The view from the top of the tower was awe-inspiring. The entire city sprawled out on the east; the sparkling water twinkled to the horizon on the west. The cool wind raced around me, picking up my hair and tossing it all around my face. Nature felt extremely nice now—I felt so much more in tune with it since unlocking Raven's powers. I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly, allowing nature to sweep around me.

The world seemed different from up here. It seemed much more friendly and bright. It was only literally only a couple dozen stories up from the streets that I used to live on, but figuratively it could have been another planet.

While I took in the scenery, my mind churned over the details of my plan. It had to work this time. If it didn't, I don't think I would ever have the guts or the hope to try it again. But then what would I do? Stay on as a Teen Titan and live out my days as a superhero? That sounded so…retarded. But I couldn't just take off in Raven's body. No, it had to work.

"What are you doing up here?" Robin spoke from behind me.

"Just…meditating," I responded, turning to face him. He stood a few feet away, his cape billowing out to his side. "It's relaxing—helps clear the chaos in my head."

He lifted an eyebrow and gave a soft smile. "You're becoming more and more like Raven every day."

That was the very notion that I couldn't get out of my head. "I know," I said softly. "And I don't even know her. Is it because she's still in here with me? Or is it the power that defines us?"

"Maybe you two are just similar people," he suggested.

I highly doubted that. I'd seen the books in Raven's room—and her wardrobe. "So what are you doing up here?" I asked.

"Looking for you," he said. "Wondering if you'd join me in a workout."

"What kind of workout?"

"The kind where we pretend we're in the field."

He said it so casually, but I could read between the lines. "If you want to test my powers," I said curtly, "you can just say so."

His eyebrows furrowed a bit. "I just need to make sure that everyone on my team is capable and safe," he said.

"I understand that," I said. "You just don't have to try and b.s. about it. I'm in."

He nodded in satisfaction. "Okay. Let's head down to the training room." He turned around and began to walk toward the door. "You can change and—" I raised my hand, letting my magic leap in front of him and forming a solid barrier, which he bumped into.

"No," I said shortly.

He looked back at me, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Right here," I said.

"But we're on top of the tower…"

"You think an enemy is going to wait to appear until we're at a convenient location or not wearing a great-looking pink sweater?" I asked. I released the magic barrier and folded my arms across my chest. The anger was beginning to simmer inside of me. Good—I'd need it. "If we're going to play, then let's play. Right here. You and me."

My words were said with a lot more bravery than I felt. I was confident in my ability to use my powers, but I wasn't confident about how I could defeat Robin. God only knew how many hours of actual combat time he'd logged. I'd managed to help us in two battles—one by using my street smarts and one by getting so pissed that I shut up a couple of loudmouths. That didn't really mount up to a glowing resume. Plus he knew how Raven worked—I didn't even know how I worked, much less what Robin's tricks were.

"Okay," he said with a nod, seeming somewhat pleased by my words. He took out his communicator and proceeded to warn Cyborg to ignore any alarms that we might set off in the process of our workout.

As he spoke, I focused on letting my emotions churn inside of me, drawing the energy into my body. I thought about Slade, my stepfather, and various other people who had hurt or taken advantage of me; the thoughts fueled my inner fire, and I could feel the pressure building up inside. Finally Robin snapped his communicator shut. He retrieved his bowstaff, twirling it in his hand.

I raised my arms out perpendicularly to my body, my palms facing away. The power raced to my hands, lighting my hands with black flames. Robin stopped twirling his staff, holding it tightly in his hand as he crouched into a fighting stance.

For a moment we stared each other down like some gunslingers in an old western and waited for the other person to make a move. My eyes were locked on him, watching for the twitch of a muscle that would indicate an attack. Was he going to make a move before I did? My skin tingled in anticipation.

He moved first. He leapt forward like a pouncing cat, his staff coming down hard. I lifted my arm, allowing the magic to form a shield that would block the blow.

He came straight at me, throwing a punch with his left arm. I deflected it surprisingly easily. He grabbed at me, taking my arm and jerking me toward him. He threw another punch. I blocked with my forearms, enhanced by magic, and drove a knee toward his gut at the same time. He released his grip on me and stepped back before I could make contact.

Suddenly he threw something on the ground, and a thick cloud of smoke billowed around him. Shit. Now he was going to play tricky. The strong wind immediately began to clear the air, but he was already out of sight. My eyes swept around me, locking on every generator, vent, and barrier around me. He had to be crouched behind one of them.

I took a step forward, and then another. Nothing moved or made a sound except for the wind rushing past me.

Something moved in the corner of my eye, and I whirled toward it, arms up in a reflex action. I saw a blur of red and green as Robin flew toward me. I stumbled backward, almost tripping over my own feet. I needed something to protect me. I—

Something broadsided the Boy Wonder, hitting him with such force that he grunted as the air was knocked out of him. He and the object landed a few yards to my right. I spun toward him, seeing a mangled central air unit lying on the ground beside him. God, had I done that? This was getting a bit dangerous. Adrenaline coursed through me, and I could feel it feeding my power like it did during the confrontation with Punk Rocket and Harmony. It wouldn't take much to let it all loose, but I didn't want to hurt Robin. I'd need to hold back a little bit.

Robin was lifted himself on all fours, shaking his head clear.

"Robin?" I spoke, dashing toward him. "Are you okay?"

I saw my mistake too late. With my guard down, Robin suddenly leapt to his feet, hitting the backs of my knees with his staff. Despite that I spun my arms in the air to regain my balance, I still ended up on my ass.

He pounced on top of me, and I lifted my hands to meet his in an attempt to push him off me. Our hands gripped each other tightly.

"You're not trying hard enough," he growled from above me. I saw with some satisfaction that his forehead was moist with sweat. He pressed his weight against me, and I felt the muscles in my arms burn.

"Neither are you," I retorted, gritting my teeth and pushing back. "How are you going to trust my skills unless you let loose with everything you've got?"

"Be careful what you—"

"Azarathmetrionzinthos," I spouted, speaking so fast that the words melded together. Energy burst from my hands in a quick flash, the force sending him flying away from me. I sat up quickly to trace my opponent, but he had disappeared again.

I cursed under my breath as I rose to my feet.

"Hey Morgan!" came Robin's voice.

I turned toward the noise, spying a half-dozen birdarangs on a collision course with my body. I covered my head with my hands; my forearms blocked my face. I again used the magic to shield myself, but even as I was doing so I knew that I should have taken a more offensive position. I heard several of the birdarangs smash into my shielding, but one zipped past my leg, slicing through the material and cutting my flesh. I cried out, feeling my blood rush out of the wound. I quickly lowered my arms, launching the black shield straight ahead of me like a missile.

It hit a generator, ripping through it like paper. It exploded impressively, sending black smoke and shrapnel into the air. With some satisfaction, I saw Robin leap out from behind it at the last second. Got 'em.

He was upon me within an eye blink. A fist whizzed within an inch of my face as I stepped back. I took a quick step forward and kicked toward Robin's hip. He blocked it easily, and then swung again. I caught his wrist and pulled it past me. For a moment, we were almost face-to-face.

Robin pulled left, then quickly back to the right. I braced myself, but he was too strong. Both of my feet were off the ground; the rule of gravity took over. I didn't go down, but it was damn close. Before I could recover, Robin drove a pile-driver fist into my ribs so hard that I imagined I heard one crack. Maybe it wasn't my imagination.

Me and my big mouth.

Punch. Block. Kick. My brain hummed. Robin and I circled each other—hands up, eyes locked, legs bent. Without warning, he suddenly jumped up and spun at the same time, whipping his right leg around in a roundhouse kick—straight for my head.

I ducked, barely missing the opportunity of introducing my face to his steel-toed boot. He landed smoothly and turned. I spun, trying to deliver a solid kick to the body.

He blocked it easily. He took the blow against the flat of one palm, pushed sharply to throw me off-balance, and then followed the push with a straight left that took me right between the eyes.

The sound of his knuckles hitting my skull was amazing. It was like someone had broken a rock with a sledgehammer. My head snapped back and I stumbled. I felt my teeth bite into my lower lip, and the coppery taste of blood filled my mouth.

Sparks of red light swarmed through my eyes. My ears started to ring. All at once my arms and legs gained fifty pounds each.

I tried to get my hands up to block, but they didn't listen to orders. Another punch whistled in and hit me on the temple.

The sky flashed into bright shades of yellow and red. There was a sound in my ears like the road from a hundred seashells.

I backpedaled fast and managed to avoid the next shot. Another punch came. Blocked. Another. Dodged. Another. It glanced off the top of my head without shooting any fireworks through my skull.

I dropped to the ground, semi-trying to knock his legs out from under him. My foot clipped his leg, but he jumped over my swing. I twisted by body and scissored by free leg at him. It slammed into him at full force, knocking him onto his back. Obviously that one had been a surprise to him. Then we both scrambled to get up before the other.

I didn't wait to get up to my feet. Fuck this hand-to-hand shit. Raven's was psychokinetic, not a tae kwon do master. He was trying to force me into playing the game his way—and I had no way to win with those rules. I was going to have to change things up. I held my arm diagonally across my chest, and then whipped it out straight, sending a stream of black energy directly toward him. It wrapped around him like a giant hand, holding his arms against his body.

But I'd left his hands free. I didn't realize my mistake until he let something drop from his glove. The object exploded when it hit the ground, sending out a light as bright as the sun. It surprised me so much that I accidentally released my hold on Robin as I turned my head away from the light. I realized my mistake as soon as it happened. Unable to open my eyes and see where he was to grab at him again, I lifted my arms over my head in a "Y" shape and unleashed some more magic.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," I murmured to myself. A dome of blackness surrounded me, protecting me from anything that he might launch my way. Then I fed more energy into the dome, allowing it to grow, expanding outward. It pushed against anything that it met, knocking over the generators and vents that got in its way. I could sense everything that touched as it nudged back against my shield—that is how I knew when it bumped into Robin.

He scrambled away from it, but I already had him pinpointed in my mind's eye. Instantly I let the magic grab hold of the scattered items on the roof and launch them toward where Robin was standing. He would dart to the side of one, and then jump back to avoid another. He threw some more of his toys at me, but I wiped them out with the door to the roof without breaking my attack. Then my mind registered exactly where he was standing—over the opening that allowed the T-Ship to get in and out of the tower. I sent three objects at him at once; he executed an insane and showy backflip into the air to avoid my arsenal, not realizing that I was just pushing him toward a certain spot. While he was in mid-air, I opened the hatch beneath him, robbing him of a surface to land on. I thought I heard a curse pass from his lips as he disappeared through the opening to the landing bay below.

Everything went still.

I didn't move for a moment. I kept my arms raised, ready to attack if needed. But all was still. Too still.

I knew better than approach the edge. I'd seen enough movies to know that it was always bad to go to the ledge to see what happened to your opponent. Nothing good ever happened to the moron who did that.

A minute passed. I remained where I was, arms out, the wind tossing my hair into my eyes.

Come on, I urged mentally. Come on.

More time passed. It had to have been at least two minutes now since he'd fallen. I began to get more and more worried. What if I'd hurt him? What if he'd lost consciousness?

"Robin?" I called out. No response. "Are you there? Come on, Rob, this isn't funny. Seriously. Just let me know if you're okay."

Nothing.

Shit. I had hurt him. My concern finally outweighed everything else. I lowered my hands, running over to the edge. I looked down, seeing the T-Ship on its platform below.

"Robin?" I shouted again, hearing my voice bounce off the walls of the landing bay.

Suddenly a cord flew up from the pit, wrapping itself around my legs. A burst of adrenaline ran through me, but I'd let down my guard, and my anger wasn't readily available for me to use to tap into the magic. I knew I had screwed up.

There was a yank on the cord, which pulled my legs forward. I lost my balance and fell headfirst into the pit.

I screamed. I couldn't help it. The ground rushed toward me and I closed my eyes tightly.

The cord around my legs suddenly snapped tight, and a sound much like a hiccup escaped me as my body stopped. I opened my eyes.

I was suspended upside-down, my head about five or six feet from the floor. The rope still had some momentum to it, and it swung me back and forth slowly. My sweater had succumbed to gravity, and was bunched up around my breasts. I quickly grabbed the hem and put it back into place, holding it there.

Robin suddenly appeared from the shadows, an insufferable grin on his face. "Nice of you to drop in," he said, walking up to me. "How's it hanging?"

"Are you going to pun me to death?" I scowled. I felt humiliated just swinging there like that. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, too. I was so angry with myself, to boot. I'd known better!

He lifted a hand, making a slashing motion across my throat. "Gotcha," he said, obviously pleased with himself.

"Yeah, yeah. I knew you were going to get me once I came to the ledge," I said. "I knew it!"

"Then why did you do it?" he asked, the tone in his voice like a teacher chiding a student. He stepped back tilting his head sideways as he looked at me. Perhaps it made it easier.

"I—I was worried about you," I admitted.

"Are you going to let your compassion get to you in the battlefield?" he asked.

"No," I said angrily, my eyebrows furrowing. "This was different and you know it. This was you and me fighting. This wasn't real."

"This wasn't different," he said sharply, standing straight and folding his arms. "You never know who you're going to have to fight."

His words confused me a bit. "You planning on turning evil or something?" I questioned smartly.

He didn't say anything for a moment. "We've had to fight each other on one occasion or another," he admitted slowly. "For real."

Oh joy. Another aspect of this superhero life, I guess. Seems like you couldn't really trust anyone 100 percent of the time.

"So I failed your test because of my compassion?" I asked somewhat bitterly.

"No," he said. "I'll admit that compassion is important. Nothing is black-and-white. And you didn't fail. You did good. Really good. I have to admit that I'm impressed."

I was shocked. So shocked that I couldn't think of anything to say. My mouth hung open dumbly.

"We'll keep doing workouts," he said. "But nothing this intense." He pointed toward his cheek, and I noticed that it was a deep purple shade. When had that happened? Had I done that?

"So," I began, "any chance of getting down today?"

He smiled abashedly, as if he'd forgotten that I was hanging upside-down like a Christmas turkey. He turned his torso a bit, and I saw that the cord was hooked to something in his utility belt. He flicked a switch, and the cord snapped free from his belt.

Seconds later, I felt the tension give, and I began to drop again. I let out a small yelp, but I only dropped a few inches before I landed softly in Robin's arms. He held me tightly against him, and I felt myself blush profusely again.

He bent to set me down. I was so relieved when my butt finally touched the floor. Solid ground at last! I noticed, however, the Robin winced a bit as he moved away.

"Am I that heavy?" I asked.

"No," he said, a bit chagrinned. He sat on the floor across from me. "But you did hit me pretty hard."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

"Don't apologize," he said. "I told you not to hold back. I was just cursing myself later for saying that," he said with a smile.

I smiled back. "Me, too," I said, touching my lip. It was sticky and extremely tender. "I can't believe you hit a girl," I chided.

A mixture of emotions spread across his face, as if he couldn't believe that he had done it, either. Perhaps I had gotten to him a bit more than he would like to admit.

"Don't worry about it," I spoke with a smile. "I know I egged you into it."

"I mean what I said out there," he said, running a hand through his hair (which was still perfectly coifed even after all our fighting). "You fought really well. I honestly wasn't expecting anything on that caliber from you."

"Maybe I inherited some of Raven's reflexes," I said dismissively. But my tone was no reflection of what I felt inside. I was so excited that I wasn't sure my skin could contain my happiness. I had done it. Every bruise and cut was worth it. At least, it was worth it right now—I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it when I woke up after a night's sleep.

I raised my fist up over my legs, and then opened my hand, spreading my fingers wide. As I did, the cord unwound itself from my legs and fell to the ground.

"You know, it's kind of curious, but your powers seem to manifest differently than Raven's."

"What do you mean?" I asked, glancing up and pushing some of my hair behind my ear.

"Just the way you use them—some of the things you do. They're not Textbook Raven."

"Well, I'm not Raven," I said in a tone that made it clear that I was sick of being compared to Raven. "I mean, don't cars act differently in the hands of different drivers?"

He nodded. "I suppose you're right. I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything—I was just stating an observation."

"Well, there's bound to be some differences, right? I mean, I haven't even figured out how to fly yet."

"Or heal. Or phase through walls."

I gaped at him. "You mean there's more? And here I thought I was getting the hang of it."

"Believe me, you are." He reached for the cord that now rested by my feet. I saw him wince again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

He nodded and began to wind up the cord. "I'm fine. It's just as the adrenaline dies down, the pain starts to kick up a bit."

"Let me see it," I said.

"It's no big—"

"Let me see it," I insisted.

He hesitated a bit, and then lifted up the right side of his shirt, showing me a dazzling display of swollen red and purple skin. It must have happened when I threw the air conditioner at him.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed, moving my legs so that I was kneeling on the floor. "Did I break a rib?"

"Nah," he said nonchalantly, lowering his shirt. "You just bruised me really good."

"Are you sure?" I asked warily.

"Yeah, pretty sure. I've had a broken rib before."

I sat quietly for a moment. "Let me try to heal it."

"What?"

"You heard me! Let me try and heal it."

"But—"

"Didn't you just say that one of Raven's powers was healing? Give me a chance here. I won't mess it up. The worst case is that absolutely nothing happens." I wasn't positive that nothing happening was the worst-case scenario, but I felt fairly confident.

He nodded his consent.

"Lay back," I ordered. He lied down, resting his head on my legs. "Now close your eyes," I said, setting my left hand on his forehead.

I gently lifted his shirt with my right hand, letting my eyes take in the starburst patterns that had developed over his skin. I could do this, couldn't I? It was the same magic, just with a different purpose. I just had to think about it differently.

Of course, that's what I'd been telling myself about the flying stuff, too.

I set my hand on his wound, and he jumped a tiny bit at the touch of my cool hand. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the nerve impulses being received from my fingers…and what lied beneath them. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," I whispered. I poured energy through my fingertips, willing it to knit the damage that had been done.

It took a moment, but then I could feel it working. I wasn't even sure how I was doing it, but it was unmistakable that his body had gone into healing overdrive. After a minute or two, any sign of his injury had completely vanished.

I opened my eyes, examining my handiwork. "You're done," I said with a smile, removing my hands.

He opened his eyes and sat up, lifting his shirt to inspect his former wound. "Wow," he praised. "You did it."

"You doubted?" I spoke, still smiling.

He lowered his shirt and then smiled back at me. "Thanks," he said.

We didn't say anything for a moment, and everything suddenly felt extremely awkward. Yeah, nothing like some thick tension while sitting in a landing bay, coated with sweat, dirt, and blood. I rose to my feet. "I should go clean up," I said.

Robin climbed to his feet, too. "And I should go apologize to Cyborg for messing up the roof. He's gonna be a bit upset."

I thought of the chaos that I had caused on top of the building. I really hoped that I hadn't screwed anything important up. I just hadn't been thinking of that at the time.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," I apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Robin returned. "We've had worse things happen." Yeah, like that was going to make me feel better.

We stood there for another awkward moment. Finally, I stepped back. "Well, thanks for the workout. I'm sure I'll never forget it." I spun around and began to walk away, muttering under my breath about how completely lame I was.

"Hey, Mor?" Robin spoke from behind me.

I turned back around.

And suddenly found Robin's lips pressed against mine.

My eyes flew open, and I found myself staring up at the ceiling of my bedroom. My fingers quickly brushed over my lip, searching for the sticky sore. Nothing. My leg wasn't cut, either.

A dream. It had all been a dream. A really fucking intense dream.

Thank God.

Of course, I hadn't had to undergo the trial of my powers, either. Maybe I didn't really have that kind of control. Maybe it was just all part of the fantasy world.

I rolled over, my hands gripping the pillow. My heart was pounding inside my chest. Why on earth did my head have to be creating delusions like that? As if things weren't messed up enough. Was I actually getting a fucking crush on Robin? God, this couldn't be happening. He was in love with Raven, not Raven's bodily host.

But it was just a dream. It didn't matter.

Or did it matter?

Hadn't I read something about dreams being a magical portal or something like that? A doorway for visions or prophecies?

It couldn't be.

Despite my crush or whatever the hell I might be feeling, I refused to park myself in this body for life. Robin deserved the chance to tell Raven—the real Raven—how he felt. And, perhaps, I needed to tell him how I felt—as Morgan.

I sat up, throwing the covers off of me. There wasn't any time to waste. Screw the extra planning or preparing. It was now or never. And "never" wasn't an option.