Chapter Twenty-Four: Reunited

Later that night, after everything had settled down and I'd returned from speaking with Robin, I told Kitten, Fang, and her father about the conversation I'd had with him. Tyler had asked me a load of questions about him, most of which that I'd been unable to answer, and then we'd called his mother from Kitten's glittery pink cellphone, which she graciously lent to me for a little while.

Mrs. Babbowitz had been horrified to hear about what had happened, at first, but when I'd told her about the turnout she'd seemed extremely relieved. She'd told me that the broken phone was a small and very trivial matter and said it could be replaced before thanking me. We'd then made plans to meet at the park around noon, but she'd warned me that there would be a crowd of reporters waiting with her and her husband.

I'd thanked her for the warning, and then Tyler had spent a long hour talking to her on the phone.

After that, they'd said their goodbyes and that had been that: I'd given Kitten her phone back, gotten Tyler and myself ready for bed, had given him some aspirin for his pain, and then we had both crashed on the couch together. Kitten and Fang had retired to her room, Killer Moth had gone down into his basement, and I was left alone, staring up at the distant stars through the gaping hole in their ceiling.

But after an hour and a half of lying down, I still couldn't even manage to close my eyes.

For the longest time, I merely lay glaring daggers at the sky, burdened by a very profound internal conflict.

Threats.

Intimidation.

Bullying.

They were all things that I genuinely hated, but to have been threatened and intimidated and even bullied by Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans...well, needless to say, I hadn't been expecting it. He was supposed to be a hero, a protector, and while he was an idol to some, he was a role model for all.

I'd never heard anything but good things about him and the Titans until I'd met Kitten and Fang.

I lifted a hand and touched my temple with feather-light fingers, remembering the way he'd hit me.

I could still remember every word he'd said to me, as if I were still hearing them.

They were stuck in my head, festering within me.

He'd called Jump City his city.

He had said it to my face, but he was very wrong, regardless of whether or not he believed it. This wasn't his city, it didn't belong to any one person, and there were a great deal of people living in Jump who called it their home, people he'd supposedly sworn to protect and serve... and yet he'd still somehow managed to turn a blind eye to the obvious.

People with the metagene were struggling to survive.

Sure, I myself still didn't know much about the state of the city, but I remembered every story from every blog. I had seen how hard Martha Babbowitz had fought to protect her son. I had seen see the trauma that Kitten, and Fang, and even Killer Moth had been through.

All because of these stupid laws, which restricted everyone's ability to live like normal human beings.

Even worse, there was international code 722 to worry about.

I still had no idea what the full story on that was.

I remembered everything that Christopher and Marie had told me, of course, since the shock of discovering using Code 722 was like giving up the right to be an American citizen still hadn't worn off... but I didn't understand it.

Hell, to be honest, I didn't even know how it was possible that a law like that could exist, or even what sort of crazy thing it applied to. I'd been told that most of the villains living in Jump had probably used code 722 at some point, that they'd all gone above the law and being a citizen without realizing the danger, but the question was...

Well, why?

What sort of thing could have driven so many people to have used that strange code? It couldn't have been the struggle to get the metagene license alone... I mean, sure, that sort of thing was a pain in the ass to deal with, but I just couldn't picture people wanting to give up everything and go above the law for a reason as trivial as that.

Sure, there were probably some stupid idiots out there who'd thought it would have been cool to become a power that the law couldn't touch, people who'd thought it would make them capable of doing anything and getting away with it... but it wasn't logical to believe all the villains who were committing recurring crimes had started out like that.

Especially not after hearing the story with Fang and Kitten.

I just couldn't believe it.

Every other day, something was being stolen by a villain, but it only landed them in trouble because they always got caught. The recurring behavior wouldn't have made sense unless there was some kind of desperation behind it.

I grit my teeth when my irritation became too much.

Finally giving up on sleep, I slowly sat up, tucking a few strands of my messy hair behind my ears as I glanced at Tyler's sleeping form. His face was soft and relaxed, and even though the bruises on his face were still ugly, I actually found myself wondering if this would be the last time I ever saw him.

We would both be going home tomorrow.

Our regular lives would resume themselves.

I didn't really know what would be waiting for me.

School was going to be a nightmare, that much I was sure of... although, more than anything, I wanted to see Amber and Sarah, and then go see how Miss Figgins was doing in the hospital. I wondered how things would change for a few moments. I had a feeling that Marie and I would possibly end up getting along.

Maybe she and I could occasionally babysit Tyler at the park, if his parents were okay with it. We could see how Christopher was doing, too, if anyone even knew where the bat-like boy was. All four of us had been through a lot together, and we had only escaped from danger using teamwork, so the thought of just... never seeing them again, without even talking about what had happened to all of us, made me feel weird.

But maybe I wouldn't be able to do any of that.

Maybe I would have restrictions now that the Titans knew what I was capable of.

My thoughts turned back to the warning Robin had given me, and I scowled as I thought about a member of his team watching every move I made. I had no idea who he planned on sending, nor did I want to.

I spent a few more minutes mulling over the argument I'd had with the leader of the Titans, then reluctantly decided to play it by ear until I could get a feeling for what things would be like. Perhaps if I could manage to convince whoever he sent to 'observe me' that I was being sincere about trying to live normally, my life wouldn't be too hard.

I resigned myself to being patient and lay back down again, staring at all the distant, barely visible stars twinkling down at me. The night sky was something I hadn't looked at in a long time. I blinked tiredly, looking up at all the twinkling lights above me. I didn't fall asleep at first, nor did I plan to, but when I ended up submerged in a waking dream, unaware, oblivious to my surroundings, everything became muffled in a frozen haze of dreamless rest.

My foggy mind drifted off and the stars above me faded, slowly growing darker... and darker...

It felt like only a moment later that I was woken up. I flinched when a rough, calloused hand touched my own, roused back to full wakefulness. Groggy, I opened my eyes and saw that the stars had disappeared, replaced with a bright blue sky and puffy white clouds. I turned slightly, blearily taking in the sight of Fang looming over me.

It took a second for my mind to kick on, but once it did, I shook myself awake.

"Morning," I mumbled, sitting up and stretching with a yawn; a quick glance revealed that Tyler was yet again no longer lying on the couch beside me. I scratched my head and looked at Fang, who was staring at me plainly. "Something wrong?"

His six red eyes blinked.

"It's half an hour until noon," he said. "You should start getting ready to go. Kitten is upstairs in her room, waiting with a fresh set of clothes plus the ones Dury washed."

"Dury?" I asked, confused. "Who's Dury?"

"Her dad," Fang informed me. "That's his name. Killer Moth is just an alias he uses."

"Oh," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. "Well, let me wash my face, then I'll go see what's up."

He nodded, watching impassively as I rose and brushed the wrinkles out of the disheveled black sweater; I took a moment to adjust the plaid red miniskirt covering my thighs, then turned to walk to the bathroom... but before I could, the tip of a long spider-leg touched me right below my shoulder blades. I stopped and turned to stare at him.

He met my confused gaze without blinking for nearly thirty seconds before he sighed, spider mouth parting a bit.

"Thank you for sticking up for us," he said quietly, removing his leg from my back, "and also... more than anything, thank you for treating us all like normal people. You're the first person who's ever done that."

"The rest of the world is missing out, then," I snorted, raising an eyebrow. "I actually kinda enjoyed hanging out here with you guys, which is surprising to me since I typically don't like being around other people."

"You don't get it," he said, and then proceeded to poke me a second time with his spider leg. He looked me right in the eyes. "You don't flinch when we touch you. You don't shy away. You can even look all of us in the eyes and say we aren't ugly, and that's-"

"Nonsense, because you're not ugly," I harshly informed him, instantly feeling a little mad. I turned to face him completely, folding my arms and glaring at him. "I don't know what sort of gratitude speech you're trying to gear up for, but I'm stopping it right there. You don't need to thank me for treating you the way you deserve to be treated."

"Try telling that to the rest of the wo-"

"What makes you think I don't intend to?" I interrupted, raising an eyebrow when he blinked again. "You are people, Fang. You, Kitten, and her dad are all people, and you don't deserve the crap you've been getting just because your metagene changed the way you look. You're a good guy... you've always been a good guy, I saw so with my own eyes when you saved Tyler the moment he reallyneeded it."

His eyes widened.

"I don't know what you're-"

"I saw that stream of whatever it was you shot snatch Kitten backwards before the rubble could hit her," I deadpanned, then lowered my arms and stepped forward. "She and Tyler both would have been crushed when the Titans came crashing through the ceiling if you hadn't gotten them out of the way in time."

"You're making a-"

"And you also took him down to the basement and kept him there while everything happened up here," I interrupted yet again; it was becoming a habit of mine, it seemed to me. "If it hadn't been for you, this whole situation might have turned out completely different. If anyone should be thanking anyone, I should be thanking you."

He fell quiet, then, and all he really did was look at me.

Silence descended between us, broken only by distant city sounds and traffic noises.

"You give me hope, Sally."

I started after he said it, staring at him oddly.

"Uh, what?"

"I said, you give me hope," he repeated, then looked up at the stairs. "The way you treat me and my girl really makes me feel like someday, people might start accepting us even though we're different than them."

I blinked, then smirked and shrugged.

"Don't lose it," I said, then turned and walked away with a wave. "I'm gonna go wash my face."

He didn't respond, merely watched as I headed into the bathroom; after I washed my face and assessed the disheveled state of the clothes I'd worn for two days straight, I came back out and turned to see that he was gone. I sighed and headed upstairs across the white carpet towards Kitten's room, where Tyler's voice was excitedly chattering away.

I knocked on the white door, decorated as it was with girlish and flowery stickers.

"Come in!" Kitten called in a sing-song voice.

I opened the door to see the blonde girl sitting on the floor with a white Louis Vuitton backpack lying open in front of her; to my confusion, the clothes I'd been wearing on arrival were already inside it, and she paused right in the middle of putting another folded set of clothing inside as well so she could look at me.

Her eyes lit up and she grinned in an almost cat-like manner when I frowned.

"Those aren't my clothes," I deadpanned, nodding at them. "Also, why are you putting my clothes in that bag?"

"Uh, well... you're, like, taking them home, aren't you?" she asked, blinking twice. "You totes need something to carry them in, so I'm giving you the backpack I used to take with me to school. I don't have a use for it anymore, but you still have three long years after this one before you can graduate, so you should totes have a nice backpack."

I opened my mouth to tell her no, I didn't, but that I was grateful... but her eyes were glimmering again.

Hopefully.

Asking that I accept it.

I closed my mouth and sighed through my nose.

"Thank you," I said simply, glancing at Tyler, who was smiling at me excitedly; unlike me, he'd been wearing the same clothes since we'd been kidnapped, and he was in dire need of a bath or shower. I wasn't any better, really. "Are you ready to go, Kiddo?"

"Yes!" he cried, lunging to his feet. "I am! I want to see Mommy!"

I smirked to myself yet again, since Mrs. Babbowitz and I had discussed it the previous evening and had mutually agreed to keep his father's return a surprise. Kitten made me jump when she thrust the white bag against my chest, but I took it without complaint and slid it across my shoulders.

"I'll have this outfit washed and returned to you when I can get the chance," I told her, then looked around for a pen and a piece of paper. "Do you have anything I can write my address down on?"

"YES!" Kitten shrieked, instantly flying over to her desk and floundering for some sticky notes; she then grabbed a pen with a frilly pink puff at the end and tore over to me, thrusting them under my nose. "HERE! HERE!"

I took the proffered items and quickly scrawled down the address to the foster house.

She squeaked when I held it back out.

"I'm ready to head out if you are," I said, glancing at Tyler, who stood up. "You ready to walk to the park?"

"Yes, Miss Sally!" he chirped. "Can we go?"

I motioned with my head for him to walk out the door first, then looked at Kitten.

She was staring at the piece of paper containing my name and address with watering eyes, but just before I turned to go she looked up at me and ran forward. I wheezed when she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered into my ear. "You're my very first friend."

I didn't know how to react.

There was a lot of feeling in the embrace she gave me.

In it, I could feel her relief, her joy, her yearning, her desperation, and her gratitude.

I returned it after a few seconds even though doing so went beyond my comfort zone.

"Feel free to drop by whenever," I mumbled, letting go. "Thank you for letting me stay these last few days. I promise I'll wash and return this outfit, too."

"Keep it," she said, laughing through eyes that had begun to water. "I never wear it, and it looks great on you. Before you go, though, can I brush your hair?"

I blinked, since my first instinct was once again to say no, but since I wasn't really in the mood to argue about why it didn't sit well with me, I merely nodded and she lunged for the brush on her desk. I stood still while she ran it through my somewhat greasy hair, but after a few seconds I was actually mildly grateful since there were a lot of tangles.

I hadn't seen a brush in a while, after all.

After she finished with my hair, she stepped back and nodded.

"Amazeballs."

"Thanks," I sighed, and with a nod, I took Tyler's hand and we headed downstairs; just before I walked out the door, I turned back to see Kitten and Fang standing together at the top of the stairs. I waved, forcing a small smile. "I'll see ya later. Thank you for everything... I had fun."

"Bye Bye, Sal Sal!" Kitten called, waving back. "See you soon!"

I nodded, and then... we were off; it was a better idea to get a move on sooner rather than later since the walk to the park was going to be a considerable one. Kitten's house was in a very nice suburb not too far away from Jump Medical Center... not to mention, I still wasn't wearing any shoes even though I was better dressed than before.

We were just about to turn the corner when the sound of a horn made me jump.

Tyler squealed and I whirled around, about to drag him behind me, but I paused when I saw the limo that had originally brought us to Kitten's place. The driver pulled over next to the curb and rolled down the window closest to me, but to my surprise, it was Dury; he was once again wearing his white lab coat, and his face was covered with a paper bag.

"Get in," he ordered, nodding at the rear door. "I'll drop you off around the corner of the park."

"Thanks," I said, instantly shaking my head, "but you've done enough for me as it is. I couldn't ask for more, not after-"

"There's only ten minutes until noon, and it takes twenty minutes to get from here to the main park by car," he curtly informed me. "On foot, you wouldn't make it there until maybe a little after three. Just get in. It's no trouble."

I glanced at Tyler, who blinked up at me, then shrugged and did as he suggested, opening the door to the limo and climbing into the backseat. I buckled myself in, then did the same for Tyler... and we were off. It was that simple. I leaned back against the fine black leather and closed my eyes while I waited.

The feeling and sound of the car was soothing as it drove along the streets.

I don't know how long I sat there for, but it felt like only a few minutes later that the car stopped. I opened my eyes and looked out the window to see that we'd pulled over into a familiar parking lot, the same place that Tyler had lost control of his fire, and the same place I'd conjured a tornado to put it out.

"We're here," I said, unbuckling my seat belt. "You ready, Tyler? Your mom isn't too far now!"

"Yes!" he cried, instantly unbuckling his own and throwing the door open. "Let's go!"

"Wait for me!" I called, and he instantly halted, watching impatiently as I slid out after him. "All right... now we can go."

He took my hand when I held it out, and then we made our way down the sidewalk towards the park, together.

"Hey, kid!"

I looked behind me to see that Dury had gotten out of the car and was now leaning on the hood, watching us.

"Yeah?" I called back, confused. "What is it?"

"Thanks for humoring my daughter! I know she can be a handful, but I appreciate what you said and did!" he called, giving a little wave. "Oh, and... thanks for blasting Robin a new one. I admit, I wanted to cheer right along with Kitten."

I smirked when he chuckled to himself, then got back into the limo and pulled out.

"Can we go, Miss Sally?" Tyler asked, bouncing. "Please?"

I nodded, squeezing his hand as we resumed walking.

"We're almost there," I said, taking in a breath as I walked down the sidewalk; my bare feet scraped against a few stones, and I was freezing from the cold inside me, but I put up with it. "Just a little bit longer!"

"I want to go home!" he whispered, squeezing my hand with more strength I thought he could even possess. The arm Christopher had healed still hadn't been tended to, and until that moment he'd seemed reluctant to move it much, but now there was a bounce in his step and a familiar gleam in his chocolate brown irises.

He peered ahead, wide eyes locked on the path ahead.

I could see turn-off to the park already, as well as the crowd of people inside it. I took a deep breath when I saw the news vans parked on the furthest edge of the street, trying to mentally prepare myself as I walked. We finally turned the corner, then, and walked towards the crowd of people; there were men and women with microphones and cameras, as well as a bunch of other people, most of which who were trying to get some time in the spotlight it seemed.

Then, I saw her.

Mrs. Babbowitz was in the middle of the throng, dressed in a floral print sundress with her dark hair pinned up in a bun on top of her head, brown eyes worriedly swiveling around as she repeatedly wrung her hands.

A rather tall, intimidating-looking man was standing right beside her, wearing a bland grey suit. His curly black beard was thick and wild, and it completely mismatched his military buzz-cut, but I knew in an instant who he was.

It was Mr. Babbowitz.

I knew because Tyler looked almost exactly like him, right down to the curved shapes of their strong noses.

Mrs. Babbowitz suddenly turned our way, and I could see it when it happened, the way her eyes lit up, the way her pretty mouth opened; the expression that floated across her face as she laid eyes on her little boy for the first time in days was one I knew I would never forget.

The eyes of a woman who had been missing her child for a long time.

It was only at the last second that I realized most of the cameras were focused on them, rather than anyone else.

"BABY!" Mrs. Babbowitz screeched, instantly bolting towards us. "TYLER, BABY! BABY! OVER HERE!"

Tyler's head whipped towards her.

"MOMMY?!" he cried, eyes growing wide when he saw her, too. "MOMMY!"

His hand slipped from my own, and I watched as he ran towards her, but he was in such a hurry that he tripped and fell flat on his face with a squeak, arms outstretched. The people holding cameras turned them when the woman fell to her knees in front of her child

"Tyler!" she cried, touching his bruised cheeks. "Are you okay?!"

The moment she touched him, a flail went through his battered body and he lunged across the ground, clawing at her dress. He dragged himself into her lap and embraced her, burying his face in her throat and promptly bursting into tears. In turn, the woman's arms found him, wrapping around him tightly.

They rocked back and forth, holding each other as if they would never let go, and as they did I could only watch, standing back and out of the way with a sad feeling in my belly.

By all rights, I should have been glad... overjoyed, even, but instead the scene cast a weird wave of melancholy over me.

Maybe it was because this was just a bittersweet reminder that there would never be anybody waiting to hold me.

After a second, Mrs. Babbowitz pushed him away and took a look at his battered, swollen face; her expression cracked and she showered him with kisses.

"Tyler," she whispered, breaking down into tears. "Oh, god... my baby... thank God..."

I noticed then that his father was hanging back, looking somewhat hesitant and uncertain... but the expression in his dark grey eyes clearly said that he wanted to embrace the crying child as well. I lifted my arm and caught his attention with a little wave; his face changed, growing tense with recognition, but I merely nodded towards Tyler with my head.

He only blinked, so I decided to be more straightforward about it and raised an arm, pointing at him.

I gave him an expectant stare and shrugged, as if to ask what he was doing, and his face slid into an understanding look. I watched as he approached, tentatively, sinking down and touching the little boy's back.

And I watched as Tyler froze.

Slowly turned his head.

But when the kid saw his father, he let out a scream of joy so loud that I was sure it nearly tore his voice box.

"DAAAADDYYYYY!"

And just like that, the three of them were hugging each other, holding each other tightly.

Complete.

Whole.

And I was still there, watching.