-Raven-

Raven still couldn't believe what she saw in the mirror, even after the four days of letting it all sink in. She was a woman… Nineteen years of age, hair down to her chest, her body developed… Well, more than it had been at fifteen. It was almost like looking at a stranger. She lifted her fingers to the bindi on her forehead, confirming it for the possible millionth time that it was in fact her. It was no spell… No trick by her father, Trigon. Raven was now an adult, and so was everyone else.

She sighed, turning on the faucet. It still churned a bit, struggling to force the flow of cool water out from the old faucet. Eventually, it came dribbling out, then a gush of a full stream splashing into the sink. Raven dipped her hands in, cupping the water and then lifting her makeshift bowl up to her face. She washed it as if her looks were some kind of makeup, as if she could wash away this mature Raven if she rubbed hard enough.

Nope. It was her.

Raven wondered if her time missed made her seem more juvenile in the eyes of her old companions. She wondered how anyone could seem more juvenile than Garfield at any moment in their life, but even he had turned into something else. Something nearly unrecognizable. She took back the idea when she saw her own form though. It felt arrogant, but the empath had become quite the attractive woman. She couldn't help but twist, looking over herself as she stood inside the shared bathroom. The group had taken turns cleaning, but they managed to return the bathroom to… Well, at least usable conditions. The mirror was replaced, and Raven was a bit ashamed to admit she spent quite a few spare vain moments just getting reacquainted with herself. Who could blame her though? It wasn't every day you went to sleep and awoke four years later.

She was still having troubles remembering those last few days...

Raven was wearing her old black leotard, and it fitted over her body snugly. She couldn't find her dainty shoes in the rubble of the tower, so she was forced to go out and buy a pair of boots. Unlike her shoes though, these were thigh highs, and they tightly clamped around Raven's slender, pale legs. She had to look through a number of high heeled boots until she found some sensible ones… She didn't tell the others she found them in a fetish shop. One which she could legally enter now... She then draped her trademark cloak over her shoulders, watching as the edge of it dipped down just below her knees. She was beginning to look like herself again.

But the hair… What was she to do with her hair? In all honesty, she hated having long hair. It was a relief to cut it after Trigon's attack all those years ago, and she couldn't help but feel the urge to be rid of it here as well. It seemed her long hair was a constant bad reminder of terrible things in her young life. She looked down to her tools. Kate had given them to her… Scissors, a razor, shaver… It was all there. She even threw in some hair spray and shampoo, but Raven didn't think she would be using them. Her hair was flat, not big and curly like Kate's.

Raven looked back into the mirror. She never wore makeup, but she had her shadowy pale look to herself as she always did. Some people thought her paleness was from the application of makeup, but it wasn't. Just an unfortunate reminder of her half demon parentage, that was all.

Her eyes seemed a bit pearlescent though, with a much whiter sheen, almost glazing over her iris. She didn't see any different, but it was there. It gave her eyes a sort of pop, something to draw to. It was if her eyes were taking in the light she had neglected them from for so long and keeping it locked within. Raven's aversion to the light didn't seem to help in regards to recovery, so they had remained like this for a while. Another strange demonic twist of biology.

Raven lifted the scissors to her hair, and began cutting it off. Her hair lining abilities were always pretty spot on, and she watched as lock after lock tumbled down into the sink. The sound of her sheers snipping was sort of a sickening sound. She didn't like it, and rushed to snip the rest of her hair from herself. It wasn't long before she looked up at herself.

Now she was sure. She was Raven. An older Raven, but herself all the same. Raven sighed, looking down at the stray locks that littered the sink. It seemed wrong to already ruin the near-clean bathroom, so she scooped them up and dumped them in the trash.

"Raven…" A feminine voice called out to her.

Looking up, she saw a darkened figure behind her. His black wasn't a shadow, but darker, an outline of a figure that seemed as deep as one of her portals. Raven felt her breath clench in her throat, quickly spinning around as she felt a burst of her magical energy crack the mirror behind her.

The shadowy figure was gone.

Raven gasped for breath, reaching for her chest with a shaky hand. A ghost? A spirit that was wandering through the tower? Or maybe her mind was creating figures from her underused imagination. Raven wondered if her deep sleep in the Watchtower had caused any adverse effects.

Should she mention this to the others?

Raven caught her breath, looking back with a wince at the new mirror, now ruined with another crack. Cyborg would be annoyed.

Raven left the bathroom and began to walk down the hall. Turning the corner, she was stopped by the sight of a stranger in a tight fitting black and red uniform. She blinked, realising that it was in fact Nightwing. He had cut his hair and changed his uniform. His black locks were much shorter now, but still a little long towards the back. He had a slicked back look to the style, and the blue avian on his uniform was now red. He was lifting a metallic door to the entrance of his old room, fitting it back into the frame. He seemed hard at work with refitting it to liveable conditions, "Hey you…" Nightwing said with a smile, locking the door into place. "You've cut your hair." He hadn't even fully turned to her before noticing these things. Sometimes his Ninja senses were bafflingly impressive.

"As have you… And your uniform." She commented, looking him up and down. She was glad the pretext of his change was enough for her to sneak a peek at the peaked Boy Wonder. 'That's no boy...' Raven thought to herself, "Why the change?" She asked, raising her eyes back to his… Mask. He still had on the Harlequin eye mask.

"Something Batwoman said." He said with a smirk, knocking on the door to make sure it was stable. He then clicked the panel next to the frame and watched as the door swished open half way, then got caught in the middle. Nightwing frowned, "And I wanted to distinguish myself from the Nightwing I was in Gotham. A visual change is good for the city, lets them see that it's their own Nightwing, not Gotham's." He said with a bit of pride in his tone. Raven rolled her eyes, lowering a hand to her hip. Nightwing laughed, "Yeah, I figured that would be your reaction… Gar would have laughed in my face."

"You do have the talent for being over dramatic." Raven stated, settling behind him as Nightwing kneeled and then lifted the wall panel's face off the mechanical contraption. He worked out a few wires, and then dug inside, looking for something.

He withdrew a stale tortilla chip, "How does that even happen?" He mumbled to himself, fishing back inside for more blockage that would disrupt the door's function. "What about you? Don't like long hair?"

"I did on you." She admitted a bit too quickly, "But uh… Long hair on me just reminds me of my troubles with my Father. I'd rather not be reminded."

"I can understand that." He said, standing up to dust himself off. He then turned towards her, Raven realizing that she was now intimately close with the boy. She had to look up to look him in the eyes. He towered an extra foot over her, putting her at eye level with his broad chest. Raven frowned, looking away and backing up. Nightwing remained in place, a sly smirk on his face.

'Damn that confidence.' He knew what he was doing, and Raven was finding herself rather flustered at how these sudden desires seemed to be affecting her.

"Sorry to disappoint with my hair. Maybe Kate has a wig I can borrow if you really want it back." He said with a small, friendly smile. He was lightening the sudden shift in mood, and Raven was relieved. She gave an inkling of a smile at that, imagining him with a big, blonde 80s hair wig.

"Don't get any ideas though." He seemed to read through Raven's sudden devious intentions.

"Who me?" She asked back, planting a mock shocked hand on her chest.

The two laughed, and Raven felt peaceful. She was comfortable in her surroundings, around him. She wasn't sure if this was what a crush felt like, but she was having some rather strong emotions that tied with the former Boy Wonder. Raven felt needs and desires seemingly boil up inside her, and as Nightwing smiled to her, she felt a shiver of want tingle up her spine. She needed to shift away from this… She needed to suppress these thoughts.

"Ahem… Do you have any idea what this meeting Cyborg's calling is?" Raven asked, parting her hair from her eyes, leaning back against the hallway wall.

"Sort of. Cyborg has been compiling a list of Titans that may be able to help us in our new group. Not everyone is still in the game, but we've had some pings back from their old Titan's Communicators." Nightwing said, leaning against the wall across from her, "It's not going to be like before, Cy and I both decided that… We can't fight crime in an open display, not like the old days. The Federal and California State Government have put too many restrictions of costumed vigilantism in the past few years. It's too risky to do what we do and limit ourselves to one city."

Raven gave a small wince, "I still haven't caught up on all that." She admitted. She reached for her forearm, giving it a stroke. She felt like she was so behind. Hells, even Garfield was aware of some of the political situation, even if he didn't care for it.

"That's ok. You're still adjusting to everything." He breathed a sigh, "I can imagine it's a lot to take in. I'll make sure to sit down and discuss some things with you."

"You know, seeing you all and the city change felt weird, but possible… Seeing myself though." She looked down to herself, uncovering her cloak to show off her form for a moment, "It's just surreal."

"I bet." Nightwing said, giving a smirk. Raven realized what she was doing, and quickly wrapped herself up in her cloak again, giving a faint flush to her cheeks.

Nightwing noticed her discomfort, lifting a hand to her, "Sorry, force of habit…"

"I figured…" Raven took in a breath, "May I ask what happened with you and Starfire? I know she was upset when you left, but I figured you two would stay together. At least romantically…"

Nightwing lifted his hand to his newly cropped hair, "I forgot how blunt you are."

"I'm sorry." Raven felt like she was apologizing a lot lately. She felt like she was owed an explanation though, especially if she was going to be receiving the flirtations of a boy she remembered being well involved with a giddy alien.

"No no, it's fine. Four years may have split us apart, but I still see you as close as blood Raven."

'Nothing more, Robin?' Raven wondered. She then angered herself with that stray thought popping into her mind.

"I did keep in contact with Starfire. I tried to fly to Jump every weekend I could when I first started my solo work. We just started growing apart, and with that distance I began to notice how… How we are nothing alike." He spoke the last part like it was a relief. "I mean, you saw how she was back then. Sure, she was weird, but she was an alien valley girl. I think I just liked her because she showed me affection in a way I never had before."

"You were kids, being kids." Raven said bluntly.

"Plus, I met someone… Someone in Gotham I got very close to." He muttered.

"What was her name?" Raven asked with a smile. Raven was happy for him. At least he found someone that meant something to him, even if it wasn't her friend Star.

"Barbara…" He answered with a tight strain on his voice.

'Uh oh.'

"Is she…?"

"No, no… Almost. She was hurt bad, and…" He sighed, "I have never been good as a source of comfort. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I ran. Absorbed myself in my work."

Raven decided to steer clear from that line of questioning. She could tell Nightwing was becoming visibly distraught, even with his mask on, "Let's change the subject… And what of Starfire?"

Nightwing exhaled, like that question was even harder to explain than the last. He didn't seem so saddened in relaying this tale though, "After we split apart, she started seeing Speedy… Romantically. Or Arsenal as he calls himself now."

Raven didn't want to say it, but it was easy to see. Speedy and Robin had a lot in common back then, and there was always a fierce rivalry between them. Starfire was attracted to Robin and his personality. Could it be she was just attracted to those solemn, loner types? Looks like Nightwing had to lose at some point in his crime fighting career, and he lost the girl...

"The two started working together independently. I don't know how or where they met Red X, but they-"

"Wait. The criminal?" Raven asked, her brows raising. Red X? Starfire wouldn't associate with a common thief, would she?

"Yeah… X was looking for a source of income, and Starfire had gotten word of some contract jobs in deep space they could do. I think after everything that happened, Kori just grew tired of Earth… Tired of us."

Raven could see the boy was being hard on himself. She could see the regret in his motions, in his body language. He clenched his fists, then loosened them, taking a breath.

"Arsenal decided to come along with the two. If I remember correctly, they're calling themselves the 'Outlaws.'" He continued. "I'm kind of… Limited to Earth in terms of my surveillance. I try and send a message now and then to get an update on her welfare, but I never get a message back."

"The Outlaws? I wonder who thought of that name." Raven said sarcastically, crossing her arms, "So, Star has gone bad?"

Nightwing looked down, "I don't know. As far as I know, they're only hunting criminals. Bounties for murderers, thieves and the like… But if she's associating with Red X, I don't know how she could stay in his company and not get involved with some dirt."

Raven had a hard time seeing it, "Starfire? Bubbly, goofy, foreign exchange student Starfire is now a interstellar bounty hunter?" Nightwing snorted at the ridiculousness of it all, "Now I think you all are just telling me nonsense to mess with my head." Raven said with a smirk.

"I wish I was!" Nightwing laughed, lifting his hands in surrender, "It's been a wild few years Raven, but I'm glad you're back with us."

"I'm glad as well." She gave him a genuine smile, parting her hair as she looked up at him warmly.

"Let's go see what Cyborg has in store for us." Nightwing said, lifting a hand to her back and giving it a light pat. He swung his arm around her neck, the two walking from the hall to approach the living room.


"So, what you're sayin' is, you wanna go clubbin'?" Garfield asked, scratching his chin scruff. He had a perplexed look on his face. Raven wasn't so confused, but she could understand a militant-minded Garfield being told that he'd have to go to the club to spy rather than dance.

She looked about her teammates, all gathered around the newly washed couch to go over Cy's briefing. The living room still was a mess, windows were covered with plywood and the carpet still had yet to be torn out, but the kitchen was beginning to look functional again. Nightwing stood behind them, arms crossed, as Raven, Kate and Garfield sat on the couch. Cyborg was at the front, giving a professor-like vibe as he explained the mission.

"No, not clubbing. I think we should get some quick recon while we're setting up. Jump Still isn't aware of our return yet, and I think we could get a leg up on our mission of dismantling Jump's crime problem by getting an idea of who the players are." Victor explained, pushing a button on his remote. An image flashed on the new TV screen, an invitation to some kind of 'black' event, hosted by Sionis Industries.

It was a scan of a formal invitation, the seal in a solid black velvet that had to be untied to read. The lettering of the invitation was handwritten and elegant, giving signs that each invitation was individually crafted.

"Black Mask is a big player in Gotham," Nightwing explained, "And if he's set up in Jump City, he has to be getting help from somewhere. He also probably has allies in the city, small gangs or syndicates that help him in his drug making operation. I want to know who they are, and this party might be the best source of information." He then walked around the couch, taking a stand next to Victor. The two stood before the rest of the Titans. Raven wondered if they had decided to split leadership. The two consuls of the Titans...

"So this 'black' event…" Kate started, "Black tie, black dress?" She asked.

"Yep. Looks like this will be our first deep cover assignment together. Gar and I will have our cloaks on, but we'll all have to dress up to blend in." Cyborg explained. He then pressed a button on his remote, and the TV switched to the next image. On it was a blueprint layout of the club. Cy pointed towards a upside down 'U' looking shape that covered three of the four walls of the club's main floor, "Up here is the VIP section. Now, we may get some small time players interactin' with the rabble down below, but we're guessing the big shots are going to be up there, looking down on everyone."

"So, we need someone up there." Raven stated, leaning back in her seat, "How are we going to do it?"

"Well…" Nightwing sighed, "It's too soon to plant a undercover, so someone is going to have to smooth talk their way upstairs." He glanced to the two girls sitting beside each other.

Raven frowned, "Uhh…"

Nightwing lifted his hands, "I know, it sounds pretty awful, but honestly I don't see a way inside unless one of these mobsters thinks he's got a new girl on his arm." Raven didn't like this. The others may have had experience in blending in undercover, but not her. Kate must have sensed Raven's discomfort, "Don't worry boss. I'll get upstairs." She offered, looking to her and giving the empath a smile.

Raven smiled back with a nod, but now it was her turn to turn a little red and look off. Raven couldn't see her reaction, but she imagined the girl could read her face. 'Great, she probably knows I know now.' Raven thought, getting the courage to save face by lifting her gaze back to the girl, "Thank you. Uhm, I may need your help in getting ready. I've never really done a formal… Thing…"

"Yeah, uh… That goes for me too, dude. All the bangers we posed as never put on a tie if I remember correctly." Garfield stated.

Raven couldn't help but smirk, "Beast Boy, do you not know how to tie a tie?" She asked. Kate turned to him as well, and the two girls gave him quite the mocking look.

Garfield just frowned, leaning back and crossing his arms. He was embarrassed, looking away, "Whatever… And it's Changeling."

This was good. This banter. Raven could feel it, something was back from the old days. How the group used it, it raised the tone in the room. Kate snickered and Raven glanced to both Nightwing and Cyborg, who also gave warm smiles. They could feel it too. The team was back. They were shattered, older, battle hardened versions of themselves, but they were back. Even Garfield, in his post-humiliation, gave a small toothy smirk.

"Kate, I guess you can handle both the kids and their fancy wear." Nightwing said. Raven glanced back at him with a frown, and the ex-Boy Wonder gave her a wink. 'Gotta take it to give it.' Raven read off his face.

Fair enough Nightwing, fair enough…