I have to admit, this story turned out much darker than I'd originally intended for it to. A lot more dialogue-heavy, too. Initial drafts had the plot focusing more on the lives and stories of the new Teen Titans, with occasional cameos from Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg. Then the idea of Nightwing's "change" came to me, and I adjusted the story to focus more on him. Personally, I think it came out pretty well, especially leading into the opening scene of this chapter—probably my favorite of the entire fanfic.

A few things to note:

1) One review posed a question regarding Warp's initial claims that Starfire's disappearance had little effect on the time stream. Namely, what exactly he meant by that. I suppose this requires a bit of comic background knowledge to fully grasp, so let me see if I can clear things up a bit better:

First, the Dick Grayson in the original comics doesn't have such a great relationship track record. He tried to rush into marriage with Starfire when they were together, and he's pretty much ignored Barbara ever since his overly emotional proposal to her (which suits me just fine, honestly. Forgetting my preference for Dick/Kori, something about the thought of him with Barbara downright bothers me. I think it has something to do with the emotional scars that remain from Batman and Robin.) In short, even when Starfire exists in the time-stream, he still ends up putting his crime-fighting ahead of his personal life. Or lack thereof.

Second, this is [vaguely] the "history" that Warp recalls. He knows that Nightwing does not maintain a steady relationship, and in the current period of time, would have been devoting his days and nights to making Blüdhaven a safer place (or trying to, at least) alone. Witnessing these same events occur has him believing that nothing much has changed, Starfire or no.

However, the Nightwing he recalls was also vehemently against killing, to the point where even allowing an assassin to end the life of a heinous criminal haunts his conscience. What Warp fails to realize until it's almost too late is that, without Starfire's presence to ease Robin/Nightwing's inner rage—something more evident in the TV show than the comics—he travels down a much darker path. He is no longer afraid to kill out of revenge, and may not even have been able to control himself if the others weren't around to stop him in time.

2) Ravager and Wonder Girl both have cameos in Teen Titans Go! The former gets her own issue devoted to her wanting "revenge" on the Titans for what happened to her father, until they change her mind. Her design is actually quite pretty, and while her mask still covers one of her eyes, both remain intact when she finally removes it. The latter, on the other hand, is never directly mentioned by name...but it's so obvious it's her. She shows up in a Larry-centric comedy issue after everyone's favorite little doppelgänger steals cupid's arrows in order to start "shipping" random Titans. (Aqualad x Random Goldfish 4evaaa!11!1!two!)

"If you need to crash, then crash and burn; you're not alone." -Savage Garden, Crash and Burn

Chapter 5

Confusion. Uncertainty. Fear.

Dark emotions swelled within her heart as she struggled with the reality of all she had come to see and witness that night. Her precious gift of flight was lost to her now, any lingering sense of joy she previously clung to faded away...or, at least, buried so deep that she wondered if she would ever feel happiness again.

Left with no other means of transport than her own two feet, she allowed them to carry her aimlessly through the vacant streets of Jump City. Often, she gravitated towards familiar landmarks: the place of pizza where she and her teammates would often celebrate post-battle success...the movie rental store...the mall of shopping. But their continued presence made things all the more painful, for they reinforced the knowledge that this was indeed the place she had once called home.

Jump had not changed.

Earth had not changed.

The realism hurt even worse than if she had found the city a desolate, frozen tundra. At least then she could perhaps justify why her own world seemed to be collapsing around her.

In the hours just shy of dawn, she found herself at the shoreline of the most familiar landmark of them all, Titans Tower, with little recollection of how she had gotten there. It was as if she had been subconsciously drawn to the island in refuge, like metal to a magnet. She stared up at the large building for what seemed like forever, never quite bringing herself to venture inside. In the end, she resigned to a seat atop one of the rocky formations near the water, staring absently at the shallow pools at her feet.

They had more than likely formed sometime during the receding tide, because a single, tiny fish was swimming repetitive circles in one of the puddles no more than a few inches deep. Hard earth surrounded it on all sides, leaving no way to return to its home waters. So close, yet still out of reach.

Starfire sighed to herself as she watched the aquatic creature with empathetic pity, pulling her legs to her chest.

"It is wrong," she murmured into the night, speaking of more than just the fish.

"What is?"

Startled by the unexpected response, she abruptly turned to see Rose standing only a few feet behind her. The younger girl was wrapped in her usual long, black cape, the light fabric billowing gently around her in the early morning breeze. Though the sun had yet to appear, her pale skin and hair practically glowed under the lingering beams of starlight.

"Greetings, Rose." Starfire forced a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess." But her legs wobbled beneath her as even the simple act of coming to sit at Starfire's side left her short of breath. "Still pretty drained after everything."

The girl looked completely exhausted, Starfire noted at once. Upon closer examination, the shadows beneath her uncovered eye were more prominent and her lid was heavy with sleep. As alert as she had initially seemed, her body still swayed back and forth in the struggle to remain conscious.

"Have you not slept?" Starfire asked in concern, turning to face her.

Rose tried to shake her head, but the motion left her dizzy. "Tried. It's just that everything's still so...new. I remember bits and pieces, but the last few months feel more like one long dream. The good and the bad."

"I can understand the feeling," Starfire admitted, looking down. "Truthfully, that is how I have felt regarding these last few days. Much has remained the same, and yet everything still feels..."

"Wrong?" Rose finished for her, earning a quiet nod in response. "Not surprising. A lot can happen in only four years."

"So I have witnessed."

The two girls lapsed into a period of silence, where only the gentle lapping of waves against the rocks below could be heard.

Several times, Starfire found her gaze drifting to Rose with a mixture of curiosity and concern. She had yet to see either a medical physician or doctor of the psyche, though the lasting scars of her ordeal were clearly evident. Physically or otherwise. Her face was marred with a perpetual look of paranoia, softened only by the degree of fatigue weighing down upon her, and though she could speak clearly and make eye-contact, both her tone and gaze still carried traces of a distorted sanity behind them.

She had seemed so at peace during her brief reunion with Tim earlier—perhaps the only anchor left in her life—but without his comforting presence by her side, she seemed utterly lost in the world.

Gulping audibly, Starfire steeled herself as she turned back to the girl. Her voice was hesitant, fearing a poor reaction. "May I...ask you a question?"

"You may, but I already know what you're gonna ask."

The casualness of Rose's reply eased her some, and she managed a weak smile. "I had nearly forgotten you posses such a magnificent power."

"Not a Vision," Rose corrected, staring out into the waves below. "Merely observation. I learned a long time along ago how to be acutely aware of everything around me so I wouldn't mix up the future with the past or present. It took me a long time to get used to knowing what would happen before it was supposed to."

"And how do you...manage?" Starfire wondered. "Knowing all that you do?"

"Honestly? I didn't. I hated myself, turned away from the world, and spent every waking moment wishing I'd never been born with Second Sight...or even born at all." Rose paused, glancing upward as the memories surfaced. "When my mother died, I thought I would be alone forever.. If it hadn't been for my father, I may very well have been."

Starfire winced at the mentioning of Slade, as well as the mental images that came long with it. She looked away, closing her eyes as she willed thoughts of the last twenty-four hours away from her mind's eye. They were still too painful.

"I knew, of course." Rose continued then, drawing Starfire's attention once more. "That's what you wanted to ask me before, isn't it? Whether or not I knew what Nightwing was going to do?" Rose nodded slowly, the beads of sweat upon her brow shimmering in the dim light. "I knew even before he did. Just after my...accident...I'd had a Vision. I don't remember much—flashes, mostly—but I do remember seeing them both fighting with everything they had. It was an even match; Nightwing was fueled by anger, but my father was ruthless. He kept taunting him, saying things about what he was going to do with me once I 'got used' to...to the..."

Her voice trailed off mid-sentence, and Starfire watched as the girl's body began to tremble. Suddenly, Rose curled herself into a tight ball, clutching the back of her head with a frightened whimper.

At a loss, and fearing another seizure, Starfire looked around helplessly for any sign of assistance. She tried to recall the procedures Tim had earlier rattled off, but the episode lasted only a few seconds before Rose calmed herself down. When she lifted her head, one hand lingered over her eyepatch; it was then Starfire realized the depths of emotional pain the younger girl was suffering from, burdened not only with the knowledge of what had been done to her, but of the person responsible.

"You do not have to continue," Starfire almost pleaded with her, moving to place a hand on her shoulder. "Please, let us venture inside so that you may rest."

But Rose stubbornly shrugged her hand away, picking up right where she had left off: "Nightwing...has always been protective of the precious people in his life, you see. And that extended to the precious people in theirs. He barely knew me as anything but a villain, but he knew how much Tim cared about me. For him, that was enough." She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I don't know who sought out the other, but it was clear that both of them wanted that fight."

"Do you not feel sorrow?" Starfire asked gently. "Slade was a horrible man, yes, but he was still your father. You even said you would have been alone were it not for him."

Rose shook her head. "Fathers are supposed to love and care for you. Regardless of morals, there are still villains out there who are able to do that much for their children." She turned her gaze to the silhouette of the city skyline. "It's true that he saved me from loneliness...but, in the end, he still tried to take away the only real love I've ever had in my life."

She did not regret it, Starfire realized. If there were ever a child who would have mourned the loss of Slade to the world, it would have been Rose. Yet, she seemed oddly at peace with Nightwing's deed.

Almost...thankful?

Starfire returned to the puddle at her feet and the little fish that swam in it. The waves from the sea water continued to lap at the outer edges of the surrounding rock, reaching a little closer each time. Calling to the fish. It would not be long before it would be able to return. Absently, Starfire wondered how much time had passed since the creature had last seen its home world, and if it still had friends and family waiting.

"Would you like to hear a story?" Rose abruptly asked, sounding more lively than she had just moments prior.

Starfire managed a smile. "It would seem I have done little else since my arrival aside from listening to the stories of others."

"Then one more wouldn't hurt." Rose grinned, shifting her weight to sit in a more comfortable position. Her long, slender legs peeked out from beneath her robe, dangling over the rock's edge. "This is the story of a young girl who spent most of her childhood trying to hide from the world because of a tremendous power she could just barely control. Power that made her feel like a freak, cursed, and the world around her did nothing to convince her otherwise. It shunned her, told her she was no good, until she eventually grew to believe them."

Starfire sat quietly, curious as to where Rose was going with this tale, and why she chose to tell it. Several emotions crossed the younger girl's face as she spoke: nostalgia...sadness...longing....

"Desperate for acceptance, the girl turned to a darker path. Began using her powers for criminal purposes. Thievery, mostly, with the occasional odd job thrown in. She never killed, but she hurt a lot of people. Her actions no longer mattered to her, however, only the attention that they brought. She was praised with the success of every mission, fearfully respected by her enemies, and had come to accept that she simply had to work a little harder than most for people to acknowledge her."

Traces of happiness mixed with regret.

"Time passed, and the girl eventually resigned herself to a life of misgivings because it was the only world she would ever belong in. She even convinced herself she was happy. Maybe she really was...after all, she had a place, a purpose, and was surrounded by people like her.

"But one day, during a routine heist, the girl met someone. A boy with a cocky grin and spandex. A hero." The corners of Rose's lips twitched. "He should've just dismissed her like the rest of them. She was committing a crime, after all, and he was only there to stop said crime. Instead, he did something that no one had ever done before."

"What?" Starfire couldn't help asking.

Rose looked down with a gentle smile. "He gave her a second chance. A second glance. Saw a worth that even she hadn't seen before. Genuinely believed that, beneath the front she put up for the world, she could do better." Taking a deep breath, she let out an amused chuckle. "He was an idiot."

The sudden insult caught Starfire off-guard, momentarily breaking the spell of the story. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, what superhero in his right mind would have walked up to an infamous criminal and started flirting, like nothing was out of the ordinary?" Rose shook her head before continuing. "Obviously, the girl tried to ignore him at first. How could she possibly believe that some guy she had just met thought more of her than the people who had known her for so much longer?

"But this boy was stubborn. Very stubborn. He brushed off insult after insult, always responding with a smile and words of encouragement. Never telling her what to do, just...saying what she needed to hear. And the more he talked, the more she listened.

"Against everything the world had ever taught her, the girl began to fall for him. Hard. The attraction was mutual; he never cared about her past, only wanted to be a part of her future." She paused again, allowing herself to relish in the moment, before turning to Starfire. "Wanna guess whose story this is?"

"Yours and Tim's, of course." Starfire answered, smiling knowingly.

To her surprise, Rose shook her head. "A lot of the similarities are almost uncanny, but no. The girl I was talking about is actually someone you have already met...though, in your timeline, her story hasn't happened yet. It will, soon, and I know for a fact that she and her hero have been together ever since."

Starfire cocked her head to the side in awe, wondering who this mysterious person could be. A female villain whom she had already met (aside from Rose, of course) and would eventually convert to the life of a heroine?

"When I first realized I was falling for Tim," Rose interrupted her musings before a single name could come to mind. "I was terrified. I was still working for my father as a criminal, and I was afraid of what would happen if he found out. It sounds silly, but everything with Tim was still so new and unfamiliar. I didn't want to risk loosing what I already had on the chance that he wouldn't eventually reject me."

"What made you change your mind?" There was something about what Rose was telling her that rang strangely familiar in her heart, despite the obvious differences in overall circumstances.

"Ultimately, Tim did." Rose smiled at the memory. "I was so close to breaking off things with him altogether. Then, one day, that same girl approached me. She'd heard about me and what was going on, and thought I could use some advice, Apparently, gossip is all the rage up there."

"Up where?"

Realizing her error, Rose waved a hand to dismiss the thought. "N-never mind. Anyhow, she told me how it was okay to feel scared, considering everything, but that I had to make a choice based on my happiness, and not based on fear. She convinced me to confront Tim about things once and for all, so I went looking for him that same night. Found him in one of our favorite meet-up places, as if he had been waiting for me." Her expression saddened. "He probably had been, now that I think about it. Seeing him again, after everything, I finally broke down and told him all my fears and worries. I thought he would feel insulted, leave me right there and then...but when I was finished, he just smiled and took my hand. Then he said something to me I'll never forget."

"What?"

"'We like people for their qualities, but love them for their defects.'" Her eye glistened with unshed tears at the memory. "For all my faults, for all that I'd changed since the day we met, none of that ever mattered to him. People change every day. What we often fail to realize is that, no matter how much a person may change—for better or for worse—the things that make us love them will always remain."

Suddenly, Starfire understood what Rose had been trying to tell her.

She thought of everything she had experienced over the last few days. Every story she had heard. The lingering effects that Raven's departure still had on Beast Boy. Cyborg's trading in a life of crime-fighting for working under his father's watch in a state-of-the art laboratory. Both of them had certainly changed in the last four years, yet the qualities that made them Beast Boy and Cyborg were still there.

Even the new Titans had each gone through their own changes. Static's acquisition of powers so late in a metahuman's life, coupled with his premature involvement with the famous Justice League. Wonder Girl's adoption and upbringing by the feministic Amazonians, only to return to Man's world as one of its protectors. The twins' arrival in a foreign country at such a young age, adapting not only to the life of superheroes but to an entirely new language and culture. Superboy's constant struggles to rise from the shadows of not just the previous Titans' leader, but of the men from whom he shares his very DNA.

To say nothing of Tim and Rose's own personal hell.

Finally, she allowed herself the thought of Nightwing, who was no longer the Robin she remembered...and, for the first time, she began to wonder why exactly that was. What really made them all that different?

It wasn't the costume; she had expected him to outgrow his youthful attire one day. Maybe the colors (or lack thereof) were a little dark for her liking, but they suited his nocturnal nature well enough.

It wasn't the name; names were things that other people gave you. "Robin" was merely a title, one that had been passed down to a worthy successor.

Closing her eyes, Starfire recalled the moment she had Robin had stood off against one another as enemies. Slade had taken the remaining Titans hostage in exchange for his servitude, though they had not yet been privy to that piece of information. She thought of the look in his eyes as he had been forced to point a weapon at her, and the pain in her heart as she had been equally forced to aim a star-bolt at him....

"Robin, you are my best friend." She had told him. "I cannot live in a world where we must fight. If you truly wish to destroy me, then go ahead..."

Her hand lowered, the heat evaporating into the air. She closed her eyes, head tilted downward in accepted defeat. She would no longer try to stop him.

"...do what you must."

It wasn't his temper, or even the fact that he had killed. What had frightened her was the thought that her Robin had changed at all. That she might have lost the boy she once knew.

The boy she had first fallen in love with.

Her attention once more fell to the little pool. The tide had since come in, allowing the fish a chance to escape...yet it seemed perfectly content to swim in its newfound home, circling around another little fish that had joined it. A friend. It didn't seem to matter where they were, or the fact that they had been separated for so long. Just that they were together again.

She could not help the true smile tugging at her lips as she looked up, seeing Rose mirror her expression.

"One of the few great things about being able to see the future," Rose stated, reaching out to clasp Starfire's hands in hers. "Is the ability to learn from it."

A quiet beeping noise rang through the air just then. Rose pulled back enough to reach inside her cloak, emerging with what looked to be a spare communicator—probably meant to replace her original one. She flipped open the tiny compact to allow for video feed.

"Rose here."

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Though Starfire could not see the screen, she could almost imagine Tim frowning in concern. "You look exhausted."

"I'm fine, Tim. Just tired, like you said," Rose insisted.

"Well, we're heading back now. We've been searching all night, looking every place we could think of, but no luck. Haven't found a trace of her."

"I bet you haven't." Rose stated with a trace amount of humor, knowing at once whom he was referring to. "Because she's sitting right here, next to me."

There was a pregnant pause.

"WHAT?"

Several voices came through the tiny speaker at once; Rose had to hold the device at arms length to save her poor ears from the abuse, wincing at the sheer volume.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Donna screeched. It was evident she was less than pleased by the sudden turn of events. "Didn't you hear the part where we've been searching all night?"

From her seat just beyond the communicator's visual range, Starfire had the grace to look guilty. In truth, she had not stopped to think of how the others would react to her running off the way she had. Hearing that they spent hours roaming the city after her brought about a fresh wave of regret at her hasty actions.

There was a slight muffling sound, and then it was Nightwing speaking. "When did she get there? Is she...okay?"

"She's fine too." Rose told him, keeping her expression and voice neutral, before changing the subject. "Did you manage to get the time-travel device?"

Again, the sounds of the communicator being passed before Tim answered, "Yeah, we have it. Cyborg and Static are back at the lab trying to analyze it. Static even called up an old friend of his who might be able to help. Between the three of them, they should be able to get it working."

"That's great." Rose tried to sound enthusiastic, but the effect was ruined when she had to stiffen a yawn in the process.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

She managed a weary smile at the boy's concern. "Just...come back soon, okay?"

With that, Rose closed the lid and returned it to the confines of her robe.

Neither she nor Starfire chose to spoil the moment with words, instead turning back to the horizon before them. The first glimpses of sunrise were beginning to stretch across the city skyline, coloring the previously dark world with a prism of light.

o*0*o

The large digital clock on the wall blinked 7:53 a.m. When Richie Foley, also known by the handle Gear, took center stage in the middle of the Tower common area. A mechanical backpack stood by his feet, awaiting further orders. Cyborg sat close by, on one of the smaller couches, wiping at his human eye. In spite of the lingering weariness from yet another all-nighter, he too looked proud.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Richie brandish the large gem in his hands with a flourish. "We present to you the means by which Miss Starfire will be able to travel back to her original timeline!"

His announcement was met with half-lidded stares and the sound of Manuel's light snoring.

"Fabulous." Donna grumbled sarcastically from her seat atop the kitchen counter, still cranky over her [unnecessary] lack of sleep. "Just tell us the damn thing will work."

"It'll work." Richie nodded, abandoning all sense of showmanship. He'd heard stories from Virgil about Donna's temper, and was in no mood to find out first-hand how much truth there was behind them. "But there's a catch: the technology behind this device is way beyond any power source that exists at this point in time."

Suddenly, he had everyone's full attention.

Tim and Conner both sat up straight on the large couch, eyes widening. To their immediate left, Miguel was poking his brother awake, echoing the news in low, rapid Spanish. Even Nightwing looked suddenly alarmed, pushing away from the back wall he had been leaning against until then.

From her seat on the room's nearby steps, Starfire let out a gasp. "What does this mean? Will I not be able to use it?"

Next to her, Rose was frowning.

"Oh, no. You'll still be able to use it." Richie held up both hands defensively, fearing the wrath of several sleep-deprived Titans (past and present), then motioned to the boy to his right. "Virgil should be able to juice it up just long enough to get a portal open. But we'll only get one shot at this before the insufficient power source destroys the gem completely."

"Hey! Who're you calling an insufficient power source?" Virgil cried out, taking offense.

Everyone promptly ignored him.

"How long will she have?" Conner asked.

Cyborg took over, still reclining against the couch. "The portal should hold for a good fifteen seconds, if we've done our math right. More than enough time to get her through."

"Are you ready, Starfire?" Richie asked.

The girl in question hesitated, feeling all eyes suddenly on her, but nodded just the same. Slowly, she rose to a stand and began making her way towards Richie and Virgil. She took care not to meet any of the room's piercing gazes until she stood only a few feet from the center of the room.

When she finally lifted her head, she was met with the smiling faces of Manuel and Miguel. The boys had silently zipped to her side as a show of their support, and she could not resist kneeling down to give them each a warm hug.

"I do not believe I ever fully thanked you both for rescuing me upon my arrival," she told them. "Therefore, I wish to do so now."

"It was our pleasure, Señorita Starfire!" Manuel smiled.

Miguel nodded his agreement.

Donna was next, the gravity of the situation having assuaged her temper. Somewhat. She was not sky in walking right up to the girl, taking both hands in hers and placing an air kiss on Starfire's left cheek.

"You would have been warmly welcome in Themyscira," she stated, the highest compliment in her mind. "I hope we can meet again."

"I would like that very much." Starfire smiled as the Amazonian gave her hands a light squeeze in affection.

Stepping back, her eyes then briefly met with Conner's. The boy stood off to one side, giving her a casual salute in farewell. She mirrored his actions, understanding that overly-emotional goodbyes were perhaps not part of his character.

Equally casual was her parting with Cyborg, though they had only spent a few precious moments together during her time there.

"I'll be seeing you in a few, anyway," he reminded her. "So saying 'goodbye' now would almost be kinda silly, don'tcha think?"

"I suppose you are right." She managed a sad smile all the same, knowing fully well that, while it may not have been 'goodbye' for her, it certainly would be for him. "Then I shall merely settle for 'see you soon'."

"Back at ya', Shorty."

Tim chose that moment to step forward, placing something hard and cold in her hands. She looked down, eyes widening as she recognized the Clock of Eternity. With everything that had happened, she nearly forgot about it!

"Take this back with you," Tim told her, "As a reminder that the future can change."

There was something about his tone that worried her; sure enough, Tim's lips were pressed tightly together, and he looked like he was struggling internally with something. A second glance showed tears brimming at the corners of his eyes, beneath the mask.

"Starfire," he began, voice at nearly a whisper. "I know it's selfish of me to ask, but...please, when you return...find Rose. Warn her."

She let out an audible gasp, eyes flickering to the girl in question. Rose was still sitting on the same step as before, watching them both through a cloud of exhaustion. She seemed oblivious to what Tim was asking, and the potential consequence of such a request.

"But...you and she met in the act of opposing one another," Starfire reminded him, voice equally low so the others would not hear. "If Rose does not become your enemy, then there is a chance you may never meet."

"And he'd never be able to hurt her." He replied back, voice cracking with emotion. "I just want her to be safe."

Her shoulders slumped as she felt the full weight of Tim's sacrifice. He was willing to risk never knowing the girl he had fallen in love with to keep her from her pain. Not knowing what else to do, she nodded.

"I promise."

"Thank you." He turned away, and Starfire watched with a heavy heart as he took a seat by Rose's side.

The girl sat up with a start, having nearly fallen asleep again, and turned to him with a weary smile. Then he spoke a few words to her at a volume only she could hear, and her smile instantly vanished. Her eye widened, and she alternated frantically between looking to Starfire and Tim before turning back to him, shaking her head furiously. Fearfully.

"No!" Starfire could hear her saying. "I can't...you...no!"

Tim didn't once falter in his resolve, gently reaching up to cup her cheek in his gloved hand. As drained as she already was, Rose soon lost the will to protest further, resigning herself to bury her head in his shoulders. Tim wrapped his arms tightly around her as her body shook with quiet sobs, placing a kiss atop her head.

Starfire would have continued to watch the display had it not been for the sudden presence that made itself known to her then. She turned, seeing Nightwing stand less than two feet away. It was the first time he had approached her since the previous night.

"So..." he murmured awkwardly. "I guess this is goodbye."

She did not answer immediately, allowing her eyes to fall once more to the large, blue symbol on his chest. Not unlike when she had first seen it, her fingers acted of their own accord, lightly trailing over the large bird-like shape.

"...no matter how much a person may change—for better or for worse—the things that make us love them will always remain."

"Not goodbye." She looked up at him with a smile that was neither forced nor sad. "I have a feeling we will see one another again soon...Nightwing."

The young man inhaled sharply at the sound of his newly chosen name on her lips, realizing that it meant she had finally come to accept him. All of him. He reached out to clasp her hand in his, holding it tightly to his chest. Not caring who was watching, he leaned down to brush his lips against hers in a fleeting, spontaneous kiss.

"The way I felt about you never changed, Kori," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. "Not from the day we met. It just took me a while to realize that."

His underlying meaning not lost on her, she gazed up longingly at him for one last time before pulling away, closing her eyes and willing her heart to calm itself. The blood pounded in her ears as she struggled to steady her breathing. No longer trusting herself to speak after such an emotional moment, she turned back to Virgil and Ritchie in silence, nodding to indicate her readiness.

"Alrighty, then." Richie held out the pendant for Virgil to take. "Will you be so kind as to do the honors?"

Virgil mumbled something incoherent, still sore about the earlier 'insufficient' crack. His eyes were narrowed and he had his arms folded across his chest in protest.

Donna heaved a loud sigh at the childish display, then quickly crossed the room and smacked him upside the head.

"Yeowch!" Virgil exclaimed, sending the Princess a fierce glare as he rubbed the back of his throbbing skull. She met it with a Look of her own, and he was quick to back down. "Sheesh! Fine! I'm on it!"

Satisfied, Donna stepped back and allowed Virgil to grab the pendant from Richie's still outstretched hand.

He summoned a low wave of electricity, focusing the energy directly into the gem. Almost instantly, it began glowing an incandescent blue. A beam of light shot out directly in front of them, coming to a stop inches from where Starfire stood, where a portal appeared.

Starfire turned one last time to wave goodbye to her friends new and old. Her gaze lingered sadly for a moment on the embracing forms of Tim and Rose, the latter still openly sobbing in his arms, before coming to rest on Nightwing. Their eyes locked, and she refused to look away as she stepped backward into the portal.

Back to her own time.

"One of the few great things about being able to see the future...is the ability to learn from it."

FIN