A few weeks later …
It was a pleasant weekday afternoon in the eastern half of of Budapest, or to be more precise, Pest. A cool breeze blew off the Danube river onto the riverside cafe, which had an unobstructed view of the iconic Chain Bridge.
Raven sipped on a cup of tea while she went over all the notes she has in her spiral ring notebook. She also nibbled on a poppy seed pastry, which she washed down with the tea as she turned the pages in the notebook, hoping to glean a clue she might have overlooked.
The truth was that she was at a dead end. She had utterly failed in discovering Kyd Wykkyd's true identity. She even tried to contact Brother Blood to see if he knew, but he proved to be elusive and apparently had zero interest in speaking with Raven.
Jinx was another tough nut to crack. The only clue Raven had was that her first name might be Aline. She double checked with Wally, who replied that he had no idea if that was the pink haired hextress's name.
Raven frowned before shoving the rest of the pastry into her mouth. Her sabbatical was approaching the two month mark and she wasn't able to find any more clues. She had even gone behind Dick's back and contacted Bruce to see if he could help her in her quest. That morning Bruce sent her a text saying that couldn't find anything.
Raven closed her notebook. As pleasant as the past week had been in Budapest it was over. There were no more clues, no one left to ask for forgiveness.
It was time to go home.
-(-)-
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We are now on the final approach to Jump City International Airport, and we would like to ask you to fasten your seat belts, store your trays, and restore your seat backs to their upright position. We also want to thank you for choosing to fly with Trans Atlantic Airlines and hope you'll choose to fly with us again."
Raven glanced at the small wristwatch she was wearing. The flight was over five hours late and they would be arriving well after midnight. Not that it really mattered, as she hadn't told anyone of her return.
The airliner landed without incident and soon she stepped out of the terminal. There was a line of taxis, whose drivers were eagerly awaiting for a fare. Raven disappointed them as she spread her arms and one of her black disks appeared, whisking her away into the dark sky. She glided silently over the town she had called home for almost 20 years until she landed on the Tower's roof. She opened the access door with the palm reader and entered.
The Tower was in night time mode and all was quiet as he headed straight for her room and as soon as she was in she opened her small suitcase. The first thing she did was pull out a small portrait of her and Garfield, which she placed on her night stand.
"We're home." She whispered to him.
She then opened a compartment on her jeweled belt and retrieved a tiny vial, which contained a portion of his ashes. She never told anyone that she always had it with her. She also placed it on her night stand, after which she began to unpack the rest of the contents of her suit case. As she unpacked there was a knock on her door. She stopped unpacking, walked over and opened the door. It was Cyborg.
"So it really is you. Why didn't you tell us you were coming home?"
She shrugged. "I don't know."
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "How about a slice of cake and a glass of milk? I baked it today."
She nodded very slowly. "Sure, that sounds good … how did you know I was back? Did I wake you?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, you did. I installed a new sensor grid, and it alerts me when anyone enters or leaves, even when I'm in the rack."
They arrived in the commons. The lights turned on automatically as they entered. He gestured her to sit at the table, which she did. He headed into the kitchen area where he prepared their snacks. He placed her plate, fork and glass in front of her. She took a small bite.
"You make the best lemon cake. Thanks."
"No problem. So, you wanna tell your big brother where you've been hiding for the past two months? Star was bouncing off the walls worrying about you, and I was kinda worried myself."
Raven stopped eating and stared at her piece of cake.
"Well?"
"I was on a mission of redemption."
"OooKay... uh, whose redemption are we talking about here?"
"Mine." She replied without looking at him.
"I see … so what did you do? Go on some kind of pilgrimage?"
"You could call it that. Remember how See-More's mother confronted me in Fawcett City?"
"Oh yeah, that made the national news … you guys reconciled, right?"
"Yes, she forgave me."
"Ooooh, you went to look for the other families."
"I did."
"And how did that go?"
"I found Billy's and Gizmo's families. Billy's mother forgave me. I offered her financial compensation, but that made her angry."
"You offered her money? I'm not surprised she got upset. How much did you offer her?"
"Two millions dollars."
Cyborg almost choked on his cake
"Two million bucks!? And she turned it down? And just where did you get that kind of money? Was that B's life insurance payout?"
"Part of it was. Rita gave me the rest … after Billy's mother turned it down, I tried to give it back to Rita, but she told me to keep it."
Vic put his fork down. "So who else did you track down?"
"I found Gizmo's father, turns out he's a respectable scientist and he disowned his son when he became a criminal. He didn't seem upset at all about Gizmo's death, which surprised me. I found out that Gizmo's real name is Mikron O'Jeneus."
"O Genius?" Vic replied in a huff. "He was no genius."
"His father said that Gizmo stole most of the tech he used."
"Gee, why am I not surprised? The punk was a hack."
"I killed that "punk", in case you forgot."
"Hey, we've been over this. You weren't yourself when that happened. I don't want to hear you talk about yourself that way. It wasn't your fault, and if you ask me, he had it coming. I mean, why the hell did he have that kind of weapon to begin with?"
Raven sighed. "That's basically what his father said, that Gizmo was a sociopath, that he was incapable of remorse. He even apologized to me over Gar's death."
Vic nodded. "Man, I can't imagine what it would be like to have a kid who goes bad like that. Then again, I can't have kids. But you can. Someone at STAR Labs found a way to make your genome and B's work. If you really want it, you can be a mama. There's a few things to work out still, but give it a few months and we're good to go."
Raven became wide eyed. "Victor, this isn't a joke?"
"Nope, it's 100% percent legit."
Raven leaned back in her chair and sighed.
"After seeing what I saw, I'm not sure I want to become a parent. When I met Gizmo's father, I could feel the sadness and disappointment oozing out of him. What if our child turns out like that?"
"Aw, c'mon Rae, that ain't gonna happen. There's no way your and B's child will turn out like that."
"I don't know … there are no guarantees, and I'm not sure I could handle that kind of heart ache."
"OK, let's change the subject. Who else did you find?"
She slowly shook her head.
"No one. Kyd Wykkyd was an absolute enigma. The only thing I learned about Jinx was her first name, and I'm not sure about it. I think her name was Aline."
She heaved a very heavy sigh.
"Victor, you should have seen where Billy grew up. The squalor was appalling. I never knew that such poverty existed in this country. I don't think his mother even had indoor plumbing."
Cyborg nodded. "I know, it's unfortunate."
"It makes me rethink of my role in life. How can I be a superhero when I know people live like that, and there's nothing I can do about it?"
The Tin Man patted her shoulder. "We can't save everyone, Rae; but we can save a lot of people, and that's what matters."
"I understand what you're saying, but after this trip I just don't think I can continue as if it's business as usual. Something has to give."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but I need to find a new purpose in my life."
"Star thinks you need to get laid."
Raven snorted. "That's her answer for everything, which isn't surprising as Tamaranians are hedonists, though she was good at hiding it when she was a teen. Do you really think a lover will fix what's wrong with my life?"
He shook his head. "Not really. I think you need to be true to yourself."
She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks, I knew you'd understand."
-(-)-
About a year later …
It was a quiet afternoon in the lush valley, which was about an hour's drive south of Jump City. A late model SUV drove down a gravel road, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. The drive off of the main road was almost two miles, and as the vehicle came around a bend its occupants could see the castle like structure on the hill. They drove up until they were in its parking lot and stopped.
There were no other vehicles present and the driver's door opened. It had the words "Jump City Realty" stenciled on it. A smartly dressed young women exited from the driver's side, and her passenger, Raven Logan, exited on the other side. Raven was visibly pregnant.
The sorceress looked at the building and nodded.
"This looks promising."
The estate agent opened a three ring binder and flipped through its pages.
"It used to be a Benedictine Abbey. The nuns who lived here consolidated with another abbey and moved there. It's within your price range … though I have to say, it's spartan. Those nuns didn't have many amenities. For starters, it doesn't have any heating, but has electrical power … a well with an electric pump … a septic system and a few telephone land lines … some barns … and a large bakery, apparently the nuns supported themselves making fruit cakes. I'm sure I can find something nicer than this. I mean, something less 'Game of Thrones', if you know what I mean."
Raven became airborne and flew around the abbey before returning.
"I'd like to see the interior."
They went inside. It was indeed very bare bones, with walls made of stone,which probably explained the low asking price, two million dollars. When they were done they came back out.
"How much land does it have?"
The woman looked in her binder. "527 acres, and it's surrounded by a state forest, which means it can't be further developed."
"So, no neighbors?"
The agent shook her head. "It says here that the closest one is three miles away."
Raven turned back to look at vacant abbey.
"It's exactly what I've been looking for."