A/N: In case you haven't noticed, I have updated frquently. Those may reduce to once a week soon, since I'm running out of updates. I only have about three more chapters written out, and I need to write the rest. At this point, I'm estimating fourty or fifty chapters to this story. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Teen Titans are not mine. Of course I wish I owned Wally West, because he's hella sexy.

TT2

Saturday September 12, 2019

A few days passed by. Five to be exact. It was Saturday night and there had been hide nor hair of 'Black Baron'. It had been a slow week in comparison to the first three days, with only two missions. The first was a normal man trying to rob a toy store (go figure), and the second was a group of three robbers at an upscale jewelry store.

Clara had been only slightly reclusive, and had, as Sara had said was a common thing for her counterpart, dyed her hair. Instead of maroon, it was now a blue-black color, and she would everyday use a spell to keep it straight instead of curly. No one knew why she continued to act strange, but Taku swore that he saw a glittering black rose in her room when he had passed by.

The one thing she had not told anyone, though, was that she had come within an inch of death. If it had not been for one kind stranger, she would've been dead.

It was six on said Saturday night. Kyle, as would be expected of him, was training. Sara and Clara were talking on the end of the couch, debating over an old and worn spell book. Kimi and Danny were talking quietly, watching Scary Movie 3, with Taku on the other side of Kimi.

"I think I'll go start dinner…" Danny trailed off thoughtfully. "Any suggestions?"

"Stewed Grumpflicks!" Kimi squealed.

"Something I can actually attempt," he replied with a smirk. "Pasta…or cereal…or sandwiches." He ticked off the possibilities on his fingers. "Y'know, something of the like."

"Just make some burgers," Sara told him. "Veggie-burgers for us, please. Oh and make some fries to go with it."

"M'kay," he replied, walking towards the kitchen and, once there, pulling out the necessary ingredients and cooking utensils.

Twenty minutes later Kyle entered the living room, in black lacrosse shorts and a white wifebeater, his face glistening with sweat. "Hey there," he greeted breathlessly, pulling up his water bottle, putting it into a cavity in the refrigerator, and refilling his supply.

"Hey," they all replied mindlessly, too caught up in what they were doing.

"So what's on the menu for tonight?" Kyle asked as he took a swig of his water bottle and walked towards Danny.

"Hamburgers and fries…hope that's alright," he responded, putting the meat patties and the two veggie-patties on the pan. "We just unanimously agreed, so we figured you wouldn't mind."

"Nah, s'fine," he replied, his words slurring together slightly from his overexertion. "Just make sure you make me two. I could eat the entire cow right now." He patted his stomach, which promptly let out a loud groan.

"K," Danny replied with a chuckle as Kyle took his water bottle and plopped down on the other side of Kimi on the couch.

Kimi made a slight face. "Ew, you stink," she criticized, pinching her nose with her fingers for affect.

"You try training for two hours, I doubt you'll smell fresh as a rose," he retorted, taking another swig of his water bottle. "Plus, I smell fine. I wasn't training THAT hard."

Kimi rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she mumbled.

"I'm bored," Sara announced, once her sister had shut the spell book and set it on the coffee table. "Let's do something tonight!"

Kyle looked to the window, where torrents of rain were beating down upon their tower. "Whatever it is, it'll have to be here. We're not going out in that rain, unless you all want to catch colds."

"Thanks mom," Clara muttered incoherently, before obnoxiously rolling her eyes.

"I say we should play some games!" Kimi suggested enthusiastically, clapping her hands in joy. "I haven't played games since I was a little Greefnuk."

Everyone on the couch slowly turned to stare at Kimi. "Since you were a little what?" Kyle asked, voicing the question on everyone's minds.

"Er-that means child in Tamaranian," she replied, her face turning red. "My K'norfka Galfore taught me Tamaranian so I would never forget my heritage. Of course, I never would because it is my home planet, and I was born on Tamaran…well, anyways…" Kimi trailed off. "Go on."

"Anyways, I was thinking about Monopoly, or LIFE, or some other board games.." she trailed off thoughtfully. "We can have a game night!" Sara exclaimed.

"Sounds…cool," Clara finally said apprehensively. "I could think of worse things to do with my Saturday night."

"So, are we all in?" Sara asked joyously.

"It looks like it," Taku replied, crossing his feet on the table. Suddenly, a bubble of yellow-white light surrounded them and they dropped off of their own accord. In a paranoid manner, he looked about the room. "What the-?"

"Keep your feet off the table, I just washed it this morning," Sara snapped.

"Geez, touchy," Taku muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Anyways, I guess we can play after din-" there was a streak of lightning in the sky followed soon by a clap of thunder. "-ner."

"Which will be done in a minute," Danny called. "Just got to finish the fries and then we can all eat."

As promised, a minute later, they were all called to eat. Sara and Clara took seats next to each other, with Taku on the side of Sara, and Kyle on the side of Clara. Kimi and Danny took seats on the other side of the table.

"Dig in," Danny announced.

"Hey Clara, wanna grab the orange juice?" Kyle asked. Clara murmured a spell and the refrigerator door swung open. Theorange juicebegan floating out, encased in black. "Gracias, amiga."

"You're welcome," she replied, taking a bite of her burger. Almost immediately thereafter, though, she spit it out. "Ew! This is meat!" she exclaimed, horrified that she could ever eat a poor cow.

"Oh God! Mine is a veggie burger!" Danny exclaimed in surprise. "Sorry," he told her sheepishly, trading burgers with her so she could eat the one he had prepared. Sara lifted the bun on her veggie burger to make sure it was just that, sighing in relief when she found she was not eating a cow.

Twenty minutes later, after the six teenagers were all very full, and after Kyle had left to take a quick shower, they retired to the couch. Everyone was waiting for him to come back so they could start the game, so until then they resorted to watching Saturday night cartoons..

There was light chatter for a few minutes. Clara was sitting at the end of the couch, contemplating the day. It, in fact, had been the day she almost lost her life. Before she knew it, she was caught in a flashback.

flashback

Clara had excused herself from the Titans to take a short walk in Jump City. It was her new surrogate home, and she had barely heard of it before she was asked to join the Teen Titans. She was amazed at all the shops, boutiques, restaraunts and such. A great wind blew by, and grey clouds stormed overhead. Rain was coming, and soon.

She crossed the street to take a right. The boulevard she was on would take her to the posh, upper-class downtown, filled with expensive shops, and preps in their Lacoste or Abercrombie and Fitch polos, driving their Mercedes talking on their cell phone/camera/computer/whatever.

Eagerly, she looked into windows of various shops, seeing if she would find any vintage jewelry or dark clothing to add to her interesting-enough wardrobe. It was all amazing. She would definitely have to take walks more often.

A young boy that had presumably lost his mother was sitting on the sidewalk, bawling. As suspected, people whizzed by on cell-phones or pre-occupied with some sort of technology, ignoring him. Clara's heart break in two at the sight, and she softly knelt down beside him. "Hey there," she whispered, ruffling the boy's hair. "Did you lose your mommy?"

The boy stopped crying, but continued to sniff. He let out a shaky, "Yes".

"I'm Clara," she told the boy. "What's your name?"

"Timmy," he replied hesitantly, looking Clara up and down. From the way she was dressed, she did not seem a friendly person, but Timmy certainly liked her.

"Well, Timmy," she started in a soft voice, wishing not to frighten him. "What does your mommy look like, and I'll help you find her."

"She-she's blonde," he wailed. It was believable; he had tufts of blonde hair on his head, curling softly at the tips into his gorgeous doe-like blue eyes. "And she's got blue eyes. And she's really tall!" he whined, beginning to cry again.

"Oh, Timmy, don't cry," she soothed, picking him up into her arms. He was only about four, and was very light for his age. "Where did you see your mommy last?"

"We were in the perfume store, and I wanted to go to the toy store and she said in a minute and I went out the door and walked towards the toy store, but I couldn't find my way back!" he wailed. "I promise if I find my mommy I'll never be a bad boy like that again!"

"Oh, it wasn't your fault," she assure him, beginning to travel along the cobblestone path towards where she was sure she saw a perfume boutique. "How old are you?" Clara asked, making small talk until she found the perfume store.

"This many," he replied, pulling a hand from her neck to hold up four fingers. So she assumed correctly. "I really didn't mean to, I just saw a toy I wanted soo much!" he hid his face in her collarbone and began to whine again.

"Timmy, we'll find your mommy. I promise. Even if it takes me forever," Clara replied with a friendly smile. "You can trust me. I'm a good person. Ever heard of the Teen Titans?"

"I love them!" Timmy replied excitedly. "That's the toy I wanted! I wanted the T-Ship. It makes really cool sounds and lights up. It's fan...fan...it's great!" he replied, apparently not yet able to pronounce fantastic.

"Which one's your favorite?" Clara asked, watching the boy light up with glee.

"I like Kyle. He's the leader and he's always so brave. And Taku is really funny!" he responded, smiling a front-toothless smile.

"Do you know Clara?" Clara asked, bating a grin.

"O' course!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands for affect. "She's so dark. She makes me think of Raven."

"I'll tell you a secret, Timmy, but you can't tell anyone," she told him. He nodded, awestruck. "I'm Clara!"

Before he could respond, they came upon the perfume store, and he got excited. "This is the place!" Clara quickly entered, and saw a tall blond woman at the counter, talking frantically to a clerk.

"I've lost my little boy!" she exclaimed. "I've lost my little Timmy! He was right here and wandered away! You have to help me find him!"

"Ma'am!" Clara called, at the same time Timmy called for his mommy. "Ma'am!"

The woman turned and her doleful eyes turned bright and her frown into a smile. "Timmy!" she exclaimed, coming forward and taking him from Clara's arms, hugging him close to her bosom. "Oh Timmy, don't ever wander off again, y'hear?" The woman turned to Clara. "Thank you so much, young lady," she stated through tears. "You are forever in my debt. It's good to know some kids out there are still good."

"Clara! Can I tell her?" Timmy gushed excitedly.

"Tell me what?" the woman asked. Clara silently nodded to Timmy.

"She's Clara! She's a Teen Titan!" he gushed. The woman beamed.

"Nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too, and I was glad I could help, but I really must get back to the tower before it rains. I don't want to attract attention to myself by flying so I have a long walk ahead of me," she whispered so no one else would hear. But, apparently, a four year old could be louder than expected.

"Clara? Clara's here?"

And before she knew it, she was mobbed by fanatics and reporters, flashing cameras and asking questions, as she walked into the street. She stared in awe at the people following her and began to run. She ran across a crosswalk just as it turned red, and fortunately the mob was forced to stop. Clara stopped to catch her breath, but the walk light soon turned green and she was off and running again.

It was minutes before she successfully and skillfully evaded the crowd, hiding in an alleyway. She was so close to the Tower, and only needed to cross one more street before she could fly to the island. She would soon be safe at home.

But what she didn't plan on, was a car just ahead running a red light, with no intention of stopping. As she stood still in the middle of the crosswalk, she tried to think of any spell, any ANYTHING that could save her at the moment, but time stopped. She flashed back to every moment in her life, and saw it reel before her eyes.

"Magnaa...magnaa..." he spell failed as she lost her voice and she awaited the impact.

Instead, it came from the side. She was pushed back onto the sidewalk, and on top of her was a rather cute boy of fifteen or sixteen, smiling worriedly down at her, "Are you ok?" he asked. "You almost got hit right there. Lucky thing I saw you."

"Yea.." she replied shakily. Clara threw her arm around him and thanked him appropriately. "I couldn't do anything. I'm so lucky you were there."

The boy stood and helped her up. He was tall, with cute dimples and brownish-black hair, and green-ish eyes. He was clothed in a black beanie with a silver star, a pair of baggy jeans, and a black tee shirt with a silver skull. "Well, I'm really glad I could help, but I've got to go. A storm is coming. You should get home."

"Can I see you again?" Clara asked, though she didn't even know his name. It was just a strong attraction she had from the minute he had pushed her out of the way.

"When the time comes, you will," he replied mystically, before walking away, with one last dimpled smile.

End of flashback

Clara snapped backed to reality to see Kyle was back in the room. Three seconds after he arrived another bolt of lightning appeared, followed by a boisterous boom of thunder.

"So…" he started, jumping over the back of the couch and landing on the cushion. "What's up?" His hair was damp and dangling in his sunglass-covered eyes, and he easily shook it away with a jerk of his head.

"Well, I would have to say-" but Sara was cut off by the loudest boom of thunder yet, and then the darkening of the lights. Great, a power outage.

Then, there was a shrill, terrified scream.

"Titans, is everyone alright?" Kyle began in an almost hysterical voice. "Who screamed?"

"Sorry," Kimi's voice sounded as rustling came from her end of the couch and she whispered to Danny. "I have a serious fear of darkness." She fueled up on of her starbolts to reveal she had crawled in Danny's arms and Clara had grabbed onto Taku's arm. Once this was revealed in the light, though, she let go hastily.

"We can't let the back-up generators run for too long when they come on in about ten minutes. Who wants to go flip the circuit breakers" Kyle asked, sounding as if this were the most fun job anyone could ever have.

"Nose goes!" Kimi called, putting her finger to her nose.

Kyle and Danny both put their fingers to their noses, but the rest gave blank stares. "Just put your finger to your nose! Hurry!"

Clara did this slowly, as if her finger was about to detonate, and she was the last to do so. "Sorry, Clare, you gotta go flip the breakers. It's the ancient art of nose goes."

Clara sighed in defeat and sat from the couch. "Luminos Maximos," she murmured, a bright white light beginning to shine from her hand. "I'll remember this," she mumbled darkly, before beginning her trek from the room.

"Good luck, Clarebear," her sister stated, waving goodbye as if this were a long, grueling journey. "You know where the circuit breakers are, right?"

"Yea," she mumbled in response. "Be right back."

She entered the hall and felt there was sufficient light for her not to be wasting her power. She let her hand dim until it went dark. Faint outlines of doors and windows could be seen with her excellent vision.

"Well, this isn't the way I figured I'd be spending my Saturday," she muttered to herself, passing a hallway opening and an open door that led to an empty storage room.

Suddenly, she felt some force press on her side and push her into the open doorway. She screamed, the fact that she could perform magic leaving her mind. Her scream, though, was cut off when a hand was slapped over her mouth.

"Shh," a voice soothed softly, gently pushing her back so she was pressed against the wall. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The voice was older, not at all older than seventeen, and not any younger than fourteen. It was soft, and had a soothing baritone ring to it. And...she recognized it. "Who are you?" Clara demanded, not angrily, but more of curiosity. "What do you want with me?"

"I don't want anything from you. I just wanted to see you." Clara squinted and could see the dark outline of a manly face, with tufts of hair sticking out from what she assumed to be a beanie cap.

"Lumin-" but a hand came to slap over her mouth.

"Don't, please," he pleaded innocently. "I don't want you to see me. Not yet. I want to know if you'll accept me first."

"It would help if I knew who you were!" she retorted, starting to get slightly angry. "So…who are you! What do you want with me?"

"You're different," he whispered. "I don't know what it is about you, but I like it. You're mysterious. You're intriguing. I think you belong with me instead of these losers."

Clara gasped. You know, she could be really thick sometimes. "Black Baron?"

"The one and only," he responded slyly, his hands coming up to rest on her shoulders. "But I'm not going to hurt you."

"Why do you bother?" Clara snapped. "You know I'm not going to join you." It became clear to her this man would stop at nothing to have her join him. "Nothing could ever make me-"

But suddenly something had happened. He had brought his face forward and pressed his lips to hers. Clara's eyes bugged out of her sockets, before she succumbed to his overpowering charm and began kissing back. Her arms came up and hesitantly she laid her hands upon the milky-smooth skin of his face.

Her hands roamed to his hair, where she easily discarded of his hat and tossed it onto the floor, letting her run her fingers through the damp strands. This kiss felt familiar to her; it was as if she had been kissing this person everyday of her life.

"What were you saying?" he asked when they had pulled away for air several minutes later.

"I-I can't remember," she replied with a slight blush and small grin. "Why are you all wet?"

"You expected me to get here through the torrents of rain coming down outside and not be soaking wet?" he replied, and though she couldn't see it, he had an eyebrow raised.

"How sweet. You braved the worst weather conditions for little ol' me," Clara joked.

"Of course," he replied, softly and seriously, his hand resting upon her cheek. "I know this seems a little weird but…I feel like I've known you my whole life. You remind me of someone I once knew."

Clara sighed. She couldn't believe this was happening, as she came forward, rested her head in the crook of his neck, and encircled his waist with her arms. She was standing here, acting in such a manner with the criminal she had only known for a week. It was as if she was under some sort of love spell. Maybe just being alone for such a long time did that to her.

Clara, though, sucked up her romantic needs and stepped away, her hands dropping to her sides. "I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to make friends with me just so you can use me to get to the Titans," Clara started stolidly. "It won't work."

"Clara, you've got me wrong," he whispered. "I wouldn't do that. I'm really a good and honest guy…you know…once you ignore the whole 'I'm a big bad villain thing'."

Suddenly, the back-up generators kicked in. The only light that had been on in the time of the outage was the hallway light, and since the door was wide open, it came on. His face was only dimly lit, but she could see tufts of shaggy brunette-black hair, and dark jade eyes that looked almost onyx. His face was oval-shaped, with dimples as he smiled slightly, his eyes shining.

"Hi," he greeted awkwardly, disturbed by the silence that had come over them. "Well, uh, this is how I look…" he trailed off, averting his gaze.

"You! It was you who save me from the car today!" Clara gasped.

He blushed. "Yea," he replied sheepishly. "I couldn't let you die."

"Thank you," she whispered. There was a short silence. "Why are you evil?" Clara suddenly blurted out. "You seem like-well-, too much of a sweetheart to be evil like you are." She came forward and took his face in her hands. "Why do you do it?"

"Being good was never an option for me," he replied coldly, turning away and taking a few steps. His gloved fingers trailed on the top of an old, broken desk. "My life…everything…I was determined since almost the day I was born. I was one of the most successful students the HAEYP ever produced. If I ever turned away…well, they would come after me. Only God knows what would've happened to me."

"That's not it," Clara told him simply. "There's something you're not telling me. I can hear it in your voice."

He turned to her and smiled softly. "You're too smart for your own good," he told her, before heaving a sigh. "Maybe that's why I like you so much. You see-"

"CLARA!" A voice yelled. "CLARA, WHERE ARE YOU?"

A sharp intake of breath escaped Clara's lips. "It's not safe for me here. I have to go." He rushed forward and kissed her gently, his hands cradling her face. "Please, don't tell them…I just couldn't help myself. I had to see you. I hope to see you again."

"I-I can't," she whispered. "This relationship. It's forbidden. I-I couldn't do that to the team. I'm endangering them."

"Even if I said I loved you?"

Clara did not answer. She looked to the ground, before looking back up. "When will I see you again?" Clara asked, turning as he swept past her, his cape billowing. A wave of deja vu swept over her. He was in his full costume, except for his mask, which he effectively pulled from a compartment in his belt. In milliseconds he had deftly pulled it over his head.

"When the time is right, you'll know," he replied. "Goodbye for now." And then he added, "my black rose." He opened the window, the rain still pouring outside while a strike of lightning lit up the sky.

"Goodbye," she replied breathlessly. He looked back once more, before jumping from his crouched position and disappearing into the night sky. Clara gasped, stepping forward and almost slipping on his discarded hat. She deftly picked it up and examined it. It was a plain black hat with a silver star on the front.

As the voice that called her name got nearer, she pulled the hat on her head to seem inconspicuous, before slamming the window shut. Clara used her magic to create a wormhole to transport her from the room she was in to the control room.

Once she had flipped the breakers, she walked out and ran into Taku.

"I lost nose goes and had to come find you," Taku told her. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, I got lost. It was dark," she lied.

"Oh," he replied softly, as they began walking in silence back to the living room. "Hey, where did you get that hat?" he asked, pointing to her head.

"What are you talking about?" she responded nonchalantly. "I've been wearing this hat all night." It was slightly damp, most presumably from the rain, but Clara didn't care.

He wasn't particularly convinced. "Whatever."

TT2