As his officers rolled the crime scene tape out slowly across the doorway, Captain Michael Zeddemore stood in a somber silence. Two days before, he had been speaking to Dick Grayson about how lackluster things had been criminally in the city. Now, he was wishing he had never said anything to jinx it.

His eyes surveyed the room, taking in every detail. What had happened here the night before had been the work of a pro, no doubt about that.

"The victim has been identified as one Rachel Roth, 40 years old." Scott Randolph, Z's lieutenant, said, giving his sit rep. "Formerly known as Raven of the Teen Titans. Patient of Titan City Medical for about a year and a half. Apparently, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Damn…she was still so beautiful."

'That she was," Zeddemore said, quietly.

"Sir, how could she afford medical care at this level?" Randolph asked, shaking his head. "It's not like retired superheroes are given a pension or something."

"Let's just say she had some friends in high places," the captain said, already fully aware of how Raven had been able to gain the funds. "Anything else on your report?"

"One last thing," the lieutenant said, continuing on. "Apparent cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the chest just below the right breast. Chances are the heart was pretty much liquefied on impact. She would have been dead in a matter of ten seconds."

"And no one heard a thing?" Z asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, the nurse on duty was halfway buried in old paperwork and had headphones on," Randolph said. "Despite the close range of the wound, there is very little powder burn on her skin. Strange…"

"…He used a silencer," Zeddemore said, running his profile of Slade Wilson through his mind. In his opinion, there was no doubt that the avenging merc was behind this. The level of planning, the avoidance of security cameras and guards, the skill in which he ended Raven's life…Only he had that kind of ability.

"Who used a silencer?" the lieutenant asked, unaware of his captain's knowledge regarding Slade's return.

"Whoever pulled this off," the captain said, not missing a beat. The return of Deathstroke was information only he and Dick shared between them in all of Titan City. True, the tabloids and the local news had made allusions to the mercenary, especially after what Jim Gordon had said, but without any solid evidence, no one could prove a thing.

"Do the rest of the Titans know?" Randolph asked, quietly.

"If they don't, they will soon enough," Z said, looking out the window at the early morning sun.

Garfield Logan was enjoying the morning. The air was just perfect. The temperature hadn't exploded out of control just yet, and everything seemed to be at ease. Everything, he thought, except the storm he knew would be brewing once he returned home that day. The night he had spent with Raven was still on his mind, and he could feel the tinge of his conscience badgering him. He was a married man, married to a woman he had fallen head over heels for, and he had just committed an act of adultery with the girl he had called a friend since his teenage days. But the truly disturbing thing was how much he didn't seem to care about that fact. All he could focus on was the conversation that had taken place on that faithful night…

"So, on a scale of one to ten, how was that?" Logan whispered into Raven's ear as the two of them lay on the bed, his arm draped over her side.

"Are you sure you want me to answer that?" the woman said, smirking. "I mean, haven't I abused you enough in your life?"

"Well, maybe I oughta return the favor," the man said, a wicked grin on his face.

Raven's eyes went wild as Logan's fingers danced over the surface of her soft belly. Despite the possibility of nursing staff being in earshot, a deep musical laugh escaped from her mouth. "Gar, stop!" she cried, squirming under his touch. "Are you trying to get us in trouble?"

"No, I'm trying to get an answer out of you," Garfield said, smirking as the woman giggled uncontrollably. "So, how was that?"

"Okay, okay, quit! It wasn't half bad!" Raven squealed, finally managing to push the man's hand away from her ticklish stomach.

Logan sat up as the woman rolled on to her back, her body glistening in the moonlight. "Wasn't half bad?" he said, a look of shock on his face. Then, he broke out into a grin. "Hell, I'd say that was a compliment!"

Raven let out a small laugh. "Only you would think that," she said, smiling. "That's probably what I've missed about you the most. You never let anything change your outlook on life. Well…almost anything."

Garfield looked down at his friend's naked form. He knew exactly who she was talking about. "Rae," he said, slowly. "Cyborg…Luther was one of the only friends I had, and when I found him on the floor of his room, just lying there, it damn near killed me. I know you weren't there to see him in that way, but you cared about him as much as I did. Star, too. As much of a fuck as Nightwing was, Dick Grayson was worse. He had no right…no right to say what he did at Luther's funeral."

The woman propped herself up on her elbows, looking deep into the man's eyes. "No, he didn't," she said, softly, "but you're letting your hatred for him spiral out of control. It's eating you from the inside in a way much worse than the cancer in mine ever could. I hate to say it, Gar, but you and Starfire are starting to have a lot in common."

Logan's face broke out in shock. Quickly, he got up off the bed and stood beside it, staring at Raven with intensity. "What the hell do you mean by that?" he asked in a huff.

The woman sighed, and laid back down on the bed, resting her hands on her chest and intertwining her fingers. "I knew you were going to take offense, but the fact of the matter is that both of you have an obsession, an obsession that causes you to do things that you never would have done, an obsession that is slowly draining away every last bit of your humanity. For Star, it's the drugs; for you, it's Grayson. Each one is having an impact on their respective victims, and ultimately this obsession will kill you. Star will likely overdose, and you will likely stroke out or have a heart attack from the constant stress Grayson's memory is leeching into your system. It's death, either way you look at it."

Garfield Logan looked at the floor as he slowly pulled his pants back on. Raven's words had struck home harder than he ever thought they could. She was right: his obsession, his hatred for Grayson had only brought him sorrow and misery. Perhaps it was time to cut the cord, to banish Dick Grayson from his life for good. He sighed slowly, locating the spot where he had tossed his shirt. "You know, even after all these years, after all that's happened to us," he said, shaking his head, "you're still a helluva lot smarter than me."

The woman smiled. "Gar, that's not exactly a hard thing for me to do," she said, playfully.

Logan responded by dragging the nails of both his hands up the bare soles of Raven's feet, sending her into a fit of giggles as she pulled them away. "Gotcha," he said, grinning.

With his attire back in order, the former Titan let out a sigh. "So, we still on for tomorrow?" he asked.

"I wouldn't want to disappoint you," Raven said, flashing a smile. She had yet to throw her robe back on, something which Logan wasn't bothered with in the least.

Slowly, she got up from the bed, and walked over to the window. "Here," she said, opening it up a crack. "This way you don't have to toddle back past the night shift again."

Garfield smiled. "Thanks, Rae," he said, appreciatively.

As the Titan prepared to transform into an owl and make his departure, he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder. Turning back, he watched as Raven gave him a somber expression.

"Gar," she said, her voice barely a whisper, "please don't let Grayson destroy who you really are. You're the only one of us who never got lost on the path of life. Don't let that bastard sideswipe you into a road of regret. Please, promise me that."

The man wrapped his arms around the woman, his eyes full of understanding. "I promise," he whispered back.

In a fell swoop, his lips planted themselves onto hers. This night had been a reawakening of body and mind, but for them it had ended all too soon. For once in her life Raven, the emotionless sorceress whose sole existence was to be an avatar of destruction, finally found herself at peace with her life and everything she held dear. For Garfield Logan, he had found the one embrace that he truly felt at home in. Kate was beautiful and understanding, but she had never witnessed the things he had seen. He had spoken of them before, but each time there was a look in his wife's eye that always appeared. It was the look of a person who could not comprehend what had occurred in the Titan's life, and without that history that look would forever stare him down. But Raven knew. In fact, she knew more than he ever hoped to know. Soul mates, two lonely spirits walking the same path, a path that crossed many times, but both had been too blind to seize the moment. Tonight, their eyes were open, open for the first time to a world in which love could have many different meanings, all of which differ from one to another.

The lips gently separated, and the two looked deeply into each other's eyes. Life was funny sometimes. This was one of those moments.

"I'll be here tomorrow at ten," Logan said, grinning. "You better be ready, or I'm gonna tickle you into submission."

"I would love to see you try," Raven said, returning the grin.

Without so much as a sound, the man's body morphed into the form of a spotted owl, and gently sailed into the night, a night that would remain in both their minds forever…

Logan was snapped back to reality as he pulled into the parking lot of Titan City Medical. A multitude of police cruisers had pulled up to the emergency entrance, and there was a crowd gathering outside the building.

"That's a lot of people," he said to himself as he shut off the Town Car's engine. "Wonder if an officer got shot on the job or something?"

Glancing at the doorway, the man noticed that police officers were blocking admission to the entrance to all with the exception of the seriously injured. No way was he going to get in that way, and chances are the main entrance would be guarded just as efficiently.

Looking around to make sure no one noticed him, Garfield slipped out of his vehicle and took refuge behind the trunk. If he knew one thing, it was finding a way inside a building without drawing attention.

As police held back the unruly mob, the little green mouse slowly toddled its way past them and headed straight for an empty elevator. It had been just too easy.

As the doors closed, Logan resumed his normal form, and pressed the button for the fourth floor.

"I still got it," he said to himself as he leaned up against the side of the elevator. He could feel the machine rolling slowly to a halt as the fourth floor approached.

DING. The doors open to the sound of hustle and bustle. But this was different. Police forces were concentrated even more so on this level. Whatever had occurred, it had been up here…

Garfield broke out into a cold sweat, shivers running down his spine as he recalled the warning Raven had given him the night before surrounding her fate. 'No…it's just coincidence', he thought to himself as he stepped out into the hallway. Just as he stepped out, he noticed a man with a kit heading down the hall in front of him. His stature and face stood out in Logan's mind. 'That's Michael Willis, the head coroner of the Forensic lab', he thought, recognizing the man's face from the bank incident all those years ago. Willis had been promoted to Chief Medical Examiner about twelve years back – probably because his predecessor had dealt with enough dead bodies sent to him by Nightwing, he surmised. But what was he doing here now?

The man watched in silence as the coroner made his way down the hall, passing multiple rooms as he went. Fear gripped Logan's chest as he watched the man continue his walk.

"Please, not 413," he said to himself, almost pleadingly. "Any room but 413…"

Willis spoke with the police officers near the end of the hallway, and made his way under the crime tape. The door was wide open, but there was too much commotion to see what was going on. However, the sign near the door had been left unblocked, visible even to the man's failing eyesight.

It was Room 413. Garfield's heart dropped straight to the pit of his stomach.

"No…" he said. "NO!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the man charged down the hallway, heading towards the location that he knew would hold a grim surprise for him, but he didn't care. Something had happened, and he just had to know what was going down.

Captain Zeddemore noticed Logan coming. As two officers moved to intercept him, Z waved his hand.

"Let him through!" he ordered. The two officers quickly broke off, allowing the man to come the rest of the way down to the doorway of Room 413. What awaited him at the end was a scene that would forever etch itself into his mind.

Raven lay on the cold tile, her body encircled by a crimson pool. She was as naked as the day she was born, and her eyes sat wide open, locked in that position from death's cold embrace. The blood trail led up the side of her body right underneath her right breast. It was a scene out of a forensic drama if there ever was one. Still, even in death the body was a beautiful sight to behold.

Slowly, Logan knelt beside his fallen friend, his knees landing deep into the blood pool around the body. The crime techs on the scene opened their mouths to complain, but a dirty look from Zeddemore shut their mouths just as quickly. The police captain knew just how much pain and agony the former Titan was in as he stared down at the lifeless form of a former teammate and the woman that he truly loved. The scene was basically done anyway, as the coroner was just preparing to transport the body down a few levels to the morgue.

Tears welled up in Garfield's eyes as he stroked Raven's long hair. Her cold stare was almost unbearable to look at, yet there seemed to be a level of acceptance in those dead eyes. Rachel Roth, the former Titan, was finally free of her earthly bonds, and free from the pain that had antagonized her for so long. At last, she was at peace.

"I can't say much about the rest of the world," he said as tears rolled down his face, "but I know that you're up there now, with a smile on your face. You're back with Cyborg, and you'll be waiting for us when the time comes. Goodbye, kid."

With his final words, Logan gently planted a kiss on Raven's forehead. The cold skin sent shivers down his spine. His hand moved to push her eyelids down, closing them for the final time.

As he rose to his feet, Garfield was a broken man. Another Titan. Another death. He hadn't been the first to find her, but he felt the same either way. His feet shuffled slowly as he made his way towards the exit. On his way out, he stole one last glance at his friend as Willis began setting up his body bag. That image would burn forever in his mind. At least he had managed to bring Raven one last night of happiness and excitement, of laughter and friendship and something more, something that fate had decided was time to cut cruelly short. But he knew, and she had known how much they loved one another. In the end, just as he had said to her before the fireworks began, it was never too late to live – even for only one night.

"Mr. Logan?" The voice of Michael Zeddemore brought the man out of his grief-laden daydream. "Mr. Logan, I'm Captain Zeddemore. I'm terribly sorry for your loss. I know you and Raven were tight."

The man shook his head, uttering a bitter laugh as he did so. "I should've seen it coming," he said, quietly. "She told me she had a vision, one of her own death. I guess I was too blind to see it. Maybe I didn't wanna see it. I had hope, you know?" Garfield's eyes were downcast as Raven's body was slowly wheeled out of the room. "Hope…it's just the worst, isn't it?"

Z ran a hand over his mouth. He knew that the next thing that would come out of it would not be too pleasant. "Mr. Logan," he began, "I know this is a bad time, but you're the only family she truly has, and you of all people should know: preliminary examination suggests that Ms. Roth was…assaulted sexually not long before her death. A rape kit will be processed shortly, and we should have some sort of DNA evidence within a day or so…"

"Skip it," the man said, coldly. "I already know."

Zeddemore was somewhat taken aback by the former Titan's response. How could he already know who the suspect was? "You do?" he asked, visible confusion on his face and in his voice. "Well, who was it?"

Logan turned his head, and stared directly into the police captain's eyes. "You're looking at him," he stated simply.

The captain's jaw dropped in shock. His mind had already processed exactly what Garfield had told him, but even it was stunned by the revelation. "You?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were a married man."

"I am," the man said, sternly. With Raven gone, there seemed no real reason to keep the affair secret. Only he was left to blame.

Zeddemore looked down at the floor, and let out a heavy sigh as he put his hands on his hips. "Mr. Logan, you are aware that by telling me this, you've just incriminated yourself and admitted to being with Ms. Roth before and around the time of her death, right?" he asked.

"I am," Garfield echoed the same response from a few moments before.

Z shook his head. "If that's the case," he said, slowly, "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to accompany me down to the station for further questioning."

Despite the realization that admitting to the affair now placed him as a suspect in Raven's death, Logan was emotionally unresponsive. "That's fine," he muttered, his voice as quiet as a mouse. "There's nothing left for me here now, anyway."

Zeddemore nodded to the two officers who had attempted to intercept Logan, and they proceeded to lead the former Titan back down the hall towards the elevators. The captain had only a few more loose ends to tie up, and then he would be down to escort Logan personally to the station…

Suddenly, the sound of an animalistic scream rang out over the hospital ward. Z turned just in time to see Garfield slam his right hand right through the glass door covering the fire extinguishers. As glass shards rained down, the man collapsed to his knees in grief, his body wracked with heart-wrenching sobs as he clutched his arms to his chest. The officers stood in a stunned silence, not sure on the next course of action. One of them looked back at the captain, seeking an answer.

"Sir?" he asked, well aware his superior was privy to the scene in front of him.

"Give him a moment," Zeddemore said, calmly. "He's just lost the last best friend he's ever had."

The officers bowed their heads and waited for the agony to subside. Life was downright brutal sometimes. This was one of those moments.

A sharp knock at the door brought Dick Grayson's attention back up from his paperwork.

"Yes?" he asked.

The door cracked open ever so slightly. "Mr. Grayson, do you have a moment?" It was Isabelle. However, the tone of her voice seemed off, as if she was upset.

"Of course, Ms. Winters," Grayson said, straightening up. "What is it?"

As the secretary came into the office, Dick realized that she had been crying. Her red eyes were still tear-filled as she came up to his desk.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" he said, concern in his voice as he rose from his chair.

"Mr. Grayson…I'm sorry," Isabelle cried, her body shuddering with grief.

The CEO quickly came around the desk, and wrapped his arms tightly around the young woman. "Shh, shh, shh…it's all right…" he whispered in a comforting tone. "Just calm down…Now what's going on?"

"I…I just received a message from Titan City Medical," the secretary said, tears running down her face. "Rachel Roth is dead."

Grayson stood in silence for a moment. 'Hmm, I guess she was worse off than she was letting on,' he thought to himself.

"Don't cry, Isabelle," he said, slowly. "We all have to go someday. At least she went out peacefully, right?"

To Dick's surprise, that statement served only to make the secretary cry even harder. "No, she didn't," she sobbed. "Someone shot her…shot her right in the heart."

As Isabelle Winters cried, her tear-filled eyes were downcast. Because of that, she never saw the twisted half-smirk that had come to Grayson's face. 'So, this is how he wants to play it,' he thought. 'He's going to put away all the remaining Titans. Well, maybe it's time I up the ante.'

Looking back down at the grief-stricken young woman, he resumed a somber expression. "Don't worry, Isabelle," he said, adding a tone of grief to his own voice, "I promise that the Titan City PD and I will not rest until Raven's death is avenged."

The secretary looked back up into Grayson's eyes. "You mean that?" she asked, a small smile beginning to form on her face.

"It's a promise, isn't it?" the CEO said, giving a tight smile back. "I never go back on my word."

Isabelle gently broke free from Dick's embrace, and nodded, a big smile on her face. "Bless you, Mr. Grayson," she said, wiping way her tears, "Bless you and the work you do."

With that said, the secretary made her way back out to her desk. As the door closed, Grayson resumed his seat behind his desk, chuckling to himself as he did so.

"Well, well, well, Slade," he said, smirking, "How nice of you to go ahead and solve my little problem."

Raven was dead and gone, and the former hero could have given a fuck less. Suddenly he frowned. His mind was now set on how to deal with the bigger issue at hand: How he was going to break the news to the press. Looks like this was going to be a bad day for him after all.

Logan sat quietly on the cold steel chair, his eyes looking down at the table. Across from him sat Captain Michael Zeddemore and Lieutenant Scott Randolph. On any other day, this could have been a meeting of two legends in a bar or at a local food joint to discuss the old days. Today, however, this discussion was taking place in Interrogation Room B at the Titan City Police Department. Needless to say, this was not going to be a merry trip down memory lane.

"Okay, we ran through the Miranda rights on our way to the station, so I think we can just skip all the bullshit and get right to questioning," Zeddemore said, a grim look on his face. "I know you don't want to be here right now, so I'll do what I can to make this short and sweet."

Logan nodded, his right hand throbbing underneath the ice pack. Chances were he might have busted his hand, but he couldn't care less. Pain was something that reminded a person that he or she was still alive. Raven had been freed from that.

"Garfield Logan, do you admit to having sexual relations with Ms. Roth around the time of her death?" Z asked. The interrogation had begun.

"Yes," the man said, coldly.

"So, you admit performing this act despite the fact that you are a married man?" the captain asked, looking for clarification.

"Yes," Garfield muttered. He wasn't in the mood for drawn-out answers.

"About what time did you leave Titan City Medical after said sexual relations?" Z asked.

"Quarter after midnight," Logan said, slowly. "I remember the neon clock in Titan Square displaying the time when I, uh, flew the coop."

"Did anyone see you leave, or did cameras catch you on film?" The captain was slowly piecing together the events that had transpired the night before.

"No, I used the window," Logan said.

This response came as a bit of a shock to the lieutenant. "But you can't fly," he said, confused.

Logan managed a weak smile. "Not in this form," he said, quietly.

Zeddemore took a deep breath, and put his hands on his hips. "So, you snuck into Ms. Roth's hospital room in order to have sex with her," he stated.

"That wasn't my intent," the man said, a tinge of anger in his voice. "Raven…I mean Rachel called me when I was closing up shop at my deli. She said that she had some news for me, and she wanted me to stop by. I told her that visiting hours were over, but she sounded desperate."

"So that's why you went to see her, correct?" the captain asked.

"Yes," Logan said, grimacing as he looked back on that night. "She told me that she had some kind of vision - two of them, really. The first was that something big was going to happen in Titan City…something that would change it forever. As of the other one…I guess she was right after all."

"What was she right about, Mr. Logan?" Z asked.

"That she was gonna die. After that…things just happened." Garfield's words were filled with sorrow as he looked back down at the table. He knew that his proximity to the crime has slowly turning him into prime suspect Number 1, but he wanted the truth to be told, regardless of how the rest of the world would view it.

Zeddemore sighed. It was time. "Mr. Logan, it's only fair that you should know that Ms. Roth was not paying for her medical care on her own," he said, setting up a surprise that would rock the man.

Logan looked up, a stunned expression on his face. "What?" he asked. "How is that possible? None of us ever had any money saved up. Everything we did have disappeared when fucking Nightwing did. Took the whole Titan nest egg so he could finance his private little war. Left us all high and dry. How could she have afforded that?"

Z shook his head, somewhat saddened by what he was about to say. "Garfield, Ms. Roth's medical care was being funded through a charity account set up by Wayne Enterprises. The head contributor was…it was Dick Grayson."

The former Titan sat in silence. The world had just stopped spinning, and everything was coming apart at the seams. The man he hated, the hero who disgraced all who ever chose to fight behind a mask against evil, had been the one who had been keeping Raven alive. Slowly, he leaned forward, and rested his head in his hands. It was almost too much to bear.

"So," he said after a brief pause, "Is this the part where you tell me I'm under arrest for Raven's murder?"

Zeddemore stood with his arms over his chest, eying the man as he settled back in his chair. He was about to break an oath, one he had made to the most powerful man in the city. But if anyone deserved to know the truth, it was Logan. He was a hero, and keeping him in the dark would solve nothing in his opinion.

"No," he said, sighing. "We already have a potential suspect."

Both Logan and Randolph looked at the captain in amazement. This was not what either thought was going to occur.

"Captain, we don't have any other leads outside of Mr. Logan as of the moment," the lieutenant said, stunned.

"You don't," Zeddemore said, sternly, "but I do."

"Then, who is it, sir?" Randolph asked, quizzically.

Z's eyes glanced back and forth between the two men before finally settling on Garfield's. "Mr. Logan, what I am about to say will not leave this room. I don't care who asks you about the events of last night: Grayson, your wife, your co-workers - hell, even the Avon lady - you tell them nothing of what you're about to hear," he said, coldly. Looking at the lieutenant, he added, "That goes for you as well, Scott. Now are we all clear on this?"

The two men nodded, wondering what knowledge the police captain could have that required them to be sworn to secrecy.

"All right," Zeddemore said, quietly, "here's the deal: For the first time in probably a lifetime, the tabloid papers and all the conspiracy theorists are right. Gotham City PD is playing the public for fools. They swiped the security tapes from Bruce Wayne's penthouse the night he died, and set them to me with a specific order to take them to Dick Grayson. Now, I was unaware of what had transpired on the tapes, but I was informed of the true culprit." He let out a sigh as he prepared to let the cat out of the bag. "It was Slade Wilson – the one and only. The tapes depicted a type of brutality and violence only someone carrying his blood could have pulled off. Grayson was entrusted with the tapes because Gotham PD wants him to eliminate Deathstroke – eliminate him the same way he eliminated all the others here in Titan City."

"So Jim Gordon was right after all," Logan said, shaking his head.

"Yes, but that's not all of it," Z said, grimly. "From what I can tell, Slade's master plan is to make Grayson suffer the same way he made other villains suffer. He's planning on taking away everything that Grayson has left, namely…his former teammates."

The realization struck Logan like a sack of bricks. "Slade killed Raven," he said, slowly.

"Yes," the captain said, "and chances are high that he'll probably go after the last two surviving members of the Teen Titans before he sets his sights on Grayson…of which you're one."

At any other point in his life, the threat of his impeding death would have sent Beast Boy into a nervous breakdown. But Garfield Logan was a different man. With sorrow hanging heavy on his heart, he was unperturbed. Slade could come for him at any moment, but he was ready. No regrets. He would go down the Grim Reaper highway with his head held high.

"Then I guess I need to watch my ass," he said, quietly. "Are we done?"

Zeddemore could see into the hero's eyes, and knew that he wasn't afraid of death. Raven's murder had hardened him in a way years of superhero battles could never have. No matter what he said, Logan was going to go down like a hero. "Yeah, I guess that's it," he said.

The chair scraped along the tile floor as the man got up from his seat, and exited the room. Interrogation over.

Kate Logan sprung up from her seat as she saw her husband come out of the interrogation room. She had returned home a little bit earlier than expected, only to hear from her friends that her husband was being questioned in regards to the death of Rachel Roth. She knew deep down in her soul that Garfield could never do something so heinous, so despicable to someone. Seeing him emerge from the room without handcuffs was a weight off her shoulders.

"Garfield!" she cried out, running up to him and hugging him. "Oh, thank the Lord you're okay! I got a call from some people down at the church saying they were praying for you after what happened last night. Oh man, I was so worried…"

"It's okay," Logan said, no trace of emotion in his voice. "Let's just go home."

As the couple made their way towards the door, Kate caught sight of something that sent an uneasy feeling through her being: Dick Grayson was entering the police station, and it looked as if he was making a beeline straight for the two of them.

"Oh, no," she muttered. "Not here, not now…"

Grayson seemed to be wearing a rather disrespectful grin on his face as he stopped in front of the two. He was acting a bit too cheerful for someone who had heard about a former friend's death.

"Hey, Logan," he said, sneering. "Are they letting you off with a warning? What did they say? 'This isn't funny, Mr. Logan. You kill another person, and we might have to give you community service!'?"

Kate shook her head, fury in her eyes. "Have some respect for the dead, Mr. Grayson," she said, quietly.

"Oh, I have tons of respect for Ms. Raven – wait, scratch that, had tons of respect," the CEO said, smirking. "Got to keep everything in a chronological order."

"Get out of our way," the woman said, her face cold as ice.

"Okay, but I just gotta know one thing," Dick said, grinning. "Do you think that, because of Rae's callous nature, that all those flames down there licking against her skin would tickle her? 'Cause if they do, I couldn't imagine a worse torment for her!"

Kate's mouth flew open. "You miserable little mother-!"

"Kate, stop." The sound of Logan's voice brought the woman to a halt. Both she and Grayson looked at him as he raised his head. His eyes burned with intensity, but his face was calm as he locked eyes with the businessman. "You know something, Grayson?" he said, quietly. "I guess what you say is true: We all have to go someday. But, I can go to sleep at night knowing that when you go, the city will be a better place for it." He paused as he started again for the door. As he passed him, Garfield shot him one more look. "Just keep that in mind when your time comes," he added.

With that, he and Kate headed out the door, leaving Grayson to ponder the meaning of the former Titan's words.

"Garfield, I can't believe you didn't fly off the handle when Grayson said what he did," Kate said as the two sat down at the kitchen table. The ride home had been a very quiet one. The woman hadn't wanted to push things any further with her husband in regards to Raven's death, but she was worried why the police would have even held him as a suspect. They had last seen her about two days before her murder, so why would they even consider Logan a suspect, let alone a prime suspect?

"He's not worth it," the man said, quietly. "Raven told me I should back off of him. His bullshit was gonna kill me if I kept letting things get too personal."

Kate smiled. It seemed her husband had a good deal of common sense after all. "I just don't understand why the police were questioning you," she said. "You weren't there the night that she…the night that she passed."

Garfield slowly raised his head, looking deep into the eyes of the woman he had fallen in love with all those years ago. "Yes, I was," he said, no emotion on his face.

The remark struck Kate as odd. Why would he go see her so late in the night? "Why?" she asked.

"Raven wanted to speak to me," Logan said, his face as blank as paper. "She told me that Titan City was about to be rocked by something, and that she wouldn't live to see it happen. It was in her visions."

The woman breathed a sigh of relief as she understood what had happened. "So, because you were the last to see her alive outside of the person who killed her, you became the prime suspect," she said, looking down at the table. "Well, at least we know it's over…"

"Kate, I had sex with Raven."

Logan's words fired out like a harpoon, a harpoon that drove itself deep into Kate's chest and embedded itself within her heart. Her mind was trying hard to comprehend what had just been said by the man she loved and trusted with her life – a man who had just shattered that trust into a million tiny shards upon the floor. Her throat tightened in agony, and her eyes teared up as the message drove home. The next words out of her mouth would have sent her mother running for the holy water and an exorcist.

"You…fucking asshole…" she breathed out as the rage in her body began to take control. Despite all the teachings she had learned from the word of God, she was unable to stem her anger. Fitting enough, as her husband had just broken one of the commandments himself. "I never believed…you could do something like this to me! As much as I joked around about you and Raven in the past, I never thought you would ever betray me for her! Not once! Maybe I'm a damn fool for thinking that, but I also thought that you were a better man than that! Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

As Garfield Logan sat in his chair, watching the fury burn in his wife's eyes at the confession of his betrayal, he felt nothing inside. He had broken the spiritual bond that he had shared with this woman. He had also betrayed his own religion…

'Fuck that', he surmised as he blocked out his wife's words, 'it was never my religion. I never believed in some higher power that had a reason for everything. If he's got such a damn good plan, how does Raven dying fit into it? The only reason I believed was so Kate could care for me like all those other church assholes, so that I wouldn't have to live alone for the rest of my life…'

It was at that moment that he realized the truth, a truth he had been living with and feeding to keep it alive: He never truly loved Kate. Despite all he had done, it was as if he was simply going through the motions, never really believing in what he was doing. All he had wanted was someone to be with, a friend who could understand what his life had left him with. Kate was not that woman; she had never stood down a group of armed thugs or led a rag-tag team of teenaged superheroes on a rescue mission to both save their friends and bring the hammer down on the Brotherhood of Evil. She had grown up in a highly Christian household, and went to a private school out of state. She hadn't even lived in Jump City when the walls began to fall. So why did he bother to take her? Perhaps it was his fear – a fear of dying alone, a fear that he would one day end his life like Cyborg and Raven before him, fading away alone on a cold hard floor with no one to tell them goodbye. Maybe, in the end, all he really wanted was someone – anyone – to be there with him when it was time.

Kate's words faded away as she stood up from the table in a huff, tossing the chair back on the floor as she did so. With a few more cruse words, she stomped up the stair towards their bedroom, more likely than not to pack her things and head off for her mother's. This left Logan alone in the kitchen, contemplating the fact that, with her gone, he would probably die alone after all. Life was unpredictable sometimes. As he got up and headed out to the garage to give his soon-to-be-ex-wife some space, he knew that this was definitely one of those moments.

As Kate haphazardly tossed clothing into her suitcase, tears continued to run down her face. She was overcome with grief…and hatred. True, she had been taught never to hate others by her mother, but then again her mother had never being cheated on. She hated Garfield for his actions and, God forgive her, she hated Raven for even being there to entice him. Maybe Grayson was right. Maybe she was down there now, burning for all the suffering she had caused. 'I hope her transgressions were worth all that', she thought bitterly.

The woman was so engrossed with her packing that she never even noticed the figure emerging from the shadows of her walk-in closet. But she did notice when a metallic object was gently pushed into the small of her back. Bolting up with a start, she felt a hand grab the back of her shirt collar.

"Easy now, don't think about fighting back," a deep, monotonous voice muttered right behind her ear. "You'll only hurt yourself."

Terror gripped the woman's heart. She was unable to place the voice in her mind. It wasn't Garfield's and, despite him breaking one commandment she was certain he wasn't the type to break the Fifth Commandment. This was someone else altogether.

"Let's take a walk back down stairs," the voice commanded, pulling her and positioning her facing the doorway. "When we get to the living room, call for your husband. He's in the garage. I want both of you here for this conversation."

Having little choice, Kate started for the door, the cold steel never leaving her back.

"Garfield, would you come here, please?"

Kate's voice caught the former Titan's attention. It sounded so quiet, so innocent, so much like the voice he had heard when she had first stepped into his deli on that fateful day…

So wrong. So unlike a woman who had just been jilted. Logan didn't like this one bit. Something was up.

"Yeah, I'm coming," he said out loud, his hand slowly wrapping around the handle of a Louisville Slugger he kept in the corner of the garage for protection purposes. Many other people would use a gun for protection, but he didn't need anything else to associate him with Dick Grayson.

As he stepped back into the house, he noticed that the curtains in the living room had been drawn, the shadows permeating throughout the room. This was much like what he had seen the day he found Starfire slowly drowning in her drugged-up quicksand, and just as inviting.

"Kate, you in here?" he asked, slowly, tightening his grip on the bat. He was ready, regardless of what was to come. But he wasn't ready for what he saw as he entered the room.

His wife sat on the couch, tears streaming from her eyes. But those eyes were not directed at him; no, they were directed at the shadowy figure who sat across from her in a recliner, the glint of a metallic barrel visible in the light from the adjacent kitchen. Garfield let out a sigh. He knew exactly what was to come.

"I figured a guy like you could find us, Slade," he said, well aware of the man sitting in the shadows. "How long you been waiting here?"

"Four hours," the voice emanated from the darkness as the merc leaned forward, his mask visible in the dim light. "I assume that the police cleared you of all charges?"

"Yeah," Logan said quietly, letting the bat slip from his grasp. No use to him now, he thought. "Zeddemore told me you were coming."

"And you didn't run?" Slade asked, slowly.

"Why bother? You'd catch up to us eventually," the former Titan said matter-of-factly.

"That's true," the merc said, getting up from the chair.

"Garfield, I'm scared," Kate said, sobbing as she watched Slade approach her husband. "Please, make him go away."

The merc looked back at the woman, then at Logan. "She really doesn't understand, does she?" he said. "She's unaware that both you and I know how this is going to end."

"Can't blame her," Logan said, emotionlessly. "She doesn't know thing one about what it means to be a Titan."

Slade sighed. This was it. "Garfield, tell your wife that everything going to be all right," he said as the pistol's safety clicked off.

Logan took a deep breath. Looks like his fear was unfounded after all. He wouldn't die alone in this house. With a bitter chuckle, he turned towards Kate, a single tear running down his face. "Kate, everything's going to be fine," he lied quietly. "Today, you get to go to Paradise."

Kate Logan was stunned. The words that came from her husband's mouth seemed so distant, so unfeeling. Why would he say such a thing in that way? Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a single shot, the feeling of hot lead tearing through her chest, the pain of her heart rupturing inside her own body. Her back arched in agony, her eyes rolling wild around inside her sockets as her mind tried to understand what had just happened. As she collapsed on the couch, she was taken aback as a white light slowly approached her, enveloping her conscience. In this moment of clarity, she understood the truth.

"Oh my Lord," she shuddered. "I am dead."

Logan sat in the darkness as he watched the last of Kate's life flow out of her body. His heart gave no response, no inkling of pain. He had lost two people his had cared more than anything for in his life. The sad thing was that Kate hadn't been one of them. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"You seemed…disappointed," Slade said, holstering his weapon. "I would have thought a hero such as yourself would have put up a great deal more resistance in the face of death, especially in regards to the death of a loved one."

The man chuckled. "Look at me, Slade," he said as his eyes broke away from his wife's body. "I'm an out of shape has-been. I couldn't take Grayson if I had all of Cyborg's bionics grafted onto my body. What kind of chance you think I would have had against you? We were both gonna die anyway. I figured I might as well let her go down gently."

The merc shook his head. "You really didn't care for her, did you?" he stated, already knowing the answer. "I mean, you acted as if you did, and maybe you really did have a lust for her and her body, but she was never really a soul mate, was she?"

"No," Logan said, quietly. "The only one I could say that about is lying in a freezer at the morgue – all thanks to you."

Slade paced the floor, building the tension in his next victim's body. It was coming for him, but when was the question. "Zeddemore probably told you that Grayson was paying for Raven's medical bills," he said, setting up the for the kill, "but I willing to bet he didn't tell you that Raven slept with Grayson to secure those funds. Am I right?"

The truth had been told, but Garfield didn't even seem to flinch. "Is that so?" he asked, his eyes trained on the mercenary.

"It is," Slade said, with a bitter chuckle. "Strange – the man you hate slept with the only woman you ever truly loved, and you slept with her. By proxy, you've managed to fuck Grayson in a manner he never would have expected. Kudos to you."

The merc stopped his methodical pacing as he stood before the aging former hero. 'Strange', he thought as he looked deep into Logan's hardened eyes, 'He seems ready to die…just like Raven. I guess Grayson's betrayal ultimately made them stronger than he could have ever imagined.'

"So, I guess this is the part where you put me down," Logan said, a trace of defiance in his voice.

"You guessed right," the merc said as he slid the pistol from its' holster. Within a second, the barrel set eye-level with the Titan's face, the hole placed squarely between his eyes.

"Any last words you want me to record for posterity?" he asked.

Garfield smiled. "Just a favor," he said, sternly.

"What's that?" Slade asked.

"When you finally get to Grayson, look him in the eyes while you're killing him," the man said, a twisted cheerfulness to his voice. "I want to see what's going through his mind when he finally realizes that he's not a god."

"But you won't be there to see it," the merc stated matter-of-factly.

Logan laughed. "You're looking in my eyes right now as you prepare to kill me," he said, "so I guess you could say that Raven, Kate, myself, and Star - once you get her - will be watching Grayson die…by proxy."

The merc nodded slowly. The logic did seem to fit. "And everybody always said you were the dumb one," he mused. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," the Titan said, sticking out his chin. "Make it clean."

"That I can promise," Slade said, those words taking him back to the night before…the same words Raven had said prior to her death. 'I guess they had more in common that anyone would have ever believed,' he thought.

As the trigger was squeezed, Garfield felt his head snap back, his body leaving the ground and hurling back onto the carpeted floor. The impact that been tremendous, but he strangely felt little pain. 'So,' he thought as he settled into the darkness, 'This is what it's like to die. One hell of a thing.'

The dark highway lay out before him. The roar of a massive V-twin decorated in skulls and bleached bones left him in a tizzy. Garfield Logan was on the path of the afterlife. He smiled as the darkness rushed towards him. The Grim Reaper Highway awaited just beyond the boarder. There was no regrets, bitch. He had done it his way.