Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction based upon subject matter that is not my own. Pop culture references also do not reflect ownership by me. Also, BB's really bad jokes, I mean, the really, really bad ones, those are more than likely off Popsicle sticks.

AN1: No excuses. The delay was my bad and I'm sorry. Here you go!


Nine – Hard Hits and Chick Flicks

Raven found herself overlooking the bay, not meditating as she probably should be, but lost in thought. She was nursing a couple of bruises and overall her mood was far from stellar. Morning training had been humiliating. Granted she was getting better at hand to hand, but there was no way she was going to be able to go into the field anytime soon if her powers didn't reappear. This was ridiculous! Sure, Robin was a martial arts expert with years of rigorous and advanced training so she could never realistically hope to ever compete with him, but Garfield hadn't any formal training at all and he wiped the floor with her! And he'd been pulling his punches; he denied it fervently, but she was experienced enough that she could tell. The point was that he was just far stronger and faster than she was, not only because of his meta-human abilities but simply because he was a lot more muscular than she. He was taller, heavier, stronger, and had a lot longer reach. To land any blows at all she had to be close, real close. Raven hated close fighting. She worked best at a distance. She wasn't built to have force behind her limbs, she was built for magic. Magic she was incapable of using at the moment.

It was an accident, Garfield certainly hadn't meant for the blow to land but he'd overestimated her reflexes, or underestimated his own. One of the dangers of infighting, there wasn't a lot of room for error. He'd been horrified when, after a series of dodges, she failed to duck the last one. He had animal quick reflexes; much like the striking of a cobra, Raven hadn't even seen the last one coming. His jabs had been coming faster and faster and she'd had trouble keeping up, it was only a matter of time before she just couldn't anymore. He'd tried to pull it; he'd tried to lessen the blow. As it was, it really only grazed her, but she was half his size and so she went down. She'd gotten back up but Garfield was done. He was afraid of really hurting her and it frustrated her beyond reason. If Raven couldn't even hold her own against a teammate taking it easy on her she'd never see a real fight again, not even against the C-rate villains like Dr. Light.

"Thought I'd find you up here." Raven didn't bother turning, just stared out at the early afternoon sun glinting off the water. "So, training went well." Robin said coming to sit next to her at the edge of the roof.

"Please," she huffed, "I'm an embarrassment to the team."

Robin scowled, "No Raven, you're not. Just because you can't kick all of our butts after a week of training doesn't make you an embarrassment. You're being too hard on yourself. You can't expect the skill set of a master in a matter of days. Besides, you are a lot more skilled than you're giving yourself credit for. Just because you haven't been trained by Batman or able to keep up with Beast Boy's reflexes doesn't mean you're not an extremely capable combatant. We're not your average humans Raven, we have an unfair advantage."

"That's true, but I can hardly function as a productive part of this team at the moment now can I? Our typical opponents aren't your average humans either…and neither am I."

"No one expects you to go up against super villains at this point Raven."

"That's the point." she snapped. "Without my powers I'm useless!"

"That's not true." he argued, scowl firmly in place.

Raven glared at him, "If it wasn't true you wouldn't be keeping me locked up in the Tower."

"That's completely different." he stiffened.

"How is that different Robin?"

"Raven, if any of our enemies learned of your condition, you'd be a sitting target! If there's some emergency out there and you're alone, you—"

"Would be useless." she cut in. "Let's be realistic here Robin, you're afraid if I leave the safety of the Tower I'd be helpless on my own. It's why you suggested hand to hand training in the first place. So until I make some real improvement I'm little better than a prisoner here."

"I'm sorry you feel that way Raven, that wasn't my intention." he sighed. "I'm just trying to protect you. Protect the team." She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Raven, if something happened to you, it would be a huge blow to the rest of us. We don't want anything to happen to you, and right now you're not as…" he struggled to find the right word, "strong as you usually are." She snorted. "It's alright to be upset about this you know."

"What?" she snapped. She didn't need him to tell her how to feel.

"I know what a blow to your independence this must be." he answered, gazing out over the bay. "You're used to being one of the strongest members of the team; with the full range of your powers you could easily defeat any of us, all of us even. And now, suddenly you've been stripped of your defenses, your powers gone. Everything that made you stronger than the rest of us, everything that made you 'of use to the team' is gone. You're used to only needing to rely on yourself. You protect your teammates and friends; you shield us, heal us, fight for us. In the end, you could leave and be no worse for wear. But now, now you're vulnerable. Now you don't really have a choice but to rely on us. Let us shield you, keep you safe, fight for you. You're amazingly stubborn when the tables are turned you know." he smiled softly.

"But just because you can't throw cars around with abandon, or trap Beast Boy against the ceiling whenever he irritates you anymore, doesn't mean that you're not still an integral part of this team Raven. You're more important to us than you realize. You're a pillar Raven. You are wisdom, steadfastness, and unshakable. You're always there. Always in the background, behind the scenes; reliable, loyal, your sarcastic dry quips every bit the tension breakers as Beast Boy's corny jokes." Robin shook his head, running his fingers through his gelled locks. "You wouldn't be part of this team if all you had to offer were your powers, is what I'm trying to get at."

Raven was silent for several moments contemplating her leader's words. He made some valid points, but he wasn't completely correct either. He was well aware that she couldn't leave the team even if he wasn't admitting it; no matter the circumstances, she didn't have anywhere else to go. "That's all very touching Robin, but it doesn't do much for the fact that I can't fight."

"We'll find a way around it."

"Robin—"

"Have some faith Raven." Robin stood, dusting off his pants. "Come on. I originally came up here to drag you out with us." He smirked, "I mean, what kind of warden would I be if I didn't let you out for exercise and stuff?"

Raven scowled up at him before her brow furrowed for an entirely different reason. "Not that I'm not glad for the invitation but…"

"But doesn't it usually come from Beast Boy?" he asked, sighing. "Yeah, he's not exactly in the best mood right now."

"Because of training?" she scowled. "He does realize how ridiculous he's being right? We were sparing; you're supposed to take some hits. How am I ever going to survive a real fight if I've never gotten knocked flat before?"

"I'm sure he's very aware of that Raven," Robin crossed his arms, looking down at her, "but I think it was a bit of an eye opener for him that he was the one to knock you flat."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like it or not you're vulnerable without your powers, Raven. It's not something we ever really give thought too, being superheroes. Putting our lives on the line, throwing ourselves head first into fights, it's what we do. We live really dangerous lives. Yeah, we give mortality thought, we acknowledge that the next fight could be our last, but I don't think any of us really believes it." Robin was pacing, he started ticking points off his fingers, "We're well trained. We're experienced. We've escaped death countless times. It hasn't made us careless, but it has made us…it lets us take for granted a lot of stuff. Like how vulnerable we really are." he looked her in the eye before resuming his pacing.

"We rely on our skills, strengths, teamwork, training, all our hours of dedication to the job to see us through; but how often do we really think about losing one of those pieces of the whole, and how that affects us? You're half-demon. You've got a stronger body than full humans. You have better reflexes, you can create shields, teleport from danger, heal wounds. You're mortal, so you can get hurt, you could die. But you're so strong. You're powerful. You can definitely take a hit and come back swinging. The fact of the matter is we're all vulnerable, but we've got confidence in ourselves, in our abilities, and in our team. We overcome our vulnerabilities." Robin turned to look at her again, his pacing ceasing.

"But then, suddenly you can't. Suddenly everything that masked the very real danger has been stripped away. Everything that kept the danger at bay, everything that made it seem less real, less immediate, is gone and there's nothing standing between you and the threat."

"Okay, all that makes sense, but what has that got to do with Beast Boy?"

"You're well aware of your own vulnerability. You chafe at my precautions, put in place because I've become aware of it as well. The others," Robin was struggling with his explanation, it really wasn't like him, "intellectually they recognize that no powers equals being vulnerable. But recognizing something and understanding something, really understanding something, are two very different things. Knowing someone could be in danger and seeing them in danger inspire very different reactions. Every day we've been witness to your skills, your strength, and your power. Beast Boy has been at the mercy of your power more than once." Robin's lips quirked briefly but it was quick to fade, "It's one thing for Beast Boy to know that without your powers you're in greater danger of getting hurt in a fight; it's another for him to be standing over you while you're reeling from a blow. Realizing that you can't create magic shields, you can't teleport from danger, you can't heal your injuries; that's a hard realization to come to terms with. Today was a real eye opener for him because I think he's finally grasped the severity of the situation."

Raven frowned. She wanted to protest, to argue. That wasn't right, hardly accurate. Today hadn't made Garfield open his eyes to her vulnerability; he'd been well aware of it for far longer than just today. He'd been helping her cope and overcome since the very beginning of this mess. He's the one that came to her aid first when the fight with Adonis was over, he's the one that found her in her room after the backlash of her powers, he's the one that has spent at least some time every day since the accident working with her emotions so that she'll be better able to handle her powers once they return. Garfield knew exactly how vulnerable she was. That's not what has him in his current mood. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that that wasn't it.

"I don't think that's the case." she argued quietly.

"Why not?"

"Because Beast Boy has been working with me since this problem started. He is well aware of the fact that I can't launch him from the roof anymore. Why would he suddenly have some revelation about it today? That doesn't make any sense."

"You don't think that spending years on the receiving end of your magical retribution, having been conditioned to expect it, the lack of retaliation might catch him by surprise?"

"Maybe." she conceded. Despite Robin's logic however, something still felt off. That was perhaps part of Garfield's reaction, but it didn't explain the emotions that weren't surprise. It didn't fit his response to her satisfaction.

"Maybe you should spar with me for a while." Robin suggested.

"I don't see how I'm going to have a choice." Raven grimaced, remembering the look on Garfield's face.

"You'd be surprised."

"What do you mean?" she queried, looking up at her leader and friend.

"Beast Boy didn't so much volunteer to be your partner as insist." Robin explained without much explanation at all. Raven simply gave him a look and waited. "He wanted to be your training partner."

"Okay, but he won't want to after today. Didn't you see his face?"

"Yeah. I suppose it's the same look I might have if I'd sent Starfire sprawling." he said very quietly.

Raven's brow furrowed, "What, you mean incredulous?" she asked confused at the association. "No offense Robin, but it is physically impossible for you to send Starfire to her rear end unless you tripped her when she was too sad to take flight." she was sure her face illustrated how likely that was ever to be. "No human would be strong enough for that besides maybe Cyborg. It's in her genetic makeup."

"That's not what I mean."

"Oh." she retorted, scowling. "This is one of those male chivalry things, isn't it? For your information, just because Starfire and I are female does not mean we're helpless hothouse flowers in need of sheltering. I'll have you know the two of us could take the three of you any day…well, we could when I still had my powers." she muttered bitterly.

Robin rolled his eyes, not that Raven could see because of his mask, but his emotions were quite clear; he rolled his eyes. "Starfire can take the three of us on her own no problem, or don't you remember the Gordanian incident? And as for you, the four of us didn't stand a chance against your f—Trigon, and yet you took care of him alone. Your being female has nothing to do with any of this." Robin put his hand to his chin in thought, "Actually, that's not quite true." he told her with a slight grin. "If you weren't female he probably wouldn't be reacting the way he has, but I assure you it's less about chivalry than all that." His grin was more outright mischievous at this point.

"Whatever." she said dismissively. She knew him well enough to know that at this point he wasn't going to explain any further than he had. He'd probably just smile enigmatically and change the subject. He wanted her to figure out his vague hints for herself and he was going to enjoy every moment she didn't…and be undeservedly smug when she did. Raven finally stood and brushed off her bottom, "Where are we going anyway?"

"We were thinking the park. It's a gorgeous afternoon and having a chance to relax under the sunshine will do all of us some good. There's been a lot of tension in the tower and I think getting away from it all will help."

"Fine."

"Great! Then you can go get Beast Boy. We'll see you in the T car!" Robin grinned, waving on his way towards the roof entrance.

"Wait, what? Hold on now, that was not what I agreed to!"

"Thanks Raven!" he called, blatantly ignoring her as he descended the stairs out of sight.

"Are you kidding me? He's really bailing on us?"

"I don't know, I give him props for his delivery. His timing was very good."

"The park! I love the park! RaeRae go get BB and let's go to the park!"

"Forget the park; I like the 'go get BB' idea though."

"Enough." Raven barked out loud. Grimacing at herself she stalked towards the door and made her way down into the Tower. Unfortunately her emotions were just as stubborn individually as she was as a whole.

"Ah, come on RaeRae, you know you're not really upset with us. You want to go to the park too."

"If it means getting out of this Tower, then yes, I can deal with the park."

"'Deal with' she says. You know Raven, you can lie to your friends but you can't lie to us. We are you. What you know, we know. We know you like the park."

"AND we know you like G—"

"Silence!" she hissed, her body tensing, hands fisted at her sides.

"Uh, okay. Sorry Rae." Raven whirled around to find Garfield scuffing his boots into the hallway carpet, ears and shoulders drooped, eyes focused on his shoes.

"No, not you Garfield." she sighed in frustration.

He looked up at her, studying her face before his own cleared into relief. "Oh, you were having an internal discussion."

"You could call it that." she muttered.

He grinned, "What were you arguing about this time?"

Raven smirked; she could feel Sass push herself to the forefront, "Oh, just the best way to force your skinny butt into the T car. I've been commissioned by Robin to ensure you accompany us to the park." Raven grimaced internally; did she really have to mention specific parts of his anatomy?

A laugh, "It's not like you aren't already thinking about those specific parts."

"Shut up!" she snapped back.

"Um, Rae, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but you might not want to do that outside the Tower." Raven turned her attention back to her companion. "It's just that, we know what's going on but the general public doesn't and I don't think it would be a good idea if they found out one of the Titans had voices in their heads and were holding conversations with themselves." Garfield was really going to rub the back of his head raw if he didn't quit that.

Raven heaved a sigh and started rubbing her temples, "Yeah, I know. It's just that I hear them so often now that it's hard to ignore them."

"Maybe ignoring them isn't the answer." he replied thoughtfully.

"Answering them isn't either." she snipped.

"No, I was thinking more along the lines of listening to them." his face was impassive, no mean feat for the green changeling. He was attempting to not influence her thoughts on the matter.

"Listening to them?" she quirked a brow.

"Well, you know," he hedged, "they're a part of you, and for the most part they're a repressed part of you." He looked distinctly uncomfortable but he plowed on, "You were the one that told me understanding the pieces of your mind were necessary to understand the whole." He grinned, "I'm still not sure what all of your psycho-babble was supposed to mean, but it worked for me Rae."

"The GreenMachine has a point Rae-Rae."

"A valid one! Listen to the boy! Listen to us!"

"I hear them loud and clear; trust me they don't have anything to say."

"Are you kidding? I've got loads to say!"

"Okay, they haven't got anything worth saying." she quipped with an eye roll.

Garfield smiled, "I think you ought to give them a chance. They're a part of you Rae, and I've never known you to have bad advice."

"Trust me, the majority of what they've said so far has been far from helpful." she snorted her disdain.

"Well, maybe it's because you're not listening."

"So they're going to suddenly stop spouting nonsense and start being useful?"

"You never know until you try."

"Maybe." she conceded.

"So…the park?"

"Yeah, Robin and the others are waiting in the T car."

As they started towards the Tower's garage, Garfield's expression of easy going contentment morphed into a scowl of annoyance. "Hey, wait a second. How come all Robin had to do was ask you to go to the park when I usually have to beg, wheedle, and bribe you?" Garfield stopped in the middle of the hall and crossed his arms, scowling down at her.

Raven tossed her hair and kept walking, "Because he told me you were sulking, thus there wouldn't be anybody to beg, wheedle, or bribe me. Now, are you coming or what?"

"Just like that?" he asked, quirking a brow.

"Just like that." Raven couldn't hear his steps, he moved with far too much stealth, but as he was suddenly by her side, she assumed he was conceding her point.

"I still don't get it. Why—"

"Maybe I'm just tired of being locked away in the Tower."

"But you normally like being locked away in your room." he argued.

"Maybe, when it's my choice. Not exactly the case anymore."

"Come on, it's not as bad as all that."

"You only think that because you're not the one locked away."

"Robin said you could go wherever you wanted as long as you didn't go by yourself."

"Garfield, people without powers walk around everyday like it's no big deal and it's not. But apparently that doesn't apply to me."

"Well yeah, people without powers don't tend to accumulate arch enemies. If Adonis got out of prison then anybody could. We just want to keep you safe."

"By assigning me a babysitter?" she asked incredulously.

"Hey! We're your friends! You should want to hang out with us!"

That stopped Raven up short. It took Garfield several moments to notice. Was she doing it again? Was she pushing her friends away? Was she hurting them? Starfire thought—

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's not…I do enjoy spending time with you all. I wouldn't be going to the park if I didn't." she hedged.

"Woah, hey, I didn't mean anything by it! I know you like your 'me' time. I'm just saying that if you want to go to the bookstore or your creepy café I'm right here you know."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks Garfield."
They were nearly at the garage when Garfield perked up again, "Hey Raven! Why are cornfields such good listeners?" Raven arched a brow in disbelief, was he really asking her such an obviously lame joke? "They're all ears!" Raven could only stare, standing before the closed garage door, hand on the knob, blank stare on her face. "No? Okay, what are ducks' favorite snacks? Quackers!" he answered himself after the briefest pause, smile wide.

Raven opened the door and entered the garage, noticing that her teammates in the car ceased talking when they saw her. "Beast Boy, I was under the impression that when you said you were working on new material that it was going to be good material."

"Hey! Don't diss my jokes, they are good!"

"Those are almost as bad as your joke about turtles and cell phones."

"Shellphones!"

"Exactly. Puns aren't funny Beast Boy. Honestly, it sounds like you're getting your jokes from Saturday morning cartoons."

"What are you talking about, of course they're punny! And, just FYI, Saturday morning cartoons rock!" Raven could only put her face in her hand and groan.

"BB, Raven actually agreed to go to the park without the usual fuss and fanfare, can you please not torture her into changing her mind?" Cyborg asked from the driver's seat.

"Har har, everybody's a critic." he grumbled. Raven moved to slide into the backseat behind Robin as she usually did when she noticed Starfire was already there. After Beast Boy's last growth spurt, Starfire usually sat in the middle but since she wasn't today, Raven shrugged and slid into the middle of the backseat from the driver's side of the car, she was by far the shortest Titan after all, fair enough she got the seat with the least amount of leg room. That didn't make being sandwiched between Beast Boy and Starfire at all comfortable however. Thankfully the ride to the park was short and the sunshine and freedom of the park were well worth her minor discomfort after being trapped in the Tower for what felt like months but was merely days. Of course, if her powers didn't manifest themselves soon she might just lose her mind.

}{ ~ }{ ~ }{ ~ }{ ~ }{ ~ }{ ~ }{ ~ }{ ~ }{ ~ }{ ~ }{ ~ }{

The park was only the beginning. Very soon after the park, the Titans started spending almost obscene amounts of time away from the Tower, especially directly following any alerts. Raven, still powerless, was obligated to remain behind on these alerts and apparently the team was afraid this might damage her already delicate psyche or something should she be left alone directly after being excluded. Who knows, maybe they were right. All she knew was that she went from feeling trapped in the Tower to almost yearning for it. There was such a thing as too much of a good thing after all. But here she was, on yet another outing. It was all Garfield's fault too.

"Aw, come on Rae! Your emotions voted, you wanted to come! At least, most of you did." Most of her emotions had started to agree about other things too, didn't mean she was going to let it get to her head…or, whatever.

'It's only a matter of time Raven. Garfield's right, trying to get you to listen to us. Eventually you'll start paying attention to what we really want you to hear.' Raven grumbled incoherently but followed along after her friends. At least the movie was about zombies. Raven was surprised actually. Eight out of ten times she'd pick a horror flick, but Starfire hated scary movies. Why would she agree to a zombie movie? Honestly, Starfire acted like she was looking forward to it. From what she understood, the movie had comedic elements and there was a supposed 'cure' available towards the end which implied a happy ending so she supposed Starfire could get behind that; but if you've seen one zombie movie you've seen them all, blood, gore, and lots of violence. That's what she thought at least, until she started watching it. A love story between a zombie and a human? That's almost as bad as a love story between a vampire and a human! Granted nothing could compare to the horror Raven experienced with that sparkly monstrosity Starfire brought home, but a zombie? Putrefied rotting flesh was not a turn on, thank you very much. Granted he wasn't rotting in the movie and turned out quite handsome in the end, but he was dead. Necrophilia much?

"Dude! You said it was a zombie movie, not a zombie chick flick!" Garfield growled at Robin. "I didn't even know such a thing existed!"

"Hey! Do you know how hard it is to find a movie we'll all agree on? At least this had something everyone could get something out of! It might have been a chick flick but there were zombies, fighting, and comedy. Honestly it wasn't that bad!"

"Of course not! It was most adorable!"

"Hear that Robin?! Adorable! Zombies are not supposed to be adorable!"

"Well, it's not my fault you didn't research the movie before agreeing to see it."

"Because I trusted you man! You're our leader, you're not supposed to steer us wrong!"

"Stop being so melodramatic BB, it wasn't that bad."

"Ha! I saw you zoning out! You were playing computer games in your head again!"

"I was not!"

"Was so!"

"Was anyone else disturbed by the girl falling for the rotting corpse? Was it really just me?" Raven's gravelly voice broke through the bickering.

"Perhaps you did not understand the movie Friend Raven. She did not fall in love with the zombie, but the boy the zombie was! It was a heartwarming tale of loving despite differences and beyond the shallowness of physical form!"

"I'm all about digging deeper Starfire, but not six feet under." Garfield snickered behind her.

"Perhaps, but he did not stay dead. He was cured from his disease."

"Dude! 'Dead' is not 'sick', it's dead! You don't come back from that!"

"Then he was not truly dead, perhaps he was only mostly dead."

"Ah well, he's only mostly dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead." Cyborg grinned.

"What's the difference?" Garfield grinned back.

"Now mostly dead is slightly alive; all dead, well with all dead there's usually only one thing that you can do."

"What's that?" Garfield smirked.

"Go through his clothes and look for loose change!" The comedic duo burst into laughter. Raven raised a brow.

Garfield noticed. "Come on, Princess Bride? You've seen that." Raven simply stared at him. His eyes widened. "You've never seen that? Where have you been, living under a rock!?"

"It's a movie called the Princess Bride, that sounds like a 'chick flick' if I've ever heard of one.

"And that's where you'd be wrong, little lady." Cyborg joined in. "You see, The Princess Bride, only pretends to be a chick flick. It's really about adventure, revenge, sword fighting, R-O-U-Ses, being killed by pirates, all that stuff. It makes sense when you watch it because they explain it all in the intro."

"Yeah, and it's based off a book. You love books!" Garfield chimed in.

"So was this movie."

"Yeah, but our movie is way better!"

Raven sighed, there was going to be a Titan Movie Night in her near future, "What's a 'R-O-U-S'?"

"Rodents Of Unusual Size." they answered together.

"Right, forget I asked."

"Nope! You asked, and we will provide! Titan Movie Night!"

"So, The Princess Bride is a given, what else should we add?" Cyborg and Garfield started plotting while Robin rolled his eyes and started to lead them towards the T-car. Apparently Raven's new seat was permanent since Starfire always made sure to sit behind Robin.

"So what's our theme? Are we doing Awesome Movies Pretending to be Lame, Cult Classics—"

"You guys aren't serious are you?" Raven interrupted.

Garfield looked down at her, face stoic, "I've never been more serious in my life." He grinned, "I mean, I'm almost offended you haven't seen this movie!"

"Yo, Greenbean! What about The Breakfast Club?"

"Yes! A classic! Judd Nelson is the man!"

"A John Hughes moive?" Robin asked surprised.

"Dude! Hughes made some pretty iconic 80s movies! The man had talent!" As the conversation plowed on discussing people, characters, and movies she'd never seen, Raven turned her attention out the window. Far less convenient as she had to do so around her teammates, but she was able to watch the blur of buildings just past the glass.

So maybe she was, just a little bit, enjoying herself. The movie hadn't been that bad, especially if you compared it to that horrific vampire movie. Raven felt a shudder slide down her spine, that was a horror movie and not in the way she'd expected. The movie had music specifically for the sparkling. Anyway, so the hero was a walking, talking corpse, she'd seen weirder things in her daily life. And despite their grumbling, she had a sneaking suspicion that Cyborg and Garfield didn't detest it as much as they were implying. So, that meant that, overall, this was a successful excursion. She'd had a lot of those recently.

Normally Raven locked herself up in her room. Separated herself from her surroundings and all the people in them. She made exceptions for her friends, but for the most part, since the world didn't want her beyond her ability to defend it, she'd ignore the world and they'd both be happy. But she wasn't. She could be content. She could immerse herself in her mind, into the fictional worlds of stories, or even travel to different dimensions, but at the end of the day it was this world she lived in and quite honestly, she was a bit bitter that it seemed to shun her so. Granted she'd spent years behaving as if she should be shunned, but if she was completely honest, a lot of that had to do with the fact that she'd expected to be shunned and it was a lot easier to cope with a certain kind of treatment if said treatment was deserved.

But now? Her friends were really going above and beyond to accommodate her new…what was she? She was still a part of the team, but she wasn't a useful part. She didn't contribute. And the longer it took for her powers to return, the greater her fear grew that they wouldn't come back at all. What was wrong with her?

'You're imbalanced.'

Imbalanced?

'Yes. You've avoided and repressed your emotions for too long. You've spent your entire life fighting yourself. Have you ever wondered how your emotions were able to survive your repeated attempts to purge them?'

I guess, I never really thought about it.

'Unsurprising. You're strong Raven, and your emotions are part of you. They too are strong. And like you, they don't appreciate people bearing down on them. They've finally decided to fight back. Your usual strategy of capture and bury are no longer going to work. Now you're going to actually have to work for your emotional balance. And it starts by listening to them. They want what you want. Despite what you've been trained to believe, you deserve to be happy Raven and your emotions want that too. You think emotional sterility is the key to control but you are going to learn, even if only by the hard way, that that is not the case.'

Then what is the key?

'That is what you must find out.'

Why can't you just tell me?

'You know very well why not. You won't learn anything if you have someone just hand you the answers. You'll figure out the key to control, you're far too stubborn not to. However you're going to find that it will be both the easiest and hardest thing to grasp. Once you accept the concept it will all follow like water in a stream, however, I think acceptance is the very thing you'll fight the most. I suppose we'll see.'

I suppose.

'Word of advice?'

Sure, why not?

'Garfield is your best bet to finding your answers. Try not to screw it up.'

Um, sure. Raven wasn't sure what to think, but the Titan alarm meant she wasn't going to get a chance to, at least not at the moment. Raven heaved a sigh. Great, now she would get to wait in the car for however long it took to knock out the villain.


AN2: Again, this had a ridiculously long wait and I'm sorry. I've been so crazy busy! No promises for chapter 10, but I happen to know there is some major BBRae flirting to be had (finally!). Again sorry for the delay, any of you that are still around. Maybe give me a fuzzy? Push me to get Ch10 up sooner? Maybe tell me how much you love BBRae and want more of it? Please?