Chapter 3
[Later that evening.]

Edward had fixed a spaghetti dinner for the Titans (meatless for Beast Boy, Kole and Gnarrk) that evening and Kole indicated that she loved it immensely.

"Edward," she said, "Can I ask you a few things?"

"Please do, Kole," Edward said with a smile.

"Well, I hope you don't mind my asking the others about you," she said with a blush.

"Of course not," Edward said, "You're a friend and part of the extended family, far as I'm concerned. That goes for Gnarrk as well." That got a smile out of the bug guy. Luckily for the Titans, Gnarrk had been to the Tower before and was used to the technology. It still frightened him when he wasn't expecting it to do something.

During the day, though, the team as a whole was helping him by letting him know what to expect so it didn't frighten him too badly.

Also, Raven had emerged from her meditation session. She was a little put off when Edward didn't join her, but, she decided to let it slide given that they had guests.

[Sorry, Rae,] he said to her.

[It's all right,] she said, [I know you want to get to know Kole and Gnarrk better.]

"I don't even know where to begin," Kole said, "The rest of the team is really impressed with you."

"Thanks," Edward replied.

Kole stood up for a moment. She was overwhelmed by everything that was going on.

[She's having trouble coping,] Rae said.

Edward sighed, [I was afraid of that. Too much for the young lady.]

"You all right?" Robin asked.

"I will be," Kole said, "It's just so much to take in. It's like a dream or something."

"We have plenty of time, Kole," Edward said gently, "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"It's all right," she said, "I'm just overwhelmed by what I've seen of your abilities. The link between you and Raven, teleportation, languages, the breath weapons, shapeshifting, how old you are and still able to have a relationship."

"Come here, please," Edward said, "All of you."

Kole came close and he put his hands on her shoulders, very gently.

Edward took a deep breath and started, "Every member of the Titans brings a very unique talent to the table. Kole, you can do something that no one else here can…In fact, two very special traits. You have your crystal form for one. No one else here has that ability. You understanding your best friend is the other one. I know I can't intercept whatever link you and he have.

"Starfire can shoot those Starbolts and she's the only one with that ability. Cyborg's just all around unique with his implants. Beast Boy while he and I share the shapeshifting traits, I don't expect him to transform into me and have my breath weapons.

"None of you know this, but, when I use the fire breath, it does burn me a bit. Same with the lightning breath. Ice doesn't hurt as much. But, I'm used to that and it doesn't bother me anymore.

"Raven shares a few traits with me, the teleportation, telepathy and empathy, as well as an ability to heal people.

"But, Robin is the glue that holds this team together. What he lacks in superhuman abilities, he makes up for in that he was trained by the World's best detective. He's got the drive and desire to keep moving forward, even when the odds are against the team.

"It's what each one has to offer freely that makes the team as good as it is. But, even if I were to quit the team, they survived before I arrived and I know they could continue on without me."

Kole replied softly, "Thanks, but, it doesn't make me feel much better."

"What's wrong?" Robin asked.

"I'm not sure," she said, "I'm feeling a little dizzy for some reason."

She swayed on her feet and collapsed. Edward eased her down and quickly checked her pulse and respirations.

"She fainted," Edward said after a moment, "She'll be fine. Let's put some pillows under her feet for a few minutes."

Gnarrk looked worried. "It's OK, my friend," Cyborg said, "Kole will wake up in a moment."

Sure enough, she came around a few minutes later.

"What a dream," she muttered, then realized she was still in the Tower and looking right at Edward.

She scooted back, "This isn't a dream, is it?"

Edward shook his head, "I'm afraid not, little lady. You passed out. I'd prefer it if you called it a night, please. You'll be able to sleep on everything you learned and it'll be easier in the morning."

Kole stood up and swayed again.

"Easy does it," Edward said, taking Kole by the shoulder, "You've had a shock, and, for that I apologize. Not everyone can get used to me right away."

Gnarrk moved closer and Edward thought he saw a hint of anger there.

"She's fine," Edward said, "I think your friend is just tired. I'll let you take her, if that's what you'd like."

Gnarrk nodded and scooped his friend up like she was a piece of paper.

"I'll go with him," Raven said. Robin nodded, "Good idea, Raven."

After they left, Edward started pacing the floor himself. He was upset that Kole was having a difficult time with his abilities.

"Friend Edward, you are upset, yes?" Starfire asked.

"A little," he replied, "I don't like seeing new friends struggling with what I truly am. I've had to face this for the last 150 years or so since I revealed myself publicly. It wasn't like I had a choice at the time, given I was caught in a flood and had to break loose, then, rescue people...some rightfully scared out of their minds. I should be used to it, dammit!"

He sighed, "My apologies, Starfire. I shouldn't be venting on you with bad language."

[Edward, my dear,] Raven said calmly, [Kole will just need a day to get used to it. Don't beat yourself up. Please, sweetheart, calm yourself. I can sense your frustration here.]

Edward took a deep breath and started to calm down, using Raven's mantra to help him focus. He discovered that when he said "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," it helped. Edward quit pacing and sat down.

He turned his attention towards the food challenge he was going to spring on Cyborg the next day. There was a little bit of research that was involved, so, he said, "I got a really interesting meal planed for tomorrow night, friends. You'll love it, but, with respect, this time, it needs to be a surprise."

"Aw, come on man!" Cyborg complained, "What's it going to be?"

"Sorry, that's on a need-to-know basis, and don't even think of asking Raven. She's sworn to secrecy," Edward said, dangling a rather interesting hook in front of him.

"It's not that tofu stuff, is it?" Cyborg said.

"No, it will involve meat," Edward said, jiggling the hook just a little bit.

"In fact, I need to go get the stuff for the challenge as I know we don't have that here in a little while," Edward said with a smile, "You guys need anything?"

That turned into a loaded question as everyone put in some requests.

"It's going to be a while before I leave, though," Edward said, "Probably about 30 minutes."

Edward had decided on what to get for the food challenge he was going to propose to Cyborg and, boy, would it be interesting to see.

Edward hopped online to get the location of the place he needed to teleport to and decided to call first.

He pulled the cell phone out of his drawer and dialed the number.

"Munchies 4:20 Cafe," a friendly voice said, "How may I help you?"

"Hi, this is Edward Barnes, with the Teen Titans. I have an interesting question for you: I recently watched an episode of 'Man v. Food' where the host was roundly beaten by your 'Fire in your Hole' challenge. Would it be possible to get two orders of that to go? One of my team mates needs to be humbled a bit," Edward said.

"Let me ask my manager real quick," the woman on the other end said.

A moment later she came back, "I'm sorry, we usually require the person taking this challenge to be here at the cafe."

Edward frowned to himself, "Drat. I'd probably have to bring the entire team there, then. I didn't want my friend getting distracted. Could I at least get some of the sauce and I could make it here?"

She talked to her boss and a moment later, "That's not a problem. It's a bit unusual of a request, but, the boss said he's willing to do that for you. When would you be getting this?"

"Give me about 10 minutes?" he asked.

"Sure thing," she said, "How much would you want?"

"Enough for a double order, at least," Edward said, "I have a feeling that he'd insist on my taking part as well."

"Not a problem," she said.

"How much would that cost me?" he asked.

"The boss said it'd be $5.00 + tax," she replied.

"That'd be worth it, then," Edward replied, "I'll be there in 10 minutes. See you then."

"Take care," the woman said and hung up.

Edward smiled ferally to himself. Cyborg had no idea what was in store for him.

Sigh...Between writer's block and my main computer having a sick HD makes for a difficult story to write. At least I moved my story archive to the external drive.

Thanks for having the patience to wait for this...and even one person located the lead-off story and favorited it! That made my day recently.

FYI: The cafe mention here was featured in season 2 of Man v. Food. The host got through two of the 10 wings and went for the milk...ending the challenge. Will Cyborg know what hit him? Wasabi is quite mild compared to what will be described in the next chapter. And, we'll be going back to Kole...she needed the "girl-talk" time with Raven.

See ya soon :)