[Chapter 2]
After Edward confirmed that he was feeling better, Solor brought the elder dragon downstairs, where everyone was waiting. Now that Edward wasn't singing and wasn't as distracted, he could actually get a good look at the team.
Nightwing looked a lot like his own, with longer hair and a more athletic build now. Starfire, like he noticed earlier, wore similar armor to what she was wearing when she first arrived on Earth, only without the metal piece that went on her head.
Cyborg only looked older. He wasn't in such bad shape, though; he still had that shiny body, showing he was keeping up pretty well with modern technology and maintaining his body. Beast Boy had let his hair grow out, letting it become more of a curly mess on his head, while Terra had shorter hair. He was still wearing his black and purple uniform, while Terra had changed from shorts to pants, while her long-sleeved shirt went to a short sleeved top, still complete with yellow T on it.
Susie had also grabbed a purple cloak while waiting for Edward, further cementing how similar she was to Raven this time around, but she kept her hood down for now. She was using her dark powers to levitate a few plates, cutting up the two pizzas and starting to put the pieces onto the plates.
"I hope you don't mind answering some questions tonight, as well", Solor told the older hybrid. "It is an exciting topic, hearing that there's a whole other universe. It may be futile, but I want to know as much as I can."
"Actually, two other universes," Edward said, "When I was a hatchling, from what I was told, I was sent to the universe I call Home. Starborn, I'll call your twin that, was on the roof of the Tower when Raven was possessed by an agent of Darkness, a dragon named Vilea..."
"I remember that!" Solor exclaimed, "She opened a Tear of Oblivion and I ended up in the Master of Games tournament. I told him I was not interested in fighting and he was actually gracious enough to send me home."
Edward raised an eyebrow, "Oh my...That had to be the same time as when Starborn was tossed into my realm. That split off a middle universe. for lack of a better term. But, if I may, for ease of telling things apart, this is the Prime Universe. I'll refer to the middle one as a joint or shared universe, and my home universe will be referred to as, well, my universe. The first split was when I was sent to my universe by the Circle of the shared universe. The second major split was on the roof here. One version of Starborn got dropped into my universe and another was reflected back here. Really interesting."
"Was there a war in either of the universes?" Solor asked.
"In the joint one, yes," Edward said, "The Dark Clan there kidnapped Starborn...and Vilea raped him repeatedly after tricking him into mating with Kreinyol. But, she messed up and mentioned that Starborn should mark her as his life mate. But, at the time, Kreinyol was unaware of that tradition. Vilea was forced to reveal herself and tried to kill Starborn, only to tell him their plan: The summoning of Trigon. She needed to lay Twilight eggs to summon that sumbitch.
"Turned out that Oblann, the Traitor, was Trigon's father. Not that it mattered to Starborn and I. I got the Circle to agree to declare all out war after I painted a very bleak picture of what the Earth would look like. It took a couple of months, that, seemed to only be a few days. When Trigon arrived in the city, Soskrein had already been born. One whelp was killed to delay the plans, but, egg #2 was sacrificed. Trigon was stopped, though. Starborn, Superman, and I defeated him and Rachael - my univere's Raven and my wife - the native Raven and I combined powers to banish Trigon for good."
"Is the war over for you?" Starfire asked.
"It is," Edward said, "I managed by a fluke to flip Vilea to our side minutes after Soskrein was born. But, after Trigon was banished and his damage undone, Oblaan decided to take us all out, starting with me. He was quite livid that I aided Lair in thwarting his plans. He tried to petrify me, only to see his beam blocked by Grand Death. He petrified everyone else before turning his beam on Solor and I.
"Kreinyol intercepted that beam and when Oblaan insulted her, it was his final mistake. Starborn used a Primal Blessing and engaged in a beam clash. His light beam vs Oblann's dark beam. Oblann was literally erased from the scene; he was vaporized and sent to the Flames of the First's rage. He rots in Hell.
"Vilea, being the heiress, formally surrendered to the Circle. She was allowed to live after swearing loyalty to the Circle and admitted as a voting member of the Circle as acting Grand Darkness."
"Very different here, then", Solor said. "Vilea is not actively attacking us as acting Grand Darkness - she is still alive, and has formally surrendered - but she chose not to return to Lair. Her people have decided to live outside of Lair, and while they agreed not to cause any trouble, the Circle will remain incomplete for some time." He then smirked a bit. "And your brother had the right idea. I killed Oblaan for threatening my mate. Although I don't remember a good chunk of it... I was knocked out after the deed was done."
Ruuvak nodded. "It wasn't pretty. The rest of the team was exhausted and couldn't move anymore, and Solor was trapped under Oblaan's talon, his neck stretched out for the killing blow. Before he finished my husband off, though, Oblaan told him that he had... special plans for me. Obviously, that didn't go over too well, and I had to bring Solor back to the tower once he passed out."
Edward smirked, "Yeah, the use of the various Blessings in itself is draining. Using a Primal Blessing typically kills the dragon or leaves the dragon in a permanent coma as I understand it. Starborn was down for a month after he used it, and that was only because he's a direct descendant of the First Grand Light.. Kreinyol and Soskrein didn't really leave his side until he was fully recovered. Talk about loyalty, right?"
"I would not expect any different from my twin", Starfire said, smiling.
"Same here", Solor said. "Not only about the loyalty, but also on how long I was out of commission. I was stuck in bed for a month. Nothing like when I was raising Susie after she first hatched, which was an interesting experience, but still."
"Interesting how?" Edward asked. "Weren't you raising her with Raven?"
"Actually, no", Solor admitted. "I found Susie's egg almost a year before the war ended, and at the time, Raven and I had not gone on our second date yet, due to us being busy with dragon attacks. When she first hatched, she proved to be just as curious as any dragon hatchling... but with all the different scents... well, she would often return to my room - where she was living - with... prizes."
Raven decided there was no point in hiding it, so she said bluntly, "She stole our clothes from either the laundry room or our rooms without us noticing somehow." As she said this, Susie immediately put her hood up, but Edward could see her face starting to turn bright red.
"Might as well spill it, kiddo," Edward said with a glint in his eye, "Dragons, even one 3,150 year old ... What?" Everyone's jaws had dropped hearing how old Edward is.
"Well... you said you were older than me by a lot", Solor stated, his own eyes wide. "You never mentioned how much older you were..."
Susie took that moment to sink a bit lower into her seat, focusing on her pizza so she wouldn't answer the question Edward obviously had. However, Terra decided to embarrass her further after the geomancer snapped out of it. "Well, to spill the beans, since someone's being tight lipped, Susie often stole regular items from us. Gloves from me, a shoe from Starfire, Beast Boy's mask at one point, one of Robin's capes, and a couple times, Raven's cloak. Of course, the first time she stole something from Raven-"
"Say anything and you'll spend the rest of your life in the Trash Hole, Terra", Soskrein threatened, her face practically radiating heat.
"She managed to steal a bra from me", Raven finished for Terra, causing Susie to sink further into her chair.
"First, take me now", she muttered.
"You think you're embarrassed now?" Solor asked, staring at her incredulously. "I had to take a walk of shame to return it to Ruuvak! I think we were both embarrassed enough to last the rest of the year!"
Edward reaction was to bust out laughing as he sensed the extreme embarrassment from Susie..."Oh, Diist! This is the HA HA HA funniest thing I have come across...HAHAHA...in 20 years! HA HA HA HA! And, Susie...I can teleport back from the trash hole just as easy as you think...HA HA HA...you can open that portal."
"Yuk it up, wise guy," she griped, "Bet you do not have..." Her jaw dropped as Edward used his Raven derived powers to lift her chair to the ceiling, spun it around, causing Susie to yelp and grabbed on for dear life before Edward gently put the chair and Twilight Dragon back on the floor.
"OK," she grumbled, "You win this one."
Meanwhile, after everyone recovered, Raven looked closely at Edward and said, "Oh, my. I've never seen an aura like yours. It's like a mix of all the clans... it has properties of all of them." She looked at him, giving a smile. "You really are a unique dragon. Not like those Twilight dragons we had to fight at all."
"I'm a hybrid of all the clans," Edward said, "My mother, Iilah, mated with First knows how many dragons besides her mate. The key was, believe it or not, Oblann himself. At least in my realm. Here, I am at a loss for an explanation. Solor told me that she never laid an egg. I'm not sure what, if anything I can do to see if there was a split at that time where in this universe, nothing happened and in that middle universe, she laid the egg that contained me." He sighed, "Either way, that's not really part of my mission parameters."
"I'm sorry", Terra stated, showing sympathy. "To know in another universe that's so familiar that you don't even exist... kinda makes it hard to want to go to other universes, then."
"Well, it just means you're a special one, aren't you?" Nightwing offered. "Even if you don't exist here, you can probably exist in other universes as well. After all, the multiverse theory presents that there's probably millions of different universes out there... uncountable ones."
Edward sighed, "This was supposed to be what's called a Prime Universe, and, I was hoping that my leaders were wrong. They told me that there was a chance that I did not have a duplicate or twin here, which is why I was sent. The thing is, friends...when I depart, it will be as if I never arrived here in the first place. Would you mind if I recorded things? That way, when my report is given to my Circle, they can see what the differences are. If you do not wish to be recorded, I will respect that, though."
"No, record away", Terra said. "As long as you don't leak it to the media here, we shouldn't have any problems."
"No way", Susie said, getting up. "I am not being recorded."
"Sit down, Susie", Solor objected. "It's for Edward's Circle. Besides, it won't be permanent for us, so there's literally no harm in it."
Susie grumbled a bit, but sat back down, crossing her arms.
"Don't mind her", Raven stated, smiling a bit. "She's starting to go through her 'rebellious teenager' phase. Solor told me this should only last a year or so."
"Oh, joy!" Edward said, "Soskrein, I'll use that for my god-daughter, hasn't quite hit this point, yet. Let's just say her personality is more outgoing, and less likely to try to steal stuff...including my wife's undergarments. Besides, Kreinyol would not have allowed that, either."
He pulled up a picture of himself, Kreinyol and Soskrein and showed it around the group.
"Is Kreinyol her mother?" Starfire asked.
"Not natural born, she's in the k'norfka role, like Galfore to you. With Vilea busy as heiress and acting Grand Darkness and getting her clan assimilated into Lair, she let Kreinyol be Soskrein's adopted mother. Yes, she does know of her Twilight heritage and how she came into the world, as Vilea has told her everything... or perhaps I should call her Vicky now. She changed her name recently, since she is no longer the vile character we first met."
"If Vilea knows any secrets about Susie, she has yet to tell us", Solor said. "I'm assuming that in this world, Vilea may be her mother. I wish I knew for sure... since we are no longer at war with the Darkness, I could attempt to ask her, but our Vilea wants nothing to do with the Circle. I doubt she'll willingly talk to me about that. We do spar though monthly. In fact, we're due for one in a few days."
"Who knows?" Edward said, "You don't have to approach her as the Heir to Light. Just approach her as yourself. No titles or anything like that. Assure her that you're not going to report back to the Circle. It falls under the 'What is discussed between two mated dragons is none of the Circle's business' rule."
Edward scratched his chin for a moment, "If it weren't a futile move, I would volunteer to go and find out. Oh, well. I'm sure that you'll find a way without my assistance. You've done pretty well without an Edward Barnes in the mix, so, I have the confidence that you'll be fine without me."
Solor gave a smile, nodding. "Perhaps someday."
Raven decided to ask a question next. "So, you mentioned that you're married, and from what I get, you're old enough to have multiple wives. Do you have any kids of your own?"
Edward nodded. "I have three. My oldest, David, is as old as America is. He was born with Paula, a reptilian shapeshifter/mutant who was able to match my DNA close enough for a dragon-human hybrid. My other two are Callisto, whom I've mentioned before, and Yolstav, a fire hatchling I've adopted."
Raven gave a sad smile. "Lucky you... unfortunately for us, Solor's Circle has said while we are allowed to be together for as long as I live... a hybrid between myself and him is too dangerous, too unpredictable to allow. They won't remove the enchantment they put on all dragons."
"Hmph," Edward snorted, "Cally is a hybrid of myself and my Rachael. So, she's half dragon, quarter human and quarter Trigon. It's going to be interesting over the next few decades, I think. Had her dragon part not been dominant, I think she would have been a third of each one. Technically and biologically, Cally likely is a third me, Rachael, and Trigon, I suppose."
"Probably", Solor told him. "It's interesting enough, having a half dark/half light daughter. I can't imagine the randomness of a half-human child... or even a half-tamaranean."
"Funny you mention that", Edward commented, pulling up an updated picture of Starborn's family. The most prominent feature was Solor and a new addition, Komi, now aged ten. "Your counterpart was able to get the enchantment removed, and this is the first - and probably only anytime soon - naga, Komi Krein Barnes."
Solor stared at the picture, slowly taking the communicator out of his hands. He knew that this was an alternate universe, but the minute he saw her bright green eyes, the happy smile... he felt his own tears starting to fall. "She's beautiful", Solor said, wiping his eyes. "She's a beautiful girl... and I'm certain she's brought both joy and strife into my twin's life."
"She's named after my sister?" Starfire asked, leaning close to get a better look.
"Yes", Edward confirmed. "Your counterpart loves her dear sister very much, and wished to name her after both Blackfire and myself... which is a huge honor to me. I think Starborn has taken up my last name as well, to show that we are brothers through and through. He did not need to, but I am happy that he and I are family. For most of my like, I did not know who my family was. When Vicky possessed you, Raven, she opened more than a Tear of Oblivion. She opened the floodgates to my biological family. She's a half-sister and I recently met her broods. All 20 whelps. I am still boggled at times. One sire still alive, finding my birth mother, discovering three half-siblings and two teams of Teen Titans...or Titans now, of course. That's why I am comfortable with you seeing my weakness, Solor and all of you."
Raven smiled, a bit happier. "She is beautiful... we've run simulations on what our child could have looked like. Would you like to see some of them?" When the 3,000 year old dragon nodded, she brought up a couple images. One was of a boy with purple hair, grey skin, and dark purple scaled claws and talons, walking upright. Another showed a similar naga like Komi, only without wings. And the final looked more like Raven, only with a long tail curled around her tiny feet. The last one had blonde hair and green eyes, but a face similar to Ruuvak. "These were the three most likely children. The first boy was at thirty percent, while the other two were both at twenty or fifteen."
"Komi had had her moments," Edward admitted, "We missed her first decade, but, we know for a fact that she is fiercely loyal to her friends and family. A trait she inherited from her parents. In fact, that trait forced them to relocate several times during their mission. The last one was a huge clue in getting a lock on their location."
"What do you mean?" Solor asked.
"Komi had managed to make friends in a couple of different schools and when some bully tried something, she intervened, scaring the bullies away. You see," Edward replied, "she has this spell that makes her look human. Due to her heritage, her powers do not include morphing, hence, the spell. Well, she'd drop the spell and use her natural form to scare the crap out of the people harassing her friends.
"Sadly, one friend was also frightened away. Another was more open and even said that Komi was deadly, yet girly. They've maintained contact and enjoyed a picnic with us a while ago."
He pulled up a group picture from the picnic that was taken once everyone finally arrived. He pointed out Vicky, Tyler and the others.
Solor shook his head, "I cannot get over how you won Vilea ... I meant, Vicky over to Lair's side, and even got her to want to be part of Lair."
"I had no say in if she wanted to come back to Lair, actually," Edward said, "That was her decision to make. I supported the choice, but, I would have also supported her if she did not want to return to Lair. I know the Dark Clan, as a whole, likes being in Lair. They are quite loyal dragons to not only Vicky, but, myself as well. I recently promoted some Dark dragons to my Joint Chiefs after consulting with the Circle."
"How close are you with the Circle there?" Solor asked.
"Pretty close, actually," Edward admitted, "It's complicated at times, but, for the most part, we are friends on a personal level, and equals when it comes to running things. They trust me to run their military with the proviso that any major appointments, they have veto power on. Kind of like a Senate confirmation here in the USA."
"That's good", Solor said. "We've only recently begun peace talks with humans, and only have a few countries on board. China, Japan, and South Korea are the only ones on board, while the U.K. and France have a begrudging treaty in place. The U.S. has only begun talks of peace, and Germany and Russia refuse to let us come and go as we please, which is understandable; we needed the aid of Red Star during one of the attacks, and caused a lot of damage during the battle. So, we've been banned from entering both countries. I would like to say that I'm in charge of carrying out the role of Commander... but that honor was given to my sister, Sosfil. Have you met her?"
"She's in this picture," Edward said and pointed her out, "She's a troubled dragon back home. She was so obsessed with being in your slot as heir, it consumed her and jeopardized Starborn's mission when it was at the critical juncture. By then, we had, after a decade, found and reunited with him in Darien, a suburb of Chicago.
"She attacked him in the middle of our workplace, forcing him to drop his cover and then I had to drop mine. They fought and I hung back at his request. But, when she crossed the line further by saying that he should have been killed in the shell, Sol ordered me to place her in custody. She got a taste of my inner Darkness when she took a swing at me, only to be knocked through a window.
"She also was on the wrong end of Blackfire's weapons. You see, in the joint universe, she saw the error of her ways and switched sides. Kreinyol even forgave her and is working on getting her exile lifted. Star...you'd be proud of her.
"Golmul, my general and second-in-command and Maldriin, the Heir to Life arrived to give us additional firepower. Sosfil also saw the native Titans arrive, summoned by Sol, and decided to try and escape, but our combined power overwhelmed her and we were able to capture her. Then, Starborn's mission was completed, and that's why he's home now."
"Ten years away from his family... I'm sure you did not appreciate that", Solor stated. "If you are as close to him as you say you are, that probably pissed you off by a lot."
"You have no idea", Edward admitted. "I had a list of reasons to kick his ass for when we finally found him. Plus, I had to pick up the mantle of guardian for Soskrein. Given that I needed to make time to work with both Titans, the Circle, and my own children as well, keep my marriage intact, deal with a pissed off Tamaranian when she demoted everyone on the team to 'teammate', including her own brother-in-law... yeah, stress was at an all time high for me. And when the native Nightwing turned the mission into a manhunt and got the team, except Kreinyol and I, on board, plus getting Interpol, the FBI and other agencies to try to find him to arrest him... yeah, I don't think I need to say anymore on that.
"But, when we found him and knew that he had kept my goddaughter safe made me not want to commit treason by beating him into a pulp. We did get him back a month later, though, in a way that was quite harmless."
"Don't blame ya", Beast Boy said. "If someone from my family went missing, I'd be stressed out too."
Nightwing, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. "He put Starborn on the Most Wanted list? That couldn't have gone over well with your Starfire."
"It most certainly did not", Edward responded. "She was absolutely livid. That and the fact that he was trying to convince her to find someone else made her hate him for a while."
"Not to mention, when Starborn came back, he would probably have a few choice words to say to Nightwing as well", Solor said, smirking. "I know I would."
"Actually, he was more worried about what the CIrcle would do to him," Edward said with a smirk, "When his father told him that there was an escape clause due to a prophecy, he was not punished by the Circle. But, Sol had no say in what the Titans could have done to him. We allowed him to rejoin the family...only because I talked the team into going back to a search and rescue mission and because we had heard from Starborn and he confirmed that he and Komi were fine. Even I couldn't give him the punch into Lake Michigan that he deserved.
"But, when we played some Predator and Prey after he and Komi returned, I got some petty vengeance."
"How did you manage that?" Solor asked.
"I was technically the Prey, but, turned the tables on Starborn," Edward replied, "He was pretty steamed when I did this..." He morphed to his Giant Japanese Hornet form and made to buzz by Solor before landing and morphing back.
"Let me guess...You stung him?" Solor replied, relieved that Edward went around the team.
"Right at the tip of his tail," Edward replied, "He called me several choice names in Japanese, I told him that he still cussed like a little girl. You should have seen his eyes widen. He was livid. But, when I captured him and held him down, the rest of the team got their revenge. We tickled him without mercy for several ... Now what?" The Titans were slowly backing away.
"No way!" Cyborg said.
"Forget it!" Starfire said.
"We're not going there!" Beast Boy said.
"Bad, bad idea!" Terra said.
"I'd rather fight Slade again!" Nightwing said.
"I'd be safer in Azarath," Raven said.
Edward raised an eyebrow, "I take it that Solor doesn't like that? I'll keep it in mind."
"Beast Boy did that to me," Solor said, "He lived to regret that a while later."
Susie smirked a bit. "It was interesting back then... Dad didn't know he was ticklish, or I think he forgot, and Beast Boy found out. He morphed into a snake to tickle him, but when he was finished, Dad promised him that vengeance would come. The next year, he finally cashed in that check by hitting Beast Boy with a Insta-Lube balloon... that turned BB blue for nearly a month."
"And don't forget the itching powder he mixed with the dye", Raven said. "Poor Garfield was stuck scratching himself for a week. All of us found out then to not tickle Solor."
Susie took that moment to speak to Edward via telepathy. [Actually, Mom's the only one who can get away with it. She just doesn't because she respects Dad's personal space in front of the team... unless they're watching TV or something. You'll probably find out if Cyborg calls it a movie night tonight.]
Edward replied, [Good idea, kid! Want to suggest that?]
Susie spoke up, "How about a movie night, guys? It will allow our guest to feel more at home, for one, and hopefully no missions get in the way."
"Not a bad idea", Cyborg said. "I've been wanting to watch Terminator 2. What do you guys think?"
Edward replied, "Sounds like fun. It's been a while since I've seen that and, I'd be curious to see if the script is different here. It was one of Arnold's better films, compared to his early grunt and flex films. A far cry from 'Hercules in New York', that's for sure. I got like five minutes into it and had to turn it off. Commando was also good. Same for True Lies. Good comedic/ironic lines in them all. Also, Twins was a good comedy vehicle for Arnold."
At some mentions of Arnold's earlier roles, though, the team looked puzzled.
"Dude, some of those movies, we've never heard of," Beast Boy said, "And, we have his entire film library here."
"I've heard of them", Solor said. "Perhaps we only have some of the more popular works. Hercules in New York was a train wreck." He turned to Cyborg. "We put you in charge of movie collection. Why don't we have all of these?"
"Hey, I got what was good", Cyborg defended. "Besides, not all of Arnold's works are good. Take Conan, or Last Action Hero. Some of them are horrible."
"Last Action Hero should have sunk Arnold's career. I hope he fired the agent who thought it was a good idea," Edward said honestly, "The Conan franchise was all right by my book. I did live through those times and while far-fetched, some of the things I saw and battled in ancient Greece were most real. But, that's really not relevant to the here and now."
Raven shook her head, making a hushing sound. "Quiet, you two. Let's just put in the one we've picked, and I'll join you guys later. Honey, I need to meditate really quickly. Will you be in our usual spot?"
"Of course", Solor told her. "Go ahead." He leaned forward, giving her a kiss on the lips, before she teleported away.
Beast Boy got a smirk, and spoke up. "So... are you actually going to be paying attention to the movie? Or something else?"
The Heir of Light groaned, glaring at Beast Boy as his face heated up a bit. "For the last time, Garfield, when Raven and I sit like that, I don't molest her, for First's sake! It's just a comfortable position for her, and I happen to like being close to my mate!"
"Whoa, hold up, timeout", Edward said, holding his hands in the position. "What're you guys talking about?"
"Starborn must not do this in your world", Starfire commented. "Our Solor and Raven have come up with a sitting arrangement, since before they were officially mated. Solor will take that seat, furthest from the kitchen, and Sister Raven will join him on his lap. Then, he unfurls his wings and wraps them around her. The only reason Beast Boy does the poking of fun at them is we cannot see their hands while they are like this."
Edward raised an eyebrow, "So, BB thinks Solor's copping a feel underneath the wings, eh? I must try this with Rachael...without the feeling up aspect. Haha!"
[Mom likes the feel of his scales, actually,] Susie said to Edward, [This is going to be fun, I think.]
Meanwhile, Solor's face had turned red at the whole conversation, "Thanks, Garfield, now, Edward's going to be curious at this for his research."
"Relax," Edward said, "I won't record that. While it would be of interest, there is some things I respect you'd want to keep private. Fair enough?"
"I would appreciate that", Solor said. "The only bit of recorded evidence that this happens is from over ten years ago, when Raven and I were stuck under a tree at the beach." He got up, grabbing the paper plates from the table (at this point, everyone was done eating) and threw them into the garbage. He then took his seat at the end of the couch, waiting patiently for his wife.
Nightwing smirked, and motioned Edward over. On his communicator was the very picture. Solor was leaning against a tree, and Raven was definitely on his lap, but the only parts of her he could see were her bare feet and her head. She was definitely asleep, while Solor was looking at the camera, his eyes half lidded as if he was waking up.
"And, you survived that?" Edward remarked with a chuckle, "It looks like she's comfortable, though."
"This was before Trigon", Nightwing said. "We went to the beach that day, and Raven only agreed because she wanted to make some good memories with us before... well, you know." He glanced over at Beast Boy and Terra, who were joining Solor on the couch. "Our favorite goofballs over there managed to steal Raven's towel and swapped out her original swimsuit for a skimpier bikini, trying to force her to show off more skin. However, Solor found out about this, and decided to help her out. They were under that tree the whole day, either in silence or having some personal conversations. Neither of them were willing to talk about what was said."
"I would have done the same thing," Edward said, "Rachael's a private person, like your Raven, and the only person's who gets to see everything skinwise is me. The others are S-O-L.
"Heck, that reminds me of the idiots who were following her and I during our honeymoon. I caught them trying to take pictures and warned them to beat a hasty retreat. They refused and Rachael sent them on a one-way trip to Barrow. They weren't happy when I sent an email to their bosses and the other backlash got those two bastards fired. It was a LONG trip back to the lower 48."
"I can imagine", Nightwing said. "You know, he might tell you a bit more about what happened that day, if you're curious. He won't admit it, but I think you've got more of his trust than most of us had when we first met him." With that, he started moving to the couch as well, just as Raven entered the room again. This time, she was without her cloak, and Edward could see now that her leotard had changed. Her neck and shoulders were now exposed, with elbow-length gloves on her hands. She floated over to her husband, settling in his lap as he wrapped her up in his wings. The Hybrid could have sworn he saw Solor's hands wrap around her waist before the wings closed up, but he couldn't be too sure.
Susie floated over as well, sitting between Cyborg and Starfire. Beast Boy pouted, looking over at her. "Aw, come on, Susie. I left you a space next to me, you're favorite Uncle."
"The last time I sat next to you for a movie, you got too bored and started tickling me, forcing me to send you flying out of a window", Susie stated, glaring at him. "This is for my sanity and your safety... but mostly my sanity."
Edward smirked evilly, [Watch this, Susie...You'll probably bust a gut laughing.]
Beast Boy noticed the smirk and gulped, "Oh..." He didn't finish as Edward used his powers to phase Beast Boy out the window.
The entire group saw that and looked at Raven, "I didn't do that." Susie, however, was laughing her head off.
"Edward! You are hilarious!" she said.
Beast Boy came back a few moments later, grumbling something about "Smart-ass Dragons".
At that point, he was phased out again, and everyone turned to Raven.
"That time, that was me. No one says anything bad about my family", Raven said, a smirk on her face. Susie was laughing still, trying to keep it under control as she buried her face into Starfire's shoulder, who was letting out a few poorly-hidden giggles as well.
This time, when Beast Boy came back, he knew to keep his mouth shut, and soon was sitting on Terra's lap as a kitten, with the blonde geomancer giving him a sympathetic smile and some gentle ear scratches. Cyborg hit a button on the remote, starting the movie as Nightwing and Edward soon sat down as well, all gathering to watch the second installment of the Terminator films.
Mostly throughout the movie, everyone's eyes were stuck to the screen. Solor eventually lost interest, though, having seen the movie too many times, and after the first hour instead nuzzled his wife, who didn't complain at first. However, his actions did have an adverse affect on her, and she eventually spoke up through their link (after making sure Edward couldn't hear them).
[Honey, not that I don't like it when you're being affectionate, but maybe we should hold back on that], she told him. [I don't want to be flustered when this movie's over and give Edward the wrong impression here.]
[So, that means no neck nibbling or anything like that?] Solor asked her, frowning. [That's not fair... how am I supposed to get through the rest of this movie without being able to be affectionate to you?]
[You'll have to figure that out yourself] Raven told him.
That was when an evil smirk formed on his face, and Raven immediately knew what he was planning. [Don't you dare.]
[Hey, no one will know if you don't laugh] Solor told her. [Besides, it's fun, and you don't normally mind.]
[That's because you usually tickle me when we're alone! Not here, please! I know you'll target my feet eventually, and I'll lose it then!]
Solor chuckled through the link, and kissed her cheek gently. [Alright, alright. But I'll get you later.]
[I can hardly wait] she said dryly, but if it weren't for the fact that the lights were turned off for the movie, everyone would see the light dusting of pink on her cheeks.
Eventually, the movie ended, and everyone got up, with the boys talking about the badass moments, while Terra, Starfire, and Susie all glanced at each other, shaking their heads at the males. Solor still held Raven close, keeping her on his lap as he ran his tail up onto the couch, letting it sit near his body so no one would sit on it by mistake.
Edward was surprised. The film was nearly identical to the one in his universe. The only differences were some scenes were filmed from different angles. Yet, at the end, the T2 still was boiled in molten steel and the original Terminator had to also be destroyed to try to eliminate the entire timeline.
Edward also pondered if it was even possible to really change a timeline, and quickly dismissed that because he was in a universe he visited before, and, none of the Titans he was sitting with knew of his prior visit. It was gone like cigar smoke in a hurricane. He had hoped that they would remember, but, it was not to be.
Susie took note of him, and walked over, giving him a gentle hug. "Hey, you okay?" she asked, looking in his eyes. "I know you said you've been here before... you seem a bit disappointed."
"Nothing that can be done, kid," Edward said, "This place reset itself to erase my prior visit to make sure that I didn't pollute the blasted timeline. What bugs me is that when I depart, this incursion will again be deleted. It shall be as if I was never here at all. You'll relive these days and think nothing of it. You may watch this film again. Your dad may want to tickle your mom under his wings. You may have a mission come up, who knows, right? A friend of mine once told me that history needs to play out at its own pace. It was something I had to keep in mind for over 200 years. It's a long story, though."
"Well... while you're here, we do care about you", Susie said. She glanced at the communicator, and decided on something. "Before you leave, I'm going to need to borrow your communicator. I won't dig through anything you don't want me to, but I can't tell you why I need to use it."
"I'll be here for up to a week, Susie," he replied and handed over his communicator, "Feel free to look at the pictures on the SD card. But, don't be surprised if Alice, the AI in the joint universe, pipes up. This communicator and the other one I have - a later model - are able to talk to other universes. If I would have had this in my prior visit, I would have been recovered quickly. Try not to open a channel to the other universes, though. My mission orders do not include you guys talking to your counterparts. Be careful with this."
"I will be", Susie promised. "I'll return it soon." With that, she hid the communicator in her cloak for now, giving him a soft smile. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna go meditate." She turned to her mom. "Do you need another session?"
"Yes", Raven confirmed, before getting up from Solor's grip. She kissed her husband's cheek before joining her daughter up on the roof. Solor smiled a bit, before standing up and stretching, and Edward noted now, while the others were dispersing, would be a perfect opportunity to ask Solor about anything, since no one else would be listening to them.
So Edward took the opportunity to approach Solor. "So, how did you and Raven end up together, specifically? Any moments you can think of?"
Solo thought carefully, scratching his chin. "Well... I think when I refused to take Starfire was when I started to get closer to Raven... and the rest of the team in general. I realized that I wasn't spending enough time with the rest of the team. But... anyway, the day that Slade returned from the dead was when I began fighting for more than just myself. I found a reason to fight in Raven, and I fought harder when I thought about all of the terrible things that might happen if I don't. So... I think I realized that I was falling for her when she became the portal and I was terrified that I would never see her again." He shook his head a bit, wiping away a stray tear. "As for her... well, I can't speak for her. I don't know what she saw in an arrogant ass like me."
"Rachael's a very loving mate, and I can see that her twin here is just loving," Edward said, "Even I am still wondering at times what Rach saw in me, but, it was pretty much love at first sight. She was caught in the middle of the budding romance between Beast Boy and Tara in my home universe and even in the Joint universe, there was an attraction between BB and Terra. Over the missions that occurred during the next few weeks, we just grew closer. I had told Beast Boy and Raven that a choice had to be made: One would get the romantic side of Beast Boy, and the other would have to settle for friendship or being seen as a sister. Raven already knew that she would get the big sister role, though. She had deep feelings towards Beast Boy because there were times that they really bonded. After the Malchior fiasco, he was the one who talked to her as a friend and a brother to comfort her. She was so moved by his caring heart...she emerged from her shell for a bit and actually initiated a hug. When the Beast first emerged, Beast Boy was hurting, thinking that the Beast could have really hurt Raven. She was the only one to give him the true moral support he needed.
"When his heart was broken by Terra the first times, Raven was there to be a friend. When she became petrified and Beast Boy thought she had died, he only really allowed Raven to be close. She allowed him to pour his broken heart out. She at first claimed it was because his emotions were driving her to distraction. Later, she admitted to me that she wanted to ease his heartbreak because despite his bad jokes and sometimes immature behavior, she actually does care. It is something that even today, Beast Boy is grateful for. They still give one another moral support, with my blessings. I did that with Terra in her recovery and Rach didn't get jealous.
"She's someone that deserves the love that we give her in the universes, and, in the joint universe, it's Nightwing and Raven. That one, I'm really proud of. You see, after we defeated Trigon and Oblaan, I planted the seed for Robin to be Rae's guide to her emotions and to be her rock. Then, they grew closer and started dating as time allowed. Now, they are finally engaged.
"She had to see something within you, though, that told her that underneath that arrogant ass, was a dragon who had been taught how to love by his mom and would treat her like a queen. She was your inner strength, Solor...She still is. Don't worry about showing affection in front of me. I have no reason to be jealous. Here, she is your wife, and I see her as a twin to my Rachael, nothing more."
He smiled at Edward, though his eyes did water a bit at the mention of his mother. He wiped his eyes again. "I... I'm sorry, Edward. Sometimes it still hurts when I think about Iilahkun. I'm sure you know the feeling with someone you love." He looked over to Edward. "You know... perhaps you do not have a twin that can match you genetically... but I see a lot of not only my father... but my brother and sister in you. Sahqokrein acts a lot like you, now that he is sober. And Sosfil has shown that she cares very much for her family, much like you do. I would be honored, if for the time, you would allow me to call you a part of my family."
"Iilahkun would be very proud of her son," Edward said, "I have gotten to know her through Feylfil and his children. And, you have no idea how many times I have gone through what you feel for your mother. I have lost countless friends through the ages, and, each time, a tiny piece of me goes with them. When Callisto, my daughter's namesake, killed herself because, to her, immortality and godhood was a curse. I mourned for a long time, the pain was greater than any physical pain. When the child she and I were raising died in a thunderstorm, it felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. When Paula, my first wife, died...it was the same. It took a long time to move on. It took 2500 or so years for me to get over losing my son and Cally to her madness. It took almost 180 years between Paula and Raven. And, when I uptake the title of Grand Fire, I already have someone waiting patiently...Maldriin.
"I would be honored to be part of your extended family, even for a week."
Solor smirked a bit. "Well, you better hope you don't come to regret that by the end of the week. You may not want to leave." He let out a snort. "Not that I would let you stay, anyway. I know Raven very well, and I know not to keep her loved ones too far away from her for too long."
As they spoke, Raven joined them, having finished her meditating, and reclaimed her cloak. "What're you two talking about?"
"You, as if you didn't know", Solor responded, smirking. "I told him when I realized I was falling for you. Do you want to tell him when you realized you wanted to be with me?"
"Of course", Raven said. "You can record this with your other communicator, if you want; I want to make sure that anytime your brother screws up, that you're reminded he has a side that makes people love him, anyway."
Edward smirked at her words, and complied, recording her message.
"Well, in this world... I think I realized I was falling for him the day we went to the beach, before Trigon attacked our world", she started. "I only agreed so I could make good memories. I didn't think that we would win this battle. But that's another time, so let's focus on this." She gave a slightly irritated smirk to the camera. "While I was changing, I noticed my towel was gone, and someone had switched out my bag, which held my one piece swimsuit, with a smaller... more revealing outfit. And while I wasn't paying attention, my leotard went missing as well. Of course, I was livid, and I refused to leave the changing room without something to cover myself up, but I had to ask Starfire to find something.
"So, imagine my surprise when Solor comes back, offering to cover me up with his wings. It meant that I couldn't do much at the beach, but I wasn't planning on that anyway, so I agreed. As we sat under that tree, he eventually asked me why I didn't want to be seen in... that. I told him that I wasn't comfortable with so much skin being seen, that I didn't have a good beach body. After he understood the analogy... he said I was full of shit, word for word." She gave a small laugh. "At first, I wanted to slap him, but he continued talking. He told me that I was being silly, and that I should have more confidence in myself. That I shouldn't be afraid to be myself out here. I didn't understand at first. He then told me... that even if no one else agreed, if someone that mattered to me told me I was beautiful, then that's the only opinion that matters. I asked him what he thought about me. He said, in his own unique way, that I was beautiful... and no one had ever said that to me before. That was the first time I saw how much Solor cared about me. Even if he didn't realize it yet, he didn't want me to be sad, or afraid, or to see me hiding away from the world. At the same time, he respected that I wasn't comfortable with being as outgoing as Starfire or Terra." She gave a wistful smile, remembering that day. "I think that's the first time I realized that he was making me fall in love with him."
Edward smiled, "Rachael's the same way. She doesn't mind going to the beach as long as she has a one piece bathing suit. Her skin is more prone to sunburn, we've learned. But, her and I sort of fell for one another without too much help. She got through the defenses I erected mainly to avoid being hurt again. The thing is, even after a decade of being married through a tough time, I am still as much in love with her as the day I asked her to be my bride. She risked her life to help me when Trigon's bastard sons kidnapped me. She's one of the few I will allow to get close to me when I am saddened or angry. Even my team except for her, Star, Terra, or my family, will back away when they see I am seriously pissed. Starborn...almost died trying to stop me. You see, in the joint universe, Rachael was killed protecting Rae from Malchior's attack. I still don't remember everything that happened after I found her and when Soskrein, barely 2 years old, intervened to save Starborn's life. It remains my darkest day, a day I never want to repeat...Ever. It was the day Oblaan's legacy asserted itself." He sighed, not wanting them to see that particular weakness playing out too much more.
"And, Raven...You are beautiful no matter what universe I have met you in. I know that you may find that hard to believe, but I would not lie to an empath who would not hesitate to call me out on it. There is a special quality that awakened within all three of you once Trigon was removed from the scene. I saw that in Rachael, Robin saw that with his Raven, and, you have it as well, my dear friend."
Solor smiled, pulling his wife close. "See? I told you."
"You're my husband, you're supposed to say stuff like that", Raven told him, but still smiled. "Thank you, Edward. It means a lot that you would say that to me." She then talked to him in his mind, letting Solor hear her as well. [Although, if your wife is looking to be a little more open on the beach... you might want to consider taking her out to the beach on a moonlit night. She might like it.]
[I was on a vacation when I was summoned by Feylfil for Circle business, so, I will suggest we do that. She's not as hesitant when the beach is mainly deserted to be in a two piece. Maybe one that's just a tiny bit too small for her bustline..haha!] Edward said with a smirk.
[Smart-ass,] Solor replied, [How did you know that's my wife's little ploy?]
[Seriously?] Raven retorted [If I am the twin to his wife, he can read me like a book. But, yeah, Edward, I will admit to that as long as you don't tell the boys. Especially Beast Boy! Terra would not like that mental image...her boyfriend ogling me in a bikini half a size smaller.]
[Hmph,] Edward snorted, [Tell Terra to do the size too small with him.]
[Her boobs are smaller, though,] Solor replied, [She could almost pass for a guy.]
Edward was taking a drink of Pepsi. Next thing Raven knew, she was covered in spewed soda.
"GAHHH!" she yelped.
Poor Raven glared at her husband, who was laughing hard, alongside Edward, who couldn't help but laugh as well... from the words he just heard to the predicament Raven ended up in.
"Sorry", Solor said, getting up to find a towel after he calmed down a bit. "I'll go get something for you. And don't you dare tell Terra I said that."
Raven glared after her husband, before glaring at Edward. "Thanks for the bath", she said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, Raven," he said. His eyes glowed for a moment and Raven felt the droplets being lifted off her person.
"How are you doing that?" she asked.
"Lots and lots of practice," Edward said, "I can't remove the moisture from your leotard, I'm afraid. And, no, I won't tell Terra. She's not likely to take too well to that type of comment. It's like telling a guy he's got a small package."
"Unlike Solor's package, eh?" Raven said. Edward had to duck under the thrown wet towel Solor chucked his way.
Raven intercepted the object and used it to wash off her arms, just to ensure that nothing else remained.
"Can we drop the subject, please?" Solor said, suddenly acting like he was feeling uncomfortable. "I'm sorry I made Edward spit soda on you, love."
"It's okay, dear", Raven said, smirking at him. "We don't have to talk about that anymore if you're uncomfortable about it."
"Yes, please. I don't want any other members of the team to suddenly decide to pay attention to our conversation at the wrong point", Solor confirmed.
With that, and the fact it was getting late, Edward asked where his temporary quarters were located and Solor said, "My former room, actually. If you'll follow me?"
Edward said, "That'll work. Raven, sorry about the Pepsi shower as well."
"It's all right," she said, "This time. Next time, you get phased through the window."
"I can teleport right back in," Edward said, "Defeats the purpose, I think. Good night, Raven."
"Good night, Edward," she said and stood up. Next thing Edward knew, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "For good dreams," she said.
Edward was blushing like mad as he walked behind Solor.
"Don't worry," Solor said, "I do not mind that she did that. I know the friendly context."
Edward went into the room and smiled before opening his communicator.
"Edward calling Alice, you there?" he said.
There was a short delay before Alice responded, "I am here, Edward. What's up?"
"I need to file a report for the Circle, Alice. It needs to be encrypted until I return," Edward said.
"OK," Alice said, "I am ready whenever you are."
"To the Exalted Circle, from Kiinnum," Edward said in the Dragon Tongue, "I have completed my first day here in this universe. I am no longer sure if this is the Prime Universe the Grand LIght told me about.
"For one, there is no duplicate of me here, as was thought. According to Solor, Iilah was barren and no amount of begging the First or mating with the different clans helped. She was so despondent when she realized that there was nothing she could do, that she starved herself to death. Solor, Soskrein and I sang Iilah's song.
"Solor, even without my mentorship, is no longer that angry, hate filled dragon. He found peace with Ruuvak, of all people! Here, they are married. It's a fact that I can stand behind seeing how different he is. He's more laid back, but, battle worn as well.
"Like in our realm, Solor has assassinated Oblaan, the Traitor. From what Ruuvak told me, Oblaan was about to behead Solor and made the mistake of threatening her life. He activated a Primal Blessing and killed the Traitor before passing out. Like there, he was on the Disabled List for a month.
"I was met by the native Susie, as in she captured me the second I stepped out of the Tear. Turns out, she has a distrust of most Dragons, but, I think I threw her off balance by cooperating fully. It did not take long to gain her trust, though. Same with the rest of the Titans. They readily accepted that I'm from two different, yet, similar universes. I will say that the Titans here are more battle scarred than the two teams I know. They are allowing me to record as I see fit, but, to respect their privacy, regardless of the fact that this will likely be erased from their history I will refrain to record some more private things.
"I will get the native Solor to show me around Jump City in the next day or two. However, unless necessary or ordered, I will likely not attempt to go to Lair. From what I am able to discern, the Circle is not the same one as here. I will talk to Solor about that in the morning. I know I changed the society within our universe for the better, I hope. Even when I did not see things eye to eye with some members of the Circle and even foolishly undermined for that short time the trust I had earned, there was that mutual respect. Even between me and the most recent Grand Death when I couldn't trust him, he earned that trust and respect with his act of sacrifice.
"But, here, I do not expect that to replay itself. I think that the Circle would talk to me as if I were a subject, not a guest and certainly not as a Child of the First. I would not appreciate being talked to in that manner.
"Solor still gets a little choked up talking about Iilahkun and he allowed me to see that hint of weakness. To be honest, I've only been here a few hours and he asked if he could call me part of his family because he sees a lot of the Grand Light in me. That's an honor I will carry with me the rest of my days, my brothers and sisters in the Circle. Forgive my hubris, but, this is as big of an honor as the day I accepted being your Commander and being accepted as Heir to Fire.
"Ruuvak is almost the same as my Rachael and Nightwing's Raven, yet, there are differences in her history. She is deeply in love with Solor here, but, she is also hurting. She wants a child with Solor, yet, the Circle here refused to lift the enchantment that Life lifted from myself and Filkiin. They allowed them to be married as a reward for defeating Oblaan, but, it burns them both that a biological child is denied to them.
"Soskrein, as I mentioned, does exist here. Like Susie back home, she is a Twilight dragon. Ruuvak is in the mother role though instead of Kreinyol and there's a huge difference as a result. The Susie I raised with Kreinyol is more fun loving. Soskrein is more reserved and speaks in a monotone like all three Ravens. She is also more biting in her sarcasm, just like the Raven triplets (for lack of a better term) are.
"I will be honest. I know that Solor here would want me to stay indefinitely, but, he also knows that Rachael would have my immortal hide hung on the side of the Circle's volcano. Thing is, he is absolutely right about Rachael. I would love to stay as long as possible, but, I did promise my mate that I would be back within a week in our time.
"As far as I can tell, though, time here is in parity with time in the joint universe...that's what I am calling our universe, not the one I was sent to as a hatchling.
"I will have Alice offload my recordings for later review and editing as the communicators memory fills up. However, I would respectfully petition that the Circle, heirs and both teams of Titans see the final report at the same time.
"End recording, please."
"Recording stopped, Edward," Alice said, "I've noticed some activity on the other communicator as well."
"It's all right," Edward said, "The native Susie said she had something planned that needed the older communicator for. She didn't say for what, though."
"All right," Alice replied, "What should I do if she opens a channel?"
"You can talk to her, I suppose," Edward said, "But, the others are not to talk to her, especially Soskrein. Do not even report or log that she talked to you except to me. If this Tower does have an AI unit like you or Ralph, you can talk to it as well, but, don't relay anything vital. No logic in that. Yet, if the AI here, if it does exist, offers to give information to include in my report, please allow that."
"All right," Alice replied, "I will look forward to talking to her, even if it's something that she will forget. Should I allow her to record messages."
Edward thought for a moment, "I think I would like that, Alice. Please let her record messages for whoever she wants to. I see a lot of our Soskrein in the native Susie, despite her taking after Raven.
"Do me a favor, though: Tell Rachael that I am thinking about her, that I miss her, and will be back soon to finish our vacation."
Alice said, "You just did, Edward. She is here waiting for you to return saying that if the Circle interrupted the vacation, she would wait until you returned and pick up the vacation together. The girls are with her."
And so, the night was done. Only six more to go.