Arella sat across from Alfred at the small kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a mug of hot tea. "I don't know," Arella said. "I don't know even know if I'm staying on Earth. I've spent 16 years on Earth, and they were the worst years of my life. I bounced from one foster home to another. Some bad. Some horrible. The only time I ever felt at peace was when I was in Azarath. Earth is…" Arella sighed. "I came here hoping to bring Raven back home with me but watching her just now…I think she's found a home, and it's not with me." Tears began to prick in the corners of her eyes. Alfred laid a comforting hand on Arella's arm. "Miss Roth," Alfred said, "I may be wrong, but I believe if you asked Raven to accompany you back to Azarath, she would."
"I can't ask her to choose between me and Richard. You saw what I saw. They're in love with each other. I can't…I can't do that," her voice trailed off. "Maybe it was a mistake coming back here. Maybe…maybe…" she stopped speaking as tears rolled down her face.
"There you are!" a voice made both jump. Bruce. Arella turned her head away, quickly wiping her tears away. "Arella," she turned at the sound of her name, "there's someone here to see you." A blonde-haired man with blue eyes and wearing a trench coat strolled into the kitchen looking very bored. "There better a bottle of Glenn in 'ere, Brucie," the man said in a thick English accent. Arella's eyes widened as she instantly recognized him. "John?" Arella slowly stood from her seat. John turned to look at the female who'd said his name. She looked a little familiar, but the lack of alcohol in his body was making him slow and tired. (Zatanna was making him quit drinking, and he was bitter about it.) "Do I know you?" he asked with a yawn.
"You don't remember me?" the girl smiled. "Raven did say you were an alcoholic."
"Recently reformed alcoholic," John answered smartly.
"You had a drink a week ago," Bruce rolled his eyes. John flipped him off before turning back to Arella. His blue eyes widened in recognition after a moment. "Angela?" he whispered. "You're not dead? You're not dead!" he shouted before wrapping his arms around the small girl. "I can't believe it's you. Also, you don't look a day over 18. Did you not age in Azarath?" he asked looking at her from head to toe. Arella laughed. "It's a long story," Arella said. "And I go by Arella now."
"I questioned my decision to hand you over to those two weird females every day. I was right worried, lass. But you seem okay."
"All thanks to you," Arella replied, "I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't come to the hospital that day. Probably dead."
"No," John shook his head. "I could tell even then, you're a survivor. I reckon Raven gets that from you." Arella continued to smile before she saw Bruce watching their interaction. Her face fell. "Were you part of the League that turned away my daughter?" she glared at John.
"Nope," he answered proudly, "that had nothing to do with me. I didn't even know she was on Earth until after she joined the Titans."
"Oh, don't be so modest, John," Alfred said with a huff, "after all, you're dating the woman that pointed out Raven's dark heritage." Arella's face darkened once more.
"Again," John said quickly, "didn't know about Raven until after she joined the Titans, Alfred."
"Fine," Arella said, glaring at Bruce.
"We'll leave you two alone," Alfred said as he and Bruce left the kitchen.
"Now," Constantine smiled, "sit and tell me everything. I'm sure I can find something stronger than tea in this monstrosity."
Several minutes later, Arella and Constantine sat comfortably alone in the kitchen. "So, kid," Constantine said nursing an alcoholic beverage, "catch 'ol Constantine up. What happened? How come you still look…like that?"
Arella smiled and began the long, sordid tale. Constantine listened with rapt attention. By the time Arella ended, he had finished two bottles of rum. "So," he said, not affected by the alcohol, "this Ahzar-"
"Azar."
"Right. She was able to wrap a bunch of you in some sort of…cocoon in between time and space." Arella nodded. "You woke up 5 months ago?"
"That's right," Arella said. "I was so confused. The last thing I remembered was pain and darkness."
"Hmm. 'Ow many of are left?"
"Azar was able to save a couple hundred children and adults. Only," Arella's face fell, "she had to sacrifice herself to do so."
"Oh, that sucks," John said. Arella nodded. Before more could be said, a tall, Asian female with long, silky black hair walked into the kitchen. "There you are, John," she said in a sweet voice. "Bruce said you were in here with a guest." Her dark eyes then zoned in on the two empty bottles. "Seriously, John?" she chastised.
"What? You zapped all the alcohol out of the house. I need a drink now and then, woman."
"Have you not heard of water, soda, or coffee?"
"You will be the death of me, woman," Constantine beamed as the woman walked closer.
"Hi," she looked at Arella and held out her hand, "I'm Zatanna."
"Arella," Arella smiled, shaking the woman's hand in return.
"You look familiar," Zatanna said. "Have we met before?"
"Oh," Constantine smirked, "this is Raven's mother?" The smile fell from Zatanna's face.
"Raven's mother?" Zatanna repeated.
"Yep," John smiled. "Arella, this is my girlfriend. The one who made Raven's DNA known to everyone." Arella's face turned to stone.
"Damnit, John!" Zatanna exclaimed. Arella stood to her feet with a cold look in her eyes. "Excuse me," Arella said stiffly, "I need some air." Barely containing her rage, Arella slowly exited the kitchen and made her way to the back door. There was a huge garden. There she would find quiet and peace and maybe a chance to meditate.
"Arella?" Arella opened one eye. She was sitting on a bench, legs crossed, eyes closed, in heavy meditation before she was rudely interrupted by Bruce. "What?" she snapped at him.
"So, you met Zatanna," he said as he rocked on the heels of his feet with his hands in his pocket.
"I may not have my daughter's powers, but trust me, I am still very dangerous. What do you want?" she asked angrily.
"Want to get out of here?" Bruce asked. Arella's eyes snapped open. Did she hear him correctly? "What?" Arella asked.
"Want to get out of here?" he shrugged.
"And go where?" her interest was piqued. "I – I don't do well in crowds."
"There are not so crowded places in Gotham. I thought maybe we could visit the places you liked or something."
"Oh," Arella said. That was nice of him. "Um…okay," she said slowly standing from the bench. "Give me a few minutes, and I'll meet you by the front door." Bruce nodded once before walking away. Arella smiled to herself. This could be fun.
"Mom," Arella turned at the sound of her daughter's voice. "Where are you going?"
"Uh," Arella tried to hide her blush, "I was getting a little stir crazy. Bruce invited me…out."
"Out?" Raven repeated as her mother laced her boots. "Like a date?"
"No," Arella said firmly. "I'm still mad at him." Raven gave her mother a small smile. "Well," Raven said, "maybe when you get back, you and I could do something together? Richard has a deck of cards. We could play something." Arella beamed at her daughter. "I would love that, Raven."
"Okay," Raven flushed, "enjoy your time with Bruce. But don't enjoy it too much," Raven warned.
"Trust me," Arella laid a comforting hand on her daughter's cheek, "that will not be a problem."
"So," Bruce said as he pulled out of his driveway, "where would you like to go?"
"Um….I don't know," Arella answered.
"Well, is there anything you missed while you were on Azarath?" he asked. Arella thought hard. Her eyes then lit up. "Pizza," she said, "I missed pizza."
"Then pizza is what we will get. I know a place. Don't worry. There's not a lot of people at this time. And there's a park nearby. We'll be able to see the sunset."
"Sounds like a plan," Arella said.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. It wasn't until Bruce stopped at a traffic light that things worsened. Arella had to take a double look. It was there, to her left. That alley. She knew that place. She was immediately brought back to that fateful night. She stumbled through the dark alley as the rain poured down. Hid behind a dumpster, desperate to get away from them. Arella's breathing quickened as unwanted memories began to play out. "Find her," she heard Tom's angry voice. She backed herself further into the corner. She needed to get away. She was in pain. Those people were her friends. Why would they do that to her? Silent tears ran down her face. Hot tears began to run down Arella's face as Bruce began trying to pull her out of that memory. She beat her fists against the soaking pavement. She was in so much pain! "Found you!" a demonic voice rang out from the darkness. Wait, Arella thought, that's not what happened. Her body began to shake. She whirled around, her wet hair whipping her in the face. "Stay away from me!" she cried as the evil entity began laughing at her feeble attempts to get away. The being stepped into the light, and she came face-to-face with Trigon. "No! No! No!"
"Arella!" her name being called pulled her out of her trance. Bruce had his hand on her shoulders, looking at her desperately. "Wha-what?" Arella looked around. He had pulled over to the side of the road. Her nails were digging into his arms – his muscular, firm arms. And tears were pouring down her face. "I-I," she stuttered as a shiver ran through her body. Looking around once more, the alley was nowhere to be seen. "I sped away as soon as I realized what was going on," Bruce said as if reading her mind.
"I want – I want…" she didn't know what she wanted. Suddenly, a dark circle appeared behind Bruce, and a new wave of panic rushed through her. But before she could scream, her daughter appeared. "What's wrong?" Raven looked around with wide violet eyes. "Mom," Raven rushed to Arella all but throwing Bruce out of the way with her powers. "What happened?" Raven gasped. Arella began caressing Raven's face, making sure she was real. "I could feel your distress from the manor." Arella then pulled Raven into a hug, clinging to her for dear life.
"It was a flashback, I think," Arella heard Bruce say. Arella wanted to leave, and she wanted Raven to come with her. She wanted them to go back home, whether that be Azarath or somewhere else. Instantly, a soft calm began to slowly flow through her body, softer than a whisper. Her daughter was helping her relax. "Thank you," Arella said into her daughter's shoulder.
"Maybe we should go back to the manor," Raven suggested as she pulled away.
"No, honey," Arella said, feeling much calmer. "Bruce was being nice. He was taking me to get pizza."
"That's okay," Bruce smiled softly. "We can have pizza back at the manor. I'll pick it up and meet you back there."
"Okay," Raven stood to her feet, bringing her mom with her, "you ready to find out what it's like to portal?"
"Honey," Arella sniffed, wiping the remains of tears from her face, "I created a portal to Earth. That's how I got here."
"But you haven't portal-ed with me," Raven said.
"This is true."
"I'm warning you. It may make you feel queasy after."
"That's okay," Arella smiled through a fresh wave of tears, these tears being tears of joy.
"Let's go," Raven said.
"I'll meet you back at the manor," Bruce said. Raven didn't respond. She only grabbed her mother's hand and teleported away.