…..

Thanks for the reviews.

Missyrod: Thanks! I personally like Slade as a minion, because he will definitely backstab the person who he is working for. That is why Slade in season 4 is my favorite.

Mal: I wonder which one it is. Rusty or someone else? But Dick has grown to be an amazing fighter.

Everyone: Stay safe and be happy.

Sorry for the grammar.

#JusticeforGeorgeFloyd

What They Think

Changeling knew that watching Retra while she slept was creepy, but he couldn't help it. He had something important to tell her when she woke up.

He wanted to wake her up himself, but she turned into a beast when she was disturbed from her sleep. He was truly afraid of her when she was like that.

She started to awake. He became excited. He had to grabbed the sheet to prevent himself from shaking her in order to wake her up faster.

She stretched and opened her eyes.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully.

"Good morning." She gave him a strange look. "What are you doing up so early?"

"It's not that early. It's seven."

"In the morning?" She asked. He nodded. "That's early for you. Wait. Are we in the Tower?" He watched her look around the room. The room was completely different from the one that they shared at home. This room only held his personality and style.

"Yes, but that isn't important. I have some-"

"Why are we at the Tower? I remembered going to sleep in our bedroom."

"Slade attacked Nighwing at his house last night, and Nightwing thought we should move here. But that isn't important now. I have somet-"

"Wait! So, Slade attacked Nightwing at his house and not the Tower?"

"Yes, but –"

"So, Slade knows Nightwing's secret identity."

"Yes, that isn't important now. I mean, it is but that's not what I want to talk about."

"I don't see how Slade attacking Nightwing at his apartment and knowing Nightwing's secret identity are not important."

"Because Nightwing and Raven are dating." He said fast before letting out a deep breath.

"Said what?" A shock expression graced Retra's face.

"Nightwing and Raven are dating."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Since when?"

"I don't know. I found out yesterday. I was texting Amy when-"

"Wait. Why were you texting Amy?"

"She was wondering why I havn't been playing online games lately. Usually, we play together."

"Oh."

"As I was saying, I was texting Amy when I realized that I forgot to give Cyborg back his paper. When I went back to give it to him, Nightwing and Cyborg were fighting. Cyborg was like." Changeling threw some air punches. "And Nightwing was like." He pretended to dodge his air punches. "I was like." He pretended to eat popcorn while watching the fight. "And Cyborg was like."

"Gar!" She stopped him from doing another act.

"Sorry. But in summary, Nightwing confirmed that they were dating, and Cyborg didn't like it."

"I don't blame him. I don't like it either."

"Why not?"

"You can't be serious."

"Don't get me wrong. I ship Starry Night all day, but the fact is Starfire isn't here anymore. And if they make each other happy, why shouldn't I be happy for them?"

"So, if you died and Cyborg and I started to date, would you be happy with it?"

"I mean…" He scratched the back of his head as he thought about it. "I would want you to be happy, but…"

"But you wouldn't like it."

"No, I wouldn't."

"Exactly."

"Well, there's nothing that we can do about it."

"Maybe not. But since Cyborg had a talk with Nightwing, I'll have a talk with Raven."

"Umm, I don't think that is necessary." He didn't like where this was going.

"But I do."

Cyborg walked back and forward in the guest room of the Tower. He was talking to Willow about what had occurred last night. She was at the Tower because he didn't want Slade to go after her when she was alone.

"So," Willow asked, "you just hit him?"

"Yes," Cyborg replied. "I'm not going to lie; it felt good hitting him."

"I'm disappointed in you."

"Why?" Cyborg yelled. "He doesn't deserve her."

"First, Violence is never the answer. Unless, it's WWE, then violence is always the answer."

"Agree."

"Second, what's wrong with them dating. Frankly, I think that they look cute together."

"You have to be kidding me?"

"They were pretty close at game nights. You had to have notice."

He had noticed. There were small touches, subtle smiles, hidden messages that were exchanged with their eyes. However, he had chosen to ignore them. Even though his gut told him the truth, he had refused to pay attention until the evidence was clearly in front of him.

"He doesn't deserve her." He said again.

"But he deserved to be with Starfire?"

"That's different."

"How so?"

"They were sweethearts when they were teenagers."

"And now, he's an adult who likes someone different. Someone who is Raven."

"You don't understand." The volume of his voice increased.

"Then explain it to me."

He sighed and sat down beside her on the bed. "Rae, she isn't like others. She's special."

"Of course, she is. She's a superhero with mystical abilities. She's very special."

He nodded. He wasn't comfortable telling her why Raven was special and about Raven's background. It wasn't his place.

"On the outside, she seems strong." He explained as he thought about the time he found her crying over Goth. "But on the inside, she's not that strong."

"Then she should be fine with Nightwing. It's not like he is a jerk."

"That's actually why she shouldn't be with him. Don't get me wrong; I don't want Raven to be with a jerk. However, even though Nightwing is a great guy, he has a load of exs."

Willow chuckled. "Most people have exs."

"Not like Nightwing."

"What? Have you met all of them?"

"All the ones at wear capes and masks. I met all of them when I was fully active in the Justice League."

"What about them?"

"They all still love and respect him. If given a second chance, they would go out with him again."

"I'm still not seeing the issue here."'

"The issue is the type of relationships that Nightwing offers will only destroy Raven. Especially, if they break up when she is in love with him."

"You don't know if they will break up."

"Nightwing is similar to his mentor more than he thinks."

"They give their partners excitement, attention, and love, yet they still were able to make them feel lonely and second place to crime fighting."

"I doubt that all of his exs would want to get back with him if that was true."

"All of his exs, which I know, broke up with him. Every one of them thought that they could change him, make him loosen up, live a little. And when they couldn't, they reason that they started to love him became the reason why they started to drift about.

"Starfire seemed to handle it well for the most part. But she, too, was like the others. When it was time to fight for their love or go after them when they left, he never tried. He just let them go like they didn't matter. They said that what hurt most: He didn't try to hold on to them; even though, he loved them."

He stood up and walked toward the window. "When I was younger, I noticed that something happened with Raven and her ex-boyfriend. It wasn't bad, beside hurt feelings, but I'm sure that it had left a lasting impact on her. She never gave me all the details, but that memory of her still crying plays in my head."

He could still hear her crying and saying the words 'Why do I still have to be alone?'

"At the time, I didn't understand why she was crying so much or the words that she spoke. Yet, the memory of that day with her stayed in my head forever. It was when I got older that I realized that she was telling me her greatest fear." He mentally slapped himself. How could he have been so blind?

"What is it?"

He turned around and looked at Willow. "Being alone."

It had made sense. Hadn't Starfire even forewarned it when she told them about her journey into the future? Hadn't he seen some of it with Machior? It had taken a particular mission with the Justice League to realize his mistake, their mistake.

Raven shouldn't be alone.

When he came back from the mission and again when the team restarted, he tried to contact her. He even asked for favors to find her, but it was if she had vanished from the planet. He had wanted her to join him, so that she knew she wasn't alone.

So, when she had showed up at the Tower, he had to down play his excitement. Nonetheless, she had changed dramatically. The pills and headaches and col were clear indication of it. He still wondered what she had been up too while she was gone.

"If Nightwing, someone who she trusts and respects, break her heart, I don't think that she would be able to recover."

"You have to trust that Nightwing and Raven will make it."

"She's too precious to me to let them try."

Nightwing watched Raven's sleeping face. She looked at peace compared to the expression that she had worn last night. He had never seen such an expression on her face before. He couldn't even begin to describe the look, but he knew that was one that arose from fear, pain, and anxiety. It had made him wished that he never told her what happened. But she had to be warned along with everyone else on the team: Slade was making home visits.

He rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling.

He didn't understand why Slade went at him directly. He would have understood if they were getting closer to figuring out Slade's plans, but they hadn't found a single clue. Most clues that they discovered were because Slade led them to it. And when they tried to follow up on those clues, the were led to a dead end. He couldn't understand Slade's motives.

Knock, knock. He lifted his head up to looked at the door.

"Yo, bird boy, Raven. Get up. Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes." Cyborg yelled through the door. He listened as he heard Cyborg's feet retreated from his door. His head crashed back on the pillow once he couldn't hear him anymore and he sighed, still remembering their conversation from last night.

"Why does Cyborg know that I am in here?"

He turned to his girlfriend. She was even more enchanting in the morning when she woke up. "Sometimes, I wonder if you cast a spell on me. I can't stop falling in love with you." The words just flew from his mouth. Her face turned red as she sat up in the bed. She looked good in his shirt.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

He groaned. He wished that they could have this conversation later. "He knows about us. How he found out, I don't know."

She nodded. "Well, I guess, the cat is out of the bag."

"You aren't mad about it."

"A little nervous but not mad. I guess, that I'm worried about what they would think." He opened to tell her what Cyborg thought when someone else knocked on his door.

"Raven, Nightwing." Changeling yelled from the door this time. "Get your butts in gear. Some of us have to go to work." They heard his footsteps move away from the door.

"Changeling knows, too?"

"I guess so." He thought he saw a small, green fly last night, but he wasn't sure. Changeling must have overheard their conversation.

She sighed. "Let's go to breakfast." She stood from the bed and used her powers to change into her suit and cowl.

"Hey, Raven." She looked at him. "You know, it doesn't matter what other people think about us, including our friends?" She stared at him for a moment, not saying anything, as he started to get dress.

"I know." She said once he was finished. "Now, let's go and eat. I hope that Cyborg cooked waffles."

Slade.

His name was starting to give Raven a stronger headache. She had already taken fifteen pills, and it was only two o'clock in the afternoon.

But she couldn't stop repeating his name over in her head. She must have said it mentally at least a thousand time since breakfast. She was sure that she would have said it a million times if she had started last night. However, she couldn't focus on Slade last night, not when she was worried about Nightwing.

She had started to worry about Nightwing from the moment she heard his heavy breathing and words through the phone. She had immediately stopped what she was doing and transported herself to his place. There, she had discovered an angry Nightwing. Unharmed, but angry.

His anger only began to subside when they arrived at the Tower and was able to confirm with his own eyes that everyone was safe. Last night, they had agreed for everyone to stay inside the Tower until they had a chance to talk about the attack in the morning, when they weren't tired. Cyborg and Raven only left briefly to get Willow from her house.

This morning over breakfast, it was decided that everyone would remain inside of the Tower until farther notice, only leaving for work. From now on, they would live together like they did when they were teenagers.

"You shouldn't let what other people think about you affect you." She lifted to look at Willow.

The others had left for work, leaving the two then only in the Tower. Cyborg was going out of town for business and didn't want Willow to be alone at that company with no protection.

"What makes you think that I am thinking about other people's opinion?" She liked Cyborg's girlfriend well enough, but they weren't friends.

"You haven't turned a page of that book since I got here. And you didn't hear me when I ask if you wanted blueberry pie with ice cream." She placed a plate in front of her. "Cyborg told me that it was your favorite. Mind if I join you?"

"Sure. It's not like I was reading the book anyway." She put the book aside as Willow took a seat at the table. "So, what do I owe you for the pie?"

"Nothing. I thought you would need a little pick-me-up after your conversation with Retra." She thought back to the one-sided conversation.

"Hey, Raven. Can I talk with you for a second?" Raven stopped in front of the bathroom door in the hallway and turned. She waited for Retra to reach her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, except you sleeping with Nightwing. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? He was Starfire's ex-boyfriend. She was your friend."

Raven should have expected this. Retra and Starfire had been best friends when Starfire was on Earth.

"Me sleeping with him doesn't concern you. If you don't have something else to talk about, then I'm leaving." She turned and started to walk to her room.

"You were jealous of Starfire, weren't you?" Retra yelled out. "Some friend you are. You were probably pinning for Nightwing this whole time he and Starfire were together. You are nothing but a backstabbing slut who is only a replacement because he can't have what he really wants."

She didn't reply. She kept walking.

She couldn't say that Retra's words hadn't affect her, after all she had thought the same thing as well. However, her focus now was on figuring out Slade's endgame.

"Most people wouldn't listen to a private conversation."

"The bathroom door is pretty thin." Willow shrugged with a smile.

Raven regarded her for a moment before saying, "Well, I did get a pie out of it."

"For what it's worth, I think, you two look cute together and make a great couple."

"You don't think that I am a backstabbing slut?" Raven asked, taking a bite out of her pie.

"I'm dating my boss, so I don't think that I have much room to talk."

"I guess, we are the ones who are giving females a bad reputation." Raven said sarcastically.

"Who cares about reputation when you have pie."

"Hey, don't forget about the ice cream." They smiled at each other before giggling.

When the giggling died down, Willow spoke again. "But seriously, don't let what other people say get to you. As long as there is love and happiness in your relationship, that's all that matter."

"Once again, I wasn't thinking about people's opinions."

She gave her a small smile as she picked at the crumbles on her plate. "I guess, I'm reflecting. When I was in high school," she explained, "I dumped my first boyfriend to go out with my play cousin Ant, who was dating my best friend at the time. I got isolated from all my friends and was ridicule by people at my school. Soon, the only person that I had in my world was Ant. But I wished that there had been someone else that I could have turned to and talk to. Someone who was on my side. So, no matter right or wrong, I'm on your side because I understand. Besides, you are my favorite superhero."

"Thanks." She wasn't saying 'thanks' because she was Williow's favorite superhero, but because she was the only person in the Tower who seemed okay with their relationship. She could tell at breakfast that the team wasn't actually happy about her and Nightwing's relationship.

"What happened to you and Ant? Was it worth it?" She was curious about Willow's story.

"We went to the same college. Unbeknownst to him, I'd made plans to transfer to another college at the end of my sophomore year. I cut off all contact with him and my play aunt and uncle, who raised me after my parents died. I was only able to move back to the coast after I heard that he had disappeared."

The end made Raven a little sad. Even though, she didn't agree with Willow's action in dumping her boyfriend and stealing Ant from her friend, she didn't seem like a bad person.

"I'm sorry," said Raven.

"Don't be." She gave Raven a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I hated him. He was a bully that took advantage of my situation and pressure me into dating him. On the outside, to everyone else, I look like the worst person and a relationship wrecker. But on the inside, he and I knew the true dynamics of our relationship. Even though he had disappeared and time has pass; I still feel our dynamics. I said all of that because, to others, you and Nightwing might be the worst couple ever. But to the two of you, you all are the perfect match."

Her words were shocking and unexpected for Raven that all she could say was 'We should eat more pie.'