It was a warm Friday morning. Terra had decided to go outside and enjoy the sunshine while Beat Boy watched the workers like a hawk – literally – and Starfire insisted on getting to know Raven's sisters. Terra wasn't sure what Raven herself was doing, but it was probably best that she didn't know. Raven wasn't exactly her biggest fan.
She happened to be walking down a street lined with little shops when she overheard a pair talking.
"I just don't get it; how do you get lost in Jump City looking for Titan Tower? It's right by the coast! White, you were supposed to be the navigator!" a girl with brown and blue hair was saying.
"I'm sorry! I'm not really used to big cities…" the man that was accompanying her apologized.
"You went to college in Boston!" the girl retorted.
"Yeah… but I never left the University campus…"
Terra raised an eyebrow. The man looked familiar. "Pardon me," she said, interrupting their squabble. "Did you by chance go to Boston University?"
The man looked at her. He kind of looked like a ghost; his hair was a white-blonde color, his skin was pale with dark shadows under his pale grey eyes. "Yes… I went to Boston University. I'm an archaeology major… more the brains behind archaeology than any of the physical labor."
Terra could see that, noticing that his arms and legs were pretty scrawny. Well, not scrawny-scrawny, but compared to Cyborg and Nightwing and Beast Boy, his muscles had yet to develop. He seemed like a total nerd. She smiled at him nonetheless. "No way! Me, too. I mean, I was at BU as an archaeology major, too." She stuck out her hand to him. "Tara Markov. But nowadays, people just call me Terra."
The female's eyes widened. "You're the Terra that betrayed the Teen Titans all those years ago!" she whispered rather loudly. Terra blushed awkwardly. "What was it like fighting against Robin?" the girl asked suddenly.
"Um… it was actually kind of difficult," Terra answered awkwardly. "But… That's not me anymore. Um, what are your names?"
"Oh, I'm Blue Rose. And this is my partner, White," the girl answered.
White, who had taken Terra's hand in his own, icy cold one, smiled and said quietly, "I remember you from classes. You probably knew me as Albert Foster, the geek that sat in the front and took notes like mad."
Terra smiled. She did remember him. She'd been competing with him for the top of the Archaeology 101 class. "Nice to meet you, Blue Rose, and good to see you again, Albert Foster, also known as White." She paused. "Hey, White…"
"Call me Albert," he interrupted quickly.
Terra smiled at him again. "Albert. Do you want to walk around for a while?" she asked.
Blue Rose frowned, looking impatient. "But we have to find Titan Tower! I have to meet Robin!"
"I can point you in the right direction," Terra offered. "He goes by Nightwing now… but he's currently away on a mission of some sort. He should be back in a few days."
Blue Rose frowned again. "Fine. Point me down the right street, I'll find it. Since Nightwing's not there, I guess there's no point in us going together, huh, White? We'll just have to show him our awesomeness later."
White laughed quietly at his partner's response and nodded. Terra pointed her down a street that would lead straight to the docks, then turned to Albert. "So, Albert, anything you feel like seeing in Jump City? I hear there's a cool Ancient Greece exhibit at the museum."
Albert's pale eyes lit up as he nodded eagerly. They walked side-by-side to the museum, laughing and talking about their old teachers.
Just as they got to the Museum, Albert's phone went off. He looked at the name, then gave Terra an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, it's Blue. I should take this." Terra nodded and sat on the wall outside the museum while he walked off in the direction of the Tower, which could be seen in the distance.
Twenty minutes passed, then thirty. Albert had not yet returned. Terra stood up. 'Wonder what's taking him so long?' she thought as she walked off in the same direction he had.
A few blocks later she was standing in front of Jump City Academy, where she had graduated from. There was another man there; tall with dark hair. As she got closer, she recognized him as the man that had been at Titan Tower yesterday. He seemed to have heard her approaching, and turned to smile at her. It was an intoxicating smile that made Terra's legs feel a little like jelly.
"Terra. Good to see you," he greeted.
Terra smiled awkwardly. "You, too… Damion, right?"
Damion laughed, which struck a chord in Terra. She recognized that laugh. 'From where, though?!' she thought, frustrated. Damion seemed to murmur something inaudibly. Suddenly, memories rushed back to Terra.
"Oh my God… Damion! Damion Cyber!" she grinned, her eyes lighting up. "It's been forever! How have you been? I haven't seen you since I left for Boston!"
Damion chuckled. "I've been well, Terra. I hope you've been well, too." She nodded happily. "Excellent. I must say, I never expected to see you back in Jump City."
Terra looked Damion up and down. It had been a little over two years since she'd seen him; he was just as handsome as ever. She smiled at him, and couldn't help but hope that they had a lot of time to catch up.
Jessie was reading a magazine, trying to ignore her pacing younger sister. Carrie Underwood's 'Good Girl' was playing from her iHome speakers, and Jessie was absent-mindedly humming along to it.
The sisters were on the roof, enjoying the mid-spring sunshine. Well, Jessie was trying to enjoy it while Dove went through an emotional overload.
Jessie sighed and put down her magazine. "Dovie, what's bothering you?"
Dove stopped pacing for a split second to look at her older sister. "I have no idea how to meditate and my emotions are on overload right now," she mumbled, pacing again.
Jessie stood up and put her magazine on the beach chair she had brought up from the storage closet. She took a deep breath, then said, "Okay, Dovie, come on." Dove looked at her questioningly. "I'm going to help you release all that energy." Dove's eyes lit up as she grinned at her sister. Jessie gave a small smile in return and led her sister to the edge of the roof.
Dove looked nervously down below. Noticing her nervousness, Jessie said, "Relax, Dovie: breath in, breath out. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Breath in positive energy, and breath out negative energy." Jessie took her sister's hands and breathed with her. With each breath, she felt lighter. Soon enough, she was levitating. Dove, however, was not. Dove's feet remained firmly on the roof, and soon it was clear to both sisters that they would not be moving any time soon. Jessie smiled sympathetically at Dove. "Maybe next time, Dovie. At least now you know how to get there… sort of."
Dove let go of Jessie's hands and sat on the edge of the roof in defeat.
Five-forty-three. Raven was just then entering the café. She wore a dark blue, long sleeve shirt with black jeans, her usual belt, and a pair of black ankle boots. Her long hair was brushed neatly and left down. She wore only black eyeliner for makeup – there really was no point in cover up since her skin was a light grey color and there was no foundation or cover up that was her color.
It wasn't hard to spot Damion; all she had to do was look for the gorgeous man with eyes like storm clouds and a dazzling smile. He was sitting at a table near the front with a coffee cup in front of him.
"Have you been waiting long?" Raven asked a little nervously. She didn't exactly go on dates… ever.
Damion smiled and responded, "Not long at all, actually. I arrived here just moments before you." He gestured for her to sit.
As she sat across the table from him, the manager of the café went on stage. In his mellow voice, he said into the microphone, "Welcome, ladies and gents to the weekly poetry slam and open mic night. Tonight we welcome music producer Lannem George"– he paused to allow the snaps and claps to stop – "and Jump City's very own Damion Cyber" – more snaps and claps. "Without further ado, let's welcome our first act. She's one of our regulars; please welcome singer and guitarist, Anna Rae." Once again, the snaps and claps ensued. A woman in her early twenties with gingery hair came on the stage and began playing her song.
When the song was done, Damion turned to her, a quizzical smile on his lips. "What?" Raven asked, feeling self-conscious. He simply smiled and returned his attention to the poet that was coming on stage.
"You're beautiful, that's all," he finally said just before the poet began.
A slight pink shade lit up on Raven's cheeks. It didn't stay long, for the poet's words had her full attention.
And so the night went on; between each act, Damion would say something both sweet and obscure, and Raven would be unable to respond because the next act would go on.
When all the acts were done, Damion led Raven outside. They walked in the crisp night air for a while, talking about the acts.
"I have a question to ask you," Damion interrupted.
Raven raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"
"There's a gala at the museum in about a month," he began. "I was wondering… if you might be my date for the event…?"
Raven fell silent, shocked that he was asking her to go to such a big event with him. "A-are you sure you want me to be your date?" she stammered.
Damion looked at her and smiled his million-watt smile. "Positive."
Raven bit her lip nervously, then looked him in the eyes and said, "Yes."
Damion's smile grew. He took her hand and walked her down to the coast.
White was walking around the city. It hadn't been Blue that had called him those hours ago. It had been his younger sister. She'd been wondering why he wasn't at school. He never questioned how she knew things; it was best to just accept it.
"Quite a night, isn't it?" a voice said from above him.
White looked up to see a man in bronze and black armor, with only one eye showing, standing on the roof of a nearby shop. "Erm… lovely… who are you?" White asked.
"My name is Slade," the man responded.
"Slade. Fantastic. And what do you want, Slade?"
Slade jumped down from the roof and landed not three feet away from White. "I noticed that earlier you were with my ex-apprentice, Terra, and a young woman going by 'Blue Rose'." He paused to stand up; he towered over White.
White backed away and glared up at Slade. "H-how do you know Blue?"
Slade chuckled. "One question at a time, White. Now, as I was saying… I'm here… to kill you."
White's eyes widened as he turned to flee. He didn't have any of his gear with him… Blue had taken all their weapons and supplies with her to Titan Tower.
'Dammit, I am such a failure of a hero!' White scolded himself. No sooner had he thought that than Slade knocked him to the ground. White felt the burn of fabric against his skin as Slade pulled him by the ankle. He felt a heavy blow to his stomach, and deduced that Slade had kicked him. Hard. He felt air rush past him as he slammed into something – a wall most likely.
White couldn't breathe. His chest and back felt like they were being crushed between two slabs of concrete. It wasn't long before his consciousness started slipping. He heard voices. Two females. One older than the other. Footsteps as someone – presumably Slade, since the two female voices were still talking – retreated. He felt as though he was being lifted.
The last thought in his head before he blacked out completely was, 'Blue… Terra…Thank you…'