A/N: So I think there's a few things I should say. One, the little in-passing mention of Doom's creator? Important for later on. Two, (and this may not come into play in this story, but I'll be sure to let you know if it does) I read somewhere that demons, their mates/offspring and their packs (I didn't even know they had packs) age differently from humans. It was something like it takes six full revolutions of the Earth around the sun for demons to age a year. So obviously that would make Raven, Gar, and the original Titans one pack... and then Gwen, Doom, and the kids technically another. Yeah? I dunno, that's how I'm seeing this now. Imagine it that way if you'd like, but I'll make sure to let you know if it becomes a part of this story. Third, I'll give you a bit of a characterization of the kids. Doom's the oldest at twenty. He was kidnapped at a young age and experimented on, thus his chimera-like abilities. Gwen's the oldest Titan child at seventeen. (Rae and Gar had her when they were seventeen.) Then it's Liam at sixteen. He's adopted, since I'm pretty sure Cyborg lacks the necessary...components... He's got sort of angel wings. Then it's Autumn, Nightwing and Starfire's daughter at sixteen as well. She can fly like her mum, but she has Nightwing's epic martial arts abilities. Then Damon, at fifteen, Cyborg and Jinx's other adopted son. He can control electricity and the like. The youngest is Tristan, Starfire and Nightwing's son. He's fourteen. He has starbolts, but he can also see glimpses of the future. I like throwing in random powers because everyone gets confused as to how they got them, lol.

Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans, it wouldn't have been cancelled and I wouldn't be writing fanfiction instead of doing a history paper.

"Dialogue"
Flashback

Garfield Logan was definitely not looking forward to confronting his very angry and very distressed daughter. As much as he loved her, as much as he absolutely adored her, the truth was that sometimes she frightened him. Her indifferent voice and emotionless eyes could be just downright eerie, her austere expression cold and distant. Pausing with his hand on the doorknob, wondering if Raven was finished pummeling Nightwing yet so that she could come and rescue him from the emotions of an irate teenager, he drew in a deep breath, hoping to hold on to every ounce of courage that he possessed.

He automatically winced when he opened the door, excepting a tirade of cursing and inhuman snarls to reach his ears. Instead, all he heard was her hushed voice, so low, in fact, that he couldn't make out what she was saying. He raised an eyebrow once he spotted her sitting on the edge of the roof, her legs dangling off of the side, clearly alone. "Please tell me she's not talking to herself," he begged aloud, eyes to the heavens, not seeing the irony in his spoken statement.

He cleared his throat loudly, slowly walking to the middle of the roof. Gwendolyn gave a great start, nearly toppling off of the roof in her shock, but an unseen voice gently righted her position. "Oh," she said with relief when she glanced over her shoulder. "Hey, Dad."

A pair of bright silver eyes peered over the ledge at Garfield followed by a pair of clawed gray paws. Pulling itself up, the creature perched carefully beside Gwendolyn, seeming to shimmer a bit under the moonlight. It was quite a bit larger than the girl, with a pair of great feathered wings that were now tightly folded against its tawny back. Its feline head turned towards him and it let out a good-natured chirp, its tufted tail flicking back and forth.

"Gwen… Why is there a caracal…with wings… sitting next to you?" Garfield asked apprehensively, watching as Gwendolyn reached out a hand and stroked the feline's back.

"It's Doom," she said as though it were obvious, stroking behind the caracal's ears. "I know you've seen his dragon form. He's a chimera of sorts. Chimeras are usually made up of a lion, a goat, and a serpent at once, but, well…" She frowned deeply and Doom nuzzled her face with his nose. "Let's just say his creator liked to experiment. He still has the main components… a great cat, a reptile, and a horned animal… Just not in the traditional form."

The cat chirped again and bounded off of the ledge, rubbing its head against Gwendolyn's back. "Oh, um… Oh," was all Garfield could manage to say on the matter. "I didn't know you knew so much about mythology."

Gwendolyn smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She uttered a soft, noncommittal noise and Doom gave a final chirp before padding off into the darkness, presumably sensing that Garfield had come up to talk to Gwendolyn.

Garfield made to lower himself beside his daughter but just before he sat, he noticed a tiny spider trying to scurry out of the way. Gently scooping the spider up into his palm, he set it back on the wall a bit farther down. When he returned, Gwendolyn did not look up, but rather kept her eyes on the stars as she stated quietly, "He says thank you."

"Who?" Garfield's voice was confused. He turned to look at her and saw a deep red flush creeping up her neck and spreading across her cheekbones. "Gwen?"

"The spider." Her voice was barely above a whisper, her lips hardly moving. "He says thank you. You know, for not killing him."

He stared at her blankly for a long moment, blinking rapidly. Her words seemed unable to sink in. Then, "Gwen!" he exclaimed loudly, excitement evident in every aspect of his expression. "You can… You can…"

"Talk to animals. Yeah, Dad."

"When… when did you find this out?" he exclaimed, nearly bouncing up and down in his excitement.

"Just before you came up," she said stoically, hands clasped in her lap. "It was this tiny voice inside my head. I wasn't sure. That's why Doom was in his caracal form. I had never understood him before when he shifted, but I could actually communicate with him this time."

Rather than sounding ecstatic like Garfield had expected, Gwendolyn sounded rather upset. "Hey," he said quietly, putting a finger under her chin and lifting her head so that she was looking at him. "What's wrong, Gwen? Why aren't you happy? I thought this was what you wanted."

"What good is this power, Dad?" she said softly, her emerald eyes swimming with unshed tears. "What good will this do for me in a conflict? It can't…can't debilitate a bad guy, or…or protect me. It's good for amusement, that's all. What animals would be around a crime scene, anyway? They'd have been frightened off by the time I even got the chance to get information from them.

"I can't believe I waited seventeen years for this." She shook her head vehemently, giving in to her vulnerability and leaning against her father's side. "I'm just going to be the only one left behind when everyone goes off to fight."

Garfield couldn't stand the raw emotion marring her usually melodic voice. "But what if it's only the beginning?" he asked, lifting his eyes to the heavens. "What if… What if this ends up being so much more? It's not as though you've never shown any other signs of having other powers…"

The baby in her arms giggled and raised her little arms, grabbing onto Raven's necklace. Raven beamed brilliantly and hugged the child even closer, nuzzling her nose against her daughter's neck. Gwendolyn squealed with delight, her tiny fingers never releasing the thin golden chain around her mother's neck.

"Gwendolyn sure is a big name for such a little lady," Cyborg stated from the other side of the table, watching Raven fawn over her daughter.

"Aw, Vic, she'll grow into it," Garfield said with a laugh, slinging an arm around his wife's shoulders and grinning down at his daughter.

"Sure doesn't seem like it." Cyborg raised his eyebrows. "It's hard to believe anything so tiny can grow into a full person, you know?"

"It's harder to believe such a small, fragile being was inside of me for nine months," Raven said, stroking the baby's back as Gwendolyn snuggled deeper against her mother's chest.

"I must say, she definitely looks like you, Rae."

This brought an even bigger smile to Raven's face, one that warmed the very souls of both Cyborg and Garfield. "Gar, I think it's time we put her down for a nap."

Raven rose from her seat, Gwendolyn in her arms and peeking over her mother's shoulder, making negative grunts and squeals until she was positive that her father was following. They slowly made their way to their room, but just as they passed a certain door, Gwendolyn wailed loudly in protest. Bewildered, Raven stopped and looked down at her child, wondering what on Earth had disturbed her.

Gwendolyn's eyes were fixed on the door behind them, one of her small hands reaching out towards it. Swiveling around, both Raven and Garfield saw that their daughter was pointing towards Terra's old room. Raven's heart thudded painfully as the nameplate brought back a wave of agonizing memories. They had discovered several days after Gwendolyn was born that the child could sense every shred of emotion, no matter how vague, that overcame her mother. This was what probably prompted her to babble something nonsensical, point directly at the nameplate, and have it shatter into pieces.

Content, Gwendolyn snuggled back against her mother's chest. Raven, horrified, turned to her husband with apologies written all over her face only to see him grinning. "She's definitely got your intelligence, too, Rae."

"You never told me that," Gwendolyn whispered, the corners of her lips twitching into a smile.

"And how about when you met Doom, hm? When we all thought he was trying to attack us and you threw yourself in front of him and chucked Nightwing clear across the street with a flick of your wrist?"

"Okay, okay, I get your point," Gwendolyn laughed, burying her face in her hands. She sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"Now, one last thing," Garfield said breezily, wrapping an arm around her and hugging her tightly. "Why, oh why, won't you acknowledge your mother's existence?"

Gwendolyn groaned, disliking the prospect of having this conversation. "Dad, please, not now," she grumbled, squirming away from him.

"No, Gwen, come on. You wouldn't even look at her. What's the matter?"

"Ugh! I don't know. I just… I don't know! I feel like it's my fault that she got hurt. If it hadn't been for my stupid idea, Liam wouldn't have brought me, we wouldn't have tried to catch her, and she wouldn't have had to lie to me about saving her ass. I-I mean, uh… Shit."

Garfield chuckled at that. "You know, Gwen… You may look like your mother and you may have her intelligence and wit and love of sarcasm… But you definitely inherited my way with words."

"You ruined the moment," Gwen said flatly.

"No, I believe your foul mouth ruined the moment," Garfield pointed out, emerald eyes gleaming playfully.

"I like how I tell you that I feel like I'm a disappointment to Mom, and all you care about is my foul mouth." Gwendolyn got to her feet, trying to hide her smile. "Thanks, Dad. You're a real motivational speaker, you know that? How many bad guys have you persuaded to join the light side?"

"You're cruel. You are so entirely cruel. You're, like, the spawn of Satan or something."

"I'm telling Mom that you called her Satan."

"No! Gwen! Don't you da-- Wait. You're not even speaking to her, you won't tell her a damn thing!"

"Touché."

The pair stood on the roof in silence, both staring at each other, Gwendolyn with a look of shock and Garfield with an expression of smug pride. Then, with a devious smile, Gwendolyn said, "But I'm sure if I told Autumn the story while Starfire was around…"

"No need, Gwendolyn. I heard it."

Both Garfield and Gwendolyn screamed, Garfield latching onto Gwendolyn and the latter trying to climb onto her father's back like a frightened cat. Raven stepped into the moonlight, an amused glint in her eyes as her daughter and her husband calmed down enough to both glare at her reproachfully.

"Don't do that, Rae!" Garfield said loudly, clearly shaken.

"How long have you been standing there?" Gwendolyn accused, slipping off of her father's back.

Raven didn't answer. She merely took a step closer and was shocked when Gwendolyn took a nervous step back. "You can communicate with animals," Raven said quietly, not trusting her voice. "That's fantastic, Gwen. Truly."

"That long?" Gwendolyn whispered, paling considerably.

"I would have made myself known sooner but, well… Your father was doing quite a nice job talking to you." She shot Garfield a grateful glance. "Gwen, do you… Do you want to talk?"

"I…" Gwendolyn panicked. Truly, she missed her mother, though they were never far apart. The anxiety Gwendolyn had been feeling for years, watching her friends receive the first glimpses of their powers and wondering when and if she would ever receive hers, had ultimately driven a wedge between them. She gulped loudly, clearing her throat. "Autumn, um… Autumn wanted to…to talk to me. Er… Maybe tomorrow. Actually… Definitely tomorrow."

She whistled quietly and a moment passed before a dark shadow swooped down onto the roof, lowering a wing and allowing Gwendolyn to clamber onto its back. "It's Doom," Garfield said comfortingly, patting Raven's shoulder.

Raven merely looked at him in confusion before saying, "I…know?" in a questioning manner.

Garfield grumbled something about 'out of the loop' before stalking off, leaving Raven to laugh lightly, her hair tousled by the breeze created as Doom dove off of the roof with Gwendolyn on his back, elegantly soaring through the moonlight.