Chapter 4: An Understanding

Her fingertips trailed against the cool cement walls as she walked down the enclosed, darkened hallway. The kids were at school. That was the rule. No coming here when the kids where home, it was too suspicious, too dangerous, too risky. The hallway opened to a large round room, two metal doors leading off onto other directions, its walls decorated with glass cases, large computers screens, television monitors, all turned off. Never used.

"Lights on," she said, and the room was bathed in light just as she knew it would. But only because she said it. If an intruder had, it wouldn't work. Nothing in this room would. A security measure.

When her eyes adjusted to the light, she took a few steps into the room. It had been a long while since she had been down here. A glass case stood to her right. She stared up into it silently, observing the two colorful adolescent outfits, on half mannequins of a man and woman. She tore her eyes away.

About half around the round room from the glass case was Kori's true destination. A large mahogany cabinet stood in the most shadowy corner of the room, rather out of place with the sharp edges of glass and steel and modern technology. They were her things. A few drawers, close to the floor, held an assortment of things to large to fit on the orderly shelves behind the double doors she just opened. Clothes, bags, weapons, secrets…her life before this life. Dick said they were too dangerous to keep up in the house were anyone could stumble upon there secrets. But the shelves above held more important things, at least to Kori anyway.

Her hand reached instantly to what she desired, a large and slightly worn book that sat lopsidedly on the top shelf. She pulled it down without hesitation. She ran her hand over the self-decorated cover. Markers and gel pens filling in designs of heart and flowers, surrounding the intricately spelled, "Friends," as the title.

Kori sat down on the floor, crossed her legs, propped the books onto her lap, and carefully flipped open the first page. She wasn't sure how to explain it…it was the mix of a journal, scrap book, and picture album. Newspaper clippings, photographs, movie tickets, everyday things that were so amazing to an alien like herself, unfamiliar with earth. Occasionally a scribbled note filled the margins of pages, along with little doodles. They came from everyone. A few, well chosen words from Raven, who helped Starfire with this endeavor more often then one would think, having taken the responsibility upon herself that Star didn't hurt herself with the scissors or accidentally glue her hands together…again. Robin had contributed his thoughts as well, but more towards the end, once they had started dating and he was less obsessive about catching Slade. Cyborg and Beast Boy had made their marks as well, at those precious mid-day moments when all the villains were on vacation and the two boys had decided to stop their video game war and sit at the kitchen counter with their alien team member and work with her. Cyborg often drew arrows to pictures and made comments on what was happening in them. Beast Boy had fun adding corny jokes in the empty spaces that related just slightly to the theme on the page. He also drew a variety of little animals in the corners, always green, of course.

Without her volition, a tear fell from her eyes onto the newsprint of the page below. She hastily wiped her eyes. Pretending to herself her first concern was to not ruin the hard-worked pages of the scrap book on her lap. Her memories incarnate on paper so dried and wrinkled from too much glue and too much use it look like a harsh wind would turn them all to dust, ancient history, death…just like the Teen Titans.

Kori closed her eyes and tried to the press the sobering thoughts that had been so unfamiliar to her in her teenage years out of her mind. She wanted to dwell in the moments when the Teen Titans were still teenagers and a team. She wanted to forget everything that destroyed them after. She wanted to live in the fake naivety that the good guys always win and friendship never ends and they were never going to grow up.

Once she had regained composure and was sure she eyes were no longer red, Kori stood and replaced the book on the top shelf of the cabinet, her finger drawing across the spine as though not willing to let it go quite yet.

She turned and left, banging the doors of the cabinet behind her with unprecedented rage. "Lights out," she choked as she exited the room.

…

"Where is it…Where is it…." she mumbled repeatedly to herself under her breath. "This is not good…this is not good," she switched her mantra. Halle was tearing her bedroom apart. The bed clothes were torn away. Clothes lay in heaps upon the floor. The drawers on her dressers and desk where thrown open in search. The normally neat room was in shambles.

"Ah!" she yelled in aggravation. "How could I lose it?" She fell dramatically upon her knees onto the floor, clutching her fists.

"Hey, psycho," said a voice from her open doorway. "Can you shut it, I have something called homework and you are distracting me with your teen angsting."

"Shut up, Alex," Halle growled, getting to her feet. "If you are not going to be helpful then just leave."

"Helpful with what?" Alex asked, a little curious.

"Remember like a week ago when Sophie was over?" Alex nodded. "Well she accidentally left her necklace here. I was going to return it at school, but then I realized it would go perfect with my dress I wore to our birthday party so I borrowed it. And now I can't find it. Sophie got that necklace from her grandmother who's dead. I feel absolutely horrible. I know it's here somewhere. I remember distinctly taking it off the night of the party in here. And now…" she sighed in exasperation.

"I can help you search," stated Alex, much to Halle's surprise.

"You can help?" she questioned skeptically.

"Yeah," said Alex, shrugging his shoulders with his hands in his pants pockets. He didn't move.

"Well?" Halle questioned his inaction.

"I said I can help, not that I necessarily will."

"What do you want?" said Halle through gritted teeth. She normally wouldn't succumb to Alex's taunting, but she was a desperate woman.

"Half of your allowance for a month," he stated simply, as if this were all planned out. It sounded like a strange proposition. True, there father was the heir to billions, but their parents restricted the money the twins were able to spend on frivolous things. Apparently it was supposed to build character.

"You wouldn't," she growled.

"Yeah, I would. You see, I could ask for all of your allowance for the next two months if I wanted, but I want only a quarter of that. See I need, well I won't fry your brain with the technical terms, something new for my computer…No? How about this, I'll only make me pay me if I find it. If you do, don't...So, do we have a deal?"

Halle glared daggers at her brother for a moment. He stood unflinchingly under her gaze.

"Fine," she spit out. "Then get looking. We need to find it tonight!"

"Um, is this it," he said, holding up a golden chain with a small charm dangling on the end. He had picked it up from a shelf on the dusty bookcase right next to her door. It was obvious he had spotted it the moment he had entered the room. "Should I expect cash or check?" he teased, replacing the necklace onto the shelf.

"You jerk!" Halle yelled, coming across the room in two swift strides and punching Alex fiercely on the arm.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing the spot of contact with his opposite hand. He looked down at his injury. "Jeez, when did you get so freakin' strong?"

"What do mean by that?" she asked roughly, hand on her hip.

"I think I'm gonna have a bruise…" Alex whined.

"I didn't hit you that hard," Halle reasoned.

"Look yourself," commanded Alex, removing his hand. True to his word there was a red mark and a beginning a bruise.

"How did I…" she looked down at her hands with a mix of horror and shock.

Something flickered behind Alex's eyes. A recognition.

"Halle," he said, his voice completely changed from the accusatory tone it was before. "Have you…ever since we turned sixteen…has there anything …different than before…?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Halle lied, looking up at him.

"Sure. Okay. Whatever, forget it," said Alex, although he didn't look as he believed her nor was he going to forget it. He had an understanding. Not completely, just the beginning. Fingertips brushing up against something in the dark, still trying to get a firm grip kind of understanding, but it was better then the pitch darkness he was stumbling about before.

…

Dick pulled at his tie uncomfortably. He hated wearing them, but it was an occupational hazard. Thankfully the work day was almost over. He had to sit through two, count 'em, two, terribly boring board meetings today. It didn't even know they were allowed to do that. It was pure torture. It was times like these he regretted retiring from superhero work…but he didn't want to think about that at the moment.

"Um, Mr. Grayson," said the nervous new secretary, knocking on his slightly open office door. "There is someone here to see you."

"I didn't think I had an appointment after the meetings," he said, sitting up from where he had been slouching, fixing his tie.

"Uh, you don't. She just showed up."

"Well, didn't you send her away? I'm much too busy to take random walk-ins."

"I know, Mr. Grayson. I told to her to you were booked all day and to make an appointment, but she said she'd wait. She been here since morning and since the meeting did get out a bit early and you have nothing left for the rest of the day, I thought…"

"You thought I should talk to her now," Dick finished, exhausted.

The secretary nodded. "She threatened to show up again tomorrow…"

"Okay," said Dick with an exasperated sigh. "Send her in."

"Right…but just to warn you, she's a bit strange. In appearance, I mean. She has this real pale gray skin and purple hair. Purple!"

Dick's eyes widened in realization and surprise, but the secretary, who had since turned to retrieve the creepy woman who had been terrifying her all day, failed to notice.

It never, had it seemed, that seconds had lasted so long to Dick, waiting, wondering, in a few precious moments whether or not it really was her. And what would he do if it was. He hadn't seen her, or any of them, in years.

"Hello, Dick," she said, just inside the doorway. He just stared. He wasn't used to seeing her in anything other then her leotard and cape, but here she was in a simple woman's business suit. Her hair was down and slightly longer then he remembered it. But in all other senses she seemed the same, a bit older, but they all were, more mature, but she had always been from the start, and maybe, perhaps, lighter. Not as uptight. Her voice had a slightly softer tone in it.

"Raven," he finally managed to chock out. "You can close the door…if you need," he added, standing. He felt bare, all the sudden. His identity revealed to a teammate he hadn't previously shared it with.

"Don't worry," she said, closing the door behind her. "I'm here on business. Just not Wayne Enterprise's business…"

Aki- Ah, cliffhanger...don't kill me. I have the next chapter already written and I will put it up next week. I promise.