The doorbell rang.
Starfire rose from her seat on the couch. "I shall—"
"I got it!" Cyborg ran past his friends in a blur, wafting their hair into their faces.
"He's sure in a hurry," Terra commented, blowing her hair from her eyes with a huff.
"Yeah, I haven't seen him this excited since Raven left," Robin added.
"Dude, what's going on?" Beast Boy asked as Cyborg reappeared carrying a large box.
"The ultimate in computer technology is now ours!" Cyborg exclaimed in reply. "Man, I've waited a whole month for this."
"Why didn't you tell them you're a Teen Titan? You could've gotten it sooner," Robin inquired, curious.
"I did tell them. That's why I got it a month after it came out. The wait list is at seven months already."
Terra whistled in awe.
"When did this happen?" Robin asked.
"I was looking through a magazine and saw an ad for a contest to hack into a new security system. For a week, no one could do it. Then some dude comes in from out of nowhere and does it in a snap! The judges were so impressed with the winner they gave the guy a contract to build a whole new system."
"The one you have there," Robin interrupted, pointing at the package.
Cyborg nodded. "I ordered it as soon as the release was announced."
"Let us know if it turns out as great as it's supposed to be," Robin said.
"And if it helps find Raven," Terra added.
Cyborg's mood lost some of its brightness. "Yeah, I don't know how, but I've been hoping it'll help find her, too." He left to install his new toy.
After nearly three hours of surprisingly quick installation and guidance with an easily understood manual, Cyborg was again sprinting down the hall.
"Guys," he panted, his windedness not entirely due to the run, "I think I found her. Raven." His voice rose in eagerness. "I know where to find Raven."
After a minute instant of shocked silence, all of the Titans were on their feet and Starfire was squealing with joy.
"Let's go, I'll drive."
As Cybrog sped down the city streets, the others finally calmed themselves enough to speak coherently.
"How'd you find her?" Robin spoke first.
"That system, man. It had everything, even a person search. It gave me an idea. I put in all of Raven's known aliases and they all had one thing in common." He shook his head in doubt. "You're not going to believe it."
"What?" the four pressed.
"They all had a library card at the same library." Ignoring the incredulous shouts, he continued, "And that library is about a forty minute drive from the Tower, just outside the border of Jump City."
"Forty minutes? I don't want to wait that long! What if she leaves again?" Terra said worriedly.
"Don't worry, we're going to make it in twenty. After all, I'm driving." He almost grinned at the mixture of fright and skepticism he saw in their faces. Twenty minutes later, only Starfire did not understand the argument that yellow did not mean 'speed up'.
Cyborg parked in front of a large building, almost ancient in appearance.
The group rushed inside and immediately approached the information desk. A woman with short, grey hair observed them over thin-framed glasses. When all five started to speak at once, the woman shushed them. "This is a library. Keep your voices down!" she scolded, though her voice remained quiet.
The Titans immediately ceased their noise, and Robin was silently elected to speak. "Sorry. We're looking for our friend Raven—"
"That lovely girl? She's not here today."
The Titans blinked, confused.
"Does she work here?" Terra asked.
"Oh, no. I offered, but apparently the life of a librarian never appealed to her. She's just spent a lot of time here. Passion for knowledge, that one."
"Do you have her address?" Robin inquired.
"Yes." Their faces brightened with anticipation. "It goes on record when a person registers for a library card. But I'm afraid that information is confidential." The group deflated visibly.
"Please!" Terra begged.
"Why is it so confidential?" Beast Boy asked.
"Usually it's not. But she asked for her address not to be given out to anyone. Girl likes her privacy, I think," she added as an afterthought.
Starfire suddenly started crying. "Will we never find friend Raven?" she sobbed quietly, remembering the rule of silence.
Terra wrapped an arm around the weeping alien girl, near tears herself.
"Come on, let's get going. We'll have to search around here. She can't be too far," Robin made an attempt to sound encouraging, but his disappointment was apparent.
They turned to leave, when the woman stopped them. "Wait. I suppose once won't hurt. Just a minute." She typed for a minute on her computer before writing quickly on a piece of paper and handing it to Starfire. "Now, go on. Go find your friend."
They needed no persuading, and were out the door and into the car in a flash.
"Good going, Star!" Beast Boy congratulated. "That waterworks show softened her up."
"I thought she might, as you say, 'soften up' if I showed the 'waterworks'," Starfire replied.
The four were silent a moment, then, "You did that on purpose?" they demanded.
"I wished to find friend Raven…was I wrong?"
"No, Star, that was genius!" Terra said, though certainly unexpected.
"We're here!" Cyborg chimed. They had arrived at a decent apartment complex several stories tall. "She's in 4056," he said, reading the paper.
Too impatient to wait for the elevator, they ran up the three flights of stairs and straight to Raven's door.
XXXXXRaven was practicing with her powers, working at molding to her will. She was hovering a few feet from the ground in her old uniform, legs crossed, and was so deep in her concentration, she nearly fell when at the unexpected, rapid knocking at her door.
Wary, because she never had visitors at her apartment outside Jump City, Raven made all evidence of her magic disappear before approaching the door and cautiously opening it. She silently cursed the place for its lack of peepholes.
Immediately she was knocked to the floor. On instinct, she almost released her powers to defend herself. Until she recognized the choked up voices rambling in her ears and the colorful uniforms—of her design and make—as those of the Teen Titans.
Eventually, the two girls, who had been to ones to tackle her to the ground, allowed her to rise. She was shocked to see them, all five of them, at her door. If not for the violent greeting, she might not have believed they stood before her.
For a moment, silence reigned. Neither party knew where to begin.
"Raven, we're sorry," Terra finally started.
"Yeah, Rae. We never wanted you to leave," Cyborg stated.
"And we never meant to make you feel unwanted," Robin said.
"Or unappreciated," Beast Boy added.
"Friend Raven, we've all missed you greatly."
Raven was not certain why they had come. They did not need her. They had no reason… "That's nice of you to say, but—"
"No 'buts', Raven," Robin interrupted forcefully. "I know we treated you unfairly. I guess we were just surprised and excited to see Terra, and we got caught up in the moment, not that that's any excuse. We're all really sorry. You've helped us all so much…."
"Especially me," Starfire spoke. "You saved me," tears sprung to her eyes, "and you were harmed instead."
"And I want to apologize for snapping at you about not telling us when you were hurt," Robin added. "I was more shocked than angry that you had hidden your injury. I don't want to see any of my friends hurt."
"We were worried when we saw how you'd been trying to hold out without medical attention," Cyborg said.
"And then when you left…! Man, we looked everywhere," Beast Boy declared. "We were asking everyone we knew, but we couldn't find you."
"You…you were looking for me?" Raven asked. "For how long?"
"The whole time," Beast Boy said. "We were so close sometimes, too. At that airport…"
"And at the club," Terra spoke up.
"The movie premier," Cyborg said.
"Then with the uniforms," Robin reminisced.
"And Mishy-gan," Starfire added.
Raven's eyes were wide. They had been searching for her? And so diligently…
"Raven," Terra spoke quietly. "I owe you so much for bringing me back. I don't know how—and you don't have to tell me either. I'm just grateful. I certainly didn't want you to leave just because I was back. I wasn't trying to take your place. No one could. Please, come back."
"We want you to come back with us," Robin said firmly. "Rae, we're not the Teen Titans without you." He held out his hand in offering, her communicator resting in his palm.
Uncertain, her eyes darted around to meet the multicolored gazes. All of them were beseeching, hoping, begging. They really had searched faithfully for her. They really had missed her. They really did want her back.
Raven reach out and took her communicator back, Robin giving her hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it. Terra and Starfire again embraced Raven, though more gently. A small smile graced the dark girl's lips.
"Come on, Rae. Let's go home," Cyborg said affectionately.
She nodded, and the six walked out to the car together. Raven decided she could return to the apartment later to gather the few belongings she had acquired over the months, and return the library books.
"Okay, now I'm dying to ask. How did you get all of those jobs?" Beast Boy demanded as they drove at a more legal—and less stressful—pace back to the Tower.
"I read," she stated, as if the answer to his question was obvious. When her companions gave her various look of confusion at her vague reply, she continued. "When I left, I didn't know where to go or what to do. I—I didn't really want to leave, so I stayed near the city. I ended up in front of a library, so I went inside for shelter from the weather…and I figured I might as well read something. But I didn't know what to read, so I started at the beginning."
"Beginning?" Starfire repeated.
"With 'A'."
After a moment, Robin understood. "Aviation. You were a pilot first."
"But you changed jobs, like, every month," Terra objected. "How'd you read all of that?"
"A trick Malchoir taught me."
"Oh."
"So what job were you planning on next?"
"None. I was reading books on witchcraft. Some had ways for helping me control my powers," she smiled.
"Why'd you keep changing your job?"
Raven shoulders rose and fell in a small shrug. "None of them ever felt…right, I guess."
The car came to a stop. Titan Tower rose above them, the glass reflecting the light of the setting sun. Cyborg turned to look at Raven. "Welcome back, Rae."
A/N: I can't apologize enough, everyone. I'm so sorry! I had a ten-foot thick concrete wall of writer's block, I swear. My thanks to ShadyMinion, who handed me the sledgehammer.
RBosaZ1: I am so sorry you had to wait so long. I hope the chapter was at least somewhat worth the wait. Thank you for reviewing. I really do appreciate it.
GS Dragono: Sorry I took so long! And, yes, I had been sorting through the legal information for a while. It was worth the time, though, I think. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you very much for the review!
KidFlashisHot: I'm glad you're pleased with my story, especially with all of the delays. Thanks so much for reviewing!
animegoddess12345: Hello. I am sorry you had to wait so long for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and continue to enjoy the story, which is nearing its end now. Thank you for reviewing. And yes, I do like laffy taffy, though I haven't had any in months.
Raven of the Night676: What do you think of this chapter? I hope it answered your questions/worries. If you have any more, please ask. Thanks for the review, and I hope the wait was not too excruciating.
papersak: I hope you like this chapter, too, despite the lull between this one and the last. I really am sorry about that.
Dancingirl3: They met! What do you think about it? I had trouble with the reunion scene. I hope it was decent. Thank you for the review!
DelofDani: I decided that stressing my brain for another near encounter was only pointlessly postponing this chapter, though I had trouble writing this one as well. Sorry about the wait. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Thank you for your review!
NevermoretheRaven: I only recently saw Birthmark, I'm so behind on watching the show. As for making her an antagonist, did you mean in this story, or another? I am so sorry you had to wait so long! Thanks for reviewing!
mysti-eyed: You're one of my few reviewers who isn't tired of Raven's continual disappearing act, that I can ascertain, so I'll tell you a secret: they did not see her at all of her jobs. There are more surprises to come! Thank you for your kind review, I'm glad you like my story. I apologize for the seemingly endless delay.
Broken Outcast: Thank you very much! I am really touched you think so. I am just so sorry you have to suffer through such long intervals of no updates.
Darkness: I am glad you have enjoyed my story. However, I am afraid working through writer's block may have decreased the quality of this chapter. Thank you for the review!
moo: I feel special that you were mystified, in a sense, by the last chapter. I doubt this one is anywhere near was good, but I hope the torturous wait I put you through was somewhat worth it. Thank you very much for the review!
Khaleda: All of your reviews are very much appreciated. Thank you so much! Now, I think some of your questions were answered in previous chapters, but I'll try and respond to your other comments. As for her age, we don't really know, do we? Her past and heritage are so mysterious. She could probably change her 'legal' age as easily as she has been changing her identity. I'm glad you enjoy the non-romance and details such as her appearance. And there may be more ninja action in the future. I am touched you love my story so much. Thank you again for the kind reviews! And I am truly sorry about how long you had to wait for me to update.
otakualways: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like my story. I really am sorry for how long you had to wait for this installment!
Dark-Magic67: I apologize for not updating sooner. I really appreciate your review, though! I am really happy you like my story! I hope this chapter is not lacking.
Umbra Puella: I am very sorry about the wait! Well, they found her. What do you think? I'm still questioning the reunion, but I didn't want to postpone updating any longer. Thank you for the review!
Sparrowing: They retrieved Raven! I have reservations about the quality of this chapter, especially after how long you had to wait to read it. I am so sorry about that. Thank you for reviewing!
The Last (in disguise): Rather than torment you all with the wait, I decided to skip to them finding her. I question this chapter's quality, though. I hope it was okay. Thank you for reviewing!
YoshiVixen: I am glad you think so, but I was taking too long to write another chapter where she escapes yet again. I hope you don't mind. Thanks very much for reviewing, and I am so sorry you had to wait so long for this chapter!
haley: I am so sorry you had to wait for so long for this chapter! I'm really thankful for your review, and I'm glad you like my story. I hope this chapter did not lower your expectations. I had trouble with it.
RavenRulzRF: I am so sorry you had to wait so long! I hope you weren't sitting like that the entire time. Thank you for the review!
screennameless: Has the dragging ended? I hope this chapter was okay. I am particularly skeptical about the value of the last part. I apologize for the long delay. Thank you for reviewing!