Raven found that words wouldn't come easily to her as she faced the X-Men again for the first time in ages. Kitty was smiling, but it would have been obvious even to a one-eyed person that it was forced, unnatural.

"Rachel…uh, how are you going?" Kitty asked awkwardly.

The Teen Titans were staring at the X-Men with open interest now, eyes raised at hearing Raven being called 'Rachel'. Only Nightwalker seemed unaffected, as he looked on quietly with a neutral expression that gave nothing away.

"The name's Raven now," Raven said coolly.

"Raven?" Rogue's eyebrows shot up.

"I don't answer to the name Rachel anymore," Raven said shortly. "So, what do you want with me now?"

"We just want to…catch up," Evan said truthfully. "After all, we haven't seen you in ages."

"Uh-huh." Raven folded her arms, making it perfectly clear she was not going to be the one to make conversation.

"Look," Scott began, "the last time we…"

"Scott." Jean elbowed him subtly in the side to shut him up and took over the conversation smoothly. "Rachel…I mean, Raven, I think this isn't quite the right place for a proper talk. Would you like back to the Institute with us?"

Raven's face remained surprisingly expressionless, her eyes unblinking. "No," she answered shortly. "I've got very little say to the Professor."

"But Raven, can't you spare just a little time for us, then?" Kitty pleaded, with huge eyes. "In the past, you've been, uh, slipping away from us whenever we did bump into each other on the streets. Can't you…"

"I've got nothing to say."

"But we do!" Kitty said. "We never had the chance to make peace with you. And I don't want to leave things like that between us."

"Kitty." Raven sighed and shook her head, as if talking to a naughty child. "There's nothing to be done about that. The past is the past. Do you think talking about it can change it?"

"No, but…"

"Kitty, please. I don't want to talk about the past. If you ever had any true friendship with me, let the past lie. I've learned to move on, and I'm happy with my life now. And I don't want anymore trouble with you."

"There never was any trouble with you," Storm said gently. "What happened was not all your fault. And about all that…I'm truly sorry."

The others nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry too," Kitty sighed. "In the end, I wasn't a good enough friend for you, clearly."

"Raven, who are these people?" Unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, Cyborg strode forward, and so did the others.

"People I once knew," Raven replied flatly.

"People you once knew?" Beast Boy echoed. "Why the past tense?"

"Because they were people from the past." It was Nightwalker who answered, his voice thick with rancour in spite of his best efforts to keep it down. "The X-Men."

"You know them too?" Terra asked.

"No. But Raven has spoken about them before," Nightwalker answered stiffly. His odd eyes swung towards the X-Men, and Kitty almost reeled from the rage and hatred she saw in them. What had Raven been telling him about them?

All eyes turned towards Nightwalker at once. "Really?" Starfire asked. "How come Raven never told the rest of us about it too?"

"Because stirring up a not-so-good past is the best way to tear open old injuries," Raven answered bluntly.

"What?" Cyborg's eyes narrowed as he caught on to the meaning. "Raven…are you saying…did they…" He looked like a bull ready to charge.

"Cyborg." Raven cast him a warning look, and he drew a deep breath, trying to control his temper. "It's not what you think, OK? Let me talk to them."

Kurt's face was deeply troubled. "I didn't realize we hurt you this much," he sighed. "Rach…Raven…"

"Forget it, Kurt. It takes two to tango, and no-one is to be fully blamed for it," Raven interrupted. "Well, X-Men, now that you know I'm still alive and in one piece, let's end this meeting."

"Not yet!" Kitty hastily caught Raven's hand and held on to it. "Please. Can't we talk a little longer? The Professor would love to see you too."

"I hardly think so."

"He would, kid," Logan grunted. "Believe me on that."

"It'll only take a while," Evan added.

Raven looked mildly suspicious, as if she was afraid she was walking right into a trap.

"Don't worry," Jean said reassuringly. "No-one's going to eat you up."

"And if anyone does," Cyborg butted in, "we'll be here to help you. Coz we're going along." His tone warned the X-Men that he was not going to take no for an answer.

"And if we're going along, we might as well get to know each other," Robin said, in a gallant effort to ease the noticeable tension. "I'm Robin, and this is Starfire, Cyborg, Terra, Beast Boy and Nightwalker."

Starfire greeted the X-Men just as enthusiastically as ever. The others were far more reserved, and as for Nightwalker, he was positively livid. The expression in his eyes told everyone he was more than willing to take down the X-Men in a fight there and then, but years of training kept him in control.

Nightwalker, you want to wipe that expression off your face? You look like you intend to eat up someone!

Yeah? Well, I am finding it surprisingly hard to be nice to these people.

Cut it out. You don't have to be like this because of what I told you about them in the past.

Uh-huh.

Raven sighed, but refrained from saying anything more.

"So, do you all have superpowers like us too?" Starfire asked loudly.

"We're mutants, so yes, we do have powers," Jean replied.

"Oh, this is cool!" Starfire smiled. "What can you do?"

Smiling at Starfire's enthusiasm in spite of the tense situation, Kitty cheerfully recited their abilities to Starfire, for her sake.

"And do you spend much time kicking the butt of the bad guys too?" Starfire asked.

"Uh, yes, we do kick butt when we have to," Evan said, looking a little puzzled at Starfire's question. He cast a look at Nightwalker, and the hostile look on his face made him wonder what sort of relationship he shared with Raven.

"Uh, Nightwalker?" Evan began awkwardly, trying to see if he could ease the Xildarinian's anger.

"What?"

"Earlier on, how did you absorb all that fire into your body?"

"That's part of my power."

"Really?" Rogue said. "So, you're a fire manipulator?"

"I've got control over all six elements," Nightwalker replied curtly.

"Earth, air, fire, water, metal and lightning," Starfire put in.

Logan nodded. "That would explain how you managed to stop that guy so easily," he grunted.

Nightwalker cast him a cold look. "It takes more than sheer power to defeat some."

The conversation with Nightwalker was clearly going nowhere. Grimacing, Evan turned to Starfire, the easy-going Titan, and engaged her in more conversation.

Raven let her friends chat with her once-comrades, while she stood back silently. She thought she ought to feel something that this reunion, perhaps anger, hurt, maybe a little apprehension, but all she felt was blankness, numbness. It seemed that Karzor's and Clelo's rigorous training had indeed robbed her of the ability to feel much. But it was good, she admitted. Very good. As long as she could hold back her feelings for longer, she could easily avoid anymore heated confrontations with the X-Men.

"Rach…Raven?"

"What?"

"Do you want to come along to the Institute now?"

"Fine." She felt Nightwalker's gaze fixed on her questioningly, and she telepathically replied, I'm going, alright? Better to face the music now than later.

Then we're ALL coming with you.

Yeah, alright. Don't think I could stop you unless I send you all to another dimension.

Which I know you won't do.

Certainly not. Just try to hold back your temper, alright? I can feel your vibes from miles away!

I can keep it under control, yes, but I hardly think I can put on a nice smiley face for them.

I wasn't asking you to do that, you know.

"Come on, Raven." Storm smiled kindly and gestured to Raven to follow her. "The Professor will be most delighted to see you again."

"And everyone else will too, I'm sure," Kurt added.

Raven pursed up her lips, looking most doubtful, but nodded anyway.

Nightwalker glanced at Scott, eyes narrowed, and noticed that he was eyeing Raven quietly, a mixture of apprehension and guilt blended together on his face. It was a pity Nightwalker wasn't an empath, he thought, for he wanted nothing more at that moment to get a good feel of Scott's true feelings about Raven.

"Alright, kids. Let's get going. X-Men, we'll take the cars. Raven, you and your friends…"

"We have our own transport, yes," Cyborg cut in, not too politely.

Geez, they sure are friendly, Scott thought.

Can't really blame them, Jean remarked. Looks like Rach…Raven's got some pretty protective, good friends.

Scott said nothing, but Jean saw a look of obvious guilt on his face.

"Follow us, Titans." Logan headed away, and the others followed.

"I'm sure glad we found you again," Kitty said softly to Raven.

"Uh-huh."

Kitty smiled a pained, sad smile. "Rachel, I'm truly sorry for what happened…"

"Please, drop it," Raven said, sounding impatient.

"Sorry."

Scott changed his footsteps and edged towards Raven, looking very ill at ease. "Raven, look," he began, picking his words with extreme care. "I…what I said…"

Raven glanced sideways at him through dangerously narrowed eyes.

"Thanks for saving us," Scott said in a rush, changing the topic smoothly. "You and Nightwalker did pretty good back there. If you hadn't intervened, I think we'd all be lying in a graveyard."

"Mmm. No problem."

The rest of their journey back to the Institute was done in silence. Raven and Nightwalker flew through the air side-by-side, with Starfire hovering nearby. The rest of the Titans had opted to ride along in Cyborg's T-car.

"Well, here we are." Jean, who had been levitating herself along smiled as the Institute loomed up before them at last. "See that mansion? That's where we X-Men live."

"Cool house!" Beast Boy's eyes were almost starry as he gazed upon the very large mansion.

Scott and Logan led the way into the mansion together. Much to Raven's relief, no other X-Men was in sight there yet. It was likely they were all lazing around in the mansion, enjoying the warm day.

"This way." Logan pushed open the door and led the way in. The main hall, much to Raven's relief, was empty too.

"Raven, your friends can wait downstairs here," Jean said. "I've contacted the Professor, and he said he wants to talk to you in private."

"That's fine."

"We'll be down here if you need us," Robin said.

"Thanks." Raven nodded at the Titans, thankful for their presence here, and flew upstairs alone.

She nearly ran into Bobby on the way, and only managed to avoid notice by retreating behind a wall quickly. Humming, Bobby went on his merry way, unaware of the guest hovering behind the wall. Within seconds, he was gone.

Raven breathed a sigh of relief and went on her way, stopping before the Professor's room. She could feel his presence inside, his aura the same as ever. Raising her hand, she knocked.

"Come in."

Raven phased through the door, not bothering to open it, and made herself face Xavier. The Professor was sitting on his wheelchair as usual, peering at something on his desk. As Raven made her silent entry, he looked up at once, and a rare smile blossomed over his face.

"Raven. Welcome back."

TheDreamChaser: Heh heh, thanks for the correction. For some reason, I keep hearing Cyborg's words as 'bull-yah' instead of 'boo-yah'. Looks like my hearing is slightly impaired. Heh.