The silver-white glow of the moon slowly began to fade as the night came to an end. Yet even as the once dominant shine of the first quarter vanished, several bright stars continued to light the indigo sky. Finally, after a night filled with chaos and confusion, Jump City- at last- was able to rest, as were its young heroes; and as the team sleepily began to lie down and rest, two shadows sat on the roof of Titan's Tower- together- watching the cool night sky give way to the morning. "You know," sighed one of the shadows as she stared out over the horizon, watching the deep blue tint of the sky and the black sea give way to the vibrant pinks and reds of the rising sun. "It's funny, but it seems like everything comes into perspective up here: the moon, the sky… the sun," she paused and looked to the shadow sitting beside her.
"Yeah," agreed her companion as he too stared out at the slowly rising sun. "I love the sunrise. The promise of a new day; anything's possible." He smiled and looked to the voice beside him, as she nodded and agreed.
"Yes," she sighed happily. Closing her eyes, she smiled and continued, "No matter how dark or lonely I was; your kindness and hope brought peace and light to my world…" Suddenly recognizing several of the words in her statement, Robin instantly perked up, and looked to his friend in confusion. Slyly, Apollo cracked a smile before sliding a familiar piece of paper in his direction. Curious, Robin picked up the page to reveal the drawing of the two shadows sitting on the roof of Titans Tower- just as he and Apollo were now. Further studying the illustration, he soon noticed that the once jumbled set of words, which had been left scattered across the page, were now in order- finally making sense of the cryptic puzzle he had previously been so determined to solve. Taking his eyes away from the picture, Robin looked to a still smiling Apollo, and humorously raised an eyebrow as he waited for an answer. "Well I had to find some way to keep you busy while I was gone," she chuckled happily in response to reaction.
Bashfully, Robin smiled and looked back down at the page before returning his attention to the sun and responding to her remark. "Yeah," he laughed softly. "It did take me a while; but had I solved sooner," he paused and looked to the girl sitting beside him- the rays of the rising sun, caught in her hair. "Would you have come back in time?"
Calmly, Apollo returned his gaze and answered, "Of course." She smiled and inhaled the crisp morning air, consuming the soft morning breeze, the warm rays of the sun, and the whispering crashes of the ocean waves below. "I knew things weren't going to be easy- I never expected them to be. It's like you said, the guys just need some time; and, to be honest, so did I. Besides," she smiled as she rose to her feet, "You couldn't possibly think you'd get rid of me that easily?" The two exchanged a quick laugh as Robin also returned to his feet and followed Apollo back inside.
Though it was early morning and the golden rays of the sun pierced the windows of the tower, every light remained off and all was silent as the exhausted teenagers caught up on their rest hours. Silently, both Robin and Apollo walked down the quiet hall and after exchanging 'good mornings' retired to their rooms for a well-deserved rest. Alone in her room, Apollo walked toward her desk and picked up the scattered papers that had been left on her desk. Sentimentally, she flipped through the drawings, recounting the emotion she felt as she completed each picture; from the anger and hostility of Madame Rouge, to the mixed sense of temptation and understanding for the suave young man in black and the beautiful sapphire ring he'd left on her finger. Then as she came to final drawing in her collection, she was startled by the sound of a gentle knocking on the door. Assuming it to be Robin, she casually permitted for the guest to enter, only to find that it clearly wasn't who she'd expect it to be.
"Hey," mumbled Cyborg as he shyly entered her room.
"Hi," Apollo replied just as softy and shyly as he.
"You busy?" he asked innocently when he noticed the papers she held in her hand. "I didn't mean to bother-"
"No it's okay, I was just straightening up," she interrupted, still looking down at the picture in her hand. Looking around at the disheveled damage that he and the others had been done to her room, Cyborg bent down and picked up a book from the floor and looked to Apollo.
"You need help?" he asked. Tired and skeptical of his presence, Apollo's first instinct was to refuse and send him on his way, but seeing the apologetic desperation I his eyes, she put her papers back on the desk- face down- and quietly nodded. Silently, the two began to clean the room and return everything to its rightful place. After a moment, Cyborg finally spoke up and broke the uncomfortable silence, "I'm sorry," he said as he placed a pillow back on her bed.
"Don't worry about it," Apollo replied as she adjusted the lamp on her desk and closed its drawers. "I have a feeling most of this was done by Rob-"
"Not for this," Cyborg interrupted as he walked towards Apollo, his eyes looking directly into hers. "I meant about everything else. The way I acted; you had every right to hate me- you still have every right." He reached for the stack of papers on the desk and picked up the last paper she was looking at, "You were right, I was a jerk. And I'm sorry." He repeated as he held up the paper, revealing the beaten, worn down drawing of his face. Sensing the sincerity and remorse in his voice, Apollo took the paper from his hand and smiled as she crumpled it into a ball and replied.
"Yeah, you were," she laughed. "But I know why." She smiled as she tossed the ball of paper and harbored resentment into the garbage, confirming her forgiveness of his past behavior. The two then exchanged glances before they finished fixing the messy room as well as their friendship. Once everything was done, Apollo happily walked with her new friend back to his room before returning to her own and retiring to her bed. Closing her eyes and finally sleeping soundly; her mind at rest in her home, with her team, her friends- her family.