter. "Oh, cut it OUT...!"

He looked heavenward with a masque of distress. "Dear God... pleeease give me a new name that isn't a freaking one-word punchline!" He grabbed her hand and tried to haul her to her feet, as she was still laughing herself short of breath. "Come on, it's not... that... FUNNY!"

"Oh get real! There's no way...!" she cackled, then her laughter caught in her throat as she saw how miserable he looked. That brought her up short instantly. "Oh... hey, I didn't know. I thought you were just kidding-"

"Yeah..." he grumbled, looking away. "That happens a lot... they laugh their silly heads off. That's why I never tell anyone."

She withered at the bitter tone in his voice, stroking lightly along his shoulder. She felt better as he untensed and turned to look at her. "Listen... you're right, it's not funny. It's just that... you're always poking fun, and it's hard to tell when you're serious."

"Yeah... guess that goes with always tryin' to be the life of the party, huh?" He wilted at how somber she looked, feeling stupid for letting something so minor wreck the mood. "Hey... it's cool, don't worry about-"

"No, I was rude to you, and I'm sorry," she assured him, but she couldn't hold back one last giggle. "It's just that... that's about the last name I'd expect any parent to give someone so cool."

"Really? You think I'm cool?" he enthused.

"Yeah..." she began hesitantly, "let's just not put it on a billboard or something, okay?"

"Aw, why not? That would be awesome!" He gave her a huge grin that faded quickly. "Especially since my fanmail count has me at dead last."

"I can't believe that... seriously?" she exclaimed, to which he nodded dejectedly. "Well, listen. You'd be surprised how many kids in my school do artwork of you." She added dryly, beginning to dig through her backpack, "Even though most of them are otaku..." She drew out a piece of art paper, folding the edges together to hold it.

"Woah... all righ-!" he began enthusiastically, but before he could act out his jubilation, he deflated at the tone of her voice. "Wait... you make that sound like a not-cool thing. Otaku are cool! Aren't they?" he squeaked.

"Uhmm..." she began with a sheepish smile, looking aside, "otaku are kids that never grow up, never go out, never kiss anyone, and live in their parent's basements all their lives hooked on the internet, manga and anime. Like the worst uber-geeks ev-"

"WHAT?" he cried, grabbing fistfuls of hair and completely forgetting the paper in her hand. "B-b-b-but... that's not me! That Japanese babe called me - oh wait, she was a bad guy in disguise, wasn't she?"

She blinked at him in surprise. "What Japanese babe?"

"Oh, hey, you gotta here this story!" he gushed, his voice seeming to pick up speed with each sentence. "See it all started when this mega-techno-ninja attacked the city last summer and did a serious nasty on the Tower, and we traced him to Japan 'cause he talked all Japanese and that's where ninjas come from anyhow, right? And so we flew there and Robin was all business and 'We gotta get this big nasty ninja' and I was all like 'Hold on, VA-CA!' and so they all went off to do their boring superhero stuff in spite of the cops bein' on top of it even though we found out later what that was all about, when this totally hot Japanese babe waves at me from down the street sayin' 'Otaku otaku' and I was all 'Wait up!'..."

And on it went for about five minutes straight, with short breaks for a gasp of air, as Beast Boy condensed the entire time spent discovering the truth behind Brushogun into the worst, most hard to follow gibberish ever. Even though she was half dizzy from the torrent of adolescent verbage, she could glean enough from the vocal debris to know that the Titans led the most thrilling lives ever, and hers was dirt stupid boring. "Wow... sounds you guys had a really awesome time over there. And you got to meet all those cute Japanese girls..." She thought to herself with a sigh, 'No wonder he didn't approach me for almost two years. The one guy who's shown any real interest in me... how can I compete with Orientals!'

He folded his arms behind his head with a satisfied grin. "Yeah... that was pretty darn sweet, I gotta say. But, none of 'em knew English, they're a bazillion miles away, aaand, most importantly, they're not really any cuter than you."

She nearly fell over at that, and had trouble speaking for a few moments while her stomach did flops. "Ohh... come on. I'm too skinny, I have a head shaped like an egg and my eyes are too big."

He looked to her quizzically. "That's what Raven says! Man, you two are the worst when it comes to knowin' how totally sweet you look."

She blinked at him in perplexion. "Really? But... Raven looks great!"

"I rest my case," he told her, grinning triumphantly, though it faded as his eyes wandered her over. "Besides, you aren't skinny anymore. In fact, you look... fine..."

She looked torn for some time as she wrestled with inner turmoil, not knowing whether she felt pleased, embarrassed or afraid. Finally, she tossed her hair in a shake, looking downward as she murmured, "Uhhmm... could we change the subject, please?"

He deflated at that, mumbling, "Well... but there's nothin' left to talk about but school stuff, or your parentals-"

"That's fine," she shot back, but she did look more at ease.

"Okay, there is one thing: haoww much more o' this Oregon Trail is it to your home!" He was beginning to look weary.

She said with a smirk, "You wanted to walk me home, and you took the bag, rememb-?"

"Hey, I said I'm fine with your armored gym stuff, okay?" He gave her a face of mock irritation she couldn't misread, which slowly shifted into a snaggletoothed smile. When she giggled, he confessed to her, "See, it's just that... I was hopin' that I'd hear more of that along the way. I missed that so much... the sound of your voice... your laugh... like you wouldn't believe..." His voice trailed off wistfully, and his eyes shined into hers like crystal.

She found it hard to look away, then found she couldn't look away. Then noticed that they had been standing silently like that for some time, gazing into each other's eyes. But this time, it didn't feel nearly so uncomfortable; in fact, she rather liked it. But eventually her feminine wiles kicked in, and she forced herself along, knowing that Beast Boy would keep pace like a devoted pet. "Uhmm..." she began uncertainly, not sure what to say, and it took a few tries. "I guess... I can see why someone would say that..."

"You guess? Girl, I'm sayin'..." he told her, to which she faced away self-consciously. It was obvious that she was trying not to smile, but her mixed up feelings confused him, having almost no experience with the basics of life and relationships, outside of the rather tortured ones of his superhero friends. And frankly, his days with the stern Doom Patrol were fraught with bad lessons he still struggled to unlearn. But he had grasped a few things, rightly or wrongly, from watching those romance shows with Starfire, and decided some gentle prying was in order. "Ya know, I don't get you. You don't seem like the kinda girl to go all emo or whatever. But anytime I say something the least bit nice about you, ya get all squishy 'n defensive 'n stuff. Is there like... problems?"

"Beast Boy..." she groaned, "this is getting close to that stuff that has me saying goodbye for the rest of your life-"

"Hey, I totally respect your privacy 'n all that," he said, putting his hand up as if to keep her from running away. "But... I want you to be happy. I wanna help, if I can."

His sincerity touched her heart, and she yearned for someone who could do that for her... wished at that moment that he could be the one. But still, she was uncertain. "Well... it's just that... you're trying way too hard and fast to be my friend... ya know? And I hardly know you at all."

He looked to the ground sadly, his ears drooping, and she felt sorry for saying anything. "Ohh... yeah, I guess I am comin' on kinda strong, huh? Uhm... sorry about that. I'll try 'n chill out."

She heaved a sigh and tugged on her backpack straps, wishing she could take it all back. "Hey... I'm sorry too. I don't know why I'm like this. It's just that... life is complicated." She looked to the sky as if the answer was up there among the clouds. She began slowly, but her words began to tumble out. "It's... a million little things that add up to one big non-stop headache. I'm at that stupid age when I'm not really a kid but not quite an adult but they still treat you like a kid and you're at the mercy of freaking everyone and you just wanna scream at all the condescension, ya know?"

He shook his head ruefully, muttering, "Tell me about it."

She blinked at him in surprise. "You too? Big bad Beast Boy?" She had to grin.

"Yeah," he drawled sourly, "big bad at always bein' in the way, always sayin' the wrong things at the worst times possible, constantly messin' somethin' up, bein' on someone's crap list, especially Raven's... sometimes, I wonder if I even belong there." He heaved a melancholy sigh, staring down at the pavement in front of him.

He looked up as she stroked along his shoulder, and was gratified with a warm smile from her. "Hey, it can't be that bad or they wouldn't've put up with you for five years. Besides, it's nice to know I'm not the only one in this world who feels like a total misfit."

"Hey... thanks. Mostly," he said to her with a smile. He wanted to take her hand, but settled for brushing his against hers as it slipped away.

There was a brief hint of rose on her cheeks as they touched, and she had to clear her throat before she could go on. "And hey, if it's any consolation, Raven kinda... creeps me out."

"Oh, she creeps everyone out," he told her with a mischievous grin. "Even when you get to know 'er, she's almost always grumpy 'n gloomy. Ya know, the weird thing is, she acts like the spooky outcast all the time, when Robin, Cyborg 'n she practically own the Tower! It's like Starfire 'n me are just there payin' rent or somethin'. But Star is always so-" he twirled his fingers in his cheeks with a big childish smile, squeaking, "Tra-la-la, all Rainbow Sprite positive about everything, so it's really me that doesn't quite measure up. So I don't even get Raven's whole pity party. Man, you should'a been there the past two days though, like the worst - well... okay, the second worst-"

"What was the worst?" she interrupted curiously.

"Oh, it was that one time, that..." He realized with a start that those hideous days when Trigon had invaded their universe were ones that the world knew nothing of, other than the glimpse of a raging wall of energy that swept the globe, as everyone had been petrified stone the whole time. And the Titans had all sworn themselves to secrecy over it. "...Somethin' happened that... kinda didn't... oh, I'll tell ya later," he said waving her off. "Anyhow, Miz Sunshine has been actin' all creepier than usual, even for her, and she's even been out drinngglnnngg..." He jerked his hands over his mouth a bit too late once again, and then smacked himself in the face with her gym bag with enough force to knock himself over with a squeak.

Angela knelt down to help him up, trying halfheartedly not to laugh as he fanned the odor of ripe laundry from his face. She set the paper aside she'd been holding, hopefully out of harm's way. "Wow... that sounds serious. Is that anything like drinking?"

He choked back a startled yelp as he gaped at her in dread. "I didn't say that... didn't even, okay? And you can't tell anyone what... I didn't say."

She gave him a dim look. "Beast Boy, you're asking this of a woman-"

"No I'm not, I'm begging you!" He fell to his knees, clasping her hands in his and wailed, "Please Terr - Angela! You gotta promise me on this! You got to! My so-called life - such as it is - may depend on it! Please, please, please please pleasepleasepleaseplease..." He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

She was so struck with his desperation that all her curiosity wilted away, and she nodded, saying over his stream of begging, "Okay, listen, I prom - okay. Hey, Beast Boy... SHUT UP A MINUTE!" When that scream in his face finally had him in stunned silence, and when she thought he recovered enough to hear her, she told him, "Look, if it means that much to you, I promise. I'll never say a peep about it. Cross my heart and hope to-"

"That's good enough," he said, catching her hand and clasping it with a warm smile. He lingered for just a few seconds to savor the moment, then let her go, picking up the bag from where it fell. He had a feeling if he hadn't released her, she would have pulled away herself. He caught sight of that paper on the ground, and his curiosity welled up. "Quick question... what is that? Were you gonna show me somethin'?"

"Oh! Uhmm... I forgot about that," she began hesitantly, blushing a bit as she stopped, leaning down to pick it up gingerly, as it was face down in the gravel. Which was a lie; she had actually been procrastinating. "Sort of. I mean, I was... ya know, when you were all bent out of shape-"

"What is it?" he pried, standing uncomfortably close.

"Ohhh... just-" she murmured, flinching back from him when a car screamed along. The gust of wind from it snatched the paper from her, and it blew a good distance down the road. One side was rich with color. "Dang it!" she cried, beginning to chase after it.

"Angela!" he cried, grabbing her and yanking her back from the road as another car raced past, blasting its horn at her warningly. Unfortunately, it caught the paper on its front grill as it sped into the distance.

"Oh, I can't believe this!" she cried, swinging her fists as she threatened to run after it.

"It's okay, it's okay," Beast Boy told her, holding her fast. "It's not worth getting hit by a car over. Uhmm... what was it?"

"Oh... just some art I did..." she said falteringly, her fingers curling into the straps as she gazed unhappily down the road. She tried to satisfy herself with the thought that she could have done a better job on it, but that was too much like sour grapes. Still, since the subject was the changeling, and was perhaps a bit suggestive of affectionate matters, maybe this was for the best.

"Ohh... uhm... I'm really sorry about this, but that can be replaced. You can't," he murmured regretfully. "I don't suppose you got any more, though?"

"I... guess..." She dropped her backpack and worked open a little portfolio, her fingers lingering on the edge of another piece. She began to feel self-conscious about it, and was about to drop it. "M-maybe... some other time-"

"Aw, come on!" he insisted. "You can't tease me like that... I wanna see it."

She hesitated, but she did want to know what he thought of her work. "It's just a little thing, but... it's easy to carry around," she told him, drawing the stiff art paper forth. It was mostly dark, but there were splashes of vivid color mixed in. "Here."

When he got a good look at it, he practically cried out in astonishment. It was a dramatic rendition of that time the dragon Melchior had decieved Raven and was fighting her over control of the Tower. He was wrapped around it, his claws digging into the walls and windows, and breathing fire at the tiny figure of the mystic who was blasting it back with all her might. Everything was drawn in incredible detail, and rich with carefully chosen colors "Oh my GOSH!" he squealed. "It's beautiful! Can I have it, please, please please please pleasepleasepleasepleaseplea se...!"

"No - hey, careful! Beast Boy, come on... stop it!" she ordered, afraid that he was going to mar it in his recklessly tight grasp, and finally she leaned forward, glaring, speaking in a voice of doom that caught his attention completely. "Let go, or I'm done with you forever."

That silenced him, though he looked pained as she managed, at last, to tug it from his hands. Smoothing out his finger creases, she muttered, softening a bit at his forlorn expression, "I swear... look, I'll make you another one. An even bigger one, even better than this, on illustration board... freaking huge." She spread her arms wide to demonstrate, as he still looked miserable at losing his prize.

"I don't see how... that one is perfect..." he murmured as she carefully placed it back in the portfolio. "Hey... got any more? Like anything of me?"

"Maybe-" she began, but had the presence of mind to put her hand up, catching him in the face as he practically lunged forward. "But I'll show you later, when you aren't so freaking wired up."

"Wired up? Who's wired up-!" he began, peering around her still outstretched hand, wilting at the dim look she gave him in reply. "Okay okay, I'll drop it a gear," he promised, picking up her bag as they continued along the road, which began winding along lush green hills running to a suburb near the bay. Wanting to get back on a happier footing, he asked, "So... are you an art major? You gotta be, with that kinda talent-"

"Not really," she cut in. "I mean, I am taking a bunch of art classes, but I'm focused on the sciences. In my senior year, I wanna study geophysics."

"I should'a known..." he started to say, falling silent from a dire look from the girl. "I mean... 'cause you look like a... rock hound. Yeah, a rock hound!"

"Yeah..." she muttered dryly. "Just remember a certain verboten subject that'll get you shunned forever. 'Kay?" She wasn't seriously thinking of going that far, but the threat of it seemed to make a perfect leash, and it worked again like magic. She sighed, looking heavenward with regret. "Now, if only I wasn't going to... that school for it..."

"Oh, is school bein' a pain?" he asked, grateful for the shift in attention.

"It's not just any school," she moaned. "It's Saint John Boscoe Catholic Academy..." she groaned out with a shudder. "Aughh... that place..."

This time it was Beast Boy's turn to fall over laughing. "Oh... man! Seriously... that was the guy's name?"

She nodded to him with a smirk. "I think he's neglected in America because of that poor goofy name of his. Not nearly as cool as Thomas Aquinas or John Baptist De La Salle or other patron saints of education, so the Ridgemont Diocese had pity on him and afflicted him on us."

"Now I don't feel so bad about my name-!" he began with a laugh, but froze in mid-chuckle, looking baffled. "Hey... hold da phone. What did you say your dad's name was?"

"I didn't," she replied, "but it's Ezechiel Zitchin-"

"Isn't that like..." His voice trailed off as he struggled to sort through millions of unrelated memories to something he'd watched on one of the Supernormal Channel's shows about a UFO theorist with a similar name. "Russian Jew or something-?"

"Yeah, in fact. He's from Kazakhstan originally. Mom was Katya Mariya Antonova, an Eastern Orthodox girl who converted them both to..." She groaned with a shiver, "Flaming Roman Catholic when they migrated here. Why, I have no idea..."

"So... you go to a freaking Catholic school?" he exclaimed in amazement.

She gaped back at him in shock. "Hel-lo! Saint Boscoe Catholic Academy? School uniforms? And not to mention..." She began laughing at him again. "Oh man... and Mister Superhero failed to notice a twenty-five foot tall Jesus figure on the front of the school? You are good!"

He couldn't manage to fold his arms, so he squeezed his free hand under his tricep, turning away in a huff. "Well... I wasn't interested in the architecture, there... just you."

Her laughted faded quickly when she saw how offended he was. "Uhm... hey, I guess I'm picking on you again. Sorry." She looked aside with a sigh. "Of all the religions, though... Catholicism? I guess Islam would'a been worse. And to think, he worked in the Russian space program with mom..."

"Aww... it's okay," he murmured, flapping his hand. "It's just... that darn Raven's got everyone's nerves all in knots." Then he froze, his eyes doing funny things.

"So, just what is her problem, anyway-?" she began, when Beast Boy cut her off.

"Woah... girl, did you say your mom 'n dad are honest-to-Sagan rocket scientists? That is so mega-awesome!" He was gaping at her in near veneration.

"Yeah it is, actually, although Carl Sagan wasn't really a rocket scientist," she added with a smirk.

"Close enough!" he gushed, undaunted. "So what did they do?"

"Oh, they were involved in all kinds of space projects," she said, obviously proud. "Launching the latest satellites - some of them spy satellites, before the big push for global unity a couple decades ago; sending up sections of the Spaceport Station, astronauts, experimental gear... all kinds of stuff. Mom mostly worked in the graphics and P.R. departments - she's a fantastic artist, but thanks to her technical background, she got called on when they needed help, which is how she met dad."

"You officially have the coolest parents ever," he said in a near-whisper, practically drooling, then asked more sanely, "So... how are things with your folks? Are they cool?"

She had invited this, but now wasn't so sure she wanted to get into it. "Uhm... yeah, they're awesome. They adore me."

When she left it at that, he prodded her. "You sure don't act like it."

She combed her fingers through her hair dejectedly. "Well... it's because things are... strange, these days. Dad works long hours at this high tech firm, and his special projects are messing up just about everything. He's hardly ever home anymore, mom's depressed, tempers are strained, and they can't figure out whether to act like I'm some dumb little kid or nearly an adult. It's... really annoying."

He began with a chuckle, "Sounds like just about every American family with a teenage daughter these days-"

"Not helping," she interrupted with a dim look. "And it also doesn't help that they're from the old country where parents are dictators and they can send you to Siberia for just messing up little things."

"Ouch... should'a seen that one comin'," he mused. "So... have ya tried talkin' to 'em?"

"Hey, we used to talk," she grumbled. "But now, dad's gone a lot, is always defensive when I want to discuss things, and mom defers to dad and doesn't want to seem weak or whiney when she has problems. And when he is home, he drinks. A lot... there's just a bunch of really dumb, pointless tension lately."

"Maan..." he murmured, "this is a tough one."

"Tell me about it..." she whispered glumly.

At first, he was befuddled, but once again, he drew on his newfound wealth of knowledge gained from watching romance flicks with Starfire. "Well... maybe you just need to work on the common interest angles, diplomatically 'n stuff. Like... have your mom show off her artwork, see if she'd give you some advice on your own style - really great style, by the way," he added, which had her grinning sheepishly. "And your dad - well, mom too, I bet they'd love to yack about old times at the Russian spaceport. Didja get to see any space shots with 'em?"

He nearly choked as he realized that if this was indeed Terra, which she really had to be, she couldn't have been with these adopted scientists for more than a few short years. But then, there was what she said next; she looked aside with a perplexed look on her face, admitting, "I... don't remember..."

He gaped at her in shock. "Girl, it's been a few years now, hasn't it? Amnesia like that isn't natural! Haven't your parents tried to-?"

"Of course they have, you idiot!" she shouted. "I can't tell you how many specialists I've seen, and I stump 'em all! The big mystery girl with the missing life no one can recover! And I bet it means that I'm not supposed to know! I bet everyone I ever loved is-!"

She whirled around, because she couldn't bear to look at his devastated face, nor could she bear to let him see hers, as she buried her head in her hands, trying hard not to cry, but failing. He finally drew a deep breath to settle himself, trudging forward, and reached for her shoulder. This was the real problem eating at her: years of life, stolen from her by a frightening, impenetrable amnesia. "Uhm... Ter - uh, sorry, sorry. Angie, listen... I'm sorry, really-"

"Let's promise... to never bring this up again," she blubbered solemnly, wiping her face and snuffling, then turned to face him, though she still looked and sounded miserable. "Okay? And... let's keep it to Angela. For now."

"Alright, I will," he replied earnestly. "But before I do, I have to ask you one thing."

She took a step away from him, looking fearful. "W-what is it?"

He edged forward, asking as gently as he could, "What did you start to say, about everyone you ever loved? You don't mean anything... bad, do ya?"

She hugged herself and turned away, looking frail and forlorn. "I'm... afraid, Beast Boy. I don't know anyone... anything... prior to a few years ago. Just my parents, a few friends... even this world is strange to me." She added faintly, "And I think I'm the reason for it somehow."

"No," he insisted, standing in front of her and reaching for her hand. "Angela, listen. You aren't responsible for anything like that, so get that outta your head, okay?"

She jerked her hand back. "Oh yeah? Like how would you know!"

"Because that's just messed up," he went on, trying to sound convincing. "And what you said... you don't mean to say that you don't even really love your parents, do ya?"

She hung her head, wishing for this inquisition to end. "Can't we drop this and just get to the promising part?"

"But Angela... you keep sayin' these strange things that don't make any sense! I know that parents are sometimes weirdoes that... well, don't make sense either, but you gotta know that you mean the world to them! And they have'ta know that you appreciate all the stuff they do to give you a good life, do nice things for ya, just because you're their little girl-"

"Stop it!" she cried. "This is what scares me... that I'll lose everything I care about... everyone... like before..." Tears beaded in her eyes afresh and ran down her cheek as she again faced away from him.

He couldn't bear to see her cry, grasping her hand from behind, startling her. "Listen to me. You blame yourself for it all, don'cha. Everything that goes wrong, everything that messes up your day, your life... you think you're responsible, right?"

"W-well... I don't see anyone else to blame," she blubbered. "Do you-?"

"Okay, you stop it! That's just crazy!" he told her sternly, turning her around. "Lemme tell you somethin'. Raven may be a gloomy crank most o' the time, but she's really smart, and she schooled me about this thing called the self-fulfilling prophecy. Ya know, that if ya get somethin' stuck in yer head, and believe in it long enough, that you'll do whatever it takes to make it happen, if for nothin' else than to keep from drivin' yourself crazy. And girl, I've seen it happen before! Robin got himself so worked up over this mega-bad guy called Slade that he nearly killed himself in an imaginary fight with the dude! And it was all in his head!"

She leaned against a utility pole, hugging herself to it and looking away. It was an old wooden pole, rough and splintered, but she didn't care. "Buh... but, everyone else is gone!" she insisted. "Even my memories-!"

"So? Are you gonna run all your life, make everyone gone all over again? You know you want people around that care for you, or you wouldn't be talkin' like this. We're all dyin' to help you... you gotta know that. Don't push us away... don't push me away, please?" He spoke her name softly, hoping to soothe her fears and moved into view once more, but it felt too much as if he was trying to entrap her, and she flinched away as he clutched at her hand. Her eyes popped open and she gasped as a sharp pain lanced through her cheek.

"Angela!" he cried as blood flowed from a long cut, caused by a sharp edge on the pole. He opened a pouch on his belt to draw out a sanitized towelette that smelled of lemon. "Here... hold still a minute. This is gonna hurt-" She hissed as he touched it to her cheek, wiping along the line of the cut as gently as he could to clean the blood. "A lot... stupid old pole. Uhm... this'll prob'ly hurt too, ya got a big splinter in there." He withered as she squeezed her eyes shut, hissing, but not much else, as he worked to remove it as gingerly as he could with tweezers, then squeezed some skin glue from a small tube into the wounds to seal them, pressing the flesh together gently to finish up. "Whew..." he wheezed, "sorry for the pain, but Doctor Bee is all done. Feel better?"

"Some... thanks. I guess I shouldn't've been so stupid to start with." She looked to him briefly with a thin smile. "You said my right name... thanks for that too."

"Eh, if I did, it was an accident, but hey, I'm tryin'," he admitted with a grin. He squeezed her hands reassuringly, gazing intently into her frightened eyes. "Angela, listen to me. You gotta stand up to your fears and break this cycle. If you were bad, I could maybe see what you said bein' true. But girl... you're so good! I can just tell by bein' around you. I got animal instincts that ya can't lie to. You just had rotten luck, that's all. You got good parents, right?" She nodded meekly. "And... hopefully, you still want me around, at least every once in a while." When she didn't answer right away, he looked to the ground, his ears drooping. "Ohh, well..."

"Yeah... I do," she murmured. As he began to give a joyful exclamation, he was interrupted by the girl gripping him in a stranglehold of a hug, squeezing him fiercely as she shivered from an inner storm of emotions. "Just... hold me for a minute, will you?" she whimpered as her tears ran down both their cheeks. "I wanna feel like... it's true... what you said... that things will be good from now on..."

He wrapped her gently in his arms, squeezing her back lightly. "Hey... come on, babe. It'll be all right, it will. You'll see. Anything I can do for you, just name it." He wanted to enjoy this moment, something he'd only dreamed of, but couldn't. She was too devastated, at the mercy of her rampant fears, and his stomach ached with sympathy for her. Even worse than the tears was the shaking, and he whispered urgently, "Angela... please, sweetheart, calm down-"

"Be quiet. Just... hold me, and let me cry," she sobbed. "It... makes me feel better..."

It took some time, and his shoulder became damp from all her tears, but finally they dwindled, and her quaking stopped, and her breathing slowed. She pulled away from him, but he couldn't let go of her hand. And as hers lingered in his, she found it comforting. They sat on their respective packs as he held hands with her, simply gazing into each other's eyes as the sun crept slowly towards the horizon, painting everything with gold. "You look so pretty... with the sun shinin' on ya like this," he told her softly. "I want your life to be just as nice for you, so you never cry again."

"Thank you..." she whispered, looking like she wanted to cry once more, but this time with joy, a warm smile on her lips. "I feel all mixed up, but... better. You give me hope that... you're right about all this. I guess... we'll see, huh."

He nodded, squeezing her hand fondly. "Yeah... we'll see, together. You'll see," he added with a wink.

She couldn't help but laugh at that, as he was the easiest person to cut it up with her that she had ever met. Before she knew it, though, she grasped him by the shoulders, kissing him on the forehead. She did it thoughtlessly, but didn't want to stop it, her lips lingering on his skin as he shivered from the tender act of affection. She burst out laughing as he fell over, an idiotic grin on his face, blinking back happy, relieved tears.

As he collected himself and sat back down on the bag of laundry, blinking, he asked incredulously, "Uhm... not that I mind or anything, but... where the heck did that come from!"

She curled her fingers to her lips, murmuring, "Ohh... inside, I guess. I, uhm... don't think I'm ready for a... real kiss, yet, but... someday..." She looked aside, blushing beet red and smiling.

He wilted at that, as another lifetime ago, on a night with a girl named Terra in a ferris wheel, they had nearly shared their lips in a romantic moment. But this was a different girl, struggling with different demons, and things would have to go a little more gently, he realized. But, maybe he could enjoy a little something with her...

Her breath caught in her throat as he stood in front of her, watching wide eyed as he took his gloves off and bowed to her. She couldn't bear to look, closing her eyes, her lips parting on their own. She gasped as his lips touched her flesh, but to her surprise, on her forehead, as she had done with him. She burned with regret that he hadn't done the manly thing, but then, she had threatened him so much in that walk home, he was probably afraid to be too forward, wasn't he? But, not too afraid, and she gasped as he cupped her face in his hands. Soft, strong, gentle hands, loving hands. As she clasped his hand more firmly to her cheek, he murmured, gazing deep into her eyes, "Yeah... someday, when you're ready, I have a kiss wait'n for you. A real one. I promise."

She nodded with a smile, whispering, "Me too." He gave a little yelp of surprise as she bowled him over in another hug, both of them tumbling to the ground beside the road as she clung to him fiercely, clenching the fabric of his suit in tight fists. "Ohh, Beast Boy..." she whimpered, laying her head against his, "I can't believe I made you go away for two years. If you were the one person who could help me... I am so gonna scream..."

"Hey, I'm a slow learner too," he told her with a smile, making her chuckle again through fresh tears. He savored a few moments of her warm presence, lying on top of him, but knew that he had to get things moving again; it was likely getting towards her supper time. "Uhm... listen, as much as I'd love for this to drag on for like... a few days or so, I'd better get you home, or we're gonna be campin' out here."

She lifted herself up to gaze down at him, straddling his belly, her cheeks wet once more, but with a smile. "Yeah... and you'd be smelling of sour gym clothes," she snuffled.

"Among other things," he professed as he stroked her tears away, and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah..." she murmured fretfully, clasping his hand in hers. "I just... wish..."

"Hey, there's tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that... there's a lot o' days in a lifetime, ya know," he said with a grin, causing that laugh he couldn't hear enough.

"You silly..." she chuckled as she offered him a hand up.

"That's me, all right," he said, rising to his feet, and as he dusted himself off with his gloves, murmured with a twinge of regret, "Me 'n my scruples..."

She caught that and blushed bright red, looking away as she tried to calm herself down. "Uhm... listen, the school is having a friday evening soccer game... and I'm playing." Her fingers curled in her hair as she added hesitantly, "I'd... appreciate it if you'd come watch..."

"It's a date!" he declared, causing her to jump. "Uhm... I mean... sure, heh. Uhh... and hey, I have an email addy 'n all... uhmm..." He was angry at himself for suddenly going completely tongue-tied and flustered like a little kid.

"Oh, I know that-" she began, then blinked at herself in shock.

"You do?" he asked in surprise.

"Uhm... yeah! I mean, you said, right?" she said a bit too loudly.

When it occurred to him what her reaction implied, he gave her a big, toothy grin. "Why, yes... yes I did." It melted into an honest, warm smile as he took her hand. "Eh, come on, let's get you home, so you can get that homework outta the way."

"Thanks for reminding me," she grumbled, though she bumped him with her hip playfully.

When they finally reached her home, she stiffened, snatching her hand back. A pair of adults, obviously her parents, were standing in the door of a large two story house, and stared at them with concern all over their faces. Angela waved jovially as they walked up the driveway, beginning, "Hey, mom, dad, this is-"

"...In this house right this minute, young lady!" Ezechiel called, having begun talking over her in a thickly laced accent. "Where were you all this time!"

"Uhm... with me?" Beast Boy said with a sheepish wave. "Hey, listen, she was perfectly-"

"I was perfectly-" she said together with him, but the father interrupted.

"And what were you doing with that creature?" he demanded.

Angela looked to the youth in humiliation as he gathered himself, trying to fight back an angry retort. "That's American citizen creature to you, popski," he grumbled. "Listen, maybe you just flew in from Mars or somethin' and aren't up on the news of the last decade or so, but I happen to be one o' the Teen Titans."

"Beast Boy," she hissed warningly, "ease up."

"Dear, please..." said Katya at the same time, reaching for her husband's arm. While she seemed pretty, something about her reminded Beast Boy uncomfortably of Madame Rouge.

He brushed her off. "Get in this house this instant!" he ordered. "We were sick with worry over you! You know that there are riots breaking out in the city these days! And here, you were out running around with this hooligan!"

"He's not a hooligan and he's not a creature!" the girl shouted hotly, taking his hand. "He's my friend! His name is..." She began to say Beast Boy, but was afraid that his team name wouldn't help her cause. Finally, she declared, "Garfield!"

"Aheh..." he chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "That's me... good ol' Garfield..."

The man's eyes seemed to burn through the youth like heat vision. "I trust that I am not going to be displeased by the explanation," he growled. "Now do as you are told, young lady!"

She turned around to stand in front of the teen, still holding his hand. "I'm sorry," she told him guardedly, "he's not usually this bad, but like I said, things at work have been kind of strained lately."

He looked to her in dismay. "Girl, if this is strained, I'd hate to see a meltdown! So what is the deal? Did they get sold into Chinese slave labor or what!"

"Angela!" the man shouted angrily.

"A minute!" she yelled over her shoulder. As she looked to the changeling, her gaze became forlorn, almost fearful again. "See me tomorrow after school?" she begged, giving his hand a hard squeeze.

"Wouldn't miss it for all the free pizza in the world," he murmured with a smile, squeezing her hand back warmly. Then before he could think of what he was saying, he added, "Kiss kiss."

He withered as fresh tears ran down her cheeks, and she whispered back, "Kiss kiss..." Then, grabbing her bag and turning on her heels, she stormed to the front door where she growled, "Hey, mom, dad... thanks for making a damn scene."

"Inside," he ordered icily, casting a viperous glare to the young teen before passing through the doorway himself. Angela lingered in the threshold, her eyes locked in Beast Boy's, looking haunted, almost desperate, as if pleading for him to rescue her, until her mother finally closed the door on them.

He stood there for several moments, transfixed, unable to take his eyes from the door which stole his beloved Angela from him. It hurt that the last sight he had to cling to was of her in tears. Finally, anger welled up in him towards the parents, who he had believed to be such good, trustworthy, cool people. "I dunno why I thought so much of you two," he grumbled. "I went into space myself. I even traveled to other planets! It's no biggie..."

As he trudged down the plascrete driveway to the road, one of the neighbor kids called to him, "How's it goin', Garfield!"

He stumbled, half-crying, "Just perfect... my whole life has just officially done a nose dive right into The Stupid Zone..."

"Angela!" Ezechiel shouted in the entranceway as the girl dropped her things in the livingroom. "You know that I expect you to do as you are instructed, without deviation!"

"I know..." she muttered tiredly, watching through the front windows sadly as Beast Boy shuffled off. Then in a robotic, Russian-tinged voice, she intoned, "No deviations are permitted according to zis unit's programmink-" A stream of rough, almost jagged sounding syllables poured angrily from the man, while the wife tried fervently to talk him down. Angela wanted to pull her hair out, shouting, "You know that speaking Kazakh or Russian around me isn't fair!" She folded her arms at the couple as they fell silent, asking him pointedly, "So, is work still being a pain, dad?"

"Oy..." he breathed out sourly, leaning against the wall. "You need not worry about that. I want to know why you are running around with a little green..." He had trouble settling on a word that she understood which wasn't too offensive. "Hobgoblin!"

"He's a friend!" she exclaimed. "A word I expect you to learn quickly!"

"Do not mock your father!" he began angrily, seizing her arm in a tight fist and giving her a jerk, when he noticed how she winced. Then he saw spots of blood on her blouse, and the cut in her cheek, partly concealed by Beast Boy's first aid. Unsettled by this revelation, his accent darkened even more. He reached for her face, asking in concern, "Vwat happened?"

"N-nothing," she muttered, trying to work free of his grasp, and he relented. "I wasn't looking where I was going and... ran into a pole. Beast Boy took care of it. He's very nice," she half-lied. Her voice and gaze became accusing again. "Which is something I've been wanting to experience around here for a couple of months now. I haven't felt very much at home lately! I miss my dad!" This seemed to wound him deeply, and he practically stumbled into a chair while the two women gazed at him in regret and concern. She wanted to cry again, gasping loudly, "I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean that..."

After muttering to himself for a few moments, he waved to his daughter. "Krutaya, come here. Please." She hesitated uncertainly for a moment, but finally drifted over, placing her hand in his. He rubbed his coarse, thick, Kazakhian thumb over the back of her hand softly. "You know... that you are the delight of our lives, your ma and me. If you do not, then I am a very wretched, sad excuse for a father."

"No, you aren't..." she murmured, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "You're a very good father. I'm just a rotten daughter-"

"You are not," he chuckled as Katya slipped her hand over her shoulder, wishing to comfort her. "You are just young, and confused. Am I right?"

"Uhm... yeah..." she whimpered. "Life is being... stupid. School, and... things. But... it's more than that. I... still can't remember..."

He heaved a big, hearty sigh, giving her hand a squeeze. "I am sorry that we have been unable to help you with that. But, in a way, I am glad. It means that all you know is your life with us, and you have no way of knowing how much better other parents can be." He gave her a little smile and a wink.

She learned early on that Russian humor was atrocious, and this was no exception, as it made her feel dreadful. She dealt with it as best she could, but couldn't hold back the tears as she hugged the middle-aged scientist which she knew as her father. "Please... don't talk like that. I can't imagine myself with anyone else..."

He patted her shoulder a bit firmly, but that's how he was. "Vwell... I am certainly happy for that. But, you can imagine yourself with Mister Beast?" he asked directly.

She drew back, feeling ill from the tumult of emotions spinning in her gut, though what was welling up the strongest just then was anger. If he was being xenophobic, she knew she'd give him a punch. "Dad, look... he's a nice guy. Much like any other kid. He just happens to have super powers. And he makes me feel better."

"There had better not be the usual adolescent reasons for that," he grumbled, bear-like.

"No!" she exclaimed in frustration. "We just talked, that's all. Which is something we used to do... what I'd like to do now."

He heaved a weary sigh, and she was afraid she knew what he was going to say. "Vwell... I'm afraid I must disappoint you today also. I must go back to verk. I vill not be staying for supper."

Her mother drew a deep breath, clearly disappointed as well. She was wearing a dress, a red dress. They had planned on going out tonight; relieving tension, having fun, probably coming back very late after she went to bed to enjoy each other intimately as married couples do. Angela thought they were charming, romantic, and accepted her room at the opposite end of the house so they could enjoy a measure of privacy. But as usual, their plans were wrecked, and he wouldn't say a word about it. Her world came apart one piece more. How much longer until she disappeared? "That's okay," she said in lifeless resignation. "I have homework anyway. But... could I listen to some of your music before supper?"

"Of course, krut'ya-" he began, reaching for her hand, but she had already flitted off for the family room. "Not too much, though, and not too loudly. You know how you hate it when your mother has to barge in-"

"I know," she called back, but for a while, she would need that volume badly.

He had a massive library, and with classical music, it spanned more than a century. Though as a boy enamored with the freedoms of America and Europe, fueled with the lingering spunky, revolutionary attitudes of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher from the previous century, he had become addicted to western rock music. His massive library was a treasure trove, as he had the money to buy as much of it as he wanted. Obviously, he wanted a lot.

As she picked out several discs, she could hear him rumbling guardedly to her mother, "Be sure to set the alarm when I leave."

His voice was far too deep and aggressive to conceal well, so she occasionally caught bits of conversation not meant for her ears. Future-Dyne was a bleeding edge company working on everything from military projects, nano-devices and cold fusion to potential star-drive technology, so discretion was an obvious necessity. But his overly secretive behavior was getting on her nerves, not to mention the unpleasant turmoil that came with it, and mother wouldn't talk about it. "Seriously, dad, what's with the cloak 'n dagger attitude all the time?" she muttered as she tromped up the stairs to her room.

She grabbed her laptop from her dresser and flung herself on her brightly colored bed. The whole room was done up in a shoutingly cheerful, cartoony, pastel motif better suited to a young child, not a middle-teen, and though it usually didn't bother her, today it was unpleasantly eye-gouging. She knew just what she wanted to hear, or watch, pulling one album from the pile, slipping the second disc into the computer drive and jamming earbuds into place.

Among many artists from the end of the 20th Century, one which stood out prominently was a Brit named Peter Gabriel, who mangled everyday reality into strange, dystopian worlds, like some mad herald created by Alfred Hitchcock. One song in particular became something of an anthem for her, though not a happy one; she tabbed to it and pushed the volume up all the way. The video which accompanied the music was a disturbing twist on the life of the disfunctional. Filled with almost naked, bald men painted white as if buried, painful fragments of his life, their faces twisted and grotesque, they tormented and hounded Peter relentlessly through a ruined alternate reality as he scrambled desperately to find one shred of who he really was. He began uttering clipped, garbled, obscene sounding gibberish as the music pounded into her ears, and she began shivering. She couldn't remember how many times she'd watched it, but it seemed particularly brutal today.

I got no means to show identification
I got no papers show you what I am
You'll have to take me just the way that you find me
What's gone is gone and I do not give a damn

Empty stomach, empty head!
I got empty heart, and empty bed!
I don't remember
I don't remember!

I don't remember, I don't recall
I got no memories of anything at all
I don't remember, I don't recall
I got no memories of anything
Anything at all

Strange is your language, I have no decoder
Why don't you make your inentions clear?
With eyes to the sun and your mouth to the bottle, saying
"Tell me the truth, you got nothing to fear"

Stop staring at me like a bird of prey!
I'm all mixed up, I got nothing to say!
I don't remember!
I don't remember!

I don't remember, I don't recall
I got no memories of anything at all
I don't remember, I don't recall
I got no memories of anything
ANYTHING AT ALL!

He began crying out in wild, primal, tribal phrases, as the words NOW and HERE merged on the screen to form one.

NOWHERE

He stood on a precipice leading only to death. A blowdart struck beside a family picture hanging from a dingy wall, which fell and shattered among filth. The sharp lines of fracture cut through the three figures in it. Sliced painfully through her own soul.

Tears pouring down her cheeks, she threw herself forward, buried her face in her pillow and screamed. Again and again, louder, till she curled up from the pain. Inwardly, she wailed, 'Beast Boy... save me, please...'

From the depths of the earth came a dark, ominous rumble; for a few moments, the ground trembled for dozens of miles.

He had become a gull, and flew to the Tower across the bay. As he landed and resumed his proper form, something made him look back sharply from whence he'd come. Everything looked serene along the coast, but something disturbed him. Clasping his hands as if in prayer, he said pleadingly, "Angela... baby, if you're in trouble, tell me. Any way you can, sweetheart. I'm just right over here." He could only hope that she wasn't doing that very thing...

---

Robin tried for about the hundredth time to work up the nerve to knock on Starfire's door. He had to buy another tuxedo and shoes, since he had outgrown the suit left over from that ridiculous evening when he had been blackmailed into dating Killer Moth's obscenely bratty daughter, Kitten. In his arms was a truly immense bouquet of dozens of roses - he'd forgotten if it was sixty or seventy-two or whatever. But inside, he could hear the alien girl crying and whimpering to herself, sounding utterly pathetic, and so he resumed pacing, trying to convince himself that a face-to-face with her wouldn't result in an unpleasant scene. "Yeah... right," he muttered to himself. "She flew through the walls of the Tower to get away from me. I'll be lucky if she doesn't blast me..." And on he paced.

Starfire sprawled across her bed on her tummy, her pillow drenched with tears, as Silky dutifully licked them from her cheeks. But they were becoming raw from this undue attention from the larva, and eventually, she had to push the creature away. "Please, Silkie... stop," she moaned, "your licking is becoming quite painful. Although it is nothing compared to the torment which afflicts my heart... ohh..." she whined, tears welling up anew as she rolled onto her back, clutching one of her pillows. "How have the past two days fallen into such dreadful ruin? I was so looking forward to enjoying the time of Khemelmesh'd with my friends... and now, we are divided by foolish troubles which should not be. It is like... the Rekhmaz has befallen us all, dividing us..." She whimpered as tears trickled into her ears, "And now, Raven is suffering from the drinking... and Robin, the one I care for more than any other... has found other legs to stare upon... rather than mine..."

Silkie nuzzled against her, rubbing its face against her cheek, as it had never seen the girl in a pit of such misery before. It gave a squeak as Starfire grasped it in an uncomfortably tight hug, squirming as it tried vainly to escape. She sobbed, "If only... Robin would come to me... to appologize... to say anything, if only to let me know that I still mean... something to him-"

She gave a feminine yelp as the larva bit her forearm. She released it out of reflex, and it skittered to the edge of her bed, panting for breath. "Ohh... I am sorry. I did not mean to-" she whimpered, reaching for it, but it feared another suffocating hug from the girl and bolted off with a sqeal for the safety of its bed near the closet. She sat up, hugging her legs to her chest, fresh tears running down the salty trails left from an afternoon of misery. "I am afraid that some horrible curse has fallen on us all... even I cause trouble and heartache for my friends. Ohh... if only my own heart would stop beating... bring an end to this horrible suffering..." she wailed.

Abruptly, there was an urgent knock at the door, which sent her scurrying under her covers, as if they could see through the walls and catch sight of her in this embarrassing state. She felt foolish and climbed from under them, sniffling weakly, "Who is it?" Unfortunately, because of all the crying, her ears were a bit wooly, and it was impossible to make out the words, or who it was clearly as they answered. "Raven... Beast Boy?" she asked tentatively as she crept to her door, and after some trepidation, decided to open it if only to see who it was. She gave a loud gasp at the sight of that familiar mask and spikey head full of hair gel which just managed to peek over a huge tissue-wrapped armload of some kind. "Ohh, Robin!" she exclaimed, throwing herself face first into a massive bundle of thorns.

She squeaked in alarm as she suffered a number of scratches, backing away as Robin cried, "Starfire - careful!"

"I - I am sorry!" she blurted out in confusion, not knowing what to make of this baffling obstacle. "I did not mean to disrupt... whatever strange Earth tradition this is-"

"These are roses," he explained with a half-hearted smile. "It's what guys give to the girl they intend to... uhm..."

She blinked back tears as she edged forward with a smile. "Oh... Robin, you... purchased these freshly killed plants for-" she began sweetly, then she gave a loud gasp as she caught sight of a painfully familiar black suit on him.

"Hey!" Robin exclaimed as the door slid shut with a bang.

"You are going out with that... f'nark-nosed fimblarg Kitten?!" she cried, then leaned against the door, weeping bitterly all over again. "Truly... this is the most horrible day that I have ever lived..."

"Oh! Hell-eck... heck no!" he laughed. "Starfire, listen... I bought these freshly killed flowers for you."

The door immediately slid back open, and a repentant if tear-stained girl stood in the opening. She snuffled meekly, "Please, Robin... forgive me for jumping to a very lofty conclusion. The past two days have been a painful ordeal for me. Do come in, please."

"They have for everyone, believe me," he told her as he entered. Unfortunately, the immense bouquet was wider than he realized, and the open end caught on the doorway. Half of the flowers spilled out, and as he tried to catch them, he ended up flinging most of the remainder all over the room.

"Uhmm... thank you, Robin," Starfire said with an uncertain smile, trying to sound grateful as she pulled one of them gingerly from her hair. "For... spreading these roses throughout my room so... florally."

"Yeah, but I didn't mean to-" he began when Silkie emerged, wide eyed and ravenous, and began devouring the roses as fast as it could. "Oh, for crying out loud-" Robin groaned, finishing tiredly, "Bon appetit."

They both looked to each other resignedly, but the humor of the moment had them both laughing in seconds. Her breath caught in her throat as Robin handed the immense but mostly empty package to her, murmuring with an embarrassed smile, "Uhm... these are for you. What's left of them."

His own breath caught short as she told him in the sweetest voice he had ever heard from her, "They are lovely, Robin... thank you." She took a deep breath from the opening, drinking in the fragrance which lingered in the bundle. "They smell very... rosey."

Neither one could resist a laugh from Starfire's inevitably awkward wording, and when it worked itself out, Robin took her hand with a sigh, giving it a squeeze. "Listen... I want to appologize. What I said today... it was just stupid-"

"As was my reaction," she admitted as she set the bouquet on her bed. "I am afraid... that I will fall under the power of my emotions from time to time like that... and I am sorry that I caused you such worry for nothing-"

"No, it wasn't for nothing," he told her, his voice growing soft. "I needed it to remind me... just how important you are... to me..."

As Silkie continued to vacuum up the flowers strewn around the room, the young couple were lost in each other's gaze for some time. Starfire broke the silence at last, in a voice sweet and tender. "You are... dressed as is the custom... for a young male to bring along... a young female aquaintance... on an evening out, are you not?"

"Yeah... that was the idea," he replied. "I wanted to make up for the nonsense I put you through today... in a special way." He edged forward until they were practically touching.

His closeness caused her cheeks to flush a vivid pink. "Uhmm... then perhaps... I should freshen up, as they say... and will be ready within a half hour." She began to run her fingers through his hair, and in spite of the gooey substance which kept his locks firmly in place, it took a few moments for her to notice. Making a face as she pulled her gel-coated hand back, she asked him hesitantly, "Uhm, perhaps... you could have a little... less of the substance in your hair this evening? In case... I want to..." She blushed even redder, unable to continue.

"I'll take a quick shower," he blurted out hoarsely, practically lunging for the door, and sent Silkie spinning across the carpet as he caught the unwary larva with his toe.

She clutched her gooey hand to her bosom for a moment of lurid, romantic fantasy, only to interrupt it with a squeal of displeasure when she realized that her hands were sticking together. Shaking the goo off, the glob splashing onto Silkie's head, she threw off her clothes and literally flew into her restroom for her bath things.

She was dismayed to find the one bathroom occupied, the shower running full blast. She growled angrily, "Now, who in the world could be taking a shower at this particular moment...!" Stifling her ire, she knocked on the door, saying as politely as she could, "Uhm... excuse me please, but... will this be taking long-?"

"Oh! Uhh, I'll hurry, Starfire!" Robin shouted back from inside. "I'm sorry!"

"Oh! That is all right!" she said brightly with a wave as if he could see her through the door, having completely forgotten what he'd told her. "Take your time!"

"No! I'll... uhm..." he began, and just then the water stopped, followed by a commotion. She wasn't thinking straight, waiting patiently for him to exit. When the door opened a moment later, both of them cried out as he stood there with a towel clutched around his waist, which just managed to conceal the embarrassing parts. Barely. Until he bolted for the corridor.

She choked on another scream, her bath things flung into the air as she pulled the hood of the robe down over her eyes. "I am so sorry!" she exclaimed, but couldn't resist one last glimpse of the man she loved, in his entirety, before he vanished around the corner. At least the rear entirety.

She jumped as there was another outcry in that direction from Beast Boy. "Dude! What the heck is WRONG with you!"

As Robin shouted back a brief appology, she kicked her things into the bathroom and dove inside, slamming the door shut. As she caught her breath, her heart racing, she had to laugh at the misadventure she had just gone through. And as she settled into her shower, she couldn't resist enjoying a little fantasy of what it must be like to have him there, with her, helping out... among other things...

---

Robin stood outside her door, tugging on his collar as perspiration ran down his cheeks. He felt humiliated from the encounter at the bathroom, muttering as he dabbed at his face with a handkerchief, "At this rate, I'll need another shower. What must she be thinking?"

Starfire had to shake herself out of her reverie, thoughts of chasing Robin down the corridor with nothing but the towel on flooding her mind. "I will be just a few minutes longer!" she called through the door as Silkie mopped up the last bits of the roses from the room. She was browsing the internet for dating tips between dressing, and some of them had her blushing more than she had in her entire life, and her hormones raging. "What is this... intimate protection they speak of?" She looked at a small foil packet on the screen, but it was unfamiliar to her. "Whatever it is, I am sure that I do not have any." She rolled on some deodorant under her arms, then for good measure, rubbed it all across her back and tummy under the pink dress she had saved from prom night, as she couldn't seem to cool down. She growled at herself angrily, "Oooh... stop perspiring you... stupid garblofted body of mine-!"

"Is... anything the matter?" Robin asked nervously through the door.

"Nuuuthiiiing!" she called back in a singing tone as she fluffed out her dress several times to bring some air under it, hoping to cool herself off. "Heavenly Space, I must calm myself down," she murmured, then picked up the larva, rubbing noses with it, saying, "Now Silkie, you be a good little-" It belched in her face, a puff of rose petals settling all over her. She made a face, dropping the bewildered larva, and dashed into the washroom to wipe the withered petals from her. "Ugh... partially digested roses do not smell nearly so sweet," she muttered. Spotting the still-open browser as she emerged, she jumped over to shut off the monitor, then flew to the door, practically lunging through it, and knocked Robin over in the process. "Oh, I am so sorry..." she began, helping him to his feet.

"No, it's okay..." he started to reply, feeling dismayed at how easily she hoisted him up, like a small child.

"Here, let me get that..." they said at the same time, dabbing at each other's perspiring faces with handkerchiefs, then felt silly and backed away.

Robin couldn't help but gaze down the length of the girl before him, blushing with her in reaction. "You look... beautiful..." he said in a tone just above a whisper.

"And you are... very handsome, as always," she murmured in a voice like music. She couldn't resist tweaking him a bit, asking demurely, "I just hope that my legs are pleasing to you."

"I wish I could see more of you-" he began, then both turned aside, feeling awkward. "Uhm... sorry, that came out completely wrong..."

He flinched as she took his hand, murmuring with a blush, "Not at all. I understand, and, uhm... feel... similarly..."

Thoughts of running from her and not quite wearing a towel came to him, but they seemed much less embarrassing at the moment. He squeezed her hand, holding it between them as his heart began to race. "Starfire..." he told her softly, "I know we both have... feelings that we... well, I, mostly... haven't really dealt with properly. But I want to change that. I want to open... a new chapter... in our lives. I want this night... to be special for you. Whatever you want to do... just name it."

Her eyes shone like emeralds in his, and her voice grew very quiet and affectionate. "Whatever you want to do with me... will be wonderful..." It took a few moments for what she said to fully sink in, causing him to twitch in reaction, and when it struck her why he did, she turned away, her whole torso flushing red. "Uhm... I suppose... that came out completely wrong, also." She couldn't help but giggle at their responses.

He took her hand, turning her around to face him, shivering at the lingering blush on her. He knew he had to be just as red. "Uhm... hey, why don't we just... go, and do whatever hits us at the moment?"

"That sounds like a marvelous idea," she replied, beaming at him with a smile.

Her stomachs did somersaults as he kissed her hand. "Okay, then... let's see where the evening takes us."

They both stood beside his motorcycle in the garage, staring at it dubiously. Starfire's dress was made for dancing, not bike riding. "Uhm... maybe we could take Cyborg's T-Car," he suggested.

As the young cybernaut shouldered a duct into place, still working on the damaged innards of the Tower, he said into his communicator, "Uhh... sure, I guess you could tap it for the night. But you ever drive a stick?"

Robin looked into the front seat at the stick shift and clutch. His motorcycle was a manual, but riding a bike and driving a car were completely different. "Uhh... never mind," he muttered. He pulled up the business listings on the screen, saying to Starfire, "How about we rent a limo?"

She gave a squeal of delight. "Oh, Robin, that sounds so... aristocratic!"

He grinned in anticipation as he held the communicator to his ear. "Okay then - yeah, Econoline Limo? How much for... uh-huh..." He fell silent for quite some time, as the service rep detailed their prices for various limousines. Abruptly he cried, "How much for-?!" Starfire felt her elegant evening in a limousine slipping away as Robin tugged on his collar awkwardly. "Yeah, but... that's more than I'd intended to spend on the entire night. Uhm... I don't suppose you have a superhero discount...? Yeah, I know what the economy is like these days..."

She leaned forward, whispering, "Perhaps... I could assist with the fee-"

He made a face at her, saying guardedly, "Starfire, this is supposed to be your night. Besides, the cost is... well..."

He showed her the screen, and her jaw nearly hit the floor. "Why... those prices are far more than decadent... they are extortion-!"

"Nothing," Robin said into the communicator quickly. "M-maybe next month... sorry to have bothered you." They stared at the motorcycle, sighing in unison as he pocketed his comm. "Maybe... I could learn to drive the T-Car-" he began, when Starfire held out her hand to him.

"You have your utility belt with you, do you not?"

He chuckled, shaking his head as he tugged it up from beneath his beltline. "You know me too well. What do you want?"

"One of your... rang things," she said with a lopsided smile. "I forget what you call them."

"This, a bird-a-rang?" he asked, holding one of his bird-shaped weapons out to her.

"Mm-hmm," she replied, taking it, and slicing through the skirt, very far up the side of her hip and all the way down, and did the same for the other side. "There," she said, handing his weapon back to him as she stood with her hand on her hip, looking seductive. "Now, I should be able to ride with you on your motorcycle without causing undue embarrassment."

She giggled as the device fell out of his hand, as he was too caught up in gaping at her to notice it. "I, uhhmm... like your new look... a lot," he mumbled as he collected his weapon, placing it back in his utility belt.

She grinned, feeling mischievous and alluring, twisting to and fro so the fabric would part enticingly, showing off her figure and her slender legs. "I take it that you enjoy... what it reveals?"

Random syllables tumbled from him as he struggled to find a coherent voice, finally blurting out, "Hell yeah. I mean..."

"I know what you mean," she murmured, taking his hand and giving it a warm squeeze as their eyes dwelt in each other, though she could only imagine his. She took her time, letting the moment linger, so both of them could enjoy it. At last, she said to him, "We need helmets to ride this legally, do we not?"

"And safely," he added, releasing her hand reluctantly to grab a pair of helmets from a nearby table, giving her one. "But you'll be perfectly safe with me."

"I know I will," she nodded with a smile.

A few moments later, she wasn't so sure. She had never ridden with the Boy Wonder before, since she could fly. But this time, she wanted to know what it was like for him, and so she gripped herself to him tightly as he launched his motorcycle from the Tower, screaming as it sailed an incredible distance at a gut wrenching height above the bay, riding on thruster jets to keep it aloft until it reached land. The sight was amazing, as the sun had set a short time ago, and the city below them was beginning to gleam like it was encrusted with jewels, as countless lights began to glow. "Easy, Starfire!" he shouted to her, sounding a bit strained at the strength of her grip on his chest. "Much more of that, and I'll need to tape up my ribs when we make land!"

"I am sorry...!" she wailed, though her cry became laughter as she became used to the flight, giving another outcry as the ground came up very fast to her. In spite of the rapid drop, though, they landed without incident on the docks.

As she shivered, clinging to him, he had to grin at how emotional the girl was, which was odd considering she was the strongest member of the team. "Are you alright?"

It took a moment for her to collect her wits. "Ohh... I am much more than all right." She thrust her fists high overhead jubilantly, exclaiming, "We must do this again very soon!"

"I love this girl," he laughed, roaring off for the center of the city as the sky deepened into blue and violet, and stars peeked down from the velvet of early evening. He shivered as her embrace grew warm, her hands caressed his muscular torso, and she lay along his back, resting her helmet lightly on his shoulder. He wished that he could fondle her slender legs, stroke them with one hand, but that would be foolhardy.

Back at the Tower, Cyborg groaned as a screwdriver, a mere manual screwdriver, slipped from his hand and clattered into the darkness below as he was securing another section of ductwork to the vent it belonged to. "Oh, that does it! I lost my last dang tool to this stupid crawlspace!" he cried, scrambling out of the inner latticework of the Tower walls, and grabbed a package with several large rolls of metallic adhesive. "I don't care how much sweat and duct tape it takes... you are gettin' finished RIGHT NAOW!"

With an angry cry, he dove back in, tape pulled from rolls with a savage rasp, and began literally attacking every piece of ductwork and cabling which had yet to be secured, relentlessly wrapping everything with countless lengths of silver-gray tape. "BOOYAH!" he cried victoriously at the end of it, enjoying the sight of his handiwork, dusting his hands off. Although, as he gave it a second look, it seemed more like Fang, the teenage half-spider thug, had invaded and turned the crawlspace into his personal lair. And the ductwork didn't quite follow the neat, orderly patterns it had before. He waved at it dismissively. "Ehh... whatever works for now. I'll sort it out later. I gotta go-" he began, glancing at the time on his arm display. "Yikes - like right now! I got about half an hour before Audio Haven closes."

As he began making his way back out of the crawlspace, an alarm sounded inside the Tower, and was echoed by one on his arm display. "Aww, man," he whined, "of all the times... and it's been so quiet this year." He looked at the wall opposite, one which faced onto the Operations Room, and drove his hands through it with a sigh, pulling it through the frame holding it. "No time to waste... gotta take a shortcut."

Beast Boy looked up from where he was clutching himself, his eyes once glued to his computer screen for any peep from Angela. "Aww, come on... not now! Can't the city take care of itself for once?" He groaned, shoving his feet into his purple boots. "Guess that's why they pay me the big bucks..."

Raven perked up from the troubled sleep she had fallen into, seeing the phone lying open in her hand. She closed it with a groan, muttering as she pulled the hood over her head, "Let voicemail take this one..." But she pushed herself up as she saw the flash of red in the room, and heard the alarm. "Trouble... now? I... don't feel right..." she moaned, holding her head, and realized with a twist in her stomach that she hadn't meditated at all that day. It couldn't be helped, she realized, and sank into the floor as a shaft of darkness.

"Hey, Titans! Anyone in the area-" Cyborg began, when the changeling burst into Ops just then.

"Easy, Cy-man, you got..." Beast Boy called as Raven manifested beside him. "Two hands on deck."

"You two were here all this time?" he grumbled accusingly.

"A-heh..." the shapeshifter chuckled weakly, rubbing his head, as Raven looked down from guilt. "You... been workin' on the Tower since this afternoon-?"

"Never mind," he interrupted, looking to the massive display before them. "Another riot broke out, and this one looks kinda nasty."

"Another one?" the youth asked quizzically. "Terra's dad mentioned riots. Since when have they been-?"

"Since when have you been bothering Terra?" Raven grumbled to him. "I thought you agreed to leave her alone."

Beast Boy looked aside self-consciously. "Well... she was lookin' really down today, so we hooked up-"

"Guys, we'll catch up on personal news later. Right now, we gotta go," Cyborg ordered, pointing to the screen. "110th and Redwood, some municipal hall. I'm gonna grab the T-Car. Good thing Robin didn't book off with it."

"Ohh, yeah," Beast Boy remarked. "I kinda... sent Rob 'n Star off on a date tonight."

"I know," Cyborg said. "But police are on route. We can handle a little riot ourselves. Right, Titans?" He gave them a smile and thumb-up.

"Sure we-!" the changeling began, catching himself at a strange look from Raven as she sank into the floor. "Oooh... just hope a certain someone hasn't been hittin' the juice bottle..."

Cyborg caught the remark and nodded somberly to himself. 'And, I hope this doesn't mean things get worse.'

Starfire's heart beat warm and quick in her bosom as the man she loved squirmed from her touch, and she pressed herself more fully against him. She said over the racket of the engine in his ear, "Do you find satisfaction in... the way that I hold you?" She somehow managed to sound irresistible.

"Ohh... sweetheart, if only you knew..." he replied, trying not to speed too much as he weaved through traffic, though what he wanted to do was race off for the hills as fast as his bike could go. Just then, the display on his console flashed red, an indication of some disturbance, and he just managed to stifle a curse. "Oh shi - of all the lousy timing... not tonight!"

"Robin-?" she began, giving a short cry as he swerved abruptly down an adjoining road.

"Sorry, Starfire," he called over his shoulder. "There's trouble... a riot, not too far from here." As she moaned with regret, he keyed his helmet mike. "Titans! There's a disturbance, close to our location! What's your status-?"

"We're on it!" Cyborg interrupted as he sped towards the site of the commotion. "We're gonna give the police a hand. There's no need to get involved. You 'n Star enjoy a night off for once."

Robin pulled over to the side of the road, having arrived first. Off in the distance was a mob wreaking havoc on the area, smashing cars, store windows, attacking each other... it seemed completely random and aimless. Over the commotion, he could hear one of the police shouting, "Officer down!" Things were getting serious.

"But... I'm on site with Starfire-" he replied, when he felt an insistent tug on his belly.

"Robin, please..." the girl begged him. "When will we have another opportunity to have some time to spend with ourselves alone, like this? And besides..." She edged forward, saying with some embarrassment, "I know that you are wearing your uniform under your tuxedo, but... I am not what you would consider... properly dressed for battle."

He gaped at the scene in dismay as a fire erupted. Every instinct was telling him to stay, get engaged, put a stop to it. "But..."

"Robin, come on. Have a heart!" Cyborg insisted. "You been puttin' this night off for like... a few years now! That poor girl deserves this, both of you do. I think it's about time you two had some alone time to... you know, sort things out. Listen to yer daddy!" he added with an audible grin.

"Whatever you say... dad," he grumbled, just as the T-Car sped past.

"Get outta here, G.I. Robin!" Cyborg shouted through the open windows. "Don't worry! We can handle this!" A few seconds later, Raven and a green falcon flew after him.

When he hesitated more, Starfire crooned in his ear, "Robin, please... I have many... many thing on my heart... I wish to share with you, alone..."

That got his attention, and his stomach did flops for a few seconds as he had one last inner fight with himself. "All right... but if you need backup, don't hesitate to call us."

"Dude, just go," Beast Boy practically ordered. "While you still got time for a date!"

It took an effort from him, but he wheeled the bike around and sped down the road in the opposite direction. He wanted this, he really did, but some inner voice which was usually right told him that his place was back there, with his friends, that this should wait for another night. Even then, that same voice seemed to say that such quiet nights might be rare for a while, and that settled the matter for him. "I'm sorry, Starfire," he said to her over his shoulder. "I guess... I'm just too dedicated to the team. But I made a promise with myself, and I intend to keep it; that... I would no longer put the team ahead of you." He had made it at that moment, but he meant it just as solemnly as if he'd deliberated over it for months.

His heart pounded in his chest as the girl gave him a sultry embrace, hugging herself against the youth, her hands wandering down his torso as they drew deep breaths together. "Nor will I... ever again..."

---

The trio approached the Special Unit 11 officers in their armored uniforms, Cyborg in the lead, as they eyed the violent mob warily. "Hey, what's the situation?"

"We're not sure," the one closest replied through his suit speaker. "There's no clear leader, there's no real point to it, they won't obey orders to disperse... they're basically trashing the neighborhood randomly - even assaulting each other! Tear gas just makes them angrier. All we know is that they're on fire about something."

"Literally," Cyborg remarked as another car burst into flame. "Okay team, you heard the man. Let's serve notice that the Titans are here to put their fire out! Go!"

"You got it, Cyborg!" Beast Boy shouted, leaping over the line of police.

They backed off as he grew to immense size, assuming his most threatening form, that of the Tyrranosaurus Rex. "Man... I never get tired of watching that kid in action," one of them said in amazement as the dinosaur stomped his way between the mob and the Municipal Hall, forcing his group of them into the street with a deafening roar. People watching from the surrounding apartment buildings began to cheer.

"B.B. does make quite an impression," Cyborg admitted with a grin as he unscrewed a cap on a nearby fire hydrant, a stream of high pressue water gushing out. "Now, let's see if I can help dampen their enthusiasm a bit!" He directed the spray with his hands, blasting the crowd nearby with enough force to knock those in front from their feet. "Oh yeah! And Robin thought we might need a helpin' hand from Boy Wonder and Super Star!"

"Time to finish things off," Raven said in her ever gravelly voice as she rose into the air. She had been silent till now, working to balance and center herself, and began to intone her mantra. "Azarath... Metrion... Metrion..." Something felt uncomfortably wrong, not the least of it that the exertion of her will was clouding her mind for some reason, even her vision. "Damn it... Metrion... ZYNTHOS!" she cried, growing more sure as she felt her power welling up from inside, streaming out from her in curtains of blackness. It enveloped the entire mob, lifting them into the air as they cried out in terror. But for some reason, far more people began to scream from fear.

The dinosaur looked back to her, gaping in shock, and tried to speak, though all it could do is make a funny gurgling sound. Beast Boy resumed his form, beginning to run back to her, shouting and waving. "Woah! Raven! Don'cha think that's kind of overkill?"

Cyborg himself gaped at what had stunned the changeling. "Holy wrecking crew!" he cried. "Raven! Ease off!"

She blinked in shock as the sound of shattered glass rang from behind and above her, then from all over the place. Looking around her, she gasped in horror. The mob wasn't just terrified, they were in pain. The cars along the street near her were all hanging in mid-air. Streetlights began to flex and twist, then to snap from their moorings, their lamps bursting. Behind her, two full apartment buildings cloaked in blackness had been lifted from their foundations. The people inside were screaming in fear for their lives. "Oh my god..." she gasped, "what have I done!"

As the shock of it overwhelmed her, the black energy dissipated. The bodies of the mob fell to the street, the cars and lightpoles dropped with loud crashes, and the ground shook as the apartments slammed heavily back to earth. Sections of the facing fell away, scattering broken bricks and clouds of dust across the surroundings.

She gasped as strong metallic hands seized her, yanking her back from the debacle. She looked up to find Cyborg and Beast Boy both gazing at her worriedly as the cyberman cradled her in his arms. "Raven... you okay?"

"Uhm..." she murmured in perplexion, as she honestly had no idea just then. "I... think so. Put me down, please?"

"You sure?" he asked, as her legs proved wobbly for a moment, but she found her balance, standing, if a bit weakly, though it was purely from shock.

"Yeah, I'll... be okay," she mumbled as she gaped at the devastation she'd caused. She reached out, saying, "I should set those buildings back on their foundations-"

"NO!" came a cry from behind her. It was one of the officers, and she saw that a small group of them were gathering behind her. Another said, waving to her, "That's all right! Uhm... city maintenance can take care of it!"

"Yeah!" a third agreed. "You just... stand down. We'll take it from here."

Just then, one of the others shouted, "Gas - shut the mains off! We have to evacuate these buildings right now!"

She looked to her friends who were standing there open-mouthed, unsure of how to react as the police swarmed to the ruined buildings. Beast Boy chuckled nervously. "Uhm... bang up job, there, Raven..."

Cyborg swallowed what he was about to say, grumbling to the shapeshifter, "Dude, seriously! Why don't you go direct traffic or somethin'?" As the youth folded his arms grumpily, Cyborg said to her with a forced smile, "Uhhh... hey, why don't you call it a night? We'll clean up the leftovers."

Raven leaned against a squad car, holding her head in her hands, stunned at the disaster she'd caused. "Ohh... for the love of Hades!" she growled to herself, then noticed the small crowd gaping at her in shock. "Uhm... I didn't mean that like it sounded," she began defensively. "It's kind of an anti-sacrilegious epithet... oh, just never mind." She gave up as they didn't seem the least bit persuaded, laying her head on her folded arms and moaning, "Why me... why?" She could overhear them talking behind her, about her, and dreaded what was coming next as Cyborg approached.

He put his hand on her shoulder gently, saying to her, "Raven? Listen... you feel good enough to get back to the Tower on your own?" He clearly meant for her to leave, right then, and cringed at the miserable look on her face, even half concealed by the hood.

"I guess... I'm too much of a public threat, aren't I?" she murmured sadly.

He rubbed the back of his head, wincing at how true that was. "Well... I'm afraid that if you hang around much longer... we might have another riot on our hands."

She looked up to the two apartment buildings, and the windows were full of people yelling down at her angrily. Tears of frustration and pain welled up in her eyes as she beat her fists against her friend's chestplate. "Cyborg... I-I'm sorry... I don't know what happened-!"

"Hey, hey... easy there, girl," he said, trying to soothe her. "It's gonna be alright."

"Yeah, come on," the changeling added. "You're just havin' an off day, that's all."

"Beast Boy," she murmured dejectedly, "I know you mean well, and that's really sweet of you, in your usual goofy, adolescent way, but... just shut up about it, will you?" She couldn't handle another moment of the wretched scene, lifting herself into the night sky, but nowhere near the direction of Titans Tower.

"Man, how does that girl manage to insult you even when she's tryin' to pay you a compliment?" Beast Boy grumbled.

"She does have a way with words, I grant you that," his friend replied, checking the time on his arm display. "Dang it... the stereo shop closed fifteen minutes ago."

When he noticed she was going the wrong way, Beast Boy began to call to her, "Oh, hey... that's not the direct-" Cyborg muffled him with a metallic hand.

"She'll find 'er way back home," he told his friend. At least, he hoped so...

---

The young couple sat on a blanket as they gazed down on the gleaming nighttime splendor of Jump City. It wasn't quite as dazzling as Tokyo, but that didn't seem to matter at the moment.

Robin hadn't been paying attention to where he'd been driving, and ended up in the mountains after all. He decided to stop at a scenic overlook and spread the blanket on a flat grassy spot to discuss their options for the night. Instead, they simply sat there, speaking very little, holding hands and gazing into each others' faces as the hours slipped past, and music played softly over the bike's speakers.

He smiled thinly to her, giving her hand a squeeze, and murmured, "This isn't much of a date, I'm afraid."

"On the contrary," she replied. "I find that, rather than being surrounded by countless strangers, I much prefer the quiet and solitude of this place... to be alone, with..." She blushed, falling silent, as she wasn't used to dealing so openly with affairs of the heart. In spite of numerous examples in romance movies, she still felt quite clumsy expressing herself.

As did Robin, as he hadn't had a normal life in the least. This was a whole new realm of unknowns to him, and he had little idea of how to deal with it, even though both of them meant the world to each other. "Are you sure?" he asked, hoping she was being honest. "I... want you to be happy-"

"I could not be happier," she murmured with a smile. His heart jumped as she pressed the back of his hand to her cheek. "Except... for..." She felt foolish, her face blossoming red, as there was one subject she wanted badly to discuss, but felt crushing embarrassment over.

His mind spun with wild notions, some of them quite sensitive, as he wondered about that unspoken topic. "Uhm... you said that... there were many things on your heart you wanted to talk about."

She wanted to pick up on that invitation and spill her entire soul to him, but was terribly afraid he might not feel as deeply toward her. "Well... yes, I did say that..." She looked aside with a sigh, releasing her grasp on Robin's hand as she began to feel truly uncomfortable. "It seems... even though I have spent years on your world, and with yourself every day, that... so many aspects of your culture are troublesome mysteries to me..."

He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Hey, if it's any consolation, it's a mystery to us in a lot of ways too. There are things I want to say to you, too... but..." He clammed up himself, even though he initially felt encouraged, knowing that the girl was as befuddled as he was. "Wow... I don't understand why this is so hard... for both of us."

"Ohhh, I know... why is this so difficult? You are not a threat to me, you are my dearest... I simply wish to..." she lamented, looking to him hopefully. "Perhaps... you have something you wish to share, so that... ice could be broken between us?"

His collar suddenly felt very tight, and he tugged on it nervously, wishing she would have continued. "Oh, uhh... well..." he muttered, wondering what to say. He fought to regain control of his emotions and think things through logically, and as he calmed himself, he began to find solid ground. It was blindingly clear what both of them felt for each other, and what Starfire wanted was practically flourescent graffiti all over her personality. And as the years progressed, and they shared brief - if awkward and embarrassing - moments of passion, they had become more common, and he had begun thinking along similar lines. And it was stupid to fear this girl, he told himself, and what they both wanted. Gritting his teeth, he clasped her hand, and forced himself to begin a confession.

"Starfire..." he said hesitantly, "you know that... the whole point of having a relationship... at least for most people in the universe... is to find one that lasts. I mean... it is for your people, isn't it? Oh wait - except for that dumb arrangement thing..."

He began to feel dumb himself, as he had hoped to keep from stumbling through this little speech, but his anxiety melted away as she clasped his hand in hers, her eyes beginning to glisten. "That... arrangement thing is very dumb. It is the one aspect of our culture that should have never been. I wish to choose the one I intend to..." She fell silent, but she really didn't need to finish her thought.

He knew he should continue, but he wanted to enjoy this tender moment. Her eyes that gleamed like emeralds, her fire red hair that framed a beautiful face, and a body both strong and sensuous, her lower half barely covered by the dress she had slit apart... every aspect of her being flooded his senses. He knew that life without her would be intolerable, and that she should know it. "Starfire... I told you that... I wanted to open a new chapter in our lives."

Her breath caught in her throat, and she whispered expectantly, "Yes... and I wish ever so much to know the meaning of it."

"Well..." he said to her, releasing her hand, "then I think it's about time I started with this."

Her heart raced in her bosom, blood rushing in her ears with a bead of sweat on her cheek, as the carnal things mentioned on the websites clouded her thinking, and she clenched in both alarm and desire. But to her surprise, what he did was reach up and grasp the edge of his mask, beginning to pull it away. It was a painful ordeal for him as it didn't want to come off, and he began to groan from the tender grip of iron it had on his face. "Robin?" She gasped in astonishment at the torment he was inflicting on himself, his skin stretched out to a frightening extent. "Perhaps... we could do this back at the Tower, with a solution which would make the removal easier-"

"No..." he growled, "this is coming... off!" She was almost afraid to watch, but was too caught up in the drama to look away, cringing in sympathy for him. Gradually, the mask of black and white lost the battle, peeling away bit by bit, and he tore the last of it off with a loud rasp, choking back a cry and gasping for breath. "Wow... that hurt worse than one of your hugs," he wheezed, looking down as he recovered. "Do I still have my eyebrows?"

In spite of the painful ordeal, she couldn't hold back a giggle at the question, and of the border of red around his eyes, caused by the ferocious grip of the adhesive. "Yes, and it looks as if you still wear a mask-" she began, but then gasped loudly at a glimpse of his eyes, holding his head in her hands. "Oh, let me see!" she said excitedly. "For so long, I have dreamed of being able to..."

She fell silent as she gazed, at last, into his eyes; to finally see the image of his face fully, without that small but crucial vestige of concealment separating them. "Ohh... they are beautiful... and they are green!" she cried with a syllable of laughter. "Well... a brownish-green, as it were."

"They call it hazel... my mother called them Gypsy eyes," he informed the girl as he clasped his hand to hers, squeezing it against his cheek. "I'm... glad that you like them. They kind of come along with the package."

"You make a lovely package... and these Gypsies must be wonderful people, if you are one of them," she breathed softly, running her fingers through his hair, enjoying the sensation of the follicles slipping through them. It took a few moments of this for her to remember how his hair was usually done up, and she smiled happily. "You did not use the hair gel!"

He grinned to her, shivering from the touch of her hand in his hair. "Well... I knew you wanted to... do that. And... I wanted it, too." There was the slightest tremor in her slender form, and a more vivid glistening in her eyes for a moment, as both of them felt a deeper attraction than simple fondness. A smile spread across her lips as she caught the lyrics of the song playing just then. "What is it?" he asked, curious.

"Listen. The music playing just now," she replied, pointing to the motorcycle. Neither one could remember that it was an old song by Peter Gabriel, but the lyrics were most apropos.

In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway
In your eyes
To a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution
In your eyes
Of all the fruitless searches
I see the light
In your eyes
And the heat
In your eyes
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
The heat I see in your eyes

As she resumed fondling his hair, she whispered sweetly, "It is as if the music knew of this moment to serenade us. For you have... the most lovely eyes..."

"Besides yours," he told her quietly for he knew full well that he hadn't seen more beautiful orbs in all his life. Her arm fell to her side as he edged closer, very close, touching his body to hers. She grew nervous, excited, damp, wondering what to do if he did some of those things the websites mentioned, gasping as he draped an arm around her waist, placing his hand in the small of her back, pulling her against him. She wasn't sure what she wanted, but as she trembled against his strong, slender body, she felt as if she was on fire, and only he could quench her.

She felt a twinge of disappointment as he began speaking, hoping for something bold, forward from him instead, but what he began to say gripped her heart like bands of gold. "Starfire... there are many things in my heart I want to tell you, too. I think it's like... what's in yours... at least, that's my hope. I know I should have told you this years ago, but... I want..." And then, just like that, he fell silent at the look in the girl's quivering eyes once more. Was it fear? Uncertainty, second thoughts? Had he completely misread her over the past few months? He cursed himself, but he struggled with a crushing doubt.

"Please..." she implored in a voice just above a whisper, "speak what is in your heart. I must know it."

He was too afraid to be so honest just yet, asking her, "Starfire... more than anything in the world... I want you to be happy. What is it that you want?"

She shriveled away from him, hating the way he dumped the issue in her lap so abruptly, when she desperately wanted to hear him confess his love to her. "Ohh, Robin..." she murmured, unable to look into the eyes which captivated her. "For the longest time... there has only been one dream in my heart... only one thing which could bring me joy. Do you not know it by now?" She was becoming so emotional, her eyes grew moist as she looked into his once more, and she began quivering in his embrace. "With all my being... I desire..." She prayed that he knew, that he would finish the sentence for her, that he would seal her heart to his with those bands of gold.

"Hey..." he began, licking his parched lips. "Calm down, please - ow! And be easy on me!" He flinched as her grip on his hand became a bit too firm.

"Oh, I am sorry-!" she began nervously.

"No, I am... I should just tell you, rather than let you get so worked up," he admitted, as much to himself as her. He edged close, pressing himself fully against her, his eyes burning into hers, determined once and for all to come right out and say it. "I want... you, Starfire... in-"

"Do we require... the protection?" she asked timidly, her cheeks beginning to flush a bright pink, though a warm smile began to spread on her tender lips. "I have never... been with a man before-"

She blinked in surprise as he shivered against her, gasping loudly. "Oh my gosh... no, listen... I want that too," he confessed, then shuddered again. "Oh god... I'm so mixed up right now, just-" He decided it was best not to be intimately entangled with her right then, drawing back and clasping her hands in his as he fought to calm down, and she looked even more confused. "I want... I mean, I can't live without you, in my life." Squeezing her hands as he leaned close again, he told her earnestly as her eyes opened wide, "I want you... your life, your essence... joined with mine. Forever."

She was speechless for a moment, trembling as her heart plunged into a sea of emotions and passions, wrapped in gold. "Do you mean..." she asked in a quivering voice, almost breathless, "that you desire... to join lives in... you want... the marriage? With me?"

He nodded, praying that she hadn't changed her mind from the trainwreck he had made of his proposal. Kissing her hand, he assured her, "Yes, with you."

"Ohh... Robin..." she whimpered, then just as his heart began to wilt, she burst out in tearful laughter, grabbing him in a ferocious embrace. Hissing to her warningly, she eased up on her grasp, murmuring, "Sorry... please forgive me. But..." She drew back to gaze into his eyes, with a look that melted him in her arms. "After all this time... finally! You speak what is in my heart! What was in both our hearts, but were too afraid to confess openly."

"I... I know," he murmured wistfully, wrapping her in his own embrace. "I should have said this a long time ago... I don't know why it took so long-"

"You were young, and intimidated by such a solemn, life-altering commitment," she told him wisely, in a voice as sweet as wine, and just as intoxicating, as she fondled his hair. But just then, her lids drooped and she gave him an unexpectly dim look, pushing out of his arms. "Still... in spite of the awkwardness we were both suffering through... could you not have simply told me rather than putting me through SUCH A TERRIBLE HEART SHATTERING ORDEAL?!"

He picked himself up from the deafening outcry and gaped at her in shock, unable to fathom how quickly her mood could change, and so drastically. Fumbling for words, he mumbled out, "I, uhh... well... maybe... but... wait, what about you! This isn't all my fault!" he shouted defensively.

"I am... the girl!" she declared, crossing her arms at him. "And it is encumbent upon you, the boy, to tell me things directly! Not play silly games the way we girls do!"

He rubbed his temple in dismay, grumbling, "Great... we're having our first fight, and it hasn't even been a minute yet!" Hoping to defuse things quickly, he grabbed her hands. "Starfire, please... let's not argue, and especially about something as silly as how I proposed to you!" As she calmed down somewhat, he said to her more quietly, "Look... this is supposed to be the happiest moment in our lives, until we make our vows. Let's not spoil it with a pointless argument. Besides," he added with a lopsided smile, "you still haven't accepted, not really."

She blinked at how true that was, and then began to giggle, then tears welled up in her eyes as she whimpered, "Ohh... yes, yes... a thousand times yes!" She grabbed him in a tight embrace, but had the presence of mind to watch her strength this time as she clutched him to her, thrilling to the feel of his muscular form against her curves. She whispered as she lay her head against his, "Robin... surely you know... that there is no one else in all of time and space for me... but thee..."

He drew back to gaze into her eyes of emerald, brushing the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. He couldn't think of a time that she looked more lovely, or was more dear to him, nor could she likewise. He did want matters to be clear and open between them, and asked, "Okay, one thing... there aren't any strange Tamaranian cultural issues to deal with... anything that would keep us from being married, are there?"

The question caught her off guard, and Robin clenched as she grew pensive for a moment. But seeing the look on his face, she had to giggle. "No, there are no such strange cultural issues keeping us apart." Squirming against him, she murmured sweetly, "And even if there were... Tamaran is too far away for it to matter."

As the music continued to weave its magic around them, there was one earthly matter that he hadn't accounted for, and he laced fingers with her as she gazed at him intently. "Listen, one more thing. I... don't have a ring," he admitted sheepishly. "I intended to confess my love for you tonight. I had no idea that I'd have the nerve to ask for your hand like that."

"Oh?" She looked confused for a moment, then smiled with delight. "Oh, yes! The suitor gives his intended bride a piece of jewelry to seal his promise to her." He shivered as her fingers played through the locks of his hair, and he regretted his habit of always wearing hair gel, and so much of it. "But, your vow to me is good enough. For now," she added coyly, though it wasn't from a silly desire for a shiny, expensive trinket. More than anything, she wanted to have that band of precious metal and a crystal of carbon to wear proudly as a sign of his devotion.

He wondered briefly how big a stone would make her happy, but had a feeling that most anything would suit her. "Well... since I don't have it picked out yet, let me seal my promise to you... another way." Her eyes opened wide as he drew near to her, and his closed, his lips taking hers in a sultry kiss. There was the delicious taste of mint; he had slipped in a couple of breath lozenges while he cradled her against him. She squeezed her eyes shut as his lips drew on hers hungrily, and a thrill she had felt as deeply only in her dreams ran in a tickle all through her belly. The kiss lingered, grew deeper, as he lay her down and sprawled on top of her. Or perhaps she pulled him down with her... it was growing hard to think straight. But she felt a similar hunger, deep, wild and ravenous, and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing his form into hers tightly, trembling from the warmth of his body pouring into her like lava, gasping for breath between his kisses.

Over and over, as fire sprang to life in her spirit, she thought, 'Robin... oh, Robin... my chosen one... my true and eternal love... oh, yes! Yes...'

---

Raven tore through every shop that was remotely related to music; every Hot Topic, every Frys, every Suncoast... everything she could think of, and as if her father was chasing after her. She only had so much time before they closed, but at least they were open. She couldn't believe what she'd overheard from Cyborg before she flew off. "What idiot stereo shop closes before eight o'clock!" she grumbled bitterly, miserable at the thought that she would have to wait a while longer to have her precious music system back in one piece.

But there was more to it than that; her powers were becoming destructive. First, the stereo, then the scene at the riot... she couldn't function as part of the team in this condition. She had to get control of herself, and remembered with a start what she had dreamed just that morning; her powers manifesting in a human form beside her. "You had best be careful, or you'll kill everyone," it said, or something to that effect, and how terribly true that was. She was even more deadly than the immensely strong Starfire.

She would see to that eventually. In the meantime, she snatched up every poster, wall scroll and t-shirt she could find that was of The Cure or The Crow, adding that second theme on impulse. There wasn't much, but as she scavenged from shop to store, scattering the other shoppers as she went on a mad tear, she gradually amassed quite a haul. She almost grabbed a bunch of the CDs too, but somehow recalled that she'd already bought the entire catalog online, including bootlegs, though she did grab a few videos on sale. Finally, when she realized that she couldn't properly hold any more, she quickly departed, a hoard of stunned people watching her leave. She would just make one small detour, to a store which sold adult beverages.

It was a somber arrival as she manifested through the floor in the dimly lit Ops Room, as the Tower was empty, silent, save for the softly breathing ventilation system cooling the computers. She fell into the grip of an inside-out melancholy, relieved that no one was there to bother her, but at the same time, sad to be so all alone. "What's wrong with me?" she grumbled as she trudged to her room, marching faster as she felt the urge to look at all the loot she had acquired.

After she locked herself inside and put the bottles of alcohol in her little fridge, she began dumping the many bags of rolled up posters, wall scrolls and t-shirts. She stared at the garments in dismay. "Why did I buy these?" she muttered to herself. But as she looked them over, it was self-evident; they bore vivid images on them of her new crush, Robert, in all sorts of poses and guises, but mostly of the demented, white-faced bard with dark red lips and stark eyeshadow. And as she draped them across her torso, she mused to herself, "I... don't have to wear this leotard all the time." She would have to get some shorts if she did wear them, though, as all she had otherwise was a blue-violet bikini bottom she never wore, and couldn't bear the thought of something as stifling on her legs as slacks. And forget a skirt.

She then turned her attention to the posters and scrolls, and there were a lot of them, enough to cover her walls. And as she dumped out a bag of no-mess masking tape, she began doing just that, plastering them all over her room with nearly as urgent a vigor as when Cyborg attacked the insides of the crawlspace. Even the window and ceiling had their share, as she put up every single one, even duplicates she had grabbed by mistake.

She trembled as she sat on her bed, surrounded by images of Robert Smith, and a few of Brandon Lee. She wasn't sure why exactly she bought them as well, but something told her she would want them. But most of all, she was haunted by the eyes of Robert, which seemed to pierce her through to the core of her soul from all around. She stood before one, his face at the same height as her own, and leaned against it, her cheek to his, stroking over his dark crimson-painted lips. She wanted him there, staring at her in hunger, arms around her, his lips drawing on hers, and more. It was the dumbest thing in the world, getting so caught up in feelings for a rock star, someone she knew she would never so much as meet in person, let alone become involved with. "But... I can't help it," she croaked in her grainy voice, an ugly sound she was growing to hate. "You know... more than anyone I have ever met, and... damn it, I love you, Robert..."

She knew she would begin crying if she didn't do something, so she turned her attention to a small bag with one last bunch of trophies; a few DVDs of The Cure in concert. She had already bought these online as well, but were on sale dirt cheap, and knew she had to have something to satisfy her while she waited on her order to arrive in a day or three. And she wanted to possess something that night which could possess her in return, not just a bunch of glorified photos.

She had to escape the pain of this awful night, had to hear one particular song right then, having heard precious few of his tunes yet to know what she liked. She sorted through the cases until she saw the title she was after. Waking her computer, she slid the DVD into the drive, put on her headphones, selected the track and turned the volume up all the way. With a crash of drums, the video came to life on her massive thirty-seven inch monitor, though the man she yearned to see lurked in the shadows as his bandmates prowled through laser-lit green fog. She hugged herself tightly as the dire bass began to throb into her ears, and layers of guitars danced loudly, tantalizing, inside her head. With a cry, Robert emerged and threw himself at his microphone, wailing to her of his need for torture, or to torture her. She closed her eyes, dreaming of him clutching her in his lap, while his teeth dug into her shoulder and his hands groped along her curves, tickling in sensitive places they didn't belong, but were wanted.

Her desire began to ache in her stomach, and she lay her head on her desk, her hands planted on the screen as tears ran down her cheeks. It was foolish to torment herself like this, but it was all she had of him, of the man she needed desperately to fulfill her... to fill her with his own darkness, his own essence, his tongue... his flesh...

Something was wrong.

She looked up, blinking the tears from her eyes as she fought to come to her senses, not quite able to fathom what she had glimpsed. But then she rubbed her eyes clear and choked in alarm, yanking the headphones off.

A mass of darkness seemed to be oozing from her body, seething as it spead across the floor. "Oh, my god..." she gasped as she stopped the video. "My powers... I'm losing control of them!"

This was bad. She hadn't suffered through this since her childhood, when she struggled to learn the mystic skills necessary to master the dark forces indwelling every aspect of her being. The monks training her had to keep her in a specially prepared chamber during this trial with potent seals in place, in case things went terribly wrong. They had, and it began like this.

She fought to center herself, though fighting it was the wrong thing to do. But at the moment, she had no other solution, growling out, "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos... Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!" It wouldn't withdraw, seeming only to boil like hot water. She decided to flood the room with her essence, to see if she could overwhelm it with itself, crying her mantra loudly. Finally, the blackness raced out from her under the control of her will, and completely drenched the room. She shuddered, falling to her knees, as the emotions broiling in that renegade essence seeped back into her. All the heartache and pain of that night, the regret and fear of herself and what she was capable of, what she truly was, and the frustrated love which pined away for a man who might as well be in another universe... all of it burned in her heart and mind, and she sobbed in withering torment.

But some calm inner fragment of her will gave her the strength to withstand it, and she picked herself up. "N-no..." she stammered, "I am Raven... the Dark Wraith... it is what I am! And I am not at the mercy... of my own damned emotions!" Reaching out with her hands, expressing the supreme essence of her will, she cried, "Sothnyz, Noirtem, THARAZA!"

The blackness raced back into her, and with it collapsed all the intensely twisted emotions they bore all over again. She staggered from the torment, hugging herself as she fell to her knees and cried out with a horrible wail of despair, shivering as she fought for control. But she found it and stood, if a little weakly at first, heaving a deep sigh of relief as the pain gradually faded. "Finally!" she gasped. "Now... to meditate and see if I can restore myself to proper freaking balance!"

She sat cross-legged on her bed, relaxed her arms on her legs, touched her thumb to middle finger, and began to still herself. Or tried to, as she began intoning her mantra. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos... Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos... Azarath, Metrion, ZYNTHOS!" She groaned in frustration, looking around her newly decorated room. "No wonder I can't relax with... that man staring at me from every damn angle!"

She began to yank the posters from the walls, but stopped herself, gazing at them sadly. After all, she had just put them up. "Stop it," she sighed, chastizing herself for her foolish emotional state. "He's... the reason for all this trouble. Just drop it, and quit being such a typical idiot airhead!" Still, she felt pain with each item she pulled from the walls, ceiling and window, cringing as one tore. "It's just a stupid poster... tape it later," she growled at herself. But even as she put them away in her closet, she closed the door with a feeling of discouragement and loss. "Good grief... am I ever going to get through this intact?" she wondered aloud, and tried once more to meditate.

But again she failed, and after a time, jumped to her feet in anger at herself. "Now what the hell is wrong!" she cried, though even as she asked it, she knew the answer. "I'm an emotional wreck... naturally..." Going resignedly to her dresser, she opened a drawer which had remained shut for years, pulling out a bizarre looking black mirror. Squatting on her bed once more with a sigh as she closed her eyelids, she murmured to herself, "I haven't had to resort to using you in ages, but... I don't have much choice." Lifting it before her, she opened her eyes.

With a gasp, her own reflection gabbed her. She spiraled down a pit of blackness into her own mind...

And awakened to a raging storm. Winds born of inner conflict whipped her cloak about her as dreadful, jagged bolts of lightning crashed blindingly through the inner darkness of her psyche, the thunder deafening, jarring her insides. The circle of stone she stood on swayed and bobbed from the forces of tumult roiling all around her, and she had to watch her balance. "Flaming black Hell... I'm more messed up than I thought!" she cried as she jumped from platform to platform towards a stable path of rock which spanned her consciousness. She looked all around her, but there was no sign of the usual denizens which were manifestations of stray thoughts, urges and fears, and nothing of the seven fragmants of her mentality. "Oh, this is ridiculous," she grumbled as she flew along the rocky path to a wide expanse, which represented the center of her mind. "All right, all of you!" she cried loudly as she landed, her voice echoing through the stormy void. "Gather!"

"Do we have to?" Fear whimpered from somewhere nearby.

"The others aren't getting along at all," cautioned Logic.

And true enough, just over the stormwinds of her mind, she could hear Rage, Courage and Love, if not more of them, fighting madly over Robert, of all things. "This is all your fault!" "No, you have us so screwed up we can't think straight!" "Shut up! You're all morons for letting things get to this point!" "Besides, he's mine!" "The hell he is!"

"Oh, I can not believe this..." she growled, then cried at the top of her lungs as lightning burned across the darkness of her mind, "GATHER!"

"SCREW you!" Rage shouted back, manifesting just to give Raven an obscene gesture.

That infuriated the mystic, and she snatched the red cloaked fragment from the ether, slamming it furiously into the stony ground. As it struggled to collect itself, she pounced it, grabbing its cloak in tight, shaking fists. "You, of all the worthless slivers of my mentality, are not going to bring me to frigging ruin!"

"Why not!" it snarled back. "Your impotent so-called self-control is useless! Look at the mess you've become! You can't even keep control of a few stray emotions! I'm not the one who's worthless... YOU are!"

She nearly lost all control, driving her fist so hard into the face of the creature that she smashed it into the rocky surface. She growled at the stunned fragment like an animal. "You wretched remnant of my acursed father... you ruin everything! I should kill you here and now, and be done with you!"

"Wait!" Courage exclaimed, appearing with the others at last with their robes of various colors. "As much as it irks me to say this, we kinda need her!"

"True," Logic informed her, trying to calm her down. "She is a substantial part of our strength-"

"Finally!" Raven cried, seizing the lot of them in a sheet of blackness. "Now I shouldn't have to tell this to myself, but you bunch of pansies pull it together right now and unite!"

"What if we don't give a crap what you want-!" Rage began, a tear of purple blood running from its mouth. It immediately regreted the outburst as Raven clutched a bolt of energy from the air and cast it into them all.

"I... said... drop it and UNIFY!" she yelled in a voice dreadful to hear. Then they all screamed as a horrendous bolt of lightning blasted in their midst from above, devastating everyone. It occurred to her as the terrible energy burned all through her form that she was actually the one at fault for her sorry state, and had no right to escape the judgment herself...

She fell back in her bed with a strangled cry, blinking as she came to her senses, her chakra centers throbbing. "Oh... crap, do I have issues..." she murmured, then rubbed her temple gingerly. "And only I could give myself a headache by having a literal fight with myself."

She made sure to flip the magical mirror on its face as she got up to put it away, and as she closed the drawer on it, began to feel better. And most importantly, it seemed that her ploy had worked; she felt right again, in as good a balance as ever. She sighed as she sat cross-legged on her bed once more to meditate, feeling confident enough to float above it. "Now... if only I can maintain this, and not fall to pieces again..."

---

"Maan... what a mess this day has been. I sure hope Rob 'n Star are makin' out better than we did," Cyborg muttered to himself as he left the scene of the riot and wove through traffic. After reflecting on his wording, he had to fight down a blush and pray that the changeling in the seat beside him hadn't caught it, because adolescent jokes were sure to follow. Thankfully, he was lost in his own world of worries.

"Hey, Cy..." Beast Boy began tentatively, "I don't suppose you could push this bucket a little faster, maybe...?"

"What's the rush, little buddy?" he asked, then raised his eyebrow as one possibility occurred to him. "Unless... you're expectin' a phone call or email from somebody."

"Hey, what's with the third degree?" the changeling grumbled back. "I'm just... worried about someone, that's all."

"Okay, look..." Cyborg began, speeding up just a bit more for his friend's sake. "We both know who this someone is. And I remember a couple years ago that you told us that 'Terra'-" He made quote marks in the air with one hand. "Wanted to be left alone. I don't suppose she lives in Ridgemont."

"Uhh... yeah, how'd you know...?" he asked in amazement, then grew angry. "Hey, you been spyin' on me-?"

"No, we ain't been spyin' on you," Cyborg grumbled. "It just so happens that there was a little 2.5 tremor late this afternoon, and that's where the epicenter was." As Beast Boy began to fret anxiously, his friend interrupted. "Come on, kid, talk to me. Did you do anything to upset 'er?"

"No! But she's been havin' problems... like, she has kind of permanent amnesia. She can't remember anything past a few years ago, when she appeared again."

"What?" Cyborg exclaimed. "Kid, that's not even natural! There's somethin' seriously wrong there."

"I know, that's what I said. But she's seen a bunch'a specialists, and no one's been able to help 'er. And there's trouble at home too, somethin' up with her folks that has 'er upset. They're like from Russia or somethin', old world strict parental types. And Boris 'n Natasha didn't seem too happy to see me with 'er... at least her dad, anyhow..."

Cyborg whistled through his teeth. "Wow, that is messed up. Uhm..." he began, not sure of what the lad would think of his advice. "Listen, B.B., maybe... you should cool it for a while, wait a week or so-"

"No! She was actually glad to see me today," he insisted. "We talked for like over an hour, and she cried her eyes out. But she wanted to... wanted to be with me, and she wants to see me again after school tomorrow."

"Seriously?" he asked, wincing as Beast Boy shot him a heated look. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, that's cool and all, and... I do got to admit, you two did make a mighty cute couple. And it would really be sweet if you two could work stuff out between you." That calmed Beast Boy down considerably; in fact, he looked downright swoony. "Just... keep it cool, chum. You know how you can be, and how many times we had to rescue you from Raven's wrath because you got a little carried away with yourself."

"Hey now, that was Raven-" he began defensively.

"I know, I know, I'm just sayin' that you can come on a little strong sometimes." That sounded uncomfortably like what Angela had told him more than once, and he sighed fretfully. Cyborg noted his friend's reaction, and hoped to sound more encouraging. "Just take it slow and easy, and things should be solid with the girl. And be sure 'n use deodorant in case of... manly odor, rhino smell, or somethin'."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that as Beast Boy groaned. "Dude... do you have to bring up that rhino thing all the time?"

"Well, it's either that, the elephant thing, or the skunkies," he replied with a grin.

"Oh, cut it OUT!" he cried, slapping his arm, but in moments, both of them were sharing in some much needed laughter over it.

Cyborg noticed that they were nearing the coast, the distinctive shape of the Tower glowing in the distance, and said to the youth, "Hey, tell you what." He triggered the undercarriage thrusters and threw the T-Car over the edge of the road and down an embankment towards the bay. "We'll take a shortcut to shave off a few."

"Thanks, Cy-man," Beast Boy said to him wiith a grin. "You're the best."

"Hey, I always got your back, little buddy," he smiled in return, then grew serious as the car began to glide across the waters of the bay towards the Tower. "Okay, couple quick things. Leave Raven alone. Like a - lone, dig? She was really upset, and if she wants to talk, she'll let us know."

"Hey, gimme some credit," he grumbled. "But I gotcha."

"And the same thing goes for Rob 'n Star. They been dancin' around each other's feelings for years, so they got a lot of emotional baggage to go through. And especially if they sleep in tomorrow... let 'em, as long as they want."

"Cyborg, come on," he smirked up at the other. "Before summer kicks in, the only places open past ten are movie theaters 'n bars, and they don't drink."

"Dude..." Cyborg coughed, shocked at his friend's naivete. "Because the date might not be over yet." He stared at the changeling meaningfully.

"Oh - oooooohh..." Beast Boy drawled, doing a double take and looking aside, just as surprised at himself. "Wow... lotta changes happening this year..."

"That ain't no dang lie," he muttered, "and the year's just gettin' started."

---

Angela had curled up in her bed, and though she was forbidden to have her laptop on past bedtime on a school night, she had it idling beside her. She had sent Beast Boy a short email, just a brief thanks for the walk home and a looking forward to tomorrow, and waited all evening for a response. She had barely touched her homework, as she could hardly take her eyes from the screen, refreshing it every so often to keep it awake. It was dumb, but she was desperate to have a sense that he was nearby, keeping her in his thoughts, watching over her. But the hours had worn on, and there was no reply.

She fell into a bleak depression, and the music she had listened to hadn't helped. Along with that, the taxing day of soccer practice, then supper chores and laundry had served to drain her energy, and she fell asleep beside the computer. She suffered through tortured dreams, of some people wearing masks chasing her through a dark, empty city. She cried out desperately for Beast Boy to save her, but somehow she could see him in trouble himself, beset by some gang which cornered him and beat him without mercy. She could only watch in horror as they intended to kill him, when suddenly one terrible figure in brown and black seized her wrists in a painful hold. And that face, that dreadful, painfully familiar face like a skull, leaned close, leering at her, his breath like that of a corpse-

She gave a muffled cry as it awakened her and she clutched the blanket to her tearfully, shivering with fear. She wanted to run downstairs to the livingroom, turn on all the lights, as a stark streetlight along the shore only served to make the gloomy shadows of the room seem all the more threatening. But just then, there was a *klonk* noise from her laptop. She grabbed it to her tightly, wiping her fingers frantically on the touchpad to awaken it, and felt better as the glow from the screen lit the room. Her eyes widened in relief when she saw a reply from Beast Boy at the top of her message list.

Hey!

I'm sorry, really REALLY sorry I wasn't here. We had a dumb mission to do. Your dad was right about the riots, we had to stop one.

She gasped in alarm from the memory of that awful dream and prayed that he was unhurt, but scolded herself as she realized he had to be okay to send an email to her, and continued reading.

It was kind of a mess but we saved the city from disaster again, like always. I got to pose with some of the Special Unit guys - they think I'm AWESOME!

"I bet they do," she giggled, shedding tears of relief, her night fear dwindling.

Hey, I was kind of worried about you. I know it's dumb, but I just had to be sure. Is everything okay? I'm gonna be up for a while, so hit me back if you're still up. I could even fly over if you needed a late nite chat. Hey, it's a thought.

Anyhow, have cool dreams. Really want to see you tomorrow.

XOX

BB

She opened an attachment and giggled at the image of the shapeshifter standing with the police in their all-covering body armor, giving a thumbs up to the camera with his typical snaggletoothed grin. She gazed at it longingly, stroking over his form on the screen, wishing he was there with her. And then she blinked, cursing herself. "You idiot - he's on now!" She clicked REPLY and began typing.

Hi.

Thanks for the note. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. And don't come over, who knows HOW many alarms dad has rigged up here!

Sorry he was such a pain today, but he's been in THE MOOD for several weeks now. Maybe... you shouldn't go all the way with me so he won't have anything to gripe about. I'll see if I can soften him up for you. When he's not being a royal Soviet ass, he's really a great guy. I guess I shouldn't say things like that, but I just don't understand him sometimes! Oh well...

Sorry about the mission too, but that goes with being a superhero 24/7, you know. Maybe when the world isn't falling apart some night, we could chat online.

Anyway, I really should sleep. We get up early, of course. GAH.

Hope you have sweet dreams too, and look forward to seeing you.

3

Angie

She curled up beside the computer, clutching a pillow to her as if it was him as a tear of joy and relief ran down her cheek. 'He cares about me... really cares! It feels so good to know that someone does... and I'm so glad that it's him.'

She gazed at the screen, hoping for one more reply from the lad, until she couldn't keep her eyes open a moment longer. Across the bay, the changeling fell asleep at his own computer desk, unable to tear himself away in case she should happen to send him a final message of her own.

---

A figure sat in a newly installed chair before an expansive console, cloaked in darkness, a wide array of monitors above it. As he sorted through video captures from a number of security cameras located in an otherwise uninteresting part of the city, he finally found what he was looking for. "Ahh... the riot. I was hoping for a bigger crowd. This one barely caused a paltry few tens of thousands in damages. How disappointing. That would hardly make a dent in the city council's food budget for the month, and certainly not worth front page news."

He flipped between video feeds as the uprising developed further. "I was also hoping for more than three Teen Titans, and sadly, no sign of Robin. Apparently, these early incidents don't seem to be worth their full attention." Something caught his eye, and he selected another camera angle. "Well... and there they are, but Robin and Starfire in street clothes? And leaving the scene when there is trouble, Boy Wonder? That is rather uncharacteristic of you. I'll have to mull over the implications of this later."

He shook his head slightly as the mob were rather easily managed by the three superheroes. "My minions appear to lack motivation. They didn't seem to present much of a challenge to the three of them. I'll have to see about that if the next event doesn't produce the desired results-"

He fell silent, choosing a camera with something unexpected in its recording, watching the scene a number of times. "Well, now! This is quite a surprise. Raven... having difficulty with your powers, by any chance? Is it possible that I've already managed to penetrate into that dark world of yours, and twist it?"

He watched the scene play out as the mystic flew away on her own, and the two remaining Titans helped the police corral the mob and run them off to jail. "I'll analyze this further in due time," he said, saving everything in a file folder labeled M-04. "While I was hoping for something more dramatic by now, it does seem that the effect of my audio adrenaline is well within the nominal target parameters I planned on. So, I think I'll green light the operation to advance to the next stage this weekend. In the meantime, I should update my hardware order from China, look into the particulars of a seismic tremor a few miles from Titans Tower this afternoon, and check on the status of my little project in Iran."

---

Author's notes

Cold fusion: a process in which the atoms of hydrogen in normal water at room temperature and pressure undergoes fusion into helium, due to a metallic catalyst of some kind which draws the atoms together and causes a release of neutrons.

Dark matter and energy: these two arcane principles really do exist in our universe. While the properties of dark matter and dark energy can only be speculated about, as dark matter is apparently a substance which cannot be detected by normal means, the effects of dark energy can be observed as it pushes galaxies around. In fact, dark energy seems to be the force causing the universe to expand at an ever increasing rate.

Fang: a weird criminal creature that basically looks like a human teen body in a t-shirt and jeans, dangling by the neck from a huge spider. What Kitten ever saw in him, I'll never know...

Garfield: yes, this is Beast Boy's real name, as revealed in the final moments of the next to last episode of the series.

Gehenna: the Place of the Damned, a realm where the wicked dead await final judgment for their deeds.

Global Unification: (non-DC cannon) an initiative to unify the governments of the world in a global system of some kind, with the intent to finally unify mankind as one people, stamp out poverty, hunger and disease, and bring third world countries to economic and social parity with the developed nations. There are a number of unresolved issues: religious and cultural divisions, disparities between various currencies, human rights and legal disputes, national autonomy and how to resolve nuclear arsenals, and distrust of the developed nations who are reluctant to provide the massive funds necessary to accomplish something so utopian. To further complicate things, a growing debt crisis is looming, as unresolved deficits from earlier in the century require ever larger payments, and the world's governments lack the political will to face the issue directly.

Hangman: a college group founded by Stab several months ago, which play music in genres ranging from gothic, alternative, industrial and punk to metal. Stab got the idea for the name from the original movie, The Crow, and the main character, Eric Draven, who played in a group named Hangman's Joke. The current lineup consists of:

Stab - lead guitar, guitar synth and lead vocals
Shred – guitar, bass and vocals
Torn – guitar, Chapman Stick and keyboards
Fist – bass, keyboards and vocals
Harm – keyboards, woodwinds, saxophone, Chapman Stick, guitar and vocals
Pulse - drums and percussion

Jump City: the name of the metropolis the Teen Titans live in and protect. As a spillover city from the ever spreading metroplexes of southern California, it has inherited a number of high tech companies ranging from mega-chip makers to video game developers. The main instigator of its foundation, Randall Weyland, named it Jump City in hopes that the first human-engineered hyperspace interstellar drive would be invented there. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Krutaya: a Russian term for a tomboy or active girl, but in a good way.

Nano technology: the science of creating microscopic machines and computers, some so small that they are made of individual atoms.

Peter Gabriel: surely everyone knows one of the founding member of the music group Genesis, and as as a solo artist with a career which spans decades as well as the Millennium. If not, Google and YouTube are your friends.

Saint John Boscoe: one of the Catholic patron saint of education. Also known as Don Bosco or Giovanni Melchior Bosco, he was the founder of the Salesian Society. Born of poor parents in a little cabin at Becchi, a hill-side hamlet near Castelnuovo, Piedmont, Italy, August 16, 1815; died January 31, 1888; declared Venerable by Pius X, July 21, 1907.

Spaceport Space Station: (non-DC cannon) a joint global project, though mostly funded and hardware provided by the United States, European Union, Russia, China, Japan and India, Spaceport S.S. Is intended to be the basis of the Earth's future exploration of the solar system and the Milky Way galaxy beyond.

Special Unit Police: these elite armored forces became a necessity with the ever growing number of supervillains in the world, which began appearing along with the heroes after the development of the atomic bomb (non-DC cannon). While the connection is more than a little coincidental, no one has been able to satisfactorily explain the phenomenon, or the manifestation of the meta-gene, found in the DNA of those with superpowers. In any case, since the superheroes can't be everywhere at once, the Special Unit Police forces came into being, and though well armed and armored, they're only able to deal with the more mundane of the bad guys.

Tamaran: Starfire's distant home planet, a bleak desert world populated with a race of super strong barbarians, if you can believe it. Most of you must know of her past, and how she came to Earth as a prisoner of a reptilian race known as the Gordanians - which the members who became the Teen Titans helped her defeat, and how she learned English by a kiss with Robin, and that she's second in line to the throne behind her wicked sister Blackfire, making her a princess, and that she was nearly tricked into an arranged marriage by Blackfire to a green pile of alien yuck with an outlandish disgusting sounding name I can't recall, and that her real name is Koriand'r, and... oh, just watch the show or head over to titanstower-dot-com to learn more about her! Wait, wasn't I discussing Tamaran...?

A note on Angela's disdain for Catholicism and Islam: once again, this is the character's reaction, and shouldn't be construed as the author using her to "beat up" on them. While I happen to have issues with both faiths, and with SO many aspects of human society, I also have friends in both groups and get along well with them and their respective beliefs.

By the way, the title of this chapter is a play on the comic series and music group, Love and Rockets. And as usual, lyrics are provided by azlyrics-dot-com.

Lyric exerpts from "Shiver and Shake" from the album Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, copyright 1987 - Present by The Cure and Fiction Records

Lyric exerpts from "I Can't Remember" from the album Plays Live, copyright 1983 - Present by Peter Gabriel, Geffen Records and Charisma

Lyric exerpts from "In Your Eyes" from the album So by Peter Gabriel, copyright 1986 – Present by Peter Gabriel, Geffen and Charisma Records, 2002 – Present by Real World Music and Virgin

Hot Topic, Frys and Suncoast copyright and trademark 2012 – Eternity their respective corporations