Author's Note: YES! Finally, another chapter finished! Sorry about the tardiness, but all I can say is: God bless spring break! So yeah, I think this is one of the longest chapters as of yet…I apologize about that. But this chapter was also the hardest to write for me…dunno why, but everything just seemed so awkward while I was writing it, and ugh. Nothing really happened the way I wanted it to…SIGH. I'm glad it's over! As you may notice, I did some things unconventionally—Raven's meeting with her Emotions, for one, and her whole zooming-around-the-world-as-a-spirit-thingy. Not exactly what I expected to write, but not totally ruined either. The next chapter will hopefully NOT be this agonizingly long or hard to come up with, seeing as I have no idea what's gonna happen yet! But no worries, I do have the measly beginnings of a plan…and I'll get back to you on them later. So. Hope you guys don't think this chapter sucks as much as I think it does, and once again I LOVE ALL MY REVIEWERS! YOU GUYS ARE EXCELLENT! Ahem. Yeah…the end (oh, and yes the lyrics from last chapter are mine…so I call copyright!)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in the Teen Titans show or comics.

Steve Dayton remained in bed a good couple of minutes even after he slammed a fist down on the radio-alarm clock, content to sleep the morning away and enjoy the slight warmth of sun rays on his face and quiet breeze from a half-opened window blowing through his bedroom. The morning noises had begun to echo louder within Steve's ears, but he was able to ignore the honks of distress and roaring of traffic out on the street below if he concentrated hard enough of the faint song of a bluebird right outside the window—and the song lulled him into a dreamy half-sleep, one he wasn't anxious to leave. That wasn't what fate had in mind for Steve for this lazy, just-right Saturday morning, however; that much Steve fathomed as soon as he heard the snap and slow creak of someone attempting to sneak into his room unnoticed. His eyelids flickered and the corner of his mouth twitched as he begged the heavens for one more minute—right as he felt a heavy weight land smack on his stomach, causing him to heave upwards as his eyes began to water.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" Gar demanded loudly as he sat on a groaning Steve, a loaded water gun aimed at his foster father's face. Steve, eyes still full of sleep and closed tightly, groaned more in response to Gar's request, and tried to flip over on his side. Gar grinned evilly as Steve searched blindly for something to put over his face. "Alrighty, then, I gave you fair warning!" And with that, Gar pulled the trigger of the water gun, spouting a blast of cold water in Steve's eyes and up his nose.

Steve let out a yelp earsplitting enough to make more than a few passersby glance upwards as it filtered out the window. Raising his hands to block the water as Gar roared with laughter, Steve rolled over frantically in an effort to toss Gar off him, therefore moving him out of range of water blasts. A particularly definite thud let Steve know his effort hadn't been in vain. Grabbing a pillow and rubbing both water and sleep out of his eyes, Steve launched himself off the bed with a war cry and onto Gar, pillow waving back and forth.

"Okay, OKAY! I give up!" Gar shouted against a barrage of pillow blows, water gun knocked out of reach.

Hitting Gar in the face with the pillow, Steve gave a short laugh. "Sure, you say that," he replied, letting Gar catch his breath and climb up off the floor. And right before Gar made a dash for the water gun, Steve landed one last blow across his back hard enough to make Gar trip and fall to the ground. "But I've learned not to entirely trust you."

Gar snickered from his present place on the floor, before getting up once again. "Aw, come on, you gotta admit that was a good one," Gar said grinning, gesturing towards the water gun. Steve chuckled.

"I guess I could give you credit this time." Gar beamed. "But I don't think it was entirely necessary…"

"Necessary!" Gar exclaimed incredulously. "Dude, it's fifteen to eleven! What happened to an early start?"

"I decided to forego the 'early' part," Steve supplied nonchalantly, earning a punch from Gar. "Hey, settle down! The beaches can't be that crowded yet." Steve started out of the room.

"Are you kidding?" Gar said exasperatedly, following. "This is has been the best day to go in the past week or two! Everyone, including tourists, is going to be there!"

Walking into the kitchen of their apartment, Steve gave a wicked grin. "All the better—more babes to scope out."

Gar raised a finger, thinking Steve's reasoning over as Steve rummaged through the fridge for something to eat. "Well," Gar said thoughtfully, "you do have a point." Steve smiled. "Just don't ever let me here the phrase 'babes to scope out' from you again."

Steve frowned. "Hey, I'm not forty yet, I'm good-looking, I have a well-paying job, and I'm single. Why can't I date?"

"I never said you couldn't date," Gar countered. "But remember you also have a sixteen year old boy living with you who minds seeing you making out on the living room couch…just saying." Steve chuckled into the orange juice carton he had picked up. "Can we go now?"

"Seeing as you're not—" Steve stopped, observing that Gar was in fact wearing a t-shirt, red board/swimming shorts, and thongs (A/N: AS IN THE SHOES. I would've said flip-flops, but that sounded kinda…wrong when describing what a guy would be wearing…yeah). He also noted two beach towels, a wallet, and some more water guns were sitting on the counter. Gar waited expectantly for him to finish.

"…Actually, seeing as you are ready to go, and everything we need is on the counter, I have no choice but to go get dressed as fast as I can and hope we'll find a decent spot on the beach so I can avoid too much blame if we end up tanning on the top of the car," Steve said in one breath, putting the orange juice away, shutting the fridge door, and making his way back to his room.

Gar grinned as Steve shut the bedroom door, walking over to the fridge to get himself some orange juice. In truth, Gar had only gotten out of bed about twenty minutes ago himself, not too keen on the 'early' part of an early start, either…but Steve didn't need to know that. Sucker, Gar thought as he began to pour some orange juice into a cup. Then, immediately after that thought, orange juice splattered onto the kitchen counter as Gar hacked violently, his hand jerking with the force of the coughing. Managing to put the orange juice carton down, Gar covered his mouth with his arm as he waited for the coughing fit to subside, wincing at the wet, crackling sound the cough had. As soon as the coughing halted, Gar glanced nervously at Steve's bedroom door, hoping he hadn't heard anything. After a moment of listening, Gar hurried over to the orange juice spilled and began wiping it up as if nothing had ever happened.

The coughing had started up about a week and a half ago, but Gar waved it away as a slight chest cold at Kassie's questioning. Of course, then it had only been a few dry coughs here or there, triggered by a small tickling at the back of his throat. But it had started to turn into something a bit more a couple days ago, transforming into an exhausting heaving that popped up at least three or four times daily, some fits worse than others. So far, Gar hadn't let anyone know about his cold (for he had convinced himself that's all it was), hiding it with cough medicine he had found in his bathroom cabinet. Knowing by experience Steve took seriously to anything seeming unhealthy and concerning Gar, granted Gar's past health, he was determined to keep this cough from Steve as to avoid frantic visits to the doctor's office and needles. Because Gar hated needles—with a passion.

After Gar had cleaned up the orange juice and had actually had some toast, Steve finally emerged from his bedroom, fresh from a quick shower and dressed for a day…or rather getting closer to afternoon, now…at the beach. "Alright! Can we go now?" Gar whined, jumping over happily to gather his stuff from the counter and such in his arms. Steve laughed and after grabbing a beer from the fridge, opened the door to head down the stairs and to the apartment parking lot. Gar was already out the building by the time Steve had managed to lock up. Steve followed quickly, smiling.

Steve had been mildly surprised when Gar proposed a day-long visit to the beach between them, but had swiftly moved on to a content mood while Gar and he had discussed plans. Steve had started to worry he would never be able to find again the once always chattering and well, genuinely happy boy Gar had become over the past few years with the Titans. He had all but given up after a series of seemingly endless refusals to all the outings Steve proposed, and was starting to let his hope of Gar would ever truly settle into life of lacking in superhero-duty meander. One of his friends at work had suggested Steve give Gar a little bit more time when Steve told her of his predicament with Gar—but not all the complications, of course, just that Gar seemed to have trouble settling in. And as if intent on proving his co-worker's words, a couple of days ago Gar had come home after spending the evening with some of his friends with a new bounce in his step; actually, it hadn't been new at all, just the returning of a missed factor. Since then, Gar had started up on corny jokes again, laughed more freely, and seemed much more active and satisfied. Steve didn't know what had happened at that diner Gar had went to, or if this was all a charade Gar was putting on to keep Steve from worrying any longer, but Steve was pathetically glad the change had finally come along.

"Come on, you're walking slower than a sloth!" Gar called to Steve, standing by Steve's car.

"That's not possible," Steve retorted, coming closer. "A sloth can't walk, only climb!"

"How do you know that?" Gar said mischievously, climbing into the car as soon as Steve had unlocked it. "You've never been one before, have you?"

That was the first time Gar had mentioned his powers or anything connecting to his Titan life in a conversation, but Steve took it in a stride. "Ah, but it's not within my dignity to shove off National Geographic."

"Those losers! You can't tell me you've believed them all these years!"

Thus, for the rest of the trip, they argued good-humoredly about whether a sloth could walk or not, and if National Geographic was all it claimed to be. (A/N: DORKS. heh.)

Melina Ragonu's deep brown eyes were void of any emotion as she stared passively at the minuscule, bright red computer disc. Dim lights flickered lazily in her lair, computer screens illuminated with surveillance-tape images or streams of green words and numbers as numerous calculations were figured. Her pet had left her alone while it attended to a pleasure mission, a robbery spree with a few killings here or there, to be specific. Ragonu had granted the mission for the delightful success of infuriating the Titans at the jail break, and the perfection with which it had been executing its assignments—and she had the intention of her pet 'accidentally' running into none other than her favorite partner-in-crime.

For at the moment she wasn't entirely pleased with Slade. At all.

Ragonu suddenly flipped the disk out of her fingers and onto the floor, slamming her fist into the surface of the table with enough force to cause a hollow clash to echo loudly against the silent steel-enforced plastered walls. Ragonu's chair scraped against the cement floor as she stood, her face twisted in rage. The little bastard had cheated her, tricked her into doing his dirty work once again—she would've given Slade applause for the ingenious evident in this ploy, had the victim not been her. Ragonu was tiring quickly of Slade's games of power, too, and was ready to take him down when given the chance. And Ragonu was exceptionally well at recognizing opportunities.

Letting out a stream of curses directed towards Slade, Ragonu spotted the disc on the floor and bent down to pick it up again. Idiot device, Ragonu thought with malice, brushing off dirt from the disc with the tip of her fingers. Slade had indeed given her what she had asked for—the complete genetic blueprint was there, everything she needed to execute her calculations, Ragonu was sure of that. But the frustration did not lay there: no, Slade was not ready to give her what she so badly desired until he squeezed every single drop of assistance from her. Therefore the reason a dozen genetic codes and files on various super-villain convicts with specific instructions were there also, blocking the way to what Ragonu wanted—basically, a firewall that wouldn't budge until she completed a mutation of the codes to make the individual stronger and more powerful.

Ah, Slade was a good one. Ragonu had already crashed two computers trying to hack around the blockade, but to no avail. Even if it was possible to break the wall, which Ragonu doubted, she couldn't risk anymore of her computers—too much data was contained on them, and to lose it would be the end of her. However she despised the idea of wasting precious time on performing a petty secretary-like task, Ragonu had no choice. Yes, Slade had figured Ragonu well, and he had played his hand just right.

Staring at the disc, though, Ragonu's eyes narrowed as an idea formed in her mind. In an understatement, she was the geneticist necessary for Slade's plan, the reason he had entrapped her…but while he may have played his cards correctly, Ragonu still had a few more to lie down—Slade did not. A slow grin spread across Ragonu's wraith-like face, the catches and details falling into place within her mind. Scurrying over to a monitor, Ragonu entered a series of digits and entered the disc. Watching the screen go black and come back up to the programs on the disc, Ragonu began her studies.

"Gotcha, bastard," she whispered furiously, a low chuckle escaping her throat as she settled in to send one con's message to another.

"Can't this thing go any faster?"

"Man, you're already practically flying off the track! And you're beating me. What more do you want it to do?"

"…Go faster."

The screen lit up in a volley of victory fireworks as Kid Flash's yellow racing car flew across the finish line, Cyborg's car still a minute behind from catching up. Cyborg threw down his controller in frustration as Kid Flash's virtual racer received the first-place trophy for the seventeenth time in a row, Kid Flash fooling with his controller boredly. They had only been playing this game for the past four hours, and he was more than ready to call it quits.

"I don't get it!" Cyborg groaned. "I've been playing this game since forever, and you're able to come in and beat my record score in an hour!" Cyborg stuck an accusatory finger in Kid Flash's face, catching him in the middle of a yawn. "How do you do it?"

Shutting his mouth, Kid Flash shrugged and tossed his controller onto the floor as he stood up to stretch. "You may not have noticed, but I have a knack for fast," he replied, grinning, as Cyborg simmered. He had been the one in the first place to challenge the new member to the game, but hadn't expected Kid Flash to actually catch onto the game after twenty minutes of playing it.

Raven rolled her eyes from the end of the couch she was sitting on, book covering her face from the two on the other end. She had come out of her room about an hour ago to find them playing the videogame that Cyborg oh-so-loved. Not knowing where Robin was and not too keen on finding Starfire for fear of being forced to do some mall or fair related activity, Raven had accepted the present company and settled down to read her newest book, only glancing up every once in a while as Cyborg yelled at Kid Flash for beating him.

Kid Flash suddenly disappeared from Cyborg's side in a blur, reappearing at the kitchen refrigerator. "You guys got any grub?" he asked, opening the fridge door to let its dim white light fall on the floor. "I'm starving."

Cyborg gave him an incredulous look. "How can you even think of eating at a time like this!"

"Easy." Kid Flash pulled out a container of some bright-yellow sludge stuff, sniffing it curiously. "It's way past four, I haven't had anything to eat all day, and I'm pretty much bored of your game, Cyborg." He gave a glaring Cyborg one of his charming smiles. "You can only win so many times."

"Oh, no, you aren't leaving this room until I take you down," Cyborg threatened menacingly.

"Do you guys like Chinese?" Kid Flash ignored Cyborg. "I can be over to Hong Kong and back in, like, fifteen minutes."

Raven raised her book higher as Cyborg prepared to yell at Kid Flash, steeling herself. Just as Cyborg opened his mouth, however, the swish and click of someone entering the room sounded, and all three looked over to see a beaming Starfire glide in through the door.

"Friends!" she exclaimed happily. "Has your day of freedom been to your liking?"

Cyborg's eye twitched and Raven went back to her book as Kid Flash gave Starfire a huge smile. "Just beating Cyborg's all-time high record on NASCAR 300, nothing taxing…"

Starfire nodded blankly as Cyborg fought the urge to run over and beat up Kid Flash, clearly not knowing or caring what NASCAR 300 was. "I see…"

Raven brought her book down, honing in on Starfire. "Hey, Starfire—where have you been all day?"

Starfire smiled happily as Raven asked, as if remembering something she wanted to live over. "Well, I spent most of this day 'hanging' with Robin, as you from Earth say." She sighed happily, a dreamy look on her face. "He showed me many useful and new combat moves after we attended a moving picture at a theater down in the town."

Cyborg and Raven glanced at each other, Cyborg smirking slyly and forgetting his previous downfall as the king of NASCAR 300. Kid Flash scratched the back of his head, not noticing the passing of understanding between the others. "So, what, you and Robin went on a date? Nobody told me you two were together."

Starfire blushed vividly at the end of Kid Flash's words, Cyborg snickering and Raven rubbing one of her temples. Kid Flash turned around at the Cyborg's quiet laughing, confused. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Raven spared Starfire from awkward explanations. "Where's Robin now?"

Starfire stopped blushing, frowning. "I am not sure. We parted about an hour ago because he said he had something to 'take care of'. I went to the mall of shopping."

Raven frowned, too, but went back to her book. He would most likely be back soon, Robin never stayed away from the Tower alone for an unbelievable amount of time.

"So, Starfire, know of any good places to get some chow?" Kid Flash questioned. "I'm still starving, and you guys don't have anything edible here."

"Chow?" Starfire echoed, confused at the use of the word.

"He means food, Star," Cyborg provided for her, turning off the huge television screen. "How about we all just go get some pizza—leave a note for Robin, and he'll catch up to us."

"It sounds like a glorious plan to me!" Starfire said cheerfully.

"As long as the pizza's edible," Kid Flash agreed.

Raven didn't say anything, and was extremely annoyed when she looked up to find everyone staring at her, waiting. She scowled, but no one budged. "What?" she growled. "I don't necessarily like pizza."

"Then you're not human," Kid Flash teased—Raven determinedly began reading her book again. But Kid Flash wasn't ready to give up. Cyborg moaned under his breath as Kid Flash super-sped over to Raven's seat, leaning down over her shoulder. "You can't possibly think reading an old book would be better than hanging out with moi," he said in her ear, his golden eyes dancing.

Raven snapped her book shut, standing up so suddenly Kid Flash had to wheel back so she wouldn't smack into him. She turned on him, navy orbs flashing. "Quite frankly, I can think of way too many things I would rather do than accompany you to a pizza parlor—or do anything with you," she said sharply.

Kid Flash chuckled, which only caused Raven's anger to flare further—objects were on the verge of flying. "Sure, Rae, you just keep telling yourself that."

Raven froze as he used the Titans' pet name for her. "What did you call me?" she asked lowly, gritting her teeth. Kid Flash raised his eyebrows, opening his mouth to calm her. Before he could speak, however, Raven leaned forward over the couch, halting centimeters away from Kid Flash's face. She glared through narrowed eyes into his, close enough to feel his hot breath on her cheeks. "Don't," she snarled.

And with that, blackness enveloped Raven's figure as she teleported to the sanctuary of her room, leaving a slightly shaken Kid Flash and two stunned friends—this was the first time Cyborg and Starfire had seen Raven that aggressive towards a team member on a day-to-day basis. It was actually pretty discomforting.

Raven appeared through the floor onto her bed, fuming. That kid—he thought he had the right to—he had the nerve to—a short yell burst from Raven's lips as a painted vase on Raven's bookcase exploded and books flew from their shelves in a surge of obsidian energy. Raven ducked as shards of terra cotta flew at her, raising her head only after she heard the pieces hit the other side of the room. Mouth slightly agape, she stared at the ruined vase and the books flipped open, strewn around the floor. She rarely lost control like that, and she had done it in front of people. Did Kid Flash really affect her that much?

Sitting up, Raven wiped her mind clean and crossed her legs, levitating gently above her bed. Breathing in, Raven closed her eyes and slowly began the droning words of her meditation, intent only on the balance of peace in her mind. Nobody should be able to evoke her anger like that, it was unreasonable—though she had been cleansed of her father, Raven knew her powers could still cause too much destruction unchecked. Her awareness of the world around her began to diminish and she concentrated solely on the rise and fall of the rhythm in her words…no sadness, no happiness, no anger…

You shouldn't deny the reason why you got angry, a sly voice suddenly whispered in the back of her mind, breaking into Raven's increasing serenity. Her cheek twitched with annoyance, knowing exactly what was about to happen. I didn't ask for your input, she thought savagely, her mind fading into itself as reality was siphoned away.

It's about time you got it, though, you've been completely ignoring us lately! And don't even mention the fact that we're churning…Raven snorted, opening her eyes to find a pair of deep forest green ones staring into her face. Her heart leapt for second, but she merely blinked as the eyes leaned back to reveal the face of herself. Glancing around, Raven saw all her other faces assembled in a circle with her at the center—she had only to observe her all white costume, plus the asteroid they were floating on among stars, to realize her Emotions had finally gotten a hold of her…not that she had been avoiding them or anything…

"Avoiding!" Bravery shrieked, green eyes rolling. "You've been running away from us like a coward!" The other Emotions nodded or murmured in agreement.

"I'm assuming you're the one who got the rest here?" Raven sighed—Bravery nodded enthusiastically.

"You betcha I did! I mean, who else, you have to have me in order to face yourself," Bravery reasoned, her deep-green cape fluttering slightly in an invisible wind. She gestured behind her to a figure clothed in all red, though she was lacking the set of six glowing eyes Raven had come to recognize with her. "Even Anger is here!"

"Yeah, I for one am certainly tired of you overusing her and Fear!" Jealousy whined from behind Raven, clothed in royal violet. "I'm getting too rusty, you haven't pulled me out since Terra!"

"Hey!" another Raven, Embarrassment, wailed from Raven's right. She buried her furiously blushing face in a baby-pink cape. "I told you not to mention that name!"

"Oh, suck it up, Emmie!" Rudeness, swathed in orange, yelled exasperatedly. "You should be embarrassed over the blushes you're throwing around when Kid Flash talks to you—"

"I think he's funny!" Happiness said excitedly, clapping her hands as her bright pink cape bounced. "Though, he's not quite as good as Beast Boy, I admit that—"

Simultaneously Grief started sobbing into her grey hood and Anger growled at Happiness's words, right as another group of accusations and complaints rang out from the Emotions. Grimacing at the racket, Raven began to regret meditating in the first place; deciding to take action before things escalated out of control, Raven filled her lungs with air.

"STOP!"

All the Emotions froze at Raven's shout, attentions immediately focusing on her. With all of them looking at her, Raven turned in a full circle, assessing who was there and who wasn't—and it seemed like more than most were around her. "Okay," she began, "either as a group you can all tell me what's bothering all of you, or I'll go back to ignoring your thoughts completely. Choose now."

The Emotions glanced at each other, and Knowledge suddenly stepped up from the circle, adjusting her glasses and yellow hood. "Alright, even though it's psychologically impossible for you to ignore us all completely, I'll address the more pressing concern: too many Emotions are out of control, as we witnessed downstairs with Kid Flash. And we have yet to come to terms with each other."

Raven stared at her Emotions, wondering why exactly they had needed to come to her as actual beings—usually, as a whole, she and they functioned together as one. Only a few times had her Emotions spoken to her as a congregation, and without the use of the enchanted mirror. Why now?

"We're speaking to you like this because we're having trouble working with each other at the moment, as I just said," Knowledge answered. "Why else would we be shouting at and about each other? Our control seems to have left us, Raven. So organize us, and then we won't be such a bother—for at least some time."

Raven crossed her arms as her Emotions waited expectantly. "How am I supposed to help if I don't know why there isn't control?"

"You know exactly why there isn't any control." Raven shivered slightly at the raw power seeming to be contained in the darkly rasping voice of her Anger. The red cape hugged Anger's figure as she continued. "You would be blind not to derive the reason why I surface every time Kid Flash speaks too much to you."

"Face it, Raven," Grief said thickly, tears still running down her gray face. Raven looked down at the ground, not wanting to face it. "Kid Flash reminds you of—of him."

"You're not being fair to yourself." Raven swung around, to come face to face with the soft face of Love, magenta cape flowing. "You can't deny the truth: you did care for him, you—"

Raven collapsed, harshly sitting down on the cold asteroid rock. Grief was moaning softly, hiccups escaping here and there. Knowledge pushed her glasses up her nose. "He may have moved on from the Titans, but you haven't moved on from him."

Shaking her head slightly, Raven stared at her hands folded limply in front of her, stubbornly trying to ignore the words of her own mind—but she knew she couldn't any longer. Raven glanced up at the figures gathered before her: Knowledge gazing at her expectantly, Grief quieting her cries in anticipation, Happiness concentrating seriously, Anger waiting like a quiet shadow, Embarrassment bashfully twirling a lock of hair, Fear standing still for once, Love smiling warmly. An image flashed before Raven's eyes, dancing forest-green eyes watching her with care etched into every fiber of their being. Raven sighed deeply, and looked back to the ground. "I know."

Bravery reached down to where Raven was sitting and pulled her up. "You've faced yourself, now," she told Raven, "but you still have to face him."

"But how?" Raven asked faintly, her eyes remaining fixed to the cold, hard rock beneath her feet. "I don't know what to say, when to say it, how to say it, or even where I can find him! Am I supposed to just—"

A hand found its way to Raven's shoulder, and she looked up into the sparkling magenta eyes of Love. "You will have to decide how to express us to him on your own…but only when the time comes," Love instructed her softly, giving her shoulder a little squeeze of comfort. "As for where he is, you know how to find him."

"But…" Raven trailed off as Love and her other emotions began to move away from the knot they had formed around her. "I still don't understand why…"

The Emotions were joining hands in a complete circle now, with Raven at the center. "Just trust yourself," Knowledge called from her place, "and us."

"We will help you," Bravery assured, "when we are needed."

"Any of us," Anger rasped.

"At anytime," Happiness added.

And with that, the Emotions filled Raven's vision as a swirling mass of white, engulfing her until she snapped out of meditation, eyes opening to the familiar sight of her room. Sighing, Raven gracefully dropped down from hovering in place, stretching as she glanced at the time. Not quite an hour had passed; it was nearing five, which meant that all the other Titans were long gone for pizza. Raven smiled—finally, there would be some quiet. And thinking of her Emotions' words, she knew exactly what she would do with it: maybe it wasn't exactly the confrontation needed, but Raven could improvise. Sort of.

Raven was up on the roof of the Tower in minutes, preparing for an out-of-body experience. She had done this more than once, but Raven had no idea how long this particular instance would take. Hopefully a certain someone wouldn't decide to zoom his irksome self home, looking to have hell rain downed upon his head before she got the chance to finish. Raven's face remained in a painful scowl at the thought while slipping into the deep meditation necessary to perform the wanted task. "Azrath, Mentrion, Centhos," she droned…but instead of her surroundings decreasing in awareness, this time she opened herself up to them, taking in everything she could. She was excruciatingly aware of the lapping of waves against the shore many stories below her, the whispering a breeze against a group of trees nestled between some rocks; she felt the slight sway of the Tower in the wind through her very being, the soft warmth of the early-evening sun against her skin; she inhaled the choking smell of pollutants and gasoline, weaving in and out of the scents of saltwater mist and faint late blossoms. A fish floundered in the water somewhere beneath her, a red-tailed hawk glided through the sheer blue sky some forty feet above her; a motor boat skidded across the surface of the bay as it headed out to sea, a cargo-truck blared its horn at a laborer in the way as it pulled into the piers. A woman laughed energetically as a seagull cried out to fishermen emptying their catch onto the dock, the smell of fresh-baked bread made the mouth of a ten-year-old boy water as a dolphin tittered happily while leaping through the Pacific waves, a business man cursed as he tripped on a can in the middle of a street as a college-student jogged across the bridge, a group of kids exploded from a movie theater as a helicopter roared through the jungle of skyscrapers of downtown as a carpool headed home for the day laughed extensively at a dirty joke on the radio as a policeman ordered black coffee at a local diner for his beginning shift as a pet-sitter exerted a failing effort to keep all her clients' dogs in check at the city's central park as an executive locked up the doors of a meeting room as three boys raced through streets on bikes as a mother tried to calm her screaming child as a cat wandered aimlessly through an alley—

And suddenly Raven was there, soaring across the bay to the town, voices and sounds rising and falling as she whipped past various scenes and places, though her physical body hovered motionlessly on the very top of the Tower. Images were merely blurs of color, although she knew of what and whom and where as clearly as if she was standing in each spot watching the going-ons beyond intensely…but there was one situation she was specifically searching for. In her mind's eye, Raven pictured the one person she wanted to find amidst all these others, exactly as she had last seen him: the snapshot of him meeting her gaze, gripping his suitcase as winds from the helicopter buffeted them severely, an arm thrown up to shield himself. Keeping that image in her head, she allowed herself to be pulled towards him, pulled by a miniscule current in the turbulent river of life. But however miniscule, it was enough.

With what seemed like barely seconds, Raven's neck-breaking flight began slowing as she drew parallel to an old, yet classy building of apartment units, a small parking dock next to it. As if on a billow of air, Raven raced up the side of the building until she was level with one particular window, then glided through the wall and stopped, rather abruptly. Somehow, without truly knowing but still knowing with a screaming inclination in her gut, Raven knew exactly where she was…

In his room.

She gazed around at the bland, pale white walls, noticing the half-open closet door revealing two boxes yet to be unpacked. The bedroom certainly appeared inhabited, though: the unmade bed, with its rumpled sheets, a dirty shirt hanging off the bedroom's doorknob, a cluttered dresser, with one drawer open to reveal thrown-in clothes, a night stand with more clutter and a digital clock flashing the time, tennis shoes lying in a messy pile at the foot of the bed. Raven frowned at a bottle of cough medicine among the clutter on the dresser. The corners of Raven's mouth tugged a bit as she observed an early issue of the Doom Patrol comics laying among the clutter on the nightstand, underneath the clock. So maybe he wasn't so far gone after all.

For the next couple of minutes, Raven inspected the room leisurely, recognizing little habits that she had come to realize he had over the past couple of years, finding it hard not to smile fondly at the habits, and noting changes about the belongings in the room. Besides the comic and the view from the window, which she noticed included a glimpse of the Tower on the bay, Raven saw no other sign connecting to the Titans—what Raven suspected was being kept in the boxes. Otherwise, the room was just another teenage boy's hiatus from the world. As it should be, she told herself firmly.

As it should be…

Breaking into her thoughts, the door to the bedroom was suddenly thrown open, causing Raven to start violently. Frantically she backed up to the far wall of the room before she realized no one could see her; she was only a spirit extension. Raven calmed herself down only for her heart to leap into her throat as her mind caught up with what was happening—Raven more or less gulped at the figure coming through the door, half-grinning and eyes sparkling with some amount of exhilaration. Though Raven had moments before convinced herself that nobody could know of her presence, she instantly felt an overwhelming sense of…nakedness…as he walked into the room. She fought a strange fear that begged her to flee back to the safety of her body atop the Tower, not understanding why she was so unsettled. This was who she had been looking for—there was no reason for her to turn tail now, especially since she ran no risk of being discovered. I wanted to do this, and there's no reason to be frightened, Raven thought, staring down at the floor through transparent feet. There's no reason to be frightened.

A muffled voice coming from somewhere outside the room brought Raven's attention upwards, just as the door closed again. "Alright, just let me shower first," came the all too familiar voice, "I'll be out in a sec." Until now, Raven had kept her stare anywhere besides where it needed to be—but now she forced herself to look as floorboards creaked across from her, realizing this might be the one time she could. It had been a few months since he had left, but he had always been at the back of her mind. This was something she had to do to keep peace for a little while longer. Even if it is just only a little while longer, she thought guiltily.

What met her eyes was an ordinary teenage boy.

Raven stared as he made his way over to his bed, wet from head to toe, dumping a damp towel and along with some sand on the bed and tossing off sandals onto the floor. Even at the far side of the room, the brisk scent of saltwater and seaweed drifted over to Raven. She didn't know what she had expected, but a wave of relief suddenly seemed to wash through her; though his skin was a far cry from green, Raven knew Gar Logan. She could deal with him. He was just…human. Shaking her head, Raven chided herself—of course he was human! She chuckled nervously at her thoughts, at how ridiculous the whole situation was. Make sure he's okay, she thought, and that's all I'm here for.

At first glance, Gar Logan didn't seem all that much different since the last time Raven had seen him, running towards the helicopter. But the longer she watched, the more subtle changes she saw: his red hair was a bit longer, curling lightly around his ears as it slowly dried. Freckles still painted his nose, but more diminished due to a slight golden tan. He seemed a little taller, too, now that Raven thought about it…as Beast Boy, Gar had been at least an inch shorter than Raven. Now, though, it appeared that Raven had an inch or two to go. And…and…there was something else different about him, too, but Raven couldn't put her finger on it. She halfway sighed—she never could.

Raven was torn from her observation when Gar began shaking out his towel, disturbing the still air and sending sand flying. He grimaced as some hit his face and Raven shielded her face with her hands even though the sand went right through her presence. As soon as he was done, Gar went over to another door and hung the towel up to let it dry. Satisfied, Gar nodded…and began taking off his shirt. Petrified, Raven's mind flew back to his words upon entering the room as she felt a small blush begin. He's not actually going to—?

As if for Raven's dignity, however, Gar halted in his actions, forest-green eyes focused intensely on the small window leaking in sunlight instead. He walked over to the window and tossed his shirt on the bed, a longing look on his face. Curious, Raven came up behind him peering out the window to see what he saw, but only seeing a shadow of the Tower as the sinking sun glared off its glass and steel outfit. Raven looked at his arms crossed tensely across his chest, and gave a sad smile. So maybe he hasn't quite moved on yet, either. She made a move as to touch his shoulder, but her translucent fingers expectantly brushed through.

Gar abruptly wheeled back, taking his gaze away from the view with a muttered, "Whatever." He made his way to a small bathroom beside his bed, shutting the door with a dull smack. Raven stared at the door from her original place by the dresser, holding a hand thoughtfully to her chin. She felt calm and content, though with what she wasn't entirely sure. A hushed roar of water dashing through plumbing broke the silence in the room, and Raven readied herself to depart. But just as she was about to do so, the door to the bathroom opened and Gar entered the bedroom once more.

Staring directly at her.

A rushing noise filled Raven's head as he strolled straight for her presence, his forest-green eyes boring into her. As he neared, Raven went numb with the shock of what was happening. There was no possible way! Yet he strode ahead confidently, slowing a step away from her, reaching towards her, and…he began digging in the open drawer of the dresser. Raven froze as he passed through her, stunned, but relieved. She faintly felt the warmth of his body around her, and in turn felt her face heat faintly. Blinking, Raven felt her face heat further at the panic that had enveloped her seconds ago, and further as Raven again reminded herself how ridiculous her predicament was at the moment. Praying no one was observing the rest of herself, and therefore her reddening face, at the Tower, Raven stood stock-still until Gar rose from the drawer, a new set of clothes for after his shower in hand. As he turned to walk back to the bathroom, Raven did the only thing she could really do…

She fled.

About to close the bathroom door, though, Gar Logan turned back to stare at his dresser once again, a troubled light in his eyes. The sound of water hitting the sides of the shower tub rang harshly through the silent room as he continued to stare at the spot for a few minutes, his brow furrowed. Then as suddenly as he had turned, Gar turned back, shaking his head with a muttered, but also tired, "Whatever." The bathroom door shut firmly.