Gotham City Concerto Chapter 7: Kylee’s Story Magic and Mayhem, a teen titans fanfic

Gotham City Concerto

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: The delay in this chapter was caused by two things. First, I wanted to edit it and re-edit it before I put it up, to make sure it turned out okay. Second, because it's so damn long. It took a little over 15,000 words to finish this chapter, so prepare for your butt to fall asleep as you sit and read it.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans, but I'm missing an episode even as I write this...

Chapter 6 - Kylee's Story - Magic and Mayhem

Kylee Rodgers wasn't your average twelve year old girl. She was special in a lot of ways, not the least of which was her keen intellect, and her sharp sense of perception. She was smart, quick on the uptake, and more than a little pretty.

There was also the minor detail that she lived with a half demon and one of the worlds top archers, but that was a minor detail. At least to her it was. Raven and Jason were her friends, confidants, and recently, they had been darn good parents to her.

Kylee was currently standing in a combat ready stance in the park near the apartment she lived in. Jenny stood before her, hunched down in a similar stance. She nodded, approving of Kylee's technique, "Good. You ready?"

"I guess." the younger girl blinked.

Jenny rolled her eyes and ran a hand thought her pink hair, "That's weak. Are you ready, Kylee?"

The brown haired girl nodded this time, more confident, "Yes."

"Good. This is called the suicide drill. You can't stop me, but I want you to try."

Kylee smirked, "Bring it on."

"That's my girl." Jenny smirked back, and charged in.

A half hour later, Kylee was picking herself up off the ground with a wince for the twenty third time, "You weren't kidding when you said I couldn't stop you... how do you move so fast?"

"Practice." Jenny shrugged, helping the younger girl to sit up. She rubbed her back, bringing back some of the feeling and banishing the pain from being tossed on it so many times.

"I guess I have only been learning this for the past two weeks..." Kylee rolled her neck, "I already feel more confident though. Like I could take on the world."

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself. Remember what I told you."

Kylee quoted, "You're teaching me how to defend myself, not how to fight. If someone attacks me, the best defense is to run away."

"Exactly. I know it sounds like standard self defense class drivel, but that's because... well, it is. They say that because it's true."

"I know." Kylee smiled and stood up, "Time to pack it in?"

"About. Let's do some cool down stretches, then we can jog back to your place."

"Aw, man..."

"You need better cardio ability, and you're still too skinny. Have you been conditioning like I told you to?"

"Every day, with Jason. I try to do a quarter of what he does."

"Well, tell him to start doing four hundred of everything." Jenny smiled.

Kylee groaned again.

Later as the sun was starting to set, Kylee sat on the roof top of the apartment building she lived in with Jason and watched the red and gold sky grow darker.

"How do you think Raven is doing?" she asked.

"It's just an informational meeting to tell them what they need to bring to the academy, Kylee. I'm sure she's taking notes and checking out her training partners." he shrugged, "She's do fine."

"I know, but I still worry..."

"She's your guardian, kid. Let the two of us worry about you, not the other way around."

"Someone needs to look after you. If Raven wasn't around, you'd eat nothing but pizza and doughnuts all day."

"And if I wasn't around, she'd do nothing except meditate and read."

"And hang out with me." Kylee poked his arm, "That's it, you're taking up too much of my time with Raven." he chuckled as she adopted a mock-serious face, "You're out of here, mister."

"Uh huh. Make me."

"You're on!" she jumped up and brushed some dirt away from her jeans. Straightening her white t-shirt, she took up her standard combat stance and faced him.

Jason arched an eyebrow, "Oh, I see how it is." he too was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but his shirt was black and had print across the front that read, 'Archers hit ALL the right targets!'

He too took up a stance, and motioned her forward, "If you think you can dish it out, little girl, I'm more than happy to put you in your place."

Kylee grinned and went in low and fast. Jason blocked her first two punches with ease, then danced around her, kicking her in the bottom and sending her sprawling on to the roof top. She quickly rolled out of her fall and jumped back at him, faster than he thought she'd be able to.

"Hey! Jenny taught you how to improvise pretty well!" he jumped back from her, then darted in much faster than she could dodge. Two quick pokes later, and she was reeling back, giggling.

"No fair! You can't tickle me!"

"Well, I could just punch you, but I don't want to damage such a pretty young thing like you!"

"Funny," a sarcastic voice said from above them, "you never say that to me when we're training." The two combatants looked up as Raven descended from the sky and down to the roof top. She stood between them and glared, "Enough horse play. Kylee, you have homework to do."

"Man..." she kicked at some gravel, "I can do the math tomorrow-"

"I have other plans for us tomorrow." Raven cut her off. Kylee was quick enough to notice the glace she shot at Jason, and his slight nod. They both turned to her with smiles though, so she brushed it off.

"Let's head back down then." Jason motioned to the stair well.

Kylee sat at the desk in her room and doodled on the corner of her summer math worksheet. It was the first of seven, and she was currently cursing Pythagoras in a silent manner.

Instead of actually doing the work, she let her mind wander. It wasn't like her to slack off, she knew, but when you lived with two former Titans, and you saw most of the rest of them on a regular basis, things like math homework seemed so... mundane.

All she could think of recently was waking up in the morning and meditating with Raven, then training with Jenny later in the day. She had never been a very athletic person before, but ever since her parents had died, she found herself wanting more from life than a few friends at school and good grades. She wanted to push her limits, expand beyond what she was, and achieve great things.

Looking back down at her math, she sighed. Even super heroes had to do some unpleasant tasks. Victor and Raven had both assailed her with horror stories of Robin's anal retentive filing system for all the cases they had worked. Seemed paper work followed you every where in life.

Voices from beyond her wall caught her attention, and she listened intently. Raven and Jason were good to her, but they had fallen into the classic parent routine of talking about their kid when they thought she wasn't listening fairly quickly. She hadn't told them yet that the wall between their rooms was paper thin, and really didn't intend to any time soon.

"... do you start training?" that was Jason.

"Monday." Raven replied, "Kind of soon, but the force is down on man power since the zombie attack."

"Oh, good. I was hoping we'd get to celebrate my birthday."

"Huh. You just want to get laid." Kylee made a face and stuck her tongue out at the wall. Raven could be so lewd sometimes.

"Actually," Jason laughed a little, "I was hoping we could get the whole gang together. Maybe even call Kori up."

"Hmm. Not a bad idea... Kylee enjoyed the gathering last time, and Star wouldn't stop cooing over her the whole time." Kylee smiled at the memory. Starfire had really taken to her, and they had giggled and talked 'girl talk' for half the night when she had stayed over. Raven continued from the other side of the wall, "I'll give her a call tomorrow."

"Sweet. Hey, you gonna test Kylee tomorrow too?"she sat up at that and listened more intently.

"Yes... I have everything prepared now. I'll finally get the answers to my questions." Kylee's mind reeled. What was Raven going to test her for? Was she going to see if Kylee had what it took to be a super hero? Was she going to be expected to follow in her foster parents footsteps?

Excitement crept up on her. She might be a Titan someday soon! She was almost old enough... after a little more training, she could be ready to-

"I guess she's probably gonna be excited huh?" Jason asked.

"Oh, yes she is. She would be even more excited though if she would stop listening through the wall and do her homework!" Raven sounded irritated.

With an 'eep!' Kylee put pencil to paper and turned her mind to her math. Freakin' mind readers...

"Mom! I'm scared!"

"Don't worry, hunny... everything will be okay!"

From under the propped up pile of rubble with a small opening that let in a tiny sliver of light, she watched her mother back away, "Your father is finding some help right now, and I wont let any of the monsters get you. Just stay in there and don't come out no matter what!"

"Okay... Mom... be careful!"

"I'll see you soon, Kylee... don't be scared. We'll all go home together after this is over, okay?"

"Okay..." Kylee watched as the beautiful woman she had spent all her life with turned around and hefted a chunk of pipe. She watched as that woman swung the pipe and knocked something away.

She watched as that woman fell back suddenly and blocked half the light from the hole, and she watched as torrents of red liquid poured down into the small crawl space she was hiding in...

"MOTHER!" Kylee screamed, flying up out of her bed and grasping at nothing. She breathed heavily as her eyes flew about her room, trying to place where she was. As reality came flooding back to her, she hiccupped once, then burst into body racking sobs.

It was only ten seconds later that warm arms circled around her shoulders, and warm legs wrapped around her huddled body. Soft breasts pressed into her back, and violet hair fell past her vision, tickling her cheek.

"Shhhh... it's okay baby... I've got you now."

"They're getting..." hic! "worse..."

"Tell me. Get it all out."

"I see her dying now... I know I didn't... but I see it so clearly... oh, God... all that blood..." Kylee shivered, "So much... don't want to see it again... Raven... make it go away..."

But Raven was silent. She just rocked the younger girl back and forth and held her more tightly. After several minutes, she uncoiled herself and turned Kylee to face her. Her eyes were soft, and tear filled, but her voice was warm and caring.

"There's some people I think it's time you met."

"Who?" Kylee rubbed at her tears, and looked back at Raven with wide eyes.

"Me." she answered, "All of me."

The two of them stood in the living room, staring down at the creepy looking mirror on the coffee table. It cast no reflection, and the surface swirled with strange black light.

"It's a Seeing Mirror?" Kylee asked in wonder.

"Yes. It allows me direct access to my own mind, and thus my personality matrix."

"What's all that mean?"

"You'll see." Raven held out her hand and smiled down at her foster child, "Hold on to me tightly. This is a bit of a ride when I take other people."

"O-okay." Kylee gripped Raven tightly, and wondered why they were going somewhere dressed in their night clothes. Raven had dressed a little (she usually slept in a tank top and a thong) and had put on some short gray cotton shorts. Kylee herself wore blue and white stripped pajamas.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven called softly, and the mirror came to life. Red light filled the room, and Kylee found herself, along with Raven being pulled into a large portal that appeared in front of them.

"Where are we?" she asked as they walked along a rocky plain. Hellish eternal twilight painted the landscape in a red glow, and the wind blasted slopes of rock and sand stuck out of the earth in sharp points that looked rather unnatural.

"We're in my mind." Raven replied with a shudder, "In a residual image I have left over from my home."

"Your... home?" Kylee looked around in awe, "This is where you were born?"

"No..." Raven smiled and chuckled a little, but her mirth quickly faded, "This is what was left of my home after my father was done conquering it."

"Wait... who's your father?"

"Trigon the Terrible. Demon Lord of his own domain, and ruler of Azarath, his conquered plane."

"Your father was... a demon?"

"Is." Raven corrected, "He still lives."

"So... holy shit."

"Kylee!" Raven stopped and looked down at her with a look of abject horror, "Please tell me you didn't pick up language like that from me!"

"No, mostly it's Jenny." Kylee shrugged, "So... if we're in your mind... can't you change things?"

"Of course I can..." Raven smiled and waved a hand. The world around them changed, and they were standing in a pristine courtyard, with well manicured grass under their feet, and topiary sculptures lining the sides. White columns of alabaster rose far up into the air, holing up the ceiling of a massive temple all around them. It's halls echoed with faint music, voices lifted up in a beautiful chant, mesmerizing the younger girl instantly.

"Wow..." Kylee turned in a full circle, taking it all in, "The sculptures in the temple there are amazing... and the sky is so... blue..."

"This is the Azarath I grew up in." Raven said, looking around with a sad smile, "But none of it exists any more. Trigon built his palace directly on top of the ruins of the Temple of Azer."

"That's... terrible."

"Yes... but you see now why I brought you here. My life was changed just like yours... the day I lost my Mother." she turned and looked to her left, where a woman was suddenly standing. She was beautiful in that wise-beyond-her-years kind of way, her pretty face framed by flowing blond hair. She was tall, and her white robes blew gently about her ankles and bare feet in a non-existent wind. Raven smiled and a tear trailed down her cheek, "She was... killed by my father. I was only ten... but I remember her as if it was yesterday. Her kind eyes... her pure soul... even after being defiled by such a monster as Trigon, she was still the most wonderful woman I ever knew."

Kylee hugged Raven's side and a tear trailed down her face as well, "What was her name?"

"Arella." Raven replied as she wrapped an arm around Kylee's shoulders.

"That's... beautiful."

"If I ever have a daughter... it's what I'll name her." Raven nodded.

They watched the silent image of Raven's mother for several moments, then red cracks of light started to appear in it. The woman exploded in a flash of demonic light, and in her place stood Raven, dressed in a flowing blood red cloak and leotard, just like her old uniform. Four red eyes glared out of the darkness of the drawn hood, and a sinister laugh echoed from all around them.

"Rage." Raven nodded to the emotion personified.

"What is that?" Kylee was shaking in fear, gripping Raven's shirt tightly.

"That, is one of my emotional aspects. Trigon's essence is buried deep inside my soul, taking on the form of my anger and rage, hate and negativity. Everything evil about me is right there, standing before us."

"But..."

"Don't worry. I've made my peace with this part of myself, and it can't harm us here."

"Not as long as we're around!" a pink clad Raven came running into the courtyard, her arms splayed out like airplane wings. She buzzed and made noises like she was flying as she circled around them. Another Raven, this one dressed in lighter shades of blue and white, descended from the sky and landed next to Rage, giving it a stern glare before turning and smiling at Kylee.

"Welcome, child, to our gathering." Love said in a warm voice.

Kylee's eyes grew wide as other Raven's started to appear. Green clad Jealousy, Wisdom, dressed in lighter shades of green, the Protector with her brilliant breast plate of titanium, and even the dark pink wearing Passion showed up and immediately started rubbing against Timid, who pulled her gray cloak about her more tightly and tried to shy away.

"These are my Aspects. Different parts of my personality that make up the whole." Kylee suddenly found she was holding a fist full of white cloth, and looked up to see Raven standing before her, dressed in her old white uniform. The hood was pulled back, and she smiled down at her foster child.

"Wow." was all Kylee could say.

"Yes." Raven nodded, then looked around at her Aspects, "Thank you all for coming. I needed to show Kylee that she's not alone... and all of you have made my point abundantly clear."

There was a murmur of consent from the other Raven's who started to fade as quickly as they had come, leaving the two of them alone in the courtyard of the Temple of Azer once more. Kylee looked around, confused.

"So... there's lot's of you in here, but..."

"We're going to make a mirror for you too, Kylee."

"What?" the girl turned and looked at Raven with wide eyes, "You want... to make me a Seeing Mirror?"

"Talking things out with yourself is quite helpful." Raven nodded, "I'll go with you the first few times so you can get used to it, but once you've learned to control the transition between the physical and the metaphysical, you'll be able to really start the healing process."

"But... doesn't it require some kind of magic to make a mirror like this one?"

"Yes. And you're going to learn it."

"I am?" Kylee pointed at herself.

"That's the test." Raven smiled as well and held up a hand, "In the morning, we're going to see how much magical potential you have." the world went white to Kylee's eyes, and she knew no more.

Kylee opened her eyes and sat up in bed. Looking around, she saw that she was back in her room, tucked in and snug. Warm summer sunlight filtered through the windows, and she squinted against it.

Had it all been a dream? It had definitely seemed real enough. Then again, it did sound a little far fetched that she had traipsed through Raven's mind the night before. Maybe she was just projecting her own hurt on to her guardian, making up a delusion about them having both lost their mothers at an early age.

Getting up out of bed, she quickly changed into a sports bra, a tank top, and work out shorts. Pulling on some sneakers, she walked out to the living room. There, she found Raven floating above the coach, already meditating.

"Um... Raven?"

One violet orb opened and stared at her dispassionately, "Yes?"

"Is Jason up yet? We're supposed to work out today..."

"It's almost nine, Kylee. He left for work an hour and a half ago."

"Oh... I really over slept..."

"Yes, you did. Now off with the shoes, and clear your mind." Kylee nodded and kicked off her shoes. She assumed the lotus position next to Raven, who landed on the couch as she did. They began to breath in and out together, matching each other's heart beats. Raven spoke calmly as they progressed,

"Clear your mind of all thoughts, Kylee. You'll need to be focused for your magical aptitude test."

The younger girl's eyes flew open and she whipped her head around to stare at Raven with wonder and excitement. But her purple haired guardian's eyes were closed, and the only indication she was paying any attention to her charge was the slight up turn to the corners of her mouth.

"Concentrate, Kylee!" Raven commanded in a stern voice, "This spell wont work unless you're totally focused!"

"I am concentrating!" Kylee responded in a growl, "It's just hard!"

"Calm down." Raven commanded, "Clear your mind of all emotions and thoughts and concentrate on the words. I sense the power stirring within you, you just need to bring it out. Try one more time."

Kylee nodded and took a deep breath. She quickly cleared her mind of any thoughts other than the words to the spell she was trying to cast with Raven's help, and forgot her frustration. She too could feel something inside of herself, like a warmth that was just begging to be released.

Letting out her breath slowly, Kylee concentrated on the candle before her. The wick. The wick needed to be lit. The wick needed to be surrounded by a halo of fire, burning brightly, just like life. Like life, and light, and everything good and warm about the universe.

"Incendion Lestorimen!" she commanded the wick, and she felt the warmth inside her chest swell to a heat in her eyes. There was a flicker in the world around her, and when she looked once again at the candle, the wick was lit and the flame danced merrily in front of her.

A huge grin broke out on her face, even as she swayed from the effort of casting her first spell, ever. Falling back with a giggle, Kylee let her body fall to the floor of the living room, and her head fall into Raven's lap and she stared up at her foster parent with a smile.

"That," Raven said, a look of pride and admiration on her face, "was very good for your first time."

"It took a lot out of me."

"Magic does that... the first few times you cast spells, they really drain you."

"You make it look so easy."

"I have a lot of practice. Alright, let's get you set up again. Now that you've released the power, I can take a closer look at you and see just what you're capable of..." Kylee sat up, smiling weakly as Raven turned her so that their eyes met. Brown staring into violet.

There was a twinge in the back of Kylee's head, and she faltered for a moment, "I can feel it now."

"Shhh..." Raven held a finger to her foster child's lips, "Let me look."

Kylee did her best to open her mind up. It felt strange now, having Raven poking around inside her head, but she allowed it any way. The older girl leaned in until their noses were practically touching, and stared into her eyes deeply. No, it was almost like she was looking past her eyes, and into her soul.

"Interesting..." Raven pulled back and looked at Kylee in a strange manner.

"What's up?" the younger girl asked.

"I'm not sure yet." Raven shook her head, "I want to talk to Jenny about it before I make any predictions about what's going on in your head. It's just... weird."

"Can't be any weirder than your head. I mean, what was up with the dark pink you?"

"Passion? She's always like that. I think Happy is a little bit lesbian, because she's always glad to see the little bugger."

"So what does that mean for you?"

"That I'm gay when I'm happy? Hell if I know." Raven shrugged, "Just being able to talk to your emotions doesn't always mean that you understand everything about them."

Kylee suddenly became apprehensive, "Do you think mine will like me when we get me my mirror?"

"Of course they will," Raven smiled, "they'll be you."

Kylee ran into Canary Booksellers and right up to the counter at the back of the store. She jumped up and kneeled on it, leaning over and right into Jenny's face. The pink haired former Titan leaned back a little, her eyes wide and an eyebrow arched.

"I did it! Jenny, I cast my first spell!" she bounced, "I can do magic!"

"Wha..." Jenny's face broke into a grin as she glanced past the young girl at a wildly grinning Raven who was walking in behind her, "That's awesome! What'd you cast?"

"Just a little fire spell to light a candle, but I did it on my fourth try! Raven says that's really good!"

"Yeah..." Jenny's eyes suddenly knitted together, "I'll say... I didn't even get the power flowing properly until my third week of practice, and I didn't manage to do any potential energy conversions until a few months of training-" she cut herself off as she caught a warning look from Raven out of the corner of her eye, and quickly stuttered over her next words, "But, uh... you know... I was younger than you are now, and I mostly had practice in just my hexes and stuff..."

"Okay..." Kylee looked back at Raven, who was now beaming at her like a proud parent. She shrugged and jumped down from the counter, "Raven said I could have any book I wanted today, as long as I had it read by the time she got back from the Academy, so I'm going to find something. Any suggestions?"

"I highly recommend anything by Leo Tolstoy. Try War and Peace."

"Don't make her read that, Jenny." Raven rolled her eyes as she leaned on the counter, "Look for something you think looks interesting, Kylee."

"Okay!" and she bounced off to look for a good book.

"On her first day? On her forth try?" Jenny hissed as soon as Kylee was out of ear shot.

"I know. I've felt it in her for awhile now, but I just didn't know what it was. It's like... the balance is off inside of her. There's no darkness." Raven shook her head.

"None?" Jinx looked shocked.

"Well, not none. There's fear, and deep, deep sadness, but that's to be expected. She just lost her parents not too long ago, after all. Still though, I don't sense any anger. None."

"None? She has to get pissed at something?"

"I've never felt her grow angry before. Irritated, maybe, but not truly angry."

"So... how?" Jenny looked confused, "She's a walking magical impossibility. Anyone with talent for Craft work has light and dark sides."

"Partly, I think it's just how she is. I have a theory though..."

"Oh, this sounds like it's going to be far fetched."
"It is." Raven nodded, "What if, when he was using the staff to raise the dead, the Doppelganger sucked all the negative energy from everything around him? He wasn't a strong enough caster to fuel that much black magic with just his own hatred and lust for power."

"You think he sucked the negativity right out of her?" Jenny's eyes tracked the twelve year old as she checked through the fantasy section.

"It's possible."

"Just not probable."

"She was at the epicenter of the attack. Almost right below where he was standing."

"Hmmm." Jenny scratched her head, "If it's true, than she's going to have to learn almost all white magic... definitely no black."

"I don't know if she'll even take to the 'gray' spells very well. There's... a light inside of her. I don't know... almost like my psychic regenerative abilities, but... magical."

"You think she's a healer?"

"I think she might be the most powerful healer the world's ever seen."

There was silence between the two women while they watched Kylee move on to the non-fiction.

"Wow." Jenny finally said.

"Yeah." Raven nodded and turned back to her, "Any thoughts?"

"You're going to have to learn more white magic." Jenny blinked.

Raven groaned, "I know... I've learned way too much black magic in the first place... It's going to be like learning it with her instead of teaching it to her."

"Good luck with that." Jenny smirked and punched her friend lightly in the arm.

"Actually, I'm going to be in the Academy for a month in a few days... I was wondering if maybe you could start her training. Keep her doing practice drills for a little while, teach her the metaphysical nature of things."

"Raven..." Jenny sighed, "I can't cast anymore. You know that I gave it up to bring Tara back."

"I know. That doesn't mean you don't remember it all though." she turned her own violet eyes to Jenny's pinkish-purple ones, "Please, Jen? She needs to start as soon as possible."

Jenny sighed, "Okay... okay. I'll add it to her list of activities every day." she started making a list in her head, counting the items off on her fingers, "Meditation in the morning, then conditioning, then combat training, then magical studies..." she shook her head, "I'll have to trust her to do some of it on her own. I mean, I still have to work."

"Thanks Jenny." Raven leaned over the counter and hugged her friend with a warm smile, "Just stop teaching her to swear."

A few hours later, Raven sat on a bench in the park a few blocks from their apartment. Kylee was next to her, finishing up her ice cream cone. The older girl, as usual, had her nose in a book.

"What're you reading?" Kylee asked as she slurped around the edge of the cone.

"Just brushing up on my regulations and ordinances." Raven replied, "I know most of it, but there's some rather obscure ones from years ago that everyone always forgets."

"Like what?"

"Like, 'When faced with a deadly threat, any citizen, officer or otherwise, is legally allowed to use extreme force to defend themselves.'"

"What does that mean?" Kylee took a bite of her cone and savored the feeling of the cold ice cream trickling through the broken wafer and on to her tongue.

"It means that if someone points a gun at your head, you can do everything in your power to kill them before they kill you."

Kylee spit out her ice cream, "That's horrible!"

With an arched eyebrow, Raven smiled down at her, "I never said it was a good law. Just that it is one."

"I know, but... it just seems wrong somehow..."

"It is." Raven nodded, "Taking a life should never be condoned or allowed in any way." she looked away, and her voice grew quiet, "I've come too close too many times to think otherwise."

"Raven..." Kylee tossed her cone in the nearby trash bin and turned back to her guardian. Wrapping her arms around the taller girl's shoulders, she hugged her, "You're the most gentle person I know... you'll always be one of the good guys to me."

Raven hugged her back, "Thanks Kylee. Really." pulling away, she smiled down at her foster child, "I'm going to keep studying. Why don't you run for a bit?"

Kylee's mouth dropped open, "What?"

"Jenny told me that your cardio system could use some work." Raven grinned an evil grin, "Four laps of the park should be good before you have to head to combat practice."

Kylee grumbled as she jogged. She had come to the park wearing her workout clothes from the morning, with an added t-shirt for more decent coverage. Raven might feel comfortable running around wearing low cut shirts and skirts that had slits up to her hips, but her foster child was still quite modest.

As she ran, the brown haired girl thought about what Raven had told her before she had started. Jenny would be taking over her magical instruction for the month that Raven would be in the police academy, teaching her basic magical components, and metaphysical theorem.

"No more spells until you're ready to take on more power flow, and have a greater understanding of what they do." Raven had told her, "It could be dangerous for you to channel too much power, or to cast a spell improperly. Bad things have been known to happen."

She was disappointed that she wouldn't be learning any more spells for the time being, but still far too excited about the possibility of becoming a sorceress to care. It was new, and exciting, and it would be the first step towards becoming a hero like all of her friends.

Then reality started to intrude on her thoughts. What would the kids at school think? Would she be shunned even more than she already was for having powers? Would she be expelled for having them?

And what then? She could always get her G.E.D. Most of the Titans had them. Raven had told her that Robin had been the only one of them to ever complete high school as a normal student.

With all the worries pouring through her head, Kylee didn't even see the young man she ran in to before she plowed him off his feet. They fell to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs, and tumbled down a slight incline off the path she had been running on.

As their roll came to a stop, Kylee winced and tried to sit up. Finding herself trapped, she opened her eyes and looked up.

What she saw took her breath away. The most beautiful amber eyes she'd ever seen were looking back at her, opened wide, and staring. He was young, no older than she herself was, and he had dull auburn hair.

"S-sorry..." he muttered as he continued to stare at her.

"My fault." she choked back, "Wasn't paying attention."

They lay there for another few moments.

"Could you get off of me?" Kylee asked politely.

"Wha... oh! Sorry!" the young man jumped up off of her and held a hand out to help her stand. She gladly took it.

As he pulled her up, he smiled in a shy manner, "Are you okay? I mean, we took quite a tumble-"

"I'm fine..." she dusted herself off, "Just a little bruised." she looked him over once and found (aside from a fairly well toned body for someone so young) a small gash on his arm, just below where the sleeve of his t-shirt dropped to, "You're hurt!" she stepped up and gently took his arm, "Let me see..."

He pulled back a little and his smile faltered, "N-no... that's okay. It's not too bad-"

"Hush." she scolded, "Let me look." He relented as his smile came back, and she inspected the cut closely. After a moment, she reached down and grabbed her own t-shirt. With a yank, she tore a strip of cloth off, along the bottom.

"What are you doing?" the young man asked in shock as she straightened the strip out.

"Making a bandage for you, silly." Kylee smiled and him and giggled with a light blush. With a pause, she blushed deeper. He was making her giggle? She didn't giggle. Not for boys anyway.

"Um... I guess so... I mean, I'd say it's okay, but you've already torn your shirt up and stuff."

"It's just an old thing anyway." Kylee shrugged, ignoring the fact that it was a lie. Most of her things had been destroyed in the zombie attack when the apartment she had lived in with her parents had been gutted by fire.

"Okay." he nodded and they sat down as she began to wrap the wound, "Hey, my name is Bart. What's yours?"

"Kylee." she responded with a smile, "There. All done."

"Thanks..." he checked the bandage and smiled as well, "Hey! That's pretty cool! Where did you learn how to do a field dressing?"

"I read a lot." Kylee shrugged.

"Oh." They sat in silence again for a short time, not looking at each other. It was a warm day, but the grass they were sitting in was in the shade of a large oak, making it cool and pleasant. Kylee played with a blade of grass, and Bart looked up at the leaves as they danced in the light breeze.

"So..." he looked back at her, "What're you doing?"

Kylee was startled for a moment at his sudden breaking of the silence, but regained composer quickly, "I was out for a run. I'm learning self defense from a friend and I need to improve my cardiovascular system if I'm going to advance any further."

"That's cool. Is your friend a self defense teacher?"

"Jenny? No, she's just... a good fighter."

"A good fighter?" he arched an eyebrow.

Kylee fidgeted, "She um... used to be a Titan."

Bart's eyes widened, "Really? Whoa! That's cool!" Kylee blushed and he grinned, "You know very many Titans?"

"Yeah..." she muttered, "All of them, actually."

"Wow!" he sat back and stared at her in awe, "You like... I don't know..."

"I live with Raven." she said, gaining more confidence now, "She's been my foster parent ever since..." she trailed off and looked away, "Ever since my Mom and Dad died in the zombie attack."

Kylee continued to look down at the grass until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Her cheeks burned red as she heard him muter, "Sorry, Kylee. I... didn't mean to pry about something so sensitive..."

"So'kay." she turned back to him with a smile, her cheeks still red, "You didn't know. Anyway, I have to get back to my run."

"Yeah." he stood up and helped her to stand again. After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed a pen out of his pocket. Taking her hand, he jotted a number on the back of it quickly. Looking back up to her startled and blushing face, he grinned like an idiot, "Um... that's my cell phone number. Call me whenever, if you want. Maybe I can take you to lunch or something?"

"How old are you?" she asked, suddenly taking a step back.

"Um... I'm thirteen." he blinked, "Why? How old are you?"

"Oh..." Kylee blushed again, "I'm twelve. I'll turn thirteen in a few months."

"Seventh grade, right?" he asked.

"Yeah." she nodded, "West Jump City Public Middle School."

"Hey, me too! I didn't see you around at all last year though..."

"I've changed school districts since I moved. I used to be at Highbridge Middle."

"Oh, okay. That's sweet though! We'll be able to see each other every day! Wait a sec... are you any good at English?"

"My best subject!" she perked up, "Are you any good at Math?"

"Decent. Need help?"

"Do you?"
"You wouldn't believe..." he rolled his eyes, "What the heck kind of book is named after a number?"

Kylee rolled her eyes as well, "The Book of Three isn't about the number three, Bart, it's about a book called the Book of Three."

"It's a book about a book?" he looked confused.

"Well, it's really about the guy that goes looking for that book after it's... oh, never mind. I'll call you and we'll make a study date."

There was a long pause, then she slapped her hand over her own mouth. He voice came out muffled as she stuttered over her words, "I mean... we'll get together and study... erm... I mean... we'll look over the books at your place... no! I mean, we'll... um..."

"We'll have a study date." Bart grinned, "We can order pizza."

"O-okay." Kylee nodded and lowered her hand, revealing her shy smile, "I'll call you later tonight... we can get together tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan! I'll see you then, Kylee... um... what's your last name?"

"Rodgers. Kylee Rodgers."

"Sweet. I'll see you then, Kylee Rodgers."

"Yeah." she smiled back as he walked up the incline, back to the path, "I'll call you later, Bart...?"

"Allen. Bart Allen." he smiled down at her, then she blinked, and he was gone.

"Weird." she muttered. Looking down at her hand, she saw his number still there. It hadn't been a dream then, but he had vanished so quickly. "Huh." shrugging, she jogged up to the path and started running again. She still needed to get in a few laps before Jenny showed up.

A smile crept up on her face, "Amber eyes... wow..." Kylee giggled again and continued running.

As Kylee stumbled back again, Jenny sighed, "Are you even trying to fight?"

"Yes!" the young burnet insisted, "You're just too fast!"

"Anyone who can learn to cast a spell in a matter of hours can learn to move their feet a bit faster, Kylee. Let's do it again."

"Okay." Kylee took a up a stance, banishing all thoughts of Bart from her mind and attempting to focus on the task at hand. Namely trying to at least land one blow on Jenny, somehow.

"Begin." Jenny commanded, and waded in. Kylee ducked the first swing and dodge back from the second. She shifted her feet as fast as she could and ducked under the follow up kick, driving for the taller girls legs.

Jenny simply back flipped over her.

"Hey!" Kylee stumbled to a stop and whirled around to face her teacher, taking up a defensive stance and blocking a sharp kick with a wince, "That's not fair!"

"Why? I'm sure normal thugs can't do it, but what if you have to fight with someone like me?"

"There is no one like you!"

"Oh, sure there is! You'd be surprised how many people there are out there that could kick me around like a rag doll! Maybe I should have Brian come train you with that powered suit of his..."

"No way! I'd get creamed!" Kylee went on the offensive as best she could, throwing punch after punch after sweep kick at Jenny's retreating form.

"Yeah, you would, but you'd at least learn something." Jenny caught her hand and yanked her forward until they're noses were and inch apart, "And what's this about?" she asked, bending Kylee's hand up next to their faces where they could both see the number written there.

"It's a phone number." Kylee attempted to hit Jenny with an open palm, but the pink haired girl ducked it and twisted her arm around her back, holding her in a lock.

"Oh really?" Jenny grinned and whispered in her ear, "A boy's number? Gonna sneak out and meet him tonight?"
"It's not like that!" Kylee cried, gritting her teeth against the pain in her arm. She tensed the muscles to keep from straining it too much.

"Really? Living with Raven I'm surprised you haven't dragged this guy back to your room and had your way with him yet!" Jenny laughed, and her hold loosened a little.

Something in Kylee's head snapped and she whirled around, spinning out of the arm lock. Her fist slammed into Jenny's gut, and the taller girl gasped as the air left her lungs. "I said it's not like that!" Kylee's follow up kick crashed across her teacher's shoulder, sending her toppling sideways and down to the ground.

The look of rage on Kylee's face faded as she looked down at Jenny and took a step forward, "Oh my God! Jenny, I'm-"

She was cut off by Jenny's back handed punch, thrown at full force. She flew a good seven feet before she crashed to the ground, moaning. A second later she was yanked back to her feet and held up in the air. Jenny glared up at her.

Kylee sniffed as tears poured down her face, "Jenny... you said to hit you... you didn't say you'd hit back!"

"Well, I didn't say I wouldn't hit back now, did I?" Jenny shook her once, "What the hell is wrong with you, Kylee? I've never hit you hard enough to hurt you! This is sparring, not a full fledged battle! Why'd you slug me so hard?"

"I... you had me so mad... and I... I..." blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth from where Jenny had hit her, and the tears came faster, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Jenny lowered her to the ground and took a step back, staring at her intently. After a moment, she reached out and tilted the younger girls head up, "I think Raven needs to have another look at your head."

"Why?" Kylee sniffed and swiped at the tears in her eyes.

"Because I think there's a latent rage in you that needs to be discovered before I teach you any magic." she shook her head, "We can't keep things like this from you... it'll only turn out bad." she seemed to be talking to herself, "Raven, you idiot. You know magic has to be understood..."

"Jenny?"

"We're done for tonight, Kylee. Go on home."

"Where are you going?" Jenny usually jogged home with her, since it was on the way.

"I'm going to... go think. I'll see you tomorrow."

Kylee watched in confusion as Jenny walked off deeper into the park. The sun was setting, and her form was cast in glowing golden light, making her dejected posture seem even more sad.

With a final sniff, Kylee turned away and started on her way home, wiping the blood from her face as she did.

Raven looked up from where she sat on the couch, the cordless phone pressed to her ear, and watched the door open and admit her foster child. Kylee's shirt was torn and filthy, and she was walking slowly, as if she was quite sore. Tear tracks made their way down her cheeks and a trickle of dried blood marred her mouth and chin.

"The hell...?" Raven sat up, startled, "Kylee, what... I'm going to have to call you back Kori. Yeah. Well, make it if you can. Bye." hitting the off button on the phone, the psion tossed it aside and rushed over to Kylee, "Hunny, what happened?"

"Just a rough sparring session. I got in the way of Jenny's fist, and-"

"Stop lying to me." Raven ordered with a firm voice, "What happened?"

Kylee looked up at her, tears pooling in her eyes again, "Jenny was trying to get a rise out of me... trying to make me fight harder... it worked."

"What? Kylee, you don't usually loose your temper so easily-"

"This is Jenny we're talking about Rae." Kylee reminded her with a bitter smile.

"Oh, right." Raven shook her head, "So she pissed you off?"

"I... hit her pretty hard. Hard enough to knock her down. She, um... hit me back."

"Ah. I see." the dark girl held her hand to Kylee's cheek and black energy encased her face for a moment. After the bruising and the cut on the inside of her mouth were healed, the young girl stepped forward and hugged her care giver.

"I'm scared Raven. I don't usually feel like I've been feeling today... I think the magic power might be messing with my head."

"It's just new. You need to meditate. Gain your focus."

"Okay... Jenny said she thinks I have some kind of rage in me that you should look for."

"I'll do it later. Right now I want you to go get cleaned up and..." she squinted her eyes and rubbed her forehead, "Why don't you want to get cleaned up?"

Kylee arched an eyebrow, "How do you do that?"

"I can't exactly control it..." Raven arched an eyebrow back, "You met a boy?"

"Sheesh!" Kylee threw her hands up, "Just go ahead! Tell me the rest of it!"

"Why don't you tell me."

"Fine! I met a guy at the park today. We go to the same school. I don't want to wash my hand off until I get his number written down somewhere!" she held up her hand to emphasize her point.

"You got his number?" Raven sounded excited, "That's my girl!"

"For the love of... between you and Jenny I think I'm going to go crazy." she shook her head and sighed, "I just met him and we talked for like... fifteen minutes, maybe. We're just going to study together..."

Raven grinned a devilish grin, "Is he good looking?"

"Rae..."

"Come on, Kylee. I couldn't allow myself to feel anything for eighteen years. After I was able to free my emotions, I compared the two states. Trust me, feeling is tons better." she poked her foster child, "Act like a girl for once."

Kylee sighed, then looked up at Raven with a grin, "Well, he has these amazing eyes... they're amber."

"Amber? That's rare."

"And violet isn't?" Kylee giggled and motioned to the older girls eyes.

"This," Raven pointed, "isn't human. So was he cute or not?"

"Yeah." Kylee nodded with a bounce, "He's got auburn hair, and a few freckles across his nose, and... yeah. He's cute."

"Well, I'd expect nothing less." Raven nodded, "A pretty girl deserves a cute guy."

"Stop teasing."

"Who's teasing?" Raven poked her again, this time earning a giggle, "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up, and I'll heal the rest of your bruises."

Kylee, freshly showered and healed, sat on her bed, staring at the cordless phone with trepidation. She was wearing a large t-shirt that dropped to her knees, and her wet hair was slicked back from her face.

With a slightly shaking hand, she reached out and picked up the phone. Turning to the piece of paper next to her, she quickly dialed the number and held the phone to her ear.

When nothing happened, she winced, turned the phone on, and dialed the number again.

It rang twice before she heard Bart's voice, "Hello?"

"Hi, Bart? It's Kylee."

"Oh! Hey, how's it going?" she heard a sound like wind rushing by the phone.

"Are you outside?"

"Hmm? No, I just ran to my room really quick. Don't need the Grandparents listening in on everything I say to pretty girls I meet in the park."

Kylee was extremely grateful that this conversation was over the phone, as her cheeks were suddenly a deep shade of red, "Um... thanks..."

"For what?" he sounded quizzical.

"Well, you just kind of called me pretty." she almost whispered it.

There was a long pause, "I did, didn't I? Stupid Bart... well, I mean... not that you aren't but... well, I'm just talking without thinking about what's coming out of my mouth. Bad habit I guess... you are pretty though."

That made her blush even worse, "Thanks."

"So... um... how'd your self defense class go?"

"Pretty good. I only got one busted lip today."

"Wow. Sounds like this Titan friend of yours plays rough."

"She does. What'd you do with the rest or your day?" Kylee relaxed a little, "I mean... we didn't get to talk much back at the park."

"Well, I ran around town a little, then I came home and engaged in evasive maneuvers, avoiding doing any of the summer home work. I've been playing video games."

"Wish I could do that. Though Raven does have some pretty cool books..."

"Reading... blarg. I hate reading."

"Which is why I'm coming to your place tomorrow to help you with your English work, right?" she tried not to sound too hopeful.

"Definitely!" he sounded like he was trying to not sound too excited, "I live on Kulder Avenue, on the West side."

"You have an address? We'll MapQuest it."

"2358. Around... 2:00?"

"That sounds good... I'll be done with my morning studies by then."

"You study in the morning too?"

"Different studies. Raven's teaching me... stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Um... meditation and stuff."

"Oh. That's cool. So... how late do you think we'll be?"

She laughed a little, "Based on what I know about your English skills and work ethic? I'll be there until 6:00."

"Oh, you can stay later than that if you want to..."

"Actually, it's Jason's birthday tomorrow... sorry, that's Raven's boyfriend. He's my other foster parent. Anyway, we're having a big party, and I need to be here for it."

"Oh." he sounded slightly put out, "Well, I guess we'll just have to have a second study date to finish off the rest of it then!"

Kylee blushed again, but held her voice firm, "Sounds good to me!"

"Alright! I'll see you at 2:00 tomorrow, Kylee."

"I'll be there. Bye!"

"Later!"

She hung up the phone, let out a breath, and found her center. After a few minutes of steady breathing, her eyes popped open, she hurled herself from her bed, and slammed her door open. Rushing down the hall and out into the living room, she declared, "I have a date tomorrow! Raven, I-" she stopped and her mouth fell open.

Raven was straddling Jason on the couch, pushing his head back as she attempted to find his lungs with her tongue. One of his hands was gripping her backside as the other pushed her shoulders down, crushing her body into his.

They continued to make out for several seconds before Raven registered the presence of another person in the room. With a strangled sound of shock, the dark haired girl jumped off of her boyfriend, who was confused for a second before he saw Kylee.

"Oh... um... sorry..." Jason rubbed the back of his neck.

Kylee shut her mouth and shook her head, "Well, I guess you guys are only nineteen. Can't fault you for acting like horny teenagers..."

"Heh. Did I hear you say you have a date tomorrow?" Raven straightened her bra, which had obviously been man handled a little.

"Yeah. I'm going to get the directions printed up. Can you drop me off at 2:00 and pick me up around 6:00?"

"Sure." Raven nodded, "Though the return trip will have to be fast. You've never teleported with me, have you?"

"No... and frankly, it looks scary. If we could avoid it, that'd be great."

"Well, if you want to stay until 6:00, that's the way it's got to be. I need to be here to set up for the party."

Kylee frowned, "Okay... if we have to."

"Wow." Jason grinned, "You're serious about this aren't you?" suddenly he frowned, "Hey! Isn't twelve a little young to start dating?"

"She'll be thirteen in a few months, Jason." Raven scolded, "And it's a study date anyway, right?"

"Yeah. Just a friend I'm helping out." she blushed to the roots of her hair.

"Just make sure the books are the only thing he's hitting..." Jason scowled, "Or I might have to have a talk with him about-"

The young man was cut off from his fatherly rant as he was encased in black energy. He yelped as he was lifted from the couch, flipped upside down, and stuffed back down, his head buried between the cushions.

"Don't listen to the idiot, Kylee." Raven grinned, "Just have a good time and I'll be there at 6:00."

"Thanks, Raven." she nodded and grinned, "I'm going to see if I can get some stuff ready, then I'm going to bed. So, Goodnight!"

"Night, Hun." Raven waved, and there was a muffled sound from the couch that Kylee assumed was Jason saying goodnight.

With a giggle, she ran off to her room.

Sunday dawned bright and cheerful, casting sun light into Kylee's room through the closed shades, and blaring a harsh beeping at her from her alarm. She groped at her night stand for a moment before hitting the snooze, then slowly pulled herself out of bed.

"I bet normal kids don't get up at 7:00 AM on Sunday during summer vacation..." she muttered as she pulled on workout clothes. Staggering out to the living room, she found Jason there, already stretching.

"Come on, kid. Date or no date today, you have conditioning." he grinned.

"I bet normal kids don't have to deal with obnoxious ex-heroes during summer vacation either..." she muttered again, leaning to the side and stretching her left leg.

Jason rolled his eyes, "We're going for a run first thing, then we'll do a work out when we get back."

"Okay."

"What's wrong?"

"Didn't get much sleep."

"Nightmares again?"

"No, just... I dunno."

"Excited?"

She grinned bashfully, "Maybe."

"This Bart kid must really be something."

"He reminds me of Gar a little actually."

"Hmm." Jason shrugged, "No accounting for taste, I guess..."

She straightened up and slapped his arm, "Quite, you."

After their run, Jason had her do the standard quarter of what he did, and true to Jenny's suggestion, he did four hundred of everything. Kylee had just finished her last pushup when Raven walked into the room. She looked frumpled, but thoroughly pleased with herself.

Kylee rolled her eyes even as she gasped for breath. That was a sure sign she'd been laid the night before.

"And how are my two brave warriors this morning?" she asked in a voice far too cheerful for Kylee's tastes.

"Almost done." Jason smiled at her with a wink. Kylee groaned. Yep, they'd had sex last night, "Just a few more sit ups, right Kylee?"

"I've got twenty more..."

"Then I'll do my last hundred." he grinned.

"Don't have to rub it in..."

"You'll be doing it in no time."

"Right." she rolled her eyes as she flipped over and started doing her sit ups.

Opening her eyes, Kylee sighed and smiled. Raven was staring at her intently with a gentle smile on her face as well.

"What?" the younger girl asked.

"You looked so peaceful... I'm proud of the progress you're making in your meditation." Raven's smile faded, "Now that your head is clear, let me take a closer look at it."

Kylee nodded and closed her eyes again, concentrating on keeping things clear while Raven poked around. Once again, she felt the gentle pressure in the back of her mind as an outside force penetrated it. Images started to come to her, unbidden.

Her parents at her eighth birthday party, the one where she had worn that pretty sun dress she missed so much.

Kids at school ignoring her as she sat by herself at lunch.

Catching a glimpse of Robin as he swung over head.

Shopping with her parents, laughing while her Dad snuck up behind her Mom and pressed bags of frozen peas to her cheeks, making her shriek.

The mean kids back in elementary school pushing her into a mud puddle.

Crying in her room at night, missing her parents.

Her Mom shoving her under the car and down into the crawl space, telling her to stay put, and that the monsters couldn't get her there.

Raven walking to her through the smoke and mist as she searched the piles of bodies for her parents.

Herself, shoving a sword through the Slade pretender's heart, grinning as his blood splashed down on the ground and he writhed in pain.

Her eyes flew open and she gasped. Raven jerked back as if she'd been slapped, and fell off the couch, slamming her head into the coffee table. Kylee looked down at her for a few seconds, trying desperately to draw a breath. Then she too jerked spasmodically and vaulted off the couch.

She barely made it to the bathroom before she shoved her head in the toilet and was violently ill. After several dry heaves, she slid to the ground and rested her head on the cool tile. Tears flooded her vision, and she began to sob loudly.

After what seemed like an eternity, she felt herself being lifted from the ground by gentle hands and cradled in strong arms. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, not wanting to see Raven's face. Knowing that she had hurt the one person she cared for more than anyone else. Knowing that she knew now... they both knew.

Raven silently sat her on the edge of the tub and quickly drew a bath. Kylee, refusing to open her eyes, was slightly shocked when she felt Raven start to pull off her clothes. She relaxed quickly though, and let the psion undress her.

Her second shock came when she felt Raven's bare skin against hers. She opened her eyes to see the older girl, naked, lifting her up and stepping into the bath with her. The tub was large, and they were both fairly small, so they fit without a problem.

"Raven, I-"

"Shh..." Raven smoothed down her hair, holding her foster child, facing away from her, to her chest, "Just... sit here with me."

Kylee relaxed, and turned slightly so she could lean into Raven's neck. Once she was comfortable, she let the tears come again, and allowed Raven to wash away the sweat from her workout, the vomit from her face, and the shame from her murderous revelation.

"Raven?" Kylee asked in a small voice as they soaked in the warm bath water.

"Hmm?" Raven had leaned back and closed her eyes. Her face was expressionless, and her body gave no clues as to how she was feeling.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"I... I want to kill that guy... I want to... take a life."

"And?"

"And that's wrong!" she shouted, growing slightly agitated, "Are you trying to say that it's okay for me to think about killing someone?"

Raven's eyes opened, and the intense stare she gave Kylee was enough to make the younger girl shrink away to the other side of the tub, "When I was with the Titans, we faced many, many enemies. Some of those enemies were... monsters." her mouth twisted into a scowl, "Not monsters like Fang, or Cinderblock, but real monsters." the water bubbled a little as her powers flared, but she quickly had them under control. "Those people were men who did some of the most horrible things I've ever seen. Mutilation of bodies, rape, torture, mass murder... I've literally known demons with more humanity than some of the monsters we put away."

Kylee nodded. She knew that the Titan's lives hadn't been all pizza and super villains. They had fought some tough battles against some more mundane opponents. She'd been spared the stories from the other Titans, but Raven had told her that those cases had existed, and they were some of her worst memories.

Raven continued, "Those people killed without remorse... they deserve my anger. They deserve my scorn. But the thing that separates us from them... the thing that makes us human, and them monsters, is that we may think those thoughts, but we don't like them, and we don't act on them."

Kylee nodded again, taking in every word.

Confident that she was getting through to the younger girl, Raven continued, "Never once did I kill any of those monsters, though I desperately wanted to sometimes. Some of those men didn't deserve to live for what they'd done, and some of them are on death row now, but it hardly seems like enough." she shook her head, closing her eyes, "You're not a bad person for thinking it Kylee. It's only natural, really. He killed thousands of people, including your parents... but you'll never get the chance to kill him anyway, and I know... I know, deep in my heart... that you will never take a life. It's... just not who you are."

Kylee moved forward a little and took Raven's hand, "I know you'd never either."

She smiled bitterly, "I almost did once. There's a rapist out there somewhere who's short an arm because of me... probably still in therapy from the mind fuck I put him through too..."

"But... you didn't kill him..."

"It wasn't so much me as it was my Father anyway..." Raven's hand tightened on Kylee's, "You met the Seed inside my head. The red one. Jinx... Jenny stopped me before I went too far."

"And... you'll stop me if I ever go too far?" Kylee looked at her with big, brown eyes.

Raven smiled and rubbed her head, "Who says you'll ever be in that position? If you want to go hero, that's fine with me. I'll support you all the way... once you've turned eighteen and I have no more say in what you can and cannot do."

Kylee gave her a mutinous stare, "You were a hero when you were fourteen."

"I had lived through a war with an army of raging demons by the time I was twelve though, too." Raven shook her head, "Nothin' doin' Kylee. Until I'm satisfied that you're ready to fight, you don't get to."

"I'll be ready by the time I'm fourteen." Kylee stated firmly, "I promise."

Raven arched an eyebrow, "Well then... we'll just have to get you up to speed huh? Hope you like extra homework."

Kylee rolled her eyes and sat back, taking in Raven's naked form, "Wow..."

"What?" Raven smiled, noticing the other girls roving eyes.

"You're... hot."

"Except for the scars, yeah..." Raven shrugged, fingering the scars on her shoulders and arms from where Zombies had literally bitten chunks out of her.

Kylee looked down at her own developing assets, then back at Raven's, "You're going to give me a complex if we take too many more baths together."

Raven laughed as she stood up, and stepped out of the tub, "We've lounged enough. Time to get you ready for your big date."

"Oh, crap!" Kylee vaulted out of the tub, "I almost forgot about that!"

Raven laughed and grabbed towels for them, "Her first date ever and she forgets about it..."

Bart sat on the front steps of the apartment building he lived in with his grandparents, his head leaning on his hands. Staring off into space, he day dreamed about pretty brown eyes, soft, milky skin, and a shy voice that flowed like velvet from a throat so kissable it-

The roar of a motorcycle cut him off, and his stupefied musings were shattered as a sleek looking black bike screeched to a halt in front of him. The smaller of the two riders, the passenger, jumped down and pulled off her helmet. Kylee Rodgers, grinning like an idiot, strapped the head gear to the back of the bike, and hugged the larger driver, who flipped up her face shield and winked down at the younger girl. Violet eyes traveled up to the steps and stared.

Kylee hefted her backpack and walked over to him, "That's Raven Roth. She's my foster parent."

"She was a Titan..." Bart stared at her in semi-awe, "Wow... she even looks good out of that outfit she used to wear..."

Kylee rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm. He jerked back and looked over at her with a frown, "What? She is!"

"Yeah, yeah. Boys!" Kylee huffed and crossed her arms.

Bart grinned at her and she suddenly found her hand in his, "You sure you two aren't sisters? 'Cause you're pretty good looking yourself. 'Specially in that dress..." he trailed off as his compliment took on meaning for him. Kylee was wearing a sun dress with thin straps over her otherwise bare shoulders. It was a light shade of blue, and was made of a thin material that clung to her hips and sides, giving her young body a slight hourglass figure. His mouth slowly opened, "Really good..."

"Think English, Bart, not French." Kylee tapped his forehead with her knuckles, and he once again snapped out of his funk.

"Whoa! Sorry, it's just... yeah." he swallowed hard and looked back to where Raven was, only to see that she was gone, "Where'd she-"

"Trade secret." Kylee smiled, "What do you say we hit the books?"

"Sure..." Bart smiled and, still holding her hand, led her up the steps to his apartment.

"Hey! Max!" Bart called as he and Kylee walked into the apartment, "My friend is here!"

"Who's Max?" Kylee asked in a low tone.

"He's my... uh... Grandfather." Bart shrugged, "Well, the only one I've ever know, anyway. He's actually a family friends."

"What about your parents?" Kylee asked.

"Oh, well... they're out... of town." he grinned nervously, "Extended business trip. They come back every now and then, but I really hardly ever see them. Max looks after me though."

A tall man walked into the room the, drying his hands on a kitchen towel, "Dishes don't do themselves, Bart."

"I'll finish them after we're done studying." Bart waved off the criticism, "This is Kylee Rodgers."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Max Crandall." he stuck out his hand, and Kylee shook it with a shy smile, "You think you can pound some knowledge into this kid's head?"

"I'll give it a shot, but he seems pretty dense." Kylee smiled a little wider and Bart's snort of indignation.

"Ganging up on me already... you guys suck."

Max winked at Kylee, then walked back to the kitchen. Bart stepped over to a hallway, "You want to start English or Math first?"

"Better start with English." Kylee grinned, "I can do the Math on my own if I need to, but you're going to fight me tooth and nail the whole way on these reading assignments. You have read the books, haven't you?"

"Of course! I just finished that Book of Three last night!"

"Alright. Let's get to it then." and Kylee followed him to his room.

Three hours later the two of them were closing their notebooks with duel sighs of satisfaction. All five summer novels had been discussed, and book reports written.

"Math next?" Kylee asked as she grabbed a slice of pizza out of the box they had ordered a few hours before.

"Naw." Bart shrugged, "I don't feel much like doing more homework after that. We'll hit it next time."

"When will next time be?" Kylee asked, a light blush creeping up on her neck. She fought it back, "I mean... I really like hanging out with you, and the work seems to go so much faster when there's someone else to work with..."

"I know." He smiled, "I... enjoyed this too. You're the first girl that's ever been able to put up with me this long."

"Other girls must not have tried hard enough. You're funny, and even though you act goofy, I can tell you're really a good guy."

"Not that good." he grinned, "You want to go down the street to the store and pick up some ice cream? My treat."

"Will Max let us just wander down the street by ourselves?"

"Who says he has to know? We'll take the fire escape."

Kylee looked out the window of Bart's room and saw said fire escape. It looked sturdy enough, but still, "I don't know... sneaking out..."

"I do it all the time. There's hardly any crime in this area." he shrugged, "Besides, I'll be able to keep you safe."

"Sure. A skinny thirteen year old is going to protect me from muggers." she snorted.

"Laugh all you want, but I'll have you know, I can be very intimidating when I want to be."

Kylee looked out the window again, "You only live once I guess." she muttered, then in a louder voice, said, "Let's go!"

Almost an hour later, they sitting on the curb outside the small convenience store, eating their second ice cream cone each.

"So, like," Bart licked a drip that was threatening his hand, "you live with Raven and her boyfriend... Jason, right?"

"Uh huh." Kylee nodded and bit a chunk out of her chocolate scoop.

"And Raven teaches you... what exactly?"

"Um..." Kylee shrugged, "Meditation, mostly, and I've recently started learning how to cast white magic."

Bart blinked, "Magic?"

"Magic. I lit a candle yesterday. With my mind."

"Whoa." he leaned away from her with wide eyes, a smile on his face, "That's kind of cool."

"It's really draining though, and Raven told me I have to build up more endurance to be able to channel more energy. I can't wait to learn some of the harder spells."

"That's wild." he grinned, "You're learning how to fight, how to cast spells, and how to center your mind. Are you trying to be the next Titan?"

"Maybe." Kylee flashed him a grin, "Not until I'm done with school probably, but I don't see why I shouldn't be a super hero. I mean... I like to help people, and I have talent at all of this."

"Yeah." Bart looked down with a frown, "Talent."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just... I have talents too, but Max doesn't want me using them too much. Says it's... just not something you spread around."

"What can you do?" she asked, interested now.

"Well, I can-" he was cut off by a loud crash coming from the ally across the street from them.

"The hell...?" Bart stood up, dropping his ice cream, "What was that?"

As he squinted down the ally, the darkness exploded into a giant red form. The huge powered suit hit the ground right in front of them, and Adonis stood up to his full height.

"All of your cash, now." he demanded and held out a hand.

A black form materialized in front of Bart's apartment building, and Raven shook off the teleportation. She was dressed in flare bottom jeans, and a plain black t-shirt. Her slightly longer than normal hair was pulled back in a pony tail.

It only took her a minute to reach the apartment door inside the building. Straightening her shirt, she raised a hand and knocked. If Kylee was going to be hanging around with this Bart kid very much, she wanted to make a good first impression on his grandparents, who Kylee had mentioned he lived with.

The door was opened by an older looking man, maybe in his late fifties, who smiled a broad grin when he saw her, "You must be Raven! Kind of exciting to meet a super hero!" he stuck out his hand, "Max Crandall."

"Raven Roth." she smiled back and shook his hand. As their skin touched, she caught a few brief glimpses of his mind. She jerked her hand back.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking concerned.

"You... you're a speedster... like the Flash."

His mouth dropped open for a moment, then he burst out laughing, "Wally told me you were one to look out for! 'She's a damn mind reader!' he said! Well, guess he was right!"

"Wally?" she was confused.

"The Flash, girl!" he laughed again.

"So... Bart?"

"Bart's... complicated. He's not exactly my grandson. And he's not exactly from this time."

"He's... what?"

"From the future."

"Oh." She blinked, "Where is he?"

"In his room, doing homework with your girl." he grinned, "Though they've been pretty quiet in there..."

"Actually, neither him, nor Kylee are in the apartment." Raven frowned and started for Bart's door.

Max was hot on her heals, "What? How do you-"

"I can't sense Kylee's astral signature, and though I didn't get a good feel for him, I can't sense Bart either." she pushed open the door to reveal an open window, and a lowered fire escape.

"Bart sneaks out now and then for ice cream." Max said, "Usually he's there and back in a minute or less, being able to run so fast, but if he had Kylee with him, he probably walked."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"I wouldn't worry too much." Max put a hand on her shoulder, "This is a pretty crime free area of town. How much trouble could they get into?"

"Trust me, Mr. Crandall," she said with a frown and soft glance at him, "when I have a bad feeling, I'm usually right about it."

"Who the hell are you?" Bart demanded of the hulking form in front of them.

"Adonis doesn't need to tell you who he is!" the young man in the suit laughed.

"You just did, dumb ass." Bart grinned.

Adonis paused for a moment, scowled, and hauled back a fist, "Give me all your cash, or I'll smash you into pulp!"

"You're mugging thirteen year olds in a power suit..." Bart laughed, "You must be a whip."

Adonis let out a growl, "Shut up!" he screamed, and brought his fist down directly at them.

Kylee screamed as the huge metal bludgeon descended on her, but in a rush of wind, she found herself standing a short ways away, Bart by her side. He was grinning and finishing letting her down from his arms.

"You'll have to be faster than that." he said, and turned to Kylee, "Don't worry. I'll handle this joker."

"Bart, what-" but she didn't get to finish, because he wasn't there any more. Looking back at Adonis, she saw that Bart was standing on his shoulder, hauling back a foot. The young man in the powered suit didn't even get a chance to notice he had an attacker on his shoulder before the kick hit the side of his armored head at four times the speed of sound.

He flew off his feet and landed with an almighty crash on a parked car, smashing all of the glass out of it. Rolling back up to his feet, he threw a punch at Bart as the speedster came in again, only to find his attacker on the other side of him, delivering several well placed kicks to his armored backside.

"Hold still!" Adonis shouted as he swung around, trying to hit Bart again.

"Yeah, haven't heard that one before..." Bart snorted as he ran up to the young man's shoulder again and began to punch him repeatedly, zipping from one shoulder to the next, "Didn't you know that picking fights with minors is illegal in California, bub?"

"Didn't you know that you talk too much?" Adonis, figuring out Bart's pattern of movement, threw a punch where he knew the speedster was going to be next. The thirteen year old would-be hero flew across the street and crashed into the side of the Speedy-Way Auto Parts store.

Kylee's eye's grew wide, and she dashed across the street as quickly as she could, "Bart!" she yelled, and knelt next to him, even as Adonis was looming over them, "Are you okay?"

"Shoulder's out of joint..." he grinned through his pain, "and I think I have a cracked rib or two. No worries, though. My heightened metabolic rate let's me heal really fast. See?" he held up his arm, where he'd had the cut she had patched up the day before. His skin was smooth and bore no scars.

"Guess I'll just have to pound you until you can't heal any more then, huh?" Adonis stepped up next to them and raised both his hands over his head, "Bye bye, kids!"

Suddenly, a ring of golden energy surrounded him on the ground, making him pause. The street buckled, then burst up into a ramp, hurling him back across the street and back into the car he'd been smashing into the first time.

Kylee swung her eyes to the left, and saw the glowing form of Tara standing there, one hand outstretched, and her hair falling down over one eye. Pulling her hand back, she pushed the hair out of her face, and reached into the pocket of her leather jacket. Pulling out a butterfly shaped barrette, she used it to hold her hair in place.

"Don't worry, Kylee. I'm here now." she said in a cool calm voice, "Raven called in the troops when she got some bad vibes about your situation. Good thing she did, huh?"

"I'll say." Kylee nodded, "Are you going to be okay fighting him on your own?"

"I took out all five of the original Titans when I was Slade's apprentice." Tara stared down at the two younger kids with a blank, emotionless face, "I don't think one joker in a big red suit is going to be a problem for me."

"Yeah?" Tara turned in time to see Adonis lift up the car he'd been thrown into and hurl in at her, "How's this for a problem?"

Tara snorted and jerked her hands up, raising a shield of rock from the ground, and blocking the car. It exploded on the slab though, and blew her off her feet and to the ground next to Kylee and Bart.

"Ow." she muttered, and got back to her feet. "Jerk."

"Tara?" Kylee looked up at her.

"Stay down, and look after him." Tara pointed to Bart, "I'll be fine." Her voice was still flat, and her face still bore no emotion. It was frightening to see such seriousness in the usually bouncy blond girl.

"Be careful." Kylee said anyway.

Tara just nodded and turned back to the fight. Adonis was just coming around the slab the car had blown up against, and he looked fairly pissed off.

"Why don't we take this a little further away from the kids..." Tara said in a calm voice, and shoved her hands forward. The rock slab she had raised lit up with golden energy, tilted, and slammed into the power suit like a battering ram, knocking Adonis back down the street a little ways. Tara hauled in back and prepared to hit him again.

Raven looked to the West as she flew along the street, Jenny close on her heals.

"What is it?" the pink haired girl asked.

"Tara. She's using her powers."

"Then let's move." Jenny replied in a grim voice, and they hurried off to help their friend.

Adonis charged Tara again, and again, she hurled a chuck of asphalt at him, knocking him off course.

"I can keep this up all night, Adonis." she said in a lazy sort of way, "You'd be surprised at how well Slade taught me to use my powers."

"Weather Slade trained you or not, I've got friends of my own, and they've given me a few new tricks too!" he grinned as he held his arm out and laser cannons sprouted from around his wrist.

Tara's eyes grew wide and she jumped to the side, as he fired at her. The ground exploded where she had just been, and she quickly went on the offensive.

"You brought this on yourself." she smirked as hundreds of bricks pulled themselves out of the walls of the buildings around them and started firing at the crook. He held his arms up over his face as they came in and started to smash dents into his armor. After a few moments, he started laughing.

"Is that the best you've got?" he lowered his arms and started slapping the bricks out of the air, or blasting them before they even came near him. "Slade was a pretty poor teacher, huh?"

"Actually, he taught me the art of misdirection pretty well." Adonis looked up in time to see Tara descending from the sky on a large chunk of rock, an evil grin plastered on her face.

He shoved both hands into the air at the last second and fired off the lasers that he now sported on both wrists. Tara's eyes grew wide as the energy blasts tore into her stone platform and blew her out of the sky. She sailed out of the explosion and back down the street, where she landed in a singed heap in front of Kylee and Bart.

"Tara!" Kylee left Bart's side, even as he was popping his own shoulder back into joint. She knelt next to the fallen Earth Maiden, and lifted her head off the ground, "Tara... are you okay?"

The ground shook as Adonis marched up, chuckling in an evil manner. Tara's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Kylee with blurry vision, "Run, Kylee. Run and don't look back."

"No! I wont leave you here so he can... can kill you! I wont!"

"I can't fight him, Kylee." Tara's eyes were pleading, "I'm hurt too badly." she winced as she said it and clutched at her chest, where rock shards and burn marks were now oozing blood. The blond gripped Kylee's arm with her free hand, "Run!" she sobbed as tears came to her eyes, "Save yourself..."

"No." Kylee's voice was firm. She felt a warmth inside of her, and she reached for it with all her being, "No, I wont leave a friend in need. I wont run away from evil when it threatens this world, and I wont let my friends feel any pain they don't have to." White light surrounded them as Kylee reached for the wounds on Tara's chest, "Don't worry," she smiled down at the blond, brown eyes meeting blue, "I've got you now."

Bart sat up and watched in awe as the white light grew so intense that he couldn't make out Kylee or Tara anymore. Even Adonis paused and watched the spectacle unfold. After several moments, the light faded, and Tara was sitting up in Kylee's arms, the wounds gone from her chest, and the little bits of rock laying on the ground around them.

"Kylee... what did you-" Tara started to ask questions but Kylee cut her off.

"Rest, Tara." she sounded older, and more sure of herself, "You're still a little weak." With that, she stood up and walked around the fallen former Titan and faced Adonis, "I also promised myself that I would never take a life, Adonis. I'm going to ask you to surrender."

"Or what?" the thug asked, getting over his shock at seeing the sudden display of magical power, "You'll heal me to death?"

"I know I can't hurt you," she said, "but trust me... the person who'll come looking for you if you hurt me, is not someone you want to mess with."

"Shut. Up." Adonis grinned down at her and stomped his foot right in front of her feet. The resulting shock wave tossed her back, and Tara had to lunge in order to catch her.

"What are you doing?" she hissed in the younger girls ear, "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I wont run." Kylee repeated to her, and struggled to get out of her arms, "Let me go!"

"I wont let my friends get hurt either, Kylee." Tara held her tighter, "You're not going to try to stand up to this guy again."

"He'll just kill us both then!"

"I wont let you do this." Tara stood up and placed herself in front of Kylee, "My powers are a little buzzed out at the moment, but Slade taught me how to fight too. Get the hell out of here."

"You know, I'm still here." Adonis said in a bored voice as he leveled a laser cannon at them, "Sorry, but you're both dying now, before this gets too dramatic and one of you starts crying."

Both of them widened their eyes as the blaster fired, only to find a shield of black energy protecting them. Kylee, Bart, Tara, and Adonis all looked to the side as a shout of anger split the early evening air. There stood Raven, a grim looking Jenny slightly behind her. Raven herself, though, looked pissed.

As she held up her shaking hands, demonic red light bathed the area around them, pouring from all four of her eyes. She grit her fanged teeth and screamed at Adonis,

"Get the hell away from my daughter!"

The young man felt his power suit literally pull apart, and he was left suspended in mid air, skinny and unprotected. He whimpered as the crotch of his body suit grew wet, "Please don't kill me!"

"I don't kill." Raven grinned, "But rest assured, there are so many things you will soon know that are worse than death."

"Put him down, Rae." Jenny said quietly from behind her, "You're going to be a cop, remember?"

Slowly, the red light faded from Raven's eyes, and the top set closed, leaving her looking human again. She lowered Adonis to the ground, directly in front of her, and frowned at him.

He quaked under her glare and flinched when she spoke, "I don't like you."

Her fist slammed into his face, and he fell to the ground with a grunt, out cold.

There was dead silence around them for several seconds, before Bart limped up next to Kylee and Tara.

"Nice punch." he grinned at Raven.

"So... Tuesday then?" Bart grinned at Kylee, who gave him a tiered smile in return.

"Sure." she nodded to him from where she stood next to Raven, just outside his apartment building, "We'll get together, do some homework, thrash some bad guys..."

"No thrashing until you're at least fourteen." Raven interjected, poking her foster child.

"Fine, fine." she rolled her eyes, then turned back to Bart, "Tuesday." she nodded.

"Great!" he hesitated for a moment, looking unsure of himself, then shrugged and threw caution to the wind. Before anyone could blink, his lips were pressed to Kylee's cheek, and he was smiling.

Raven reached for him with a frown, but he was out of her reach before she could grab his collar. He grinned from the door to the apartment, "See you then, Kylee!" and he was gone.

"Damn speedsters." Raven rolled her eyes, "You ready to teleport?" she asked the younger girl with her.

Kylee, who's face was beet red, looked up at her, "Um... can we walk for a bit?"

Raven nodded, sensing Kylee needed to talk. They turned towards home, and began their stroll.

"What is it you want to talk about?" Raven asked after a few minutes.

"I... used some pretty powerful magic tonight."

"Tara told me about it. I kind of expected it... just not so soon."

"Yeah." Kylee was silent again for a moment, then spoke again, "Do you think I'll be able to learn to be a Titan?"

"There are no Titans." Raven shook her head, "But you could definitely learn to be a vigilante if you want to. We'll all train you as best we can."

"Will you ever go back to it?"

Raven was silent for a short time, then nodded slowly, "If I have to."

"What's that mean?"

"Just what it sounds like."

They lapsed back into silence for a few more minutes, and Raven sighed up at the moon. After she had knocked out Adonis, the cops had showed up and sorted everything out. She and Tara had been scolded for using their powers, but had been let off on the grounds of self defense. The return to Bart's place, and the ensuing discussion with Max had left her with too many things on her mind. She needed to meditate.

"Raven?" Kylee's voice intruded on her thoughts, and she turned her attention back to her foster child.

"Hmm?"

"Back when you showed up and saved us from Adonis... you told him... to get away from your..."

"Daughter." Raven finished for her.

"Yeah."

There was a pregnant pause, then Raven caught Kylee's hand, "I meant it."

Kylee stopped walking and wrapped her arms around Raven's waist, "Thanks, Raven. For being my mom when I need you to be, and my sister when I need you to be, and my friend when I need that too."

Raven leaned down and hugged back, "Gar told me once that he thought I'd make a great mother some day."

"He was right. I couldn't ask for a better foster mother."

They stood there for several moments, then Kylee spoke again, "When you and Jason get married, will the two of you adopt me?"

Raven pulled back, her eyes wide, "What?"

"I'm serious." Kylee looked back up at her, tears in her eyes, "It would be great... to have a real family again."

"Are you sure?" Raven's face split into a grin, "I mean, you'd be Kylee Harper."

"And you'd be Raven Harper."

Raven grinned even wider, "I like the sound of that... Raven Harper..."

Kylee giggled, "I've created a monster, haven't I?"

"Dunno. Ask Jason tomorrow, and I'm sure he'll tell you all about it."

They smiled at each other for almost another minute, not needing to speak to express the affection they felt for one another. Finally, Kylee broke the silence again, "Don't we have a party to get to?"

"Yeah." Raven pulled her close again, "Hold on to me. This might be a little cold."

Black energy swirled around them, and they smiled at each other.

Mother and daughter.

Closing Notes: Whew! That was a long one! In the current comic continuality, Impulse (Bart Allen) is living in the 21st Century with Jay Garrick, who was thefisrt Flash. Bart is actually from the 30th century, and has a bit of a complicated back story that I may or may not go into later in this story. Max Crandall has gone by many names over the course of history (he does a lot of time traveling) but is currently known as Max Mercury. He was Bart's first guardian in the 21st century. The name given for the Flash in this story was Wally, as in Wally West, who was the original Kid Flash, and the now the third to carry the mantel of the scarlet speedster, the Flash.

Reviewer Responces!

cyberclock000 - Yep. Blackfire's preggers. THAT'S gonna be fun to write... :)

StarryRavenFire - Not too much Raven and Speedy in this chapter, though they did have a good make-out scene. More Terra coming soon. :)

seattleitegirl - Who says I'm not saving Brian for Tara?

Sympathique - Starfire has an endless capacity for forgiveness... at least in my eyes. Her cartoon persona is so vastly different from her comic personality though, and I've been trying to let a little bit of a more brash, angry Starfire slip into this story. Look for more of that later.

WHOCARES? - For Robin and Red-X, I'm thinking more of a Batman/Catwoman relationship. Just, without the romantic interludes. Kind of a "Catch me if you can!" "You bet your ass I'll catch you!" kind of friendly rivalry. That'll come up later.

goldfish demon -Glad you thought so. :)

Arezal - Glad I'm keeping you guessing! Hope you were all like, "WTF mate?" for this chapter too, and I hope it didn't make you say, "But I'm le-tiered..." Heh.

Yeliak - Yeah, I'm trying to cut back on the graphic sex scenes. I know I've rated this 'M' and everything, but I think the story flows better without them. Oh, and I'm going to make Dick into the Nightwing of the comic book of the same name. And he looses the pony tail in the first issue of that, so look for only-slightly-longer-haired-Dick later...

Nano - I'm not actually up to date on my Tameranian pregancy cycles, so I don't know exactly. Guess I'll make it up later... :)

Death Knight's Crowbar - Okay, first of all, awsome name. Crowbar... heh. So what did you think? The tie-the-damn-chapter together scenes in this one were a bit better, I think, and I really tried to edit it thoughly. The detail is still a bit lacking, but this would have been a monster if I'd gone into too much more. I can't think of a scene in this chapter that didn't have a purpous either, if not for now then for later. Thoughts?
Also, look for more Batman cameos later on in the story. He and Dick still have some stuff to hash out.

catsux - I try to be a good author, silly. And what's this 'little' bastard stuff? I'm six feet tall, fool:)

Kokuryu - You know, I usually plan everything out in advance for stories like this one, but I still haven't decided what gender to make the kid yet. A girl would be great, but I already have a ton of girls in this story... a boy would be awsome too, mostly for the volitile temper he would have... hmmm...

Stolen Valkyrie - The DCU has given me more ideas on ways to bring people back from the dead than you can shake a stick at. They do it ALL THE FREAKIN TIME. Anyway, thanks for the feedback, as always, and I hope you liked this one too!

Heaven's Angel - The banter between Batman and his Robin's has always been fun, but Stephie brought a whole new meaning to it, because she was a chick, and she was so... blond... :) I just loved that line, so I borrowed it. The 'facination with my car is duley noted' line, and the 'I'll teach you to fly the Batplane before you're 35' line are also some of my favs. :)

WHOCARES? - They are, or They're performing in London, friend. Let's not let our excitment cause bad grammer. :)

We're all gonna die - New crime in Jump coming soon. Death just around the corner, and fun will abound. Wait for it... it's all about to hit the fan.

Next Chapter: Tara's Story

In which soul searching is aided by an unlikely friend... who may justbecome something more than a friend...