Hi all! Now it's prop time!

Khmergirl13: Cool name! Does KHMER meant anything? Thank you for the compliment. You were my first reviewer! sniffle

Semine Midnight: I like cruel. It's fun! I shall have to add the poetry café thingies…

Senex Cowan: Thanks! For those of you who wondered, this is the author whose opinion I value greatly, who said the BU plot was cool and complex. All hail the Senex Cowan! Also, I'm thinking of writing another fanfic about Nightingale. She just has a dream, and will do everything and anything to get it. She's not that deep. She doesn't have to be, if she's got a cool power that (I think) is original.

Clow Sword Wielder: Short… But I like it and hope that you still read this.

Chica De Los Ojos Café: This is my attempt to comply with your wishes.

Samurai Duck 27: Thanks! See above note for the comment about updates.

Blood of the Wolf: I like the name, but isn't it kind of mean…? Well, I'm happy that you are appreciative of my pretty story! Pretty…

On with the show now.


There was no doubt about it. The Titans were lost. Without Raven, they had to start anew. She didn't add the light, like Starfire, and she didn't have an important job on the record, but she was the one you could talk to. No matter what you said to her, she wouldn't tell another soul. She provided an off brand of common sense. And let's face it. She was the most powerful member of the team. Having her around was like having a tame saber toothed tiger at your back. It didn't always need to protect you, but when it did, there was no doubt that you would be safe. And though she would never admit it, Raven was wickedly loyal to her friends. She took forever to make them, but once they were made, the two were peas in a pod. A rather dark and lonely pod, but a pod nonetheless.

And Raven had left them. She had broken the friendship, in the eyes of the Titans.


The Tower was shrouded in gloom. Robin had taken to either training until he fainted, or staring at the TV in contempt of the world. Cyborg was tinkering obsessively with himself or the robots. Not a single ray of sunshine even dared to come into the Tower, for fear of disturbing the period of furious mourning.

Starfire could not stand this. She had lost one friend, and was not about to let the others become subject to a horrid depression. The sun would shine on the Titans again. She was sure of it. She had even enlisted Beast Boy to help improve the mood of the Titans.

"Lets head out for pizza!" Beast Boy said, forced joy contorting his features.

"We went out last night for pizza," Robin replied sullenly.

"Yes, but Beast Boy has instructed me that there can never be a surplus of pizza, for there is always room for more."

"We just feel like staying in today," Cyborg said as he furiously put an extra memory card into a robot.

"I'll let you order meat without complaining," Beast Boy said in a singsong tone. Cyborg rolled his eyes. They obviously meant to tear the gloom out of the air by force.

"Robin, you haven't had fresh air in a few hours. Or food, for that matter." Cyborg hauled Robin up from the couch and started to carry him to the garage.

"All right. I'll go."

"Yes! Let us rejoice, for we are about to ingest the foods of unhealthiness!"


"Perhaps pizza at Mama Mozzarella's was not one of our better ideas…" Starfire said. They had been trying for fifteen minutes to get the waitress' attention, failing miserably.

"I'll try again. She won't be able to resist my green charm." Beast Boy leaned out of the table and flailed his arms wildly. He was about to give up when the woman turned around and said, "I'll get you in a moment, sir."

"Told ya."

"Right," Cyborg said. "I'm holding you to that promise. I want part of it extra meaty, with a side of meat." Cyborg grinned as Beast Boy visibly shuddered.

"Hi! Welcome to Mama Mozzarella's Pie Place. What can I get you to drink?" The waitress said. She was not your average waitress. Your average waitress was youngish, brunette, with a slightly perky outlook. And though this waitress was sixteen like the Titans, she was not brunette, nor was she in any way perky. She was taller than most, with ashen skin and black hair that she had put up into a ponytail, except for two lavender locks that framed her face. A bit of off colored cover-up was dabbed onto her forehead. One of her eyebrows was pierced, as well as her ears.

But it was her eyes that said the most about her. The purple eyes were framed by lashes mascara'd to the max. But the makeup didn't look trashy like it did on others; it just drew your eyes to hers. Behind those eyes, a fountain of pain sparkled, mingling with sorrow and the crushed hope of love. A bittersweet smile was hidden behind those eyes, along with a thousand things and a thousand feet of meaning.

Cyborg was the first to pull himself out of the girl's trance. "We'd like a glass of soymilk, a coke, a jar of mustard, and a glass of meat juice." This was Cyborg's test for waitresses. If they copied down the order correctly without too much ogling and goggling, they passed, and were instantly a cool person.

The waitress passed. She copied down the order without skipping a beat. "I should have known," she muttered before walking over to the kitchen.

She came back in a moment, with not four drinks, but five. The Titans stared at the second coke in confusion.

"From the staff. They recognized the order, and paid for the extra out of their own pocket. Part of this was my tips, so you'd better like it." The waitress winked. "Now, do you know what you want? Or do you want a little more time?"

"We would appreciate more time, if you please," Starfire said. She had first learned the earth language French. No one could shake some of the grammar bits from her. But man, her French was impeccable, even to a Frenchman.

"Okay, but I have a guess. One extra large pizza, with one quarter veggie lover's special, heavy on the onions, one quarter extra cheese, one quarter meat lover's with double the meat, and the last quarter in quarantine due to the mint frosting, anchovies, mashed potatoes and the splash of happy joy love pudding." The waitress looked at the Titans, who stared in shock. She smirked. "It's kind of a unique order, and you guys are kind of noticeable with the florescent costumes."

"Sure. We'll take that." Beast Boy said.

"Great! I'll go get it." The waitress walked through the doors marked Employees Only in a rather smooth, gliding gait that reminded the Titans of…

"NO!" Starfire's small voice cut through the immanent melancholy. "We shall not allow ourselves to succumb to the Cnnirls!" Though she might not have said Cnnirls; she very well could have sneezed and hiccupped at the same time.

"Yeah. We shouldn't think of those lost. That's what she would say," Cyborg said. He gave a worried look to Robin, who had just been out of it all day. "You okay, man?"

"Yes. No. Possibly. In some alternate bizarre dimension. To quote James Taylor, I'm all in pieces, you can have your own choice."

"I'm just so much happier that my daily dose of Raven Brand sarcasm has been given to me. But you don't have to replace her. She's gone. Deal with it."

"I'm the one who drove her away, and I should work to fix the things I've broken."

"Like…"

"The Titans. We're just not as strong without Raven. And the press will have a field day with this when they find out."

Cyborg looked at Robin, seeing through the costume, and seeing his friend. "You didn't make her leave. Not unless you've suddenly become her father. If you have to fix anything, it's yourself. We'll deal with the press and ourselves."

From above Robin, a comforting low voice spoke. "She'll come back to you. Right now, you have to take care of yourself."

Robin looked up quickly. "What do you think you know about this?"

"Hmm. Well, not much. But I left my home, the only home I had, and I plan to come back when I can. I left it under pretty unique conditions, but I have a feeling that anything Titan related is also pretty unique." Robin glared at the waitress, sizing her up again. A shock ran through him.

"Raven?" Starfire and Beast Boy looked up from their discussion of fungus.

"In the flesh. How do you like the new me?"

Beast Boy stared. "Uhh… why are you working as a waitress?"

"Rent. Food. I need a couple hundred dollars to investigate the Church of Blood. For bribes and the like. And a girl needs some cash for fun." It was disturbing how well Raven seemed to have adjusted. She seemed like any other junior in high school, working at her first job, with her life all planned out. It wasn't just disturbing; it was enviable.

Starfire jumped up from her seat, grasping Raven in a rib-crushing hug. Raven's face swiftly turned an interesting color. Beast Boy also jumped up, hopping around and waving his arms hysterically. Cyborg resisted the urge to join Starfire in her Raven Hugfest ("The Great Knall'Terrinn of Lost Friends!"), considering it lucky that Raven was alive right now. Robin looked coldly at Raven.

When Raven was finally able to breathe, she noticed Robin's not so subtle glare. "Nice to see you too, Boy Wonder. How's it been? Star treating you right?"

"Cold. So is this how you had planned to meet up with us?"

Raven shrugged. "In all honesty, no. I just happened to ask for a job at the right time last night. It's really cool, because my friend scored a job too." At that moment, a waitress from across the restaurant called to Raven.

"Hey, Rae! What's taking so long? The Titans giving ya shit?"

Raven turned to the waitress, shouting as well. "No, they're just chatting me up, Bekka! I'll get back to my shift now!" Raven looked back at the Titans. "I've got others to serve, and I'm working for tips, so you know… I'll see ya around as soon as I've settled in." Raven waved slightly, moving to another table and taking drink orders.

Cyborg looked at Robin, who was gazing blankly at the spot Raven had once stood. "Are you sure you aren't sick or something?"

"Can't you see through your bionic eye that I'm fine?"

"Yes. But that isn't the point. The point is that you are mentally sick." Robin stared at Cyborg. "Okay, maybe not mentally. But emotionally, which is just as tiring for you. Lighten up. You didn't make Rae go away. She went away because she cared about us." When Robin looked as sullen as ever for a few more moments, Cyborg continued. "She'll visit. We'll have pizza some day. And she will come back when the threat of the Church of Blood is gone."

"Please, I have a question. What is the Church of Blood?" Starfire asked.

Cyborg looked slightly surprised that Starfire didn't know. "It's the church that worships Trigon. Didn't you know?" Starfire's blank look answered the question. Cyborg looked as if he was about to reply, but then the pizza came, and all thoughts were thrown away in favor of food.


Raven wiped off a table at the end of the day, almost ready to head home. A tall blonde girl flipped the Open sign in the front door. Raven finished the table she was cleaning and stared at her first non-Titan friend.

Not that Raven had intended to become friends with Bekka. It was just that over the last week Bekka had helped Raven clean out her apartment from when Nightingale had left. Bekka had helped Raven find herself. It's amazing how you just fall into the image you created, never changing. The spandex outfit is a rigid form, forcing the person inside it to fit the pre created image.

Raven shook her head to dispel the poetic side of being a superhero. She studied her friend again. Bekka had cut her blonde hair short, except for a lock in front of her face. Streaks of purple colored the hair. Bekka had an eyebrow piercing and a lip piercing, along with countless earrings. Her arms were bare, to show off the diamond design tattooed along the whole arm, in black and red, like sleeves.

"You ready to head home yet, Rae?" Bekka said as she turned around.

"Not quite yet. I'm a bit hungry, and I want to check out this new poetry café that does sushi."

"Sounds sweet. Can I come?"

"When can't you?" Raven said. She and Bekka walked into the changing room to take off the aprons and the shirts that were the uniform.

When they exited the room, Larry the manager walked over to them. "What're you up to, ladies?"

"Bite me, perv," Bekka grabbed her purse, 'accidentally' whacking Larry in the chest. "Sorry, my bad."

Raven fought to keep her face straight. When she was out of the restaurant, she started to laugh loudly.

"I'm sorry," Bekka said in a mock tone of worry, "Was I too mean?" That just sent Raven into a fit of laughing.

In a few minutes, Raven and Bekka were seated, waiting for their waitress to come back with their iced teas.

"So. Spill." Bekka leaned in to hear what Raven had to say.

"Spill… what?"

"Why the Titans were talking to you! And why Robin was giving you the hairy eyeball."

"Oh, well, the Titans and I were just talking…" Raven trailed off, wondering to herself whether or not she should tell Bekka about her past. "And Robin was pissed at me for leaving the Titans."

Bekka was confused for a moment, blinking stupidly. Then realization struck her. "Wait—You're Raven?"

"That's my name."

"I mean—Raven Raven? Like the Titan?"

"Yeah." Raven said sheepishly.

"Sweet! Tell me stories!"

"I don't have any…" But Raven quickly corrected herself. She had been with the Titans for over six years. She had loads of stories to tell. "So we wake up one day in this huge mansion, cuffed to our chairs. And this British guy with red hair comes up and tells us we haven't been good little children, and that we need to be educated…"


Raven walked to her apartment, thinking. Today had been fun. She got her first paycheck. And she was getting some good tips. She had fully moved into her apartment. She had a friend. She found out that she had a high school degree. She had a savings fund for college. She had a library card. Life was good.

And a storm was coming. Ah, a wonderful storm. Pent up tension released in a show of darkness, punctuated by shards of light. What more could you ask for?

Raven entered the apartment building as the storm started. On the third floor, Raven passed the landlord.

"Hey, Tony. Can I have a pet in my apartment?"

Tony looked up from the flowerpot shards he was cleaning up. "Sure, I guess. Don't let the neighbors complain about it. And nothing too big."

"I was thinking of a cat or something."

"Sounds good. Do you know about this flowerpot?"

Raven thought for a moment. "I think it's from Xavier. His girlfriend tried to kick him out, and when she realized it was his apartment, she went ballistic."

"Poor guy. He really liked that girl."

"I'll send him flowers. Later!" Raven walked up the rest of the stairs, into her apartment, and flopped down onto her bed. She sighed contentedly when a flash of lightning illuminated her room. Her room wasn't the one at the Tower, but it was still home. The black comforter and tables were there, and at least one candle was on each horizontal surface. Books were littered everywhere. A laptop sat somewhere on top of her dresser. Raven rolled onto her back. Life was good.


In the Tower, Robin sat on the couch; Starfire curled up next to him. The storm raged over the water, turning it slate gray and sending it into vicious waves.

"R-Robin?" Starfire said, fear lacing her voice.

"Yes?"

"The thunder sc-scares me. Can we not l-leave?" Starfire sat up and pressed herself against Robin.

"Don't worry about the thunder. Its just noise."

"I am aware of that. But it is loud noise, that reminds me of past battles."

"Thunder can't hurt you."

"But what about the lightning? Are we not the tallest structure for miles?"

"Yes we are, but the water is more likely to get hit than us."

"Alright. I concede. But I still wish to go to sleep now." Starfire got up and left the living room.

Robin sighed. Why did no one appreciate the strange beauty of a thunderstorm? Cyborg went crazy over power surges, Beast Boy got sleepy, and Starfire simply was scared.

A roguish thought struck him. Why not fully appreciate the storm, in its entirety? He ran to the garage, hopped on his R-Cycle and revved it up in one movement, and drove down the tunnel under the sea that connected him to the city. Once there, he drove to the park, got off the Cycle, and ran to the middle of the field. He lay down on his back, and stared at the sky, blinking occasionally from the rain.


((Collapses on top of keyboard)) mmmmmmmmmmmjIK'81;XN©"?hkltvgertujjhfdxqwrtdecie, nelldicjdkwlasdfjd8444cu3303nn8fds454458v4/cv1rgrtjiojinkjhirfhjdsar43rtdsfg7d8htr7iop8efkdlgu

Semine: Hon? You awake?

Kali: …maybe. Will I have to take medication if I am?

Semine: No. You just have to get off of the keyboard and write up the author's notes.

Kali: Okay.

Contrary to popular opinion, hysterically has no 'f'. Don't ask.

Y'know the Prophecy episode? Well, pretend it happened shortly before this fic started. So, assuming the Titans are thirteen in the show, and are sixteen now…that makes it three years that passed from Troq to Prophecy. And everything after Prophecy (a.k.a. The End parts one and two) did not happen.

For Bird Unknown (which if you do not read now, I heavily encourage you to do so), it never happened. That would be bad, and screw up the plot. Or maybe it will happen after the whole thing is done… I'll decide then.

Semine: Blasphemy!

Kali: Huh?

Semine: The thought that Bird Unknown will end!

Kali: It must end some time. And remember, I'll be able to post my other idea if I finish Bird Unknown!

Semine…Yea! Finish it up already!