Whew, so sorry for the late update, but got bogged down with work to do before starting college on Tuesday, so my update rate might drop a bit. Anway, here is the party scene! Sorry if it's a but naff, as I said I had all the college work to do. So, enjoy, read and review.


Raven watched impassively as David sparred with Cyborg, following his every move like a hawk did its prey. She was amazed that he could move so fluidly in all that armour, dodging blow after blow like he was made of water. Cyborg fired blast after blast from his sonic cannon, yet David managed to dodge every one.

He had restricted himself to using only the swords in his arms, saying it would be an unfair advantage to use the on-board targeting system with his guns and launchers, so it wouldn't be a true test of his skill.

He had already beaten Terra and Garfield, although they hadn't made it easy for him. The multiple scars and rents in his armour were testament to that. He danced around Cyborg, his blades glinting in the light, a wild grin on his face.

"Damn you, ya walking oil slick!" Cyborg bellowed "Stand still!" David didn't stop moving, although he did start closing in on the machine-man, his movements a lot more precise and calculated.

He didn't respond to any of Cyborg's taunts, his eerie silence making him seem that much more intimidating. He suddenly lept into the air, the boosters in his ankles firing for less than a second.

He flipped over Cyborg's head, arms held perpendicular to his shoulders, blades glinting in the light. He landed right behind Cyborg, his chestplate against his opponents back.

In a heartbeat he had wrapped both arms around Cy's massive chest, tilting his wrists so the blades ended up just beneath his throat.

"Don't. Move." he growled, tightening his already impressive grip for emphasis. The machine-man thrashed against his bonds, his face set in a fierce snarl, before succumbing.

"Alright, you win" he said, barely loud enough for the others to hear. David released him from his vice-like embrace, retracting his blades into his wrists.

He wiped his face on a nearby towel, and took a long draught from his water bottle whilst looking up at Dick, a smug smirk on his face.


"Wanna dance?" he asked innocently, whilst raising his wrist and once again extending the blades.

Gasps went round the room; no one had ever openly challenged their leader before. Dick merely closed his eyes and bowed his head in thought. When he opened them, a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Sure" he replied with a deceptive shrug and leapt down into the ring. They circled each other, gazes locked, weapons held low, looking for any weakness they could exploit.

Eventually, as always, Dick got impatient and charged. He swung his escrema sticks at both sides of David's head, intending to smash them into his temples.

David merely rocked back on his heels and allowed the weapons to pass harmlessly over his head, putting Dick off-balance whilst he drove an armoured knee into the Titan's doubled over, his body reacting instinctively to the blow.

Then, faster than they could blink, David appeared behind Dick and, grabbing him by his waist, hurled him across the ring. By this point, everyone was openly gaping.

No one, but no one, had floored Nightwing so easily before; not even Slade had managed such a feat. Dick groaned and shook his head as he rose, trying to clear the stars flashing before his eyes. He looked behind him to see David, leaning against the ropes with his arms folded over his chest, his metal mask completely expressionless.

Dick rose, this time keeping his mind calm, detached. They sprung at each other simultaneously, their weapons clattering nosily as they collided. They swung, they swiped, they lunged, they used every move in their arsenal just to touch the other, they attacks becoming swiftly, more precise, yet it still wasn't enough.

They duelled for a full ten minutes, by which point Garfield and Terra were sitting next each other on one of the benches with a huge bag of popcorn between them, their fingers interlaced and soft smiles on their faces whilst Terra rested her head on Gar's shoulder.

Raven took this in with a small smile of her own. Despite their recent break-up, she still felt some affection for the green bean, so she was relieved that he had managed to find some happiness in his life.

After finding about the fate of his parents, and his life before the Doom Patrol, everyone had to re-evaluate their opinion of the green prankster, and found out that beneath his happy-go-lucky attitude and joking demeanour, lay a very insecure man that hid behind his humour to hide his true self from others.

Her attention returned to the ring when she heard a series of loud clangs, and turned to see Dick, flat on his back and weapon-less, with the point of one of David's sword at his neck.

"Yield" he demanded, inching the blade closer to the leader's throat. Dick glared at him for a while, his masked eyes boring into the steel helm, before slowly raising his hands in surrender. Cheers erupted from the others as they saw David hoist Dick to his feet, his face still unreadable behind his metal mask.

"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed, floating next to Raven with her hands clasped before her, her eyes sparkling. But when Dick stumbled slightly, clutching his side with a fierce grimace on his face, her smile faded.

Dick limped over to where his girlfriend hovered, staring resolutely at her despite the burning pain in his ribs. She was all over him as soon as he got within reach, hands running all over his body assessing the severity of his wounds.

"Kori" he whined, rolling his eyes as she fussed over his chest "I'm fine" One of her ruby eyebrows rose at his comment, and she pressed her fingers down hard on one of his bruised ribs, making him cry out in pain.

"There" she scolded "you are not 'fine'. You are injured, and you need to rest." She eased him into a sitting position, placing him right next to Raven, whilst she went to prepare for her sparring session. She glanced down at her surrogate brother, a teasing smirk fighting its way onto her pale lips.

"Sooooo" she drew out the word, her eyes twinkling with mischief "trouble in paradise?" Dick groaned whilst shooting a half-hearted glare in the empath's direction.

"You have no idea" he replied, his eyes sweeping round the room in an effort to find the alieness, and breathed a sigh of relief when she wasn't in. Raven cleared her throat and, still smirking, pointed over her shoulder. Dick turned with dread, praying that his assumption was wrong. Above him, clad in a very revealing purple unitard, stood Starfire, her emerald eyes shining down at him, an eyebrow raised in question.

He blanched then, in a move born of desperation to retain his manly pride, he bolted for the door.

The others openly gaped as they watched their 'fearless leader' actually try to run from the Tamaranean, his legs kicking up a miniature dust cloud behind him as he ran.

Starfire glared after him, before kicking off from the wall and launching herself at the door, whizzing past Dick in the process. As she passed, she wrapped an arm around his waist and dropped to the floor, taking him with her.

Richard grunted as pain flared along his side as he hit the ground, his eyes narrowing slightly. They shot open when he felt something-or someone- press down on his waist, and he looked down to see Star straddling him, her hands pressing down on his chest which, inadvertently, revealed a very generous amount of cleavage.

No one missed the raging blush that infused his face as he desperately tried to avert his gaze, sending pleading glances at the others which reduced them all to laughter. It was only then that he noticed the princess's sly smirk.

He scowled playfully up at her, his mask narrowing into a thin black line, before he grabbed her by her shoulders and rolled, this time pinning her to the ground. That same smirk then appeared on Dick's face, his eyes shining behind his mask. David coughed loudly, interrupting their little flirt session, and causing them to stare at him.

"If you two are quite finished…" he said, the teasing tone evident in his voice despite his helm. The couple blushed heavily, sharing shy glances as Dick slowly extradited Star from her prison. He helped her to her feet, his hand wrapped lightly around her left wrist. Starfire smile at him as she removed her wrist from his grasp before walking toward the ring, brushing her hand sensually over his chest as she past. Raven hid her giggles behind her hand as she watched Dick's face turn bright red, and watched as he flopped onto a nearby bench, whilst mutterings of 'he's so whipped' echoed from across the room.

Only David noticed the smirk on Star's face as she strutted over to the ring, swaying her hips provocatively whilst facing away from her currently-flustered boyfriend. David had to stifle his laughter at the whole scene- they reminded him of Scott and Emma, constantly flirting across a room- and began booting up his non-lethal weapon systems.

His bracers clattered as rubber bullet feed-chains were locked into place, the miniguns whirring as they prepared to go through the same process. Star entered the ring, her eyes betraying no fear as she watched him cycle through his weapons; repulsors charging, SA80s loaded, blades sharpened.

He raised an arm for her to inspect, and waited patiently as she ran her hands over each weapon, assessing its suitability.

She nodded, her gaze saying you can use them.

He bowed his head to her, before getting in his fighting stance; feet a shoulder's width apart, knees bent, right foot ahead of the left, torso turned to the left, arms bent at the elbows with palms raised. Starfire assumed her stance, hovering slightly with a starbolt in each hand, her eyes glowing fiercely. They stood there for what felt like days, gazing at each other for something that only they could see.

At some invisible signal they charged, David firing blast after blast from his repulsors whilst trying to dodge every volley his orange-skinned opponent sent his way.

Eventually he took to the air, the thrusters in his boots, calves and shoulder blades blasting into existence in a gust of superheated air. The two began to circle each other, slowly at first, but getting faster as more blows were exchanged. David forsook his repulsors in favour of his guns, their loud chattering filling the room as rubber bullets filled the air. They buzzed through the air to slam into Starfire, most of them bouncing off harmlessly, yet some doing some-albeit insignificant- damage.

Even that failed when she barrelled into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground, leaving a small crater where they landed. David recovered first, drawing his swords as he forced Starfire off him, allowing her to rise to her feet before attacking. They charged at each other, war cries on their lips as they clashed.

Earthen metal met Tamaranean flesh as Star's fists slammed against his blades, trying to keep them away from herself whilst leaving him open.

He surprised them all when, as Star swung a swift left hook at his torso, he sheathed his blades, ducked under the blow and sent a perfect haymaker straight into her upper gut, his metallic fist smashing into her abdomen with a sickening crunch and sending her flying across the ring.

Everyone gasped as their Princess face-planted on the mats, her hair spilling over her face in a tide of crimson strands.

Dick sprinted to her, his injuries forgotten, and rolled her onto her back. He breathed a sigh of relief when she opened her eyes with a slight groan, her hand clutching her abs as she struggled to her feet.

Dick glared at David with such force, he was sure the man should've spontaneously combusted. He raised his hands in surrender at Dick's glare; sure his armour would melt off any minute. He watched as Cyborg hefted her arm over his shoulder and escorted her out of the room; probably taking her to the infirmary, with an anxious and thoroughly worried Dick following in their wake.

Garfield stood, bringing Terra up with him, and proclaimed "Well, that means sparring's over for today." He glanced over at a-now petrified David, who was staring at his hand in absolute horror, and said "Nice punch by the way" and strolled out with Terra on his arm. As soon as they left, David collapsed to the floor, all strength leaving his limbs. Raven dashed over to him, sensing the dread rolling off him. He tore off his helmet, revealing bloodshot eyes, wild with fear.

"He hates me now, doesn't he?" he whispered, his voice so quiet Raven had to strain her ears to hear him.

"He doesn't hate you" she replied, gently pulling him to his feet by his arm and wrapped hers around his waist "he's just…concerned, about Star's wellbeing."

He shook his head, his eyes half-closed with regret.

"You didn't see the way he glared at me" he continued, ignoring Raven's statement "I could see the hate in his eyes. I could literally feel the rage" He shivered at the memory, still feeling the burning glare searing into his skin.

Suddenly he realized something, his eyes widening, and her wrenched his gauntlets off his wrists, as well as the bracers, until his arms were bare. He glanced over his skin, taking in details only he could see, before dashing off to the infirmary, Raven hot on his heels.

He skidded round the corners like an Olympic ice-skater; his feet gliding over the smooth floor like ice as he flew down the corridors, his heart drumming against his ribs whilst his turbine screamed.

He barrelled into the infirmary before skidding to a halt, jamming his heels into the floor to slow his breakneck pace.

He stopped right before the bed on which Starfire sat, watching as Cyborg bandaged her lower chest, ignoring the wary glances Dick sent his way.

"Guys" he started, his voice rough and scratchy as if he hadn't used it in days "I think we have a problem."


That got people's attention. Starfire's eyes shot to him, Cyborg turned from his work, both Terra and Changeling stood from where they sat in two nearby chairs, even Dick managed to force his eyes away from his girlfriend to focus on David.

It was then they all noticed what he had seen, and they too grew afraid.

"Dude" Gar breathed; worry lacing his voice "why are your arms glowing?"

And so they were, the muscles and veins glowing ever-so-faintly, seemingly lit by an inner light.

David held them out, his eyes darkening before he continued "Thor told you the reactor in my chest was plumbed into my nervous system, right?"

The others nodded mutely, their eyes never leaving his arms.

He sighed, before saying "Thanks to that, I can unconsciously funnel some of that energy to my muscles; be it arms, legs, if there's a muscle I can probably channel energy to it." He glanced at Dick and Star, his eyes glazing over slightly and his voice growing neutral, almost analytical.

"That makes me much faster and stronger than normal, even without the suit. That's why I cracked Star's ribs. I didn't mean to, it was instinctive." All eyes turned to Dick; they knew Star had forgiven him, she couldn't hold a grudge against anyone for more than a day. Dick glanced at David, studying him, before turning his gaze to the resident alieness, her eyes pleading with him. He sighed; he could never resist the eyes, as Terra had dubbed them, and turned back to David, who had a nervous smile on his face.

"Very well" he said, putting on his best 'leader-voice' "you are forgiven." The sigh of relief that followed was like a great wind that passed through the room, taking all the hate and negativity away with it.

Cyborg stood up from Starfire, saying "Well lil lady, you're all patched up." As soon as he moved away, Dick took his place by her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Cyborg beckoned David over to the free bed.

"I'll have to ask you to lose the suit" he said, tapping away at the console as he prepared the equipment. David glanced at Raven, scepticism clear in his eyes. She smiled at him encouragingly, reminding him strongly of his mother's smile.

He smiled back, the dark cloud in his eyes diminishing slightly, before saying "JARVIS, remove the suit"

Almost immediately, panels in the floor retracted and several mechanical arms rose from the ground. His boots were clamped to a large panel, preventing them from moving whilst the machine unscrewed the bolts that connected them to the rest of the suit. It removed all the leg-plates first, leaving only the outer part of the boots visible whilst the rest disappeared below. It then carefully removed his shoulder-pads, before loosening both halves of his chestplate and removing that as well. He took a step back, and the machinery sank back into the floor, leaving him clad in his civvies.

He rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve the tension that sparring had caused in them. Cy glanced up, running his eyes critically over David's form.

"The shirt too" he said quickly, prepared a set of electrodes attached to one of the machines.

David sighed, his had drooping as he pulled his shirt off, saying "I hope, for the love of God, you don't plan on stripping me completely." He didn't miss the way the others chuckled, nor the furious blush that spread across Raven's face like a maroon wave.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one, for Starfire piped up and said "Friend Raven, why do you blush?" Then she looked at David's chiselled physique, then back to Raven, and a horribly familiar smirk appeared on her face. David lay down on the bed whilst Cyborg attached the electrodes to multiple parts of his upper body. He exhaled slowly, waiting patiently for the machine-man to finish whatever tests he was running. Everyone had clustered around to see what was going on.

"Whelp" Cy said, bringing up a holographic display of David's nervous system "if these scans are correct, you can channel that energy to almost anywhere in your body, muscle or not." David's eyes widened, whilst a fierce smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. Cy continued, moving to an image of his skeleton.

"According to these results, you can make your bones ten times stronger than normal, speed up the healing process; superheat your skin or cool it down, even hit Mach 6 whilst flying in the suit. But you aren't invincible." His vicious smile grew, dominating his face whilst his teeth flashed in the light, as he seemed to ignore the machine-man's last statement.

Then the doorbell rang.

David's eyes widened and he wrenched the electrodes off his chest, grabbed his shirt, and bolted for his room. The others stared after him, perplexed.

"What was that about?" Terra asked, raising a solitary golden eyebrow. The others just shrugged, before leaving to go prepare for the upcoming party. Raven glanced after him, still the turmoil that fell from him. Was he so scared of the other Titans that he wanted to lock himself away from them?

Nah she thought, wondering off toward her room must be part of his 'master plan'. She strolled into her room, the door hissing shut behind her, as she prepared herself for what was about to become the wildest night of her life.


It was around seven now, and the party was in full swing. All the Titans had come, and some other guests alongside. Both Donna Troy and Cassandra Sandsmark, aka Troia and Wonder Girl, attended alongside Conner Kent- aka Superboy; the entirety of the young Bat-clan, Tula, Rose Wilson and Jade Nguyen (aka Cheshire) and, to everyone's surprise, Blackfire.

When she had arrived at the Tower there had been an uproar, some wanted her to be thrown out, others wanted her to join in, as she had been made an honorary Titan a month earlier.

The matter had been made worse when she had revealed she had come with Red-X, the infamous anti-hero of Jump City and a keen rival of the Titans. Eventually, after much deliberation, the Titans caved and allowed them in. Whilst all the guys were clad in suits and tuxes (aside from X, he refused to wear a 'glorified strait-jacket'), the girls surprised them all by turning up in an astounding variety of dresses, strapless, corsets, spaghetti strapped, you name it, someone wore it.

At exactly six o'clock, Nightwing clapped his hands loudly and said "You all know why you're here, so I think it's about time you found out exactly who you'll be meeting." He had then guided them all to the rooftop. They stood on the roof, clumped together, staring expectantly at their leader, who, along with the other five, stood near the edge of the roof, and still had that infuriatingly arrogant smirk on his face.

"If you would direct your attention to the docks" he said, pointing at the area where the helicarrier was concealed. As they all turned, he nodded to Raven, who quickly whispered her mantra under her breath and sent a short telepathic message across the gulf.

Soon after, four small dots of light were seen in the night sky, rapidly approaching. Soon, a silhouette could be seen, roughly humanoid, but still lacking in detail. Then, just before it reached the Tower, it went vertical, gaining altitude before disappearing into the , quite suddenly, the roar of jet engines could be heard, and a faint glow could be seen amidst the clouds.

"Ladies and gentlemen" Nightwing said, the smirk visible in his eyes whilst he spread his arms wide, with the other original five (including Terra) at his back, their own smirks identical to his "I give you Steel Rain."

With those words, David plummeted from the clouds, his engines screaming and his eyes flashing.

Just before his exited the clouds, he launched a small volley of missiles that exploded fifty feet above the Tower in a beautiful display of pyrotechnics. He flew through the burning cloud, flames licking at the edges of his armour.

He slammed onto the rooftop, landing on one knee beside Nightwing, his thrusters still burning. He rose to the applause of the other Titans, oscillating through all his weapons as he did so. He nearly laughed at the expressions on the Titans' faces as they bore witness to the sheer number of weapons he held, yet the applause continued.

When the applause died down, David couldn't resist saying "Well? Aren't we meant to be having a fiesta?!"

A loud cheer ran through the group and, to add to the flash of his entrance he, along with the others, leant back and swan-dived off the ledge. As they dropped, all seven of them swung through the Ops window, either by flight, cable or a well-timed kick in the butt in the case of Cyborg.

Just as they hit the ground, they heard the thunder of feet from the hallway, and turned just in time to see a veritable tide of people rush through the doors, each one trying to get a glimpse of the new arrival.

He got swarmed the minute he managed to sit down next to the island in the kitchen, everyone desperate to get to know the man under the suit, forcing him to stand up again.

Soon, a chant of "Take it off! Take it off!" had been started, and had spread throughout the room like wildfire. But he wouldn't give in. His pride refused to give in, refused to be swayed. Even when Nightwing, Cyborg and Changeling joined in, he still didn't break. Nor did he when Starfire and Terra joined in, whilst the other Titans tried to surround him, forcing him back towards the doors. He stopped suddenly when his back collided with something, something small and soft. He turned around slowly, almost mechanically, only to look into Raven's violet orbs.

The shock of her being that close caused him to jump back, which in turn made him lose balance and collapse on the had expected to be crushed under a sea of bodies as soon as he hit the ground, so was pleasantly surprised when a man in a Red Army dress uniform- Red Star, he had been told his name was- extended a hand and helped him to his feet.

"Спасибо товарищу (Thank you comrade)" he said, in perfect Russian with no trace of an accent, surprising everyone. Red Star nodded, smiling beneath his ushanka, and walked away towards the bar, where Pantha sat.

David exhaled, glad to be free of the incessant mantra, before stiffening as he felt Raven put one slim hand in his shoulder.

"Why don't you take the suit off?" she asked, looked up at him from his side out of the corner of her eye"We've already seen you without it, why not them?" He sighed before looking her dead in the eye.

"There are some things that I would prefer to remain hidden from the world" he said, his voice muffled by the helmet. "But maybe you're right" he turned towards the others, all enjoying the party that raged around them.

He clapped his hands loudly, the clang of metal-on-metal echoing through the room. The others quieted down upon hearing the dong-like tones, their focus down purely on David. He rose to his full height, his posture military-grade, and said quite plainly "You wanted to know who I am, under this suit" he hands began to undo the clasps at his helmet "Well" he pulled it off with a hiss of escaping air "here I am." He finished with one of his father's charismatic smiles, his grey eyes twinkling as, by an unspoken command, the machinery under the floor rose and methodically removed every other armour piece on his body; revealing a very smart navy suit underneath, with a white undershirt and navy tie, complete with jet black dress shoes.

Once again everyone in the room, aside from Titans West, cheered as he unceremoniously tossed the headpiece aside and strode into the throng. Soon others began discarding their disguises; Nightwing, Speedy and Herald lost their masks, Raven lowered her hood, Cheshire lost her mask, even Pantha removed her wrestler mask, much to everyone's surprise.

Only Red-X kept his on, which led to many people becoming both confused and curious about who was really behind it. He down-right refused to take it off, and even Blackfire seemed nervous about it. Eventually, after the other had given up, David approached the couple as they stood next to the window, an arm wrapped around each other's shoulders.

"Forgive me for interrupting" he started, his voice smooth and polite as they turned to look at him.

"Yes?" the elder Tamaranean princess said hotly, her eyes narrowing to mere slits, her hands placing themselves on her hips, over her purple strapless dress "Is there a reason for your interruption?" X placed a calming hand on her shoulder, leaned down and whispered something in her ear before turning his attention to David.

"Forgive her rudeness" he said, his voice masked by the modulator in his mask "she's cranky when she doesn't get enough sleep." David nodded whilst Blackfire slapped his arm with a rather put-out expression, her face forming an incredibly cute pout as she crossed her arms over her chest and pointedly looked away. "She does have a point though" he continued "why are you over here?"

David glanced at the sulky princess, then back at X, a sly smirk appearing on his face.

"Oh, I dunno" he said, his voice sounding horribly innocent "maybe I wanted to see the great Grand Ruler of Tamaran" Blackfire stiffened at those words, her mouth suddenly going very dry. "Maybe I wanted to get to know people that in my dimension are deemed mere works of fiction" he continued, beginning to pace before them, apparently oblivious to her reaction, although his eyes were shining mischievously. "Or maybe I, like the others, was curious about the man behind the mask" Here he stopped and looked directly into X's eyes.

"Maybe I wanted to know what be forcefully resurrected felt like" his voice lost its teasing edge and turned deadly serious "maybe I wanted to know how much hate one man can hold, how much rage he can bottle up before he breaks. Maybe I wanted to know how a man can kill so easily, despite being raised in a place where such actions are abhorrent."

His face transformed into a fierce scowl.

"Or maybe I wanted to know how a man, recently declared dead, has the audacity to not only arrive in this city, but steal from his own brother's vault, without even having the decency to inform him, or anyone else for that matter, of your miraculous return!"

His voice had risen to a shout, causing all other conversation to cease and for all eyes to turn in their direction. X, for his part, was trying really hard not to look nervous, but the slight shaking of his hands gave him away.

"So" David continued, stepping right into the thief's personal space "do you want to tell them, or should I…Jason" and tore off his mask, revealing his true face. Sapphire eyes glared at him from beneath black brows, a shock of black hair only marred by the white streak across his fringe.


Gasps spread throughout the room, Dick and the other Bat-clan members paling as they saw they lost brother.

Blackfire looked away, trying to bury herself into the wall. David stepped back, allowed Dick, Barbara, Tim and the others to surround the returned son.

They all stood there for what felt like an age, simply staring at each other, six pairs of unbelieving eyes staring at a man they had deemed dead long ago.

Then Babs slapped him.

It wasn't a hard slap, but the sharp crack echoed around the room like a gunshot, causing many of the guys to wince in sympathy. That seemed to be a tipping point, because right after Bab's slap, the rest piled in, dragging the struggling Jason into a large group hug, ignoring his desperate flailing.

The others couldn't resist laughing at the look of shock and barely disguised horror that emerged on his face, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Even Blackfire's contralto laugh swept over the room as she watched her boyfriend struggle against his siblings, until he sighed and gave up, embracing them like he had done all those years ago.

The girls were in tears, crying into his shoulders and chest as they hugged him, soaking the material of his suit with their tears. Tim had a huge grin on his face, his arms unwinding from around Jason's chest, his eyes shining as he stepped back.

The only person not to partake in the group hug was Dick, to everyone's surprise. He stood on the edge, eying the entire group warily, as if afraid to join them.

Jason looked up and, noticing Dick's distance, said "What's wrong Boy Blunder? Afraid I'll slip through your fingers again?"

Tim chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Rose's shoulders as she popped up beside him, sighing as she snuggled up to him. Dick rolled his eyes in faux despair at his little brother, before slowly walking forward. Babs and the other Batgirls moved to the side, unsure of what Dick would do when he got in reach of Jason. They stood, a shoulder's width apart from each other, merely staring the opposite in the eye, faces blank.

Then, almost too quietly to hear, Dick said "Get over here ya little runt" and crushed his brother in a monster bear hug. Cheers spread throughout the crowd as they watched the brothers embrace with vigour, pounding each other on the back like two brawlers.

When Dick finally let Jason go, he glanced around before asking "Hey, anyone seen Damian?" The other Titans glanced around, confused, whilst the Bats pointed over Dick's shoulder with matching smirks on their faces.

Both Dick and Jason turned around just in time to be hit by an eighty four pound, black haired wrecking ball, as Damian Wayne barrelled into his two eldest brothers, effectively clothes-lining them, a giant grin on his face.

"Sup guys!" he exclaimed, his voice brimming with joy despite the glares being sent his way.

"Sup D" Dick said, his voice choked due to the fact that his little brother was sitting on his rib cage "now can you do me a favour and get off me!"

Laughter broke out amongst the group, and Jason couldn't resist saying "Ah, lighten up Chuckles! He's just happy to see ya!" Dick groaned as Babs helped him to his feet, before motioning for the others to continue.

Very soon the dancing started, with the couples getting together and enjoying the music. David glanced around, seeing the pairs; Dick and Starfire, Garfield and Terra, Cyborg and Bee, Argent and Hot Spot, Kid Flash and Jinx, Jericho and Kole, Tim and Rose, Cassidy and Conner, Jason and Blackfire, even Red Star and Pantha were dancing. It was then that he noticed Raven, alone and forlorn in one corner, clad in her figure-hugging black strapless evening dress, looking around just as he was. He strolled over to her, walking with purpose, his legs carrying him effortlessly over to her.

"May I have this dance mademoiselle?" he asked, holding out his hand. Raven blushed heavily, her heart doing cartwheels as soon as the French rolled sensually off his tongue whilst she took his hand, looking away shyly. He led her to the makeshift dance floor, one hand clasped in hers, the others resting on the small of her back as they swayed in time with the music.

"You're good" she said after he expertly twirled her away and back into his arms, her back being pressed into his chest.

"Well, bonus and curse of having a billionaire ex-playboy as a father" he replied ruefully, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Meanwhile Dick, Star, Gar, Terra, Bee and Vic had gathered around the island in the kitchen, alongside Jinx and Kid Flash, plus Blackfire and Jason, eying the new couple as they glided around. Star gasped happily when she saw how close they were, and nearly squealed when she saw the fierce blush on her friend's pale face.

"Glorious!" she cried "I will be doing the 'girl-talk' with her later about this!" Blackfire rolled her eyes at her sister's childlike attitude, even if she did think it was kind of adorable.

"How can he be that close and still have intact limbs?" Bee wondered, Jinx nodding in agreement whilst Terra giggled.

"Damn" was the boys' response, their eyes glued to the spectacle before them. It was then that Aqualad and Tula joined them, followed by Tim and Rose.

"Whatcha starin' at?" Rose asked, her white locks blending effortlessly with her white corset and skirt whist an eyebrow rose slightly at the Team's near slack-jawed expressions. They all nodded in Raven's direction, and when the others turned to them, they too gasped and ogled at them. Pretty soon though, the party began to wind down, and David said he had the perfect party ender.

He rushed to the rooftop, with the others following behind him leisurely, their energy spent after a night of dancing. They arrived to see him, now clad once again in his armour, staring out the horizon whilst standing on the edge, his back to them. There was a loud hiss as the Steel Rain launcher revealed itself, followed by a clunk as the missile tubes were loaded. He took a few steps back so he was at the front of the group, Dick and Cyborg flanking him.

"This" he said, slow and deliberate "is my gift to you."

With that, his spread his arms and thousands of fireworks speared out of his chest, each one arching into the sky before exploding into a cloud of light and sound. Even though there were thousands in the sky, he kept launching more, his chest turning into a strobe light as volley after volley streaked from the tubes, lighting up the sky around the bay with a mad variety of colours. The guests gasped and cheered at the display, thoroughly impressed by his work with pyrotechnics.

Raven, however, didn't cheer. Instead, her thought returned to their dance, and the fuzzy warm feeling she'd had when she was in his arms. She stared at him from across the group, sure she could see the smile beneath the helmet, feeling the joy radiating off him like a beacon. They all stood there for over an hour, watching the sky erupt into colour as they celebrated the coming of a new brother into their little family.

No one noticed that the snow had stopped, the winds had ceased, and the temperature was actually bearable, and no one saw the plume of fire from the power plant, signalling the destruction of the weather machine, and no one saw the breach there flash an ominous icy blue, whilst a slight wind blew from within as something moved inside. They were happy as they were.

Too bad happiness doesn't last forever.


Whew *wipes forehead* THAT was HARD! Still think the first bit was crap, but can't change it now. So, who likes X being Jason Todd? Who liked the fireworks scene at the end? And do you have any requests for any events, character etc? Just post your opinions, ideas and requests in the reviews section. Next chapter might take a while, but rest assured the badassery WILL begin. Unti then read, review and, most importantly, enjoy it! Chaio!