Chapter 14: The End of All Things

A/N: The song BB and Raven sing in the story is "I Know What Love Is" by Celine Dion.

A young woman with dark crimson streaks in her hair wept from the prison she was chained into. The skin beneath the shackles was bruised and bleeding from multiple attempts to escape over the past months. The back of her red uniform top was slashed open from the lashings she'd received. Most people would have succumbed to the learned helplessness and faded into oblivion after a year in captivity, but not her. She had been forced to watch the meddlings of her captor and with every passing day…week…month…the prisoner became more and more determined to bring the villainess that held her to justice.

Seconds after she awoke from this exhausted sleep, another figure moved into the room. This woman looked exactly like her in every way. A moment later, there was a ripple of violet light and the woman resumed her original shape: a tall, dark haired woman with an olive complexion. Under normal circumstances, the prisoner might have found this woman to be very pretty, but as this was the tormentor that kept her from her family, this was the ugliest thing in her life.

"Still haven't given up, have you?" the woman purred. "Really, Aries. Isn't it enough that you've caused all of this trouble?"

"You caused this, Calypso! Leave my family alone!" Aries roared hoarsely. Calypso came closer to the cage that separated her from Aries and knelt before it.

"Or what? What will you do about it? Hmm?" Calypso asked, her voice like sweetened honey. "You couldn't stop me from disguising myself as you, and joining the Titans. Your brother was so happy to see me…"

"LEAVE ROY ALONE!" Aries screamed, straining against her chains and letting tears slid down her cheeks.

"You couldn't stop me from sleeping with Robin," Calypso added.

"Stop it!"

"You couldn't stop me from taking Raven and extracting her memories of the night Robin and Starfire fought," Calypso continued. "Her pathetic children could do even less."

"By the time I'm finished, there won't be a team left for you to go to, and when the Titans are gone," she paused for effect. "Two of the largest maximum security prisons holding the world's most dangerous super villains will be mine for hire!" With this, Calypso resumed her shape as Aries and left the room. She would reach Steel City in the morning. Just in time for the next phase of her plan.

In Jump City, most children were snuggling into their pajamas and falling asleep about now. The Titan children were no different in this respect but tonight was like no night they had ever experienced. First of all, Cyborg had had to rush Jinx into town to the hospital when she started to experience dizziness and a burning in her womb. Fearing for their unborn children, the pair had fled the Tower after dinner. As evening fell and the children tiptoed to bed, their parents could be heard even a whole floor away.

Olivia was awakened by the sound of her mother's voice. Both Beast Boy and Raven were yelling. Though she could only hear bits of the conversation, she knew it was serious.

"What was I supposed to do? We were grocery shopping!" Raven screamed.

"You didn't even sense that she was sneaking up behind you? Our CHILDREN were there, Raven!" Beast Boy replied.

"There were hundreds of people in that area! How was I supposed to know that one was going to come out of nowhere and beat me with a street sign?" Raven shouted back.

"You put them in danger!"

"I what?" Raven screeched. "By virtue of the fact that they are the children of superheroes puts them in danger every day! You never said anything before! Besides! Aren't you the one that told me that they defended themselves and were okay afterward?"

"That's beside the point!"

Olivia crept out of bed and walked softly down the hall. Emily, with Caleb in her arms, met her there, and they both met Toby at the door of his room. Together, they crept further down the hall, where Jason emerged from his bedroom, his eyes still red from tears of fear.

"Mother and dad are fighting. I've never heard them shout like this…" Jason muttered. He joined the group as they continued down the hall. They stopped before the room where Reese slept and Olivia listened. He was fussing, but no one could hear him. Olivia carefully lifted him out of his crib and gave him his pacifier. This quieted him long enough for Olivia to wrap him in his blanket and resume her place at the head of the line. Toby turned and took Caleb from Emily as she grew sleepy again, and the youngsters reached their destination. Olivia concentrated on a panel in the middle of the eighth floor hallway and it opened onto a hidden room that they had discovered playing one day. The three oldest children had established this as 'the fallout shelter', a place where the kids could go and hide when their parents fought. It was soundproof and held sleeping bags, pillows and blankets along with water bottles, flashlights and stuffed animals. Together, the kids arranged themselves in this room by the light of Olivia's flashlight and shut the door. Finally in quiet surroundings and safe from their parents' fearful shouting, the six kids quickly fell asleep again.

"Starfire, what's wrong? Just talk to me!" Robin shouted downstairs.

"If you do not know already, I do not wish to repeat it!" Starfire fired back.

"You've been in this mood ever since you got off the phone this morning! What's going on?" Robin demanded.

"You are still doing the cheating!" Starfire screamed. Robin stopped for a moment, taken aback by her allegation.

"What?" he hissed.

"You heard me! Aries was the one on the telephone this morning. She said that you are still doing the cheating with her!" Starfire shouted, starting to cry.

"Starfire, I told you that I didn't know what I was doing that night! It was ONE NIGHT Starfire!" Robin screamed.

"Then how does she know the things that you said to me?" Starfire demanded. "How does she know about how you cannot live without your heart, which I possess?"

"She can't possibly know that! She wasn't there! Starfire you have to believe me!" Robin shouted.

"How?" she demanded. "How am I to believe you? I cannot prove that you are telling the truth!"

Meanwhile, in Steel City, little Aidan sniffled and wept as he padded down the halls of the East Tower. He was shaking and a little pale, afraid that with Uncle Aqualad and Auntie Terra out on night patrols, there was no one to protect him. His parents were deep in a terrible fight, and he couldn't bury his head under the covers far enough to avoid the sound.

"Aidan? Is that you, buddy?" said a voice. Aidan looked behind him and breathed a sigh of relief. He stumbled into Uncle Mammoth's waiting hands and cried as Mammoth gently held him against his shoulder.

"It's okay, Aidan," he said softly. He could hear Torque and Speedy shouting and decided that Bumblebee must sleep like a brick if she hadn't been awakened by the noise. Mammoth himself was tempted to pound on the couple's door and demand that they take it outside or wait till morning, but he had been commandeered by Aidan first. Mammoth spread a throw blanket over Aidan after placing the little one on the couch. Once Aidan was asleep, Mammoth stationed himself near the couch and kept watch until he too fell asleep again.

When morning came, Robin discovered that he had missed the sunrise, his favorite part of the day. He had spent the night sleeping on the couch after his spat with Starfire and his back ached from the unaccustomed position he was in. He grumbled a bit and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his masked eyes. He knew that his was not the only terrible fight that had happened at the Tower that night, and he knew that if Cyborg wasn't up already, he and Jinx were still at the hospital and the situation was worse than they expected. Just as if they had heard him, the phone rang. Cyborg was calling to check in.

"Hey, Robin. You look about as rough as I feel. Look…I've got some bad news," Cyborg reported, pausing as emotion overwhelmed him for a moment. "There was something wrong with the protein enzymes in Jinx's blood. Something about it not matching the triplets' blood. Her body reacted like they were a virus and…aw man…Rob, we've lost two of them…we've lost two of our little girls…"

Robin was suddenly wide awake. "Oh my God," Robin replied. "Cy, I'm so sorry. Is Jinx doing any better?"

"A little. She's beating herself up over this even though she had no control over it. She'd be even better if we could get her to focus on the remaining baby and making sure this one makes it to term," Cyborg replied.

"I understand. Take all the time you need. We'll cover the patrol routes," Robin said. "Oh, hey, is the other triplet a girl?"

"Yeah. We picked out a name for her, too. Her name is Faith. Faith Ehzna Stone," Cyborg answered. Robin acknowledged this and hung up. Robin sat back for a moment to take this in. Suddenly, he didn't feel like his fight with Starfire was the end of the world anymore. Seconds later, the phone rang again. This time, it was Torque. She reported everything that had happened when they arrived in Steel City, making Robin weak in the knees.

"You sound wiped out, Torque. Are you okay?" Robin asked.

"Speedy and I were up all night yelling. It's a long story, but the nutshell is that he left with the others to go looking for Aries this morning and Aidan won't come near me or Speedy. He's been following Mammoth around while he's fixing things in the Tower. You know, the stupid thing is it's quieter now, but the tension around here is still getting to me!" Torque replied, running a hand through her hair.

"Last night here was no better. I haven't even seen any of the kids yet this morning. I wouldn't blame them if they were hiding out somewhere," Robin said. "It was pretty nasty around here."

"You and Star are at it?" Torque asked. Robin explained. Torque sighed.

"That lying little bitch…" she muttered. "…and Star believed her this time. Aw, man. Robin, I'm sorry."

"You couldn't have done anything. Once Star makes up her mind, she's pretty well fixed," Robin replied. "Incidentally, I think BB and Raven's was worse."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. BB left Raven this morning. He left the Tower screaming something about joining you guys in Steel City, so if you get a big green puppy on your doorstep…" Robin said, letting the end of the sentence hang.

"Got it. We'll let him simmer and send him home if he actually gets this far," she replied.

"You don't think he'll do it?" Robin asked.

"Rob, he left Raven. Left her. With their four kids. Beast Boy isn't stupid. He worked too hard to get Raven and to keep her to just let it all go on a temper tantrum," Torque explained. "Like I said. We'll let him simmer for a few hours, come to his senses and we'll send him home." Robin chuckled a bit. "Okay. Thanks, Torque." Robin added. "Robin out."

Robin looked around the room and slowly got up. It was time for the kids to be up and around, but in the time since he'd awakened, none of them had appeared. Robin made his way to Jason's bedroom, but found it empty. Confused, he went to Toby's room, and then Olivia's. Nothing. Robin pulled his communicator out of his belt and woke Starfire and Raven. There was something wrong. When the two arrived, Robin explained first what he had been told by Torque and Cyborg. Then, he told them that he couldn't find the kids.

"What did they do the last time they were afraid? They got together and they locked themselves in Jason's bedroom. They're older now, so they must have found somewhere else in the Tower to hide," Raven rationalized.

"Right. But where do we start?" Robin asked.

"With them," Raven replied, assuming her meditation position. Taking a deep breath, she muttered her magic words and gingerly sought out her older daughter's mind.

"Olivia…"

Several floors away, Olivia blinked her eyes open and looked at her watch. It was late. She turned on the flashlight, half expecting to see her mother there to kiss her good morning. She ascertained the rest of her companions and then lay back down against her pillow, leaving the flashlight on. She felt strange, but she couldn't figure out why. Minutes later, the door to their secret annex slid open and Starfire, Raven, and Robin knelt among them.

"Hi, mom," said Olivia, hugging Raven.

"I hope you aren't mad at us," Toby murmured.

"We heard everyone shouting and we didn't know what else to do," Jason added.

"We couldn't sleep, Mommy," Emily continued.

"We understand that, guys, but you need to understand that running away and hiding isn't going to make the fighting stop," Robin explained.

"Yes it did," Olivia insisted. "You aren't fighting now. You had to stop fighting to find us."

"That's true, but it only adds to our stress when we can't find our children. We love you, and we want all of you to be safe. We can't be sure of that unless we know where you are," Raven replied.

"Come. It is time for the breaking of the fast. You must all be hungry, yes?" asked Starfire.

"What's wrong, Mother?" Jason asked, rising to his feet with her.

"Perhaps your father will explain that to you later," Starfire said, giving Robin a chilly look as she led the way out of the hiding place.

When Cyborg opened his eyes that morning, he knew that his batteries were dangerously low, but he refused to leave. He looked up and Jinx was awake and she was smiling at him, lightly stroking his head with her smooth hand.

"Hi," he murmured.

"Good morning," she replied.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. She took a deep breath and said, "Better. I think we're finally out of the woods."

"Good. I was worried about you for a while there," Cyborg replied.

"I'm worried about you. You should go home," Jinx insisted.

"I won't leave without you," Cyborg said softly.

"We're fine. The medications will keep the proteins in line and I'm feeling better every minute," Jinx countered.

"The baby…"

"She's fine. She's kicked me twice already this morning. She's a tough little cookie," Jinx said, lightly patting her middle.

"Veronica…you've been through so much I just…I can't…" Cyborg argued, resorting to the use of his wife's real name.

"Victor," she replied in kind. "I'm fine. I'll be okay for a few hours while you go home and switch batteries. Besides, Faith here isn't our only child, or have you forgotten Reese already?" She grinned at this last gentle ribbing. Cyborg smiled. It was true. In his distress over Jinx, he had completely forgotten that they had left Reese at home in Robin and Starfire's care. This time, Jinx had him.

"All right. I'll go," he conceded. "But if something happens…"

"You'll be the first one to know, teddy bear," Jinx teased. Cyborg stood, kissed Jinx soundly on the lips, then kissed her belly. Hesitating for a moment, he kissed Jinx again for good measure and smiled as she giggled and batted his shoulder.

"Go home!" she laughed. "It's going to be okay now."

Back at the Tower, breakfast had been completed in near silence, and Olivia had retreated to the roof to meditate. She hovered in the air now, just as her mother had taught her, but her concentration was not on her focus words. A tear forced its way out of her eyes and down her cheeks. She knew what had happened that night. She knew that Robin and Starfire weren't talking. She knew that her father had run away from home and that Uncle Speedy was in deep trouble. Another tear squeezed out from under her eyelids and fell to the roof below her.

"Olivia?" a voice called. She turned in the air.

"What are you doing here, Jason?" she asked, wiping a tear.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked, crossing the roof and assuming the same position before her.

"You learned flight awfully fast," she muttered.

"Mother says it comes naturally to Tamaranians," Jason replied softly. "But because I'm also half human, it took me a little longer to fly. But that doesn't answer my question."

"Nothing," Olivia mumbled.

"I don't believe you," Jason replied, searching her eyes.

"When stuff like this happens, I'm supposed to be strong. I'm supposed to be there for mom and dad, be there for Emily. Toby and I talk a lot but he handles feelings and stuff pretty much by himself. I have to…I have to be strong for mom right now…" Olivia replied, faltering at last into tears. Jason glided closer and hugged Olivia.

"That's too much, Livie," Jason said, still holding her. "Mother says that we shouldn't try to be responsible for fixing the adults' problems."

"But I'm mom's helper!" she wept. "I'm dad's little hero! I have to be stronger than this!"

"No, Livie," Jason insisted. "You're hurting and I don't like that. Please let some of it go."

"I can't…"

"Then let me help you," Jason said, bringing his hands to Olivia's heart and cupping the air before it. Cautiously, he brought this little bit of captured air back to himself and pressed it to his own chest.

"There. I took some of the worry for you," Jason said. "Mother taught me that. If you give some of the worry or pain to someone else, it hurts less."

"Thank you," Olivia murmured, her eyes shining with the remains of her tears. Jason, feeling rather bold, leaned forward and lightly kissed Olivia's cheek. She immediately raised a hand and pressed her fingers to the spot he kissed.

"The tear…there was still a tear…." Jason explained. With this, he went back inside, leaving Olivia to resume her meditation. As much as part of her thought Jason's method of sharing the weight of her worries was childish, she did notice that she was feeling much better.

Robin sank into a chair in the kitchen and Raven handed him a steaming mug of peppermint tea.

"Thanks," he said softly, inhaling the warm scent. Raven seemed pensive for a moment and then she spoke.

"Has anyone noticed that we're all fighting all at once?" Raven asked.

"What do you mean?" asked Robin.

"I mean, when there's a spat between a couple it's usually just them that are arguing. Last night everyone on the team had some reason to be upset or angry," Raven explained.

"That did seem strange," Robin said. "Do you think there's a connection?"

"Yes," Raven replied. "Who's wrecking your marriage right now?"

"Aries."

"Who vanished from the East Tower when they were ambushed?"

"Aries."

"Think about it. We don't know who this mysterious brunette is, Robin. She could be working with Aries to break us all up. It makes us vulnerable," Raven continued.

"In that case, we need to put ourselves back together," Robin said with determination.

"Let me talk to Starfire. She'll listen to me," Raven offered. Robin nodded.

"Thanks, Raven. I owe you one," Robin said. Raven smiled.

"I know," Raven said, standing up and walking toward the door. "You owe me several so far." She turned her head and threw Robin a ravishing smile before she left the room. Robin had to laugh. Maybe things were starting to work out after all.

Beast Boy stretched and groaned. His whole body ached from sleeping on the cold, hard ground in one of his animal forms instead of at home with his arms around Raven. He stood up wearily and blinked at the late morning sun. It was Saturday. The kids usually woke he and Raven on Saturday by jumping on their bed. Thinking of his children made Beast Boy's heart ache. He was still a bit angry, but now more at himself. Having had the time to think about it, Raven had been right. She couldn't possibly have sheltered their little ones any more than she did. But now here he was. Dare he go back to Titans Tower? He had left her with the intention of never coming back.

"How could I be that stupid! I didn't just leave her—I left everyone! My friends, even my kids! But she'd never take me back…" Beast Boy mused out loud. "Or would she…I broke my vows to her, but it doesn't mean that she broke hers…"

Instead of making his way farther east, Beast Boy morphed into a hawk and went west, homeward bound as fast as he possibly could.

Upon entering Titans Tower, Robin and Starfire were nowhere to be found, but Beast Boy heard a piano playing upstairs, and there was only one person in his life that could play that well: Raven. Beast Boy grabbed his guitar off the stand in the living area and made his way to the music room.

The song was one she had played time and time again. Starfire had sung this song at she and Beast Boy's wedding.

"I was forgotten
Until you called my name
Lost in the shadows
Until you shined your light my way
Now I believe again
In all my dreams again
wide eyed and innocent
Those doubting days
Are so far away and oh

I will fall
And you will catch me always
Time has taught me this
I will fly
And you'll be there to guide me
Straight up to my heart's highest wish
I feel you close to me
And I know what love is"

As she played, Beast Boy listened, waiting for just the right time to come in with her. After she finished the refrain, he came into the room and started the second verse, singing and playing with her.

"Now there's no mountain
Too high for me to climb
No ocean so wide
That I could not reach the other side
Now I believe in me
Cause you live and breathe in me
nothing can come between
We are one star
No night can darken, Oh

I will fall
And you will catch me always
Time has taught me this
I will fly
And you'll be there to guide me
Straight up to my heart's highest wish
I feel you close to me
And I know what love is"

The second refrain closed and now both husband and wife soared into the bridge, the piano broadening and the guitar growing more powerful.

"It's an unspoken thing
A quiet opening
There are no words that can go that deep
But I know
I know

I will fall
And you will catch me always
Time has taught me this
I will fly
And you'll be there to guide me
Straight up to my heart's highest wish
I feel you close to me
And I know what love is"

The song ended and Raven finally turned around, facing her husband as he set his guitar gingerly on the table.

"What are you doing here?" she asked softly. She was afraid if she spoke any louder her true feelings would show and she'd begin to cry.

"Raven…Can you ever forgive me? Baby, I was so stu--"

Beast Boy didn't get to finish his sentence because Raven launched herself across the room and into his arms, kissing him soundly. Beast Boy held her fast, letting a tear escape his eye. She pulled back almost a minute later.

"You promised you'd never break my heart," she said as she gasped for breath.

"I know. I don't know what came over me. I was so angry about the kids being in danger and that you were gone and then suddenly back and you couldn't remember anything…" Beast Boy replied. "I lost sight of what I was truly angry about: myself. Raven, the kids were upset because they thought they failed you. They didn't fail you, I did. I didn't want to go shopping that day so I wasn't there to save you and defend the kids. I wasn't there to save you from whoever took you from me. I guess I just feel like it's my job as your husband to be there to protect you." Raven kissed him again and stroked his face, lightly tracing the edges of his ear as well.

"You didn't fail me, Gar. You had about as much control over all of this as any of us, which was none at all. I love you," she replied, bringing his eyes to meet hers. "I love you, and I never want to go through another two days like this again. It's been hell here without y--" Unable to resist anymore, Beast Boy and Raven locked lips again and clutched one another close.

On the other side of the door, Olivia and Toby listened to what was going on inside the music room.

"Are they fighting again?" Toby asked.

"Mom just moaned…I don't know…" Olivia said. Robin came upon this scene and chuckled.

"What are you two up to?" he asked.

"Dad came home. He and mom are in there," Toby answered. Intrigued, Robin listened in himself.

"Do you think they're still fighting?" Olivia asked, biting her lip. Robin laughed softly.

"No, kids. That sound means that your mom and dad are going to be just fine," Robin replied. Why don't you guys go play?" Olivia and Toby nodded, retreating to the rec room.

Robin returned to he and Starfire's bedroom, gently crawling back beneath the covers to pull Starfire close. She was still smiling in her sleep, sated from the results of their own reconciliation. Robin chuckled to think that both couples had decided that a little alone time was exactly what they needed. Robin had had to be very careful with Star this time. Tamaranian gestation periods are a month short of human ones, so Starfire was very close to her due date. But for all the extra precautions they had had to take, it was well worth it. Robin fell asleep again, drifting off with the comforting scent of Starfire's hair relaxing him into a restful nap.

By the time lunch was finished, Cyborg brought Jinx home and Titans Tower was once again buzzing with activity.

"Titans East, come in!" Robin called over the communications relay. After several seconds, Bumblebee's face appeared on the screen.

"Sorry, guys. I thought Speedy was supposed to be on switchboard this morning, but from the sounds of it, he and Torque are at it again," Bumblebee replied. "What's up?"

"We have an idea of what might be happening here. Is your whole team home?" Robin replied.

"All present and accounted for!" she chimed proudly. "Even Mas and Menos are back up and running…literally." Robin and Cyborg laughed.

"Have you found Aries yet?" asked Raven, carrying Caleb with her.

"No. I was gonna send Mammoth out with the prince and princess this morning, but apparently, the royalty got to sleep in," Bumblebee teased.

"Well deserved rest, I'm sure," Robin chuckled. "We think there may be a connection between Aries and these blow outs all of us seem to be having all at once. Do you have any idea what it is that's going on between Speedy and Torque?"

"I don't know how this happened, but she managed to find some incriminating evidence in Speedy's luggage," Bumblebee hinted.

"She thinks he's cheating on her?" Beast Boy said in disbelief.

"Yeah…with me of all people…" Bumblebee muttered, rubbing her sore temple with a tired hand.

"We're on our way. We're going to get to the bottom of this, once and for all," Robin said. "Titans West out."

Mammoth, despite his size, seemed to enjoy the simplest things: a good meal, good company, playing with the kids, a good sparring match. Today, the chill of winter threatening in the steel gray skies, Mammoth was lying in a pile of leaves, watching with patient humor as Aidan tossed the fragile, crackling material up into the air and subsequently over him. The cool breeze felt good as it blew through his long hair and over his face. He could hear Aidan giggling and the crunch of the leaves as he ran about the yard.

"Don't go too far, Aidan," Mammoth called, returning his gaze to the clouds and then closing his eyes.

"I won't!" Aidan cried, continuing to run. Off in the shadows, Aidan thought he saw something. He stopped and a form melted out from behind the trees. Aidan gasped and ran to the familiar person he found there.

"What happened, Auntie Aries?" Aidan asked, running to her and throwing his arms around her.

"It was terrible, Aidan. I just barely escaped," Calypso whispered, having assumed Aries form.

"I need you to listen to me, honey," she said, kneeling down in front of Aidan. "Something terrible is about to happen. You'll be okay if you come with me right now. The others can defend themselves, but you're in danger. Come with me, Aidan."

"But, my mommy and daddy!" Aidan whimpered softly.

"They'll make it. They'll be right behind us! But you need to come with me. Hurry!" Calypso said, picking Aidan up as he opened his arms for her to lift him. Aidan cried quiet tears as he watched his new home diminish behind them. He hoped that Auntie Aries had been right and his parents would be safe.

Calypso stopped when they had gone some distance from the Tower and changed her grip on Aidan to free one of her hands. She extended it toward where they had come and seconds later, Mammoth roared in pain.

"What happened?" Aidan squealed.

"It's starting…we have to hurry!" she replied.

"I'm scared, Auntie!" he wept. Calypso only hugged him closer and vanished into the noonday air.

Mammoth rolled off the leaf pile and roared in agony again. A wide knife was stuck in his gut and blood seeped quickly around it and down onto the ground.

"Mammoth!" screamed Terra as she and the others came running.

"What happened?" demanded Bumblebee.

"Came….out of nowhere…" Mammoth mumbled.

"Where's Aidan?" Speedy cried, his heart starting to pound. After Bumblebee had explained Robin and Raven's theory, he and Torque had quickly made up. It was a good thing, too. They now had something far more difficult to face.

"I…he was right….here…." Mammoth replied.

"Save your strength," said Bumblebee. "Mas! Menos!" Bumblebee sent the three back to the Tower and then she turned to the others.

"Aidan!" Torque screamed into the empty yard. Her voice echoed off the cliffs on the other side of the Tower, and off the large stand of trees before them. "Aidan Alexander Harper, you come out this instant!" When no response came, her heartbeat doubled.

"Roy…" she murmured, taking a step back.

"I know…" he said.

"I'm not waiting for the others," Torque growled. "Let's go!"

"Calm down, Torque," Bumblebee said.

"You're not going to do Aidan any good by being like this," Aqualad replied. Torque bowed her head.

"Maybe you're right," she replied. Speedy took hold of her hand and then wrapped the other arm around her as Torque leaned into his chest.

"What's happened?" Robin's voice cried as he leapt down out of the T-Ship.

"We'll explain back at the Tower. Let's go," cried Bumblebee. Terra used her powers to lift her teammates and transport them back to the East Tower with the T-Ship following close behind.

"You're trying to tell me that Aries is the one responsible for all of this?" Bumblebee said an hour later.

"I don't believe any of it," Speedy growled. "My sister isn't capable of this!"

"We also thought she wasn't capable of knowingly seducing a married man," Robin replied, ignoring the gasps of the members of the team that didn't already know.

"I think something we haven't already considered here is that maybe it isn't Aries," Terra added.

"¿Qué usted significa?" Mas and Menos asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, what do you mean, honey?" Aqualad asked.

"Well, all I'm saying is that no one would know her better than Roy. If he says she's not capable of it, she probably isn't. We could be dealing with someone impersonating her in order to get to us," Terra explained.

"A shape-shifter!" Raven cried. "Why didn't I think of that one?"

"Even geniuses can't think of everything," Terra said, winking across the table at Raven.

"That still leaves us as square one. We don't even know where to start looking," Cyborg stated.

"Sure we do," Bumblebee smiled. "She's wearing Aries' uniform. She's got Aries' communicator."

"We can trace the signal and…"

"BOOYAH!" Cyborg shouted, interrupting Aqualad. "I got her, people, let's move!"

"Auntie, where are we? I didn't know you could disappear like that," Aidan said as Calypso set him on his feet. She ignored him, turning up the lights on the rest of the vast main room of the complex. When the light shined on her again, Aidan gasped.

"Who are you? Where's Auntie Aries?" he cried. Calypso took several steps in his direction and Aidan stumbled back, finally tripping and landing on his bottom. He looked up at the unfamiliar woman before him.

"I am the one you have been calling Auntie Aries," she replied in a mocking tone. "I'll show you your real Aunt Aries, but I can't promise you'll like what you find."

"Give me my Auntie!" Aidan shouted, his little hands balled into fists.

"As you wish," Calypso replied, throwing the switch on the lights over the cage. Aidan was speechless. There was his Aunt, chained and beaten, when in his mind he had just seen her well less than an hour before. Aries looked up with swollen eyes and softly gasped.

"What have you done?" Aries demanded, her voice cracked with exhaustion.

"Auntie!" Aidan cried, running to the cage. He stood before it and turned around. Calypso was coming after him.

"Stay away!" Aidan shouted. He could feel his body tingling; his blood boiling with panic and anger. Calypso ignored him and continued to come closer.

"STAY AWAY!" Aidan screamed. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth praying for all the strength to save his beloved aunt. No sooner had the words left Aidan's mouth, but the room started to shake. The tremor broke several sections of the ceiling loose, bringing them down around them. Aidan ducked and scooted into the cage by squeezing between the bars. Calypso laughed.

"Very impressive, little one. I'll bet you didn't even know you could do that, did you?" she purred.

"Yes I did!" Aidan lied. "And…and there's more where that came from!" Calypso laughed harder as she strode across the room to a computer screen. Aidan had had enough.

"Let my Auntie and me go!" he screeched.

"Why? Just minutes from now I will have what I want. The Titans are falling apart at the seams. Poor boy, you don't seem to realize what a serious predicament you are really in," Calypso replied smoothly.

"Aidan," Aries mumbled. "Listen to me. I know you don't know how to control your power, but just this once, I want you to get angry."

"Why?" Aidan murmured.

"You got angry and the room shook. Get angrier and it may just get us out of here," she replied. Aidan refocused his gaze on Calypso. He remembered his parents fighting. He remembered Uncle Mammoth screaming in pain. He remembered fear…he remembered seeing Auntie Aries all chained up and hurting….

The room started to tremble—

Then the room started to shake—

Then objects on the walls and ceiling began to shudder and fall—

"It's working!" Aries jerked on her chains and they pulled free of the crumbling walls. She wrapped her arms around Aidan as more debris fell around them. Aidan screamed with the unrestrained intensity of his newfound power and held his temples, tears streaming down his little face.

Far above them, the Titans were flying in overhead, using the T-Ship to track the signal.

"There's something wrong!" Cyborg cried. "The signal is fading in and out!"

"I'm feeling tremors! Something's making that whole building shake!" Terra shouted.

"Split up! Bumblebee, you take half the team and search for Aries and Aidan. The rest of us will take on whoever is behind all this!" Robin cried.

"TITANS! TOGETHER!"

Calypso wasn't prepared for what she saw. Not even close. She gasped in shock when the roof of the complex turned blinding white and was ripped off completely. Seconds later, nine Titans bore down on the villainess inside. Beast Boy ducked his head and moments later, he was 20 feet tall, roaring as a T-Rex. Robin, Torque, Speedy, and Cyborg were poised on the ground, gritting their teeth in determination as Raven, Terra, Bumblebee and Aqualad hovered in the air.

"Give it up. You've lost," Robin growled.

"I haven't lost, my pet," Calypso called, rearing back and then projecting her voice across the litter strewn battlefield. The male members of the Titans crumbled, falling to their knees and crawling across the floor toward Calypso as if hypnotized by her voice.

"Titans! Attack!" Bumblebee bellowed, following as Raven and Terra soared past her. The room was still shaking, Aidan's fear manifesting itself through the trembling of the surrounding walls. Terra took pieces of the debris that had fallen around them and hurled them, narrowly missing Calypso as she dodged the projectiles and laughed. Calypso used her telekinesis and extended her hand toward Terra and the earthen Titan fell from the rock she was hovering on.

"Terra!" Raven shouted, using her own powers to hoist her friend back up onto the rock she controlled.

"Thanks for the lift!" Terra shouted back. Raven dipped in around Terra and rained broken shards of glass and lexan over the villain. Calypso fired back, stopping the shards and turning them on her. Raven threw a shield around herself but this distraction allowed Calypso to fire a disruption charge, throwing Raven across the room. When Calypso did this, she stopped her hypnotic song and the guys snapped out of their trance. Before she could catch herself, Raven made contact with something soft. She hit the ground in the clutches of a giant green kangaroo.

"Hi, honey," Beast Boy said, morphing back into a man and pecking his wife on the cheek.

"I always knew you'd catch me when I fell," she replied, soaring off again. Torque and Speedy plunged forward on Torque's motorcycle and provided the next leg of the assault with Robin running along side of them. Speedy leaned out from behind his wife and extended his bow arm. The arrow struck near Calypso's feet and froze her to the ground. Calypso shot a disruption charge again, this time, Speedy didn't have time to shoot. Torque laid the motorcycle over, effectively dodging the shockwave, but as Speedy jumped from the bike, Torque was pinned beneath it. She slid along with the bike and into the wall. Robin swept into the scene and took Calypso hand to hand.

"Come now, Robin," she growled. "You can't possibly hurt the woman you love!"

"The woman I love is at home with my children. Besides," he said with a sly grin. "You weren't that great." Enraged, Calypso sang again and the guys grabbed their ears. Bumblebee and Beast Boy teamed up, both insect sized and stung the villainess into silence again. Calypso whirled on them, swatting them both in one fell swoop.

As Bumblebee and Beast Boy tumbled through the air, Robin was back up, using his staff to combat the agile villainess. She surprised Robin four moves into the fight and swept his feet out from under him. She had a clear shot now, and she had his staff. She swung the weapon in the air and brought it down on her helpless victim.

CRACK!

"I…said…to leave…my…family…ALONE!" growled Aries, holding a staff of her own made from a loose piece of the electrical piping. She pressed this weapon against Calypso's, meeting her enemy nose to nose.

"In what world could a weakling like you ever defeat me?" Calypso sneered.

"You have nowhere to hide, Calypso," Aries replied. "Give it up."

"Another day perhaps. For now, keep your sniveling family—for all the good it will do you," Calypso said, vanishing in a wisp of violet smoke.

With this, Aidan came out of his hiding place.

"Daddy!" he cried, running full tilt into Speedy's arms.

"My son!" Speedy cried spontaneously. He swept Aidan up into his arms and hugged him, kissing the top of his head over and over.

"I saved Auntie Aries!" he squealed. Torque, who had pried herself from the wreckage of her beloved motorcycle, rejoined the group and took her turn to hold her only child close.

"He did save me….he was great…" Aries said weakly. With this, Aries dropped her weapon and blacked out, hitting the ground as her teammates and family gasped and cried out in surprise. Speedy moved to his sister's side, knowing finally that this was really her, and swept her up into his arms.

"Let's go home," Speedy said simply.

A/N: One more chapter to go! Then it's the end of the book! Can you believe it? Thank you all so much to those of you who have been reading with me from the beginnings! Can you believe you've been with me nearly 400 pages of text? THANK YOU!