One year later …

It was a chilly, misty morning in Jump City. A light fog covered the bay and the lights on the bay bridge poked through the gray shroud.

The bay side park was almost empty, and as she slowly walked on the winding concrete trail through it she would occasionally cross paths with a jogger or someone walking their dog. The strangers would briefly make eye contact with her. Some would look away after their eyes met, others would nod. Some older gentlemen would tip their hat to her, in a sign of respect.

Raven continued walking. She had a fresh bouquet of flowers, which she brought every week to replace the previous ones which would have begun to wilt. A large, fixed marble vase had been added to the memorial, for the sole purpose of holding the flowers.

She wondered if there would be more vandalism this week. It usually involved punks who would tag the memorial with a spray can. It was easy for her to use her powers to remove the paint. But sometimes the vandalism went beyond that. A few months ago someone used a chisel to deface Garfield's name on the slab. An indignant citizenry quickly raised the funds to repair it. Raven never told anyone, not even her teammates, that she used her powers to remove his cremated remains from the monument, out of fear that they might be stolen, and kept the urn in her room. She couldn't fathom why anyone would want to deface Garfield's memorial, but apparently they had reasons, as misguided as they might be. It wasn't until last week that the mayor assigned a night watchman to protect the monument.

While he was no longer buried there, the monument was still important to her, and that meant that every week she would bring fresh flowers. As she approached the memorial's site she could see the top of his statue peering over the trees. She quickened her pace. While it was early, the crime alert could go off at any time, which meant she might not be able to place the flowers in the vase.

She walked around the final corner and she could now see the monument unobstructed. She then saw that the vase already had fresh flowers in it. She walked up to it an examined them. It was a dozen yellow roses, and they looked fresh. It wasn't unusual for people to leave flowers at the memorial but it was well known that the vase was for Raven's exclusive use.

"Hello, Raven." A familiar female voice spoke from behind her. She turned around and her eyes confirmed who it was.

"Terra? What are you doing here? I thought you left town years ago."

The blond crossed her arms and approached Raven.

"I came back last week."

Raven glanced at the flowers in the marble vase.

"Yeah, I brought those." Terra confirmed as she looked away.

Raven gave the geomancer an odd look. Terra had vanished without a trace after she graduated from Murakami school many years ago. Gar tried to find her, but his search was futile and after a few months he gave up. That was when Raven performed what was perhaps the second most daring act in her life, she asked the changeling to go on a date with her. The most daring act was when two years later she asked him to marry her.

"Why?" Raven asked.

Terra turned back towards Raven.

"You aren't the only one who loved him."

Raven frowned. "Then why did you leave him? He was devastated, heartbroken … how could you do that to him?"

Terra stared at the ground. "Because I'm damaged goods. He deserved someone better than me."

Raven's frown intensified. "So, you graciously stepped aside so I could have him?"

"Yeah, I did step aside … though I never thought it would be for you."

"Why not me?"

Terra sighed. "Do you really want to go there? Isn't it enough that he ended up loving you and not me?" A tear dripped down her face. "It wasn't charity, Raven. I stepped aside because I knew nothing good would happen if BB and I became a couple. Do you think that was easy for me? I watched your wedding, it was streamed live on the SuperHero magazine website. I got to watch the only guy I ever loved marry someone else … and now … he's … gone." Her voice broke up. "And the last memory he had of me is me dumping him."

Terra fell to her knees and began to sob. Raven stared dumbfounded, not knowing what to do or say. Raven cleared her throat.

"It could be worse, I dishonored his memory by being a monster."

Without looking up, and between sobs, Terra replied.

"I would have killed them too."

"What I did was unforgivable."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know."

Raven handed her flowers to Terra and without saying another word she flew away.

-(-)-

Raven flew aimlessly over the city, partially in a daze. It began to rain hard, and she was soon soaked, though that didn't seem to faze her. She continued to fly when she noticed a bright red figure below. It was Wallace West, who had graduated from Kid Flash onto the current incarnation of the Flash. He looked up and saw her. It dawned on Raven that she wasn't the only one who lost a beloved that horrible day. She slowed down and descended towards the speedster, who was standing next to an ordinary looking grave. The Tombstone simply had "Jinx" written on it as no one, not even Wally, knew her real name. Raven landed in front of the Speedster.

"Raven ..."

"Wally, I know I've never apologized … I'm so sorry."

His posture became crestfallen.

"When she backslid, she wouldn't talk to me anymore … I guess I hoped I could bring her back, though realistically there was no chance of that ever happening."

"I killed your beloved."

He raised his head and looked at her. "I know you weren't yourself, given those circumstances … Raven, as heartbroken as I am, I forgive you."

Raven acknowledged his forgiveness with a small nod, and then she began to cry. She looked at Jinx's grave.

"How do I ask her to forgive me?"

He slowly shook his head. "I don't know. I like to think that she already has forgiven you."

She looked up at him.

"Wallace, how are you now? Are you OK?"

"Actually, I'm doing better. I'm seeing someone, her name's Artemis. She's with Young Justice."

"I met her once, she seemed to be very nice." She said in a very low voice as she nodded.

"She is. Raven, what happened, happened. Do I miss Jinx? You bet I do. But, I've moved on. So should you."

The rain intensified. "I don't know if I can. Right now I don't see how I can live without him. My life, it seems so pointless and empty, and to make it worse there's the guilt. Just because no one wanted to prosecute me doesn't mean I'm not guilty."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "The healing, it'll come with time. I know it doesn't feel that way now, but it will."

Raven walked up to Jinx's grave. She placed her hand on the tombstone.

"Jinx, I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

They stood silently for several minutes, until the rain stopped. Without looking at him, she spoke.

"Thank you, Wallace, thank you for forgiving me. You've always been a good friend. I wish I could be a better friend."

She took off and flew away.

-(-)-

Raven found herself wandering around Jump's downtown area. It was still raining, and she pretty much was alone during her walk. It was not the best choice, she learned, as every corner brought back memories of her lost spouse. There was the ice cream shop they often visited. And the bookstore where he pretended to not become bored while she perused the books. There was the jewelry store where they purchased their wedding bands. She still wore hers on her left ring finger, and had no intention of ever removing it.

Suddenly she found herself standing in front of the city's cathedral. Churches were never Raven's kind of place, but she had been in this one before, on her 16th birthday, the day when she stopped time.

She paused in front of the church's main entrance, oblivious to the rain that continued to pour. The huge door was open and she approached it cautiously. There was some activity inside, though there wasn't any kind of service or Mass in progress. She tiptoed into the building, afraid of disturbing whatever was transpiring inside.

She saw the rows of votive candles by the entrance. They glowed with a warm and welcoming glow. She had always been particular to candles, and these ones mesmerized her. She dropped a coin into the donation box and picked up a match. She found a row of unlit candles and chose one. After lighting it she remembered that she had a small photo of Garfield in her jeweled belt. She pulled it out and placed it next to the candle.

She stayed there for a while until something caught her eye: a confessional booth.

Raven had seen these countless times in movies and TV shows, and she didn't recall seeing it the previous time she was here, which wasn't surprising as she was trying to keep Robin and herself away from Slade.

She walked over to the booth, which appeared to be unused. There was a small sign next to it which indicated that confessions would be heard in another 30 minutes or so.

"May I help you?" A gentle voice broke the silence.

Raven turned around and saw that it was a Priest. He had a warm smile.

"Uh … sorry … I was wondering … can I do a confession?"

"You're Raven, from the Titans, right?"

"Yes … yes, I am. Does that matter?"

"Not really. Have you been baptized, Miss Raven?"

"No, I haven't. I'm sorry, I don't know much about the rules."

The Priest continued smiling.

"Well, I can't hear your confession nor grant you absolution unless you're a member of the church. I'm sorry."

"I understand. I'm sorry, I'll leave now."

"You don't have to leave. Miss Raven, if you'd like, we could talk."

"Talk? About what?"

He shrugged. "About anything you'd like. We have a meeting room, if you'd like some privacy."

Raven glanced at the booth. "Could we talk over there?"

"Of course."

He unlocked the booth's doors, and gestured to the penitent's door which Raven opened and entered. He then entered the other door and once seated he slid the partition open.

"What would you like to talk about?"

"Where do I start?"