Nightwing drove along the roads of Bludhaven at a steady speed on his motorcycle. It was a little different from the one he had driven as Robin. Not as big and not as loud, but sleeker and more comfortable. And the red had been traded out for black and blue. Nightwing had decided the change suited who he was now, as opposed to who he was then.
It was late at night, and the streets were quiet, aside from the bike's engine. He roved along the road, using his eyes to scan ahead. He was still becoming familiar with the area. Nightwing saw trees up ahead. This was the park where he and Raven had agreed to meet. When he spoke to her on the communicator earlier, the conversation was brief. It had been so long since they had spoken. Suddenly hearing her voice like that was a little surreal, and he wasn't sure what to say. Besides, it wasn't a social call. So, they agreed to meet in the local park in the middle of the night. It would probably be deserted. And if not, they would handle that.
As Nightwing entered the driveway into the park, he turned his lights low and moved slower to avoid attracting attention. The park had numerous winding paths here and there, but he wasn't interested in those. Instead, he followed the road to a parking area, which led into a more open part of the park with a playground area. He stopped the bike and took his helmet off. He stood up and looked out at the open grass. It was somewhat windy that night, and the breeze blew through the grass, and caused the swings on the playset to sway back and forth.
Nightwing looked around, scanning the area. There was no sign of Raven. Or anyone. And yet, he sensed there was someone in the vicinity. Suddenly, he had the feeling of being watched. He reached for his escrima sticks, and tensed up, without trying to make it too obvious. He slowly walked forward into the grass. He began to wonder… He had only spoken with Raven for a minute. And it had been a long time. And no one else had responded. What if this was…
He heard a sound and quickly turned. Grass rustled next to a tree. He thought he saw something go behind the tree. He slowly raised his sticks and stepped forward.
"I'm here- "
Nightwing spun and reared back a stick. He swung it forward, but stopped just an inch before the stick hit a black barrier. Nightwing paused, still tense. The barrier dissipated, revealing the girl behind it.
"Nice to see you too." Raven said. As fast as Nightwing was, she was still able to put up a protective shield in time. But his reflexes were quick enough that he had already stopped himself anyway. Nightwing took a deep breath and lowered his weapons.
"Raven." He said. "I thought you were… someone else."
"I didn't mean to scare you." She stood there in the dark with her hood up. There was a single light on a pole in the vicinity, most likely for park rangers. Only part of her face was visible in the light.
"You didn't scare me." Nightwing said stiffly. "But why were you running from place to place?" He gestured over to the tree.
Raven pointed at the tree. "I wasn't. That was a squirrel." Nightwing looked back, and saw a small furry creature climb down the tree, and then run along the grass. Nightwing stood there a moment, turned back to Raven, and lowered his head. Nightwing thought he saw a smirk under her hood. He put a hand to his face, and then ran it back over his hair. He smiled, and chuckled a little.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"I'm sorry." Raven said. "I should have said I was here sooner." She continued. "I just wanted to make sure we weren't followed."
"I'd have noticed if I was. But I would have done the same as you." They both stood there a moment in the dark, just a single light shining down between them. Finally, Raven spoke.
"Its good to see you, Nightwing." She said.
He smiled at her. "Its good to see you too. It's been a long time."
"Too long." She said. Raven took a step forward, but Nightwing held out a hand as if to shake. Raven appeared surprised. She paused for a moment and then held out a hand of her own just as Nightwing began to pull back. They both appeared unsure what to do for a moment, moving their hands back and forth. After a few seconds of this, Raven took a step forward again and put her arm around him in a half hug. Nightwing was not expecting this, but reciprocated with a one handed hug of his own, resting his hand on the back of her cape.
"I really am glad to see you again." He said softly, her head just inches away.
"Me too." He heard her say. They then pulled back, facing each other again.
"Have you heard anything from the others?" Nightwing said, his expression once again becoming serious. Raven's face turned dour, and she shook her head.
"I wonder why they haven't responded?" he said.
"Maybe they're busy with something else?" Raven said. "We are superheroes after all."
"Well, I hope they call soon. Although…" He let the thought hang for a minute.
"Although?" Raven said. Nightwing couldn't see it with her hood up, but he could tell she was raising an eyebrow.
Nightwing put his hand to his chin. "Maybe we can handle this ourselves. Depending on what we're up against."
"Aqualad was no pushover." Raven said.
"I know that. But everyone has an off day. I've had a few myself."
"Me too…"
"Anyway, there's only one way to find out. We need to investigate the crime scene."
"Assuming the police haven't already cleaned it."
"Let's hope they haven't." Nightwing turned toward his bike. "I'm heading back to Jump City. Might take a few hours. Want a ride?"
Raven looked over at the bike. There was no sidecar. "Um… I can make my own way there."
Nightwing shrugged. "Whatever works for you. I'll meet you there then."
"Maybe we should get some sleep first, and leave in the daytime?" Raven said.
Nightwing shook his head. "The sooner we get there, the better. And there will be a lot more people around if we wait. Besides, I slept earlier." Raven stood there for a few seconds, and then nodded.
"Okay. See you soon." She then disappeared using her dark magic powers. Nightwing turned and got onto his bike. He set off for Jump City.
It was dawn by the time Nightwing rode into town. The traffic was still light, so he was able to cruise through the streets with little problem. He had barely slept, but he had taken caffeine pills to stay up. It wasn't the first time.
He drove along the highway, making a few turns. He had expected to feel a sense of nostalgia coming back to this place. But somehow the city seemed unfamiliar to him now. Not that it mattered. He wasn't here for fun. After driving for some time, he could see Titan Tower in the distance. As he drove on it got bigger and bigger. Seeing the giant T gave him a small sense of homecoming that the rest of the city didn't. But he knew that his old team wouldn't be waiting for him there.
Finally, Nightwing made it to the grassy area overlooking the tower from across the water. When he pulled up on his bike, he could see the tower in full. It looked more or less the same, but with some damage to the facade, and noticeably dirtier. Looking at the tower, he frowned a little. But standing on the grass overlooking the tower, blue cloak fluttering in the breeze, was Raven. Upon seeing her, Nightwing's expression softened. For a minute, Raven just stood there, looking out at the tower, her dark clothes and pale skin standing out in the orange sunlight. But then she turned around to face him.
"I've been waiting for you." Raven said. She didn't sound annoyed. In fact, she had a slight smile. Nightwing got off his bike and started walking over.
"You been waiting long?" he asked. Raven shrugged.
"About an hour. Its okay though. It gave me some time to think about things."
Nightwing nodded, and then looked back up at the T Tower. "You know, I always liked the way the tower looked at sunrise. Its seen better days though."
"Yeah." Raven said. She followed his gaze up at the structure. "Did you… want to go inside, have a look around? Just for old time's sake?"
Nightwing stood there a moment, squinting at the tower through the early morning sun. He then shook his head. "Maybe later. Right now, we have a job to do."
"Right." Raven said. Nightwing lowered his gaze back to Raven. When he had met her in the park before, it was dark out, and she had her hood up. But now he could see her fully, with her hood down in the sunlight. In some ways she still looked the same. Her outfit was mostly unchanged. Same black leotard with blue cape and hood. But there were some differences in the way she looked too. She had gotten a little taller since he last saw her. More womanly in her physique. She had also grown her hair out more. Her face looked a little more mature, but still youthful.
"Uh, Nightwing?" Raven said. "Did you want to ask me something?"
"Yeah, I… wanted to ask if you'd heard anything from the others."
Raven looked down and shook her head. "Nothing."
"I would have thought we'd hear something from them by now." Nightwing turned away and furrowed his brow. "I can understand Starfire not answering, but Beast Boy and Cyborg? Do you think something happened to them?"
"It hasn't been that long since we called." Raven said. "Not even half a day. They could be on their way now."
"Maybe. Either way, it looks like we'll just have to do this on our own for now."
"Okay." Raven said. "Time to head to the docks then."
"Yeah." Nightwing said. "I kind of wish we still had the T car so we could get there at the same time."
"Its not a big deal." Raven said.
Nightwing got onto his bike and put his helmet on. "We can still ride together on my bike if you want."
Raven put her hood up. "I'm fine with flying."
"Suit yourself. I'll meet you there then." Nightwing revved up his engine and took off. Raven stood there for a long moment, watching him leave, and then took to the air.
Not long after, Nightwing was at the docks. It was broad daylight now. This time, he was the one waiting. He had been there for ten minutes waiting on Raven. He didn't mind waiting for a friend, but in this case, time was of the essence. If she took much longer, he would have to start without her.
He was standing behind a large shipping container. The crime scene was nearby, but there were armed police around the area. The police generally allowed the Titans to operate in the city years earlier, but that was then. He wasn't sure if they would still be tolerated. Besides, he was no longer Robin, so they might not recognize him. As he was thinking on this, a shadow appeared behind him. For a split second he had the instinct to attack, but controlled it. It was only Raven, appearing out of the shadows. She had caught him off guard several times now. He wasn't sure if she was getting better at being stealthy or if he had lost a step. He hoped it was the former.
"Am I late?" Raven asked drily.
"I've only waited ten minutes. That's not as bad as you waiting an hour."
"I actually got a little lost." She said. "I haven't been here in years."
"I know." He said. "I- "
"Hey, what are two doing?" someone said. Nightwing and Raven turned and saw an armored policemen standing a few yards away near the end of the container. Nightwing and Raven exchanged a glance. Nightwing looked the policemen in the eye, or rather the visor on the helmet he was wearing.
"We're here to investigate." Nightwing said.
"Investigate?" the cop said.
"See our outfits?" Raven said, spreading her arms. "We're superheroes. Ever hear of the Teen Titans?"
"Teen Titans." The cop said. "Yeah, I've heard of you." He waved someone else over. A similarly armored cop, except he went without a helmet.
"Hey chief, these are the Teen Titans." The first cop said. "A couple of them, anyway." The chief rubbed his chin and looked Nightwing and Raven over.
"Teen Titans. I see. You know, we could have used your help these past few years. City went to seed."
"I'm sorry." Nightwing said. "But we broke up."
"Broke up." The chief said. "How unfortunate. After you left, the criminals practically took over the city for a while. Our forces were overworked, the crime rate was sky high. You attracted all these villains here, and then left us to deal with them. Eventually, we had to hire a whole new force, and train them to deal with the freaks. Its still not great, but we manage to get along now, usually."
"There were no other heroes around?" Raven said.
"For the most part young lady, no. Just us. A few costumed do gooders would pop in every now and then, when they felt like it, but none of them stayed. Eventually, we started becoming a lot more suspicious of anyone wearing a costume, unless it was someone we knew we could trust. I don't trust you."
"Look, I'm sorry about all that." Nightwing said, holding up his hands in a calming gesture. "But we're here now. Please, just let us help. We knew Aqualad."
"You knew him, huh?" the chief said. "That's why you want to help. And when you're done with that, you'll leave again, right?" Nightwing and Raven didn't respond.
"Thought so." The chief said. "We don't need your help. We don't want it. Stay away from this crime scene, or we'll have to use force. And I would advise that you leave the city altogether. Good day… citizens." With that, the chief turned and walked away. Raven and Nightwing were left standing there.
Raven turned to Nigthwing. "I don't suppose you feel like fighting the local police to get to the crime scene?" she said. Nightwing, frowning, slowly shook his head.
"No, I don't." He appeared lost in thought. He looked focused, and yet wasn't looking at anything in particular.
"Well, asking nicely didn't work." Raven said. "Soooooo… head back to the tower?"
Nightwing turned to look at her. "Yeah. But we'll be back."
End Notes: The cartoon show had a few odd conventions. We never saw the characters in school, despite being teenagers. It was never explained where they got a lot of their equipment from. They were able to live in a giant house without adult supervision. They were in costume almost all the time, and almost never called each other by civilian names (Dick, Garfield).
For this story, I want it to be a little more mature in tone than the show. But I also don't want it to feel too far removed from what the cartoon was, otherwise I might as well base this story off the comics instead. So, I'm going to try to adhere to at least some of the conventions of the show. The characters will generally stay in costume, and will rarely, if ever, call each other by non-superhero names.
This story is currently rated T for teens, because I feel it should be more or less appropriate for that age group. But if there comes a point where someone feels that this story crosses that line, and should have a higher rating, then say so and I will consider changing it.