"Take off your mask." The sultry voice purred between kisses.

"My mask?" He replied.

"Yes, I want to see your eyes while we do the making out."

"Are you sure?"

"I am positive. If you do not remove it I will cease with the kissing."

He grinned before kissing her lusciously on the lips.

"You're bluffing."

"I … am … not." She replied between smooches. "And the French kissing … it will be no more."

That got his attention. Her alien tongue was without equal. He thought it was better than sex. Of course he was only guessing, as he was still a virgin.

"But Star … it's supposed to be a secret …" He murmured back to her.

"Batgirl has seen you without a mask, am I correct?"

He pulled back from her.

"That's different … I was younger back then."

The Tamaranian turned her head partially and looked at him through the corners of her eyes as she smiled provocatively. Robin felt his heart rate increase, and swallowed hard. Starfire often acted naïve and demure, but when needed she could bring out the big guns. Robin felt his heart melt and his willpower wither. She then stood up and began to walk away.

"If you will not show me your eyes … perhaps he will." She announced as she sauntered towards her bedroom door. "I will invite him to join me here."

"Star!" Robin protested. "He's just a kid! You'd be … I mean … that's pedophilia!"

"He is you, and will be an acceptable substitute. It will be interesting to compare who is the better one at the kissing …"

"OK … you win." He grumbled as he peeled off his mask.

Starfire rewarded him with smile as she turned around and walked back to him. She caressed his face before pulling him into a very deep kiss. Her tongue penetrated his mouth and he felt his knees get rubbery and had he to summon all his willpower to not fall down. After what felt like an exquisite eternity she pulled away, smiling at him.

"Thank you my beloved, your blue eyes are too beautiful to hide behind a mask. And now I shall reward you my precious, as they say here on Earth, for your eyes only."

Robin's spiky hair appeared to be electrified as Starfire began to remove her top.

That was when the Tower's alarm went off. Cyborg's voice echoed over the PA system.

"Everyone report to the common room. This is not a drill. I repeat, everyone report to the common room."

Starfire giggled as she pulled her top back down.

"Perhaps another time, my beloved." She purred.

Robin almost forgot to grab his mask as they ran out of the room, and had to go back and get it. He hastily slapped it on as they ran into the hallway.

-( scene break )-

Cyborg and M'Gann watched as everyone came running in. Kid Flash and Artemis were the first ones to arrive since they were already in the common room, having a fairly innocent "moment" on the Titans' signature crescent shaped couch. Superboy and YJ-Robin arrived next, quickly followed by Kaldur and Tula. Robin and Starfire came charging in next. Cyborg grinned when he saw a hickey on the Boy Wonder's neck. Raven and Beast Boy arrived last, phasing out of floor as Raven's signature black hemisphere faded away. Cyborg immediately noticed that the Changeling was missing a sock on his left foot. A quick scan with his infrared eye confirmed that … well … never mind.

"Sorry about the alarm gang, but there's no emergency."

"What!" Raven howled. "You said this wasn't a drill! We dropped everything to get here right away!"

You sure did Raven, you naughty girl. Cyborg grinned inwardly.

"There's no emergency, but I have some very important news."

"Dude, it'd better be important."

Oh settle down grass stain, you'll have plenty of time to go back to your room and finish playing patty cake with Raven. Cyborg almost laughed at the mental image of the two hastily getting dressed. He could see Beast Boy searching for his stray sock while Raven yelled at him to hurry up.

"It's really important B!" Cyborg answered. "I have some very good news for the Young Justice League."

Cyborg paused as he took in the looks on the visiting heroes faces. He could see the expression of befuddlement on them. They didn't have a clue.

"What is this news Cyborg? Does it concern the Justice League?" Kaldur asked.

Cyborg turned to Miss Martian and smiled.

"Go ahead Megan, you tell them."

She swallowed hard as she tried to calm herself, and after a pregnant pause she began.

"Cyborg was helping me run diagnostics on the bioship, and he was able to bring the memory core back online. The core's contents are intact and Cyborg found some information that he's fed into a computer. Once the calculations are finalized, and they will take a few days to complete, the path back to our universe will be known. We're going home!"

The common room erupted into raucous cheering. The Titans and YJs hugged and high fived each other.

Everyone that is, except for Kaldur and Tula.

Raven elbowed Beast Boy, who had just finished hugging M'Gann. Once she had his attention she nodded towards the Atlantean couple.

"Oh crud." He muttered to his mate.

"Oh crud indeed." She replied.

The others began to notice that Kaldur and Tula had not joined in the celebration.

"Uh, this isn't gonna be a problem for you guys, right?" Cyborg asked, knowing full well the implication of the situation.

Tula drew close to Kaldur, taking his hand in her own.

"I already said that if it came down to this that I would return with Kaldur to the other universe."

Kaldur bit his lip. He could still recall that evening in Atlantis at Tula's house. Her mother was so happy he had "returned" even though they all knew that wasn't what actually happened. Their Kaldur was dead and he wasn't coming back. Kaldur had felt it in the pit of his stomach, he was a counterfeit in their universe, a "close enough for all practical purposes" but he wasn't the real thing. This news was proof of that. He had not forgotten what they said, but he knew that had been said carelessly, as no one really believed it would ever happen. But it did happen, and that changed everything. He knew he couldn't take her away, as much as he wanted to stay with her.

There was an option: he could stay. From his perspective he was home. A woman who was identical to his mother was here. He would fit in just fine. But he knew where his duty was. He knew what he had to do.

"But Tula … your parents … I cannot take you away from them. I know what they said, that you could leave with me, but that would be wrong. They would never see you again …"

"Actually, they can visit you in your dimension. Portals can be opened periodically at irregular intervals." Raven interrupted. "She will not lose all contact with her family."

"How irregular, Raven?"He asked.

"It varies. It can be anywhere between once every few days and every few years. Once Cyborg has the dimensional coordinates we can then calculate when the crossover windows will be open."

Upon hearing this, the mood in the room picked itself back up again. The happy bantering resumed and Raven wandered off to discuss the findings with Cyborg. Beast Boy walked around, individually congratulating the Young Justice members, joining them in playful discussion. Tula and Kaldur embraced, and the cheering returned.

It was then that he saw her, sitting alone on the far side of the room. She had a devastated look on her face, as if something unexpected and earth shattering had happened to her. It reminded him of how people looked when there was a death in the family: not necessarily a surprise but clearly not anticipated nor expected. He excused himself and walked off in her direction.

Raven was speaking with Cyborg when saw Beast Boy approach Terra. Her attention was redirected away from the tin man who continued to babble as she shut him out. She watched as they began to talk. Terra look troubled as they exchanged words. At first he looked surprised but his expression changed to one of concern. Terra then began to cry and buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around him.

Raven frowned as she watched the scene unfold, not understanding what exactly was happening. Unaware, she clenched her fists while she continued to watch. Beast Boy's arms were also wrapped around Terra, and he was caressing her back in a vain attempt to soothe her as she continued to sob. They continued to talk, and the changeling caressed her face while he said something to her.

Terra then locked lips with Beast Boy, and it was evident he was not expecting the gesture. She turned around and bolted away, no longer able to keep her water works under control as she ran out of the common room.

Raven was seething and without thinking she prepared to give chase to the blond earth bender, ready to confront her. Before she had taken two steps she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, which of course belonged to Cyborg.

"It's not what you think Raven."

Raven scowled at her Cybernetic friend.

"Then what is it?" She growled. "Why can't she leave him alone? He's mine, dammit!"

"Chill out girl! I overheard them with my electronic ear. She was saying good bye, she's leaving."

Raven reacted to the news with skepticism.

"She's leaving? Where is she going? There isn't any place in the world that's far enough from him."

"Miss Markov will be returning with us, Raven." Kaldur joined the conversation. "I invited her to return with us, should the opportunity arise. She accepted with the hope of starting over in a world where she is not a former villain."

"You did that … for her?" Raven asked, clearly amazed. "You do understand who she is?"

"Perfectly. Miss Markov has made many mistakes. I believe that she is ready and willing to start over in a world where she does not have a past history with Deathstroke. I am willing to take that chance with her."

Raven was overwhelmed by what she had just heard.

"Maybe you're right, perhaps a fresh start is what Terra needs … actually … it's what we need ... what I need." She replied in an atypical emotional voice.

Cyborg patted her on the shoulder.

"I know it hasn't been easy for you having her around. I think this will work out for the best." He added.

Raven looked away from him.

"We demons are very … possessive … when it comes to our mates. It's not something I'm proud of, but he's mine and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let any woman get close to him like that."

Kaldur gave her a warm smile.

"I understand your concerns Raven. She will trouble you no more once we leave."

Raven looked up at the tall Atlantean.

"Thank you Kaldur, you have given me a wonderful gift."

Raven was interrupted by TT-Robin, who tapped on a microphone to get everyone's attention.

"The Justice League submarine just arrived. Everyone go grab whatever you're taking to the wedding and meet us at the dock."

-( scene break )-

Kaldur stood by himself in the forward room of the sleek new submarine. The room had huge windows made out of transparent titanium, which afforded a spectacular view of Atlantis which was now directly below them. The sub had begun its final five as it slowly spiraled around the glowing underwater city. And he could already see from his lofty perch that preparations for tomorrow's ceremony were already underway. Aquaman had gone all out and invited nearly the entire city. Such extravagance was unheard of, at least for a commoner such as himself. And while he felt gratitude he was nervous.

The voyage from Titan's Tower to the underwater kingdom had gone without incident. The Titans had mostly stayed in their rooms while his own team was just the opposite: out and about. It was late in the evening and everyone had retired to their quarters, including Tula. Tomorrow they would be wed and on their honeymoon. It had been decided that they would remain in Atlantis until the time to return home arrived.

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the doors swishing open. He could see the arrival's reflection in the highly polished window.

"Good evening Kaldur'ahm."

He turned around to greet his late night guest.

"Good evening Batman."

The Dark Knight approached him until they were face to face.

"Having trouble sleeping?"

"Yes sir, I am."

"Perfectly understandable. I also just heard the other good news; I still need to congratulate Cyborg. He did some great work."

Kaldur nodded.

"The Titans have exceeded my expectations. They are a very mature and competent team."

"They are. I should give them more credit."

"And perhaps an official invitation to join the League?"

"Already done. I just dropped off the paper work with Robin." Batman chuckled. "Unfortunately the Princess was with him and I interrupted them."

Kaldur gazed back out the window and saw that they were now close to landing.

"I apologize Batman, for we did not complete our training."

Batman picked up a piece of red coral that was on display in the room and examined it before puttingit back on its display.

"You proved yourselves when you took on Deathstroke. Your training is complete and you are now full members of the League."

"Unfortunately, that promotion is not binding back in our universe. We will once again be … sidekicks."

Batman chuckled.

"Maybe I could write a note."

-( scene break )-

Cyborg and Raven waited patiently as the laser printer began to warm up, making its telltale sounds that it was preparing to produce a printout.

A week had passed since the underwater wedding, which had been a grand affair. In Kaldur's absence YJ-Robin reassumed his role as team leader. As Cyborg had predicted, the calculations were complete and included the times when transdimensional crossing would be possible. Because the dimensions were 'parallel' crossings were restricted to times when the quantum harmonics of the two realities would be in sync. Cyborg handed the crossing charts to Raven, who arched an eyebrow as she studied them.

"They can go home next month." He announced.

"And if they don't they'll have to wait 41 more months." She added.

"That is a big gap. After that we can cross once every month or two for the next few years."

Raven grinned.

"So Terra will be gone for over three years. Works for me."

-( scene break )-

Next chapter is the finale. I promise it will be better than this chapter.