The street is filling with people. They gather for the pageant. Some gather for the T-Car ambling a few dozen meters away. Whatever the case, it is a bright noon. The day is warm. Jump City is alive.

For the first time in days that I can remember, I simply remain still. It isn't the same sort of 'remaining still' as my meditation outside of the Tower entails on a monthly basis. Neither is it the sort of eerie 'stillness' that fills a regular crime-fighting gig with any and all manner of tension.

Somehow.. ….Perched up here atop this light fixture… .. …Aloft above the sea of roaming bodies and voices.. ….

I feel at ease. Adrift. Floating. Strangely, and peacefully 'high'…

I inhale and relax. Carrying myself on the breaths of those gathering sociably below me. Families with their babies in strollers. Teenagers hanging out together. Young couples. Old couples. Journalists and photographers. A field trip of Catholic elementary students. A train of tourists from Japan. The locals and the visitors. The familiar and the curious. The alive and the livelier.

It is at times like these that I remember exactly who and what I am protecting in this City. But even more so, it is times like these that I remember all of that and then.. …

Then, I feel good.

Yes, I feel joyful. I feel thankful.

This is my second chance. This is my new life. My new family. A wonderful buddy… …An honorable leader… … …A righteous HQ… …A home.

A home and a place to be safe at—And not necessarily hiding.

No, not 'hiding' all the time. I can be out. Out in the open. Just like this. With or without my secret. On top of things, or afraid.

I am a Teen Titan. I am a hero. And this City looks up to me. It is a part of me. And I am as strong in it as I am for it.

Spare thoughts about Red X and the mystery of the bowels of Neo H.I.V.E. streak through my dark mind. But like puffs of smoke, they wither and fade away. Not by my power. Not even by my luck. I cannot explain it, but I feel like everything here is right.

Even with whatever tempestuous trials we may face. Even with every hardship we'll likely wrestle with. I am more than confident that—together and combined—we can overcome it. Funny—how the briefest of dark episodes can distract me from this feeling. It is almost as if I'm standing across from the beautiful sight of Fei-Yan. I am on the horizon of hope. Of joy. Of a reason to keep living and fighting and growing….

I take a deep breath and smile calmly into the noisy clutter of the place.

Heh… …Listen to my thoughts. I must be delirious. It's like I'm suddenly as 'together' as Raven and 'glorious' as…. …. …--

I tilt my head up. My black eyes narrow. "… … …?"

Starfire is perched high above the crowd—much like myself. However, she is seated in a rather slumped fashion on a roof's edge beneath a Soda billboard ad. And she appears—dare I say—lethargic?

"… … ….," I perform a biting smirk. I stand up, flex my murking limbs, and blur my way in a smoking leap skyward.

THWOOOOSH!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"I can't seee!" Hope hops and hops and hops from behind a line of onlookers on a Main Street sidewalk who are infinitely taller than her petite stature. "I can't seee-eeee-eeee!"

"Relax, munchkin," Janice walks into view and props up a lawn chair or two. "There's nothing to see. Princess Goth and her circus of twig-freaks haven't even arrived at the scene yet."

"Ohhhhh," Hope pouts. "We promised Lisa that we'd be here to see her show off at the pageant! I don't want to let her down!"

"Pffft—Maybe YOU promised," Janice smirks with a flip of her straight-edged black hair. "I distinctly remember Lisa threatening to remove our ovaries with a surgical spoon if we so much as showed up to this ghastly affair."

"I don't care what YOU think you heard! I'm supporting her all the way! She's a shy girl! This is a big deal for her!" Hope hops and hops. "Grrrr-Really 'big'!"

"Want I should sit you on my shoulders?"

"Ick—Maybe any other best friend, but not you, Janice."

"Hehehehe—What's wrong? I'll even put a pillow on the back of my neck—"

"I said NO!"

"Hey gals!" their blonde companion strolls up, struggling with a huge cooler of refreshments. "You think we brought enough frickin' Dr. Pepper?"

"HEY!….BITCH!" Janice snarls with a crooked finger. "You can NEVER….EVER….HAVE ENOUGH DR. PEPPER."

She sweatdrops and bites her lip while raising a plastic bag slick with condensation. "I-Ice?"

"No thanks, Trisha—" Hope begins.

"Tiffany."

"Dah! Sorry, Tiff."

"Grrr! That's the third time today!"

"Wait…Wait….," Janice raises her hands. "Is it 'Trisha' or 'Tiffany'?"

"Uhhh—"

"Cuz I keep forgetting, to be honest…."

"Grrrrr….," the blonde girl named Tiffany snarls. "… …want the RC Cola instead?"

"NO…N-No, that's fine…," Janice shuffles nervously. "… …. …so.. … …l-like….What happens to the gal that wins this shitgig?"

Tiffany pops a bottle up and takes a swig. "I dunno. Maybe some Tiara linked telepathically to Jude Law or somethin'?"

"Heh. Not a pageant I'd touch with a ten foot pole."

"AHEM….Don't you both mean what will happen when Lisa wins?" Hope flutters her eyelids cutely.

"Damn, girl. You have a bigger crush on her than I do!"

"EW! JANICE!"

"Hah hah hah---"

"Grrr--…," little Hope stomps away. "Nammit! I am so getting a ladder!"

"Yeah, whatever," Janice waves. "We'll be here."

"If you see the Titans, molest Robin for me!" Tiffany shouts. A beat. She glances over and blinks at Janice. ".. …you suppose that's legal in Singapore?"

"… …. …." Janice ignores her, instead gazing at the pre-pageantry.

"… .. ….Utah?"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Starfire is gazing out onto the City Hall by the time I touch down in a murky cloud behind her. I slowly, silently walk up. My approach is a quiet one. I cannot help it.

So I make a sound the closer I get, scraping the rooftop ever so slightly with the tip of Myrkblade.

Starfire is not startled. She somehow seems too lethargic to be jolted. She slowly turns her head and glances back at me. A soft—but liquid smile crawls across the lower half of her features.

"Greetings, friend Noir. Are you adequately prepared for this security mission?"

I smile. I shrug.

She leans her head to the side. "Hmm? So you are or are not equipped?"

I bite my lip….

"Hee hee hee…," she manages. Quietly. "I apologize most emphatically, young Noir. Sometimes it is a somewhat cherishable thing that you are so silent. It magnifies the innocence in a righteous fighter such as yourself, no?"

I look at her curiously.

She exhales and hugs her knees to her chest. "The ones who speak the least have always been the ones to fascinate me. On my planet, we speak and confess and deliberate openly about anything and everything that assails our spirit. It is not so on this world. On planet Earth, it takes so much more for people to open up. To speak. To tell the Truth…."

I shuffle over. I sit down beside her on the roof's edge. My legs dangle as I gaze down at the scores, hundreds, handfuls of people gathered for the annual pageant.

"It almost makes the quest to reach out to such people all the more precious," she murmurs. "Like beloved Nova'm… …"

I glance curiously at her. I blink my black eyes and mouth: 'Who?'

She looks at me. "Did not Robin inform you?"

"… … …" I slowly shake my head.

Her green eyes lower slightly. "Naturally, he did not do so… …."

I gulp.

She takes a breath. "But… …When Terrans finally open up. It is a most beautiful thing. There is perfect trust and camaraderie to be found in such. Like an honest blood is flowing from a sacrificial wound. Such selflessness. Such emotion." She tilts her head back to the Yellow Sun, basks.. … …and murmurs: "These last few days.. … …I have received such wonderful words.. … …words of wisdom and joy.. …. …. …It is a tragedy that I have nearly neglected to truly appreciate what has been done for me…. …"

I raise an eyebrow.

A beat. Starfire opens her eyes, looks at me, and giggles. "Heeheehee—You need not worry, young Noir. I am hardly in any despair at the moment. I am merely in deep thought—as we all are from time to time, yes?"

I smile and nod.

She reaches a hand over and warmly ruffles my hair. "Heehehe….I am glad to see you happy. Many harrowing things have happened this week, have they not? But now is a time for as much happiness as vigilance. We may be here on a mission, but I truly aspire to witness our friend Terra in a moment of perfect beauty. That is worth braving the day, if I may be so qualified to conclude such!"

I nod slowly. I gaze out towards the City Hall Square. I spot two familiar detectives pacing back and forth along the stage, busily directing cops around. And then a blonde woman in a dress suit standing in the center of the scene. Looking more resolute and solid than the Earth itself. And it makes me pause to wonder who is really running the show here.

"X'Hal.. …I do not hope she gets the 'stage frightening'," my Tamaranian teammate murmurs.

I am once again confronted with the dilemma of wanting to giggle out loud but having no vocal cords to do so with.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

".. …. ….." Robin gazes up from a side alleyway where he straddles his idling R-Cycle.

Starfire and I can be seen as lone figures atop the roof. High above the crowd. Lost from him in the cacophony of the energetic world.

Lost… …

Robin takes a deep breath. He shakes it off, and then whips out a Titan Communicator. But at the sight of the yellow device in his gloved hand, he pauses. Suddenly—if not briefly assaulted by spare memories of teammates floundering in despair around the world. The electronic voice of a talking brain. A shape-shifter, a primate, and a weapon of mass destruction. Lives on the brink of annihilation… …and annihilation on the heels of a dream.

Robin fights it. Slowly. Steadily. And with methodically slow triumph, he breathes through the waves of regret and voices his superhero persona through his lips and into the communicator:

"Bard, this is Robin. The clock is ticking to the beginning of the show. Please tell me you've got an update."

Silence.

"… … …," Robin grits his teeth. He flips the switch on the communicator and again growls: "Hey…. ….ROOKIE.. … ….are you following my orders or—"

"Snkkkt—Hey there yourself, Robin! I'm your huckleberry!"

Robin's eyemask 'blinks'. "… .. …say what?"

"Snkkkt—Heh heh heh…Ahem. I'm a'mosyin'…."