Chapter Three: Homecoming

You know Jinx, right? If you don't then let me take the pleasure of introducing her. She's a powerful sorceress, used to work for the HIVE, was brought to the good side by Kid Flash, and what am I forgetting? Oh, yeah. She slept in my room while I was gone.

Okay, look, I have tons of rules; rules about my space, rules about my stuff, rules about what food I'll eat, rules about what drinks I'll drink, and so on and so forth. However, above all these rules is the golden rule: no one goes in my room. And now in all caps for the nearsighted: NO ONE GOES IN MY ROOM. Are we clear? Peachy.

Now, I thought the big poster I had taped to the door of my room saying, "DO NOT ENTER," would have been a clear-cut sign that it was off-limits. So, either Jinx can't read or she has decided that homicide by dark magic sounds like rainbows of fun.

"Look, Raven, I just slept in it for one night!"

"Why couldn't you have slept somewhere else?"

"Well, Kid Flash was staying in Beast Boy's room, Red Star in Starfire's, and Hot Spot in Robin's. They left me with the short straw and tried to make me sleep in Cyborg's room. But that's not a bed, it's an operating table!"

"You'll end up on an operating table when I'm done with you! Besides, didn't anyone tell you that Beast Boy has bunk beds?"

"Yeah, Kid Flash failed to mention it as some sort of gag, I'm sure. Raven, it was one night and I promise I didn't touch anything!"

"You could have slept on the couch!"

"Why can't you just get over it and stop throwing such a hissy fit?"

"Because I think it's a bit beyond you to be oblivious enough to not notice Beast Boy's bunk beds. I think you just didn't want to sleep in there because you're still a little bashful around Kid Flash!"

At this, her face turned a bright red. "I am not! It's just that –"

"Save it," I interrupted. "I'm not in the mood to fight anymore anyway."

"As if I wanted to argue with you!" she said folding her arms.

A blur of yellow and red sped down the hall and stopped in front of us.

"Whoa, now, ladies," Kid Flash said. "No need to be fighting over me."

"Get lost," I replied, walking back to the main room.

"What's up with her?" I heard him ask as I turned a corner.

So far, in the first ten minutes of our homecoming, things were in chaos. Robin was milking Hot Spot for all the Slade information he was worth, Silkie was lost much to Starfire's distress, Beast Boy couldn't find any tofu left for lunch nor could he find a ride to the store, and Cyborg was whining as the mechanics shop kept putting him on hold. Tuning out Starfire's calls for Silkie, Robin's unsatisfied questions, Beast Boy's pleads to Cyborg, and Cyborg's shouts at Beast Boy, I attempted to fix myself some tea.

"Silkie? Silkie? Oh, where are you, my little bumgorf?"

"Cyborg, please! If you won't drive me there, then just give me the keys to the T-car!"

"No, way! This phone is not leaving my ear until I know that the T-ship is okay, and I wouldn't let you drive the T-car if my life depended on it!"

"There's got to be something more than what you're giving me, Hot Spot."

"Sorry, Robin, but all we have are witnesses who claim to have seen him."

"Did you try checking for a pattern in the locations?"

I sat at the dining table with my tea in front of me and my fingers at my temples.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

I looked up at Red Star who smiled at me sincerely.

"Only if you promise that you won't be loud," I said, picking up my cup.

"You have my word."

For a minute, we didn't talk to each other. We were both observing the chaos taking place around us, maybe waiting to see if it showed any signs of stopping.

"So, I heard that Starfire and Robin have 'hooked up'?" He curled his fingers into quotation marks.

"Sure have," I replied, trying to sound cool about it. "Did they tell you themselves?"

"Actually, the Internet is a very amazing thing," he said with a grin. "Word tends to travel faster on the world wide web."

"Indeed it does," I agreed. "Did our typical bad guys give you any trouble?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. A few burglars, but nothing worth telling."

"Glad you guys got to kick back," I said. "Nothing new on Slade?"

"Not since Bumblebee last communicated with you. But that does not seem to be stopping Robin."

"I'd like to meet the thing that does stop Robin."

"Will he be . . . okay?" Red Star asked, a little discouraged.

"I hope so," I said between sips of tea. "Maybe his relationship with Starfire will calm him down."

"Then, maybe . . . she is the one who can stop him?"

I looked into my nearly empty cup with a frown. "I suppose so."

Red Star took a few seconds to glance at me with a face that may have shown concern had I looked up. "However, I think a part of you would like the ability to do the same."

My eyes found him. "Pardon?"

Before he could answer, Kid Flash was sitting in the booth next to Red Star.

"Hey, guys," he said. He zipped off into the kitchen, brought back a bottle of water, and took a place beside me. "What's the buzz?"

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "What do you want from me?"

"Sorry if I got on your nerves," he said, edging away a little. "Jinx is sorry too."

As if on cue, Jinx stepped in front of our party with her head tilted downwards.

"Right?" Kid Flash pushed.

Jinx sighed and looked at me. "I'm sorry I slept in your bedroom. Not only that but some things you said back there were true." She blushed again, her eyes darting to the yellow-clad hero and back.

I nodded. "It's okay. I'm sorry I got so angry. It's just that there are some things in my room that . . ."

"Are so scary and creepy that they would scar and haunt the average human soul?" Jinx finished. "Yeah, I noticed."

"Hey, some of those 'scary' relics are priceless artifacts of Azarath."

"Priceless or not, I could barely sleep in that room."

"Well, good because I –"

"Please," Red Star said, standing up, "let us fight no more. We should be good natured now that the Titans have returned from their trip."

"Umm, Raven?"

I looked up at Starfire who now floated above us with Silkie under her arm, gurgling with happiness.

"You found Silkie," I said with a smile.

"I have," Starfire said, a hint of sadness in her voice, "but not before Silkie found your book."

She held up one of my spell books, now drenched in saliva and with noticeable bite marks on the cover.

I looked at Red Star. "What is this 'good nature' of which you speak?"

"Oh, please forgive him, Raven!" Starfire pleaded. "I am sure Silkie did not know that it was of value to you."

I released a heavy sigh. "It's okay, Star. Just give it back."

I regretted taking it as I observed it while it dangled between my thumb and forefinger. Advanced Magic of Azarath, a standard spell book for experienced magic practice. I wiped some drool off the spine with my cloak.

"It's great to be home."

Our replacement Titans left about an hour after we arrived. Almost immediately after their departure, Robin called us to the main room for a meeting.

"We have a lead on Slade's motives," he announced.

"What is it?" Cyborg announced.

"The various locations Slade has been spotted in," Robin continued, "have all been within close range of the homes of five men. Ralph Jarvis, Justin Stark, Gordon Thomas, Tim Landry, and Jerry Nobles recently finished a project for the army in constructing a new weapon called the Supernova. Security protecting the plans is still tight, but I've scheduled a meeting with the man in charge of the database for the day after tomorrow."

"And until then?" I asked.

"We pay a visit to the families of the five men in question and see if they know anything about Slade. Even if they don't, we have to make sure they're cautious from now on.

Enjoy the rest of your day off, Titans, because tomorrow we dive back into work."

I can hardly contain my excitement, I thought.

I didn't put my book back until before I went to bed that night. It wasn't until I was standing on tip-toes to reach the top shelf that something struck me.

"I keep all my spell books on the highest shelf," I muttered to myself.

It was hard to fall asleep that night. Even when I did drift off, I had bizarre dreams about a much larger Silkie eating away at my bedroom.