YOU HAVE TO READ THIS TO AVOID CONFUSION! Just to make sure that none of you readers out there get confused, this chapter is all about one of the memories that never returned to Kat, so at the beginning this chapter, Kat doesn't remember any of the Titans or doesn't know anything about her powers because she hasn't become a Titan yet. And her real name is Eli! I've always loved that name…I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Eli's consciousness began to slowly return to her as she opened her eyes. The sun blinded her, but it wasn't long before her surroundings came back into view. The school around her was destroyed, bits and pieces of it still burning from the effects of the explosion. They sky was clouded over; the air thick with smoke. There was absolutely no life around her. Everything was dead…including her friends and fellow students. She let out a sob as she found her best friend's lying on the ground, their bodies burnt and bleeding. It was her fault…it was all her fault that they were dead.

They came for her. She didn't know who they were, but they were robots. They asked for her and threatened to destroy the school and kill everyone if she didn't go with them, but she refused. They attacked her, but before she knew it, several of the robots were shorting out in front of her, dropping to the ground before they could even touch her. Soon there were only a few left, and they disappeared. She heard a beeping noise coming from behind her, and she didn't even have enough time to stop the bomb as it went off, but somehow, she wasn't harmed. She was standing right next to it, but when she looked at herself, she only had a few bruises here and there, and a couple scrapes and scratches on her arms and legs. She didn't understand how it was possible, but she wasn't going to question it. She survived…she should have been happy, but she wasn't.

She walked across the concourse, hoping to find at least one person who had lived, but the explosion was huge; it wasn't possible for anyone to survive. She did though, so it kept her going. Stopping by her friend's bodies, she pressed her index and middle finger against their pulse point, hoping that they were still alive and were just unconscious, but they were dead…all of them. She even checked on the people who were never really nice to her. She just wanted to find someone who had lived, so she wouldn't be alone. The one thing that she disliked was to be alone. She always needed someone there to comfort her, to make her laugh, or to just stay by her side if she ever needed help. She clung to her best friends; not like a little puppy following their mom around though. It was more of "I don't want to lose you, so I'm going to stick with you" kind of clinginess. She hated the feeling of being alone, and even if it meant that she was going to have to find a person she completely disliked, she would do it.

"E-Eli?" She turned around at the call of her name, and she nearly gasped when she saw Sam, one of her friends, pinned to the ground by a portion of the ceiling that had fallen onto his legs. She ran to him as quickly as she could. She slid to a stop by his side, the tears welling in her eyes.

"Oh my God, Sam!" she attempted to push the rock off her friend's legs, but it was too heavy for her to move. Not even with the amount of adrenaline pumping through her body, she was still unable to push it off of the boy's legs, but she didn't stop trying.

"Eli…you're alive?" She nodded her head, grunting as she pushed her back against the rock.

"Yeah," she replied, "and so are you…" He shook his head as he reached for her hand, stopping her from trying to help him.

"N-not for long…" He looked up at her, his eyes gazing deeply into hers. He opened his mouth to say something, but his breath caught in his throat. She didn't realize it before, but she saw a huge puddle of blood forming beneath the boy's body. He tried to lean up, but the pain that followed was too much. That's when she saw it. A small metal rod was pierced through his stomach, and he was bleeding out. He coughed, and more blood was poured onto the ground. "…It…it hurts too much…"

"No…wait! You can't leave me!" She reached down for his hand, gripping tightly as she prayed for him to stay with her, but God wasn't listening to her that day. His breath left him completely, and his heart stopped in seconds. His hand went limp in hers, and finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer. The tears poured out of her eyes. She laid her head down on his back, the fabric of his jacket muffling her cries. She was alone again. There was no around to help her; no one she could trust.

CRUNCH! Her head shot up, and she was on her feet in seconds. Three more of those robotic things were standing there, laser guns held firmly in their hands. She took a step back, but she tripped and fell. She tried to back up, but a wall of rock that had fallen was preventing her from going anywhere. She was trapped.

"Please…" she begged, "…don't hurt me! Stay away from me!" They lifted the guns. She let out a scream, but the pain she was expecting to rack her entire body never came. She opened her eyes, not even realizing that she had them closed in the first place. All three were on the ground, arrows sticking out of their backs. Her gaze went further up, and her eyes fell on the form of a teenage boy in a red costume and yellow boots. A mask was covering his eyes, and he had a bow held in his hands. His body was undeniably muscular, probably from many years of archery. His masked eyes softened as he looked at he, a smile forming on face. He took one step towards her, and she tried to push further back into the rock, but she couldn't go anywhere.

"Don't worry," he whispered kindly, kneeling down on the ground, "I'm not going to hurt you…" She let out a small chuckle as he watched the archer crawl to her on his knees, and she couldn't suppress a smile. He sat down on the ground next to her, placing the bow down on the ground as a sign of peace. "See…everything's alright…there's no one else here to hurt you. You're safe now."

She nodded her head, but still unsure whether or not she should trust him. He did save her life from those robots, but she didn't know, "Who…who are you?"

"I'm Speedy," he replied, sitting up straighter as if proud to say his name aloud, "Number one archer of all time…well, except for my mentor. He taught me everything I know…" She smiled again. He wasn't exactly modest, but it still made her happy to be talking to someone, even if this someone was a complete stranger to her. "What about you? What's your name?"

"E-Elizabeth…" her voice was hoarse as she spoke, "…but all my friends call-" She held back cry as she corrected herself, "…used to call me Eli…" Another tear stained her already reddened cheeks as she thought about her friends, their bloodied faces forming in her head once again. She didn't even try to stop Speedy when he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She needed someone there to comfort her, and if it meant allowing some stranger in, she would do it.

"It's okay…" he whispered, but they both knew it wasn't. Eli's life was destroyed, gone, totaled. When that bomb went off, her life vanished right before her eyes. Everything she ever knew was no more. He rubbed her back soothingly in an attempt to calm her down. The tears started to stop coming, but not because she was feeling better. Actually, she felt the opposite. She felt like crap, but she could no longer cry. There were no more tears. "Better?" he questioned as he noticed her tears slowing. She shook her head,

"No…my friends are dead, I'm freaking wanted by peoples unknown, and I'm all alone! How is anything supposed to get better?" She screamed at him.

"You're not alone…I'm here, aren't I?" She glared up at him.

"I just met you…you're not exactly someone I trust right now…" She pried his arms off of her before slouching away from him, "…and what the hell were those things? Why were they after me?" He tried to move closer, so he could explain to her, but she pushed him away, "No, just tell me what the hell is going on?" Speedy sighed, inching back a bit to give her the space she needed.

"Those robots that came here for you are part of a group called The Brotherhood of Evil. Their whole meaning of existence is destroy us teen superheroes who fight crime for the good of our cities."

"Why did they come after me?"

He continued, "You see, there have been many power break outs among teens all over the world. The Brotherhood is trying to find these teens and recruit them for their cause, but if they don't join, they get killed. You're one of those teens Eli…"

"But…I don't have a power! I never have, and I never will!" she exclaimed quickly, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You can't tell you have this power because you can't control it yet. I mean, how do you think you survived all of this?" he gestured to the fallen school, "No normal human could have made it out of this to tell the tale. Trust me, there's something special about you." Eli forced a blush back as she looked up at him. He couldn't be serious about any of this, but when she thought about it, it all made sense. The reason why those first few robots that attacked her shorted out, and the reason why she was still alive and unharmed after that explosion were solved. It all added up, but she was starting to become more doubtful about whether or not she should trust him. He may have saved her, and he may have been nice to her while she cried, but she had just met him.

"How do I know if I can trust you?" she asked. He smiled before he picked up his bow off the ground and placed it in her hands. He removed his quiver from his back and placed the strap over the girl's shoulders.

"There," he said, "you have my only weapons in your possession." He stood up, putting out his hand for her to take. She took it and stood up as well. He reached around her to grab an arrow out of the quiver before showing it to her, "If I try anything, which I won't, you just shoot me…" He placed the arrow into the hand that wasn't holding the bow. She looked at him questioningly.

"But…I don't know how-" He moved behind her, his hands grabbing hers as he lifted the bow. He showed her how to place the arrow into the bow and pulled her hands back with his.

"You hold it like this…" he demonstrated, touching her elbow lightly to lift it higher, "…keep your elbow up and just relax all your muscles. Take a deep breath…" She did, "…aim…" She aimed it at one of the rocks in front of them, "…and when you breathe out, release the arrow…" She exhaled, her grip on the wire string loosening before she let go of it completely. The arrow soared through the air and hit the exact spot on the rock that she was aiming for. "You're a natural…" he whispered in her ear. A tingle ran up her spine as his warm breath tickled her neck. He pulled back, lowering his hands to his sides, "Come on…we need to go. The Brotherhood might be sending reinforcements to come get you." She nodded, but when he started walking away, she didn't follow.

"Speedy," He turned around to look at her, stepping back in front of her as he looked at her.

"What is it?"

"Before I go anywhere with you, you have to promise me one thing." It was his turn to nod his head, "Promise me that you won't let anything or anybody hurt me…please…" He smiled down at her,

"I promise I'll keep you safe…don't worry…I'll always be here for you if you need me. I won't let anything hurt you…"

Kat's eyes opened once again, but there was no sun to blind her like in her…was it a dream? No…it was a memory…it had to be. She sat up, gripping her head tightly as it pounded. She looked around. The entire city was destroyed. Buildings were lying on their sides, fires were burning through their structures, and there was glass all over the ground. She was surrounded by fallen pieces of rock, but none of them got through her barrier, so she was trapped in a perfect circle. Pushing her bike off her legs, she attempted to climb over the rocks, but she let out a hiss as a new pain ripped up and down her leg. She ignored it though, climbing over the piles with a limp in her step as she looked for her two friends.

However, she couldn't shake the memory out of her head. No wonder why she wanted to stop that bomb. She may not have remembered what had happened all those years ago, but her mind was telling her that she had to prevent something like it from ever happening again, but she didn't stop it. Another one of her homes was destroyed, and she could have done something about it, but then again, she now remembered what it was like to lose a friend…actually, make that several friends. She watched one die right in front of her. She couldn't let Speedy, Aqualad, or the rest of the team know how that feels. However, she was worried for the two boys. She didn't know if they survived or not, and she could not live if they died. Her shield should have protected them, but then again, she passed out. Usually, her shield will stop working when her concentration was broke.

Worry building even more, she crawled over a few more piles of rock before she finally found her friends. Both were waking up as they moved to sit up, and her eyes filled with tears. They were alive. She limped over to them as quickly as she could, and before they could even say anything, she had tackled them both to the ground with a huge hug. She sniffled, thanking God that they were both alive.

"K-Kat?"

"Oh, I'm so happy you two are alright!" she exclaimed, hugging them even tighter. Finally, she released them from her death grip, "You guys aren't hurt, right?" They shook their heads, standing up.

"No, we're fine…you?" Aqualad helped Kat up on to her feet, and she slightly flinched as she stood on her bad leg.

"Sa-…what?" Her gaze fell on Speedy who was looking at her intently. The way he was looking at her was making her feel uncomfortable that she started to squirm under his stare. He grabbed her arm and forced her to step forward, and she did. She grit her teeth as the pain ran through her entire leg. She couldn't stand on it anymore; it just hurt too much.

"You're hurt…" Speedy blatantly stated, a frown forming on his face, "…why don't you let me carry you Kat?"

"I-I'm fine…"

"No, you're not. I have to help you…" He moved closer to her and lifted her into his arms. Kat only blinked her eyes, and she could still see his face from his memory. "I promise I'll keep you safe…don't worry…I'll always be here for you if you need me. I won't let anything hurt you…"is what he had said. She understood now. The reasons why Speedy always felt so guilty and act like he failed her whenever she got hurt were because of his promise to her. Even now, he must feel terrible and responsible for her injury when in all honesty, he had nothing to do with it.

She looked up at him, the corners of her lips turned up as she smiled, "Still keeping that promise of yours, I see…" He held her tighter to his body as they walked down the street, but he didn't respond. Aqualad looked between his two friends, his own smile gracing his face. He didn't know what Kat was talking about, but Speedy seemed to understand. He couldn't believe that just a few days ago, Speedy was angry at her. No one would believe it if you told them. An hour went by until a buzzing sound filled their ears. They looked up just in time to see Bee flying down to them, a relieved look on her face.

"Thank God!" she exclaimed, landing on the ground in front of them before she hugged her three teammates, "I thought you guys were dead! I'm so glad I was wrong!" From the looks of it, she had been crying. "How did you guys survive?" The two boys looked down to Kat, their leader's gaze following their eyes. In the hour that they had spent walking, the girl finally gave under the exhaustion and had passed out.

"If it wasn't for her, we would be dead right now," Aqualad whispered, "But she's hurt, and we need to get her help." Bumblebee nodded her head.

"I can take her if you want," she touched Kat's arm, "I can fly her to the ambulance they have parked outside the city limits. They can help her from there." Speedy jerked the girl in his arms away from his leader. The action caused the brunette to wake up, shifting in the arms of the boy.

"I got it…I can carry her…"

"But Speedy, she needs to get help now," Aqualad said, putting his hand lightly on the archer's shoulder, "All we know is that her leg hurts, but it can be something much worse that she may need medical assistance now."

"NO!" he screamed, backing away from his teammates, "I got it…I'm not letting her out of my sight…"

"Speedy…" All eyes turned towards the girl who was now pushing away from the archer, carefully setting her feet down on the ground as she tried to stand, "…I'll be fine…you've kept your promise several times now, I'll be fine. You can trust Bee…you know she'd never let anything happen to me…" He looked like he wanted to argue with her, but he let it go and nodded his head.

"Bee…take care of her, please…" She smiled at him, gently nudging him,

"I always take care of my team…don't worry, she's safe with me…" A grin spread across Kat's face as she stared at her friends. She couldn't believe how close she had been to killing herself. She thought that Steel City was her home, and she didn't want anything to happen to it, but now that she really, truly thought about it, her home was wherever she and her team were, and if she had ended her life, only then would her home have been destroyed. It may not have been perfect, but this was her family. Right then and there, family was all she got, and family was all she really needed.

Uhh...the ending kind of sucks, but i finished! I'm just happy i wrote this last chapter! I actually kind of like it, and i hope you readers out there do too! That whole italicized part in the very beginning actually came from one of my stories i had laying around. I wrote it one day when i was in school, and my friends actually enjoyed reading it. i didn't include the whole story though...it would have been too long. I rushed the ending just because...i suck at writing the ending of stories. It's just something i do not like to write...but i hope you liked the story! Review please!