Disclaimer: Teen Titans is the property of DC Comics and Warner Bros. "The Hollow Men" was written by T.S. Elliot, and the use of passages to open each chapter is done with the utmost respect for one of the English languages best craftsmen. Thank you, and enjoy.

Titans Broken

Chapter 4: A Crucible

Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death's dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind's singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.

- T.S. Elliot's "The Hollow Men"

The group gathered in one of the observation rooms, while their two subjects were sent to their assigned quarters. Batman paced irritably his jaw set.

"Well that was a waste of valuable equipment." Cyborg said before heading for the door. "I'll see if I can salvage something from it."

Then the door slid shut.

"That didn't work." Raven said. "Starfire blew apart those droids all too easy."

"So what now, use Superman's highest setting? With Dick in the room we could be sentencing him to death." Black Canary said.

"No… But I still think if we want to fix this we need to get them to work together again, give them a foundation and a chance for Starfire to let her emotions out. The 'Kitchen' just wasn't enough… They need to think they're dependent on each other. That their lives are at risk." Batman stopped pacing and turned toward them. "Raven, have you heard of the Failsafe Scenario?"

The caped women shook her head while Zatanna and Black Canary stared at Batman in shock. Black Canary stood upright and snarled. "No, just no!"

Zatanna swallowed and looked between them. "What are you suggesting?"

"I've come up with an alternate version of Failsafe, one that revolves around the Vegan system alliance as the primary foe." Batman said. "Her history there and the need to work together will force her to remember… if she has repressed her memories of Dick, what do you think she did with the memories of the Citadel?"

"In order for that to work neither can know it's a simulation…" Raven said.

"Indeed… we'll have to drug them in their sleep, hook them up, and set it to run until the scenario's completion." Batman said. "I have sufficient supplies to set that up tonight… Dick's such a light sleeper it'll be a bit of a challenge for me." With that statement he turned and left.

"Raven… there's something else you should know." Zatanna said as she turned around to face her. "The Failsafe Scenario is a no-win scenario. We use it to psychologically test Young Justice Members… see how they'd react to the loss of their mentors and team mates. They'll be in the simulation until they… well… die."

Raven flinched. "I'll monitor them under the simulation… if there's any sign that this has worsened their psychological health… we'll pull them out."

"I doubt it's that easy, even Martian Manhunter couldn't pull the last team we ran through the scenario out." Black Canary said. "We stopped using it after that."

"This scenario will be a… Crucible if you will." Batman said. "It'll put them through the wringer. Force them to confront their fears and failures. It should burn away everything but the core truth of their situation."

"Which is?" Raven asked.

"I intend to find out." Batman said as he headed for the door.

Dick Grayson slumped against the door and tore his mask off. He gasped for breath and slid down to the floor. He thought back to the session in the 'Kitchen' and swallowed. Starfire was stronger than he remembered, so much stronger.

It scared him.

He leaned back against the door and shut his eyes. "Kori... how... how are you this strong and, can't remember me?" He shut his eyes. "How can you not control that much power?"

He froze and narrowed his eyes. "Bruce knew! That's why he brought her in. He saw she's dangerous right now. Even Superman would have trouble with her... God!"

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's all my fault."

The door hissed open. "Do you have it?"

She froze and slowly turned to face the Batman. "Yes... I have it. What do you want it for?"

Batman walked up beside her and entered in his access code. Another holographic terminal appeared and Oracle watched him bring up a computer simulation file. "Computer, open Failsafe Scenario B1T0 for editing."

"Failsafe?" Oracle asked. "Bruce... what the hell?"

"The easiest way to deal with your greatest fears, your darkest memories, is to face them." Bruce said as he brought up the information and began to type at the terminal.

A list of opposing forces slowly began to appear on the monitor... ships, troops, weapons, and other notations. Barbara swallowed down a lump that had risen in her throat. "You... you can't be serious!"

"Have the MMI system ready by tonight for J'onn and a second for M'gann if needed." Batman said flatly.

"They'll break!" Barbara snapped. "If they're not completely broken already!"

"Better they break in a simulation then on the ground." Batman stated and walked out of the room clutching a data disk in his hand. He turned and faced her. "Or would you prefer I just deport the girl and let Dick remain a ticking time bomb?"

"You'll kill them!" Barbara said. "It's a no win scenario!"

"As is this one." Batman said and the door slammed shut.

With a flash of light the green skinned Garfield Logan stumbled out of the transporter. He held a rather battered uniform in his arms along with a duffle bag and blinked at the empty transporter room. With a scowl he stepped off the transporter pad and walked to the hallway. "Uh… Hello?"

A monitor crackled to life near his head. "BB! Great, you're here!"

Garfield spun and looked up at the familiar face of Cyborg and grinned. "Hey!"

"Listen, I've got a meeting in a bit or I'd meet you down there. Raven is in the observation room for interrogation room two… I'll see about getting you some quarters when the meeting is over." Cyborg said.

"Right… uh, how do I get to that room?" Garfield asked.

"Just take the turbo-lift up two levels, there's signs you can't miss it." Cyborg said.

"Thanks Cy." Garfield said as he headed for the turbo-lift.

Bruce Wayne took a deep breath and fingered the data disk clasped within his hand. He knew that most people found him to be brusque, demanding, and downright unapproachable. Others that knew him found him manipulative, conniving, and paranoid. They were right on many levels, but they also respected him, most of the time. Those that had outright gone against him were few.

Ironic that one of them was the subject of this meeting of the core Justice League. Already members of the league had filled the meeting room. Wonder Woman and Superman taking up their usual spots flanking his chair. The other members spread out around the table as he walked up to his seat.

Their technical officer scowled from where he sat. Cyborg never seemed to fit into the league even as one of its most important members. He was more human in his dealings then they were, more approachable, more affable, and much more liked by most people.

Except perhaps Flash.

Superman stood. "This meeting of the Justice League has been called due to a proposal being made by Batman regarding the psychological evaluation and testing of Nightwing and Starfire. Both individuals, while not current League members, have a history of acting for the greater good."

"Had a history, the actions Starfire has taken recently have been far less cut and dried." Wonder Woman said and the Flash rolled his eyes.

"You're not still pissed she decided not to be an Amazon, are you?" Flash muttered.

"We've all had moments of stupidity. I don't think this lapse of judgment means we should just deport her." Green Lantern said.

"If we cast her out we'll be unleashing an unstable personality on the universe." Batman said. "One that could potentially devastate an unprepared world, if she can be rehabilitated she should be."

"Are you sure she's unstable?" Cyborg growled from where he sat at one end of the table.

"Your friend Raven used the words 'semi-sociopathic' to describe her current state." Batman stated flatly.

"I would use the same words to describe you, Bats." Cyborg said.

A low hush fell over the group before the Flash started to laugh. "I think me and Cyborg have to agree on that one Batman."

"Despite that, she's not the only concern we have at present. Nightwing has also shown signs of psychological strain... and while he is not a League member he's shown himself to be willing to abide by our assessment of whether he should continue working." Superman said. "Batman has a proposal for our consideration on attempting to get the pair to work through their problems."

"In my experience I've found that forced confrontation of one's fears is the greatest test of character and an excellent means of assessing the psychological stability of a person. I have created a training scenario to force the pair to face their failures and fears." Batman stated flatly. "In order to properly work, the scenario must be administrated without their knowledge and allowed to run until its termination, either in victory for the pair or defeat."

"Should we consider their psychological health to be based on their success or failure?" Hal asked.

"No... We should consider our actions on how they work through the scenario and reacted to their fears, not on success or failure." Batman stated. "It's a Crucible, meant to push them to understand themselves and their failures."

Aquaman stared at Batman. "There's something you're not telling us."

He nodded. "The scenario I've designed is based on Failsafe."

A number of the older members flinched and Wonder Woman stared at Batman. "You wish for them to fail?"

"I do not care about whether they succeed or fail, I care about how they attempt to succeed. How they respond to the loss of life and possibly even each other. It will be traumatic, but as far as I can see this is the only real viable solution we have without years of counseling for the two of them." Batman stated. "All of us have been forced to face our fears, and some of us chose to take our fears into our heroic persona."

Superman rubbed his jaw. "I do not like this proposal."

"And if the scenario makes them worse? This is a gamble Batman." Wonder Woman said sternly. "Why do you want this fixed now?"

"Why? Because Starfire has been working hand in hand with Red Hood and Arsenal for the last few months," Batman said simply. "Can you imagine if she was turned against us? She's a threat to every single one of us in her current state. She's a threat to galactic security if we deport her. The only way to end that threat is either to kill her or fix her."

"That's rather cold of you Batman, couldn't we imprison her?" Flash said with a scowl.

"I don't know of any means of imprisoning her that would be fool proof enough for me to sleep at night. She was once a powerful crime fighter and Nightwing's fiancé... as much as I opposed their union I did not want to see her reduced to being Red Hood's personal nuclear weapon and Roy Harper's sex toy." Batman said.

"We do not kill." Superman stated flatly. "Which really leaves us with only one choice, doesn't it Batman?"

Wonder Woman nodded as did Aquaman. Other heads followed suite until only Cyborg remained without giving consent.

The African American leaned back in his seat. "I don't like this... we're talking about two of my best friends. Sure, I want to see Starfire fixed, sure I want Nightwing to stay out on the streets, but do I want to see them run through hoops like this? No."

"Noted, the proposal passes six to one." Superman said. "I will inform J'onn and M'gann so they may begin preparations. How soon will the simulation be ready?"

"I have it ready now." Batman said as he sat the data disk on the table. "For those of you not familiar with the Failsafe scenario, the scenario originally simulated a large scale assault by an unknown alien race that was impossible to completely defeat. I have modified the scenario to make it more acceptable to the minds of both participants and switched the enemy forces to represent the Citadel and their allies."

Cyborg's human eye widened. "If you wanted her to face her fears... you couldn't have made a better choice."

"The Citadel?" Flash asked.

Green Lantern leaned forward. "They're a race from the Vegan system... experts at cloning technology and the greatest military in the region. Planets they conquer are stripped of resources, their populations are enslaved... The slaves are shipped to the Citadel itself, some are used as simple labors, some are used as artisans, most females are used or abused sexually. Their masters torture all slaves in various heinous ways until they die. Then... they are consumed by the Citadellians."

"Consumed?" Flash gasped. "You mean…"

"They eat them." Cyborg growled. "Star never talked much about her experience there... it was too painful for her."

"How long do you expect them to last in the scenario?" Superman asked.

Batman chewed his lip. "I can't underestimate them as a team... but I expect them to last around twelve hours. However, the longer they last the more successful this is likely to be."

"Was there any other business?" Superman asked. When no one answered he stood up. "Alright, until next time."

Raven sat down in a seat in the observation room and shut her eyes. It'd been an exhausting day. The next would certainly be just as tiring, what with the simulation and scenario that Batman had proposed. Monitoring the two of them would require her empathic abilities... and she knew that as good as M'gann and J'onn were, that they really didn't have the knowledge of the two people that was essential.

She leaned back in the seat and slumped, something she rarely did. Her mind and control felt wrung out more exhausted from the emotional upheaval she'd been dealing with within herself. Her control was frayed, barely functional, and she knew that she'd have to meditate before she slept.

"You look awful." Zatanna said from her seat half way around the coffee table where she was typing at a small laptop.

Raven nodded. "I feel awful. This is... difficult for me. They're both relying on me."

"And you don't have someone backing you up?" Zatanna observed. She let out a long sigh. "I can't imagine what it must be like for you, not only with so little support of your own, but to feel what they're feeling while trying to keep your own emotions under control. I'm amazed you're not smashing everything around you."

"I will be if this keeps up." Raven said quietly. "I think there's a light in the turbolift that needs replaced thanks to me."

"You need to meditate before things get worse then."

"No duh." Raven mumbled. The door slid open and Black Canary stepped inside. She sat down on the couch and leaned back tiredly. "Where'd you go?"

"I talked Wally into coming up... hopefully he can help Dick." Black Canary said.

Raven nodded. "He needs support, and there's only so much I can give him with Star so hurt." She took a deep breath. "His insistence that I help Kory isn't helping."

"How about you?" Black Canary asked. "Isn't there anyone that can help you with this?"

"I... they are my best friends, Cyborg and I were never that close, so unless you manage to get..." Raven's voice trailed off as she felt a familiar presence at the edge of her awareness. Her eyes widened and she suddenly stood. The door hissed open and a familiar green skinned figure scrambled inside. Her heart hammered with surprise and relief as he ran toward her. "Garfield!"

A smile slipped across her face as Garfield pulled her into a hug. After a moment she hugged him back and melted against him. She let out an exhausted sigh of relief at his presence. "Rae..." He murmured affectionately in her ear. "Are you okay?"

"No... But I'm getting there." She said as Garfield pulled back and looked up at her, an impish smile slipping across his face. "I'm so glad you're here."

Behind her, Raven could sense the shock roll off Zatanna as Raven pulled him back into a hug. The familiar feel of Garfield's furry tail slowly wrapping around her middle holding her close, cracked the dam on her emotions and a second later they gave way. She felt a set of tears roll down her cheek as the one way mirror shattered and Zatanna's laptop shot sparks before going dead.

"Rae... I'm here, I'm here." He said comforting her as best he could. "As long as you need me, I'm here."

Rae tightened her grip on Garfield and buried her head in his shoulder, letting the tears fall free. "Oh Garfield... it's been awful, so awful. I'm so glad you're here."

Garfield nodded. "I called in some favors. I wasn't on call for the next episode anyway. I'm here as long as you need me Rae. I'm not about to let you face this alone."

"Thank you." She whispered.

Wally West glanced down at his adult 'Gold Flash' uniform and sighed. So long as Barty was the Flash, he had to differentiate himself somehow from his former mentor. Former mentor, that Barty had replaced him with Impulse as a sidekick felt like a kick to the gut sometimes, but at the same time Wally was smarter and more logically inclined than most people gave him credit for.

He knew that he was too old to be a sidekick anyway, and Barty's insistence that he get a college degree had given him an opportunity to study the physics behind his abilities, and the other speedsters as well. It had also given him a chance to live on his own, something that most young men his age celebrated with great gusto.

He could certainly enjoy the increased freedom that being at college had given him, but it had also taken him out of the 'hero' circuit and deprived him of friends. Sure he'd called Dick and tried to hang out when he could, but Dick was always so busy these days, working cases and driving himself against the grindstone.

So he'd made a new uniform and started work on the 'Gold Flash' identity. Still being out of circulation meant that he had little idea what all had gone on out there, what had been happening, and so forth.

The call he'd gotten from Black Canary had been a bolt from the blue, and what she'd said had been shockingly vague as well. Still, he was here on the Watchtower, wearing his new uniform. He walked up to the door and pushed the activation stud. "Dick, its Wally."

"Wally?" A hoarse and tired voice answered after a moment, then the door slid open and Nightwing stood in the doorway staring at him. "Hell... come in, did someone call you?"

"Black Canary." Wally said as he stepped inside the room and glanced around at the Spartan quarters he'd been assigned. A battered suitcase sat on a chair beside the bed and Nightwing sat on the bed and slumped forward. After the door slid shut he tore off his mask and threw it onto the suitcase. "Dick?"

"What did they tell you?"

"Nothing much, just that you needed a friend," Wally said as he sat down. He pulled off his own mask and dropped it onto his knee. "You look like hell man."

"I feel like it." Dick said quietly and Wally studied his friend for a long moment, noticing the tear tracks on his face, the exhausted look in his eyes.

Slowly Wally chewed his lip. "So... who died?"

"No one... at least not physically," Dick said quietly. "I don't want to talk about it... all right?"

Wally nodded. "Okay. Just know if you want to talk, I'll listen. We're friends. It's what friends are for."

"Thanks for coming." Dick said quietly.

"Anytime," Wally said.

The pair sat in companionable silence for a long time before Dick took a deep shuddering breath. "Wally... what's it like, not being a hero?"

"Honestly?" Wally asked and Dick nodded. He shrugged. "It's alright, it's kind of nice not watching over my shoulder all the time, but... it's also kind of boring. You'd hate it man... you don't know how to take things easy."

"I guess you're right." Dick said.

"You're thinking about quitting?"

"Maybe... things haven't been going well for me." Dick sighed. "I don't know if I can keep doing this... it hurts so much sometimes." He closed his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if I did more good than harm, if I did any good."

"Dick... you do your best, I know it, everyone knows it." Wally sighed. "What's going on?"

"I can't talk about it... it hurts to much Wally." Dick said.

Wally scowled and leaned back. "Did Babs finally tell you no?"

He shook his head and kept silent.

"So it's not Babs... are you getting PTSD or something?"

A hollow laugh came from Dick. "If I was the sort to do that, you'd think I'd be broken by the time the Titans formed the first time."

Wally scowled. "Something is wrong though."

"Yes..." Dick admitted. "You know Babs still hasn't said yes."

"She's confused Dick... hell, how often do you talk to her anyway?" Wally asked.

"Not often..." Dick sighed. "Do you think we're through and neither of us can say it?"

Probably, Wally thought to himself before shrugging. "Do you think you are?"

"I don't know... I feel so confused sometimes and this new situation isn't making it any better..." Dick glanced at him. "I guess they didn't tell you about it, it's private so I shouldn't either."

"Some secret in the Bat Family?" Wally asked.

"No... But Bruce is involved. He's being a concerned parent at the moment." Dick chuckled darkly. "As if Daddy Bats cared before now."

"Is he why you're here on the Watchtower?" Wally asked.

Dick just nodded. Then he let the silence build for several minutes. "It's hard..."

"What's hard?"

"Seeing a friend fall apart... I'm sorry Wally. I'm not the best company at the moment." Dick growled to himself. "I don't know what to do."

Wally sighed. "Do you want me to talk to Babs or something? Or Bruce?"

"No..." Dick groaned. "The last thing I need is Babs killing me."

"What is going on?" Wally asked.

"Talk to Raven and Black Canary, if they thing you should know, they'll tell you." Dick said.

Wally stared at him for a long moment. "It's a Titan isn't it, the friend you were talking about... I thought it was you."

"It is me Wally, but I'm not the only one falling apart." Dick said quietly. "Go... get something to eat and talk to them."

"Okay... You, just hold on." Wally squeezed his shoulder and stood. "I'll see you later then." He walked to the door. "What if they don't tell me?"

"They will." Dick said quietly.

Wally sighed as he stepped out into the corridor. He scowled before glancing up at the ceiling. "Computer, locate Black Canary."

"Black Canary is in Observation Room Two." The computer said and Wally headed to the turbolift, a few minutes later he stepped inside the room and froze. He saw that the window had been shattered and Zatanna sat with a hand over her laptop chanting something that he guessed was a spell to repair the machine.

He scowled, could it be Raven that the problem was about... He'd seen what happened when Raven lost control and the shattered one-way window looked like it'd been struck by her powers.

Black Canary sat with a legal pad and was tapping her pen against it before she looked up at him. "Wally... you're here."

"Yeah, I'm here... I talked to Dick but I didn't get much out of him... what's going on?"

Black Canary sighed and glanced at Zatanna. "Well... let's go to a meeting room and discuss this. You're not the only one we need to explain the situation to."

Garfield had followed Raven to the quarters she'd been assigned and sat down on a chair with a binder that had the script for the next episode of Galaxy Trek he was scheduled to appear in. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she assumed the lotus position on the floor and slowly lifted into the air, meditating.

He didn't leave, he knew from the way she'd hugged him that Rae needed him. Needed his presence, and if she needed him, he'd be there. Garfield took a deep breath and glanced back at the script, slowly turning the page and reading the next few lines.

Garfield didn't know the whole situation, the fragmentary information he'd got from Cyborg seemed to suggest that Starfire needed them, all of them. He knew that his Rae had been close to Star, since they were the only two girls in the 'core five' of the Titans.

But this seemed far worse than he'd expected. The strange instructions he'd gotten from Cyborg about getting out an old uniform were just plain confusing, but for once Beast Boy decided to be patient. Whatever had happened had hurt Rae, and he wouldn't dare hurt her by making her live through the experience that had left her holding him so tightly.

His commlink beeped and Garfield saw Raven's eyebrow arch in quiet admonishment before he pulled out the link and thumbed it on. He answered in a whisper, "Gar here."

"Green Bean, why are you whispering?" Cyborg asked.

"I'm trying not to disturb Raven's meditation." Garfield said back. "She's exhausted Cy..."

"Okay, there's a meeting room upstairs. If you want to know what's going on, meet me there in fifteen minutes, okay?"

Garfield glanced at Rae. "Cy... I don't want to leave Rae."

"Garfield, go... I think it'll be better you hear it from them, okay?" Rae said without moving out of her meditative pose. "I'll be okay for a while."

Garfield sighed. "I'll be there Cy." He stood and closed the binder before walking beside Rae and kissing her cheek. "I'll be back."

"I know." She said quietly as her cheeks flushed. "Thank you for being here."

"Anytime for you," Garfield said as he walked out the room and headed for the turbolift. After going up a level he made his way to the meeting room that Cyborg had spoken up about. Inside he found Black Canary, Zatanna, Cyborg, and Wally West sitting around a long table. He sat down and glanced at the group. "You don't want Rae to join us?"

"She needs to meditate. It's been a very, very hard day for her." Black Canary said as Garfield sat down. "It'll probably just get harder for all of us come tomorrow."

"Definitely," Cyborg said. "J'onn and M'gann have been prepping equipment for the... what did Batman call it?"

"Crucible," Black Canary said. "Kind of fitting."

"Anyway... that doesn't tell us anything, what's going on?" Wally said.

Cyborg took a deep breath. "Early this morning, Watchtower time, Batman brought Nightwing and Starfire here and asked that Black Canary and Zatanna evaluate them... psychologically."

Garfield gaped and Wally's eyes widened. Wally recovered first, "Starfire... what the hell is going on?"

"I've been out of circulation for awhile... What's going on?" Garfield snapped. "Why on Earth would Batman think that Starfire, needed a psych evaluation?"

"For the last nine months Starfire has been working with Redhood and Arsenal as a mercenary." Cyborg said and instantly Wally and Garfield froze in their seats. "When Bruce picked her up, they found that she couldn't remember Dick, me, Garfield, or Raven..."

"Oh my God," Garfield slumped in his seat. "She... she doesn't remember?"

Black Canary nodded and let out a long breath. "We found that her body is dangerously low on endorphins and Cyborg found her personal logs. It seems that by around six months after the Titans broke up she'd lost her memories almost completely."

"So she's sick... did you find the cause?" Wally asked.

"Raven found a psychological disorder unique to Tamaranians called Z'hom, all symptoms match." Cyborg sighed. "We also found the root cause."

Garfield closed his eyes. "What..."

"Z'hom is caused by heartbreak, usually the death of a bonded-partner." Cyborg said and his human eye shut. "It can also be caused by a breakup..."

"But isn't Star a widow already... I thought she married some Tamaranian prince or something." Wally said.

"Those were political marriages, not romantic ones..." Cyborg sighed. "The files we found on Tamaranian psychology show that they're really a monogamous species... one mate for life, one love for life."

Garfield felt his heart shatter at those words and he looked at the table top. He knew what the cause was, what had happened. "The breakup..."

Wally stared. "But... I heard she was with Captain Comet and had other boyfriends before Robin..."

"She never fell in love with them... from the best we can gather, Starfire has only fallen in love once. Apparently Tamaranians are only able to fall in love once in their lives." Cyborg let stared at the table top. "Her sexual activity since the breakup is mostly due to an endorphin addiction... some teens cut themselves to get an endorphin fix, she has sex. Apparently Roy was using her or... being used by her to get a fix as it were."

Wally swore under his breath. "So..."

"Batman has come up with a rather insane plan to force the two of them to work out the situation..." Black Canary said. "He's calling it a 'Crucible'. Basically he's going to put the two of them in a scenario where they face their greatest fears, force them to confront them and the situation, and hope it fixes them."

"That's insane!" Garfield snapped. "You think that'd work?"

"It might, but it also runs the risk of utterly destroying the both of them... in order for it to really work, neither of them can know it's a simulation." Black Canary said before looking at Wally. "He's basing the scenario off of Fail Safe."

"Crap..." Wally muttered. "I might not have been that badly screwed up from that little 'training exercise' but if you're using it to force Dick and Kory to face their fears and feelings for each other..."

"What is Fail Safe?" Garfield asked.

"It's a no win scenario, an alien invasion that destroys the Justice League where the subjects of the training scenario are trapped in a war they cannot possibly win." Wally groaned. "How did he change it?"

"The attacking force was changed to a combined Citadelian, Okaaran, and Gordanian fleet." Cyborg said.

Garfield closed his eyes. "That's... that's horrible. This could go wrong in so many ways."

"You're here to support your friends... Wally, you need to try and keep Dick's head on straight, especially after he comes out of this. The moment he finds out it was Bruce's plan, he'll probably try and attack him." Black Canary said. "Garfield... you're here to keep Raven together. She's best friends of both of them, and an empath... she's going to need you."

Garfield nodded. "I figured that part out already."

"Tonight we'll be taking them out of their quarters and starting them through the scenario, I suggest we all try and get as much sleep as we can." Black Canary said.

"Uhh... what about Batgirl?" Wally asked. "Babs has a ring from Dick and..."

Black Canary sighed. "I'll talk to her once we start the scenario. Knowing Barbara, she already knows..."

"What a fucking mess." Cyborg said.

Starfire sat in her darkened room clutching the three pieces of clothing to her chest. Tears streamed down her face as she stared down at them, the white jumpsuit of the one called Victor, the dark black leotard of the Rachel, and the tough black, grey, and red of the one called Dick. Each stirred feelings in her chest that she had long forgotten... feelings that her waking mind seemed to refuse to process.

Still she refused to let go of the uniforms even as she sat in the dark upon the square bed she had been assigned. With a sigh, she collapsed back on the bed and lifted the nomex and kevlar of the one called Richard to her chest just under her nose. A strange sense of peace and security drifted over her and she shut her eyes.

"I shall remember them tomorrow..." She murmured. "Perhaps the computer will tell me of them then."

She rolled on the bed and snuggled into the uniform before taking a deep breath. The armor smelled of him... the Robin... the one that had seemed so horrified at her being with Jason and Roy.

He was the one that her mind seemed to know one thing about... that he was her friend and his friends were hers as well. A gaping hole seemed to be in her heart as she took another deep breath. "Maybe... maybe if I ask him, he shall explain."

She rolled onto her side and laid the armor on her pillow beside her face. "He is the Robin... he can tell me."

Dick Grayson lay on his back and stared up at the metal ceiling. Around him he could hear the hum of electronics, air compressors, and life support systems. The dark room had a single viewport into the depths of space. He rubbed his eyes and swore under his breath.

"Kori... is this my fault?" He asked the ceiling and felt a single tear run down his cheek. "Did I do this to you?"

He wracked his brain for a long moment and swore. "She asked if I loved her... 'In that way that meant forever' and I told her no." He bit his lip and growled under his breath and remembered back to that moment, the look of profound disappointment on her face.

"Damn..." He swore under his breath again and trudged over to the sink beside the restroom and grabbed a glass of water. "What do I do now?" He muttered under his breath.

His communicator chirped and he picked it up from beside the sink. "Yeah?"

"You're still not asleep?" Bab's voice came through the commlink.

"No... Babs..." He ran a hand through his hair and shut his eyes. "Damn it, I think I really screwed up."

"More than usual 'Boy Blunder'?" Babs asked with a snicker.

He stared at the mirror for a long moment and saw the blood shot eyes and worry lines on his face. He looked like death warmed over... thanks to a heady case of jet lag. Dick shook his head and sighed. "Yeah, a lot more than usual."

"Oh... you've been thinking then? I noticed Bruce's little trip to the Caribbean." Barbara Gordon answered quietly. "Got a nice look at the passenger manifest... Kory Anders? Really?"

"We're not together..." Dick muttered automatically. "I... she's just really screwed up okay... and I think it's my fault."

Babs let out a long sigh. "Starfire... I've seen Bruce's report on Jason's little group of head cases. How is it your fault?"

"I think I might have... broken her." Richard muttered. "Raven tried to talk to me but... I couldn't tell her. She knew though, she always knows."

"You can't hide things like that from an empath." Barbara muttered. "Dick... do you still care about her?"

"Raven? No... That's Gar's turf."

"Not Raven, Kory." Babs snapped irritably. "You know, the girl you almost married?"

Dick stared at the mirror and swallowed. "Babs... I... I don't know. She... she looks so dead now." He closed his eyes and swallowed. "I... I do feel for her... I just... damn it. I feel so fucking confused."

"Really?" Babs asked. "You need to ask a little birdy?"

"Babs." He muttered.

"Dick, you remember she's not the only one that's had an engagement ring from you." Babs said quietly.

"You still haven't said yes... even though you took the ring." Dick grumbled. "Babs... what do you want from me?"

"The truth Dick... do you have feelings for Starfire?" Babs asked.

He swallowed and remembered their breakup. His heart panged as he thought of the broken creature she'd become and a feeling of total guilt washed over him. This was one thing he had to claim credit for...

He gasped as the answer stared him in the face. "Yes... damn it."

"That's what I thought." Babs said quietly. "You need to go to bed. We'll find some way to fix this. I promise."

"I can't... mind is too busy." Dick murmured.

Babs sighed. "You want a sleeping pill then?"

"No, I'll find a way." Dick grumbled. "Goodnight Babs."

"Yeah... and Dick, I did some checking... and it is your fault." Babs hung up with that leaving Dick standing over the sink.

Leave it to her to twist the knife. "Fuck..." He said and tears began to run down his eyes. "God... what did I do to her? Why'd I lie?"

He pushed himself away from the sink and slammed a fist into the mirror. The glass shattered reflecting a dozen different images of his face in turn. "What are you looking at?" He growled as he rubbed his now bloodied knuckles. "Fucking dicks..."

He grabbed the first aid kit and wrapped his fist before stumbling to the bed and dropping on top of it. He stared up at the ceiling and willed himself to stop thinking, to find some sort of peaceful thought to calm his mind.

"Goodnight dick..." He grumbled to himself before falling asleep.

Barbara swallowed as she glanced at the life signs monitor from Dick's room. "Finally... he's asleep."

Batman nodded from beside her. "Good work..."

"Good work? I fucking told him it was his fault." Barbara growled. "I... damn it, I hate this. I wish I was out patrolling or something as Batgirl, this... this... backing you up and... Dick and..." Barbara sighed and ran a hand along where the chain hung around her neck. "I'm losing him... I practically told him that to make her better he had to make up with her? He asked me to marry him and..."

Batman stared at her. "Come up to the Crow's Nest... you can watch the simulation from there."

"Bruce... what's the right thing to do in this situation?" Barbara asked quietly. "I... I don't know what to do?"

"No one does, we have to make a choice and push on..." Bruce answered. "You chose to become Batgirl, to become part of this family... when you became Oracle you went out on your own, helped the two of us more than either of us imagined you could without leaving that damnable wheel chair. Now you're back as Batgirl, but I have to ask, is that what you want?"

"I... I don't know." Barbara said quietly. "Gotham is my home... it's always been my home... but is it Dick's? Is it where Nightwing belongs? If I can't leave and he has to..." She left that thought hanging in the air and slowly turned back to the monitor. "I love him... but I'm not sure I ever loved him that way... the way he loves... loved me."

"I always got a bit of a sibling vibe from the two of you..." Batman muttered. "Has he asked you about the ring, your decision?"

"No... I brought it up." Babs said quietly.

Batman nodded. "You still have it?"

She pulled the gold diamond encrusted engagement ring out and fingered it. "I can't seem to tell him yes... and I can't seem to give it back."

Bruce nodded. "You love him... he loves you... but sometimes you love someone in ways beside romantically... I love all my boys Barbara... Tim, Damien, Dick, even Jason... Sometimes love isn't enough... they need a father, and I can't give them that." He sighed. "Dick needs a partner... someone that will be by his side even if that means facing me, walking away from Gotham, or running into hell itself. Be honest, could you do that?"

Barbara clutched her hand around the ring and closed her eyes. "No... I couldn't."

"Then if you love him... find him someone that can." Batman said before walking out the door.

"Did you get them to approve this plan of yours?" Barbara asked but the door slide shut to cut off his answer.