Got another shout out for Karategurl13 and her amazing story on Teen Titans; TT vs. DP. And let's not forget it's sequel which has chapters posted and is still being written right now! The Return of the Shadow Walker. If you love Teen Titans, you would love this! I know I did! Take a read! ;)

Raven's Story:

The Journey to Young Justice

"Zatanna, huh?" I asked Nightwing, curious. "How did you meet her?"

"Right after the Titans split, I went back to Batman...went back to my sidekick days. Before long there was another team forming and Zatanna eventually became part of that team. Her dad is Zatara, from the Justice League." He said, beaming.

"Her dad is ZATARA?!" I asked, slightly freaking out.

"Yes," he answered. "You can tell that she is his daughter. She is powerful, a quick learner, smart, and just all around amazing..."

I could tell that Nightwing really felt for Zatanna. He held her in the highest regard possible and it seemed like he would do practically anything for the girl. I wonder if he even told her that he liked her...He has always been such a private person and I don't know if he would tell a girl that he liked her or not. I could tell that he liked her enough that he wanted to be with her...So what was in the way? If he can know all about my feelings, I think I am allowed to know all about his...and in this case, I'm not afraid to use my powers to find out.

"So does Zatanna know that you feel this way for her?" I asked, barely containing my curiosity.

"I've hinted at it," He said. "You know, to try and get a feel for what she thinks of it. But if Zatanna doesn't want you to know something...you won't know it. End of story. That's just how she is. She is a very helpful and kind person, as well. Very trusting. But I wouldn't want to be caught on her bad side..."

"You didn't really answer my question...and why do you I sense that there is something that you aren't telling me?"

He looked over at me and raised one of his brows...

"No. I am not getting into your head...I can just tell that there is something else by the way you talk and your tone of voice. What is it?"

"We have a history..." Nightwing said plainly.

So that was it. They were together at one point and he has feelings for her now. If they were together, I wonder what broke them up? Are they on good enough terms now to maybe try again? Did it even end badly the first time? Did his feelings come back...or did they ever leave?

While I was thinking all this to myself, we were still strolling around the park. All of a sudden I hear a loud dinging sound and then heard a bell ring. I look up at the clock that sat at the top of the courthouse and it said 7 o'clock. Oh crap...

"Looks like we are both in trouble," Nightwing said. "Come one, let's go before the punishment gets worse."

"Okay," I said laughing.

But the truth was that I was really worried. I was worried to go home and see what Conner was going to say to us. And more importantly...How was I going to tell Conner about these newly realized feelings that I had for him? Should I even tell him at all? I was scared to the point of silence. The entire ride back to my side of Gotham city was silent as Nightwing and I both stared out the window. The drive seemed to take no time at all, which gave me zero time to think of what to do about telling Conner about my feelings. Ugh...and now I feel that the entire world is against me, just great.

We pull into the empty parking lot of my apartment building and park right next to the outside set of stairs. For a moment we both just sat in the car in silence, staring straight ahead of us. Neither one of us knew what to say and we certainly didn't know what to expect when we went up to Conner...

"You stick up for me and I stick up for you?" Nightwing asked me, smiling.

"Sounds good," I said.

"Let the punishment begin!"

We got out of the car and made our way slowly up the stairs. We took our time walking to my front door and getting it open. When I opened the door, Nightwing and I look inside to see an angry but worried Conner staring at the doorway from the couch. He looked extremely frazzled and I had a feeling that he had barely moved from that spot since we had left...if he had moved at all.

"Conner..." I said to him, softly.

"Where were you guys?" He asked in frustration.

"At the park just walking around and talking." Nightwing said, jumping in.

"You're late," Conner said with his fists clenched.

"Conner..." I whispered. "It's only 7:30 on the dot..."

At that point, Conner's eyes grew smaller and more calm. His body released some tension and his rather large muscles began to relax. As Conner slowly began to calm down, he fell back and leaned against the couch. He then ran his fingers through his dark black hair and let out a long, loud sigh. He then buried his face into his hands and just continued to sit that way.

"I'm sorry that we worried you, Conner." Nightwing said, sincerely. "I didn't realize that we were running low on time."

"It's fine." Conner said, his face still in his hands. "I just got worried...I know that you are normally very strict on times and when you were late...I thought that something happened to the two of you."

I walked over to Conner then and sat down beside him, slowly, on the ground. I then laid my hand on his knee and then he took his face out of his hands to look at me. He laid his hand on mine and slowly started breathing normally. The longer I sat with him, the better he became. I was worried that he would never come out of this state and I didn't know what to do if he didn't...I just wanted him to calm down and be himself. I wanted him to be the Conner that I had always felt safe with and liked to talk too.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" Nightwing asked Conner.

Just then, Conner squeezed my hand lightly and looked up at Nightwing. "I'm fine," he said.

"Okay, good. I have to go now. I have to go back to HQ and make sure that the rest of the team didn't kill each other...you know how it is."

Conner smiled then, the first time since we had gotten back and said; "Yeah, I know."

"If they killed Lagoon Boy..." I said with acid on my tongue. "Don't bother inviting me to the funeral."

Both boys laughed then and I couldn't help but join them...

"Alright," Nightwing said. "I'm headed out. I'll see you two later. Oh! And Rae..."

I looked over at him, waiting for whatever it was he wanted to say...

"I think that you should..." He said to me with a wink and then exited the apartment before I could even react.

"Again...Secret speedster." Conner whispered and we busted out laughing.

"I'm agreeing with that theory more and more," I said, looking over at Conner. "Now you look like you need some rest...and some food."

Conner chuckled at my comment and looked at me intensely. He was still holding onto my hand, refusing to let go any time soon, and then brushed a strand of hair from my face. I looked at him then and started debating with myself all over again...And then I realized what Nightwing had meant when he left...He thought that I should tell Conner how I felt about him...But how did he know that I was struggling with that? Then again, he saw my feelings for Conner before I did; so I guess it isn't that surprising...but still.

"How about we go and make us some dinner?" I asked Conner, smiling.

"Sounds good," He said standing and helping me up off the ground.

In the kitchen, we looked around in the fridge and cupboards but nothing looked appetizing to either of us. There was all kinds of stuff from pasta to hamburgers to chicken and etc. But still, nothing looked good...

"Who's up for ordering a pizza?" Conner asked, laughing.

"Let's do it!" I exclaimed.

"Alright," he said. "What do you want on it?"

"I like plain pepperoni and cheese..." I said in a whisper.

"Me too," Conner said. "That was easy. Do you wanna order it or do you want me too?"

"You go ahead and grab my cell phone in the living room. I'm going to go change into more comfortable clothes."

"Okay, go ahead. I'll be in the living room when you're done." He said.

"Okay."

I made my way down the hall and into my bedroom. I kicked off my shoes, which felt great, and went over to my dresser to look for something more comforting to wear. After all, no matter who I was around, I was still in my home and I couldn't care less about what I looked like here. I went sifting through my drawers and found a pair of shorter black shorts and a gray tank top that looked like it had been splatter painted blue. Hey, works for me.

After I changed into what was probably going to be my pj's, I went to my bathroom and cleaned my face of my make-up. I then let my hair down and bushed it out. After brushing, it became a sea of wavy, dark hair. I had thought about putting it into a ponytail but then decided that it would take too much effort and just left it the way that it was.

I walked out into the living room to find Conner sitting on the couch, watching t.v. It was hard to imagine that this calm, laid-back guy had just about had a panic attack about half an hour ago. But there he was: calm, cool, and collected. Conner had also changed into something more comfortable...he was wearing black and red basketball type shorts and a black cut-off shirt. I smiled to myself and then walked the rest of the way to the couch and sat down next to him.

"How long did they say it was going to take?" I asked him.

"About 30 minutes...but that was 10 minutes ago." He said, laughing a little.

"Did it really take me that long to get dressed..." I said, thinking out loud.

"You're fine, Rachel." He said, chuckling.

I don't know why...but when Conner said my name, it just gave it a much happier ring to it. I feel like the name really represents me and that there isn't any baggage attached to it, anymore. I actually grow slightly proud of my birth name...

I blushed then and looked down at the carpet beneath my feet. I was getting more and more nervous around Conner and I didn't know how to bring up the conversation that I knew I needed, not to mention wanted, to have. I knew that I needed to tell him how I felt about him, but I couldn't think of a smooth way to bring it out in the open...Ugh...this is frustrating. No wonder Nightwing has kept his feelings for Zatanna quiet...it's more difficult to bring up this conversation than it is to joke on your death bed...

When I felt my face slowly cool back to a normal temperature, I looked up at the t.v. and saw the Conner was still flipping through channels...There seemed to be a lot of sports, car movies, and cartoons on tonight...nothing that really looked interesting, though.

"Why is there never anything on t.v.?" Conner asked, sarcastically.

"Wish I knew," I said, giggling. "But it really never seems like there is ever anything good on..."

"I know," he said.

Just then we heard the doorbell ring. I got up off the couch and looked out the view-hole in the door. It was the pizza guy. I was about to unlock and open the door when all of a sudden, Conner was behind me. My hand was on the lock and he put his hand over mine, keeping it still. I looked up at Conner then with a confused look on my face...

"Don't, I got it." He said.

"Why?" I asked. "It's just the pizza guy."

"I know," he said. "But if you answer the door in what you're wearing, the guy will never leave..."

Just then I looked down at what I was wearing...And then I saw his point. I was wearing shorts and a low cut tank top...Yeah...Conner can get the door...I don't need to add the pizza guy to my "almost rapers" list. I looked back up at Conner, nodded, and moved out of sight. Conner unlocked the door and they exchanged pizza and money. The guy said his thanks and took off toward the stairs and down to his car...

Conner shut the door and started to walk toward the kitchen with the pizza in hand...

"You can come out now, Rachel." He said to me.

"Okay, I'm coming." I said.

I got to the kitchen and Conner was pulling out plates and sodas. I was hungry and couldn't wait to dig into the pizza, which looked delicious. I sat down in my normal chair and Conner looked at me...

"Mind if I switch seats?" He asked me.

"No?" I said, confused. "Sit wherever you want too."

He sat down next to me, rather than across like he normally would. But the rest of our dinner went relatively the same as usual. We ate our dinner and talked like nothing exciting had happened that day and just carried on. But on the inside...I was terrified. I wanted to tell Conner how I felt about him...But I was still scared to bring up the conversation and I really didn't know how to do it. I guess I was just going to have to wing it and go with whatever comes to mind...

After we were done with our pizza, I took our plates, rinsed them, and laid them in the sink to be washed later. Conner took a container and put the leftover pizza in the fridge for later and then threw out the cardboard box. We then proceeded to wipe down the table and put the clean dishes away.

"Wanna go see if there is anything on t.v. now?" I asked Conner.

"I doubt there is. I was actually going to go to bed, if that's okay." He said.

"Um. Yeah, sure. Night." I said, rushed.

I walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to my bedroom. Once inside, I shut the door behind me, walked over to my bed and sat down. I wasn't on my bed longer than a minute before my whole body started to ache...This was a feeling that I recognized. Rejection. I had felt this so many times from my father when I was a child and from BB when the Titans were still new and he didn't know me well...and then from any random person that I met on the street. I was too used to this feeling and I hated it...I didn't want to feel this anymore and I felt like I was dying from the inside, out.

I wrapped my arms around my knees, knelt my head down, and began to cry. I hated this feeling...I couldn't take it. I slowly started rocking back and forth on my bed. My cries began to turn into sobs and I had finally lost control of my emotions...and my powers. I had already had enough. I could feel my energy being pushed out in every direction possible and soon I could hear winds whooshing around my room and I heard objects fall and shatter into the walls and floor. But I wasn't mentally present enough to care. I didn't even bother to look up and see what it was. I just let everything go and the crashing continued all around me. I just wanted to die.

Just then, I heard my door open and I heard someone yelling. I couldn't tell who it was or what they were saying and at that point I couldn't have cared less. I had been rejected by someone who I had cared for and I just couldn't handle it. Objects continued to shatter and fly around the room. I heard the person yelling and shouting at me still...And then, after a few minutes, I heard them...

"Rachel! Rachel, it's okay!" Conner screamed at me. "Rachel! Please stop! Don't worry, it's okay. We'll make it better. Whatever it is, we'll fix it. I promise. Please Rachel, stop! You're going to hurt yourself! Please Rachel! Stop! I love you!"

Those words. Those last three words. Those were what I needed. All of a sudden, after hearing those three words, I began to slowly calm down. The whooshing winds began to slow, I stopped hearing objects shatter, and my powers were slowing down. Once everything had stopped, I began to feel weak. The room became still and I became dizzy and leaned to the side, sliding off my bed. I was waiting to feel my head hit the floor, but it never did. Instead, I felt a pair of warm, strong arms beneath me.

I then felt the soft, comforting feeling of my pillow under my head and I started to come too...

"Rachel. Rachel, are you alright?!" Conner asked, panic covering every inch of his voice.

"I'm okay," I said, slowly sitting up and opening my eyes.

"Are you sure? Can I get you anything? Is there anything I can do?!"

"Conner, I'm alright." I said. "I'm alright."

"What happened? You scared me to death..." He said, ending in a whisper.

"My emotions got out of control...nothing new." I said, trying to blow it off.

"But why? What spiked them?" He asked.

"Conner, I really don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"No. It's not okay." He said. "You had me worried like crazy not once, but TWICE in one day...I'm not standing by this time. What happened?"

"Before I go into that...Can I tell you something else?" I asked, knowing that when he was like this I wasn't going to win out the argument.

"What is it?" He asked me, almost out of breath.

I was nervous. I could feel myself shaking. But if I didn't do this now, while I had his full attention, I knew I wasn't ever going to tell him how I felt. I needed to tell him, whether his reaction was good or bad, I had to tell him the truth. I just decided to take a HUGE leap of faith and I was going to tell him...tell him that I needed him; that I wanted him; that I loved him, too.

"Well," I started. "Remember what you had said to me earlier today? On how much you care for me?"

"Yes. I told you that I really liked you and that even though it was true...it was hard for me to admit it out loud."

"Exactly." I said. "Conner..."

I couldn't help it. I was freezing up...I didn't know what else to do. I was getting even more nervous and becoming sick to my stomach. I wanted to just tell him the truth and just leave it like that. At that point, I didn't even care if I got a reaction out of him or what the reaction was/would have been. I just wanted to get it out...And then I remembered what he had just said a few moments ago in all the chaos...

"Rachel, what is it?" He asked, curious now.

"You told me that you loved me just a few moments ago..."

"Um..." Was all he could manage.

"Conner," I said in a whisper. "Is that true?"

Conner's face grew red and he looked away from me for a moment. Then turned back to face me, laid his hand on my cheek and whispered in my ear...

"It's true." He said. "I love you more than you could ever believe...If something were to happen to you..." He trailed off then and moved back to his original position, facing down towards my blanket.

I reached forward and grabbed his hand, causing him to look up at me. As he looked me in the eye, he held my hand in his and then I whispered to him...

"I love you, too."

I had tears rolling down my cheeks, then and I was shaking more than I had originally realized. He looked at me straight in the eye, wiped my tears from my face, and held my face in his. And then, before I even knew what was happening, Conner pulled my face to his and locked me in a kiss that I will never forget. His warm lips matched mine almost perfectly and I could feel his heart-rate climbing to the top of the charts. But I knew that mine was doing the same... I wrapped my arms around Conner's neck and continued to kiss him, heart pounding.

When we finally pulled back, Conner was still holding onto me. He was holding me by the waist now and kept me close to him. I kept my arms wrapped around his neck as I looked into his bright, blue eyes. He pulled my head to him and kissed my forehead. When I came up, I had tears again...but this time, I was smiling.

"You have no idea how happy I am in this moment..." He said to me in a whisper.

"Actually," I whispered back. "I think I do."

Conner pulled me into another kiss that made our hearts beat wildly out of control. We then talked about telling Nightwing...but we decided not too...just for the fun of it. Conner stayed in my room that night and I fell asleep in his strong, warm arms...and for the first time...I felt like nothing could touch me. I was happy and I was safe.

Alright, guys! Got another kind of long one here! Sorry this story has been on kind of a hiatus for about a month! Had some writer's block! Anyways...Please REVIEW THIS CHAPTER/STORY...That way I can know if I should continue this. Tell me what you like and don't like. Tell me what you think in general! Thanks! :) -Ashton