"Much gratitude for agreeing to assist Mirage and Robin on the follow-up mission of the smuggled Xenothium, Troia!"

Starfire was chatting with the former Wonder Girl via T-communicator upper north, the two young Titans in the Amazonian's background. She and Cyborg were on the call in Cyborg's former room in Titans Tower.

"Anytime, Star!" Troia said graciously. "Ever since I got an entire new Titans North team set up, I've been hands-off on Titans missions, which really helps me allocate time for my Amazonians. Thanks for still thinking of me."

"Are you kidding?" Cyborg uttered in response. "They could use your super strength just in case threats larger than the smugglers wanna get their hands on some Xenothium. Plus, you're just overall cool."

Starfire added, "In addition, as the former Titans North captain, you are essential to provide additional guidance and inspiration to Mirage and Robin towards them building a new team!"

"I am sorry about the Azrael ordeal," Troia said. "I really wish I'd picked up on even a slight clue that he was related to Dimension X, considering Wonder Woman has had an experience with that place.

"Though she used to have access via the Mother Box secured in Themyscira, she did not encounter Azrael's kind in Dimension X back then. Hence, the lack of red flags raised.

"The way Starfire has described Azrael's ambiguous betrayal does sound like something out of the Trojan Horse."

Starfire pondered out loud, "The Trojan Horse?"

"A tactic used by the Greeks in war centuries ago, and used by Wonder Woman to get herself out of Dimension X that one time a few decades back. It would be wild if Azrael's kind utilized that trick on you, with Azrael being the Trojan Horse in this instance. Then again, we do not have much intel on the dimension in question, so I can't confirm."

Cyborg spoke, "Raven and Nightwing talked to Omen in prison, the psychic Harvest meta-recruit. Apparently, during our big Harvest mission, she'd recognised Azrael as part of an invasive species."

Starfire added, "She claimed she would have finished him off if she had not been so figuratively tangled up in Harvest's scheme."

Cyborg continued, "And, she wasn't entirely sure. Apparently, there's not a whole lot of information on the 21st century in the 31st century."

Troia snickered. "Just enough to warrant a killing spree, I guess. Suits her and those other lackeys right to be stuck in their pasts... relatively speaking."

Cyborg and Starfire heard Robin speak in the background.

"That's the site, Troia."

"Gotta go, guys. Catch up again soon, okay?" Troia said, logging out.

"Someone's obviously gone here to clean up since we left," Mirage noted to Robin as they scoured the snowy grounds for any remnants of their last fight.

Robin agreed, but not entirely. He was wielding a scanning device, surveying their immediate surroundings.

"That may be so, but I'm still picking up traces of Xenothium. At the least, its residue."

Troia caught up to the young heroes as they scoured the forest.

"So, it's just technically you two in the central Titans division, huh?" she struck up a conversation with Mirage.

As she inspected the snow-covered ground, Mirage answered, "Technically, not yet. Starfire and Nightwing are still in it fully until we can set up a brand new crew. Then, they'll act as overall supervisors from their own headquarters outside of the tower. They're also gonna shift their focus on to T.U.R.F.

"Honestly, it's a good idea. We need more young blood, you know? Put the 'Teen' back in 'Teen Titans'. I'm secretly hoping for a new teammate who's into fashion as much as I am."

Troia giggled as she readied herself to take flight. "Robin not fashionable enough for your liking?"

Mirage let a playful smile escape her. "He basically copied Nightwing's old getup and hero name."

Mirage then found something that caught her attention.

"These are ashes," she realised, rubbing the grey remains in her fingers. "Like from a normal fire."

Troia now wondered similarly. "Unless someone's been camping here or has found a way to turn Xenothium into pyrotechnics, that's certainly a red flag."

Mirage looked around. "Where did Robin go?"

Robin grunted as he blocked someone's kick with his bō staff.

"Where's the Xenothium?!" he demanded. He was fighting a girl with spiky blond hair, in a form-fitting suit made of warm colors, and an emblem on her chest that would best be described as a phoenix. Her cape formed a silhouette for fiery wings; yellow inward, black outward. She also had on yellow visor goggles.

The girl used her other leg to also kick, this time using Robin's staff as leverage to jump up, landing on the ground farther away from him.

Both fighters reached into their respective utility belts, and threw their respective birdarangs at each other.

"Huh?" Robin uttered as he watched the two weapons explode upon impact in the middle. When the dust settled, he saw the girl snicker in the background. He charged at her with his twirling staff.

She glided quickly, missing him. Then, she flung bird-like bolas toward him, tangling him up in it and lightly electrocuting him to the ground.

She jumped and landed on top of him, bending down towards his face and, smugly, she said to him, "Where have you Teen Titans been?"

The fiery girl untangled Robin, and extended a helping hand.

"Huh?" Robin, puzzled, opted to get up on his own. "And you are?"

The girl saluted him, and he could see her eager expression.

"Flamebird, reporting for duty!" she exclaimed. "Don't worry about most of the Xenothium. I picked up the pieces after you Titans apparently just bailed. The smugglers aren't happy that I came in and finished the job after your whole debacle. Tough luck for them, am I right?"

BEEP! BEEP! It was Robin's T-communicator.

"Robin! Your location?" Mirage asked on his transmission.

"Is that Mirage?" Flamebird asked Robin. "Is Nightwing here?! Starfire?!"

Robin pinged his tracking location, quizzically staring at Flamebird. "Are you a hero? Or an overexcited villain?"

Flamebird seemed lightheartedly offended by the Boy Wonder's query. "I'm no villain! Hero? Hm... I prefer the term 'indie vigilante'. But I do have huge respect for the Titans!"

Robin's initial gut instinct told him Flamebird was a well-meaning person.

"You said to not worry about most of the Xenothium," he repeated her words. "Where is the Xenothium now, and where is the rest of it?"

Flamebird snapped her fingers as if guilty. "Wow, you're observant! Most of the Xenothium, I left in the safe hands of the energy plant it belonged to. The rest, well, I was not able to recover from the smugglers that got away."

She saw Mirage and Troia emerge out of the forest, to Robin's unneeded rescue. Excited flames ignited in Flamebird's eyes.

"Wonder Girl?! Big fan of you too!"

"It's Troia now, actually," Troia corrected. "And you are?"

"I'll introduce you later," Robin said. "Flamebird, thanks for your help. Do you have any leads on the remaining smugglers?"

Nightwing was laying on his shared bed, staring at the ceiling designed with the image of the stars plastered over it. He still preferred the real thing, but after recent events, he was just happy with the familiar feeling of home.

"Greetings, Nightwing," spoke Starfire as she entered their bedroom. They were in their own living quarters out of Titans Tower, in the mainland coast of Jump City, but still connected to the tower via an underground quick-transportation infrastructure. "Our friends Cyborg, Gar, and Raven are going to the hilltop and have invited us to watch the setting of the sun."

She saw her boyfriend staring wistfully at the star-studded ceiling.

She added, "Robin and Mirage insisted that they have the remainder of Operation: Xenothium under control."

"I know, Star..." Nightwing drifted, now staring at Starfire. "It's just that, after everything that's happened, I can't help but feel like I've set our relationship back, both as a team, and as partners."

"Why do you say that?"

"You were missing for a week, Star, and consequently, I went missing for a week."

Starfire sat down beside him. "Yet, you found me."

Nightwing shook his head. "Cyborg and Raven found you. Mirage and Robin were the ones that got their help. Not me."

Nightwing sat upright as he continued.

"I went off to space without stopping to think. I acted for myself before considering everyone else."

Starfire placed a reassuring hand on his back. "Because, you thought of me. Nightwing, when I was in Dimension X with Blackfire and Red X, I thought of numerous things I desired to return to. My friends. My team. My home.

"But, most of all, I was longing to find my way back to you. And when I returned, I realised you would travel to the ends of the Earth for me."

Nightwing got up from their bed, still slightly frustrated with himself. A bit ashamed by his actions despite already being forgiven by basically everyone.

"I love you, Star. I just don't know if I'll ever be ready for what's next for us and the Titans. Are situations like that what we'll be doing forever?"

Starfire smiled at him, getting back up herself. "Any scenario that you listed would be fine with me. You should know that by now, going all the way back in Tokyo."

She placed her hands on Nightwing's hips, letting their gazes meet.

"Nightwing, we may never feel ready. That does not mean that we should never proceed to the next stage. As long as our passions continue to burn, I do not care how long we do this for."

Starfire knelt down towards him, reaching for something she'd kept hidden in her chestplate. Nightwing stood ice cold in surprise, staring dubiously down at her. At what was to come next.

Flamebird had led the Titans to a site nestled deep in the forest.

"The last I was able to retrace their steps was here," she told them as they trekked on. Bringing up the rear were Robin and an apprehensive Mirage.

"Are you sure we should consider her... Flamebird... to join our team?" Mirage whispered to Robin, questioning Flamebird's true motive.

"Not entirely," Robin answered curtly and sincerely. "She considers herself an 'indie vigilante', after all.

"So far, my senses tell me she's good. Seemingly all over the place and more fangirl than potential teammate, but I can tell she's got the skills. And the spunk. And the tools. Seriously, she has birdarangs like mine."

Mirage smirked. "Sounds like you in nearly every way. You submitted a résumé to Nightwing in person, remember?"

Robin frowned.

Mirage added, "Sorry. I just need you to lead the charges on this. I'm not as hawk-eyed as you are, and even if I were, I'm admittedly still anxious about accepting new people at the moment even though I know we need to. I'm afraid that my heart can't take being betrayed again."

In a friendly act of reassurance, Robin gently squeezed Mirage's hand.

"I'll be the eyes and the brains for the both of us for now."

Mirage glared at him. "I mean, I can still be my own eyes and brains, just not when it comes to new people."

The two laughed.

Flamebird stopped, causing the three Titans to halt. They came across a detour.

"Wonder Boy, you got any equipment to detect the thieves?"

Robin took the lead. "It's Boy Wonder - I mean Robin. C'mon."

Troia chuckled as she let the young ones take charge.

Cyborg was atop the Titans' favorite hilltop spot. He'd set up a grill. Raven was setting up a large table for the five. Gar was playing frisbee with himself as a border collie.

Clunk!

"Ey!" Cyborg had just been hit by Gar's frisbee. "Yo, a little heads up on the frisbee would be nice! Don't go leaving literal grass stains on my grill."

Cyborg threw the frisbee back at the changeling, now multitasking as he and Gar engaged in a back-and-forth frisbee fetch.

Raven sat herself down on the wooden table she'd set up, staring at the two men.

"Some things just refuse to change, I guess," Raven muttered, her tone and stare a mix of mild vexation and contentment.

Cyborg threw the frisbee long, forcing Gar to transform into a cheetah to make the catch.

"Hah! Nice try!" Gar said before turning into a chimpanzee and throwing it back at the half-robot.

Cyborg was in the midst of flipping a large, juicy steak, not paying heed to the fast-approaching frisbee.

Said frisbee was halted mid-air by telekinetic energy. Cyborg and primate Gar turned to Raven, who proceeded to return the dirt-stained frisbee to Gar in fast motion.

"I'm with Cyborg on not wanting unnecessary wild herbs on my steaks," she muttered.

Cyborg smirked at the half-demon. "You mean after all these years, Gar hasn't converted you to vegetarianism?"

Raven's eyes glowed black, lightly threatening Cyborg. "Don't even start."

All three heard a sudden whistle and a pair of footsteps walking up the hill. Turning heads, they first spotted a hovering Starfire, and then a walking Nightwing, approaching them.

"Friends!" Starfire waved at them with one arm, the other holding Nightwing. Nightwing waved as well. Both of their waving ring fingers were glistening in the light of the setting sun.

"Hey! - " Cyborg halted abruptly, staring mouth agape at the couple. Raven did the same. Gar, oblivious, merely approached them as a border collie.

"By Azar..." Raven gasped quietly as Nightwing and Starfire arrived. Cyborg dropped his grilling, and got in Raven's way. He'd grabbed both of Nightwing and Starfire's ring-bearing hands.

Cyborg quickly inspected the rings on their fingers. "Engagement rings?! You proposed?"

Nightwing blushed, unable to contain his smile. Gar reverted to human form, now realising what had just transpired.

"Wait, dudes, what?!" Gar was beaming. "Grats!"

Starfire giggled. "It was I that instigated the proposal."

"Way to go," Raven said, smiling at the engaged couple. "Congratulations are in order. Can't wait for the wedding invite."

Cyborg returned to his grill. "Man, if I had known, I'd roast a whole pig for this occasion!"

"Dude! I draw a hard line when you can see the entire animal!" Gar complained, not letting such thing happen under his watch.

Cyborg dismissed Gar's complaint. "Then what about shrimps? They go well with prime ribs!"

"I wish to have the extra mustard on my meal, Cyborg!" Starfire requested, giggling. "Much gratitude!"

Gar got up close inspecting both rings as all five returned to the grill and seating.

"So you go by Troia now, huh? I myself have been contemplating between Flamebird - inspired by Nightwing, and Hawkfire - inspired by Starfire!"

Troia couldn't help but give Flamebird an unexpressive smile, replying, "It's only because I'm not a girl anymore. You do you, Flamebird. Or Hawkfire."

"So that crest of yours isn't meant to be a phoenix?" Mirage wondered out loud. "It's a hawk on fire?"

"Titans, d'you hear that?" Robin halted.

Flamebird beamed. "I'm a Titan already?"

"... and Flamebird. D'you hear that?"

They listened intently, and they heard the sounds of metal crates and rumblings of people. Robin used his spy equipment to zoom in on the smugglers.

"They're armed with what I believe to be Xenothium ray guns," Robin reported.

"How many are there?" Troia asked.

"Far fewer than what we originally were faced with. And, no Red X."

Mirage sighed. "That's a relief."

Troia smiled, confident in the group of youngins. "Say the word, Wonder Boy."

Robin smiled, blushing at Troia's playful comment.

"Titans, go!"

Troia and Mirage went for the offensive. Robin stopped midway, spinning around to find Flamebird staying behind. He extended his arm to her.

"I've done as much info-vetting as I can on you on the way here," Robin said, to Flamebird's initial bemusement. "I hope you understand it's part of protocol. Having said that, I only had limited intel on you, not knowing your civilian identity."

Flamebird was taken aback both by surprise and gratefulness. "You're not worried about me disappointing you?"

"I am. And if you betray us, I'll be so disappointed, and so will Mirage. It's a leap of faith."

Flamebird looked at his offering hand, then at him. She smiled, and sped past him.

"Hurry up or you'll miss the fight!" she shouted banteringly. Robin laughed, charging towards the smugglers with her.

They found Troia and Mirage already fighting, dodging Xenothium blasts as they threw hands.

"Hey, it's her again!" shouted one of the armed smugglers, pointing at Flamebird.

"Miss me?" she asked rhetorically before activating bright bursts of light from her goggles directed at the smugglers, blinding them just long enough for her to sneak up an attack on all of them.

A smuggler behind her was loading their ray gun, aiming it at her.

"Watch out!" Robin shouted, tackling said smuggler to the ground and knocking him out. He got up and stood back-to-back with Flamebird as smugglers surrounded them.

The two heroes looked back at each other, exchanged swift nods, and each flung their sharp birdarangs, which hit each smuggler's ray gun in quick succession in a circle, clockwise, reaching halfway each before returning to the opposite person.

"Wha - ?! How - ?!" The smugglers were shocked to find all of their ray guns broken at the tip by the birdarangs. They then found themselves tackled by either Robin or Flamebird.

On the other side of the fight were Mirage and Troia. Mirage was surrounded by smugglers. Unable to get out, she made two moves at once. One, she camouflaged herself. Two, she created a duplicate of herself that had the fake ability to fly. While the smugglers started blasting the air, the real Mirage proceeded to take down the distracted smugglers one-by-one.

Troia, who was having relatively less trouble fighting with merely her own strength, watched Mirage's tactic, giving her an idea. She whipped out her lasso and tied up two of the smugglers.

"The lasso compels you to tell the truth!" she demanded, tightening her lariat. "Where are the rest of the Xenothium?"

While one of the smugglers was struggling to break free, the other, panting, spilled the beans.

"We've stored them in a truck to drive away with!" he confessed exasperatedly.

Troia drew back her lasso. She shrugged to herself.

"It was more the Lasso of Placebos than the Lasso of Truth," she admitted before knocking them out.

The fight went on until the Titans succeeded, which by then the sun was setting.

Starfire and Nightwing sat on the grass side-by-side. They had just watched the sun set. The other three were playing a competitive superpowers-allowed game of Jenga.

"How long have you kept the engagement rings, by the way?" Nightwing asked his now fiancée.

Starfire giggled. "Awhile. I kept them secure along with my X'halirium stone."

Nightwing examined his ring again. "I love that you went humble with the bands."

"Indeed! During my research, I came across this medical condition called ring aversion. I highly advise you not to look it up on the Intertwining-nets. It is not a pleasant sight from a seemingly harmless item tokenizing love."

They shared a kiss, the three Titans pausing their game momentarily to watch them smooch.

Cyborg muttered, "I kinda miss the days when we could make fun of then-Robin's crush on Star."

"Me too," Gar agreed. "There is still a Robin we could tease."

Raven rolled her eyes at them as she shifted her focus back to the game, as it was her turn.

BEEP! BEEP!

Starfire answered her communicator, "Troia! Were you and our fellow Titans successful?"

Troia grinned. "Operation: Xenothium is a done deal!"

"Wonderful! The pun most intended!"

Troia added, "We're in the T-Ship and the other two are helping out their potentially new teammate."

Troia winked at Starfire. The news made Starfire even more gleeful than she already was.

The recently engaged couple heard an unfamiliar voice in Troia's background.

"Does this open up the windows?" Flamebird asked Robin.

Robin, frantically, replied, "No, that's the turbo - Whooooooaaa!"

Troia looked exasperatedly to the right before turning back to the screen as the T-Ship flew off in high speed. "Gotta go! Bye!"

Starfire and Nightwing shared a glance before erupting in laughter.

"Troia's really helping the Titans get back up on their feet," Nightwing said. "We gotta plan our wedding now."

Starfire smiled. "This is extremely enthralling! The next phase of our life together commences now!"

Somewhere, on an island whose main feature was its double-cratered volcano...

Red X was on said island, lowering a lifeless Blackfire down, using a crane pulley system, into a bubbling pit.

"For saving my life, I'm gonna do everything in my power to restore yours, Blackfire," Red X promised, seeing Blackfire sink into the waters of the pit. "The Lazarus Pit healed me in my final moments as Robin. I hope it can resurrect you too.

"I've never seen it save people from death, but if I'm not too late..."

Blackfire was now fully submerged in the Lazarus Pit. A couple of minutes later, black flames ignited out of the pit, and up flew Blackfire, bellowing into the night, werewolf-like. Red X watched her as he brought in a cage.

(A/N: Several new exciting developments! The chapter title, 'Rekindled Flames' alludes to each of these new developments - NightStar's rekindled love, addition of Flamebird - one of the new Titans from the TTG comics like Mirage and Azrael - and rekindling/reviving Blackfire.)