"It's a mistake," said Batman plainly.
"So you've said," replied Superman.
Batman's eyes narrowed under his mask.
"One that we all may end up regretting."
Superman crossed his arms and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. Bruce was a dear friend, but sometimes he was just impossible to deal with.
"Bruce, we've been through all this. I don't care what's happened in the past. Each one of those men and women deserves a position here. You can't just pick and choose members based on who makes you uncomfortable."
"It's not a matter of comfort," the dark knight replied coldly.
"I'm not hearing this anymore. Face it Bruce, you were overruled.
Batman remained silent as Superman turned his back and made for the door.
"You know what I think is your real problem?" said the man of steel, looking over his shoulder. "You just can't stand the thought of having someone else in the tower who's a little too much like you."
With that final jab, Superman made his exit, leaving Batman to his silence.
The Watchtower's cafeteria turned out to be far better than Beast Boy could have hoped. Sure, the on duty chef looked at him like he had a three heads when the changeling asked if they offered any tofu dishes, but they still had a mile long salad bar of which he took full advantage.
Despite the various menu options, Raven opted for something simple and ordered a tuna fish sandwich and chips. For a drink, the empath was delighted to see they actually offered an herbal tea.
Lunch between the two was a rather quiet affair. Beast Boy attempted a few times to make small talk, but each time Raven offered little more than a few one syllable words in return. Regardless, the green skinned man never lost his grin. To him, just having a peaceful meal with Raven was heaven.
While Beast Boy was at peace, Raven felt just the opposite. All morning long, things had been different between her and Beast Boy and she desperately wanted to know why. His boldness in wanting a kiss for a prize during the chess game was only part of the mystery. The more Raven thought about it the more she realized just how much attention the changeling had been giving her. The way he kept smiling at her, kept winking at her. She also realized that this wasn't new. Thinking back, it dawned on her that this behavior had been going on for several weeks.
Raven's own feelings only further added to the chaos raging inside her mind. She didn't understand why she blushed every time he winked at her or why her heart raced every time he flashed her one of his patented million dollar smiles. Then again, maybe she did. Regardless, Raven knew that there were things the two of them needed to discuss.
"Beast Boy?" she said with the slightest hesitation.
"Yeah," he replied, smiling.
"There's something I need to talk to you about, and I need you to promise you'll be completely honest with me."
"Uh, sure," he replied, a little surprised by the request.
Taking a deep breath, Raven gathered her courage and asked the question that had been eating away at her all day.
"What's happening between us?"
Beast Boy was genuinely confused.
"I'm not sure I understand."
"Yes, you do."
Raven let a silence pass between them before speaking again.
"Beast Boy, why are you being so nice to me?"
"Raven, I'm your friend."
"I know, but there's more to it than that. Why are you always looking at me? Why are you always smiling so much around me? Why did you want to…kiss me?"
These weren't quite the circumstances Beast Boy had in mind for what he wanted to say next, but ultimately he decided it was either now or never.
"Isn't it obvious, Raven?" he said with a soft smile. "You make me want to do those things."
Raven gasped a little in her throat as she once again felt butterflies rising in her stomach. The butterflies became even more intense when the changeling reached across the table and placed his hand on hers.
"Raven. You've got to be the most amazing person I've ever met. All I really want to do is show how much you mean to me and how incredible I think you are."
Raven's heart was pounding so heard against her chest she was certain it was visible to anyone who cared to look. She had never heard Beast Boy speak with such sincerity. His words were so honest and kind she couldn't believe they were really for her. Still, there was confusion in her heart.
"Why are you telling me this? Why now?"
Beast Boy sighed and broke eye contact for the first time since they started talking.
"If there's one thing this profession has taught me, it's that tomorrow is uncertain. For any one of us, tomorrow may not even come. For that reason, I want you to know today how I feel about you, how I've always felt about you."
Raven couldn't begin to explain how she was feeling. She felt happy, scared, nervous, excited. It was as if a million different emotions were all dancing around inside of her at the exact same time.
"Garfield…"
Beast Boy raised a hand wishing to silence her.
"Raven, before you say anything I just want to ask you -and I want you to be as honest with me as I was with you- how do you feel about me?"
As she looked deeply into Beast Boy's beautiful emerald eyes, Raven found it almost impossible to speak. Her mind and her heart were in a state of utter confusion. She knew he deserved an answer, but she really didn't know what to say. After an agonizing silence, she finally spoke.
"I can't," she said, sadly bowing her head.
"Raven, please-"
"I'm sorry. I just…can't," she said again as tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes.
Slowly, Beast Boy pulled his hand away from hers.
"It's okay," he said. "You don't have to say anything right now. Just promise me that some day you'll have an answer for me."
Raven, still with her head bowed, nodded slowly before standing and exiting the cafeteria.
As Beast Boy watched her go, he couldn't help feeling as if a piece of him was going with her. He had put himself on the line in a way he never had before and he hoped beyond hope that some day soon it will have been worth it.
To anyone, running the most advanced global monitoring system in the entire world would seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, J'onn J'onzz wasn't just anybody. To the Martian Manhunter keeping track of hundreds of terabytes of of information was like a walk in the park.
"Superman, are you there?" said the martian, pressing a button on his headset.
"I'm here J'onn," crackled the headset in response.
"Have the Titans given you an answer yet?
"Not yet. I wanted to show them around first, give them an idea of what it's like being a part of the League."
A blip on J'onn's computer monitor caught his attention.
"Perhaps they would like a more hands on demonstration," he said while typing away at the keyboard. "I've just picked up a distress signal. There's been a massive jail break in Metropolis.