Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans… The End Part 2 would not have had that Rob/Star action if I did…
A/N: Okay, before I get into my lame excuses, I have to thank all of my reviewers! You all continue to rock! Now, on to the begging for forgiveness part… I really didn't mean to leave it this long. And I'm sorry for doing it. It was just one of those things… my writing was crap for a couple of weeks and then the new Harry Potter book came out (that book was so good!) and after reading that I slowly came back to my senses. Very slowly. But I'm here now and I hope the chapter makes up for my absence.
Thanks to my detail-oriented and hopelessly anal beta, OptimusChrist.
I have a little more to say, but I won't hold you any longer. Go forth and read!
One more thing… this chapter rewinds a little bit to before Alette leaves Trigon's mind. Instead of staying in Alette's POV (like in the end of the last chapter), I move to Raven's POV. Hope it isn't too confusing!
Chapter 10: Breakaway
Don't give up on me
I'm about to come alive
- Train, I'm About to Come Alive
"Don't you dare try to talk me out of it now!" Alette cried as she struggled against her grandfather's grasp, and the determination in the tone of her voice and the slant of her eyes was enough to convince Raven to quiet any protest she might have made against her daughter's actions.
Seconds later, Alette's astral form dissolved and disappeared, leaving Trigon's hand clutching only air. The disappointed look on her father's face fueled Raven's confidence. He had no idea what she was planning… what she had been planning since the day she'd realized she was pregnant. She allowed a cocky smirk to pass across her face as she said, "Well, it's been fun spending this quality time together Trigon, but I'm afraid it will soon be over."
"Over?" Trigon's voice echoed into the abyss that was his mind. He chuckled and then stooped low so that his four eyes aligned perfectly with Raven's two violet ones. "My child, it is only the beginning of my reign of this planet."
"Not quite," Raven said, holding her father's gaze. "In a few moments I will be unstoppable."
"Do you refer to the transfer of power between yourself and your daughter?" Trigon's lips curved into a sadistic smile as he saw a nervous look crack through Raven's confident exterior. "I must admit, it was only a few moments ago that I realized what you and the child were planning… very clever of you daughter. I did not think you capable of such trickery. And yet, even your best idea will be ruined by me. Why do you think I let her pass through my mind so easily?" Trigon paused, letting the question hang in the air between himself and Raven. Raven stayed quiet, her heart beating faster with every word her father spoke. "I knew she would only transfer her power when she found you, so I led her right to you and now I am waiting for the gift that is supposed to be your saving grace. But you should have realized that nothing can save you from your destiny, daughter. Ah…" he turned his massive head to look into the distance. Raven followed her father's eyes and saw, speeding towards the pair, a black bird with large purple eyes. "It appears that your daughter was, in fact, strong enough to complete the transfer."
Raven felt her stomach twisting into nervous knots and her white knuckles clutched the bars of her cage as she called to the approaching blur of power. "Alette! Alette, go back! It's a trap!"
Trigon used one hand to bang against Raven's prison, sending her flying to the opposite side and with the other reached out greedily for Alette's powers. "It is useless, daughter. She is mine." With those ominous words, Trigon's large, clawed hand closed around the bird, which quickly changed into the form of a teenager struggling to release herself from his clutches.
"No…" Raven breathed as she stood on shaky legs.
"Yes," Trigon responded in a mocking tone. Pinching the hands of his captive between his thumb and forefinger, Trigon raised Alette's fighting form so that it dangled just above his mouth. The astral Alette was kicking furiously as her arms flailed in an attempt to fly away. Her blank eyes looked to Raven for help, but Raven could offer nothing from behind the bars of her cage. She was forced to watch helplessly from the sidelines, her arms reaching desperately as she begged for some spark of power that would save her daughter. None came and Raven watched in horror as Alette's power fell into the darkness of Trigon's mouth, the girl's lips open in a silent scream.
With a violent roar, Trigon began to expand. His body grew taller as his muscles bulged and power radiated off of him in red sparks. Once the increase in power finished, Trigon's cries of pain turned into waves of laughter.
"You… this won't stop us!" Raven called to him, her shaking voice betraying her brave face.
"Who is this "us" you talk of, daughter?" Trigon asked as he flexed his newly enhanced bicep. "The machine and the changeling who never really tried to understand you? The alien girl who has everything you ever wanted? The man who stopped loving you many years ago? Or the daughter who is probably dead by now? Trust me, my dear, you are in this alone. You always have been and you always will be."
"That's not true!" Raven called up to her father. "They are my friends and they won't stop fighting you until they are dead!"
"They won't stop fighting us," Trigon corrected, glaring at his daughter.
Raven opened her mouth to shout out another biting comment, but found herself unable to speak. This was not supposed to be how things happened. She had been so sure of her plan… but she had made the mistake of underestimating Trigon… of thinking that she was capable of outsmarting him.
"Come now, child," Trigon said, noticing Raven's crestfallen features. "Surely you didn't place hope in this little game of yours? Well, you shouldn't have. Your plans relied much too heavily on those creatures you call friends and your daughter. Love made you soft. You have always been so willing to love, you've always wanted it so bad… and all it did was cause you pain. Silly girl… a demon lives a solitary life."
"I am not a demon," Raven said through gritted teeth.
"No, I had to resort to giving you a human mother and because of that you were always defiant. Always hopeful of escaping me… well, look at where that human optimism has gotten you. Right where you knew you would end up. With me." Trigon gave his daughter one last horrible smile before stomping off into the depths of his mind, leaving Raven alone to contemplate what he had said.
Raven had meant to stop listening to Trigon, knowing that his words would only hurt her and prevent her from focusing on a way out of the mess she had created, but they were so close to the arguments she had with herself that she could not close her ears to him. Her destiny had been set for her and there was nothing she could do to stop it… there had never been anything she could do to stop it. Trigon was absolutely right… she had hoped that loving Robin, loving Alette, and loving her teammates would help to counteract her inner demons and keep Trigon at bay, but it seemed that all of her efforts were in vain.
But why had she thought that love would save her in the first place? She had been taught as a child to be emotionless. She was to let no feeling, be it love, hate, or otherwise, become her ally. And yet she had chosen love, the most dangerous of them all, and now she was paying for it.
She wished she had never known love at all.
That's not true, Raven.
Raven drew in a sharp breath in surprise as a familiar, somewhat hurt, voice echoed in her head. Making sure that Trigon was no where near, Raven reached out tentatively with her mind.
Robin?
You told me once that you wished you had never fallen in love… do you remember?
Yes, Raven said, still not sure whether this conversation was real or if it was one of Trigon's cruel tricks. I said that when you told me that you loved me. I knew it was dangerous… I should have trusted my instincts all that time ago.
Maybe, Nightwing agreed, but there was no conviction in his voice. That night I told you that love… our love… would be able to beat Trigon. I told you that if you let yourself be loved, the evil of your father could not survive. I asked you to trust me and you did.
Raven could not help but smile at the memory. You gave me Alette that night… but that is certainly not what we should be talking about! Raven snapped out of her memories, and landed back in reality, pulling Nightwing with her. Robin, Raven said in a hurried voice, desperate to let him know that there was a problem. He took Alette's power. There's nothing left for you to do. You have to go, all of you. Although running will just prolong the inevitable…
Raven's voice trailed off and the reality of what was going to become of the world, of the Titans, crashed down upon her. She had tried so hard to protect them from Trigon, going so far as to remove herself from the only place she had ever called home. And all of her sacrifices had been for nothing.
I can't believe you're talking like that! Nightwing was still there, and Raven could feel his ever-present hope in her own mind. You want us to give up? The Titans don't run away, Raven.
You are too stubborn for your own good. Go be with your daughter for a few more hours, Robin. I wish I had had more time with Alette… Raven's tone was biting and accusatory and even from his position outside Trigon's body Nightwing could clearly see the familiar look of self-hatred on Raven's face. I was never as strong as you, Robin… never as hopeful as you wanted to believe I was. I'm sorry for all the pain I have caused.
Raven… you can't stop fighting. Nightwing was practically pleading with her now. This can't be the end…
Robin, I have no power and we both know that I am the only person who could pose a threat…
We've talked about this before! Nightwing exclaimed with a new fervor. Your power belongs to you, not your father. You can't let him win, Raven!
Don't you get it, Robin? He has already won. He took you from me and now he's taken Alette… you two were the only things I had and now...
Trigon didn't take me from you, Raven, Nightwing said, his thought accompanied by a rush of sadness. You did. You left me and denied yourself what I offered you. You've always used Trigon as a scapegoat for your own selfish actions.
How dare you! Raven exclaimed, her fists clenching. She failed to notice one of the bars of her cage crumple under the power of a black wave of energy.
But it's true, isn't it? Nightwing persisted in his argument. You say that you can't do anything to stop Trigon… that he has taken any power you might use against him. And yet here we are… using the bond created by your power to speak to each other…
What are you suggesting? Raven queried, her anger temporarily stifled by her contemplation of Nightwing's words. She waited for his answer, but she suddenly felt alone again. Nightwing was no longer present in her mind.
Robin…? Raven's attempted to reach out to him again failed. Something was preventing him from concentrating on her… something was wrong.
Raven looked off into the fiery horizon of her father's mind, willing herself not to cry. You've always used Trigon as a scapegoat… Nightwing's words stung and she hated him for saying it. But was there truth in his claim? It was at this moment that she noticed the mangled piece of metal that had once been a bar of her cage. When had that happened?
Your power belongs to you…
What did Nightwing know, anyway? He had always been arrogant enough to think he could understand her… that he would help her in her torment. He had been cocky too, much too cocky for his own good… that stupid grin he would wear… the one that made her stomach twist and her heart flutter…
Another bar shrieked as it was twisted by a dark aura.
"What?" Raven mused, placing a hand on the damaged steel. "How did I…?" With a glimmer of hope, she raised her hand out to another unsuspecting piece of the prison and muttered "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She concentrated, waited… but nothing happened. The cage stayed as erect.
"Damnit!" Raven cursed, slumping down and bringing her knees to her chest. She wanted Nightwing to come back. She didn't want to be alone anymore. And then two memories, summoned from seemingly no where, flashed through her thoughts.
Raven, I love you.
I love you, Mommy.
Robin and Alette had been the only two people to say those words to Raven. When she had made the choice to leave Robin, Alette had been there to fill that void in her heart. They had given her so much, and here she was, lying in the odd limbo of her father's mind letting them slip through her fingers without a fight.
And somewhere in the depths of Raven's soul something flickered and white sparks shot unexpectedly from her fingertips. People fight their hardest when the ones they love are the ones in danger. Robin's words, spoken to her so long ago, echoed in Raven's head as she stood from her huddled position. One last fight… all or nothing… life or death…
"You are wrong, Trigon," Raven hissed in a menacing voice. The bars of her cage trembled and splintered in the midst of her rage. "The ones I love are exactly what I need… it is them who will defeat you, not me. Their love lives in my heart, and my heart is the one place you fear to visit. My mind might be poisoned with your influence, but your mistake, dear father of mine, was forgetting that I am human." Raven felt energy surge within her and she released the white magic, allowing it to travel into the abyss of Trigon's mind. She smiled as a tortured cry echoed across the void, shaking the ground on which Raven stood.
Trigon suddenly appeared, four red eyes alighted with fury. "What's this!" he cried in surprise. "I took all you had… you should be shrinking into oblivion… you should not have escaped!"
"There have been a lot of things in my life that I should not have done, Trigon," Raven said, her voiced laced with sadness. "But this," white energy made its way to her palms, "is not one of them." She took a deep breath, glared into the four slits her father had for eyes and shouted "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
The power did not only come from Raven's hands… it flowed from her very being. It was warm and so unlike the cold black magic she was used to. Pieces of memories… holding hands with Robin, making dinner with Alfred and Bruce, singing Alette to sleep… flashed before her eyes in rapid succession and for a terrifying moment, Raven thought she might be dying. Though the fractured cries of Trigon meant that he was most likely defeated, that did not mean the one who defeated him automatically got to keep her life. And she realized that, even though she had been prepared to give up hope only moments before, she was not ready to die. Not with so much left unsaid…
Nightwing spat the mixture of gravel and blood out of his mouth and lunged at the man who had caused his connection with Raven to falter. In each punch he threw at his attacker, he released a small amount of the frustration he felt towards Raven. An uppercut accompanied by Why the hell does she act so clueless? A jab to the stomach as her desolate voice repeated itself in his head. I never gave her any reason to doubt me. She knows I will fight for her. Why won't she fight for me? A final swipe of the leg and the overpowered cult member fell to the ground unconscious. Why is she so willing to give up?
As a new wave of red robed figures began their onslaught, Nightwing was forced to place thoughts of Raven in the background. He had to trust that the Raven he had known all those years ago would show up and give her older counterpart the sense and the strength to save them. Now, he had to focus on the seemingly never ending supply of Trigon's followers. For every one that the Titans managed to incapacitate, another three began their attack. Why would so many people willingly devote themselves to the end of the world? What had happened in their lives to make them feel that all humankind must be punished for it?
But this was no time to start analyzing and pitying the enemy. Nightwing needed to get into the air. He would be able to assess the situation better from above and perhaps devise a better strategy than the free-for-all that was currently going on.
"Starfire, give me a lift!" Nightwing ordered, reaching his arms up expectantly. Yet no strong hands came to grasp his own and his moment of shock was rewarded with a sound punch in the stomach. Faltering, Nightwing drew out his bo staff and, keeping the attackers at a good distance, began a search of the darkened skies for his wife. Where had he last seen her? How long ago had that been? Cyborg and Beastboy were still in sight, both apparently unaware of Starfire's absence from the fighting.
Another frightening thought assaulted Nightwing. Alette had yet to join them. She had promised… As soon as I finish what I need to do, I'll come find you. I'll probably be weak, but that doesn't mean I can't help.
Nightwing's stomach twisted in panic which was well hidden as he continued to fight. He yelled Starfire's and Alette's names across the vast battlefield, eyes searching the fray for the green flash of a starbolt or the dark aura of his daughter's magic. And all he received were curious stares from Cyborg and Beastboy, who then began their own searches for the missing members.
Nightwing released a frustrated curse as he attacked another group of cult members with fresh fervor. Starfire and Alette were both missing and probably in danger. Raven was despondent and refused to listen to him. These women meant more to him than anything else in the world, and he could do nothing to save them. He couldn't lose them… it would be devastating. But it seemed as if that was what was going to happen… if Raven didn't get her act together, then this was the end of everything he had come to care about…
An angry cry, so powerful that it shook the ground beneath Nightwing's feet, distracted him from his depressing musings. Trigon, who had remained aloof during the fighting, refusing to involve himself with the insignificant brawling, was trashing violently and clutching his head.
"Raven…" Nightwing breathed as he, along with Cyborg, Beastboy, and the army of cultists watched Trigon's internal suffering.
It only took seconds. In an explosion of white light, Trigon's red flesh was ripped from the bone as he screamed in agony. The pieces of bloody sinew scattered over the city and upon impact dissolved immediately. Sickening popping and cracking sounds could be heard as Trigon's bones were turned to ashes by the power that seemed to have come from no where.
And then, high in the air where Trigon's four eyes had once been, the figure of a woman appeared. Violet hair swirled around determined purple eyes and, for the shortest of moments, her gaze fell upon Nightwing. Raven's voice echoed in his head, as clear as if she had been standing right next to him.
Thank you.
With one final, determined battle cry, Raven released a wave of white energy that carried over all of Jump City. The cult members fell to the ground simultaneously screaming in pain as fire was ripped from their bodies. Raven was extracting Trigon from each of them… making sure that all remnants of her father disappeared from the world.
"Dude…" Beastboy whispered in awe. All around the three male Titans, the members of Trigon's cult fell unconscious to the ground. The battle was over.
Raven had saved them.
"James, do you believe in fate?"
"Only a thing as big as fate could have brought us together, Alette."
"Wake up, Alette." Cold fingers ran across her cheeks as a low growl of a voice echoed in her ear. She concentrated all of her efforts on opening her eyes, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the searing pain of a split skull and the warmth of blood as it seeped down her back. With a groan of impatience, her eyelashes fluttered and her purple eyes fell on the man who was cradling her.
Alette felt panic seize her heart and she immediately tried to pull away from the figure whose pale blue eyes were looking at her hungrily. His grasp held firm on her wrists, one of which seared with pain as he squeezed it. She vaguely remembered trying to break her fall with her hand. "K… Keahi," she mumbled, her head giving a horrible throb in protest. "What…? How…?" Alette trailed off and looked around for someone she could call to. She needed a Titan, but as far as she could guess, she was very alone.
"You fell," Keahi explained in the same gravelly voice. "After you transferred your powers to Raven, there wasn't anything left to hold you up. And now that you've served your purpose, it is time for my reward."
"Please, James…" Alette pleaded. She searched desperately for the strength that she knew she would not find. Her body was exhausted from the process of ripping a piece of itself off and sending it away. Anger boiled in the pit of her stomach when his fist made contact with her jaw, and the fact that this emotion produced no black spark, no hint of the power she had come to depend on, frightened Alette. She was truly helpless for the first time in her entire life.
"Do not call me that," Keahi hissed into her ear, "James is dead." His hand flitted across the skin of her stomach and Alette failed to hide a sob. "Oh, do I detect fear? Alette Davenport, admitting that she is scared? Scared, perhaps, for her life?" Keahi reached to his side and drew a silver dagger from a sheath. It's red and black encrusted hilt shimmered unsettlingly. "Or is there something more precious she is afraid to loose?" Again, his hand met her flesh and his fingers inched eagerly upwards under her shirt. Alette bit her bottom lip as she attempted to make her feet move. If she could manage to push him off of her… but nothing happened. Her body was heavy and she had no control over it.
"I… I hate… you," she breathed, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "I hate you," she repeated in a stronger voice.
Keahi laughed and shook his head disbelieving, causing several pieces of blond hair to fall across his right eye. "Alette, you always were a fool. Do you think your supposed love mattered to me? You were never anything more than an assignment… a job. Now," he brought the steel blade to her neck, touching the edge to her exposed skin, "it is time for you to be quiet. Another sound and," he dragged the dagger down her neck, making the narrowest of slices, "I'll have to permanently mute you." He paused for a moment, waiting to see if the rag doll of a girl would protest. When she did not, a maniacal grin spread across his face. His lips began a ravenous search of her face, her neck, her chest…
Help me, Alette called out to an apparently empty abyss of minds. She probably no longer had the ability to contact people in the way she was attempting, but she could not stop herself from trying. She tried to ignore Keahi's hot breath as it mingled with her own. Let me die, was the hopeless thought flying around her throbbing head. Let it end now.
And for a moment, Alette thought her wish for death had been granted. A blinding white light permeated the space in front of her eyes, and she felt Keahi's weight shift. He no longer had her pinned. "No!" he yelled, and as the whiteness receded, Alette noticed the defeated look on Keahi's face. And then something inside her head clicked.
"She's won, Keahi," Alette said with as much strength as she could muster. "Trigon has been defeated and you lose."
Keahi turned his furious features toward Alette, his grip tightening around the dagger's hilt. "No, Alette. It will be your mother who truly loses. Imagine the look on her face when she finds you, slashed so badly that you are barely recognizable…" His eyes were clouded over with mania as the blade rose above his head. He struck once, making a clean gash across her stomach. Alette hissed in pain, but tried not to concentrate on the blood flowing freely from her body as she searched for a way to escape. Keahi raised the blade to strike again, and Alette bit her lip so as not to give him the pleasure of hearing her scream, but the blow never came.
"Leave her alone!"
The angry cry was accompanied by a flurry of green energy bolts, all of which caught Keahi in the stomach and sent him flying off of Alette and into the building across the street. Alette did not have energy enough to lift her head to see what pain Starfire was inflicting on Keahi, but the sound alone was enough to fuel her imagination. She waited, listening to Keahi's requests for mercy as they became increasingly faint. After a while, he made no sound at all.
Starfire's bottle green eyes came into focus, and then quickly became fuzzy. Alette's head felt worse than ever and she was fighting simply to stay conscious. "Starfire," she mumbled as the alien picked her up, holding her as if she was a large baby. "Thank you." Alette curled inward, seeking the warmth of Starfire's body. She felt cold and tired and all she wanted to do was sleep. Sleep sounded like a very good idea.
"… stay awake…" Starfire's voice sounded far away, even though Alette had never been closer to the alien. She was vaguely aware of being in the sky, and an unexplainable fear gripped her. She rolled closer to Starfire's body as pitiful noises she did not have the strength to be ashamed of escaped her mouth. "… won't drop you…" Starfire's voice was growing fainter, but it never stopped.
"Hang on… hang on… hang on…"
"Nightwing!"
Nightwing's survey of the destruction around him was punctured by a horrified exclamation from Cyborg. He looked to where his friend's cybernetic finger was pointing and felt his mouth open in horror.
Raven was falling.
His instincts took over and Nightwing was running faster than he ever thought he could. He had to get to her before she hit the ground. After all that they had just survived, she was not going to die because he had not been there to save her. Releasing his grappling hook, Nightwing glided through the air to close the remaining space between himself and Raven, catching her petite frame in his arm and guiding them down to the ground.
"Not… not yet," Raven mumbled as Nightwing propped her head up in his arm.
"No, Raven," Nightwing, said as he smiled down at the woman in his arms. "You're not going to die yet. And the world won't be ending anytime soon. Thanks to you." She felt warm lips brush across her own, and with a contented sigh, her world dissolved into black.
Raven's slip into unconsciousness alarmed Nightwing only momentarily. Her chest was rising and falling in even intervals and she seemed to be without many physical wounds save a couple of cuts and bruises. She was going to need time to heal herself, and he would be waiting for her when she woke up.
Nightwing picked Raven up and carried her to meet a relieved Cyborg and Beastboy. He handed the empath to Cyborg, a plan already forming in his head. "Cyborg, take Raven back to the Tower. I… I'm not sure what she's going through, but she's alive and that's what matters. Beastboy, you and I need to fan out and start searching for Starfire and Alette. They can't be too far away, but they might be seriously hurt…"
"Uh, found them," Beastboy said, interrupting Nightwing's orders. He pointed his finger toward something behind Nightwing. Noticing the fear in Beastboy's eyes Nightwing spun quickly on his heels in order to see the sight which had caused such a dire look to cross the face of the most jovial Titan.
"Forgive me," began Starfire, before Nightwing could say anything. "I know it is against orders to abandon the battle without warning, but she dropped so fast," Starfire nodded to indicate that she was talking about Alette. "And I did not wish to distract you for fear that you might be hurt as a result of my actions."
"Starfire, what happened to her?" Nightwing asked in a shaky voice. He stepped tentatively towards his wife and peered down at the unconscious teenager in her arms. Alette's hair was sticky with blood and her lip was swollen and had turned a sickening purple color. The large slice across her midsection was still bleeding, staining Starfire's orange skin a shade of crimson. Her right hand was twisted at an odd angle, which most likely meant that she had a broken wrist. "Is she…" he could not bring himself to say the word "dead." If she was… he had promised to protect her…
"No, she is not yet gone," Starfire said, looking at her husband with two worried eyes. "But she is severely damaged."
Nightwing opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He had never been in such a position, that of a father whose child is in life-threatening danger. His years as a leader had taught him how to be calm and collected when a team member was injured, but Alette was not a member of the team. Instinct and reason fled his mind as he listened to a cough interrupt Alette's already ragged breathing, bringing with it a few small droplets of blood to decorate her lips. Offering the only comfort that he could think of, Nightwing raised a hand to her face and gingerly wiped away the red spots. He stopped abruptly when his fingers brushed across her bruised jaw, causing her to whimper pitifully. "I'm sorry," he whispered, apologizing for much more than the slight pain he had just caused her. Choking back tears, he brushed a few stray strands of black hair away from her closed eyes and placed a tentative kiss on her forehead. "I'm so sorry."
"Starfire, are you up to carrying Alette back to the Tower?" Cyborg asked, taking control from the devastated Nightwing.
Starfire nodded soundlessly. Her arms instinctively tightened around Alette.
"Beastboy, you take Nightwing." Cyborg looked at his desolate friend and offered him the most comforting smile he could offer. "Don't worry," he said as he watched Beastboy, in the form of a pterodactyl, lift Nightwing off of the ground. "They're going to be okay."
Nightwing made no indication of having heard Cyborg and he remained quiet for the flight back to the Tower. He said nothing as he watched Cyborg stuff tubes into his daughter while Raven lay floating in the bed next to Alette's. He only offered the Titans silence when they told him to get some sleep and did not try to comfort Starfire when she began to cry, both overwhelmed by the situation and worried about her husband. Talking would not help Raven and Alette and had therefore, in Nightwing's mind, become pointless.
And so for the next two days, he remained mute. He did not leave the infirmary for anything, only eating small bites of the food Starfire brought him and dozing unwillingly when his eyes could no longer stay open. He did not help clean up the mess that Jump City had become from their fight. He did not assist the citizens as they were ushered back into the city. Tamara returned with Batman, but he had yet to see his daughter.
When he had come to the Tower with Tamara, Batman sat with his protégé in silence, offering the most comforting company Nightwing had had so far. How long Batman remained in the infirmary with him, Nightwing could not be sure. Time had not been behaving these days, speeding up and slowing down at odd intervals. All Nightwing was sure of was that it had been sunny when Bruce had joined him and that when the masked hero stood to say good-bye, the night was in full bloom. With the next morning would come another twenty four hours of waiting… watching. Lost in this hopeless thought, Nightwing barely noticed the hand on his shoulder. And then Batman spoke words that sparked something in Nightwing… something he had been without ever since returning to the Tower with the unconscious women who lay before him.
"Think of all the things that they have been through. And they have managed to survive it all. Never before have I met two people who are so determined to live."
A/N: Well, there it is. Now, I want to address a couple of things I saw when I was reading reviews for the last chapter.
To Oni Tokage: Yes, I will have to deviate from the series. Whether I did it in a more interesting way or not is up to you. It was Raven's 35th birthday.
To Chica De Los Ojos Café: If you thought the red-robed figure was Keahi, then you were right!
To Duskywhiterose: Starfire is beginning to see that the world is painted in shades of grey, not black and white. And, contrary to popular belief, I do like her… once I manage to see past that bubbly exterior.
To UtterlyInsane: Yes, Keahi picked her up. And he's still bad. You'll find no "bad guy turns good" plot twists here. And now you have an explanation as to why Alette found it so easy to get into Trigon's mind. And, on a totally unrelated side note, I got my scores back from my IB tests and I managed to get the diploma! Those years were not wasted!
So, I leave you for now with promises of the next chapter coming much sooner than this one did (I already have some of it written). Don't forget to review!
Ashlyn
