Sorry for the long wait, my hand surgery and craziness at work held me up.

The characters belong to DC and Time-Warner, and I in no way own them or plan to make money off of them, but the story belongs to me.

Chapter 11

Distractions

The session with Raven was a real help for Dick Grayson. She helped him to accept the reality that he still had deep feelings for Starfire and by accepting this was able to come to grips with these long suppressed emotions. Dick realized that he truly had never gotten over Starfire and instead repressed any feelings he had for her by trying to push them aside and driving them deeper into his subconscious. Raven reminded him how much Starfire was a part of his life and his development during his Teen Titans days. It was Starfire that helped him to mature and be more accepting of his emotions, to learn to open up and to trust others, to help him become independent of Batman and be his own man and hero by taking on the identity of Nightwing. That he had been in denial for the past fourteen years, and his taking on several paramours after he was sure Starfire would not come back was a negative way of dealing with missing her, similar to drug or alcohol abuse, but with sex instead.

He felt calmer now and less nervous about his meeting with Starfire on Sunday, but now he had to make it through today and spend his day with Catalina. So far things were going pretty well. They were attending the grand reopening of the Gotham City Boardwalk, one of many which had been destroyed by Hurricane Sandy the previous year. Along with the boardwalk the beachside amusement park was reopened including an exact replica of the famous Comet roller coaster built with as many salvaged parts from the original as possible. There was also a weekend long free concert by many famous bands and performers ranging from Pop, Rock, Country, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Metal.

Of course this was not only a date, but a duty. The Wayne Foundation was the primary financier of the rebuilding of the Gotham Boardwalk and amusement park and it was required that he make an appearance along with Bruce Wayne. He figured though if he had to be here, he'd be here with someone he wanted to be with and have fun too. He was glad that Catalina was able to get off today and come with him, now he could enjoy himself, or so he hoped.

His thoughts turned back to Sunday and his meeting with Starfire. What he would say, what would she say? He hoped it wouldn't turn into a fight, Starfire wasn't one to hold grudges, but she wasn't one to forget either. He hoped that he would remain calm and not lose his cool and if it came to that Vic, Selena and Raven, who was coming with him, were there to hopefully defuse the situation should things get out of hand. He was lost in his thoughts when he felt a tug at his elbow. He turned to see Catalina with a concerned look on her face.

"What's the matter Dick? You've seem distracted for the past few minutes."

He forced a smile and quickly thought of something to say, "Oh just thinking about this place, how it looks the same, but it's not. It's all too new looking. The old feel of the place is gone.

She smiled back, "I wouldn't know, we never got to come here when I was child. I only saw the pictures. So I take it you used to come here often."

His smile was more genuine now. "I did, but it wasn't a place for the ward of Bruce Wayne to hang out. When I was old enough to have my motorcycle license I would ride over here and meet Wally to hang out, you know to have fun, pick up girls that sort of thing. Didn't do it too much though, Bruce always frowned on it and it wasn't long before I moved to Jump City to get out of Gotham for a while. I wanted to be in a place with sunshine without all the gloom and portent Gotham has."

He didn't tell her that it was one of the Joker's favorite hideouts too, especially the old abandoned Fun House and was the real reason Bruce frowned upon him coming down here.

"Gotham can feel that way, the old Gothic buildings and the perpetually overcast sky…," Catalina paused, looking thoughtfully at Dick.

"Something else is bothering you too Dick, I can tell. What is it?" She implored.

Dick nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I have to head out tomorrow morning, early, Wayne business related but confidential. That's all I can really say."

Catalina's mouth formed an "O" and looked away. "Oh, I see. When will you be coming back?"

"That evening if not sooner, I have to work the Sunday evening shift, so I won't see you again until Monday afternoon. You wanna catch dinner then, say around 6:00 that evening?"

Catalina nodded, "Yes that would be nice, can't wait." She said with a half-hearted smile.

Dick noticed Catalina seemed down about him heading out tomorrow, he couldn't say too much or it would raise suspicions and with her being an FBI agent, it was the last thing he needs.

She looked back up at him, "Dick, why didn't you say anything about this earlier?"

Dick refrained from swallowing hard, think Grayson think, "Well, I found out last night while you were sleeping. I couldn't sleep and got up and checked my email, and that is when I got the notification. I really can't say too much though, not now anyway."

Catalina pursed her lips in thought. "Ok, I'll leave it alone. I guess it comes with dating a Wayne."

Dick chuckled, "Yeah, you can say that. Listen, I won't be gone that long and I'll call you as soon as I get back, ok?"

"Ok…," she paused as if in though, then turned to him, "How about I stay at your place then, while your gone?"

He saw where this was going and he'd already planned for it. "Sure, not a problem, I will tell you that I have to leave at six in the morning, so I can't stay up too late. I should be home in the afternoon, I'll get some rest then, I'll need to go to work. You won't get to see too much of me."

She thought about it some. "You know, I should probably stay at my place tonight anyway, I haven't been there in a couple of days and I do need to take care of some things."

Inside Dick was relieved. "Ok, sounds like a plan, I'll call you when I get back, promise. Maybe we can spend a little time together then."

"Ok, works for me. So…, what do we do now?"

"Well for me I need hit the little boys room, that Big Gulp has come back to haunt me."

"Ok, I'll wait for you at that bench over there." Catalina said pointing to a bench next to a souvenir store."

"Good, then we'll head over to the stage, make my appearance with "Dear Old Dad," then have some fun." Dick said with a playful smile.

"Sure, see ya in minute." Catalina then sauntered off to the bench as Dick hightailed it over to the restroom.

He was about finished relieving himself when someone stepped up to the urinal next to him.

"Hello Dick, fancy meeting you here."

Dick quickly turned towards the man that spoke to him, recognizing him right away. "Dammit Jason, what are you doing here?"

"What, I can't use a public restroom?"

"You know what I mean, Bruce is here, If he sees you…"

Jason grinned, "He won't see me bro, I don't plan to stay around too long anyway. I knew you would be here from the society page of the Gotham Times. So I waited for the right time so I could talk to you."

Dick zipped up his pants and walked over to the sink, "Ok, what is it you want?"

Jason smiled mischievously, "You know, I can't believe you never knew it was me that took the Red X suit. As smart as you are, I thought you'd have figured out a long time ago."

Dick gave Jason an irritated look while he washed his hands. "That's not why you're here Jason, get to the point."

"Geez, you can be as bad as Dad, you know that." He said with a smirk, "Ok, listen, what are you planning to do with Kory, you know you can't keep her hid in the mine forever?"

"No I don't, and what I do with her is not your concern right now."

"Oh I think it is bro, you see, she and I have grown close and I'm not gonna let you keep her for too long."

"For one thing, if you know anything about Starfire, nobody keeps her, she is definitely her own woman, and what do you mean by 'close' Jason?" Dick said narrowing his eyes at him, while he dried his hands.

Jason chuckled, "Don't worry, not that close, but close enough that I think of her as a good friend. Oh and you're right, nobody keeps Starfire, not if they want to live. You need to know though that I don't care if it was you that warned me about the Justice League raid and set up the refuge for her, I still don't trust you."

Dick shook his head as he glared at his adopted brother. "You know, you're more like Batman than you think Jason, but to ease your mind, I'm going to meet with her tomorrow about moving her to a better location; one that the Justice League will ignore for the time being."

Jason raised an eyebrow, "Oh really, gonna reconnect with your old flame huh? Well don't get your hopes all up, she's changed, she's not that sweet naïve alien girl that you grew up with. She's meaner and tougher now, and she has no love for you."

"Thanks Jason, anything else you have to tell me. Not like it matters. Listen, I'm in a relationship now ok. Do I still have feelings for Starfire? Yes I do, I'd be lying to say that I didn't, but I can't live in the past. Do I find her working with you repulsive? You bet I do, knowing that you are Red X and Red Hood only makes it worse. Will I find myself nervous around her? Most likely, but I can't worry about that now. So please don't try to play games with me. If you want to start something with her fine, that's between you and her ok. All I want to do is protect her from Bruce, he plans to turn her over to the Lanterns who will turn her over to her husband so he can execute her in the most humiliating way possible. He never forgave her for giving her heart to a lowly human. I won't allow that to happen to her even if it means I break every law on Earth and in this galaxy to do so, I care for her too much for that. She deserves to be free and enjoy the rest of her life how she sees fit. You got any problems with that?"

Jason stared at him, then looked away, his arrogant stance visibly deflating, "No, I want to protect her to Dick, she's a special person. I'll play along, and help you anyway I can, but don't expect me roll over and play dead either."

Dick smirked at Jason, "I don't expect you too, matter of fact I'm hoping you can cause enough distractions to keep Bruce off her scent."

Jason grinned heartily at that. "Now that's something I can do Dick. Time for me to start doing some distracting."

Jason finished drying his hands as Dick watched him go out the door. He shook his head and sighed, thinking to himself, what wasted potential. Trained by the best and could be the best of us, but had rather work as an assassin and thief, killing the villains instead of bringing them to justice. Why Bruce tolerated him, he would never understand, in his own way Bruce must love all his adopted sons, but he sure had strange way of showing it.

Dick stepped out of the restroom and found Catalina waiting for him where she said she would on the bench by the souvenir store. He walked up to her and held out his hand to her.

"You ready to go hob-nob with the elite for a while then have some fun?"

Catalina looked up at him and smiled. "Yes I am, I thought you got lost there for a moment. Is everything ok?"

"Yep, I'm good, just crowded in there. The turnout of the re-opening looks to be better than expected."

She raised an eyebrow then took his hand as he helped her up. "Well then let's go hob-nob."

Dick Grayson's Apartment A Few Hours Later

He'd dropped Catalina off at the house she shared with her brother, then prepared all his equipment for his trip early tomorrow morning. He relaxed for a while and then checked the Justice League and Titan's networks to see what was going on. He noticed that there had been a Red X sighting in Metropolis along with a major technology heist. Good to see that Jason was keeping up his part. There was a report of a new suspected energy signal deep in the Congo that was being investigated for signs of Starfire. Good to see Cyborg was keeping the League guessing, but he knew that would only go so far. Eventually Bruce, J'onn or Kal El would catch on. Hopefully his plan would give them enough time to get her to a safer location. Oh and there was some Inter Gang action going down in New Orleans, Wally, along with Wonder Woman and few others were working that one. This must have been the issue that Wally had to hang for last night.

Dick smiled at the thought of Wally working with Diana. She wasn't known for tolerating a less than serious attitude when it came to work, and Wally had already received a few scoldings from the Amazon princess. He was lucky he could out run her. He shook his head and smiled then turned signed off from the console and got ready for bed. Tomorrow he needed to be as emotionally ready as he could be, which meant rested.

He was glad Raven was coming along since she was providing the 'transportation' to the refuge. He'd originally planned to use the teleporter, but that could be traced, so Raven came up with the idea transporting them by one of her portals since Herald was unavailable. Her portals were untraceable by any technology the Justice League has, unless Zatana knew the exact time Raven was creating a portal to cast a tracer spell, they were safe.

Along with her ability to create portals, she could also help his emotional state if needed. He was already nervous and thankfully Raven had given Robin a sleep charm to help him sleep but allowing him to wake up when needed. He took the charm and placed it around his neck and soon fell into a deep sleep, one with no dreams.

He was awakened by the sound of his alarm clock and he promptly got up, feeling completely refreshed. He jumped in the shower, shaved and once he was ready dressed in his Nightwing costume. He then went into his sanctuary and waited for Raven. He didn't have to wait long before the familiar screech of one of Raven's portals opened in front of him with her stepping out in full uniform.

"Good to see you Raven, are you ready?"

"Likewise Robin, but give me a few moments to meditate so I can open another portal. You look well rested enough, good to see the charm worked," Raven said as she prepared to meditate.

"The question is, are you ready Dick?" She asked looking him directly in the eye.

"As ready as I can be Raven."

She gave him a characteristic smirk, "Well that'll have to do then. Just give me a moment."

Nightwing wing sat back down and waited. He read the major news outlet websites while he waited, but was starting to feel antsy. He started fidgeting about the console, tossing and juggling different objects he found on the work space. He was so nervous, a tennis ball he was juggling fell out of his hand and on to Raven's head.

Raven quickly looked up giving him a dirty look, but sensed the nervousness in him. "Calm down Dick, it's not like you're taking her out on a date you know."

He chuckled nervously, "I know Raven, but still, we didn't part on the best of terms and now fourteen years later I'm seeing her again. I can't help but be a little nervous."

Raven shook her head, "I'm almost done here, once I am I'll help you calm down, but not too much ok."

"Yeah sure, I'll not to disturb you." He said and tried to stay still.

After a few moments Raven stood up from her lotus position. "There, I'm done now."

Dick stood up, "Good, let's get this over with."

"Not so fast Dick, come here." Raven stated.

Dick stepped over to her and she gently put her hands at his temples, rubbing them in slow circles. "Relax, it will be alright. You won't be alone. I'll be there with Vic and Selena, so just relax."

Raven cast a minor relaxation spell on Dick as she massaged his temples. He could feel the tension abating and took deep breath.

"There you go Dick. You're good and relaxed and now I'm ready to transport us both there. Hold my hand and do not let go."

"Sure Raven, got it." Dick said as he grasped Raven's hand.

"Azeroth, Metrion, Zinthos." Raven began her mantra and Dick felt the palpable cold of Raven's black energy surround him. He closed his eyes and held on. In a few moments the cold and heaviness of the black energy subsided and then he was in a lit room with metal walls with various high tech equipment scattered about in different places in the room. They both stepped out of the portal, to be greeted by Cyborg.

"Good to see you could make it Dick and Raven. The princess was a little stir crazy yesterday, but she finally went to sleep. I think she's as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs as my Grams used to say.

"Really, I doubt she'd be that nervous to see me again. It's been fourteen years, surely…"

"And you haven't been Dick?" Raven piped in. "What is it with you two? No don't answer that, I know what's wrong with you. Her on the other hand, I never understood what she ever saw in you anyway." She added with just a hint of a smile.

"Oh c'mon Raven, you told me yourself you had a bit of a crush on me for little while." Dick retorted, winking at her.

"'Little while' is the key term there clueless." Raven teased back. He was right though, she did have a major crush on him back in their early Teen Titans days, but it was evident he only had eyes for Starfire and Starfire felt the same about him. It was only because of his stubbornness and Batman's ridiculous conditioning that kept him from finally admitting his feelings for Starfire back then.

They all laughed, then Dick became serious. "Well we're not here to tell stories Vic, is Starfire ready to meet with me?"

"Selena's in Starfire's quarters with her, helping her. Like I said she's nervous. I'll see if she is ready for you.

Cyborg turned and headed through a door to the living quarters.

"Not much longer Dick, are you ready?"

Dick turned to Raven, a look of calm on his face. "I guess we'll soon find out."

A few moments later, Cyborg returned with Selena. "Dick, she'll see you now, but only you. Raven has to stay here."

Dick took a deep breath then sighed, "Alright, no sense in making more of deal of this than it already is. Lead the way Vic."

"Awright then, follow me." Cyborg turned and headed back to the door and Nightwing followed a few steps behind him.

Raven turned to Selena, "So is she ok? She's not planning killing him is she? Her emotions are all over the place."

Selena smiled, "Oh I don't think she plans to kill him, or at least not yet. She's nervous though. She preferred to see him alone and the room's not far, in case things take a turn for the worse."

"Azar, I hope not."

TTTT

Nightwing followed Cyborg down the corridor to what was apparently a common recreation room. Cyborg stopped at the door and motioned for Nightwing step into the room.

"Here we are, she's waiting in there. Be nice ya hear me."

"Yeah I do, and I will. Thanks Vic."

He hesitated for a moment, hoping this wasn't a trap, then cleared his throat entered into the room. When he stepped in what he saw nearly took his breath away. In front of him was Starfire, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, his onetime lover and fiancé and the woman who's heart he foolishly broke so many years ago. He took in the sight before him unable to move or breath. He forgot how beautiful she was, even if all he saw was the back of her, with her red hair flowing nearly down to her ankles. She slowly turned around to face him and he was even more in shock. Her face was more mature, the face of a woman, not a girl and her body was even more svelte and ample than when they were together. Gone was the familiar crop top and mini-skirt. It was replaced by strips of Tamaranean hyper-steel alloy that barely covered her ample breasts, and a barely there bikini bottom with a hyper-steel alloy belt. All that remained of her old uniform was the familiar gorget on her neck and shoulders, gauntlets and boots. She was a sight to behold. While he stood there beholding her radiance he was mentally kicking himself for being such a fool to break her heart.

She looked at him, tilting her head twice, then smiled shyly at him, "Greetings Richard."

Nightwing shook his head quickly and returned a nervous smile. "Hey Star."

And we'll end the chapter here. No need to go longer and a nice tease for the next chapter. I again apologize for this taking so long, but work, hand surgery, family needs and being in a quandary about where to go with the story have kept me from writing this chapter. I still have some ideas to work out, but I do know where the next chapter is going. This is a transition point in the story and things should start rolling along.

The tension between the two of them is thick enough to cut with a knife, and the next chapter won't lessen it any. Until next time,

Hammer of Oblivion.