Chapter 4

"Where are you? " she asked herself out loud.

Nightwing had told her that she'd know where to find him, but Raven was starting to doubt that. She'd been hovering over the city for the past twenty minutes. Before that, she'd been flying over the city looking for him.

Maybe I just need to try a little harder, she thought, remembering what he'd begged of her when she had amnesia. Come on. If I were Nightwing, where would I be?

The highest point in the city; that way I could over see everything.

She spotted the highest point in the city but reasoned he wouldn't be there since it was an office building. The second highest place was another office building Then she saw it.

By no means the tallest building in the city, the clock tower stood high above the residential buildings surrounding it. It had somehow remained standing on the edge of the newly constructed part of Jump City, right where the Wastelands began. Though it looked ready to be condemned, the clock itself still actually worked. Something told Raven that beneath the crumbling exterior there was a strong steel framework and a lair fully loaded with the most recent and top of the line technology. Probably a few bats, too.

She didn't need to think twice about it. In a flash, the black form of a raven engulfed her and she was transported to inside the clock tower.

She was right. As she emerged from the darkness of the portal she saw that she was standing in the center of a cavernous room. On one side was a giant computer. Other devices lay around the room. Right behind her in a cylindrical glass case, was Robin's costume. Stepping forward, she touched the glass and stared into the white eyes of the mask.

The other side of the room was the face of the clock. It created a 20 foot tall frosted window. With a mighty thud and several smaller clicks, the clock's hands struck 4:51. Raven walked to the clock face, looking up and around at the mechanisms that made the time piece move.

Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. She spun around only to find Nightwing staring at her passively. She didn't know exactly what to do. For a few moments they stood, regarding each other in silence. Then, Raven jumped on top of him and hugged him tightly. His arms came around her in a warm embrace.

"I missed you so much, Dick," she said to him, not letting go.

Even though she didn't show it in her voice, he could tell she was crying.

"I don't know if I can take you crying," he joked, " I've been doing so much of that myself, lately."

She took a deep breath. "No. You don't cry," she whispered.

(RRRR)

Wordlessly, he stroked her hair. He didn't want to begin reminding her of things she couldn't remember on her own, not just yet. Her embrace loosened a bit. She looked up at him with a pleading stare. He'd seen this look many times before on the faces of the victims and almost victims of the crime ridden streets of the city, but never in her eyes. Those other people had visible assailants for whom to punch and kick. Her plight was unseen. Like so many other things, what was hurting her was doing it from the inside out. He wiped her tears away with his thumbs and cupped her face in his gloved hands. At this, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly but her eyes didn't brighten. She took another big breath.

"I understand a lot has happened," she said.

He smiled. "So, you've come for information."

"For the most part."

And for the least part? he might haveasked,were the mood not so somber.

(RRRR)

Her sadness had melted away for the time being. She took his hands from her face and held them in her own. She began to really examine him for the first time.

It didn't seem like he'd grown much taller since she last saw him; he was still a little more than a headof her own height, but it did seem he was bigger in some way. She realized it was because his body was slightly more massive. He was no longer thin, but still lean. He had acquired a good deal of solid muscle and it had made his torso a bit more square and angular. He had also grown calmer; mature might be another way to put it. As she held his hands she couldn't sense the tightly strung energy that used to be there. They simply lay still, molding to her hands ever so slightly, gently so she hardly even noticed. His other distinguishing feature was his hair. How lovely, she thought to herself.

"What is it?" he finally asked her after she had been staring at him for a minute.

"Your hair is longer," she stated.

"So's yours."

"Yes, but not like this." She ran her fingers through some strands and pushed it behind his ear. She remembered from the photo how his dark hair had the ability to point in all sorts of odd directions without the help of hair gel. Now, though, it had apparently been tamed by the added weight and hung passively a little past his shoulders.

"You look tired," he said, stroking her hair again.

"I am."

"Come on. I'll take you home."

"But there are so many things I need to talk to you about…"

"We will talk; once you've rested."

She knew he'd made up his mind and was not going to back down if she pressed the matter further, so she didn't contest him. It was obvious that he needed time and was stalling, even if it was for a few hours while she slept.

"Come with me," he said, motioning for her to follow him up some stairs. Theyhigher into the clock tower, above its gears. At the top of the stairs was a small door that opened to the slanted edge of the pointed roof of the tower. Nightwing hopped up through it and disappeared from sight. Raven floated through the hole that was barely a door and stood by his side on the ledge. From here she had a reverse view to the one from the tower of the city. She could see a good deal of No Man's Land. In the distance she could see Titan tower across the bay.

After she'd been gazing at the city for a little while, she felt the clock strike six. The early morning rush would be starting soon. Just then, Nightwing wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, urgently.

"Yes," she replied without a second thought.

"Then promise you won't fly."

"What?"

"Promise you won't fly away for the next few seconds."

"I promise, but..."

Before the words had entirely left her mouth, he flung them both off the ledge of the clock tower. With a gasp of surprise and complete terror, Raven threw her arms around him and held on as tightly as she possibly could as they plummeted down. He laughed joyfully at her fear, launching a grappling hook at the last possible moment. They swung gracefully through the air in an arc, fifteen stories above the ground, and then landed on a roof top.

Even once her feet were firmly planted on the roof, she didn't loosen her vice-like grip on him. She was still trembling from the shock of the free fall. Only once she heard his line zip back, the hook snapping back with a shikt did she open her eyes and let out the breath she'd been holding. Looking up at him, she saw the slightest of smiles on his face. He cocked his head to the side, waiting for her to say something.

With all the force she possessed, minus her powers, she shoved him back.

"Why the hell did you do that?" she yelled at him.

He stumbled back a few paces, not expecting her push. The smile on his face grew into a grin.

"For a few reasons," he responded, "But mostly to see the look on your face."

Raven crossed her arms and began to glow in subdued anger. Completely ignoring her livid state, Nightwing walked over to the edge of the roof. Just as he was about to shoot his grappling hook to the next building he glance over his shoulder at her.

"You coming?"

She weighed her options heavily. She was quickly getting annoyed with him after his little stunt that scared her half to death, but she still needed answers from him that Vic and Garf weren't giving her. She knew that if she didn't go with him now, she'd never get the answers. After a moment of thought, with her arms still crossed and her gaze turned away from him, she levitated herself beside him. Before she had a chance to ask him where they were going, he swung through the air to the next building. Raven sped through the air to catch up.

He was somewhat difficult to follow since he wasn't flying. If he were flying he could take a straight and linear path to where he was headed. Instead, he was continually changing his pace, level and direction. As he went he did complicated aerial acrobatics that were highly unnecessary. She couldn't tell if he was doing it to show off or for his own enjoyment, but she figured it to be a little of both.

After about seven minutes he stopped on the roof of a building that was about ten stories high. He walked to the doorway in the center of the roof that looked like it would lead to stairs that went into the building.

"Where are we?" she asked, walking over to him.

"Where I said we'd go. Home."

"I thought you meant the tower." The door then opened in front of her. They walked through it, escaping the cold.

"Titans Tower isn't my home anymore," he replied darkly as he shut the door behind them and began to descend down the stairs.

They came to the top floor of the building and Raven realized it was an apartment building.

"Doesn't anyone question your coming and going?" she asked, peering down the hall.

"No. This top floor is bared up."

She took a second look around the hall and saw that giant cobs webs stretched across its width and that dust covered every inch of everything except for a single trail of foot prints they had just made.

He punched a code into another security pad and a metal door slid open in a spot in the middle of the hall. The space beyond the threshold was dark. Nightwing disappeared through it and Raven followed him. As she felt the door slide shut behind her, she instinctively took a step forward. Because of the darkness, she wasn't able to see that Nightwing hadn't really moved very far ahead of her. She softly collided with his body.

"Oh, sorry," she said, a little surprised. What surprised her more though was that he didn't back away. She would have backed up, except that behind her was the shut door. She found herself caught between its cold, hard, steel surface and the warm, hard surface of his body. Looking up, she saw the white triangles of his mask. They had night vison capability and glowed an unearthly light because of it. Shefully understood now the terror he must strike into the hearts of criminals.

He wouldn't be so frightening if I could see his eyes, she thought.

As if on queue, the lights turned on. His hand was on the light switch by her shoulder.

"Come on Raven," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder and leading her further down the corridor.

They came out the end: an open space filled (for the most part) with gym equipment. There was also a small medical looking space against the far wall. One wall had a few boarded up windows. Against the wall opposite these windows was a workstation with several computers, some lab equipment. The wall was covered in newspaper and magazine clippings; some had large "X"s over them and others had a system of push pins and string connecting them. They all had a section or two that had been underlined or highlighted in yellow.

"You've made quite a home here," she commented.

"Yeah, I guess I sort of have."

She followed him across the room, through a door and down a set of stairs. "How long have you been here?"

"About nine years, now."

"Nine years. Is that when I…?"

"Yeah."

They reached the bottom of the stairs to find another door. It led to another dark space. He flicked another light to reveal that they were inside of a clothes closet. Before heading through the next door before them, he grabbed a bundle of clothes.

Through the closet door was a small bedroom that was bare except for a few pieces of furniture and thick curtains. No photos or pictures were on the walls nor were there any books or magazines that could be seen. The room didn't actually look as though anyone had been living in it.

"Excuse the mess," he said as he placed the clothes on his bed. Raven couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"You can change into those if you like," he continued, pointing to the clothes he'd put on the bed. "I'll probably be in the living room when you wake up. I may have to pop out at some point to buy some groceries, though. I'm just going to take a quick shower first."

As he spoke, he began getting undressed. First came his mask, then his gloves and finally, the top piece of his suit. As he began to pull down his pants, he went into the attached bathroom and shut the door behind him.

He's still a total show off, she thought, recalling not only his little strip tease, but also his acrobatics through the city.

She went over to the bed and examined what he'd laid out for her. What she found was a long sleeved, gray crew neck shirt and matching drawstring sweat pants, both of which were far too large for her. She put them on, though, figuring it'd be more comfortable to sleep in than her costume.

She unclasped her cape and let it fall to the floor, not bothering to fold it or pick it up. Carefully though, she handled the clasp, which had her Titans' communicator attached to it. She placed it on the dusty night stand then took off her belt and leotard. The pants and shirt then came on.

Definitely too big, she thought, looking at how the sleeves hung well beyond her hands. After dressing she crawled in between the messy sheets. A sigh of content fell from her lungs as she pulled the blanket tightly around herself. She was also wrapped in his wonderful scent; the sheets and pillow were covered in it, but mostly it was the shirt which (she decided) was the softest, most comfortable item of clothing she had ever worn. His smell was warm and comforting. It made her remember a feeling of safety, though the actual moment that feeling came from was a complete mystery. Surrounded by the scent, she fell into a deep slumber.

She woke later, thinking only ten minutes had passed, but a look at the alarm clock showed that it was nearly three in the afternoon.

Wow, she said to herself, I guess I really was tired.

Looking out the window, she never would have guessed that it was midday. While she'd slept, a snow storm had moved in over the city. The sky was dark and a whirlwind of snow filled the streets.

With a yawn, Raven decided that she felt rather hungry. Going through the door that was neither the bathroom nor the closet, she entered the main living space, expecting to find Nightwing but instead found the place to be empty. Assuming he had gone out as he said he would, she wandered into the kitchen in search of food. On the counter she found a note. It read:

Raven,

Went to get some groceries before the storm got too bad.

Be back soon.

- Dick

Tea the box read, and she smiled at this small consideration.

Still a show off and still a gentleman, she thought as she went about making tea. Once it was done and she had poured herself a mug, she sat down on the couch and began watching t.v.. She turned to a news channel and began to learn what had been happening in the world.

Though Garf and Vic (as she was now used to addressing them) updated her as best they could, there were many things they left out and many things she didn't believe, one of which was Lex Luthor's presidential campaign. As she understood it, Luthor was an immoral, greedy,powerful man who was Superman's arch enemy. The Teen Titans had had some scuffles with him but nothing major. Strangely enough, these were some of the memories that had returned to her in the past few days. Garf explained that Luthor had helped in the reconstruction of Gotham and was now helping in the reconstruction of Jump City. He was using all his philanthropic publicity to wind the presidential race.Besides the fact thata man as depraived as he was running for the highest office in the land, she could not understand how it was he only looked to be ten years older than her. Had he not been in his mid-40's when she "left"?

She was watching a speech he was delivering in Ohio when she heard the locks on the door click and open. Rather than turn around to greet him though, she continued to watch the t.v. and wait for his entrance.