"Mom!"
Raven was still talking with Nightwing when Mark's bellowing voice echoed in the room. The masked Titan quickly glanced at the green lad, who was stomping angrily towards them.
"What's with him? I thought he would be happy today?" Grayson whispered to her.
Raven saw that Negative Man was near Mark and was doing his best to fade into the background.
"Larry told him."
"Told him what?"
Raven sighed as she mentally prepared to intercept her livid son.
"That he's a billionaire."
Dick became slack jawed. "You mean you never told him?"
"No, I didn't." She replied as she walked towards Mark. They met in the middle of the common room.
"I know you're angry." She said in her monotone.
"Angry? Why would I be angry? Because I've lived like a pauper my whole life, just to find out that I'm actually a billionaire?"
She placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Think about it, Mark. Would you really have wanted to grow up the spoiled child of privilege? Someone who sees others as inferior because they aren't wealthy? I know you aren't happy with the austere lifestyle we've been living, but it helped you develop character."
He rolled his eyes before replying. "I'm not saying that I wanted to live like some kind of playboy, driving million dollar sports cars and stuff. But you made me be a monk even though I didn't want to be one."
"You aren't a monk, you've never professed any vows." She frowned
"Vows, shmows … the only clothes I ever had, other than the ones Uncle Vic and Aunt Star gave me, were those wretched habits. Every time normal people came to visit the abbey I wanted to run and hide, I didn't want them to see me, I was embarrassed, it made me feel like a freak."
"Mark, everyone at the Abbey is a normal person."
He slowly shook his head, while a smile, a not so nice smile, appeared on his face.
"What are you talking about? Everybody at the Abbey is weird. They're all rejects that couldn't handle the real world and wanted to run away from it."
"Mark, that is untrue, and you know it. People come to the abbey for spiritual reasons. No one is running away from amnything."
Mark stared quietly at his mother. They locked eyes with each other. Grayson wisely backed away, as did Cyborg and most of the other party guests. Only Mar'i, who ran over after the ruckus began, stood firmly as Mark's side.
"You ran away after Dad died, and I can't see why. You had a family here, people who love you. But you shut them out, you shut the whole world out when he died. Look, I get it, you loved dad and losing him shattered you. What I don't understand is why you grew me in a test tube like some kind of science experiment? Was it a way to keep Dad around?"
With a grim expression on her face she replied in her deadpan. "No one can replace your father, no one can. Why do you think I never remarried? It would have been utterly unfair to that man, he would never be able to live up to your father."
"You didn't even try. So why, why did you conceive me in lab with my dead father's DNA, a father I'll never get to meet. I was born an orphan. Only getting to see Dad in old videos sucks bricks. Did you know that I sometimes cry for him, wishing I could meet him?"
"Your father and I discussed this situation. He was on board, which is why we saved and froze both his sperm and some of my eggs."
The young man balled his fists. "You only created me to satisfy some selfish need to have a kid. A kid you would raise in a freezing medieval castle. A kid who would be raised by a bunch of monks and nuns, who would never have a normal childhood. Maybe you liked being raised by the monks and Azar, but you never asked me what I wanted to do. And it certainly wasn't chopping firewood, milking cows, making cheese or praying and meditating for hours every day. And praying to Azar is pointless, she was just a nun. It's idolatrous."
"She was more than a nun, she protected Earth from my father." Raven replied, seething, unable to conceal her anger. "And yes, I wanted to be a mother and I wanted your father to be your father, even if he was already dead. As for raising you in the abbey, I did want to shield you from the world, from the horrible world were your father was killed and I murdered his killers … Mark … I did need to go to the Abbey … maybe I was running away or maybe I was searching for answers. But please believe me, you brought light and joy into my life, and I desperately needed both. And I didn't give birth to you to have a replacement for your father, I gave birth to you because I love you. You are precious to me. If the hardships we endured have caused you pain, I'm sorry, and that's why I decided to let you move to the Tower ..."
Raven began to tremble and tears poured down her cheeks.
"Mark, my son, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."
Tears began to well in his eyes and Mar'i nudged him. He wrapped his arms around his mother.
"I love you too, mom."
-(-)-
Four years later …
The common room doors opened. Nightwing entered the room and saw Raven, sitting in her old spot on the crescent shaped couch, reading a book. Her hair was almost half gray by now, the silver contrasting with her still violet locks.
"I take that the mission went well?" She asked without looking up from her book.
Grayson limped to the couch and winced as he sat down. Raven could feel the pain he was experiencing as if it was her own.
"We got him. It seems like new super villains keep coming out of the wood work."
"What was this one's gimmick?"
"He's bionic, like Cy. But his weapons pack a serious wallop."
"And one of them hit your leg … sit still and I'll do what I can."
Raven's blue light appeared and she could feel the relief he was experiencing.
"You're getting too old for this, Dick. It's time for you to hang up the spandex."
He chuckled. "So, are you inviting me to come to your abbey?"
She continued to heal him, and proceeded for several minutes, but remained silent, until she stopped and withdrew her hands from his thigh.
"That's the best I can do … as for the abbey, it isn't mine, not anymore."
He sat up straight and looked at her. His pain now forgotten.
"What do you mean?"
He was no empath, but he could tell that she was feeling great sorrow.
"I've resigned as abbess. The order has voted and Brother Isidore is the new abbot."
"You resigned? But why? Are you leaving the abbey?"
"I'm not leaving, I just don't believe that I'm still fit to serve as abbess.
"Is this beecause Mark and Mar'i are getting married tomorrow?"
"Don't be silly. It's because I'm not fit to be the abbess. To be honest I'm not sure I ever was. You know I've always been a lone wolf. Gar once joked when we met Kole that I wasn't good with people, and he was right. I can't lead them anymore. I'm good at training them, the technical stuff, but when it comes to their spiritual needs, I'm a big zero. It's no wonder so many gave up and left. Isidore will be much better at shepherding them than I ever was."
Nightwing nodded his understanding.
"So, have you though about coming back to the Tower?"
"I'm too old to be a superhero, that's in my past. And if I came back, I would just be the obstructive mother-in-law. They don't need that. And besides, I need the abbey far more than it needs me."
"Will you at least promise to visit more often?"
"How often?"
"How about one week each month?"
She smiled. "I'll run that by the abbot."
"If you do that, I'll hang up the spandex. You aren't the only one giving me a hard time about that. Star has been giving me grief for years, Cy too. And it doesn't help that Bumblebee, Pantha, Kole, Jericho and Hot Spot have all retired. You could help us train the younger Titans. You know your old room is still intact, just the way you left it … Star will be thrilled … she wants to go have tea and lunch with you and ..."
"And shopping, no doubt." She interjected. "That actually sounds … nice."
-(-)-
The next day …
The Tower was roiling in mayhem as last minute preparations were being made. Caterers and bartenders kept bumping into each other as they setup their wares, while getting in the way of the people setting up the tables in the common room. A baker was shouting angrily as to where he could put the wedding cake.
Meanwhile, the rooftop hangar was being transformed into an impromptu chapel. Chairs were setup as was a makeshift altar, which was Azarathian as Raven was to perform the ceremony herself.
It was in this same room where decades before, after tempting her boyfriend with an endless cornucopia of carnal pleasure, that she and Garfield exchanged secular vows before a justice of the peace.
Raven had all the materials prepared. In addition to the Azarathian liturgy, there was a small loaf of bread and a chalice of wine they would share as a symbol of their unity, feeding each other a piece as part of the ceremony.
Raven was wearing her white Gala costume, complete with leggings and a faux fur trim. She also wore a stole with Azarathian runes on it that identified her as a priestess of the Order of Azar. Her now partially gray hair matched her white outfit. She looked very serene as the guests arrived, which were a long list of important people: The Governor, The Mayor, The Chief of Police, and Abbot Isidore among others.
Soon the guests were seated and the ceremony could begin.
In Azarathian tradition, the bride and groom approached the altar together. They bowed to Raven, who bowed back to them. While the preparations had been hectic, everything was in place. Raven looked upon the room and all the people it contained, minus one very absent guest.
"Gar, I wish you were here." She whispered to herself. "I know you would be so proud of him."
She sighed softly and smiled.
"Dear friends and family, we are here to celebrate the joining of two wonderful people ..."
-(-)-
We're getting close to the end of the story. So, let me ask you a question … should there be grandchildren? Let me know what you think.