Darkness fell on once sunny glades and the ravens chased all the robins away.

I journeyed far from my four walls and asked the Earth in his slumbering halls,

"Tell me, oh Earth, this small little thing, of the life that this newborn child shall sing."

And he said, "For evermore the dark comes down on you all, for no light upon this child ever shall fall.

The land will grow cold and the sun will dim. It is only shadow that this child may bring."

From there I wandered across placid bays and asked the Sea amidst his tumbling waves,

"Tell me, oh Sea, for I wish to know, what great glories shall this child sow?"

And he said, "Though she may struggle, though she may rave, a road for evil this child shall pave.

By her hand the darkness will continue to grow, and all of mankind shall at once be laid low."

And so I traveled long to the mountains on high until I could lift my voice to the Sky,

"Tell me, oh Sky, what should be done, with this child that threatens ruin to everyone?"

And he said, "Not all those that know sorrow shall cry. Not all those that speak shall tell lies.

And while what is dark is wicked to some, black may turn white and evil, overcome."

Thus a child was born with violet eyes and named for the raven that falls through the skies.

Raven heard the words echoing in her ears, chanted softly by a chorus of deep baritones. She knew where she was even before she opened her eyes and saw the familiar background. The song of her birth could be heard in only two places—the Tower of Beginnings in the very heart of Azarath, or deep within the twisted folds of her own memory, the devastated landscape that she had once named Nevermore. Sure enough, as her eyelids lifted slowly, she saw the dark sky and the jagged shards of stone that would form a path through her mind. She felt the ground beneath her and saw that she was lying facedown as if she had collapsed. With arms that felt strangely weak, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and felt pain roll through her head like water in a bottle. Not far from where she sat she saw a group of hooded figures, their cloaks drawn close to them, hiding their shapes and faces from her. It was from them that the words to the song came.

She flicked a hand towards them and they abruptly scattered, like a murmur of ravens. Then she pressed the same hand to her forehead as if she could draw her own pain out. Questions began to dribble into her mind. Why was she in Nevermore? Had she been meditating?

No. The explosion. It flashed across her memory like a bolt of lightning and suddenly the sky of Nevermore lit up for a few brief seconds. That's right. There had been an emergency called in from the World Bank downtown. Hostages. The strange assassin from the quarry. He had spoken to her again, taunting her with the knowledge that someone wanted her dead. Then there had been pain as he struck her. Stupid to have turned away, to have been distracted. He had gotten away and must have remote detonated the bombs he had planted in the buildings joints. Her fingers began to rub her temple as the memories whirled by faster. There had been a shockwave, and then debris falling as the building started to come down. She had tried to use her magic to block it. To shield herself and Robin from the down pouring concrete and steel. And Robin had—

Her cheeks flushed and her spine involuntarily straightened. That didn't matter now. The exertion combined with the blow to her head must have drained her and she had probably passed out. Annoying and not very heroic, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She needed to focus on healing herself before they went ahead and tried some of their Earthen healing ways on her. The thought made her shudder.

Slowly Raven rose to her feet, feeling all the aches and pains from the various injuries she had sustained. Still, she hesitated for a moment. In order to heal herself completely, she was going to need a bit of help. That meant communicating with her emotions which, since having been shown how to do so at the tender age of seven, she had never been fully comfortable with. It was one thing to reflect on yourself as a whole. It was another to consider each part of yourself individually. She found dealing with her emotions mildly embarrassing and often unsettling. Especially Happiness. It was difficult to imagine any part of her being reflected in that pink-cloaked, childish feeling.

Azar, Beast Boy still wouldn't let that go.

And yet as uncomfortable as she was around them, and as unable as she was to display them, they were still part of her. And she did need their help. Sighing, she crossed her wrists in front of her chest and closed her eyes. When she meditated in Nevermore, she often went out seeking her emotions, visiting them each in their own separate section of her mind. It was something of a ritual, the wandering, but it would take far too long and would give Cyborg and his blinking, humming machines much too much time with her unconscious body. And while she trusted the half-man, half-machine with her life, she really, really did not like his machines. Or the needles that they often used.

No, she would not seek out her emotions. This time, as in other times of need, they would come to her.

Raven called out to them silently in her mind and they appeared almost instantly, like ghosts riding on the wind. Each one had her face; the only thing that distinguished them from each other was the color of their cloaks. An ingenious idea on her part. It kept things simple. She studied each one of them in turn, taking a second to strengthen the link between herself and them.

In soft yellow was Wisdom, who nodded slightly and pushed her thin glasses up further. Beside her, in hunter green was Courage, cracking her knuckles loudly. At each pop, grey cloaked Timid winced as if she were on the receiving end of a blow. Draped in royal purple, Kindness patted the small emotion's shoulder reassuringly, while glaring in exasperation at Courage. Who rolled her eyes back. Eyes darting back and forth between them, Fear wrapped her cloak closer about her as if she expected a riot to break out at any moment. On the ground next to her, rolled up in a somewhat dingy orange cloak, was Laziness who, judging by the snores coming from her, was asleep. Kneeling over her, giggling maniacally with her pink cloak pushed back over her shoulders, a can of whip cream in her hand, and a large feather, was Happiness.

Sighing again, Raven's gaze continued past Happiness into empty space.

There was one missing.

"Where's Anger?" she asked, shifting her eyes back to the other emotions. They were all silent. Suspiciously silent. Her eyes narrowed. "Where is Anger?" she repeated, setting her fists on her hips, a premonition of doom coming over her. Silence again.

Then a giggle.

Raven glanced over at Happiness, who was grinning from ear to ear. Literally.

"Happiness? Do you know where Anger is?"

Happiness nodded. Raven struggled to keep from gritting her teeth.

"Where. Is. She?"

Happiness giggled and pointed over at Courage. "Courage hung her by her ankles from the Great Tree."

And from there, chaos ensued.

Courage tried to lunge at Happiness, calling her a "no good rat faced chicken," only to be held back by Wisdom. In response, Happiness put her thumbs in her ears and stuck her tongue out, wiggling her fingers comically. Faced with the threat of physical confrontation, Timid sunk so low to the ground that she nearly became invisible while Kindness instructed Courage to "settle down before she hurt someone's feelings." Fear tucked herself away underneath Kindness' cloak. Laziness continued to sleep through it all. Raven pinched the bridge of her nose and wondered if it was possible for one to commit suicide in one's own mind.

"ENOUGH!" The squabbling of voices died down immediately. Almost immediately. Courage shot Happiness one last dark look and muttered, "traitor" underneath her breath.

For the sake of her sanity, Raven chose to ignore it. She locked eyes with her courageous counterpart and for a moment, it seemed as if the emotion was smaller than usual. Raven rubbed at her eyes and the sensation passed.

"Courage, go get Anger. And I hope to Azar that whatever you used to bind her is stronger than the stuff you used last time."

Courage flashed a cocky grin and disappeared.

"Quite an intriguing series of events, don't you think?"

Turning slightly turn her right, Raven raised an eyebrow at Wisdom. "What do you mean? This happens every time I come here. I need to meditate after mediating with you guys."

Wisdom pushed at her glasses again. "I was referring to the events outside of your mind. The assassin, the explosion, the massive influx of energy that passed through you."

"The making out with Robin!" Happiness piped in.

Raven flushed and glared at the pink cloaked-emotion. Then her eyes whipped back to Wisdom. "What do you mean, 'massive influx of energy?'"

Wisdom lifted her shoulders slightly and spread her hands out. "I can't explain it really. But when the assassin hit you, we were all scattered. And separated, we couldn't feed you enough energy to keep the shield up. But then, there was this wave . . . this stream of energy." The emotion shook her head, obviously baffled. "It came out of nowhere. I can't explain it."

"Sex is powerful magic."

They all turned their heads at the same time to see that Courage had returned, a dark scowl on her face. Behind her, with her wrists bound in front of her and her face hidden behind the cowl of her red cloak, was Anger.

Raven felt her blush deepen. "Nobody had sex," she snapped at the emotion.

"Yeah, 'cause the building fell down too quickly," she heard Happiness mumble.

Feeling her fingers begin to clench, Raven struggled to stay calm. Focused. She took a deep, steadying breath. "Explain yourself, Anger."

Anger shrugged, eyes burning within the shadows of her hood. "Human beings derive their emotions from experience. The most emotional experience one human can engage in is intimacy with another."

Raven glanced over at Wisdom, who merely held up her hands again. "I don't know. The priests didn't really go over intimacy with us. Except to say that we should avoid it."

"Terrific," Raven muttered, rubbing at her temple. Confusion swirled inside of her, coupled with another feeling she did not wholly recognize. But with four words Anger has successfully forced her to remember the incident with Robin. Clearly. She could remember the strength of his fingers around her arm, the heat of his breath, the firmness of his lips—she clamped down on the thoughts before they could spin out of control. Yes, she thought she could see why the priests had wanted her to avoid physical contact with others. Still, there were other questions to be answered.

"I think we'll be taking a trip to Azarath," she said, more to herself than to her emotions. She turned her attention back to them and found them all watching her with odd expressions on their identical faces. Their thoughts rang in her head as if they were her own. She hunched her shoulders slightly.

"Look, humans are emotional creatures. It's perfectly natural that in the event of a near-death experience that Robin would look for some kind of . . . . physical reassurance," she fumbled. Happiness grinned and nudged Fear with her elbow, causing the other emotion's eyes to bulge and her body to shrink.

"Yeah, but we never expected him to look for 'physical reassurance' with us."

Raven tried to wave that away, along with the feelings of embarrassment that were washing over her. "I'm sure it was just a one-time fluke . . . thing," she finished, glaring slightly at Fear, who shrunk even lower.

Setting her fists on her hips, Courage leaned forward, smirking. "Come on, you enjoyed it."

Straightening self-conscious, Raven lifted her chin loftily. "It was a pleasant enough experience. But, it's not like it was on my list of things to do," she answered, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. As if the red streaked black sky were a giant chalkboard, a long list appeared within it. At the very top, in enormous capital letters, was "Discover A Way To Prevent The Prophecy." Directly below it, in equally large type, was "Discover A Way To Destroy Trigon." A little further down the list was "Find A Way To Keep Beast Boy Out Of My Room." And at the very bottom, scrawled out in small print, was "Have Near-Death Make-Out With Robin." Next to it was a large checkmark.

Her eyes bulged.

"WHO PUT THAT THERE?"

"Who do you think?" Courage quipped. Together, they turned and stared at Happiness, who waved enthusiastically. Raven took one step towards the emotion, all sorts of dark, murdersome thoughts whipping around in her brain. She paused when Kindness stepped smoothly in front of her.

"Why don't we work on healing ourselves?"

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The med-lab of Titans Tower was dark, save for the small, occasional blinking lights of many machines that hummed and beeped quietly. Along one wall of the room was a huge screen, currently filled with shifting numbers and strange color coded shapes that measured breathing, heart rate, and brain waves. They flashed by, unnoticed by the room's two occupants. One lay stretched out on a hospital bed, body motionless beneath the crisp white linen sheets. The other sat in a chair beside the bed, shoulders hunched slightly and eyes focused on the view through large plate windows. Nearly his entire right side was covered in a mixture of bandages and plaster, but if he was in pain, it didn't show on his face.

The door to the lab swished open.

"Robin?"

When she received no answer, Starfire moved further into the room, her hands clasped against her chest. Her brilliant green eyes scanned the small space, sliding past the wall screen and hesitating slightly on the unconscious body before moving past to the figure in the chair. Slowly she moved forward until she was standing behind him. Looking down, she could see a small laptop resting on his lap, its screen filled with information. He didn't stir, making her wonder if he had even heard her approach.

"Robin?" she repeated softly, placing her hand lightly on his uninjured shoulder.

Blinking as if waking from a dream, Robin turned his head towards the alien princess, a bit startled to see her standing there. He had been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard her. "Yes, Starfire?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes slightly.

"Cyborg wished me to convey to you that the villain we apprehended has not yet awoken, but his condition has improved. He is 'out of the forest' now."

Robin smiled. "I think you mean, 'out of the woods.' That's good news. When he wakes up we can finally figure out who he's been working for." As it turned out, the villain had detonated his explosives too early and had gotten caught in the blast himself. Cyborg and Beast Boy had found him under a massive pile of debris just outside the building. He had been in pretty bad shape, a number of broken bones, head trauma. But they had managed to get him back to the tower and Cyborg had been monitoring him ever since. It left something of a bad taste in Robin's mouth. Here he was trying to save someone who had been willing to kill innocent people. But he had information. Useful information. After he gave it up, Robin didn't care what happened to him.

He ran a hand through his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. "You didn't have to come all the way down here. Cyborg could've given this to me over the communicator."

Starfire nodded and blushed slightly. "Yes. But I confess, I am most anxious about Raven's condition. I was hoping that perhaps she had awoken."

Shaking his head, Robin shifted his gaze to Raven. There was a large, ugly bruise on the right side of her temple when the villain had clocked her with his gun. And even though she was unconscious, her face still seemed to be drawn down into a scowl, as if she were being tormented from within. Briefly he wondered if there was ever a time when the dark empath truly felt at peace.

"She's still the same. I wouldn't worry too much Star. Raven's strong. She'll be alright." As he spoke, Robin wasn't sure who he was trying to reassure more; Starfire or himself.

She nodded again. "I know. Still, I do worry." Her voice changed slightly and he waited, sensing that she had something more to say. Removing her hand from his shoulder, Starfire moved to stand beside the bed. Very lightly, she reached out and brushed a lock of purple hair back from Raven's face, before tucking the sheets a bit more tightly around her friend.

"I know that Raven and myself seem most different." She smiled slightly. "Perhaps no one thinks this more than Raven herself. But I have come to realize that she and I are not so unalike. I know what it is like to be used as a piece in someone else's game. To be forced to do something against your will." Her fingers clenched into fists and her jaw rippled. Just as quickly, the moment passed. "But I believe what Raven truly fears the most is not Trigon or the Prophecy, but the strength of her own powers. I understand that as well. The more power that one possesses, the more afraid one becomes of that power spiraling out of control. Raven fears her emotions because she has always denied them. And one cannot control what one does not believe to exist."

"It's hard for some people to deal with their feelings. Not everyone is like you Star."

"Yes, that is true. Yet still, I wish often for her happiness." Her smile widened as she shifted her gaze to his. "You humans are strange. So often you hide what you feel, what you think. I wonder why?" She gave Raven's arm a pat and turned towards the door. "You will call me if there is any change?"

Robin nodded, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to sort through everything she had said. And the way she had looked at him, as if she knew something that he did not. What did she mean by 'you hide what you feel, what you think?' Did she mean I'm hiding something?

"Starfire, what—"

But the door had already closed behind her.

He scowled darkly. I don't hide my feelings. I just don't go shouting them out on the rooftop. And just which feelings were she talking about?

"She's not entirely correct, you know."

For a moment, Robin was afraid he had been talking out loud to himself. It had happened on occasion. But the voice was too feminine to be his own. His eyes darted over and he saw that it was Raven who had spoken. She was sitting up in the bed, one hand pressed against her temple where the bruise had already faded away. Robin wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about, so he remained silent.

"I don't deny my emotions. I've just never found a way to express them without unleashing my powers as well."

Their eyes met and an uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Robin felt an itch between his shoulder blades and just barely resisted squirming in order to scratch it. Raven had the distinct echo of "Robin and Raven, sittin' in a tree" ringing through her head and struggled to keep both the mortification and the murder off of her face.

Happiness was overrated anyway.

"So . ." they both started at the same time. Robin gave a little cough.

"Uh . . . you go first."

"Did he get away?"

He shook his head, grateful for the question. "No. Looks like he got caught in his own blast. Cyborg's watching over him down in the holding lab. And it turns out that 'he' is an assassin-for-hire who goes by the name of Ravager. He's been linked to a number of high profile killings. Rumor has it he only works on single targets and carries a pretty hefty price tag."

"How much?"

"Five hundred thousand."

One slim eyebrow shot up. "Nice work if you can get it," she deadpanned. Her hand dropped from her temple to her chin. "Any idea as to who hired him this time?"

He shook his head again. "No. He hasn't been conscious enough to answer questions yet."

"Pity."

The silence returned abruptly. Tearing his gaze from hers, he stared down at his cast, absently picking at the plaster. For her part, Raven avoided his corner of the room completely, choosing instead to stare at the door as if she could will one of the other Titans to walk through it. Azar, even Beast Boy would be a welcome sight. She wrinkled her nose. Maybe that was going too far. But definitely Cyborg. Or Starfire. Anything to diffuse the tension that had settled in. She took a deep calming breath and told herself she was being foolish. This was Robin. Her leader. Her friend. No more, no less.

She cleared her throat quietly. "What were you going to say?"

His eyes shot up, hidden as always by the simple mask. Honestly, he didn't have any idea of what he had been about to say. Probably something stupid like, "how ya doin'?" He blew out a long breath and looked at her again. It was just Raven. The same Raven who daily insulted him on his choice of uniform colors. The same Raven that he often went to for advice. The same Raven whose lips had felt so soft against—

Whoa. Back up there. Robin shook his head slightly. He knew what he was going to say.

"I think we should . . . . talk about what happened," he stated firmly.

He was unprepared for her reaction. He had expected her to look at him disdainfully and say something along the lines of, "if you ever try something like that again I'll roast you over an open fire like a marshmallow." Instead, her cheeks flushed red and she averted her eyes.

"I don't," she replied quietly. "I think we should forget it ever happened."

Frowning, Robin set his laptop aside and pulled his chair closer to the bed, trying in vain to catch her gaze. She stubbornly refused to look at him. "Raven, call me old fashion, but you really can't forget something like that."

Suddenly she turned to him, her eyes large and filled with a bottomless sadness that he had only caught glimpses of before. "You'd be surprised Robin, at what you can forget. Or choose not to remember."

Looking up at her, Robin felt his chest tighten and got up from his chair. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and pull her close to him, but knew the gesture wouldn't be appreciated. So instead he sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to touch her. She didn't acknowledge his presence.

"If that's what you want, Raven, then we'll forget it. Though, I don't know why you'd want to forget something as magical as a kiss from yours truly," he teased, his eyes trained on her face. She glanced at him and he thought he saw a hint of a smile touch her lips before being tucked away.

"It's amazing how you got your head to fit through the doorway."

"It comes off."

"That doesn't surprise me."

He laughed and held out a hand. "Friends?"

She hesitated for a moment, trying to see behind the mask, behind the smile. But he just looked like Robin. Spiky haired, occasionally aggravating Robin. Smiling slightly, Raven put her hand in his.

"Friends."

Nodding, he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze and for a moment, everything was back to normal.

But for some strange, inexplicable reason, it couldn't stay that way.

Robin opened his mouth to say something else, just as the moon came out from behind the clouds, spilling a stream of soft light into the room. The words died in his throat and he could only stare at her. In the moonlight her pale skin was as flawless as a pearl and her violet eyes were dark and deep. He felt like he was drowning in them. Her palm was warm and soft against his, reminding him of what her lip would feel like. Though he heard his mind telling him to pull back, that they were only friends, he found himself leaning forward, as if drawn in by some unseen force. He was close enough to see the same desire swim in her gaze, mixed with fear and another emotion he couldn't identify. Almost on its own accord, his hand traveled slowly up her arm, sliding over the skin, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. It slipped over her shoulder and his fingers danced up the side of her neck to cup her cheek.

Raven could feel it happening again; the heat gathering in her belly, the shivers whispering along her skin. His fingers burned her cheek, but not in a painful way. She could feel him tugging her forward and she found herself complying. The nearness of him made her head spin and when his lips brushed hers lightly, she felt the energy crackle through her body like electricity.

And she panicked.

"NO!" she shouted, pushing out with both her hands and her mind.

Robin felt himself shoved backwards, even though her hands had never come in contact with him. Still, he was thrown across the room. He twisted in the air, his movements made awkward by the cumbersome cast, but he managed to land on his feet. Their eyes met across the room and he saw that the desire in hers was gone. There was only fear in them now.

Then the shutter came down over her face as she slammed her control into place. They stared at each other, neither having any idea what to say.

BEEP. BEEP.

The shrill sound had Robin glancing down at his belt. The light on his communicator flashed. His hand shaking slightly, he unclipped it and flipped it open. Cyborg's face filled the tiny screen. "Robin here."

"Our 'guest' just woke up."

"Can he answer questions?"

"Yeah. Whether or not he will, is another story."

"He will," Robin responded grimly. "I'm on my way. Robin out." He snapped the communicator closed and turned toward the door. Only to find Raven standing in front of it. She had pulled her cloak on and drawn the hood up.

"You should be in bed," he stated, wincing at the clip in his voice. God, he sounded just like Batman.

"I'm in better condition than you are," she retorted, reaching out to grab his arm. He glanced at the cast that went from his shoulder to his wrist.

"It's worse than it looks. You healed it mostly. Just a couple of fractures."

Raven stopped in mid-chant, the dark energy buzzing about her for a moment before dissipating. "What? When did I heal you?"

"Back when the building was falling down."

She shook her head and her grip loosened. "That's impossible," she said flatly.

He felt his temper snap. "Well, I sure as hell didn't do it."

She glared at him from the shadows of her cowl. Her fingers tightened again and her darkness swept down, drawing him in. It felt as if he were falling, down into a bottomless pit, away from light and hope. Into blackness so thick it permeated his skin, filled his lungs, and surrounded his soul.

And then, just as abruptly, it disappeared and he found himself in the holding's medical lab, Raven standing beside him. She shot him a look that seemed to say, That is what I live with. Robin rubbed at the back of his neck and suddenly felt exhausted. His arm began to throb painfully. For one second he wanted to throw his hands up in the air, say fuck it, and walk out.

Of course, he couldn't do that. The feeling passed and he turned his attention to the figure lying on the hospital bed. Every inch of his body was covered; in bandages, in sheets. His face was the only thing uncovered. It was bruised and battered but the features were still clear. A strong, square jaw, dusted with short brown stubble. A long nose. Thick eyebrows. His eyes were closed. Robin wondered if he bore any resemblance to Slade. Was this how the mastermind looked beneath his mask?

Cyborg clomped over, jerking his thumb at the bed. "Don't let him fool you. He's definitely awake."

At the sound of his voice, the Ravager's eyes opened and Robin saw that they were the same shade of brown as his hair. There was an odd mixture of pain and amusement in them. Instantly irritated, Robin stalked up to the bed.

"Who are you working for?" he demanded.

The assassin's lips twitched ever so slightly. ". . . . to hell," he slurred.

In response, Robin reached out and grabbed a handful of the man's hair, tugging it upward. Ravager gave a gasp of pain. His eyes narrowed to thin slits, Robin leaned closer, his voice a deadly whisper.

"Let me make this clear to you. You either tell me who hired you or the pain you're in now will be paltry compared to what I'll do to you."

The assassin's eyes widened. He wanted to laugh at this masked kid who was threatening him. Couldn't be more than seventeen. But he didn't laugh. He couldn't drum up the nerve to call his bluff. Ravager swallowed, licked his dry lips, and spoke the name in a faltering whisper.

Robin felt the blood drain from his face.

". . . .man."

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RANDOM TITANS THEATER PRESENTS: "Bonding Time With Anger And Courage."

Courage: "Stupid, idiot, dumb-ass, candy-coated, Barbie wannabe—"

Anger: "So. Returned to the scene of the crime I see."

Courage: "All because Happiness had to open her huge, annoying, stupid, yapping—"

Anger: "Can you say anything without using three or more adjectives?"

Courage: "I'm sorry. Did you want me to take you down from there or did you want to spend another five days playing the Hanged Man?"

Anger: "Well, if you don't let me down, I'll tear your eyes out and eat them with whip cream, cherries, and some chocolate covered nuts."

Courage: "How are you going to do that if I don't let you down?"

Anger: "I'll get Happiness to let me down."

Courage: "And how will you manage that? Happiness won't go near you. She's dumb, but not that dumb."

Anger: "I have candy."

Courage: "Fuck."

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Author's Note:

Alright, now is THAT a cliffhanger or what? I'm even excited and I know what's going on. I've got some cool surprises in store. At least, I hope they're cool. And surprises. I also posted a link to another picture of Robin / Raven that I badgered a good friend of mine into doing. So check it out! I mean, that is, if you want to. No obligation or anything. Oh, and about the poem. I was reading Lord of the Rings again and I was inspired.

Crzy Grl: Here we are. New chapter. Now you can go back to school with a clear conscience.

sbu-liz: Well, I'm glad you like the story and thanks for deciding to review! Robin is a bit tricky to write because he's the most driven of the group but also the most hopeful.

Nameless Child: Thanks a lot! That's nice of you to say. Personally, I love writing the Random Titans Theater.

JPElles: Thank you. Glad it doesn't seem too rush. It's always hard not too skip ahead to the more interesting bits. The end is going to be pretty different from the season finale. Though I thought the season finale was awesome. Kid Raven? The cutest thing I have ever seen.

Angel of Azarath: thanks!

theShapeOfLight: hey, thanks for all the reviews! reviews never have to be long to be ego strokers. I appreciate it!

Bumblebee-Queen: It was a little rough waiting but I didn't want everything to seem like it was happening at once. I'm glad the dialogue is working. I love writing dialogue, especially the fast paced kind. I actually am going to be dealing with Starfire's feelings but in a different way. One that I hope is interesting and clever and not at all confusing.

xdire.vixenx: glad you liked it. please don't die. at least not on the carpet.

morgannia: thanks! it's tricky being original. I'm glad the story seems fresh to you.

Lost1n7heDark: okay. just checking. thanks a lot!

watergoddess08: yeah, Robin's seriously living up the title of Boy Blunder, huh? Hope this chapter answered your questions. If not, feel free to ask me more. glad you're liking the story!

Chica De Los Ojos Café: It was in this old copy of The New Teen Titans I think. It was awesome. Raven was explaining her past and everything. Turns out Wally wasn't really in love with her. She had manipulated his emotions in order to get him to stay with the Titans and help her out. Talk about bad timing on Robin's part, right? Thanks!

Fortex: Good catch! I hear what you're saying and I agree that if Robin was second best to everybody in everything it would kinda be like "what's the point of having him?" But I also think what's great about Robin is that while he often underestimates his opponents, or overestimates his own abilities, he never does it twice with the same person. I think Raven would be hard pressed to take him again, which is probably why she declined his second challenge. I'm glad you're digging the dynamics of the story though!

Cherry Jade: thanks! hope this chapter lived up to expectations!

YinMiltato: Me? The first? That's awesome! I'm glad you felt I warranted it. And I'm doubly glad you like the story.

2wolfgirl5: hey, thanks! it sounds like a perfect review to me. appreciate it.

raggedywings: thanks!

animefreak404112: Being called unique is the best of compliments. Thanks!

greygin: I'm glad you found me. Thanks a lot! glad you like it.

Harpiebird: thanks! Me too.

autumn in bloom: thanks a lot! I'm glad you like the theater at the end. I was worried in the beginning that people would think it annoying but it seems like everyone doesn't mind it too much.

ray1: thanks. hope Robin's words with Ravager were choice enough.

mysti-eyed: thanks. I'm keeping who he's working with a closely guarded secret. Though you might have some guesses now. Oooo, it's gonna be good.

They Call Me Sweetsnow: Yeah, you just can't trust a guy who talks to fish. thanks a lot!

Darkofthenight: thanks!

sailorgirl16: thanks! I mentioned it in the author notes, but Wally is Wally West, the first Kid Flash, who was the sidekick of the Flash.