About three months later …
Raven's figure shimmered into existence and for a brief instance she could see both the Watchtower teleporter room and the commons in Titan's Tower. The teleporter's signature hum faded away and she took a deep breath. Even though she had used the device on every single Justice League mission, meaning all 78 of them, she still didn't fully trust the device. The idea of being disassembled molecule by molecule, having those molecules streamed over some kind of quantum beam, as if she was a youtube video, which allowed the strange experience of bilocation and then being reassembled as if you were made of Lego blocks was disconcerting enough. There had never been an accident, though statistically it was possible for one to happen, either having your molecules spread amongst the cosmos and being lost forever, or worse, have a malfunction during the materialization phase and be reconstructed as a hideous blob of protoplasm. Of course, the Javelins were statistically more dangerous, but that didn't make the teleporter less scary. Raven set her suitcase on the floor and looked around the empty room.
"Hello?" She called out. There was no reply. Through her peripheral vision she saw a flashing light on the mission console. It was the message indicator. She pressed the button next to the flashing light. Nightwing's image appeared, floating in holographic form above the console.
"Sorry, we couldn't wait … it's Cinderblock. We should be back soon. There's a box of cranberry scones for you in the cupboard and some fresh boxes of tea. Gotta go."
The recording abruptly ended. A small smile appeared on her face and she whispered the words "Titans, Go" before heading into the kitchen to prepare some tea. There were indeed some fresh, unopened boxes of her favorite teas and she opened the container of Earl Gray. She prepared the tea and took it, with three scones on a small plate, to the circular couch, where she sat down.
It crossed Raven's mind that Starfire's pregnancy was now advanced and the baby would be arriving soon. She made a mental note to scold the Tamaranian for going on a mission in her third trimester, even though she knew it would be a complete waste of time as the Princess would give a long speech about how she was a warrior, and had a sacred duty, blah, blah, blah … aliens, there was no understanding them sometimes..
Still, the thought of seeing her orange friend, and her "big brother" and even the ever anal retentive circus brat brought a warm feeling to her chest. She turned on the TV and selected the news channel that always had live coverage of their battles with villains. As expected, Cinderblock had been defeated and they were already talking to the police. The TV reporter announced offhandedly that Raven had finished her brief stint with the Justice League and would be returning to Jump.
"Raven, if you're listening, we're all glad you're back." The reporter announced.
She saw on the screen that the Titans were departing the scene. The turned off the TV and relaxed on the couch as she took a nibble from one of the scones.
-(-)-
"Raven!" Starfire shrieked joyfully as she wrapped her arms around her gray friend. "You have returned!"
"Uh, yeah, that was the plan." Raven replied as she gently pushed the princess away and took a good look at her baby bump, which looked painfully enormous. "I was going to return before Mar'i was born, remember?"
Raven felt another pair of hands grab her and lift from the floor.
"Well, alright! My little sister is back from the Justice League. So what was it like running with the big girls and boys?"
"To be honest, it wasn't all that different from being a Titan."
"Did you not meet the Superman or the Woman of Wonder?"
"Just once … Wonder Woman thought my name was Crow."
Nightwing, who was watching the scene unfold, burst out laughing.
"That was my fault, I asked her to do that."
Raven slowly shook her head. "I'm still glad to be back. The Watchtower is a very impersonal place."
"How so?"
"Well, for starters, it's huge, about 20 times bigger than Titans Tower. They have over one hundred civilian staff and I lost track of how many superheros are stationed there, and most of them were unknown to me. We have to wear ID badges on lanyards, like if it was some corporate campus. And security stops you to check it."
"That bad, huh?" Cyborg quipped.
"It had its pluses. The dining hall was excellent, meaning I never had to cook or wash dishes. They had laundry service and even housekeeping. I didn't even have to make my bed."
Cyborg made a clearly mocked look of indignation. "Are you saying their cooking was better than mine?"
"You know I would never say that."
"Well, good; because I made your favorite, lil sis, my patented baby back ribs. In fact, we can sit down to eat now."
-(-)-
Raven wiped her hands with one of the moist towelettes Cyborg had in a large bowl, in a vain attempt to get the smell of barbecue sauce off her hands. Years before she once overheard Speedy say that Cyborg's ribs were better than sex. While she agreed that they were very good, they weren't that good. It then dawned on her that she hadn't had intercourse for years, the last time being the night before Garfield died.
"So, were they good, or were they good, little lady?" The Tin Man asked in his boisterous voice.
"They were scrumptious, as always." Raven replied. She then cleared her throat. "There's something I want to say, or maybe I should say: ask."
"What is it?" Nightwing asked between bites. "Cy, you really outdid yourself, this has to be your best batch ever."
Raven appeared to hesitate, but finally spoke. "I know I just got back, but I want to take a leave of absence."
"You do? Why? Is something wrong?" Grayson asked.
"Yes, there is. I have some personal business I need to take care of, and I need to do it alone."
"I see … care to share what that is?"
"No … I'm sorry, it's personal. I don't expect to be gone long, just four to six weeks. So, is this OK with everyone? I know you've been waiting for me to come home, and now I want to run off, but once I'm done, well, I'll be done and will come home."
Nightwing looked nonplussed. "Well … I guess … sure … are you sure you want to go alone, because we can come with you."
"I appreciate the offer, but as I said, this is personal. I have to do this alone."
-(-)-
A few weeks later …
Raven hovered over the water in a Louisiana bayou. She saw a small alligator swim by and used her powers to shoo it away. She checked the GPS on her Titans communicator and changed course. The destination was about a mile away, the path leading through a dense thicket of trees. She flew over the trees, cruising slowly over them, so as to not accidentally overshoot her destination, not that would happen as she finally saw it: a small island with a weather beaten dock and boat, and a dilapidated mobile home in the middle.
She landed in front of the shanty, wondering how it was transported to the remote and inaccessible location, before remembering to focus on her mission. She silently walked up to the door and gently knocked on it.
A woman who appeared to be late middle aged answered the door. She was very lean and ropy looking, her face was tanned and had deep creases. Her hands look gnarled, and it was clear that she performed hard manual labor. The woman looked at Raven and her eyes narrowed.
"What do you want?" She snapped at the sorceress. "Did you come here to torment me?"
Raven bowed her head. "I came to apologize for what I did to Billy."
The old woman frowned. "Ain't you a bit late to apologize, Miss Superhero?"
"I am, and I also apologize for that."
The woman stared at her.
"OK then, come in." She opened the door and gestured Raven to follow her in.
Raven cautiously entered the hovel the woman called home. She had done some research into Billy Numerous's history and learned that he grew up in what some would call a "disadvantaged background" but she had to control herself to not express revulsion at the squalor she was seeing. Billy's mother gestured Raven to sit, and she did on a old oak chair. The old woman did the same on the only other chair in the house.
"I ain't ashamed of Billy. He wasn't a bad person, he was a thief, but he ain't never hurt no one."
"I know, and that's why I'm here. I killed him in a moment of despair. There's no excuse for what I did, and I ask you, I beg you, for your forgiveness."
The woman stared at Raven before replying. "I reckon that had I been in your shoes, I would have done the same, not that it makes it alright. Anyway, you can go, I forgive you."
Raven heaved a sigh of relief and reached into her cape, from where she extracted an envelope, which she handed to the woman. She opened it and saw that it contained a check.
"Your check has a lot of zeros on it, Miss Superhero."
"I know that it doesn't make up for your loss, but it's the only thing I can do ..."
The woman tore the check into tiny shreds.
"I don't want your money. I already forgave you, now git out of my house before I change my mind and load my shotgun."
Raven nodded before phasing into the floor.
-(-)-
A week later, in Chicago …
Raven stopped in front of an office building, which had a sign that identified it as "Talbot Laboratories". After reading the sign she pushed her way through the revolving door. A security guard looked up from his desk, and from his expression he didn't seem pleased to see her.
"May I help you?" He said as he discreetly reached for his firearm.
"I have an appointment to see Dr. O'Jeneus at 2:30."
The security guard appeared to relax and tapped a few times on his keyboard.
"Your name?"
"Raven Logan."
He resumed tapping on his keyboard.
"Do you have any ID?"
She handed him her Justice League ID. He gave it a good look before running it through a scanner, which beeped a few seconds later. He handed her ID back to her.
"Take the elevator to the sixth floor. Someone will meet you there."
Raven did as instructed. There was another guard waiting for her as the elevator doors opened.
"This way, if you please." He gestured. He led her to an office with a sign that read 'A. O'Jeneus, Director, R&D'. He knocked on the door.
"Enter." A voice responded.
The guard opened the door and gestured for Raven to enter, closing the door behind her. Raven immediately saw the resemblance between Gizmo and the man seated behind the desk. Like his son he was short and bald, though he had a beard. He tapped a pencil on his desktop.
"So you're Raven of the Titans and you came here to speak with me about Mikron."
Raven clasped her hands together. "Sir, I just want to convey how ..."
He raised his hand to stop her "There's no need for you to apologize."
"I … I don't understand."
The scientist looked away before replying.
"I disowned him when he became a hoodlum."
"You mean … you don't care that I killed him?"
"It was bound to happen. Had it not been you it would have been someone else. Maybe another superhero, or the police or the military, or another thug, from a rival gang, or maybe he would have done himself in, he didn't truly understand half the technology he stole from my lab. If anything, I owe you an apology."
"You … what?"
"He was my son. My wife died of an accident when he was an infant … I was too busy to raise him myself so I hired a nanny, with disastrous results. He met that Jinx girl, don't ask me how or where, and she immediately corrupted him. When I learned that he murdered your husband, I was mortified."
"It was an accident."
He shook his head.
"No, it was no accident. That missile that killed your husband, the targeting tech came straight out of my lab. He stole it. And let me tell you, there is only one purpose for that tech, it's for taking out the enemy, it has no other purpose, it's an anti-personnel device. He knew that when he stole it, and believe me, he was intending to use it against the Titans. Maybe not that day, but that's what it was for."
"But he apologized."
Dr. O'Jeneus snorted.
"Well, of course he did. He was defenseless. If that pink haired idiot hadn't messed up, he would have fired it and run away … Mrs. Logan, believe me when I say this, he was incapable of feeling remorse. I tried to bring him back, to reconcile with him, to get him away from those thugs, but he would have none of it. He wanted to be a villain, a supervillain, and nothing I could say would change his mind. I finally accepted that he was lost to me and I moved on."
He looked down at some paperwork on his desk.
"If you're seeking my pardon, you have it. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do."
Her shoulders drooped.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Dr. O'Jeneus."
She turned to leave and stopped.
"Doctor, you wouldn't happen to know Jinx's real identity?"
Without looking up from his paperwork he replied. "I tried to find out, but she covered her tracks and well. I still can't believe that Kid Flash once dated her. He certainly dodged a bullet when she left him."
"Thank you, doctor." She said before leaving.