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Can You Find Me?

Chapter 1

Raven groaned as she struggled to keep her head from tearing her brain apart. It was never a good idea to drink on an empty stomach. Then again, it was also never good to drink until you black out.

She paused, took a calming breath, and said a brief morning prayer. Then, she said a spell to remove her migraine. Once her head was clear, that was when she heard it: the soft whisper of moving sheets and light snoring coming beside her.

She turned to the left with widened eyes. A curse word floated into her head. There was someone—with black hair and olive skin—beside her. She stared at him, trying to get a peek of his face under his arm. She was positive that she didn't know him—from what she could see.

That was good. She didn't sleep with the men that she knew. Well, only with one, and look how well that had turned out for her.

Not wanting to think about the past or the reason she'd drunk herself into a random stranger's bed, she sat up to leave. As she sat up, she felt it. She jerked the covers back, and there it was. Sitting between her legs was body fluid that belonged to her and the guy beside her. She bit her lips and screamed in the palms of her hands.

As long as she didn't get a STI, she would never drink again. She should've listened to Frank's suggestion and taken at least one of her men with her to be her protection. But no, she didn't want or need someone around her who reminded her of her life. Now, she was sitting in a pile of wet regret.

The man beside her moved. She wanted to kill him. It wouldn't erase what had occurred, but at least, only one person would remember last night. And she didn't even remember all the details.

Angry and ashamed, she got out of bed and cast four spells: (1) to make sure he stayed asleep until she was gone, (2) to clean her body, (3) put on a fresh pair of clothes, and (4) to send her old clothes home away after grabbing a lighter and a pack of cigarettes from her coat pocket.

She took a stick out of the pack and lit it. As she placed it between her lips and glanced around the cozy flat filled with bright sunlight, she knew it was going to be an awful day.

She dragged the cigarette from her lips to let out smoke before she headed out the door, praying that she would never make a mistake like this again.

Exiting into the hallway and locking the door behind her, she was surprised to see that the building was run-down. One would have never guessed it if they had seen lover boy's place.

To be frank, this place, based on the hallway that she was walking down, was like the apartment complex that most of her lower-level goons lived in. Perhaps one of her goons lived here.

She hoped not while hitting the elevator button. She didn't want anyone to gossip about her walk of shame.

It didn't take long for the elevator to arrive or for her to exit the building. When she did, she was pissed.

Standing next to a black bulletproof car was Frank. She stomped to the car and jerked the plastic bag out of his outstretched hand.

"What have I told you about reading my mind?" She spoke in his mind while she blew smoke out of her mouth.

"I wasn't trying to. Your last night's activities left your mind unguarded for anyone with a psychic pulse to enter, as well as hear your cries of pleasure."

"Do you want to repeat that again?"

"Should I? You seem angry. Your eyes are glowing."

"Shoot." She dropped her cigarette, pulled her shades out of her pocket, and put them on.

She needed to calm down; if she didn't, she might—.

"Here." Said Frank. She jumped. Her eyes traveled to Frank's hand, which held a fresh cigarette. "This will help you calm down."

She took the stick and stepped a few paces back, knowing how much Frank hated fire.

While lighting the nicotine, Raven took a moment to calm her nerves and checked the barriers surrounding her mind.

"You don't have to worry," Frank said. "Once I sensed that your barrier was down, I immediately placed one around you."

She stared at Frank for a moment before saying, "thank you."

"No problem. He must have been a good lay if he made you that open".

She ground her teeth. If Frank was someone else, she would have killed him for that comment. "I was drunk."

"I see, so Changeling was the reason—"

She pulled down her shades to glare at him with red eyes.

"Sorry."

She pushed her shades up. "Let's go."

He opened the car for her, and she entered through the passenger door. Once the door was closed, she opened the plastic bag. Inside was a bottle of water, vitamins, and a Plan B pill.

She pulled out the Plan B and water as Frank entered the car.

He closed the door and started the car while she swallowed the pill and water.

"Where are we going?" She asked, noting the route that he was taking.

"To Moe's."

"What for? The guys picked up his payment last night."

"Correct, but they found a note attached to the payment."

"I'm going across town, far from the comfort of my bed, for a note?"

"I understand why you would want to get some rest after last night's activities."

"Frank." She growled.

"Just stating facts. However, I felt you would want to handle this matter sooner than later. The message is from X."

She smirked as she leaned against the car seat fully. This day was getting worse by the daylight.

Moe's pizza was always delicious. Moe's had the best veggie pizza in south Jump City. It was something about the bread that would make a grown man cry.

The door to the store's private dining area opened. Swallowing the breadstick, Garfield, along with the two other men at the table, rushed to stand up upon seeing Raven and Frank entering the room.

It only took him one glance at Raven to know she was pissed. He didn't blame her. Red X had always been a thorn in their side whenever he was in town.

Rae removed her shades, allowing her brilliant purple eyes to shine and scan the room with no obstruction. Her eyes took in her two men at the table before landing on him.

Garfield didn't need to look at her to know that she was vexed with him. And he couldn't blame her. The way he had left the organization had been unreasonable, and the way he had returned had been shameful. He was still ashamed, because he had known that he had returned not because he wanted to, but because he had been lonely and needed a familiar place to lay his head.

He knew that, and so did Rae.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. All eyes shifted to him; heat suffused his face, causing a pink taint on his pale skin.

"I heard X had stopped by Moe's, and I thought I would check it out for you."

She tilted her head. "I'm here; why would I need you at the same place?"

The temperature in the room dropped lower than the air condition could produce. The bystanders shifted uncomfortably, yet their eyes were full of curiosity. But Gar was saved from further embarrassment by a booming voice.

"Raven! Frank!" Moe Jr. stepped out of the room holding a pan of freshly baked bread and cinnamon roll. The plump shop owner—who enjoyed his own food like everyone else in the neighborhood—set the tray on the table and strolled to the new pair of people with open arms.

Moe pulled Frank into a hug and gave him air kisses on both cheeks. With Raven, he simply held out his arms and said, "Belle, you hungry? Come sit down and eat while we talk."

The two men that were with him at the table scurried from it to give Rae and Frank room.

As Moe ushered Frank and Raven to the table, Frank entered his mind. You should leave before she becomes angrier.

Gar hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to leave. He was trying to do better, to prove his loyalty. In order for him to do that, he had to be present to do his work. Yet, he didn't have any room to argue. He wasn't Rae's right-hand man anymore. Gar's rank had been displaced by Frank after Gar had left. And now, Gar had to follow the ranking system, although he didn't know where he was currently placed.

Sighing and picking up his windbreaker from the back of the chair, he took a step toward the door.

"Stay."

He froze. Turning his head to the side, he looked at Rae, whose mouth was stuffed with a cinnamon bun, as she listened to Moe talk.

"I don't plan on staying here after I assess the situation. You know X as well as I do. Handle the situation when I leave."

"Sure." Gar said, blinking back the moisture from his eyes and returning to the chair. This was the first time that Raven spoke to him through his mind since his return.

"Also, try to actually do work instead of eating. You've been here for an hour and haven't checked the warehouse."

Gar blushed and scratched the back of his head. "You know, once Moe offers you food, you can't say no."

She didn't respond, not like she usually did. Instead, his response was met with silence and a shake of Frank's head.

Gar didn't mind. She was allowing him to stay, and that was enough.

"Nice for you to join us."

Dick plastered a smile on his face. He could understand the sarcasm in his new boss's words. He deserved it for being three hours late on his first day.

And although he was embarrassed, he didn't show it. He had been in more nerve-racking positions than this.

"Thanks for taking me in still." Dick held out his hand, which his boss lightly shook.

"I wanted to fire you, but HR said, it was too much paperwork."

"Can't beat the power of paperwork."

"I'll do the paperwork myself if you come late again."

Dick dropped his smile, portraying the opposite emotion that he felt. He liked his new boss. She was old school. It was about the principle of the matter, and he could deal with that.

"It won't happen again."

She studied for a moment him. "Care to explain why you are late?"

Why was he late?

That was easy. Last night, while he was moonlighting, he ran into some questionable activities and stopped to intervene. It had been a simple task to stop the drug dealers, but not the needle that one of the gang members stuck in his neck.

Fortunately, the symptoms of the drug hadn't appeared until he was closer to home and was able to sleep off the effect. Unfortunately, he hadn't spent the night alone.

The reason he had been out moonlighting was because of Jason.

Whenever Jason was in town, trouble was definitely nearby. Hopefully, trouble had followed him out of town if Jay had left yet. Dick prayed that his younger sibling wasn't lying low in that flat Jason owned and lived in when he was in Jump City.

He would swing by there later just to make sure. He didn't want any surprises later on—something that Jason was also famous for.

Pushing Jason away from his mind, he focused on the present and answered his boss's question.

"I found out the hard way that Moe's pizza doesn't agree with me."

"Really?" she said with a smirk. "Well, I hope you brought lunch, Detective Grayson, because we are having Moe's pizza for lunch."

"Oh, I will just get delivery. "

"I'll advise against that. Wouldn't want you to get sick again. I suggest you get some salted crackers and ginger ale from the vending machine."

They stared at each other as he tried to keep a smile. He hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon.

"Sure. Salted crackers sound good right about now."

Victor laughed in the crowded sport bar as he watched Richard devour a second entrée of hamburger and fries.

"Don't laugh. I'm serious. My boss was trying to kill me today, especially after she made me do an unnecessary fitness test on an empty stomach."

"Man, I've seen you go days without food and water and still run three miles like it was nothing."

"Not being killed is an excellent motivation to run three miles." Dick raised his hand to catch a close-by server's attention.

"Don't tell me you are about to order another entrée?"

"I am. Just a cobb salad this time. I have to watch my sexy figure," Dick said, turning to the server who walked up beside him.

While Dick ordered, Victor took in the place, observing the people in the building and those that went in and out of the door. When was the last time he had been able to be just a part of the crowd without people observing him like the science project that he was?

It felt nice and like a pending nightmare. It felt like he was waiting for someone to come out of the shadows to attack him. To tell him, he had spent the last two years of his life inside of a fantasy. A fantasy that he would try his best to hold on to.

"So, how was your weekend?" Dick asked, bringing Victor's attention back to him. "I hope it was amazing since you left me alone with Hood."

"Please, you couldn't pay me to get tangled up in any mess that involves Jason. Thinking about cleaning up the aftermath is enough to give me a headache. Besides, that's Bat Family business. I learned the hard way to stay out of you all's business. And also, I had League business to attend to. That's part of the reason why I moved back to Jump."

"And here, I thought you didn't want me to be lonely in a big city all by myself."

Victor raised an eyebrow. "You? Lonely? I would be surprised if you didn't have a new girl's number in your phone right now."

Dick smirked. "I'm surprised you would think so little of me. You know I have been busy with moving, moonlighting, and Jason since I got here. And you think that I have time to add a new girl's number to my phone?" Dick scoffed. "I have two."

Victor threw his head back and laughed. "My bad. I shouldn't have doubted you."

"Thanks, but it doesn't matter. It's not like I'm going to call them. The field is not the same. Girls are looking for something serious that includes kids. I can't do serious now. It isn't the right time."

"It's never the right time for us." A silence fell around the table in the loud bar.

Dick asked, "So you are not getting back with—"

"You and Barbara?"

"Right," Dick drawled. "So what's the other reason for moving to Jump?" He asked as the server placed his salad in front of him.

The conversation between the two old friends carried on until it was time to patrol the city.

"Do you need help that?"

Kory jumped at the unexpected voice behind her, causing the items in the box to shift. The sound of a vase breaking could be heard in the quiet alleyway.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to scare you," Nightwing said.

Kory turned around to see two familiar faces. A scintillating smile appeared on her face. "It's okay. It's good to see you two. And I don't mind the help. Can you grab the other two boxes in the back?" She nodded to the small white truck behind her.

As Nightwing and Cyborg moved forward, she stepped aside and walked inside the building. She placed the boxes in the storage area of her store and waited for the others to enter.

"Where do you want these?" Cyborg asked.

"You two can place it on the shelf over there." She pointed to the shelf beside the one she stood in front of.

Cyborg nodded, and he and Nightwing did as they were instructed. "Were you two out patrolling?"

Nightwing answered, "We were when we saw you unloading your truck."

"You shouldn't be out at this time of night," Cyborg said.

"You know I was once out there with you two at this time of night," Kory said, causing the boys to shift uncomfortably. "But don't worry; I rarely do this at night. I took a nap, but I slept longer than I wanted to, and I didn't want to bring these in the morning when it would be raining."

"You could've called one of us to do it," Cyborg said. "Rain or shine, we will come."

"I can do things on my own, you know? I don't need a hero."

"Sorry, Star. We didn't mean to imply—. We know you can take care of yourself on your own, but we want to help as much as we can to make up for the time that we couldn't."

"Night, Cy. Listen to me carefully." They nodded, and she continued, "I can take care of myself. What happened in the past wasn't your fault. And most importantly, it's in the past. All I need from you two is your friendship."

"You already have that," Cyborg said.

"Good. Now, do you two want some midnight snacks? I baked cookies."

"Um… sorry, Star, but an alert just came through my system. Maybe next time," said Cyborg.

"Yeah, maybe next time." Nightwing agreed before they raced out of the door.

She shook her head and left the storage area to eat.