Chapter 9: A First Time for Everything

The Following September:

"Robin!" Torque shouted as she walked back into the Tower with the mail. Her arm was loaded with the usual daily postal deliveries: fan mail, hate mail, junk mail, and once in a while a letter from a friend. Most communication from allies or family members came by electronic transmission, so an actual letter was rare. What Torque had in her hand as she re-entered the Tower was a letter from the office of the Mayor of Jump City. These letters were even rarer than letters from family, so Torque knew it was important.

"What is it, Torque?" Robin asked, taking the letter from her hands as she set the rest of the mail on the kitchen table and yelled, "Mail call!" into her communicator. The other Titans came from various places in the Tower to collect their mail. Robin opened the letter from the Mayor and sat down on a nearby stool to read it.

"Hey, Torque, you couldn't have organized these a little bit?" Beast Boy teased.

"I think you can file that under 'go kiss a steak, Beast Boy'," Torque retorted. The other Titans laughed.

"Look! This one says Auntie Terra's name!" said Olivia, holding up an envelope. Terra had just emerged into the room, still toweling her hair from the shower she had just finished.

"I got a letter?" Terra asked, walking into the kitchen.

"It's from Aqualad," Torque teased. Terra batted at her shoulder and blushed.

"This is not good," Robin said, running his hand through his coal black hair.

"What is it, Robin?" asked Starfire.

"I've been writing to the mayor to try and get us a raise. With the kids and stuff the allowances that used to be more than enough have been cutting us pretty tight," Robin said. The other Titans nodded. Cyborg sat down and Jinx made her way over to sit on his knee. She was expecting she and Cyborg's first baby any day now.

"What did the mayor say, Rob?" Cyborg asked.

"He turned it down again. He keeps saying that we're getting more than enough money. What more can I do?" Robin replied. The edge of frustration in his voice was more than evident. Even though Aqualad had gone back to the oceans and despite several cutbacks on the part of the core team, the Titans were still hurting financially.

"That guy doesn't even have kids. He doesn't understand that you can't itemize every drop of baby food," Torque said. She was trying to make Robin feel better, but it wasn't working.

"Most people that work in government have no idea what things are really like when they make decisions like that. Olivia is starting school this year, Jinx's baby is due any minute, Jason's pre-school isn't cheap by any means, and we all need the medical care and stuff that we regularly get. We're not treating it like the money grows on a tree. I don't see how he can be so skeptical," Beast Boy added.

"We'll just have to make due," Raven said, rubbing Beast Boy's shoulder soothingly.

"Mommy, what does 'make due' mean?" Olivia asked.

"It means that we'll do the best we can with what we have," Raven explained calmly.

"I can't believe it. We save the world every day and that tight-fisted penny pincher can't give us a few extra bucks to help raise our kids?" Cyborg growled.

"I guess to people like him, kids are not a necessary expenditure," Jinx murmured as she gently rested her hands over her belly. She was very nearly ready for a nap, even though it was still early in the afternoon.

Monday Morning:

As Torque was out on patrol, the late summer sun warming her skin, she saw something she was sure her mind was making up. From the roof of an old office building, Torque pulled a thin digital camera out of her pocket and took a few shots. With these, Torque finished her rounds and then returned to Titans Tower.

Olivia had never been so excited in her life. With her brand new school supplies in her little purple backpack and her new outfit on, Olivia was ready for her first day of school. Raven knelt in front of Olivia and smoothed her long purple hair. She straightened the collar of the little turtle neck shirt and sweater that Olivia wore with little blue jeans and sneakers.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" Olivia asked gently. Raven smiled, sniffled and shook her head.

"Nothing, baby. You go have fun, okay?" Raven replied.

"You're crying, mommy," Olivia said, her five-year-old eyes full of concern.

"It's just…I'm so proud of you, Olivia," Raven said, folding her arms around Olivia. The little one readily hugged her in return.

"Don't worry, Mommy. I'll be okay. I'll be right here when you get back," Olivia replied. Beast Boy rested a hand on Raven's shoulder and Raven laughed.

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to be saying to you?" she asked her daughter.

"I love you, Mommy," Olivia answered, her dark blue eyes shining. Olivia turned to go into the building, and Raven stood, letting Beast Boy wrap his arm around her shoulders. Olivia was nearly to the building and then stopped. Both of her parents wondered what was wrong as she came running back and flung herself into Beast Boy's arms.

"I love you, too, Daddy," Olivia said, kissing her father's cheek as he hugged her tight. The bell rang and Beast Boy set his daughter on her feet so that she could run for the building. Olivia stopped just inside the door and looked back just in time to see her parents departure: Beast Boy morphed into a hawk and Raven's body melted into her bird form as the two took off together back to Titans Tower.

Two Hours Later:

"The Mayor has a daughter!" Torque shouted, slamming a handful of the photos she had taken down on the table in Robin's research lab. "Can you believe the nerve? He has a child of his own but he can't seem to figure out why we need more money to raise our kids properly. He must think superheroes grow their own money!"

Robin and Terra had been analyzing debris from a recent battle with Plasmus. They were studying the chemical residue on the debris to see if they could come up with some sort of biological way to combat the sludge-like monster.

"She doesn't look any older than Olivia," Terra said, picking up one of the pictures.

"I know. I think maybe it's time we paid the mayor a more personal visit," Robin said. Just then, the alarm went off and the three heroes ran for the computer. The red blip on the radar screen indicated a location downtown.

Robin rounded up the rest of the team and was heading for the garage as he pulled his communicator out and radioed Beast Boy and Raven.

"We'll meet you there!" cried Beast Boy.

"That address looks really familiar!" Raven added. "But where did I see it?"

"Hi, I'm Olivia," the little Titan said cheerfully. "What's your name?"

A blonde haired, blue-eyed little girl looked up from the doll she cradled in her arms and gave Olivia a timid look.

"N-Natalie…my name is Natalie," the girl replied. "Excuse me, but, why is your hair that color?" Olivia seemed to know inherently that this question was out of genuine curiosity and not insult, so she proudly replied that it was the same color as her mommy's hair.

"Why does your mom have purple hair?" Natalie asked, scooting a little closer to her new friend. The two were with their class on the playground, taking advantage of the Indian summer heat. Olivia started to explain that her parents were Raven and Beast Boy and that they were Titans and that they all lived together with the other Titans at Titans Tower. Pretty soon, little Natalie was not feeling quite so alone. She liked this new friend.

"My daddy is the mayor of Jump City," said Natalie proudly. "He works really hard to make sure our city runs the way it's supposed to."

"Really?" said Olivia. "Cool! My family helps the city run the way it's supposed to, too!"

"Awesome!" replied Natalie. The two girls laughed as they shook hands, and then Natalie started to cough.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked.

"Yep. I just have trouble breathing sometimes," Natalie answered. Olivia nodded. She was about to suggest that the two go play on the swings when there was a heavy rumbling sound and a loud thud-thud! Thud-thud!

"Run!" Olivia screeched, pulling her new friend by the hand. Their schoolmates were screaming, the teachers were panicking trying to get all of the children back into the school building but unfortunately, the villain known as Cardiac was quicker than they were. Cardiac bore down on the defenseless playground and came straight for Natalie and Olivia. Brave Olivia stood in front of her friend and put her hands up, presumably for defense, and shouted as loudly as she could, "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"

Instead of expelling the villain as she supposed she might, Olivia soared several feet into the air. Shocked, she gasped, but reacted quickly, grabbing hold of Natalie and willing herself to go higher. This worked momentarily, but when Cardiac's tentacle came near, it sucked the girls in and they found themselves staring at the world through the blood-red tint of Cardiac's skin.

"Olivia!" Raven screamed as she watched from above. Beast Boy, in his Pterodactyl form, screeched and dove at the villain. Seconds after they got there, the T-Car and the T-Cycle roared to a stop below, bringing the rest of the Titans to the scene.

"Beast Boy, be careful!" Robin shouted, putting his bird-a-rang back in his utility belt. "Hand to hand, everyone! We could hurt the girls!" The Titans fought valiantly, but in the end, even with the added firepower of Torque and Mammoth, Cardiac escaped.

Raven sank to the ground, her heart pounding and her lungs straining for breath. She was starting to cry when Beast Boy got to her and knelt beside her.

"We'll find her, Raven. Don't cry, honey," Beast Boy said, pulling Raven up into his arms.

"Did you see that? Did you see what she did?" Terra screeched, hitting the ground running.

"Raven, she used your magic words and she flew!" Torque cried, running to join them.

"What are you talking about?" Robin replied.

"Olivia! She was trying to protect one of her classmates and she flew!" Terra cried. Raven and Beast Boy looked at one another in surprise. Olivia's powers were beginning to manifest already.

"I suppose it's actually not that unusual. After all, Superman was literally carrying around farm equipment at the age of 6. Why not?" said Cyborg.

"All I know is that if we don't find them, Cardiac could kill them without a second thought," Torque said.

As Cardiac made his way across town, Olivia settled in beside her friend.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked. Natalie was breathing very hard and Olivia was beginning to worry.

"I'm scared," Natalie whimpered. She started to wheeze and grasped her chest. "I…can't…breathe…" For the first time all day, Olivia was beginning to panic. What if she couldn't do anything to help her?

"What's going on?" Olivia cried.

"When…I can't…breathe…I have…medicine…" Natalie gasped.

"But where is your medicine?" Olivia replied.

"Teacher has it," Natalie answered, tears gathering in her wide eyes. Olivia's eyes grew wider.

"Help! Let us out! My friend is sick!" Olivia shouted. Cardiac ignored them. With all the racket he was making, he probably couldn't hear her. Olivia collapsed back down beside Natalie and hugged her.

"You've gotta calm down! If you relax maybe it will help!" Olivia cried.

Natalie nodded weakly and did as she was told, but as soon as she stopped struggling, her airway constricted more, and minutes later, little Natalie was unconscious in Olivia's lap.

"No!" Olivia cried. "No! Don't go! Don't leave me…alone…" Little Olivia Logan started to cry as Cardiac approached a large opening in the city sewer system.