A moment later he stepped back and stared at her. "Um.." She said, not sure what to think. He looked confused. "That was, um..." "Not quite what I expected." They both smiled in relief. "Becca, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" "No, no, don't worry. I mean, it was nice but-" "Yea. It was nice, but..." They both nodded understandingly. "I really have enjoyed this BB." "Me too. I'm still glad we did this." "Maybe we still can? Just, you know-" "Friends." He nodded and grinned. "We'll go out more, just you and me." "Friends." She agreed, and they walked up the stairs together. Hand in hand, friends, and nothing more.

Rebecca went straight to her room, but Beast Boy went up stairs to the living room. All the Titans were there. "Did ya kiss her?" Cyborg leaned towards him. Beast Boy nodded and Cyborg cheered. "Aw YEA! That's my boy! How was it?" "I...can't really describe it." "She's that good hu?" "No!, well, no I mean. It was nice but..." "But?" Everyone was leaning towards him now. "We decided we were better just friends. Good friends, but not a couple. "Oh." "Oh Beast Boy, I'm dreadfully sorry." "Don't be Star. It was a mutual agreement. She didn't dump me or anything like that. There just wasn't anything there." Beast Boy walked around the couch where Robin was sitting. He stood in front of him, staring Robin down. "She's still my good friend. If you hurt her..." Robin grunted and watched the TV. "Don't know what you're talking about Beast Boy." "Hmph. Whatever."

The next morning, Rebecca was on the roof, skimming through her mom's diary. The door opened behind her, but she ignored it and kept reading.

June 17th

We went to Grandpa's house today. He showed my his treasure room. It was so pretty!

Robin sat down next to her, but she continued to ignore him.

He showed me his favorite one, the golden necklace from King Edward the second. Its a big bird with red diamonds for eyes. It looked scary!

"Becca?" "..."

He asked me what I liked the most. I like the red box with leaves on it.

"Rebecca?" "What is it Robin?" "Are...we ok?"

She closed the book and laid it on her lap. "I don't understand." "I understand why you were mad at me. I don't blame you at all. I was just wondering if you still are?" "Robin...this isn't something that's just going to go away. Misunderstanding or not, you left me when I needed you most. Slade was the one who saved. me." "I honestly can't tell you how sorry I am for that." "You can apologize a million times, but it won't help you any." She stood up and headed for the door. "What can I do?" She stopped and looked back at him. "I honestly wish I knew. If I figure it out, you'll be the first to know."

Time with the Titans continued as normal. Rebecca spent a lot of time on the roof, reading her mother's diary. She was locked in her room whenever there was trouble, and during the night. The monotony was a constant, nagging presence in the back of Rebecca's mind, but she ignored it and spent her time reading her mom's diary and learning the history of her family through it. It was a good month later before anything changed.

Her door opened and she looked up from her book. Beast Boy was wearing his big goofy grin. "C'mon, you have visitors upstairs." "Visitors? Me?" "Yea! C'mon, they're waiting for you." She looked at him nervously. "Who is it?" "I promised I wouldn't tell you." "BB, I'm not-" "Don't worry! It's not bad! I would've told you anyway if it were bad." She didn't seem soothed by this, so Beast Boy grabbed her hand and pulled he rout of the room. "You've gotta hear this! I promise, not bad, good! In fact, it's better than good! It's fantastic!" "BB, I don't like surprises, can you at least tell me who's here?" "Nope, sorry, we didn't want you guessing either." She tried to tug her hand away, but he had a firm grip on her. So she resigned and followed him to the living room. All the Titans had worried looks on their faces, but when Rebecca walked in, those looked washed away in a sea of joy. 2 men were standing in the middle talking to Robin. They turned and smiled at Rebecca when she recognized them.

"Sheriff? Mr. Mayor? What's going on?" "I'm sorry for taking my time getting here, but I'm a very busy man and I wanted to do this personally." The mayor stepped forward and grinned. "I wanted to thank you for Slade's capture. The Titan's and several eyewitnesses all claim that it was you who fought and finally defeated him, and for that this city will always be in debt to you." "Uh..sure. Don't mention it." She awkwardly brushed off his gratitude. "I don't want your thanks. I didn't do it for the city. I did it so he couldn't hurt me anymore... "Well, whether or not you seem to realize it, this is a very big deal. The city council and I have all agreed to award you the key to the city during the anniversary celebration next week." The Titan's all rolled their eyes, but continued smiling. Rebecca's face contorted a bit. Anniversary celebration...this was ringing and ominous bell. "Um...I don't think, I mean, thank you, but it probably isn't a good idea to give the key to the city to someone on parole." "Ahem." The sheriff coughed and stepped closer. "That would be why I'm here. This is for you." He handed her a yellow carbon slip. She glanced at it and looked at him questioningly. "You don't keep track of the dates too well do you? Yesterday was the last day of your sentence. That's your certificate of release. As of this moment, your sentence is over. You're free as a bird." Her jaw dropped as the Titans all cheered. The sheriff and mayor grinned at her. "We thought you'd like to know." "Um...thank you." Her mind was racing as the mayor filled in the details of the anniversary party. She nodded occasionally, but didn't hear a word he was saying. After they left, the Titans one by one congratulated her. "You deserve this Becca." "Way to go girl!" "What wonderful news!" "So what are you gonna do now?" Beast Boy's question finally snapped her out of her daze. She smiled at him and shrugged. He frowned, but was interrupted by more congratulatory comments.

Later on that evening, someone knocked on her door. "Come in." Beast Boy stepped in and looked around. Rebecca had emptied the contents of her bag and dresser onto her bed and sorted it into neat piles. "What's all this?" "It doesn't all fit in my bag anymore. I'm trying to decide what to get rid of and what to keep." "So...you're leaving?" She didn't answer. "I was afraid of that." He walked up and sat on an empty corner of her bed. "You know...if you stayed you could keep all of it." "I don't want to keep all of it." "Why not?" "I don't like it. All these clothes, I don't need them. Just my jeans and some shirts and I'm fine." But this shirt here-" He picked up a torn red shirt. "This was the shirt you wore to the club, that night. It looked really good on you." "Slade tore it at the house. I don't want it." "What about these books from Raven?" "I've read all of them already, she can have them back." His frown deepened. "There isn't anything from here you want to keep? Was it really so bad here?" "No." She shook her head and smiled as she refolded the shirt he picked up. "Living here has been the greatest time of my life. I've never been so happy."

"Then stay."

"I can't."

"Why not?" She set down the shirt and thought. She'd never told Beast Boy about X. It didn't feel right to now. "I don't belong here BB. I'm not a Titan."

"But you could be. We all want you to stay and join. We think you'd be a great Titan."

"I don't think ex-cons made good Titans."

"I think they make the best." He pouted.

"You're the strongest out of all of us. Plus you know the underworld better than anyone. You understand them. That's something we could really use here-"

"That sounds like something Robin would say." She growled.

He nodded. "He did say it. I agree with him."

She shook her head. "I'm not a hero." "I think you are. You saved that little girl on the bridge remember?"

"That was a robot."

"You didn't know that." Rebecca shook her head and started rearranging her piles on the bed. Beast Boy sighed. "Alright. I don't really wanna argue either. But...will you at least think about it? We all really want you to stay."

She paused. "I'll think about it." She muttered. Beast Boy nodded, and left her to her thoughts.

"I wonder...what would Mom say if she knew about this? Would she be happy I found someone? Would she be angry for me leaving my friends? Or sad because I chose a life of crime..." She sighed. "Guess I'll never know."

Rebecca found herself walking on a road with 2 people. The road split, and one person walked one way, the other went the other way. "Which way should I go?" She asked herself. Both of the figures turned around, but she couldn't see their face in the dark. "This way! Over here! We'll have fun together, and forget about all this hero nonsense." One person yelled. "Over here! You can do it! What would your mom say if she found out you became a criminal?" The other yelled. The 2 people shouted at her and at each other. Finally, she closed her eyes and ran in a random direction. One person gasped, but the other gave a deep chuckle. "Welcome back. Time to train." Rebecca opened her eyes and gasped as Slade grabbed her by the throat-"

"Becca? Becca wake up!" She jumped up and coughed. Robin patted her on the back and waited until she stopped gasping. "Are you ok?" "..ahm yea. Just a bad dream." "I heard you yelling in your sleep from the hall. Are you sure you're ok?" "Positive." He nodded. "Ok. Starfire is waiting for you upstairs. She wants to go shopping for the party." She nodded, and threw off the covers.

"Were you even paying attention to him?" "I...guess not." "Well, regardless, we must go to the mall and find a new clothing for our friend." Rebecca twiddled her fingers as Raven and Starfire explained what they were doing. It was a trip to the mall for outfits...for the anniversary party. "How come all of you roll your eyes and sigh whenever someone brings it up?" She asked. "Because we've seen this before." Cyborg explained. "Everyone with money or connections will be there. Might as well have a giant flashing sign with an arrow that say "Rob me, I'm an idiot with money." That ominous bell finally clicked. "It's going to be at the park in front of city hall isn't it?" Cyborg looked at her. "Yea. Didn't think the mayor said anything about that. He's trying to keep it quiet." "He didn't succeed. I investigated that place while..." She didn't finish, hoping she didn't have to. They all seemed to understand. "So, he knew. But he's locked up." "But if he knew, then others probably do too. We should be ready." Robin looked angry. "We all told him this was a bad idea. It's just begging for trouble." "But we'll be there to stop it." Beast Boy grinned. Robin nodded and went back to the computer. Cyborg shrugged and kept tinkering. They'd all expected some news like this. It didn't dampen any spirits, specifically Starfire or Raven's. The mall trip continued as planned.

They hit up every clothing store, and didn't walk out without at least one whole outfit for someone, usually Starfire. Rebecca walked around nervously at first, not really enjoying herself. But once she started seeing things she liked, she felt herself relax a little. Starfire threw virtually everything she could at Rebecca to try one. Raven was more modest, and tried to only give Rebecca things that would look good on her. She also gave Rebecca some tips on picking a dress for the party. "If we're expecting trouble, you should find one that's only slightly loose. You need to be able to move quickly. Too big and you'll trip, too small and it'll tear. Trust me it's a big distraction trying not to flash everyone while you're fighting." Rebecca nodded and sorted through her mound of clothes. She settled on a classic, dark green dress. It was medium length, coming down to a little under her knee, but a sleeveless v neck. Raven watched her look in the mirror, gauging her mood and her aura.

"You like it. It looks good on you. Your complexion goes well with it since it's darker, and it brings out the green in your eyes." "Oh, Rebecca you look beautiful!" She blushed and nodded. "I guess this one's it then." "Wonderful! Now we must find a dress for Raven." "I've got one already Star." She pointed to the bag on her arm. "Oh. Very well then, I suppose it's time to leave." She frowned, but Rebecca sighed. "Good. I didn't eat before we left and my feet are-" "Oh no! We cannot leave yet! We shall need shoes!" Rebecca's eyes widened, but Raven saved the day. "Let's do that tomorrow Starfire. I think the guys are waiting for us to come home." Starfire frowned again, but Rebecca smiled. She caught Raven's eye and mouthed "Thank you" before they left the store.

"Hey, Cy! The girls are back! Come help out!" Beast Boy yelled as he took some of the shopping bags from Starfire. They didn't see the other 2 guys until halfway to Starfire's room. Rebecca smiled to herself. When all the bags were delivered to their designated rooms, pizza was delivered, popcorn was popped, and all the Titans sat down for movie night. "What do we have tonight?" Becca asked Cyborg. "The Wanted. It has a loose serial killer and the only way cops can catch him is by enlisting another serial killer to help out. You'll like it it's a good one." Rebecca flinched a little but nodded. Beast Boy sat down and squeezed her arm. "It's not about you. Totally fictional. Just enjoy it ok?" "It's a little close to home BB." "Don't-" "Sh!" Raven hissed as the lights went out and the movie started. It would've been a great movie for anyone else, but for Rebecca it was like reliving her past. When the serial killer met his ex girlfriend, Rebecca stood up and reached for the Dvd player to shut it off, but Raven beat her to it. "I think we can skip this one." No one looked at Rebecca, but they all nodded. Cyborg apologized. "I'll pick a better one next time." The lights turned on, and everyone went to their rooms.

This time, it was Cyborg who knocked on Rebecca's door. He didn't walk in like BB or Raven, he just stood by the door. "I...wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't think about...how you'd react. Should've known." "It's fine Cy. Really. I should be apologizing. I ruined a good movie." He smirked a little. "How many people can say their life would back a cool movie? You should sell the rights to it." She chuckled a bit. "Not a bad idea. Take my money and go live a quiet life someone..." Cyborg's smile faded. "You know, we're all hoping you'll stay, but we won't force you. Will you at least say goodbye this time?" "I will. I promise. I won't just run off on you guys." He nodded, and waved as he left her room.

The nightmares continued, and as the party approached, the tension in the tower thickened visibly. Everyone tried to ignore it, and continue as they normally would, but everyone felt nervous. Nerves were stretched and tightened as the days passed, until, finally, they snapped.

"He called off the security!"

"He WHAT?" Robin kicked the couch and swore loudly. "He decided not to have any security! What is he thinking?"

"Is he trying to get everyone killed?"

"What can we do? If someone decides to attack-"

"We'll be spread too thin to protect everyone AND go after the bad guy!"

Rebecca watched the Titans scream at each other, letting all their stress from the past week boil over.

"That's enough!" Raven finally yelled and waved her hand. Bands of darkness covered everyone's mouth. "Arguing about this won't solve our problem. We have to think this through intelligently. We'll take watches during the party at the most vulnerable spots. If we can catch them before anything happens, we won't have to worry about anyone getting hurt." They all nodded, and the darkness disappeared. "She's right fighting like this won't help anything. I'll call Titan's East and see if they can help out. Every extra set of eyes we have will help."

"I'll help."

Everyone froze and looked at Rebecca. She met everyone's stare with her own before she continued. "I'm not a hero, but I won't let my friends suffer because they mayor was an idiot. I'll help watch. I know the area well, I can give you a good idea where to post people."

Robin nodded. "That'll be a huge help. Thank you." She nodded and watched them relax. The tension was gone. And later on that evening, everyone piled into the Tcar wearing their best clothes and drove off to the party.