Raven slowly emerged from unconsciousness, drawn out of the darkness by pain. A low, but persistent pain that seemed to throb somewhere behind her eyes. She gradually forced her eyes open, wincing at the bright light that stabbed into her retinas, making the pain so much worse. Eventually, she was able to take in her surroundings. She was in the Omega Cell at Titans Tower- the special cell the Titans had built to contain the most dangerous criminals. Her memory of recent events was fairly fuzzy, so she wasn't one hundred percent certain what she was doing there. Clearly, she had been captured but that was all right- the Omega Cell's top-notch security really wasn't much use against magic users, at least not ones on her level. In a few moments, she'd be back at the hideout ready to report to…Slade?
'Wait' she thought, fighting to clear her mind from grogginess and pain. 'Why am I so eager to go back there? He was telling me to kill someone! That's different from…everything else… he told me to do…'
Raven's memory flashed back over the last few months. The robberies. The kidnappings. The acts of…well, terrorism if she was being honest with herself. And it seemed that, for the first time in a long time, she WAS being honest with herself. Suddenly, Slade's plans and tactics- which had seemed reasonable and necessary at the time- were revealed to be anything but. Surely there was another way to expose a conspiracy, wasn't there? They should have been gathering evidence, rounding up suspects, interrogating city council members and bureaucrats… not terrorizing the city.
Which led to the much more significant question -why DID she agree to help terrorize the city? Not only did it make no sense at all, but it went against everything she believed in!
'What have I been DOING?' Raven wondered, as dark energy began to pulse along the walls. With an effort, she forced herself to be calm. With a sigh, she sat down and closed her eyes. Clearly, she needed to meditate. Taking a deep breath, she tried to clear her mind- it was harder than usual, given how tumultuous her mind seemed to be, but eventually she managed to settle into a meditative state.
The sound of the cell door opening brought Raven back out of her trance almost immediately. Glancing up, she saw Robin and Starfire slowly make their way into the cell. Robin moved slowly, hesitantly, and cautiously- Raven didn't need empathic abilities to tell that the Boy Wonder wasn't sure if it was safe to be here. Starfire, in contrast, was obviously overjoyed to see her. The alien princess floated slightly with each step before sinking back to the ground, and her big green eyes were wet with tears.
"My friend I am pleased to see you awake once more!" Starfire exclaimed "You are…well, once more?"
"I…I don't know." Raven admitted. "Nothing I've been doing makes any sense. Why did I trust Slade and his evidence? Why did I go along with his plans even when they didn't make sense? And why do I feel so groggy?"
"Well, let me answer your last question first. The reason you feel groggy is that you've been asleep for two days, and you underwent some minor brain surgery as well." Robin replied, reaching into one of his belt pouches. Removing a small item wrapped in plastic, he handed it to Raven. "This is what was removed from your brain."
Stunned, Raven studied the object. It looked a bit like an oversized computer chip, about the size of a quarter. There was dried blood, and bits of greyish meat still attached to it. "I'm not a technical person, Robin." She said, fighting to master her emotions once more. "What am I looking at?"
"It's a mind control chip." Robin said, taking the chip back and returning it to its pouch. "We're pretty sure it was created by Jervis Tetch- the Mad Hatter- and implanted into you to keep you under Slade's control. We removed similar devices from Beastboy and Batgirl."
"You're saying I was under mind control?" Raven said, skeptically. "I don't think that would work so well on me. Leaving aside my demon blood, I meditate often enough that I think I would have noticed if I was under someone else's control."
Even as she said that it occurred to her that the same objections could have- and should have- been raised to Slade's story of mind control. Why hadn't she thought of this argument then?
"It was not precisely control, my friend, but something far more sinister." Starfire said, her tone tinged with anger. Raven was a little surprised (and happy) to realize that Starfire wasn't angry at her for once, but angry on her behalf. It seemed the alien princess really did still think of her as a friend, despite all that had happened. It felt good to know that, Raven realized.
"Sinister is a good word." Robin agreed. "Based on what we could tell from examining the chips and interrogating Tetch, these aren't like his standard chips. Those put the victim into a zombie-like trance, totally enslaved to the controller's will. The ones Slade are much more subtle- instead of controlling the victim, they make them more suggestible. Anyone under the influence of one of these is much more open to suggestion from a particular voice. Anything that voice says probably seems reasonable and agreeable, and the victim finds it harder to critically analyze what they're told."
"Let me guess, the voice you're talking about is Slade's?" Raven said, a vein throbbing in her forehead as she realized how she'd been used.
"Bongo, as you humans say." Starfire said grimly. "It seems Slade wished for you to be under his command, but did not wish for either you nor the citizens to know it."
Raven suppressed a groan. The citizens. Right. "I must be the most hated person in town right now." She said, "No one will ever believe that the half-demon needed to be mind controlled to cause all that havoc."
"Actually, it hasn't been all that bad." Robin reassured her. "LexNews is out for blood, naturally- they're saying that our 'story' doesn't hold up and that the government should step in to investigate us. The other news channels are a lot less strident- Vox wants to see evidence and MNN is saying it makes sense. The ordinary citizens seem more inclined to trust us, though. Remember, you guys never did anything all that bad- a couple of robberies, but without any casualties. Quite a bit of property damage during our battles, but even then, you guys were clearly trying to minimize civilian casualties. It really helps that you guys helped fight Mumbo, and that Beastboy saved those people from the fire. Really, the only really bad thing you can be blamed for is the death of Terra's parents, and even that was clearly an accident."
"We are working to ensure that the truth is made known. We shall do all that we can to assist you in clearing your reputation." Starfire said earnestly.
"Beastboy… Is he okay? Can I see him?" Raven asked, surprised that it took her so long to remember her
boyfriend.
"He's okay, though he hasn't woken up yet." Robin said, shifting uncomfortably. "As for seeing him, well… I'm afraid I can't allow it just now. You two are, technically, prisoners and accused of some serious stuff. We know those charges aren't going to stick, and we know that you aren't going to escape together, but the law is the law. We can't let you guys speak with one another much, unless there are witnesses including your lawyer."
"Lawyer, right. I'll need one of those." Raven said with a slight grimace. Not only did she not know any lawyers (good or otherwise), but she also hadn't the least idea how you went about finding one. Despite the jokes, neither demons nor half-demons had much experience with attorneys, there not being a great many lawsuits in the demon world. As for Azerath…they didn't even have a currency, much less a modern legal system. She'd have to look for lawyers online and hope she could find a competent one in time. The trouble was she had no idea how to tell the difference between a good lawyer and a bad one.
"You've got a lawyer." Robin said, bluntly. "We've already contacted one of the best criminal law firms in the state, and they're sending over one of their best people to speak to you. Don't worry about the cost, either, we'll pay whatever we need to clear your names."
"We are family, Raven." Starfire reassured her. "No matter what may have been done to you, we shall stand beside you and aid you."
"You will?" Raven was astonished. She'd spent months fighting against them and the Titans were still willing to help her. She felt a surge of emotions- gratitude, love and many more- and forced it down. "Thank you. I really need to meditate now."
Robin looked a bit put out at the abrupt dismissal- he'd probably been expecting a long discussion of her time with Slade. Starfire, on the other hand, favored her with a gentle smile.
"We understand. This has been a very emotional few minutes, has it not?" the alien girl said, leading her boyfriend back to the cell door. "We shall return when your lawyer arrives."
"Thank you" Raven said, closing her eyes and returning to her meditative trance. She had a LOT to work through, and the sooner she started the better.
A chime at the door brought her back to the physical world. She wasn't sure, exactly, how much time had passed. Judging by the stiffness in her limbs and the empty feeling in her stomach, she guessed it had been at least a few hours. Rising to her feet, she stretched for a moment before reseating herself on the bed. Once that was done, she called out "Come in."
The cell door slid open, revealing a n unprepossessing, middle-aged man. He had dark skin, a receding hairline, and an impressive looking suit that matched his leather briefcase. He entered the cell without a hint of hesitation or nervousness- not even to Raven's empathic abilities. It seems this man, whoever he was, simply had no fear in him at all.
"Good afternoon, miss Raven." He said, his voice as flat and even as her own. "My name is Nathaniel Wellingsly. Are you feeling well enough to discuss your case?"
"I believe so, Mr. Wellingsly." She replied, motioning him closer. "There's no sense putting off the bad news."
"Actually, the news is far from bad." The lawyer remarked, taking a seat on the far corner of her bed and pulling some papers from his briefcase. "I've been going over your case, and I expect we can convince the judge to dismiss virtually all of the charges against you, using the Hypnota Precedent."
"Hypnota Precedent? What exactly is that?" Raven wondered.
"I'm surprised you aren't familiar with it already. I believed it to be well-known within the metahuman community." Wellingsly said, his voice as unemotional as ever. "The Hypnota Precedent was established back in 1944, when a supervillain using that name used hypnosis to force her sister to assist her in committing several kidnappings. After the case was over, the sister was placed on trial as an accomplice, but she argued that, since she had been under the mental control of her sister, she could not be held accountable for the actions taken during that time. In short, the Hypnota Precedent establishes that persons who commit crimes while under any form of unwilling mind control are to be treated as tools used by the controller rather than as human participants in the crimes."
"So, in other words" Raven summarized "You're going to argue that I and my friends were Slade's weapons, not his accomplices?"
"More or less." Wellingsly droned. "All we have to do is establish the fact of his mental influence, and that the crimes you committed were done at his direction not your own. I've already spoken to several experts who have examined the control chips that Slade implanted in you, so we have a solid basis for our defense. Now, I want to go over each crime and discuss with you exactly how Slade 'convinced' you to go through with them."
Raven gave an internal sigh. This was going to be…unpleasant.
Sometime later, Wellingsly stood up from the bed and began to return his papers to his briefcase. "I believe this is a good place to stop for today. We have made some excellent progress so far- we have demonstrated exactly how Slade used his control over you to 'convince' you to commit these crimes, and that, in several instances, you at least attempted to argue with him. We still have some things to review, but so far I think we have a good case."
Raven simply nodded. She had expected to be churning with negative emotions by this point- anger at Slade's tactics, shame that she couldn't overcome them, hope for her future… but instead she just felt tired and wrung out. Going over all those events had been incredibly draining, more so than hours of meditation with her mirror. More than anything else she wanted to lie down for a while and, once her lawyer left to speak with his other clients, that was exactly what she did.
Beastboy would have been the first to admit that he hadn't had a lot of confidence in his lawyer at first. That Wellingsly dude had been one seriously cold fish, not even crackin' a smile or doing anything to make his client feel comfortable. The dude hadn't even tried to make him feel better or reassure him, really. He'd said he thought they could make probably get off, but he'd said it in that super-flat voice of his (that made RAVEN seem perky!) that Beastboy'd figured he said it to everyone, and that he was probably going to prison.
He'd rarely been so happy to be wrong.
The whole thing hadn't lasted more than a few days. Wellingsly had shown the judge and DA the control chips that had been removed from the brains of him, Raven and Batgirl. He'd presented his argument- that Hypno-whatsit precedent he'd spent so long droning on and on about. Beastboy'd expected the judge to look at him and say 'So what? You've dealt with mind control before. You should've been strong enough to fight it' before sending his green butt to prison.
Instead, the judge had hmm'd for a while and then said "The precedent is clear. The accused cannot be held accountable for actions taken under mental control. Case dismissed."
The DA hadn't even argued with it- just nodded to the judge and left. Just like that, BB was a free man.
When he'd seen the huge crowd waiting for them outside the courthouse, he'd braced himself for the worst. After all that he'd done, the citizens of Jump City deserved a chance to vent on him a bit. But instead of a bloodthirsty mob howling insults, he was astonished to find himself surrounded by supporters cheering for him. It seemed that someone had spread the word that he and the girls had been under Slade's control, and the citizens of Jump City were willing to forgive them. He had dozens of people calling out things like "We love you Beastboy!" and "Good to have you back!". He wasn't too proud to admit he reveled in it- after days of worrying and blaming himself, it felt good to be forgiven by the people. Even Raven, who was normally the last to interact with their fans, took a few minutes to chat with one of them- some older guy that Beastboy could ALMOST recognize. He wished he could ask her about it.
Honestly, the worst part of the day was Raven. He had so much he wanted to tell her, so much to talk about, and she was RIGHT THERE! But he couldn't- even if he'd been allowed to talk to her (which he wasn't), he knew her well enough to know that she'd only be comfortable talking in private. So, he forced himself to wait.
He did a pretty good job waiting, too, even if he did say so himself. He barely even fidgeted when Rob gave him a speech about the changes his life was going to go through, almost as soon as they were back in the Tower.
"I want to be clear, this wasn't our idea. The Titans- I mean, the rest of the Titans- we all know what you've been through and what Slade did to you." Robin assured him once he'd gotten him alone in his office. "But the JCPD are… skeptical about it. They don't trust you and, if you just walk back onto the team without consequences, they won't trust us. They aren't the only ones, either. While most of the city is willing to accept that you guys were brainwashed, some still don't trust you to be heroes right now. We have to show them that we're taking this seriously, that you guys are earning your place on the team again."
"I gotcha, Rob, believe me." Beastboy sighed "So, what are we looking at here?"
"Basically, you're going to spend a few months under house arrest. No leaving the Tower at all except on official Team business, and always accompanied by one of the trusted Titans. We'll keep that up for a two or three months, see how the city's feeling about you. If things are still good, we'll see about loosening things up a bit. But you won't be going back to the way things were for a good long while."
"Sounds good to me, dude" Beastboy said with a smile. Looking at Robin's surprised expression, he explained. "Dude, I've totally missed the Tower and my friends for months, I won't say no to stayin home for a while. Plus, I started today figurin' I'd be going to prison, so really this ain't so bad."
"I guess not." Robin laughed and MAN was it good to hear that again! "Anyway, we'll combine that with a lot of patrols, to make sure everyone sees you guys out being heroes. There'll be a lot of community service, too- we'll need to rebuild the public's trust in you. That'll apply to Raven, too- she won't be able do her usual aloof and mysterious thing, she'll have to be seen out and about by the citizens."
"Oh, she'll just love that" the changeling chortled, picturing his quiet and solitary girlfriend trying to work the crowd at some social event. "What about Batgirl?"
"Batgirl will be heading back to Gotham, I think." Robin replied with a grimace. "Batman wants to attend to her recovery in person. She might come back afterward, but I don't think Jump City's made the best impression on her."
"Heh. Guess not." Beastboy coughed. "So, uh. Where is my… I mean, where should I…"
"As far as I know, you're still bunking with Cyborg. All your stuff is still in his room" Robin interjected, guessing what his green friend was asking. "He's there now, waiting to help you set it up."
"Thanks, Rob." Beastboy said as he turned away. "I think I'll go check on him."
"Sounds like a good idea- he was pretty torn up having to fight you." Robin said "I've got to go have a talk with Terra, so if you see her let her know"
"Uh…. S-sure, Rob" the changeling replied, heading out the door.
Once out, Beastboy began to make his way to his and Cyborg's room, praying he didn't see Terra for a while. It wasn't that he was afraid of her, exactly, it was just that there was a LOT of issues between them to unpack. Their past, her betrayal, his attempt at kidnapping, the deaths of her adopted parents… it was going to be one hell of a difficult talk. He knew he'd have to do it eventually, but he figured he'd already been through a lot today and just didn't have the strength for another emotional roller coaster.
Eventually he made it to his old room, and opened the door. Cyborg sat waiting for him, seated on his recharge station. His arms were crossed at his chest, and he was staring intently at the shapechanger. Beastboy gulped, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward. Would Cyborg hold a grudge? The last few months of fighting had been brutal, and Beastboy knew he'd inflicted more than a little damage on Cyborg- even tearing off one of his metal arms and bludgeoning him with it! The metal man would be totally in his rights to tell Beastboy that they were through, that he never wanted to see his freaky green face again. Heck, Beastboy seriously wouldn't blame him if Cy just decided to haul off and punch him clear outta the room!
"Hey, Cy? You, uh, you wanted to see me?" He said, his voice wavering slightly. He didn't want to do this, didn't want to lose his best friend, but better to be done with it. Like a bandage, right off!
Without a word, Cyborg rose from his seat and crossed the distance between them, throwing his arms around the smaller boy and raising him into the air. "Welcome home, Gar. I missed you a lot" Cyborg whispered, his voice choked with emotion.
Beastboy felt himself tearing up as he hugged his best friend back. "I missed you too, buddy."
Meanwhile, on a different level of the Tower, Terra was creeping through the halls towards Robin's office. She was moving as stealthily as she could, ready to bolt at the first sight of green skin or purple hair, for pretty much the same reason that Beastboy had been sneaking. She simply wasn't ready for all the emotions a meeting with Beastboy or Raven would entail, and though she wasn't proud of herself for it, decided to just hide from them for as long as possible. Unfortunately, Robin had asked her to come to his office for a private meeting as soon as she possibly could, so she found herself sneaking through the Tower with her nerves on high alert. Eventually she made it and slid open the door with an audible sigh of relief.
Robin was sitting at his desk, shuffling through a tremendous pile of papers. At the sound of Terra's sigh, he looked up and gave the geokine a weary smile. "Hello, Terra. How's your day been?"
"Easier than yours, I'd say." Terra replied, taking a seat next to her leader. "What's going on, Robin?"
In response, Robin let out a sigh of his own and leaned back in his chair. "I wish there was an easy way to say this, to make this news easier to hear, but there isn't. Earlier today I was contacted by a government agency- the Department of Natural Resources, or at least that's who they claimed to work for. They were extremely interested in you and attempted to put pressure on me to hand you over, as they put it."
Terra's entire body suddenly seemed to freeze, an icy chill spreading swiftly out from her center as terror seized control of her. It took all her self-control not to bolt from the room and run as far from the Tower, from Jump City, as she possibly could. Instead, she gathered her courage, swallowed and forced herself to speak. "I see. So, they finally found me, huh? W-what did you say?"
Robin snorted. "I told them that you were-ARE- a Titan, and my teammates were not pieces of furniture to be given away or loaned out. When they threatened me with legal documents, I told them bluntly that I would fight them to the highest court I could find. I also told them that I would hold daily press conferences, updating the public on the government's attempt to pressgang a young superhero into secretive activities. That I would pull every string, call in every favor, and use every trick I knew to drag them into the light and make sure that every person on the planet knew who they were and what they were up to. After that, they seemed to decide you weren't worth the effort."
"So, I-I'm safe as long as I'm part of the team?" Terra asked, trying not to let her frustrations show. So what if she was basically trapped on the team, just as Slade had warned her all those years ago? It wouldn't be that bad, right? Freedom was so overrated anyway…
"That's what all these papers are for." Robin gestured to the clutter on his desktop. "I've been arranging false identities and covers for you, scattered all around this country- it'll take longer to set things up abroad but if that's where you'll feel safer, I can make it happen. Once you pick one, I'll start setting up a background and history for you- false birth certificates, fake identification papers, school records and so on. I've even set up guardians in these places to look after you until you reach legal adulthood- you don't have to worry about them, they're all people I've known for years and I'd trust them with my life. Then, once your new identity is as solid as I can make it, we'll move you to your new home and help you get started in your new life. The best part is, if anyone finds out who you are, we can always claim that you were on a deep-cover mission for the Titans."
"You- you'd do all that? For me? Even help me leave the team?" Terra asked, unable to believe her luck.
"Of course." Robin replied, as though it were the obvious thing to do rather than the greatest thing she'd ever heard. "I don't believe in forcing people to be heroes and I'm certainly no fan of slavery. I'll do whatever I have to make sure you get to live the life that YOU want to live. Now, all you have to do os decide where you want that life to start."
Terra took the folders and glanced through them. A farm in Kansas… an apartment in Star City... some small town in Alaska… they were all out of the way places, but they all looked wonderful. But her mind was already made up. She opened one of the drawers on Robin's desk and slipped the files inside.
"Actually, I want to try and make it as a Titan. For one thing, I really do need to learn to control my powers better. We've made a lot of progress together but I'm still not sure I'm really very safe to be around yet, at least not for civilians. For another though… I've been thinking for the last couple weeks. Thinking about my life before the Titans, and the life I lead after. Thinking about my own time with Slade. I've been pretty selfish, for most of my life. I was so worried about other people using me for my powers that I never really thought about what I wanted to do with them myself. The one time in my life I had a real chance to figure it out, I ignored them and tried to be a normal girl."
"There is NOTHING wrong with that." Robin said firmly. "A heroes life is a hard one, requiring a lot of sacrifices and compromises. It isn't suited to everyone, and you shouldn't force yourself to do it if it isn't right for you."
"Agreed, but that's not my point" Terra said "My point is I've spent my whole life running away from my powers, looking after myself, and it's just caused everyone a lot of pain. I never even gave the hero thing an honest try- I was working against the Titans from pretty much day one. I guess I'm thinking that before I go back to living my life on the run, I ought to at least try to be a hero. See if that life actually suits me or not before I step away from it again."
"Are you sure about this? Like I said before, it's a hard life being a superhero- there's a lot of work, a lot of danger and a lot of pain." Robin reminded her.
"My life hasn't exactly been sunshine and roses so far, Robin" Terra deadpanned. "I'm pretty used to hardship. Besides, if it doesn't work out, you can still help me settle down as a civilian somewhere else, right?"
"Well, if you're sure about it, I won't argue with some extra help." Robin said with a smile. "Even with Slade out of the picture, we're going to have our hands full. We have to repair our reputations, which is going to mean a lot of high-visibility activity. Since Beastboy and Raven can't go out alone, and Batgirl's headed back to Gotham, I was afraid we'd be shorthanded. You won't have any problem working with them, will you?"
"No problem's on my end, boss-man" Terra answered with a shrug. "It might be awkward for a bit, but I know what it's like to do bad things because Slade convinced you they were good."
"In that case, welcome to the team, Terra" Robin said, extending his hand for a shake.
"Good to be on board, but I don't think I can say I've officially joined the team until I break at least one bone in a Starfire hug." Terra quipped.
"Well, now, THAT is something we can fix easily" Robin said, getting to his feet and following Terra out the door.
Starfire sat on the couch in the Common Room, stroking Silkie as she happily hummed harmonies to herself. Or at least, she had started out sitting on the couch in the Common Room, but after several moments of contented humming and petting, she was now floating about four inches above the couch. She simply couldn't help herself- it was so wonderful to have all her friends home once more, freed from the control of Slade, that her joy was simply to great to be reined in. Besides, if anyone did see her floating, then they would know that she was very happy and that was hardly a secret!
"Yes, it is indeed a glorious day, is it not my little bumgorf?" she said to Silkie "I am so very happy to have our team together once more!"
In her arms, Silkie burbled happily. He wasn't really sure what was happening, or why the Green Father and the others had returned from…wherever it was they had been. Still, if the Queen/Mother was happy, then Silkie was happy. It meant more cuddles and treats if nothing else. On that note, he rolled over onto his back and wiggled his legs invitingly. The Queen/Mother laughed again and obligingly began rubbing his middle segments, what she called his 'belly'. Silkie let out a long, breathy burble. Truly, this was arthropod heaven.
Starfire looked up when she heard the door slide open. To her pleased surprise, Cassie came into the room, unmasked and with a strange look on her face.
"Greetings friend! Come and be seated next to me!" Starfire called out, gesturing to the cushion next to her own. "I have not seen you at all since you spoke to the judge. Are you well?"
"Kind of." Batgirl admitted. "Nice to have the mask off. But so much went wrong. Made so many mistakes. Hard to get past it."
"You made no mistakes!" Starfire protested, dropping down to the couch in dismay. She was so frustrated! They had already had this conversation before, yet she could not make her friend see sense! "You were captured in battle, overwhelmed by more numerous opponents, then your mind was overridden by Slade's vile machine! You bear no blame!"
"No. I told you already. I was trained for this." Cassie said stubbornly. "Batman trained me to realize when my mind's been tampered with. To fight it. I should have known what Slade was doing. I should have fought it. That's why I'm going back to Gotham. To finish training."
Starfire heaved a sigh and resumed stroking Silkie. "I see I cannot convince you, so I shall not try. Instead, I will simply enjoy our time together while I can."
Cassie sat down next to the alien she had come to call friend. "Not going to disappear. I will write. I will call. One day, I may be back. Just need some time."
Starfire smiled and put Silkie to one side. The little worm grumbled a bit, but quickly wandered off in search of unattended food. The alien leaned over and wrapped her friend in a gentle hug.
"Well, I see somebody already beat us to it." Robin said from the doorway.
Starfire looked up to see her boyfriend and Terra entering the room. Terra looked slightly embarrassed for some reason, while her boyfriend simply smirked and ushered her in.
"Terra wants to rejoin the Titans, but there's a problem. We can't complete the initiation ceremony alone." Robin said, his voice serious and completely at odds with the amused expression on his face. Ordinarily, Starfire would have been curious about this discrepancy and asked him about it. But just now she had something else to focus on.
"Oh! You have decided to stay? Glorious!" Starfire cried, leaping to her feet. "But what is this initiation ceremony? I do not recall any such ceremony before. We did no ceremony when we formed the team, and neither Terra nor Batgirl underwent any initiation. Is it a new ceremony?"
"Well, it isn't really a NEW ceremony." Robin chuckled. "Terra says she can't officially join our team until she's had a real strong Starfire hug."
"I see" the alien girl laughed, pleased to understand the joke. "Well, I can correct this monstrous injustice easily enough."
In a single swift motion, she crossed the space between them and enveloped the blonde geokine in a hug. She squeezed her friend with slightly more force than she normally did but was careful not to exceed Terran tolerances- she had learned over the years that it was possible for her to injure her friends with affection, and she did not wish to do so now. She felt Terra hug her back, and felt warmness spread through her livers. A warmth that only increased when she felt two more pairs of arms wrap around her and Terra.
Looking around, she saw that Robin and Cassie had joined them in a group hug.
"What?" Batgirl asked "My hug wasn't finished."
When she looked at Robin, he merely smiled at her. "I'm your boyfriend. I don't need an excuse."
Starfire was about to respond to that when she heard the door slide open once again. Glancing up, she saw Cyborg and Beastboy come in. Their smiles grew wider as they approached.
"Group hug? Sweet! You in, Cy?" Beastboy asked wrapping his arms around Robin and herself.
"You know it, grass stain." Cyborg replied, placing one arm around Batgirl and the other around Beastboy. The metal mans long arms meant that all the Titans were soon, effectively, in his embrace.
Suddenly, Starfire felt a pressure by her leg. Slowly, Raven emerged from the floor between Starfire and Beastboy. Gently, the empath placed an arm around each of them. Looking around at her teammates, she simply said "Just this once."
Starfire closed her eyes and lost herself in the joy of the group hug. It was glorious to have all her dearest friends back at home once more. Unfortunately, it was not to last as the blaring of the alarm shattered the peace of the moment. The Titans group hug tragically broke up as the young heroes raced to the computer.
Robin grimaced. "Some metahuman calling herself the Titanium Woman is wreaking havoc in the Financial District." He looked up at the seven heroes gazing intently on the screen and allowed himself a proud smile. "Titans GO!"
THE END
A/n
So. Almost a year. I had the outline for this chapter all done back in October of 2020. I was all set to start writing, and was excited (and a little melancholy) to bring this story to its conclusion.
And then my mother died. It was incredibly sudden; she was fine one day and gone the next. It was a big shock and brought a lot of changes to my life. As you might imagine, it took a long, long time for me to be ready to write again after that- it just didn't seem as important. Eventually, I got back in the groove- life goes on, as they say- and I wrote this. I made it a long one, both to tie up most of the loose ends and to reward my readers for their patience.
I'm posting it now on my fortieth birthday, and it seems a time to reflect. When I started Joker's Wild I was 25. I've been writing this story for more than fifteen years- longer, I suspect, than some of my readers have been alive! It's quite a thing to have it finished. Well, more or less finished. Although this is the end of the story, there are a couple of epilogue chapters I want to write. I don't know when they'll be up but I do have a few loose ends to attend to.
Hypnota was one of Wonder Woman's first supervillains and the oldest DC villain I could dig up who used mind control in her crimes. Crimes which included selling her victims to aliens from Saturn, but I decided to leave that bit out. It just seemed weird to me that in the comic book worlds, where mind control and hypnosis are fairly common, there wouldn't be a legal defense for it. So, I worked it into the story, and I think it makes sense.
So. That's the story- more or less. Fifteen years, and 400,000+ words. Wow. What'd everyone think?