To Miss Geek (Guest): 1) Haha, thank you I try. 2) I happy dance every time I get reviews, so it's justified. 3) This chapter will answer your questions, who is the funeral for, you'll see…mwuahhaha! Enjoy!

A/N: Prepare yourself for drama and heartbreak. So whose funeral are we attending? Enjoy…

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." -Plato

January 10

Wayne Manor- Morning

Richard POV

It's times like this when I want to inflict harm on every breathing thing around me. My brain is swirling contemptuously in violent thoughts, and anyone who even says my name I snap at them. We're back at the Manor now, our flight back was horrendous. I sat by Starfire's side, bawling my eyes out over her appearance and my poor abilities as a hero to save her. Raven keeps telling me to stop blaming myself, but I can't help it. If I would've never broken up with her we would still be together, I was weak for allowing Bruce to sway me.

I'm in the infirmary room right now; Starfire is lying in bed, her face still bruised and her body unable to continue healing until she wakes up. All the blood she lost and all the pain she took and all the emotions that were unleashed on her gentle spirit make me want to lose my mind. She deserved nothing but happiness, and love. Something I could've given her. I reach for her still bruised hand and hold it softly in mine. Tears still are forming behind my mask, and I'm very aware of my Team's poor conditions.

Beast Boy and Flash might not make it through the night. Flash's brain took severe damage when he was electrocuted, his ribs are broken and his spleen was ruptured. Beast Boy's lung was punctured; it was centimeters away from his heart. He's holding on for life as I speak. Raven keeps trying to heal them both, but due to her uneasy power influxes she passes out for hours at a time, literally harming her own body in the process. We have Gotham's best doctors doing everything they can; Beast Boy and Flash are due for surgery in a couple hours.

This is all still my fault, it could've been all unavoidable. The Justice League is breathing down our back for not informing them of our intergalactic mission, and Batman is taking the brunt of the punishments and admonishments from them. He's pissed at me, when he saw the injuries he literally ripped me in half verbally.

A hand touches my shoulder and I flinch. "Hey Babs."

"You need to eat something." She whispers and hands me a plate adorned with one of Alfred's best Turkey sandwiches. My stomach growls in response but I bat the plate away and turn my attention to Starfire.

"She still hasn't woken up." I whisper.

"Neither has Flash or Beast Boy. Raven's a mess, everywhere she goes she passes out, she's using too much of her powers." Babs walks over to the other side of the bed and gingerly touches Starfire's face.

"Raven told me that she can't continue the healing process until she wakes up, now it's only a matter of when." I grunt and wipe at the moisture collecting in my mask. I rip it off and throw it on the ground in frustration.

"She's beautiful." Babs says without looking at me as she touches Starfire's fiery red matted hair.

My curiosity is peaked suddenly. "She is, I never got the chance to introduce you two properly."

She nods and smiles as tears form in her eyes. "I hope she wakes up soon, I hate seeing you like this." Tears begin to roll down her face and at times like this I have to intervene. Babs rarely shows emotion, her tears are only used in ultimate times of solitude.

I stand and walk over to her, I hug her severely and she sobs into my chest. "I'm sorry." She mumbles.

I shake my head and hug her tighter. "Don't be sorry, cry if you want."

She nods and unleashes a few heavier, shaky sobs. The door creaks open and Babs literally jumps from my arms. Cyborg masks the shocked look on his face and looks at me. He tosses me my mask from the floor. "Hide this, the Police are here."

"The police? We practically are the police." I answer as I grip my mask.

"Well, something happened that involves Jason Todd. Bruce is in his study with him and the police." He answers and Raven shimmies into the room, she looks extremely haggard.

She looks at Starfire and exhales. "Everyone out, I need to heal Starfire. Beast Boy and Flash are having surgery down the hall in the makeshift surgery room."

Babs scrubs her face furiously and holds her chin up high. "I'm going to see what's going on with the Police." She prances past Cyborg and he looks at Raven.

"You need to tell him." He says as he nervously glances from me to Raven.

Raven glares at him but nods. "Can you go talk to Jinx, she hasn't come out of her room and she needs to eat."

Cyborg sighs. "You should definitely take your own advice Raven." He leaves as Raven snorts.

She looks at me with her piercing purple eyes and gestures for me to return to my seat. I obey as she examines Starfire. "What do you need to tell me?" I ask with some annoyance at her silence.

"As you know Karras raped her." She says bluntly without looking at me. She gingerly pulls down the sheet and Starfire's hospital gown clad form looks weaker, thinner.

I wince at her bluntness. "How bad is the damage?" I ask with a shaky voice.

Raven looks at me with a deep sadness that envelopes the room. "Tamaranians are evolved from cat like creatures correct?"

I nod, afraid of where this conversation is going. "Yeah, I think so."

"Well when cats mate their penises erect, but it's not like a human."

"Cut to the chase Raven, I don't want a biology lesson." I grunt as I rub my forehead in disgust.

"Their penises have spikes attached, literally. It's excruciatingly painful for the female, and it makes them unable to conceive for another couple months. Their sperm is also very potent." She says as she finds a spot on the wall to look at.

Even though I have nothing left in my stomach I still feel like I might regurgitate. Every ounce of respect I had for that race of people diminishes and my head feels like it's going to explode. "So she's pregnant?" I yell and stand up.

"She might be, we need an old fashioned pregnancy test to make sure. Cyborg and I aren't comfortable with injecting her with needles to take any more blood tests. She's weak enough." She grabs a wet cloth from a bowl on the nightstand and begins to dab her face with it. "She needs to wake up in order for that specific part of her body to heal fully."

More tears form in my eyes. "I can't believe her own people would allow this to happen to her. She was brutally beaten, gagged, and tied up. WHY? WHY HER?" I yell and punch the wall.

Raven places a hand on my back. "Go take a walk, clear you mind. We have three teammates who are on the verge of dying, you have to stay strong." Her monotone just clarifies how serious this all is.

I grit my teeth ready to launch into a full verbal attack but I hold back. Raven's right, I need to stay strong. If she's been strong this whole time I can be too. I shuffle towards the door and leave the room. It feels like there's a million bricks of guilt and sorrow on my back, I want Starfire to wake up so desperately, but what will I say when she does?

I wander towards Bruce's study and I see the Police leading a non-cuffed Jason down the stairs. "What's going on?" I ask. I look at Jason's face and every ounce of feeling left in him is gone, he looks like an emotional wreck that's about to explode.

Babs rushes over to me and places a hand on my shoulder. She leans towards my ear. "Jason lied to Bruce, he was not completely parentless, his father was an escaped convict who was supposed to be serving a life sentence." She whispers.

Bruce gives us both a disapproving look as Alfred leads the police out of the Manor. "Both of you to my office now." He growls and turns down the hallway.

I follow anxiously and Babs casts nervous glances in my direction. "Bruce will explain everything." She whispers.

"Like hell I am." Bruce says as we enter his 'office' which is really just his study adorned with liquor cabinets and a big brass desk.

"What's going on?" I repeat.

Bruce looks at me with angry eyes; he's still pissed at me. "Many things are happening. Jason lied to us, his father was still alive, and a convict."

"So why are the police dragging him out of here?" I ask and cross my arms.

Bruce sighs. "His father was killed."

"How?" I know he's trying not to say something. I hate it when he hides things from me.

"I don't want to worry you; I know how you can get obsessed over cases. Remember you have Starfire to worry about." He says with ease.

"You don't give a fuck about Starfire." I reply curtly.

He looks at Babs then me. "That's not true Dick."

"How was Jason's father killed?" I ask dangerously. Babs places a hand on my shoulder and squeezes, most likely a warning for me to calm down.

"He was in Bellerose's gang, they invaded a warehouse that they wanted to take and Scarecrow was in there. Scarecrow killed his father. Jason however can't tell the police about his affiliations with the villain because the police don't know about us." Bruce finishes.

I rub my eyes. "Damn." I whisper.

"Dick I don't want you involved in this, you have enough to deal with." He says with a hint amount of care.

"Don't pretend like you care about the welfare of my team when you obviously don't." I hiss and shrug off Babs' hand. "You're full of bullshit; don't tell me what to do."

The door pops open and Alfred walks in. "Master Richard there is a visitor here for you and the doctors would like to talk to you and Miss Raven on the green ones condition."

I look at Bruce and Babs. "Someone needs to watch Jason very carefully now. He might do something very stupid."

Babs nods. "The funeral is tomorrow."

I nod and follow Alfred out of the door. Raven rises from the floor next to me. "Starfire's heart rate is irregular; we need a doctor to do a check on her vitals." She says as she pulls up her hood.

We make it to the infirmary part of the Manor and the two doctors' shuffle towards us. "How are they?" I ask.

The blonde doctor gives me a reassuring smile. "Garfield Logan was in need of a serious checkup, we had to import his medical files from Brazil. Anyways, when we went in we found that most of his lung was healed. We fixed some minor bone damage, but he should be up and around once he heals in a couple days." The doctor looks at Raven. "Your presence wasn't detected in his healing; it looks like the Sakutia virus did most of the work, it seems like it is evolving. His organs are becoming irregularly shaped."

Raven pulls down her hood and her face pails. "Can I go see him?"

The other grey haired doctor holds up his hand to stop her. "Not before we tell you about Flash's condition. He needs to be healed severely, his ribs are cracked and his vitals aren't responding to us. If he makes it through the night I'd be surprised." He looks at me. "We have already informed the pink haired woman." He shivers oddly and looks down the hallway. "We must be going, we have already checked on Starfire's vitals, they seem unstable, but she'll live."

The blonde doctor shakes our hands. "This is all we can do for you; I wish the best for all of you. Mr. Wayne has paid us quite a sum to keep our mouths shut, so we should probably be going now before the press shows up." They grab their leather suitcase looking contraptions and Alfred leads them away.

Raven gives me one look and rushes to Flash's room. "Nighty how's everything?" Cyborg asks loudly as he races down the hall towards me.

"Not good." I notice another figure behind him. "Bumblebee?" I ask and squint my eyes.

She jumps up to give me hug as she drops her suitcase. "It's great to see you Robin." She hugs me tighter and releases me.

I decide not to correct her on the name change and look at Cyborg, he shrugs. "Why are you here?"

She smiles sadly. "The media is swarming with rumors of Starfire's great demise. I know she isn't dead, so I came to see how she's doing." She looks around at the doors. "Which room is she in?"

I shake my head. "Bee, Starfire is in critical condition. She might not wake up." Her mouth drops and I sigh. "Flash might not make it through the night and Beast Boy is being taken over by the Sakutia virus." My vision sways and I stumble slightly.

Cyborg notices my stumbling and he pats me on the shoulder. "You need rest man." He says.

Babs suddenly runs down the hall towards me with an alarmed look on her face. "Jason ran away, the police can't find him! We need to suit up and catch him before he does something stupid." She turns and runs back in the direction she came.

I look at Cyborg and Bee. "Watch Starfire, and alert me on any changes." I run after Babs as Cyborg shouts for me not to leave the Manor in my condition.

Why does everything seem like it's falling apart? Why does life have to be this cruel? Can't I catch a break for once? I think of what Raven said to me and I suck it up, this was what I was born to do. I am a leader, I am Nightwing, I am Bruce Wayne's ward, and I am Richard Grayson. The hallway tilts and suddenly I hit the floor, exhaustion creeps up on me and my body shuts down without my permission. It happens so fast, so unexpectedly.

Damn it…

Raven POV

I look at Jinx's face and I know that she's grieving already. She's bawling her eyes out next to his bed, his hand is clenched tightly in hers and tears are dripping down her face at a rapid pace. She looks at me sorrowfully. "Can you do anything for him?" She asks between sobs and hiccups.

I look at her with sadness. "I will try my best." The truth is my best is barely enough to keep me alive, and I want to see Beast Boy right now, but I swallow my selfishness instead.

I walk over to the other side of his bed and place my small hands on his bare chest. It's swollen and red, and there are stitches crisscrossing across parts of his rib cage. His breathing is shallow and ragged, almost like puffing on a balloon full of water. I close my eyes and find more of my powers within me, breathing deeply I let them flow out of my body and into his. The pain of his wounds bashes and diminishes my soul and for a moment I feel peaceful. I find his neurological center and prepare to mend it, but I only erase a third of the damage. My powers retract and the next thing I know I'm on the floor with a bloody nose.

Jinx hauls me up with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask too much of you." More tears spill out of her eyes.

"No, I healed him to the max, my powers won't come back until tomorrow night now, but that's fine. Flash now has a better chance at making it through the night." I say with reassurance as I use my already dirty cloak to smear the blood off of my face. The truth is Flash has quite the healing process ahead of him, his chances of surviving are extremely slim.

Jinx hugs me tightly, very uncharacteristically of her. "Thank you, for everything." She whispers.

I pat her back lightly. "Not a problem." My legs buckle and she uses her own power to pull up a chair for me. "Thanks." I say.

"I wish I had healing abilities like you." She says as she resumes her position with Flash. "If I even attempt to heal Wally, it will backfire."

"Why?" I ask while rubbing my head.

"I'm bad luck, good was never an option for me." She says while looking lovingly at Flash. "I used to think that Wally was my one chance at good luck, until Artemis."

I frown at the sorrowful day in Titan history. Jinx found Flash stowed away with Artemis, he claimed that nothing happened but Artemis made it seem like they had sex. Still to this day no one knows what exactly happened. All we do know is that both Flash and Jinx became very distant and quiet after that debacle. Their break up was monumental, no one was sure if Jinx was going to be a bad guy again. Thankfully she still remained on the good side. "Do you forgive him?"

Jinx smiles sadly. "I don't think I was ever mad at him. When Artemis told me that they had sex, I believed it. I was stupid; I should've listened to Wally. I was dumb, and foolish."

"Do you still love him?" I ask silently.

"I still ask myself that every day; I don't think you can control love. Sometimes it forces you to love the person you wish you could hate the most. I do, I still love him. With every ounce of feeling in my body I love him." More tears spill down her face and she reaches up to tie her pink hair into a knot on top of her head. "I only hope he wakes up so I can tell him that." Her chin quivers and I take that as permission to leave.

"If you need me I'll be with Beast Boy." I stand and head towards the door.

"Raven?" She asks quietly.

"Yes?" I turn around.

"Don't be afraid of loving him, you'll regret not telling him sooner if you wait." She says censoriously.

I nod and disappear before she sees the light blush on my cheeks. I hope it isn't that obvious, I mentally scold myself for showing too many emotions. As I approach Beast Boy's door someone grabs me from behind. I detach myself with a yelp, afraid to drain anymore of my powers.

Bumblebee's face smiles at me and she crosses her arms. "Is that anyway to greet a friend?"

I smirk and give her a big hug. "It's great to see you."

"Damn right it is." She mumbles. "Cyborg needed your help in the room next to Starfire's, Robin passed out, or should I say Nightwing." She chuckles softly.

I wince and hurry down the hall. "I knew he needed more rest."

"Wait!" She says from Beast Boy's door. "I know what's going on around here; you need more rest than he does. I can tell Sparky that you're busy healing BB. Deal?"

I nod gratefully. "Thank you, you should probably go see how Jinx is doing. I'm not very good with the comfort thing."

"Everyone's a wreck, after this is all settled we all need to go out for drinks." She cocks her hips and pouts.

"I don't drink." I mumble.

She glares at me. "You'll be grateful for one after this, now go see your boy toy."

I shake my head, ignoring her 'boy toy' comment. As I enter the room his familiar scent invades my nose. His green complexion is normal but he looks dehydrated. The tubes connected to his arm look sickening and his heart monitor is beeping normally. I approach the chair next to him and sit down gently. I grab his hand and give it a light squeeze.

I sigh deeply. "I don't know how to start this." I whisper and scoot the chair closer to him, he looks so peaceful. "I'm here to apologize, for everything." I inhale deeply and center my emotions so I don't accidentally harm any of this machinery. "I was a jerk; I always treated you like a pestilence when in reality you were really my anchor. You were my anchor to realism, whenever I felt alone you were always there to remind me that I wasn't."

I swallow my pride and continue. "I was selfish with your attention, and at times I craved it. I don't know why, but I did. Sometimes in the morning when I woke up I would only be thinking of seeing you. I've always wondered if there was something wrong with me, or if I was sick or something. But the truth is, I liked you. More than I like Cyborg or Robin, more than I liked anything, and now I realize that I'm grateful for your friendship. You gave me everything that I needed to feel sufficient."

A tear falls out of my eye and I bow my head in partial shame. "I need you to wake up; I need you to be here for me every day. That's so selfish of me, and the monks of Azarath would scold me now for saying this but I want you by my side forever." I sniffle. "I know you can't hear this, but it feels nice to say it."

"I can hear every word, and for the record I like you too." His hand squeezes mine and my head pops up in shock.

"You could hear me?" I whisper and the monitor behind me falls over.

His green eyes sparkle, and his face lights up like the injury never happened. He gestures for me to get under the light sheet with him and though my mind screams 'no' my body says 'yes'. I slither in beside him and his warm green arms crush me in a comforting embrace. He kisses my forehead and I sigh in relief. "You look awful by the way." He whispers.

"You do too." I say with a smirk.

He wipes a tear from my eye and touches my chin. "You're not selfish, you're selfless." His breath caresses the skin on my face and I shiver.

Our noses touch gently and our eyelids droop. "Kiss me." I whisper. He nods and presses his lips to mine, like a tidal wave our bodies mesh together. His lips press onto mine forcefully, and all the longing and desire we both had bottled up is released. His tongue begs for entrance and I allow it. I twine my hands into his hair and his hands travel to my back. He half-way rolls on top of me and our tongues battle for custody of each other. He bites my lip and I tug on his hair. So much passion and want is expressed between us that I don't notice the table of medical supplies fall over, the wallpaper starts to peel and when the bed shakes we break apart. We're both breathing deeply until he winces. I look down and notice that his stitches ripped.

"I'm sorry." I say remorsefully.

He laughs and eases off of me. "Don't be, we'll have to practice so neither of our powers will interrupt." He waggles his eyebrows and I punch him playfully. I place my hand on his chest and heal the ripped skin along with the scar it will leave. My energy diminishes again and I can't control my body from falling slack.

Beast Boy caresses my face. "You need rest, no more healing." He says and curls around my backside. He spoons me and kisses my shoulder.

I feel no need to stop him. Something about this feels right, it feels comfortable. Usually if my first kiss ended with spooning and shoulder kisses I would object, but this is Garfield. I trust him completely. I allow my eyes to shut and within moments I fall asleep, his embrace aiding to how comfortable I am.

January 10

Gotham City- Nighttime

Normal POV

The streets glisten with more substances than just oil and water. Blood is spilled everyday under the citizen's noses. Crooks, villains, and mob bosses fight over land that is not even theirs. City officials and leaders billow in the smoke of legalized pot and cocaine. Their minds drift within the murkiness of the affluence. The police barely have control over domestic disputes; they can only enforce so much.

Anger is impossible to control. Most crime is actually a result of anger, rage, and conflict. Not one person in Gotham can say that they don't feel anger, well unless that person is a city official. When someone is angry they don't just take it out on a jewelry store, or a bank, they take it out on a living breathing thing. An innocent human who has a family or children, even a life they value.

A combination of anger and lack of police is dangerous; it leads to hellholes like Bludhaven being created. Gotham is on the verge of being a hellhole, but groups like the Batman family help protect the City.

Jason Todd is a part of the Bat family; he is also a former Gotham City juvenile. What happens when he gets angry? The alleyways are full of drug dealers and pimps waiting for an ass beating, but he'd rather go out and find the actual killer.

Jason tramps through puddles with his hands in his pockets as he enters the warehouse district of Gotham. He stormed out of the Morgue as soon as he identified his father's lifeless body. His face was bruised and swollen, his limbs twisted violently. He was a part of the Bellerose clan, and he was the one sent to disband Scarecrow, alone. His demise had erupted something wicked within Jason, something feral and angry.

Jason's father wasn't always the best; his frequent run-ins with the Police didn't make Jason look like the most popular boy in school. Occasionally he would beat Jason's mother mercilessly some nights, and Jason would also get a punch or two. Nonetheless, it was his father. There were as many bad memories as there were good ones. On the good days Jason could remember clearly when his father would take him to the park, or the playground. There were the days when his father would teach him important life lessons and sweet talk his mother in front of him. Those were the memories that Jason chose to remember. Those were the reveries Jason chose to dream about.

Right now his mind was in a fog. A man jumped out from the alleyway, like Jason expected, and like an opportunity to change your providence Jason acted on pure anger. "Give me every ounce of money and merchandise you have!" The behemoth shouted.

Jason chuckled lightly and started to pummel the guy into the dirt. Blood sprouted up from his mouth and even though Jason's knuckles were also bleeding this was his only way to cope with his grief. The man's cheekbones suddenly began to break and his face became unrecognizable. Each punch was like agony for both, but Jason could not stop. Blood squirted up from the man's temples, his eyes leaked fluid, and teeth became mere pebbles on the cement.

A black figure leaped out from the shadows and like a leaf in the wind threw Jason out of the way. Batarangs sliced through the night air and attached the poor teenager to the ground. Unable to move Jason grunted in frustration. "Let me the fuck go Batgirl!" He shouts, knowing well who caught him.

Batgirl approaches the limp beaten figure on the ground. She bends and presses two fingers to his neck. Moments pass and she whips out her Eskrima stick. "You killed him." She sneers.

Jason swallows the small fleeting feeling of guilt. "He deserved it, now let me go."

Batgirl aims for his abdomen with her stick; she raises it and slashes it down harshly on him. Jason yells in pain and crunches up into a ball. "You know the rules! YOU KNOW THE CODE!" She screams into the night air and thunder rolls close by. Batgirl removes the batarangs lodged in the ground. "Get the hell up you coward, we're going to tell Batman what you did."

Jason staggers to stand up and Batgirl whips her Eskrima right into his back. He screams in even more pain. "I know what I did was wrong! Just stop!" He yells and doubles over.

Batgirl kicks him in the stomach. "It wasn't just wrong, it was COWARDLY! You're no different from Scarecrow now! Get the hell up and get home, we have a funeral to attend tomorrow." With the flourish of a shadow Batgirl disappears into the night. Small droplets of rain begin to form in the sky and rain cascades down on Jason and the dead man. Blood mixes in with the water and oil and it adds to the pollution of Gotham.

Jason allows himself to cry, he screams out in anguish at the sky, and at god. His entire family is gone now, he is alone in this world and now he is no different from every other criminal in Gotham. He can feel the darkness creeping up his spine like wool in a sweater, and with more sobs and screams he curses to the gods and heavens.

Life is unjust in many ways, sometimes people are left without parents, or scars that will never fade. Some people watch their parents die right in front of them, some kill their parents themselves. No matter what the reason, humans suffer in unimaginable ways, what makes us strong is how we choose to cope with it. While some choose light, others choose the dark.

Now as Jason sobs into the oily and bloody streets of Gotham, he realizes that he chose the path of darkness. He knew what he was doing, and he did it without remorse. He may feel the guilt now and the remorse now, but when he did the deed he felt nothing but pure anger. That truly separates the innocent from the guilty. Darkness determines fate, and darkness is the fate Jason chose on this fateful night.

A/N: Quite the change in course for this story. (MAJOR ARC). The Normal POV at the end of this chapter is actually one of my greatest writings. It's philosophical and I'm glad I was able to share it with you. I didn't want the Jason scene to be his POV, which would've given the wrong tone. This is what I wanted, and it seems justified and right. Do any of you agree? Did you like it? In other news, I posted a one-shot for BBRae week, I urge you ALL to read it. Many people enjoyed the twist and unexpected ending.

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Next Chapter: The funeral, Starfire drama (will she wake up? Is she pregnant?), Batman finds out what Jason did, and a shocker that will affect the entire team (is it a positive or negative shocker?). I'll see you all there. Thanks for reading, sharing my stories with you all honestly bring me out of my own darkness, thank you.