Shout Outs:

Thowell3 – Yeah, I didn't figure that one would please everyone. Hope you keep reading.

IanZakk – I'm glad you appreciate my effort. Thanks for sticking with me so long. I swear there is an end to this. I have two specific scenes left that I want to write, but I'm having to write my way to them.

Rawr3737 – Exciting, isn't it.

Shugokage – Starfire's primal nature, her phobia, and her people's comfortable sexuality all contributed. That and Titans persistent refusal to learn anything at all about where she was from.

Omeganian – I try. I hope I'm keeping it interesting.

The fat Lantern – I did do a little research. Just enough to justify my point. And then fan fiction dot net promptly broke my links out. Grrrr. I know they do it to make spam worthless, but still.

RandomDalmatian326 – Fixing this will take time, but I'm sure we can sort it out. And yeah – some of the moral ambiguity got removed because I put the Changeling in a position where he really couldn't do anything else and remain who he was.

Sadico – No, not right away, that's for sure. Marriage and children aren't in the cards for right now. Although, as far as the listing goes, I could just flip the category to "tragedy." That would be a lot less work. Kidding. I'm a happy ending addict.

Victorthe3rd – Thanks. One of the ideas about this that interested me is the idea of it being "an accident." Choices were made. But they still didn't deliberately set out on a journey with this destination in mind. It wasn't like that at all.

00closetFreak00 – Ah, but if you have any prior warning, it's not a sucker punch, now is it? Yeah – I see a way out of this. Now I just have to make it believable.

Paragon the Half-Dragon: I'm on it. It may just take a while.

TW – Technically, a cluster-f#$% has to involve someone with the rank of "Major." You know, the cluster of oak leaves? But yeah.

Caprichoso – I have an idea for how to write my way out of this, but I'm not sure if you guys will buy it. I haven't really thought about a lemon for this. I mean, I've thought about it. Who hasn't? But the specifics? Not really. We'll see if I have time and energy.

BloodRose101 – Thanks.

Lord Anubis Judge of the dead – Exactly! Too much fluff will clog your dryer vents.

V – Really? Nobody saw that coming?

Shingi echidna – I shall continue to write until the story is done.

Theluckyshot – Yeah, a lot of people are saying that. Trust me, I'm not going to make you wait any longer that I have to. I want to see what happens next, too.

Jimmy – I take the threats of bodily harm in the spirit in which I believe they were intended. Thank you. (I think)

JOHNXgambit – That was part of my intent. Every time Starfire starts talking about home, everyone rolls their eyes and flees the room. The rest of the team needs to understand that they're not being very nice when they actively pursue ignorance like that.

TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne – Welcome to the party. I hope you enjoy the story.

Egg1 – I didn't kill them. They're much tougher than that. Trust me, I have glue, clamps, screws, and galvanized repair straps. I can fix it.

Autodufantome – Glad you liked it. Good to hear from you.

Chowbo – I'm getting that a lot.

Tatsumarusmith – Thank you. It's been fun. I'm glad you enjoyed the reasons for Starfire's choices. I tried to make it believable. As to Nightwing? Well, funny you should ask . . .

Short But Deadly – I'm glad you enjoyed it. You're right – it's been my experience as well. Most romances are written by women. My perspective is a little different, but I think it's making for a good read. But then, I don't typically hear from people who read the first chapter, say "this bites," and never come back. Been my pleasure.


Author's Notes:

Well, I feel that I have been adequately chastised by your wrath. I didn't think the last chapter was going to be popular. But as I've said before, I write from life. People screw up. Circumstances matter. In a dark hole in the ground, driven by fear, intoxicated by erotic scents and utterly unable to perceive the shadow of the future, Changeling and Starfire made a couple of selfish decisions that they would never had deliberately planed out in the normal light of day. But as has been pointed out in the comments, this is an adventure/drama, not a tragedy. I'm a happy ending addict, and I do have a plan for sorting this out. I just hope I can make it believable for you.

Looking ahead, tonight we have a couple more bad decisions. Some are driven by gutlessness, others by fear and hurt, and still others by growth and change. Starfire will break out a power not seen since "Go!" Raven finds a friend in an unexpected place.

I've decided that I need to apply a little structure and discipline to this project, so I'm setting a deadline: July 31, 2013. That will mark just over one year that I've been on this project. I'm going to try to close up this one on or before that date.

Wish me luck.

"Who knows what Evil lurks in the hearts of men?"

"I do." - Lamont Cranston


To say that it was "tense" around Titan Tower for the next two days was a gross understatement. Starfire and Changeling never spoke. When they chanced to be in a room together, they would make eye contact, turn away, and leave. Robin was in and out of his office/bedroom on occasion, but was mostly out of sight as well. And no one, but no one went into or out of Raven's room. The only person who everyone would still talk to was Cyborg, who desperately wanted to stay out of the middle of everything. We don't always get what we want.

Cyborg was lifting weights in the gym when Changeling approached him.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"I'm sorry for the mess," said Changeling.

"Dude, I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," said Cyborg as he racked the weights and sat up on the bench.

"I know. But you're the only one that's listening. I tried to talk to Robin again this morning, but he just said 'What do you want,' and stared at me. His face was like stone and his voice was like ice. "

"It's like he's a whole other person," responded Cyborg. "It's not just you. I've seen it too."

"I can't put my finger on it, but I've seen it somewhere before."

"Oh, I can. Imagine him a foot taller and all in black, with a cape."

"Oh. Yeah. Right."

Cyborg rose and wiped the sweat from the human parts of his face and neck.

"I'm going to grab a shower. He said he wanted to see me at 2:00."

Earlier in the day, Starfire determined to take the vorshack by the horns and talk to her friends. She would start with the Changeling. She took a deep breath and knocked on his door. The door slid open a crack.

"Star? What do you want?"

"Friend Changeling, I need to talk to you. I am all alone except for Friend Cyborg, who wishes to 'stay out of the line of fire.' Please."

The Changeling closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Star, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to hurt you, but . . . if there's any way to fix things with Raven, I have to try. She still won't speak to me, but right now us spending any time together is . . . going to be misunderstood. I'm your friend, but we can't be close. Not right now. I'm sorry."

He slid the door closed in her face.

Starfire closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. Then she braced herself, squared her shoulders, and went to Robin's room. She knocked on the door.

"What?"

"Robin?" she said, tentatively. "I need to talk to you. Please."

"Starfire, no. I'm really not up for that right now. I'm sorry. I'm working on a project and I'm trying to deal with – things."

"But I . . ."

"No."

She lowered her hand and turned away. Eyes almost closed and breathing very shallow, she paced down the hall to the next level, and faced Raven's door. The letters on the bronze nameplate flickered in the low lighting in the hallway. RAVEN.

With great trepidation, she raised her hand and knocked on the door.

Almost immediately a gravelly voice spoke.

"Go away."

"Friend Raven, it is I, Starfire, your friend. This cannot go on as it has. We must talk if we are to clean up this mess."

The response was crispy enunciated and spoken with great precision.

"Go. Away."

"But Friend Raven . . . . "

"GOAWAY!" One word. Loud. Harsh. Savage.

Starfire pressed her lips together. Her eyes narrowed and she seized the doorframe in her hands. Her fingers tightened and her back muscles flexed as she heaved against the steel and duralloy of Titan Tower.

Nothing. Apparently, far from Boundless Confidence, she had no belief in herself at all. At least not about this. Her eyes squinted shut. She pulled and strained. The tendons on her neck popped out. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead. And then tears began to squeeze themselves out from between her eyelids. She tore her hands away from the doorframe and stepped back. She faced the door and shouted.

"jIH 'oH Koriand'r vo' Tamaran! jIH DIchDaq ghobe' taH rur vam! jIH ghaj ta'pu' Daq SoH 'ach jIH 'oH Daq 'oH chugh SoH neH Dochmey SoH ghoS Daq jIH!"[1]

Then she turned on her heel and left the doorway, walking with a purpose.

Cyborg approached Robin's room. The Titan's leader had asked to meet with him privately.

"I hope this isn't another 'sharing of the feelings' like I had with Starfire. That'd be weird."

He knocked on Robin's door.

"It's me," he said.

The door hissed open. Cyborg was immediately startled. Robin's room normally had a few Spartan pieces of furniture. A bed, desk, and table, together with a bedside table and built in closet. Typically every flat surface of the room was covered with paper as Robin tracked the criminal element in the city, starting with Slade Wilson. Instead of all this, there was almost nothing. There was only a small stack of folders on the desk. The bed was neatly made. Not a single book remained on the shelves. All of the clippings, papers, and logic chains had been taken down and put away somewhere. Instead, there was a large, man-sized cylinder.

"Hi, Cyborg. You're just in time."

Cyborg turned toward Robin's voice. He almost didn't know him. For the first time since they'd met, Robin wasn't wearing his hair up in that spikey, gel-do he'd always favored. Instead, his hair was parted down the middle and fell just below his jawline. It was longer than Cyborg had expected.

"Hey Rob, what's up?"

Robin lifted a remote and pressed a button. There was a hiss and a post-industrial smell wafted through the room as the cylinder began to open.

"Just finishing up a little project I've been working on in my spare time for a while now."

The cylinder rotated to reveal a doorway. Inside hung a black bodysuit and harlequin mask. Robin grabbed the garments and stepped behind and exotic-looking carved wooden screen and began to remove his fighting togs.

"New suit?"

"Oh yeah. It's nomex with a duralloy weave and nano-tube fibers. It's fireproof, resistant to small arms fire, and will keep me warm if I'm submerged in water down to thirty five degrees. Yet it breathes like Egyptian cotton."

There was the sound of a zip-closure on the other side of the screen.

"Rob, I'm a little surprised you're working on a new suit with all that's been, you know, going on. I figured you wanted to talk about it."

"Talk about our feelings? Shall we braid each other's hair, too? Oh, wait –"

"Very funny."

There was a pause, and Robin's harlequin mask was also draped over the wooden screen.

"No, seriously, Rob . . ."

"Seriously?" said Robin. "I've never been more serious in my life."

He stepped from behind the screen. Robin wore a skin-tight bodysuit, black with a stylized triangular bird in royal blue on his chest. In place of the harlequin mask, he wore a sharp, angular mask that shielded his eyes. He stepped over to the table and picked up the small stack of file folders.

"Rob, what's going on?"

"Walk with me. I have something else to show you."

Robin picked up a small travel bag, also black, and slung it over one shoulder. The two men exited the room. The light went out as Robin closed and sealed the door.

"The security seal? Robin, what the hell?"

Robin smiled said, "I just finished my research project, and I've got news. There's a reason we've had time for all the drama that's gone down lately."

He headed for the garage level, Cyborg in tow.

"What's that?"

"We have time for it."

"'We have time for it?' What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's simple," Robin replied. "We haven't heard from Slade Wilson in three years. Brother Blood is still in jail. The Brain is still canned under Paris. Trigon is shattered into pieces and still hasn't reassembled himself. Raven assures me that will take him at least a thousand years. Madame Rouge is still stuck in Limbo, Monsieur Mallah is incarcerated on Devil's Island, and Ravager is working for S*H*I*E*L*D these days."

"That is pretty much the entire A-list," Cyborg nodded. "No much left but the lamers."

"Exactly. So we're done here."

"Done?"

"We've cleaned up the city."

"Control Freak ran amuck just last week!"

"Yes, and you and Raven shut him down with no help from the rest of us after only a half-day. The whole team is no longer needed here."

The two men rode the elevator to the garage level. The door opened and Robin walked to the back corner of the room. There was a covered bike in the corner. He pulled the cover off.

"That wasn't there last week," Cyborg observed.

"New project, Robin smiled.

The bike was matte black with blue highlights, and looked like an angry wasp.

Robin reached into a pocket and took the keys to the R-cycle out. He walked over to the cherry red motorcycle and stuck the key into the ignition, then walked away, leaving it there. The key fob, a brilliant scarlet leather disc with an embossed yellow 'R' swung back and forth at the end of its tether.

"Rob," Cyborg asked, "Talk to me."

"Blüdhaven."

"Sounds like a dish German sausages."

"It's a city. East coast. It's currently rotten with organized crime. There are at least five syndicates currently competing for control of vice in the city. But there's a new boss in town, looking to take over the whole thing. I don't know much about him yet, but he goes by the name of Blockbuster. Small businessmen are paying almost all of their profits to extortionists and protection rackets. Normal people hide in their homes, only coming out to buy food or go to work. Fathers lock their daughters away to keep them safe from pimps and procurers. The local police department is rife with corruption."

"You're leaving."

The younger man shrugged. "It seems like a good time to make a transition."

Robin handed Cyborg the file folders. "These are our, I mean . . . These are your open cases. I typed up all of my notes. They're all going to be pretty straightforward. I figure you're going to want to select the new members for your own team, but I'm leaving you short-handed. So I've invited Kid Flash and Jinx to come stay for a few weeks. They're looking to settle down. You may want to take them on on a probational basis. But that will be your call."

"Listen Rob, if the situation in Blüdhaven is as bad as you say it is, let's take the whole team. You're right: it's been quiet around here for a while. We could use a chance of scenery, and we could help you roll up this Blüdhaven business quick."

"Jump City was never supposed to be a home, Cyborg. It was just a stopover on my way to a solo career. It's time to get back to that. Don't worry. Blüdhaven is only an hour from Gotham City by air, so I'll have backup if I need it."

"Rob, this is your team. You put it together, and they'd follow you to hell."

"Your team now."

Robin threw his leg over the wasp-bike and picked up a jet-black helmet with a tinted faceplate.

"If you need me, you can contact me through nightwing –at- batclan dot org. Or follow #nightwing on Twitter."

He threw his weight against the kickstarter and the new bike came to life. The R-cycle had a low rumble that could, under load, turn into a roar. The new bike moaned. It sang a high-pitched song as some interior gyro came up to speed.

"And it's not Robin. Not anymore. Call me Nightwing."

Nightwing closed the visor on his helmet and twisted the accelerator on the handle of the bike. The machine's high pitched whine suddenly dropped to a roar. Flames shot out of the back of the pipes and it left a strip of rubber on the garage floor as it shot up the ramp to the surface of Titan Island and away from Titan Tower. He headed for the interstate highway, his face to the rising sun. Neither man noticed the green light that flared briefly on the rooftop.

Ten Minutes Ago:

Starfire walked with a purpose to her room. There, she grabbed her smallest backpack and grabbed a few keepsakes. Pictures. A couple of knickknacks. Her hand hovered as she agonized over an emerald necklace Robin had given her the last Christ-mass. He did not normally spend lots of money on presents, preferring to express his affection with small, well-thought out presents that showed how well he knew her. But he had been unable to resist the necklace with its central pendant: an eight pointed star with golden flames. A star fire that perfectly matched her eyes.

Her mouth firmed up. "I am not doing the leaving of him. He has done the leaving of me. She snatched the necklace and threw it into her bag. She picked up a pencil and scrawled a quick note.

Then she went to the roof of Titan Tower and took one last look around the city. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Slowly she raised one arm high over her head and made a fist. Nothing happened at first. She bit her lip and concentrated harder. Still nothing. Starfire took a deep breath to clear her mind and focused on the happiest moment in her life since she had come to Earth. It was far, far from this spot, across the great ocean, in an office park of all places. In the pouring rain and covered in comic book printers ink. Robin had finally broken free of his preconceptions and had kissed her.

Starfire's feet left the rooftop while an emerald-jade green glow surrounded her. This precise color had only been seen in the night sky above Jump City one other time: the night Starfire had come to Earth. Starfire rose swiftly through the atmosphere, the viridian nimbus surrounding her growing both brighter and more opaque. She continued to accelerate. As she approached the upper layers of the atmosphere, she began to feel the bite of the cold upper air. She didn't worry. Soon she would be surrounded by endless insulating vacuum. She was now moving so fast she was beginning to leave a trail of agitated ions behind her, her contrail stretching up, up, and up. She began to see the curve of the horizon, and still she accelerated. No longer held back by even the thinnest of the Earth's atmosphere, Starfire flashed past the Lunar orbit path and into interplanetary space. Still accelerating, Starfire patiently waited the ten minutes it took her to reach .99C, right up to the relativistic barrier. At that acceleration, she was able to clear the edge of Earth's solar system in only a few minutes. Once safely in interstellar space, well beyond where any backlash could harm the inhabitants of the planet she had just departed, Starfire did something else.

English doesn't have a word for what came next. The closest Tamaranian term means – change. Starfire transitioned. It was not going to be just a quick trip to the corner store, but it would not take so long that she would get too uncomfortable. There was a rainbow flare, followed by an emerald-jade contrail pointed toward the Vega system.

With nothing to keep her tethered to Earth, Princess Koriand'r was going home.

The next morning, Cyborg woke from his sleep cycle, spilling the folders he's fallen asleep going over. They served to remind him that he was in charge now.

"Great," he thought. "I guess I'll tell the troops at breakfast." After a quick shower and shave, he contemplated omelets and waffles while heading for the door. As it slid open, he found Changeling standing there, clearly debating about knocking. Cyborg looked him over and sighed. Travel boots. Civilian clothes. Jacket. Stuffed gym bag over one shoulder.

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

Changeling rubbed the back of his head. "Um, yeah, I guess so."

"Mind telling me why?"

"Shame's part of it. I haven't seen Raven in three days, but I can feel her hate for me radiating through the walls of the Tower. I can't look Robin in the eye, and Starfire and I are walking around each other like a couple of criminals with our hands caught in a cookie jar. I can't live like this."

"I think you're exaggerating just a little bit."

"Maybe. But Robin won't speak to me, and I can't bring myself to speak to Starfire."

"Well, I can help with a little of that. Rob beat you the punch. He left last night."

Changeling goggled. "He what?"

"He hung up his mask and cape, slipped into a set of black longjohns, said "Call me Nightwing," and set out racing the sunrise. I've got his e-mail address if you want it."

"Maybe later," said Changeling. He thought for a moment. "No, I've already decided and this is for the best. Raven'll get better if I'm not around rubbing myself in her face all the time."

"You sure it's smart? I mean, you deciding what's best for Raven?," Cyborg thought. But he said nothing, and just waited.

"What?" said Changeling.

"There are things to be said," thought Cyborg, "But he ain't ready to hear 'em."

The big man said instead, "You gonna head back to Midway City?"

"Run home to Mom and Dad, you mean?" snorted Changeling. "They'd want to know why, and when I told them, they wouldn't be impressed. No. I'm going to open up my birth parent's house in Los Angeles. There have been no meta-humans in the city since the Champions called it quits. It's getting a little intense down there. LAPD could use some help and I really need to feel like a good guy right about now."

"I think you're making a mistake, but I'm not your momma. Keep in touch."

"I kinda feel bad. If Robin's already gone, I'm leaving you really short-handed."

Cyborg lifted the small stack of folders. "This is the sum total of all of our work. Plus, Kid Flash and Jinx are coming in for a while. We'll be fine."

The two men fist-bumped, and Changeling headed for the stairs to the roof. It was later that morning that Cyborg found Starfire's note.

"Please take care of Silkie. – Starfire"

"Some team," he thought. "I hope Kid Flash and Jinx get here soon. If anything comes up, it's just me, unless I can pry Raven out of her room."

It was late that night that the vertijet came winging in over the Jump City skyline. It came in low and slow, the basso throb of its engines lost in the murmur of late night traffic and the sound of the waves crashing on the shoreline. It came to a halt and lowered itself onto the landing pad for Titan Tower. A shadowy figure climbed out of the craft and walked to the Tower door. The door was locked, but the dark figure confidently keyed in a previously unused code and the lock opened. The nearly empty Tower echoed under the newcomer's footsteps as they approached the habitat level. The figure paused for a moment outside of the door that read "Changeling." Gloved fingers toyed with the seal for a moment and a bowed head shook back and forth. Then the figure went on to the door labeled "Raven." A pressed Raven's buzzer.

"What?" came the gravelly voice from within.

The buzzer sounded again.

"Go. Away."

The buzzer sounded a third time. Agitated footsteps sounded on the other side of the door. It hissed open.

Raven opened her mouth to speak, then stopped, startled.

"Rita?"

The older woman leaned forward and swept Raven into a Starfire-like hug.

"Oh Raven," she said next to Raven's ear. "I'm so sorry it didn't work out! Steve and I were pulling for you, too."

The taller woman almost lifted Raven off of her feet. Raven was pressed up against her and her emotions washed over Raven in a flood. Raven's eyes flew open and her pupil's contracted to pinpricks. Her hair stood on end and her heart raced. She smelled Rita's perfume (Chanel #5) and felt the strength in her arms around her. Under normal circumstances she would have stood stiffly in place until Rita relaxed and then pulled herself free as quickly as possible while still being polite.

But Raven had never felt a mother's arms around her. She'd lost her best girlfriend. She'd lost her lover. She'd spent the past three days meditating, working out, and doing everything she could to keep her pain under control. Rita's outpouring of love and sympathy had caught her completely by surprise, and her defenses collapsed.

Raven burst into tears and buried her face in Rita's chest. The two snowflakes in Raven's room shattered, as well as a mirror, two lamps, a statue, and a book. Torn pages fluttered down in confetti-like shards, dusting the women's shoulder like snowfall. She cried, perhaps for the first time in her life, with great heaving sobs.

"GARFEEGN CHEEBED NONBE!"

Fortunately, Rita's years in Hollywood, comforting younger starlets left her fluent in "hugmumble."

"Raven, dear, I would never tell you that what you say isn't true, but it can't have been that simple. He's loyal to a fault. It's what got him kicked out of the Doom Patrol, and has almost gotten him killed over a dozen times."

She patted Raven's heaving shoulders.

"NEED DNPT WIF BYE BEST FEEND!"

Tears and snot deposited themselves on Rita's trenchcoat in copious quantities as Raven vented her hurt and her anger.

"NOW CLUD NE DI DIS TEH MEH!"

"That's it sweetie – get it all out. It'll be okay – you'll see."

"NOH! NOOFING BILL FEE BOKEH AGN!"

Out of Raven's line of sight, Rita rolled her eyes and sighed. Then she eased Raven over to the bed, never letting go of the younger woman. Raven cried hard for about twenty minutes. Then, the worst of the storm over, Rita carefully let go, saying, "What say I lose this coat and stay a while, eh?"

Raven pulled away and focused on Rita. She was still wearing an overcoat, hat, and driving gloves. And was looking a little flushed at the indoor temperatures.

"Ah, sorry . . . "

"Not at all dear. Are you feeling a little better?"

Rita took off her hat and gloves, and draped her coat over the back of Raven's desk chair. She looked at Raven critically.

"Are you feeling a little better?"

Raven thought for a moment. "Surprisingly, yes."

"Very good. Come with me."

The two women proceeded up to the kitchen. This late at night, only the low nightlights were burning. Rita turned on a small task light that lit the stove and started rooting around in Raven's tea cabinet.

"I don't want any . . . "

"Chamomile for your current state of mind, given the time of night. You'll split this pot with me, and then go to sleep. Tomorrow morning it's going to be the Dragon Eye Oolong," Elastagirl looked Raven in the eye, daring her to say anything else.

"Um, ok."

Raven watched, bemused, as Rita set out a semi-formal British low-tea service. When both women were seated comfortably, mugs in hand and cookies within arm's reach, Rita spoke again.

"Now – tell me about it. Start from the beginning and don't leave anything out."

"Before I do that, I need to know something. Why are you here?"

"I'm here because you need a friend."

"I do. But how did you know that?"

Rita looked at Raven speculatively, and weighed her words with great care.

"Garfield called me. He wouldn't give me any details, but said that the two you had broken up, and you couldn't talk to Starfire, and didn't think you should be alone."

Raven frowned. "So he called his MOM to come represent him?"

Rita frowned back. "You're a bright girl. Try listening. He didn't ask me to do anything for him. He just said you needed a friend."

"You're his mom. Shouldn't you be on . . . well, his side?"

Rita sipped her tea and spoke. "Raven, how many freaks, I mean meta-humans, do you suppose there are on this planet? Not included the Amazons on Themiscyra or the mole-man, or anyone in a closed society. I just mean, well, meta-humans who live with normal people? The way we do?"

"I hadn't thought about it."

Rita replied, "The Justice League is the largest, with about two hundred and fifty members. The Avengers, if you count everybody who's ever been and Avenger, are probably almost as big. Most large cities have about a half dozen. Sometimes they look like a team, sometimes they're scattered singles. But if you add it all up, there are fewer than five thousand of us on a planet with five billion people. And that includes the villains."

Raven blinked. "What's that have to do with . . . "

"Raven, if my tribe is that small, I need all the friends I can get. Yes, Garfield is my son, and I love him. That doesn't mean that I don't care for you, too, and want to help you. Being on Garfield's side does not in any way, hinder me from being on your side, too. So relax. I'm not here to gather info on you for Garfield, or try to build him up, or get you to take him back. I'm here because you need a friend, and I thought we were friends."

"We were. Are. I just didn't expect this."

"Then if we're friends, spill."

And so, pausing every now and then, Raven laid it out for her. From the appearance Underminer to finding Changeling and Starfire in their tiny cavern space to their dramatic reveal right before the debriefing. Raven left nothing out. And while she didn't paint Garfield any worse that he was, she didn't sugarcoat him for his Mother, either. Rita was a great listener. She sipped her tea, nodded, and mad uh-huh noises at all the right times, but did not interrupt or ask any questions. After just a few minutes, Raven wound down. She looked away from the older women, shyly, unsure of what was coming next.

"So what now?"

"Now," Rita replied, "We go to bed."

"I thought you'd have advice, or comments, or something."

"When you're ready to hear them, I might. But right now you're not ready, and I need to sleep on it. And so do you."

"I haven't really been sleeping."

"You'll sleep now. You feel better, don't you."

Raven blinked. "Yes, actually, I do."

"Get some sleep. It really will all look better in the morning."

The next morning dawned both bright and early. Raven went to the roof for her morning meditation for the first time since "the incident." When she was done, she came down for breakfast to find Cyborg and Rita at the table.

"Good morning," she said. The others replied, subdued.

"Um," Raven said, "Where is everybody?"

Cyborg looked at her over his coffee. "Gone. Showing great emotional maturity and adult coping skills, they've moved out. At least, I assume so."

"What?!"

"Robin bailed last night while you were still forted up in your room. He left behind all of his 'Robin' gear packed in storage, said, 'Call me Nightwing,' and headed out for the east coast."

Raven was startled to say the least. Her psychic bond with Robin was something she normally kept suppressed out of respect for his privacy. But she normally had an involuntary approximation of his general sense of self. She hadn't heard a thing out of him in days. Opening her mind, she touched the tiny thread that connected them. It was very vague and very tenuous. Just the feeling of contentment, anticipation, miles and miles of open desert, and Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" blaring on an in-helmet audio system.

"He's gone all right. He's already a long way off, and fading fast."

"According to the security system, Starfire left at almost the exact same time, from the roof, and straight up. North American Radar Defense confirmed that an unscheduled launch matching her flight profile achieved orbit sometime last night shortly after Robin left, accelerated to the edge of the solar system, and then vanished. I think she's gone home to the Vega system, and Tamaran."

Raven blinked. "Did she take Garfield with her?"

"No. Like Robin, he checked out with me. He's gone to Los Angeles. Of the Titans, only you and I remain. Robin, well, Nightwing said to expect Jinx and Kid Flash in a day or so to help out while we decide what our new direction is going to be. Unless you're going to bail on me, too, that is."

Raven shook her head. "Where would I go?"

"I'm glad to hear it. Listen, I'm going to down to my office and try to get my head around these case files and see what the next steps are. If you could make sure the guest rooms are ready for Jinx and Kid Flash –"

Raven made a face. "They'll only need one."

"Right. Anyway – keep me in the loop if you leave the Tower. With only two of us, we need to keep in close touch."

As Cyborg left the room, Raven looked over at Rita, who was drinking her coffee and reading a copy of the Jump City Jump-Up over the remains of an omelet.

"Um, so, what now? Will you be heading home or . . . I mean, I probably won't spent a whole lot more time crying into your chest, so . . ."

"You still need a friend Raven. This morning, it's going to be retail therapy."

Raven winced. "Starfire always wanted to drag me shopping. If it's all the same to you, I don't want to be reminded of her just now."

Rita frowned. "Starfire also eats and breathes. Do you plan to give those up, too?"


[1] I was unable to find enough Tamaranian. So I substituted Klingon. (Badly) Roughly, Starfire is saying, "I am Starfire of Tamaran! I will NOT be treated this way! I may have done you the wrongness, but at least I am trying to FIX it! When you are ready to fix it, YOU may come to ME."