Rose and Grant, known as the Ravagers, again stood before Slade. They were inside the same structure as before, but in a different room. The room they were in was full of machinery and equipment, making it feel somewhat confining despite its large size. There were over a dozen monitors lining the walls, displaying different images. Live feeds from different parts of the city. In one corner of the room was a chair raised up on a platform, the platform followed by steps down to the floor. Sitting in the chair, styled almost like a throne, was Slade. Next to Slade was a computer station, with a smaller monitor and keyboard, as well as various other controls. But currently he wasn't paying attention to that. Instead, he looked down at the others in the room. The aforementioned Ravagers, as well as Professor Chang.

The other three in the room all stood, since Slade's chair was the only one in the room. The Ravagers stood at attention, waiting for Slade to speak. Chang by contrast was slouched and slumped. He looked at the floor, occasionally glancing at the others. Slade gazed down at them. After a few minutes, Slade spoke.

"We're here to discuss progress." Slade said. "I want an update, from all of you." Bronze Ravager opened her mouth to speak, but Slade pointed at Chang. "Chang first." He said. "Tell me you have made some progress."

Chang grimaced. He slowly lifted his gaze to Slade. Slade glared down at him. Chang quickly lowered his eyes. "I have tried to work with your… creations. They are too unstable. Mentally and emotionally."

"And its your job to fix that." Slade said.

"You're not even paying me." Chang said, defiance creeping into his voice.

"Do a good job, and you'll be paid."

"Do a good job? There is nothing to be done." Chang waved his arm, and spat on the floor. "They are monsters, and they cannot be controlled. You're better off just getting rid of them."

Slade leaned forward. "I invested time and effort into them. I don't like the idea of that all going to waste."

"And what about them?" Chang said, pointing at Ravagers Bronze and Silver. They gave him unfriendly looks.

"Never mind them." Slade said. "You are going to fix my 'monsters', or I will deal with you. And I will be monitoring your progress closely."

"Save your veiled threats." Chang said. He was now standing straight. "I am not your slave, and will not do-"

"Do as I say, or I'll kill you." Slade got out of his chair and stood tall. Chang flinched, corrected himself, and ran off. Slade sat back down and turned to the other two.

"Now, as for you two." He said. "You are still having trouble I see. Explain yourselves."

"I thought they would come to the crime scene." Silver Ravager said. "I… miscalculated." Slade just sat there silently.

"The lab wasn't enough." Bronze Ravager said. "I don't think it was the wrong move. We just need to go bigger. We need to do more."

Slade lifted his head slightly. "How much more? How long will this go on? You've lost the element of surprise. And now, their team is fully reunited, and regrouping. What will you do?"

The Ravagers exchanged a glance. "I think if you gave us some resources, that would help." Bronze said.

"Give you resources?" Slade said. He leaned forward in his chair. "I've given you plenty, young lady."

"What I meant was…" she said.

"The robots." Silver said. "Just give us some of them as backup. Then we'll end this."

Slade narrowed his eyes, but then leaned back. "Very well. You can have them, this time. I do want you to succeed. I want you to make me proud. You are going to make me proud, aren't you?" His tone softened at the start, but regained some of its edge at the end.

"Of course." Bronze said. Silver agreed.

"Good. Then if that's all…"

"Actually…" Bronze said. "There is just one thing."

Slade tented his fingers. "And what would that be?"

Bronze Ravager straightened up. "I would like to look at the cameras you have around the city. With your permission." Silver side eyed her, but said nothing.

Slade turned around to face his computer. "I will give you limited access." Slade pressed a few buttons, and the screens all changed. "Use the console down there. You have twenty minutes. I have work to do."

Silver Ravager swung a metal pipe as though it were a baseball bat. But in this case, the only thing he hit was air. There was no ball, or any other kind of projectile. He swung the pipe a few more times as Bronze Ravager stood by, watching him with her arms folded. The twenty minutes Slade had given them came and went, and then he kicked them out so he could work privately. They both left the lair, and ended up on a rooftop. Not just any rooftop. The same one where they, or at least one of them, had fought with Beast Boy and confronted the Titans for the first time.

Silver grunted as he swung at air again. "Wish I could actually launch something. Hell, maybe I will." He walked over to a nearby brick and picked it up. There was still some debris from the fight before.

"Slade told us not to do that around here." Bronze said. "Actually, I'm pretty sure he doesn't want us doing it at all." She said this halfheartedly, as if out of obligation. Silver looked at her. He scowled, and then looked at the pipe. His expression relaxed, and he dropped it to the ground. He sighed.

"Yeah, he's right."

"You always think he's right." Bronze said. Silver turned his head slightly, side eyeing her.

"Maybe that's because he always is, Rose."

Bronze, aka Rose, rolled her eyes. "Such a daddy's boy." Grant's scowl returned, and he glared at her. She still just stood there, looking more casual.

"I hope to be as good as him someday." He stood with his chest puffed out. Rose snorted.

"If he's so great, how come he couldn't kill any of the Titans?"

Grant sneered. "It was five against one. And they had superpowers."

"We probably came closer to ending them then he ever did." She said while leaning against the roof door.

"He deserves respect. After everything he's done…" He said.

"I do respect him." She said. "He commands, we obey."

"Because he's right." He said.

"…Yeah." They stood there for a long moment. In the distance, loud popping noises could be heard. Gunshots? Fireworks? Rose turned her head slightly in the direction, but did not investigate further. She looked off into he distance. "We're on the same side, right Grant?"

He turned to the side, and put his hands on his hips. "You and me? Yeah. Always have been. But its not just the two of us. We're a family."

She side eyed him without turning her head. "Sure. We're family. What about the rest of our family?"

Grant narrowed his eyes. "Don't start on that. We're here, they're not."

Rose still looked away for a minute. "Fine. Anyway, you come up with a new plan yet?" He would usually come up with the plans. He didn't look it, but he was able to come up with good plans, at least in the long term. His plans usually worked in the past. But the Titans were a little harder to predict. Which was why Rose was giving more input than usual. He was good at long term planning, but she was better at improvisation, and thinking on her feet. Grant's plans worked well as long as they went exactly as he expected them to. If anything unforeseen happened, she would usually have to step up.

In response to her question, Grant pounded his fist into his palm. "Yeah, I have. I know exactly who we're going after next."

Raven once again stood on the roof of Titans Tower, looking out at the scenery below. Everything could be seen clearly in the broad light of day. The last time, Raven had been waiting for Nightwing to return. This time, she was watching him leave. He was down on the ground below, riding out from the tower on his motorcycle. But he wasn't alone. Starfire was going with him, flying overhead. Raven watched from above as they both went off into the city together. She sighed, although it almost came out as a groan.

"Hey, Raven." A voice behind her said. Raven quickly turned, as she hadn't heard anyone approach. She saw Cyborg standing there. She looked at him, wide eyed.

"Wh…" she started to say.

"Woah, didn't mean to scare you." He said. Raven took a breath, and her expression became impassive. She replied in a monotone.

"You didn't scare me. You just… broke my concentration."

"Oh? What were you so focused on?" he said.

Raven turned her head, hiding her face under her hood. "Nothing important. I thought you'd be gone now." She quickly changed the subject.

"Well, I'm still here. Beast Boy and I decided to go on patrol later."

"Oh, ok." She started to walk away.

"Raven, wait." He said. She stopped, and half turned her head. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"…What is it?" she asked.

"I actually wanted to talk about you." He said.

"…What?" she said.

"You've been off lately Raven."

"Everyone's been off lately."

"That's true." Cyborg shrugged. "But you've been especially off."

"Its not a contest." Raven said, and started walking towards the door.

"It's about Nightwing and Starfire, isn't it?" he said. Raven froze. They both stood there silently. She turned to look at him from under her hood, but didn't say anything.

"I saw you watching them leave. You must have been pretty distracted by them if I was able to sneak up on you."

Raven turned her head, not looking at him. "I was just worried about them, that's all. There are two killers out there. And Slade."

"All true. But it seems like you started being distracted and distant just after Starfire came back."

Raven turned her back to him. "Its just a coincidence. I want to be alone right now." She walked to the door. She put her hand on the handle.

"I appreciated our talk earlier." He said. She paused. "Remember, when we talked about Bumblebee, and what she was going through? You encouraged me to speak to her. I wasn't sure if I should, but I listened to you. I talked with her, and I think it helped her, at least a little. You talking with me helped me, and me talking with her helped too. I'd like to talk with you, and maybe I can help you too. If you'll let me."

Raven looked at the door, her hand still on the handle. "Cyborg…"

"Look, I won't try to force you. But you're my friend. You can trust me. We can go somewhere more private, if you want. I just want to help."

Raven stood there a moment. She still looked at the door. She turned the handle and opened it. She stepped through. She stopped. She stood in the doorway like that for a long moment. She closed her eyes.

"Cyborg?" she said softly.

"Yeah?" he said, also softly.

"You… can we talk in your room?"

"Yeah, of course. Let's go."

"Not now. I need a little time."

"How much time?"

"Give me… an hour. One hour."

Cyborg stood there. After a few seconds he said, "Okay, I'll be waiting for you." Raven finally walked through the door, back downstairs.

Nightwing and Starfire went through the streets of Jump City, him riding through the streets and her flying overhead. Starfire made sure to stay close enough to him that she could see him. They stayed in constant radio contact, confirming their positions every ten seconds. The other Titans were on standby in the event that they ran into their enemies again. They spent a couple of hours going around town, and searching, occasionally stopping to inspect an area they thought might make for a good hideout. But they found nothing. The closest they got was a mugging that they easily stopped. So, at least it wasn't a total waste.

After a few hours of this, Starfire suggested that they should stop and rest somewhere. She couldn't keep up the flying indefinitely. Nightwing agreed, and stowed his bike away somewhere. Then he used his grappling hook to climb upwards. They found a rooftop somewhere, and chose that as their resting spot.

Nightwing stood and looked out at the city below. Starfire initially stood back, watching him. But after a minute she moved closer to him. She stood beside him, the wind blowing through her long hair. Neither of them seemed to be bothered by how cold it was up there, despite their lack of warm attire.

Nightwing stood with his hands on his hips, looking down. He moved his head from left to right slowly, perhaps hoping to see something up there that he couldn't see below. Starfire reached a hand out to touch his shoulder, but withdrew at the last second. Instead, she tried to follow his gaze. "What is it you are looking at?" she said.

"Everything. Nothing." He said. He sounded tired. "Just hoping something will catch my eye."

"I see." She said. "And… has something caught your eye?" Starfire looked at him expectantly.

"Not yet." He replied. Starfire sighed. She sat down over the edge of the roof, looking down.

"Nightwing, can we talk for a minute?" she said. Nightwing was silent for a moment, and then replied.

"About what?"

She looked up at him. "About you and me." Now it was Nightwing who sighed.

"It hasn't been you and me now for a few years."

Starfire was silent for a moment, just looking out. She then said, "Remember when we went to Tokyo? And we talked like this while looking down at the city?"

"Of course I do. That was a different time." He said this with some resignation, and sat down beside her. "Things were different back then. We were different."

"Have we changed so much?" she said.

"I don't know about you. But I'd like to think I've changed. I don't want to be Robin anymore."

Starfire looked at him with knitted brows. "Yes, I can tell." She said solemnly. "Was being Robin so bad for you?"

Nightwing looked down below him. "At the time, it was who I was. But Robin was a kid. The Boy Wonder. I'm not a kid anymore. I don't want to wear circus colors, or play video games, or… I want to make better choices now than I did then."

Starfire looked out at the city. She took a few deep breaths, and looked like she wanted to say something else. Nightwing did first.

"What about you? You've been the princess of Tamaran these past few years. Or is that queen? I'm still not entirely sure how it works on your planet. How has it been for you? Is there anything about it that makes you happy?"

Starfire looked at him, and blinked. She then narrowed her eyes, thinking of a response. "Happy… I have worked hard to help my people. But I have no equals in status there. Not anymore. I do sometimes take joy in seeing the progress we make. Rebuilding homes, and helping to feed and house those who do not have homes. However, not everyone feels that I should do these things…" she sighed again. "Nightwing, sometimes I feel so lonely there. Sometimes at night… I wish you were there with me. Or that I was here, on earth again."

Nightwing listened to her, temporarily forgetting about the city. He looked at her with his mouth slightly open, as though he wanted to say something. He leaned back a little. "I'm sorry it's been so hard for you. I… hope you've at least had someone to keep you company, some of the time."

Starfire smiled faintly. "I would like to say so, but you know that my family is gone. And it is hard to make friends when you are the ruler of… everyone." Starfire's eyes widened slightly at this last word.

"No, I meant… a special someone. A lover." He said this softly. She again looked at him with slightly wide eyes.

"A lover?"

"Yeah. Hasn't there been someone?"

Starfire's expression changed, although Nightwing had a hard time reading what she was thinking. "Has there been… someone for you? Since I left?" she asked. Nightwing turned his head, once again looking out at the city. He stood up, and seemed to focus on something else.

"Nightwing?" she said, looking up at him. She now stood up as well. "Has there been anyone else after me? I know that we are not dating anymore, but… well…"

"Yes, there has." He said suddenly. Starfire stood there, silently. "There was someone else. After you left, and I went back to Gotham City… Not right away, but after a while… I started seeing someone."

Starfire blinked. "Oh. You did. Who… who was it?" He turned to look at her.

"No one you know. It ended a while ago. I've moved on."

Starfire threaded her hands, unsure of what to do with them. "Was it a serious relationship?"

He took a deep breath through his nose. "Yes, it was serious. We dated for several months, and then things… cooled off."

"Cooled off?" Starfire said.

"Yeah. We had fun though."

Starfire turned away from him to look out again. A helicopter flew by in the distance, and traffic horns blared below. Starfire barely heard them. "Did you love her?"

Nightwing lowered his eyes, seeming to remember something. Then, he shook his head. "No. I liked her. A lot. But it wasn't love."

Starfire gazed at him levelly. "You did not love her. So then, you were not intimate with her."

Nightwing jerked his head toward her. "That's a very personal question." Starfire continued to gaze at him. "We dated, and we did the things people do when they date. If you really have to know, we slept together."

Starfire's expression changed. She looked like he had just called her a name. "I'm sure you've been with someone at some point besides me." He said. "Haven't you?" Starfire closed her eyes, and then her expression suddenly changed. She smiled.

"Y-yes, of course I have. I have had 'the fun'." She said, falling back into her old speech patterns. "I have dated… at least three men. They were all fun." She looked at him closely as she said this, as if gauging his reaction. After a moment, he nodded.

"Good for you. I'm glad." He said. Starfire's mouth dropped. She quickly turned away from him. That was not the reaction she expected.

"We… we should go." She said.

"Ready to go patrolling again?" he said.

"No. I… I think we should go back. I am feeling tired today."

Nightwing stood there a long moment, and then nodded. "Yeah. We probably weren't going to find anything anyway. Let's hope Beast Boy and Cyborg have better luck."

Raven was in her room, a few burning candles providing the only light. She found herself pacing back and forth. For much of the day, she had merely felt cold and withdrawn. To some extant she still felt that way. But there was also a tension running through her now. She had agreed to speak with Cyborg. About what? Did she want to talk to him? It would be nice to be able to talk to someone. But… what could she say? She couldn't just tell him everything. It would make things too weird and awkward. And what if Cyborg told the others? Raven would have to leave if that happened. She was considering just leaving the tower right then without saying anything. At least for a few hours. Just to get away. This tower felt somehow stifling, her own room being only a slight improvement.

She checked the time. She was supposed to be meeting with Cyborg in his room shortly. He was expecting her. How would he react if she didn't show up? A part of her just didn't care. She was tired of all of this. She just wanted to find the killers, bring them to justice, and then go somewhere else. Anywhere else. She looked at her clock. Almost time. Would Cyborg be mad if she didn't come?

Raven put her hood up. She left her room. She walked down the hallway towards the stairs. It was a nice day for a walk. Maybe a long walk. She continued walking. After walking for another minute, she found herself standing at a door. The door to Cyborg's room. Once again, she ended up at his door while intending to go somewhere else. Was it fate? Some kind of outside influence? Or just her subconscious?

While standing at the door, she considered that she could still turn around. She could leave without him knowing that she was there. But… it would be nice to talk to someone… She raised her hand and made a fist. She rapped her knuckles against the door. I'm not a big fan of daylight walks anyway. She thought. Within seconds the door opened, revealing Cyborg.

"Raven." He said. "For a second I thought you might not show up."

Raven stood there, her hood again concealing her. "Yeah, well. I'm here." Cyborg stepped aside, and Raven entered his room. He shut the door behind her. The lights were dimmed, much like her own room.

"I'll turn the lights up." He said, and moved to the switch. Raven held up a hand.

"That's okay, you can leave it dark." She said.

"Suit yourself." He said. "I'm glad you came."

"Well, I don't think I'll stay long. But we can talk for a minute."

"Just a minute?" Cyborg raised an eyebrow.

"I've just got a lot on my mind."

"I can tell." He said. He walked over to a chair and sat down. He tried to adopt a relaxed posture, but he was still obviously focused. "That's why I wanted to talk to you."

Raven turned to look at him, her eyes showing from under her hood. "You know I'm a private person, Cyborg."

"I know that. I'm not asking you to tell me your deepest, darkest secrets. But something is obviously bothering you. Its not a good idea to keep these things bottled up."

Raven looked away from him, looking at all the different equipment in his room but not really looking at anything in particular. "Sometimes your deepest, darkest secrets are what's bothering you."

Cyborg leaned forward in his chair. He looked at her sternly. "This isn't another Trigon type situation, is it?"

"No." Raven quickly said as she turned back to him. "Its not like that. This has nothing to do with him, or… It's just something personal."

Cyborg put his hands on his knees and sighed. "Would you feel more comfortable talking about this with Starfire, or Nightwing?"

Raven made a slight movement when he said that. Sort of like a flinch. She wasn't sure if he noticed. "No, no I wouldn't."

Cyborg sat there a moment, saying nothing. Raven began to wonder if the conversation was over, when he suddenly spoke again. "I was right, wasn't I? Your problem is about one of them. Or both."

Raven blinked. She didn't say anything. Her eyes turned down to the floor. Cyborg rubbed his face. "Nightwing and Starfire are both acting funny lately. We all know what happened between them years ago. And now they're together again, except things are different. It seemed like you and Nightwing were getting along pretty well, until Starfire showed up, and now you're avoiding both of them. And Beast Boy… I don't know what's going on there. Look, whatever you tell me, I promise to keep it between us. No one else will know. You can walk out that door right now if you want to, and I won't bring it up again. If that's what you want. But if you want someone to talk to, then I'm right here. Its up to you, Raven."

Raven looked at him for a minute. She opened her mouth, but then closed it again. She cast her head down, and turned away from him. She walked over towards the door without saying anything. Cyborg remained silent as Raven reached for the door. She opened it, and put her foot forward. Then, she paused. She kept her hand on the door while standing at the threshold. A long time passed, or at least it felt so. She sighed heavily, and closed the door. She reached her hand up and pulled her hood down. "Cyborg…" she said, her voice cracking. She turned around, tears in her eyes. "I'm in love with Nightwing."

End Notes: I will try to get another chapter up before the end of the year, but like last time cannot promise anything. Hopefully there will be a little more time after the new year.