EXTRA

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— It is impossible to be angry at you... — Starfire smiled, running his hand gently over Dick's back. The boy was sitting next to her on the couch, his face completely hidden in his friend's neck... he was looking for comfort.

— ... So do you accept my apologies?

— It is complicated to explain... — The alien took a more serious tone, staring at the window again and leaving the smile aside — ... I am not forgiving you for hiding so many things from me, but I am revealing it because it is a serious problem that it affects you, Batman, the Titans... and that is still a family problem. You and your family are handling it as you see fit.

— And what do you think is right? — He moved away just enough to meet her eyes.

— Wait.

— More? It's been months and so far...!

— Months passed and Damian woke up — Starfire interrupted him — It may take a few more until Robin wakes up.

Dick leaned against her shoulder again, but he continued to look into her eyes - lost in that bright, intense green. It took a few seconds for him to say more, a question whose answer from a person as sincere as Kori would be able to dispel any pessimistic thoughts:

— ... Do you really think he will come back?

— If he doesn't come back, we can ask Ravena for help — Kori smiled, looking at him once more. That optimistic and encouraging smile that made it impossible to resist the charms of that Tamaran princess, especially with an old love that was not resolved.

Dick continued to stare, approaching as subtly as he could. He didn't want to be too rushed and ruin that moment with the only person who knew all the hell he was living in...

Starfire, who knew him so well, controlled his instincts not to lean over Richard and kiss him first. They both wanted that, it was a necessity, but she waited until one of his hands was on the back of the neck to lean in his direction... he who needed to give the signal, it was he who was in pieces and it was he who he needed a little more comfort - however tempting the idea was to "take advantage" of that state.

Before that longed-for kiss was realized, an alarm sounded and completely interrupted the mood. A robotic voice announced: "Alert - Unidentified object flying over the coast towards the tower. Collision in thirty-two seconds ".

At the same moment Kori got up and prepared to go and see what it was. She was just finishing opening her bedroom window when Dick commented with some grace:

— You don't lead anything else, do you?

Starfire simply winked at him and went out the window.

Richard went to watch her, both because he liked to see his old girlfriend in action and out of curiosity or an uncontrollable need to leave everything behind and behave like just a guest there. The days as leader of the Titans were still vivid in him.

A few seconds later he saw Raven going in the same direction as Starfire. Whatever it was, it seemed to be serious, although there were no explosions, no destructive lightning or even a sign of struggle.

It all happened relatively fast, even though thirty seconds seems long to someone who just watches impatiently, like Dick.

He managed to spot the two heroines returning to the base, both holding something, but he only managed to identify what it was when they were close: Kori was bringing a child and Rachel a person or something close to it wrapped in a red fabric. As they approached it was possible to hear that child's cry of despair and, when they were close enough to enter through Starfire's bedroom window, Dick finally recognized that crying baby:

— Jon!?

— Superboy is not well, you know what could have happened? — Kori looked at Dick with concern on his face.

— ... Whatever it is, the worst happened to her... — Raven murmured as she headed to a far corner of the room, she couldn't waste any more time.

— No, I don't know anything about him since when B told him to stop spying and... — Finally he noticed that child, who now lived up to Damian's nickname. — Hey, Jon... what happened? What left you like this?

The boy, who was far from looking powerful, just cringed more and continued to cry. Kori hugged him a little more and then explained only what he knew:

— Something made him very scared...

— … Desperate. — Raven corrected her practically in a whisper, ignoring everything around soon afterwards. As affected as she was by the turmoil of emotions in that room, she wanted to do something to help... if she still had time.

Richard sighed and practiced his skills with desperate children - he had acquired them by taking care of Damian. He took Jon on his lap and sat with him on the sofa, taking Raven and that still unknown person out of sight of the little one, and then he started:

— Wow... desperate and saving people? If it were me, I would have hidden! — Managing to win a little of the boy's attention, he continued: — ... you know, sometimes when I was still a Robin, I hid under the cover of Batman...

— ... Did he really leave? — Kori asked incredulously.

— Kori...

— I can't imagine Batman allowing this kind of behavior from the helper...

— Kori! — Dick repeated again, indicating little Jon with a look — ... we were talking about how brave Superboy is.

— But that we all already know — the girl smiled and stroked the little boy's hair.

Jonathan Kent continued to cry, hugging and ignoring both of them. He had been strong enough until that moment, when he could finally be the usual crybaby... he didn't want to be strong now.

— And even if you are very brave, you need help now — Dick resumed — But we can only help you if we know what happened.

Superboy, using the little bit of self-control that a ten-year-old child could still have at that moment, tried to stop crying and explain between sobs:

— Smu-uggling, docks... gas Joke-er... — He stared at Dick and stellar who, just hearing that name, already knew the seriousness of that situation. He continued, shouting the last two words and going into despair again: — Bo-bomb! Ma-mama...!

With as much care as he could manage, Dick handed the boy over to Starfire's care once again and stood up. Slowly, he got close enough to Rachel to see for himself what had left Jonathan in that state.

All I had been able to understand in those words was that something bad, very bad happened. Something bad, but with Lois... he never imagined that that body still wrapped in the red cloak could be someone else's.

— No, no, no... no, no...! — he repeated, letting himself fall into the same state of dismay as that child.

— ... Do you know her? — Raven asked almost in a whisper.

... Selina! — Dick sighed, letting some tears escape.

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NOTE

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There is not much to put in the final notes, so I will explain a power that is practically one of Raven's weaknesses: she can feel the emotions of everyone around her, however, she always feels those emotions and there is no way "filter" nothing - she had to learn to live with it. It must be bad to deal with villains knowing what they feel…

An idiotic curiosity: while the Spanish translations kept several names in the original, in Portuguese (BR) most of them were translated. Starfire is called Estelar (something from space, from the stars) and Raven, despite a small change, is called Ravena (it's just a variation of the name, although it is not usual in Brazil - mainly because ravens are called "corvos").