Sapphire Bullets 9 – Black Magic Woman

DC – Went for an obvious title this week… Anyway, thanks for all your support. In other news, much like Stan Lee, I've decided to Cameo in my own work. It'll be like where's Wally, (Sorry, Waldo to you in America) only you don't know what Wally looks like. Also, I've done the ton! One hundred reviews! I never believed this little project of mine would do so well…Thank you all so much.

Disclaimer: Copyright Ownership and Time Travel don't mix. I mean, if they did, I could have stopped the Time police from going backwards to make sure I'd never owned Teen Titans…

Sapphire Bullets 9 – Black Magic Woman

Storm clouds congealed over Titans Tower, boiling and churning like some eldritch monstrosity. Thunder and Lightning tore the sky and shattered the air, basically having enormous fun. Rain lashed down and Robin glared up, soaked to the bone in his light robe. In facing down the storm, he told himself, he could once and for all conquer his obsession with Slade. As the storm faded and cleared, so too would his obsession. Lightning flashed blindingly, but he didn't blink or look away. A part of him tried to make the point that standing on the top of a very large tower in the middle of a torrential storm at night in thin clothes on an island surrounded by salt water wasn't the brightest idea he'd ever had. It was almost up there with the timeless 'I don't care what it's built for, it's going into space' thing. But part of being an obsessive meant that he was now obsessed with the idea of not being obsessed with Slade, and his self-preservation instinct was silenced. A small rain cloud formed over Robin's head, adding it's torrent of water to the downpour. Starfire looked out from the cover of the stairwell, confused.

"I was not aware that the weather on this planet acted in such an unusual fashion." She said, fascinated. Cyborg rubbed his head.

"It doesn't normally, Star." He admitted. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"Then should we not help our friend and inform him?"

"No way. Robin needs this, I think, and I'm not telling him it shouldn't be acting like this. He'd flip out. Again. Come on, let's go inside and wait for the storm to clear."

"I didn't think this would be your kind of music." Raven said sarcastically. Her continued acquaintance with Cupid hadn't improved her impression of him. Beast Boy shrugged, trying to patch at least an uneasy peace between the two of them. "I dunno, Raven…I think it fits." He said diplomatically. It wasn't his kind of music either, but he could see the appeal to someone like Cupid… The God shrugged, his large frame awkwardly hunched over the small round table.

"You try doing my job for two thousand years and not getting slightly cynical, kid." He retorted. Ordinarily, Raven would have taken offence at being called 'kid', but Garfield seemed to want them to at least try and get along, so she was doing her best to keep a civil tongue in her mouth. Instead of saying anything, she leaned back in her chair and listened to the music being played on the small stage area of the underground room. It drifted through the air like smoke, which also drifted through the air. She tried to breathe shallowly. The dull throbbing notes of the double bass thudded in the enclosed space. She could feel it coming up through the floor. In contrast to the deep, slow notes of the bass, the notes of the piano darted and tinkled like reflections of the sun in a dark pool. In the middle of the stage, a man stood on a stool, an old acoustic guitar hanging on a faded strap around his neck.. He strummed out a few chords, and reached for the Microphone.

"How y'all doing. That first one was the Love in Vain Blues, and this one's the Based Directly On The Author Only I Can Play a Guitar Blues." He nodded his head in time to the music and began to play. Raven sat there, her arms crossed in her chair, as the music flowed through the small room. Over time, however, she found herself listening…It was…interesting. It struck the right chords within her. She could understand it, comprehend the message of loss and hopes birthed and broken or snatched away. The unspoken message of the music rang out like a clear bell, an outpouring of pain, a life-time of suffering and being ground down, but at least you were alive. She could empathise with it. Sighing, she leaned forward, slumping over the table and resting on her elbows. Beast Boy had his head back, and was looking at the ceiling as if it wasn't there, caught up in his own private vision of defeat and standing up afterwards, broken but alive. Cupid nodded, his eyes closed, and slammed back the drink he'd bought at the bar. It was Jack Daniels, because, much like The Thing With The Motorbike, some things have to be done properly. He put the empty glass back on the table softly and nodded.

"Now, that." He said in a self satisfied manner, albeit under his breath. "Is the blues."

In Nevermore, plans were being made. Lines were being drawn, and the emotions were organising themselves as best they could. Soon, the great doors of the library would be thrown open, and they would re-enter the saccharine sweet garden that now represented Raven's Mind. The Great Plan was in the works. As for Raven herself, she sat and meditated within her own mind.

After the club, which they had been politely asked to leave since both Garfield and Raven were underage, which Cupid had apparently forgotten, they elected to walk back through the town to Cupid's apartment. He didn't normally hang out with anyone under the legal age. Then again, he didn't normally hang out with anyone, being the world's premier hitman and all.

Garfield looked up at Cupid, Raven nestled into his side.

"Why are we waiting?" He asked, curiously. "I mean, now we know what might work, why couldn't we do it there?" Cupid looked at him penetratingly, and Garfield felt like his mind was being read. But it probably wasn't, he hoped.

After what seemed like forever, Cupid spoke.

"It's not the sort of thing you can do just wherever. It'll draw too much attention to you, and remember that I said I'd been hired. Attention ain't something you want. Besides, I wanted to give you time to think about it."

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"I know how you feel about her."

Beast Boy looked at him, about to ask how, but then realised it was actually pretty obvious what with him being Cupid, also known as Eros, also known as Amor, probably not also known as Mr Cuddles.

"Think about it, kid. That stuff is one hundred and ten percent pure, factory grade love. She's still her, only she can freely return your love without destroying everything in sight. If you let this go, it's all going to go back to how it was. It'll probably crush you to lose it, too. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Now, it was Garfield's turn to be silent. Cupid watched him intently, and Raven waited with baited breath, her head resting on his shoulder and her eyes closed.

"…Yeah." He said finally. "I gotta, really. It's not right otherwise, you know? I mean, maybe it is love, but it's not hers. It wouldn't be fair. I mean, it's been real nice, and stuff, lotsa fun, but…" He trailed off, and grinned, embarrassed. "I'm not even sure what I'm saying anymore." He confessed. Cupid nodded thoughtfully.

"S'OK. I think I do. And I think you've made the right choice." He said, indicating a doorway to them that presumably led to his apartment.

"Let's do this."

Slade was making his way back into the United States on his private boat. The Titans didn't know about it, but what the Titans truly knew of Slade could be written on the back of one of Cyborg's microchips in bold. He watched one of his monitors in interest. Occasionaly, a small 'heh' would escape his mask. The screen flickered as the live feed filtered through. Robin was being chased around the roof of Titans tower by a small thundercloud no bigger than a pillow hovering over his head. Slade delighted in testing Robin, true, but sometimes it was simply amusing to watch him run around pouncing at shadows. It kept him on his toes, stopped him from loosing that paranoia. And soon after his ship docked in Bryter Bay, he'd be back to test Robin and the Teen Titans in person…

DC – It's all coming together now, isn't it? We're moving into the final few chapters of Sapphire Bullets, so soon I'll be working on other projects…Possibilities include the obligatory Christmas story, so keep your peepers peeled, duckies…(Hint, hint) Anyway, thanks once again for reviewing, even if you didn't. It's OK to be scared. :P

Peace Out.

DC