Rand and Starfire watched Beast Boy disappear into the portal, which faded away with a soft hum after he passed through it. Coraline fussed, squirming in Raven's arms. The gray sorceress scrunched her nose.

"Great, now I have to change her diaper. He always finds a way to weasel out of it."

"I will help you, dear friend."

Raven turned and saw Starfire's tear drenched face.

"You don't need to do that. I stayed behind to console you."

"It is OK, Raven … helping you change your daughter will console me."

"Her bowel movements are … pungent now." Raven smiled. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Starfire grabbed the diaper bag and slid it off her shoulder. "I am positive … Mar'i, you will come with us. We will do this in my room."

Nightstar nodded her head and followed the two women out of the common room. Galfore and Nightwing watched them leave. The two men stood in silence until Grayson broke the silence.

"So how did he kill her?"

Galfore grumbled unhappily. "He shot her in the back with standard issue blaster."

"I've never seen one of those."

"They are only issued to officers. Frassa'd was a lieutenant in the infantry."

"The infantry? I thought all Tamaranians could fly."

"We can, but unlike the princesses, our flight abilities are very limited. Those who are particularly untalented with flight are assigned to the ground forces."

"So he used a gun … let me guess, no star bolts?"

"No … only the princesses have that ability."

"I see. So … after he shot Blackfire …"

"Princess Kommand'r." Galfore corrected him.

"Right … Princess Kommand'r."

"What do you call your spouse?"

Grayson gave the Grand Ruler a curious look. "I call her Starfire."

"You are her consort; you should call her by her correct name."

"I sometimes call her Kory."

"Not good enough, Grayson. She might be your wife, but by marrying her you have become Tamaranian, and she is your superior. You will address her correctly."

"Fine … when we're on Tamaran I'll follow protocol. Happy?"

Galfore glared at him. "No, I am not happy. You are unworthy of her."

"Isn't that for her to decide?"

"No … it is not. Protocol dictates that I choose a mate for her. But now, you have defiled her. Taking her as your bride in your pathetic Earthly ceremony … that was an affront to all of Tamaran."

"Well … excuse me." Grayson replied with a hint of insolence.

"You are not excused … when Koriand'r returned to Tamaran … without you … the populace was overjoyed."

"And you want me to help you figure out why this Frassa'd guy killed Blackfire?"

Galfore bristled. "I see that your human insubordination is coming through. Keep your detective skills to yourself, human. Knowing why he killed her will change nothing."

"It was probably for a personal reason." Nightwing interjected.

"Because he killed himself?"

"You don't have murder/suicides on Tamaran, do you?"

Galfore narrowed his eyes. "We are not barbarians like you humans."

"And yet it happened."

"No doubt because of the negative influence of Earth."

"What a shame … and my half human daughter is next in line for the throne."

"She is Koriand'r's daughter, she is not yours."

"Excuse me?"

"Under our laws, since you are a commoner, you abdicate all rights to her. Legally she is not your daughter."

"Well, lucky for me we're on Earth, and here she is legally my daughter."

"A situation that can easily be remedied, human."

Grayson bristled at the remark. "You would just love to have her divorce me so you could marry her off to one of your snobby royals. But you, you aren't royalty. Who are you to criticize me?"

Galfore leaned forward so that he was face to face with Dick. His hirsute mug was screwed with anger and contempt. "I am a warrior of Tamaran … but you … you are clown from a circus."

The tin man nervously watched the interaction between the two men. He saw Grayson's jaw tremble for a split second, but to his credit he kept his cool and turned to his friend.

"Cyborg, the Grand Ruler of Tamaran is unwelcome here. Would you be kind enough to escort the Galfore back to his shuttlecraft?"

Victor smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

-( scene break )-

Starfire pulled a large towel out of the diaper bag and spread it across her bed. Raven placed Coraline on the towel and the infant kicked her legs around. Starfire handed the box of baby wipes to her gray friend, who methodically got to work. Nightstar pinched her nose as the acrid aroma shocked her nostrils. Raven continued her task until her daughter was clean and had a fresh diaper.

"When we first met, I never imagined myself cleaning a baby's bottom." The sorceress remarked in her monotone.

"Yes, much has changed since those days."

Raven removed her cape before picking up her daughter and sat down on a chair. With her free hand she pulled down a zipper on the front of her leotard and within moments she began to nurse her daughter.

"Starfire, I know you and your sister weren't close."

"We were not. Just before I returned to Earth I asked Galfore to banish her from Tamaran."

"You did? Why?"

"She was trying to turn Mar'i against me."

"Oh … I guess I can understand your position."

Starfire began to sniffle. "Raven, my last words to her … they were not sisterly … they were spoken in anger … I said 'Enjoy your man whore tonight, sister, for tomorrow you will be banished from Tamaran'. Why did I say that?"

"But despite all that she ever did to you, and whatever words you exchanged with each other, you still loved her."

Starfire closed her eyes and pursed her lips. She fought back the tears as she nodded her affirmation. Raven placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You're lucky … because you loved her. Starfire … there's something I've never told anyone, except for Gar."

The princess pulled herself together. "Raven … you do not need to share your secrets with me."

"Actually, I think I should … Starfire …I have siblings … well … half siblings actually."

"By your father?"

"Yes, he sired each one from a different woman. In the end I was the only one powerful enough to be the gem."

"Oh … so … your siblings … you do not love them?"

"That would be an understatement. I have six brothers and I have no love for them at all. They are vile, nasty and evil creatures … the universe would be better off without them and it is, because I banished them to the same hell where I sent my father. I know that Blackfire was a terribly flawed person, but you had something with her that I never had with my father and my brothers ... you had a family."

"But Raven, you do have a family. We are your family and now you have a spouse and daughter."

"I know … I never believed that I could ever have all this, being who I am. In my mind it was something other people had, good people, not monsters like me … Starfire, I am so sorry for your loss … and don't worry about your final words to her. They don't define how you really felt about her, but the tears on your face do."

Starfire sniffled. "There is so much tragedy in our lives. Richard, Garfield, Victor and I … we all lost our parents and now I have lost my sister as well. And when you became the portal, I also thought I had lost you, my friend."

"But there is also so much joy. That's something I learned from you Starfire, and for that I am in your debt, my sister. That was a terrible day."

With Coraline still suckling, Raven stood up and the two friends, who had grown and experienced so much together, shared a hug. Eventually they separated and Raven, with Coraline still latched onto her, sat back down in her chair. As soon as she was comfortable again, the room's door slid open and Nightwing barged in.

"Raven! Have you heard from Beast Bo … whoops!"

Grayson stopped dead in his tracks and quickly turned around; a light blush appeared on his face

"Sorry about that! You know, you could have put a sign on the door or something. I mean … this is my room, I shouldn't have to knock before entering."

"It's OK, Dick. You can turn around."

"But … you're exposed."

Raven chuckled. "It's not like you've never seen one before."

"Yeah, I have … but not one of yours."

"Will you just relax?"

Nightwing slowly turned around, just as Raven removed Coraline from her engorged breast, which was now fully exposed. He winced as he turned away a second time. "You did that on purpose!"

Raven zipped up her leotard. "OK, you big baby, I'm decent now. Now what was it that you were asking me?"

Nightwing turned around with a scowl on his face. "I didn't want to see that, now that image, one of your gray breasts, is seared into my brain … anyway, I just came to see if Beast Boy was back yet."

"Now that you mention it, he hasn't checked in with me … and it's been almost an hour."

"Well, Galfore is itching to head back to Tamaran for Blackfire's funeral and since we're all supposed to go we can't leave until he returns."

Raven picked up an old fashioned land line phone. "I'll call the security office at the lab and have them page him for me."

Raven dialed the number and waited for a moment.

"Hello? … This is Mrs. Logan. Would you mind paging my husband? … Yes, I left the facility. … Yes, I know, I should have checked out at the front desk but could you please page him? … Thank you."

Raven waited for about a minute, drumming her fingers impatiently. "He isn't responding? Could you call his lab? … You already did … no one has seen him? Are you certain of this? … Yes, I'm certain he's there … You'll keep looking? … Thanks."

Raven hung up the phone. "Something's wrong."

"No one has seen him? I saw him enter that portal." Nightwing remarked. "Are you sure you sent him to the right place?"

"I know I did." She suddenly handed Coraline to Starfire. "I'm going to look for him. I'll be right back." She conjured a portal and stepped into it.

"Raven, wait!" Nightwing shouted as the portal vanished. "Great! Now if she also disappears, not only will we have to find them, but we'll be stuck with the baby until we do."

Starfire had a troubled look on her face.

"Are you worried?" He asked her.

"Yes, I am. I agree with Raven, something feels wrong."

After a few minutes Raven's portal reopened.

"See, she's already back. I'll bet she found him right away and chewed him out before coming back."

Raven stepped through the portal which vanished behind her. She had a troubled look on her.

"He's not there. I went to every floor and I never sensed his presence."

"You mean he left?" Nightwing asked.

"Yes, but not willingly."

Grayson frowned. "Are you sure? How do you know that?"

Raven extended her hand forward, and opened it, her palm facing upward. "I found this in our room."

Nightwing took the dart from her hand and examined it. "I'll have Cyborg check it out, but I'll bet it had a sedative … someone's kidnapped him … but how did they get him out of there without being seen?"

"Uncle Gar can morph in to small animals." Nightstar chimed in.

"But that would mean he cooperated." Grayson remarked.

"Maybe he was forced." Raven added.

"We need to put a suspect list together. Access into that lab is restricted and it's heavily guarded."

"By guards on Lex Luthor's payroll."

"You're right, Raven. We'll start there, but we need more suspects. Can you think of anyone else?"

The sorceress frowned. "I certainly can, and if it was who I'm thinking of … she's a dead woman."

-( scene break )-

A burning sensation, that was the first thing he felt as he instinctively reached for his side. The feeling bloomed into all out pain when he touched the source of the burn and his hand recoiled away. Cobwebs filled his mind and he struggled to become lucid. As he slowly woke up he remembered the blurry figure in his room and then recalled the large dart that had lodged itself in his side. Now awake he carefully explored where the dart had been and found that it was gone.

Now he was fully awake and found that he was resting in a lumpy, military grade cot inside a dimly lit room. Taking a deep breath and with great caution he gingerly sat up in the bed. Shards of pain shot out from his wound and he winced in agony. Batman was right, he was out of shape, and at least he was by superhero standards.

As he sat up he felt a solid metal collar around his neck. He reached for it and found it to be very solid, as it was firmly lodged around his neck. Guessing what it was he tried to morph and found that he couldn't. Whoever his captors were, they were thorough and had covered all bases with the power cancellation collar. At least now he knew why his side was hurting so much, he was healing at a regular human rate and lacked the superhuman strength he normally had.

With some trepidation he stood up and found that the effect of the drug had yet to fully wear off. As he leaned against a wall to keep from falling a hidden loudspeaker crackled to life.

"I would suggest getting back into that bed. The sedative will be in your system for another 24 hours." An indistinct and clearly electronically masked androgynous voice boomed in the room.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?"

"I ask the questions, not you, changeling."

"I won't cooperate."

"It would be unfortunate if something happened to your wife and daughter."

Beast Boy scoffed at the threat. "Good luck with that. Raven already knows by now that I'm missing. There's no way you'll catch her by surprise. And she kicks butt, just try anything and she'll hand your head handed to you on a platter."

In spite of his bravado, Gar could feel the effect of the drug still working on him. His legs felt rubbery so he cautiously returned to his cot and sat down on it.

"I suggest you sleep it off. Once the effect has expired we will talk again."

Beast Boy leaned forward and rested his face in the palms of his hands. His captor was right; he still felt the effect of the drug. He raised his head and surveyed the room. It was a gray cinderblock affair with a stainless steel toilet and sink on the wall. If only he could morph, he could flush himself to freedom. The door looked like impervious solid steel and there was no obvious escape route.

As the drug induced fatigue began to set in, he thought of Raven. She was probably going crazy wondering where he was and if he was OK. Not seeing any clear form of escape he resigned himself to sleeping some more. Hopefully once the drug wore off he might find a way to break out of his prison, and to accomplish that he would have to find a way to remove that damned collar. As he began to doze off, he recalled another time he had been trapped with a collar around his neck and that he was able to get it off. A vision of Soto's amazed face popped into his mind before he fell asleep.

-( scene break )-

Metropolis. It was Superman's home town and it was Lex Luthor's as well. It was a prosperous city of tall, gleaming buildings, the tallest of which was the LuthCorp corporate headquarters. The soaring, modern, glass wrapped building stood head and shoulders above its peers, boldly proclaiming Lex Luthor's prominence as the city's wealthiest man.

Luthor's office was at the building's summit, on the 175th floor. Two thousand feet below his office was Metropolis's Broadway Avenue, ten lanes of busy traffic, with thousands of cars zooming past the #1 Broadway address. Among the river of cars, a blue and white vehicle stood out. It was a unique automobile, one that was not familiar to the denizens of Metropolis.

Cyborg kept the original T-Car at his father's Metropolis house, taking it out only on special occasions, and today was definitely a 'special occasion'. Victor was behind the wheel and Nightwing was in the passenger seat, while Raven and Starfire were in the back seat. Coraline and Nightstar were left in Bumblebee's care and Galfore had been quick to express his displeasure that the princess was not left with him, but in the end he grudgingly accepted the situation.

After parking the car in Luthor's cavernous underground garage the four Titans entered the building's lobby area. The main reception desk was massive and was staffed by several young and extremely attractive women. Nightwing led his old team to one of the receptionists, who smiled at them as they parked themselves in front of her.

"How may I help you?"

"We're here to see Mr. Luthor."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, we don't."

"Then I'm afraid you can't see him."

"Do you know who we are?" Raven hissed at her.

The young woman, who looked no older than 25, shrugged her shoulders. "Should I? You aren't the first Spandex clad types who have asked to see Mr. Luthor without an appointment."

"We are the Titans!" Starfire snarled.

"I've never heard of you. Look, I'm sorry, but unless you have an S shield on your chest, Mr. Luthor doesn't have the time. He's a very busy man."

"We aren't leaving until we see him." Nightwing growled.

The receptionist sighed as she reached for a phone. "I'm calling security; I suggest you leave before they arrive."

A white gloved woman's hand intercepted the receptionist and pushed the phone handset back into the cradle. "That won't necessary, Heather. Mr. Luthor is more than happy to see Dr. Roth and her friends."

Raven recognized Mercy, Lex Luthor's confidant and bodyguard.

"Dr. Roth, it's nice to see you again, please, follow me."

Mercy led the four Titans to a private elevator, which was restricted to card key access. As soon as the doors closed Mercy resumed speaking. "We were expecting you, though you should have called ahead, so we could have alerted the ladies in reception to know you would be arriving."

"You were expecting us?" Nightwing asked.

"Yes, we have been informed about Dr. Logan's disappearance."

The lift rose at vertiginous speeds and they were soon at the top floor. The elevator doors opened, revealing a sumptuous reception area. Luthor's private secretary, whose desk was next to the massive teak wood doors that led into his office, stood and greeted them as they approached.

"Mr. Luthor is ready to see you, this way please."

The secretary knocked politely on the doors before opening them.

"Dr. Roth! Please, come in!" Luthor's voice boomed.

Lex Luthor's office was elegant in its minimalism. It was glass on three sides, with a breath taking view of Metropolis. His desk, while massive, was not ornate, and looked Scandinavian in its styling. He gestured to the four Titans to be seated and offered them refreshments, which they politely declined. Mercy took her post, standing next to his chair, slightly behind him.

"You're here to see me about Dr. Logan's disappearance. You think that I might somehow be behind it, don't you?"

"Yeah, the thought crossed our minds." Cyborg replied in an irritated tone.

"Believe me, I was not involved. And why would I? Dr. Logan is once again, a global hero. And under whose nose was he abducted? Mine! You do understand that this makes me look very bad, don't you?"

"How so?" Starfire asked in a cold voice.

Mercy stepped forward.

"You are aware that Lex is brokering a peace conference between North and South Korea? We will be providing every level of service during that conference, including security. Dr. Logan's abduction is a black eye for us, and the North Koreans are already threatening to pull out of the conference because of that."

"I never knew you were so altruistic, Lex." Nightwing sneered. "A regular global citizen."

Luthor chuckled. "No is denying that a reunified Korea would be beneficial to business, especially to LuthCorp business. So you see, I have nothing to gain from this situation and I have plenty to lose. But there is more."

"More?" Raven asked.

"Dr. Logan isn't the only one who disappeared. Dr. Pontone checked out of the lab a few hours ago with her son. She was supposed to come straight here to meet with us, but she never showed up." Mercy informed them.

"I knew it! I knew that woman was bad news when I laid eyes on her!" Raven fumed. "She kidnapped Gar, I just know it."

"I wish I had your gift of discernment, Dr. Roth, it would have come in handy. We're just learning that Alexa has been involved in widespread industrial espionage. She's stolen secrets from me that are worth billions. To put it mildly, she hoodwinked us."

"So what are you proposing, Luthor?" Grayson asked.

"What else? That we work together to find Alexa and Dr. Logan."

"We don't have any proof that Alexa is behind BB's disappearance." Cyborg remarked.

"She has him, there's no doubt of that." Raven interjected. "The woman is obsessed with him, she's insane. She considers herself his wife."

"Say what?" Cyborg gasped. "Are you serious?"

"I heard her say it with her own lips … she's some kind of polygamist. She even claimed to be the 'senior wife' because Mark was born first."

Luthor leaned back in his chair and smiled at Grayson. "So, Nightwing, shall we work together?"

Dick crossed his arms and frowned. "Superman isn't going to like this."

"Kal El is not here." Mercy remarked. "I don't see him offering to help you."

"Fine! Deal, we'll work with you, Luthor."

The bald billionaire grinned. "Excellent, Mercy will brief you on everything we know about Alexa. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment coming up."

"Follow me please; I have a conference room prepared for us." Mercy remarked.

As they filed out of the office, Cyborg whispered to Raven. "I don't believe this, we're doing Luthor's dirty work."

"I don't care. All I know is that if anything has happened to Gar, I'll kill her."

"After I kill her first." Cyborg whispered back.

"I'm not joking, Victor, I'm serious. If he's been harmed I will kill her."

Cyborg placed a hand of Raven's shoulder and they briefly stopped walking.

"I'm not kidding either." He replied in a flat monotone of his own.

-( scene break )-

Partnering with Luthor? Are they right? Was it Alexa who took BB? Or was it someone else? Maybe Alexa was also kidnapped? Who knows!?

And the date episode is next week. According to the synopsis: "When a computer dating program matches Beast Boy to Raven, he tries wooing her to disastrous effect." So don't get your hopes up, BBRae fans. Cartoon Network still doesn't love us.

And now, mailbag time. Only 31 reviews this time! I shouldn't complain, that's a pretty good number. Thanks to all loyal readers!

tacocat15 - And I have been slower than usual in updating. My apologies.

chica13 – Alexa needs some love. Will it be green love she gets?

SuperNolon – The cure has already been delivered.

ShadowChaser – It would be cool to write an episode for the old show.

Kidstandout – We're not quite done yet.

gabylokita41 – Why? Do you even need to ask?

Sweetums14 – I am developing a serious dislike for the new show.

Bluedog197 - I'll go with getting better. It sounds cool!

bigC94 – There's still some mystery in the air.

JasonVUK – They finally got him.

Katt In The Boxx – I hope you have a good Health Plan

goldenrod51 – The burrito vs burger episode made my head hurt.

Soulsurfer2112 – So what does the kidnapper want with BB?

Guest - I'm doing my best to be timely. But hey, at least I don't make you wait a month.

DeeThom – Who knows, maybe all of the above?

The Cretin – I'm sorry to say this, but the new show has been renewed for a second season. We can pretty much kiss season six goodbye. Sinestro would make a good cameo.

Katie TDC – Raven's heart would be broken if he did that.

Death Stroke The Kid – Well, she is making threats.

BartWLewis – I'm glad you liked it.

Adventuresstime – Something very bad.

Anoymous136 – Galfore is being a jerk.

Chayse-man – You know me too well.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast - You can just feel Rage swelling in Raven's psyche. A trip to Nevermore is in order.

Just a Thinker – Sometimes, with all that is going on, it's easy to forget that Star is preggers

titanfan45 - Did you see what happened to Boodikka in the Green Lantern animated movie?

checkit789 - You guys like to suffer.

7SheWolfShaman7 - It's tempting, isn't it? Maybe it'll get to 2000 reviews! I'd love to do a sequel to a House Divided, but I just can't think of a plot.

krostovikraven1 – Sometimes I wonder if the voice actors also hate the new show. Of course they would never publicly admit it. A paycheck is a paycheck.

mlbv-grimm – I won't confirm who it was just yet.

Shadico – The funeral has been postponed for now, while Galfore curses in the background.