"So, like, dudes…. ….are we working now or not?"

"Working?"

"Yeah, ya know. Like—Going after criminals! Minding the beat! On the lookout for robberies! Working!"

"That's the first time I ever heard anyone refer to what we Titans do as 'working'."

"Well, on a night like this it is. I'm hungry!"

"Relax, little man… …we're heading on home," Cyborg slips in a CD into the deck of the T-Car. Beast Boy kicks back in the front passenger seat as we cruise at a steady pace southward along the highway and into Town. It's late at night. The streetlights flicker by like comets. Our muscles are tyred… … ..bruised… …

"Is Robin taking the R-Cycle or something?" the green elf yawns.

"Heh… ..Nah, I think he's taking the Starfire Express."

"Hehehehe! Omigosh, he so is! Isn't he!"

"Yup! Hardly says 'no' when she asks these days."

"Man.. ….did the thing between them two just creep up or what?"

"You've been blind all this time or something?"

"NO… .. …Just not enough carrots."

"Feh, you're impossible."

"Yeah, but at least I'm a lot more fit than Raven! Heh… …all those cups of tea didn't help you much tonight at the drug sting, did it Rae? Hehehehe…."

"… …. ….," I lean against the window. I stare out the window. I exist out the window…

"Bah.. ….she's a mannequin in secret, I'm telling you."

"Leave her alone, B.B. It's been a tyring night for all of us. It's hard keeping my eyes open, to tell the truth."

"Yeah, I can te-WHOAH! Dude! You sure you can drive?"

"Wipe that smile off your face!"

"Hehehehe…. …You should trust me by now, B.B."

"Yeah, least I can say about your taste in music."

"Hey! What's wrong with my--?"

"Okay, so I was just picking at straws to tease you back."

"Well, it ain't workin'. I happen to hold a lot of pride in my tunes, man."

"What is this? Sounds funky… …with a techno touch."

"Mmm? Oh. Boom Bip. Blue Eyed In the Red Room."

"Say whaaaaaa--?"

"Uhhh…Uber Indie Alternative Sorta stuff. They've been around—Just nobody has heard about them."

"Dude, that means it's one of those high-and-mighty experimental fluff—The kind of junk you hear all the time between babbling goof-offs on college radio, isn't it?"

"Yo! You shut your mouth! This is good sh---"

"AHEM!"

"Erm….right….Well, they're good. And that's that."

"I hear ya."

"They're good, or else someone with pointed ears is getting' tossed out of my car---!"

"Dude! I'm not complaining! I can hear them, they're pretty cool. I just never knew you to be so… …so… .. … …"

"So what?"

"Far out."

"Sppkkkt—What? Heheh—'Far out'?"

"Yeah.. …What, you don't believe that, Cy?"

"I don't believe a lot of things."

"You're so smart, and into sci-fi, and I could have sworn I saw you stealing out for church once or twice on a Sunday morning—"

"Okay, now you're just pulling that kind of stuff out from under your paws."

"I'm serious!—Well, maybe not as serious as you, dude, but—"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Episcopalian?"

"Dah! Did you follow me, dawg?"

"Snkkkt-hahahaha! Dude, I was just bluffing! You're seriously a Sunday Bible-Thumper?"

"Only once or twice—Okay? You got a problem with that?"

"Do they ever worry about your rusting on them during the laying on of hands?"

"It ain't no Pentecostal or Charismatic tent revi—Man, what's that supposed to mean? Why are we even talking about this?"

"Hey, I'm just giddy! That's all, dude! I never once imagined—"

"So my parents were—like—really all into God and stuff and I happen to remember being a part of that when I was a kid and now it sometimes helps to—ya know—walk into the Lord's House and see if He's at home. So many other countless Americans are doing it. Heck, I bet even your parents did it!"

"… … …. … …I-I don't remember if my parents had a religion or not…."

"… … …. …. …… …hmnnngh… ….just listen to the music, man….."

The song changes.

The track switches over.

A new set of music begins.

Rising slowly.

Soft and melancholy.

I am already drifting elsewhere.. .. …but in a rising motion that contradicts the slowed tempo of the track and the shifting mood of the vibrating interior, I find myself suddenly leaning towards the front of the world. The threshold of the comet-streaked universe….

And at some point, Beast Boy says again: "Still.. …. …I never noticed it. I guess I always assumed it was just friendship—"

"What are we talking about?"

"Starfire and Robin."

"Man, just let it go… …"

"I wasn't about to poke fun at them or anything--!"

"You were going to."

"… …okay, maybe just a little."

"Heh heh heh…."

"Hehehehe…."

"Cyborg… …," it is my voice. And it is dripping. As I'm leaning forward, and lowering my hood. "….Cyborg, what is this?""

"Hmm? What's that, Rae?"

"HOLY SMOKES! SHE LIVES!"

"Shhh! Go play with the ash tray, Beast Boy."

"We have an ash tray?"

"What is it, Rae?" Cyborg glances over his shoulder once while driving.

My lips are parted. For I am aghast to the breezy tune… …the near religious darkness dwindling in tranquil background ambiance. And the beautifully emotionless voice breathing, breathing, breathing onto melodic desolation….

"Who… ….Wh-Who is this?"

"Like I was tellin' Beast Boy. It's Boom Bip, ya know? The album's name is 'Blue Eyed in the Red Room'."

"Why in the heck would you have an ash tray in the T-Car—?"

Whap!

"Ow!"

"N-No….but this song," I murmur. "… …this is also them?"

"Huh? No, wait—It is them, and yet it isn't."

"A collaboration?"

"Yeah."

"Then, who is it?"

Cyborg picks up the CD jewel case and glances at it for a moment. "Mmmrphh… ..I can't tell from the CD art. But the built-in Titan subcomputer should tell by the track name—" Beep! "—ah. Nina Natasia. 'The Matter Of Our Discussion' or something like that."

"Raven? That answer your question?"

"…. … …. …I never heard anything more beautiful."

Cyborg glances back.

Beast Boy glances back.

I slowly.. ….gently drift back into my seat. Still numb. Hardly fazed by the streaking comet lights on either side of us. Beyond the superficial windows.

"Wow.. ….R-Raven…," Beast Boy blinks from the front seat. "If I didn't know better, I almost thought you liked something at least barely resembling a happy song."

"Maaaaan, happy?"

"Heh… …Yeah, you're right. Just listening to those lyrics. Sheesh! No wonder you like it, Raven."

"I… … ..I-I do….," I hug my far shoulder with the opposite hand and exhale. "… … ….it's a n-nice song…."

Cyborg smirks. "Ya know, it never hurts to admit for once that something's touched you, Raven."

I glance back at him in the rear-view mirror. I feel like frowning. And yet, I can't get it out. "What?"

"Tell you what." Cyborg's hand swiftly slaps over the dashboard. He slides the CD out, one-handedly packs it back into the jewel case with extraordinary finesse, and hands it back to me. "Borrow it for a while."

With pursed lips, I humbly receive the musical selection in two gentle palms. "… .. …are you sure?" I murmur.

"Absolutely. I was in the mood for something a bit more upbeat lately anyways."

"… … ….," I stare at the selection in my grasp. "… .. …"

"Erm…," Cyborg fidgets a bit. "Not that you're necessarily leaning towards things that our moody or depressing, Raven, it's just—"

"Th-Thanks," I manage.

"… … ..heheh…. …no problem whatsoever, cutie…"

"WOO!" Beast Boy cheers and scrambles to take green-fingered control over the radio. "Time for the elf-man to be the DJ! HEY! Check this out! They Might Be Giants back to back!"

"Uh uh, little man! Anything but that!"

"Dude! But they rock!"

"Every damned song sounds the same!"

"Pffft—Pansy-butt-indie lover!"

"Nuts to you, punk!"

"…. … …," I stare down at the album in my hand. I take a deep breath.

Yeah…. …

That's it… …

'Touched'… … … ….