Minutes passed in silence after what Raven said. Or at least, it felt that way. They both just stood there, the only sound around them from the hum of the electronics in the room. Raven's eyes were wide and wet. Cyborg kept opening his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, he said, "Raven…"

But before he could say anything more, a torrent of words came from Raven. "I love him, Cyborg. I love Nghtwing. I've, I've felt this way for years. When he was Robin, it might have just been a crush. I think. But now, it's more. In a way, it hurts… I don't know why…. No, I think I do know. But I can't say it. Its too…" Raven suddenly clutched her arms with her hands, and her face contorted with apparent pain. "Aahhhh."

"Raven, what's wrong?" Cyborg said. He rushed over to her. Raven shook her head, the glowing gem on her forehead obvious. Raven's eyes changed color. She shook her head violently. Cyborg grabbed her shoulders.

"Raven, listen to me. I'm here. You're okay. Everything is okay." He tried to keep a calm voice. Raven shut her eyes and grimaced.

"Raven, look at me. Its Cyborg." She looked up at him. She was on her knees now, and he knelt down to face her. She listened to his words. He told her that she was safe, and that she should take deep breaths. She tried to listen. She opened her mouth, trying to form words, but it was hard to concentrate.

"A-Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." She said in a shaky voice. She repeated it as he held her. She said it over and over again, her voice gradually becoming more steady. "Azarath, Metrion… Zinthos." This last one came out barely above a whisper. She took a deep breath, and sighed. Several moments passed. Raven took deep breaths on her knees as Cyborg held her. Then, gradually Raven got back to her feet, and Cyborg stood with her.

"Are you okay now?" he said. Raven nodded.

"Yes, thank you. I… shouldn't have gotten so emotional like that." She avoided looking at him. Her eyes were cast down.

"Its okay. I told you, you can talk to me. I'll admit, I was a little surprised… But not totally shocked." Raven now looked up at him.

"Well, I have seen you looking at him." Cyborg said. "You two have been pretty close lately. At least until Starfire showed up."

Raven's face twitched. It was subtle, but Cyborg noticed. "Starfire… Nightwing… They're my friends." She said.

"Yeah. And that's the problem, isn't it? But are they actually… together again?"

Raven turned away. "Probably. I… overheard a conversation they had. Starfire said she wanted to get back together with him. She even tried to kiss him."

"Oh." Cyborg said. "What did he say?"

"He… well, he said that he was hurt by the breakup. And that it took him a long time to get over it. But he didn't say no."

"But he didn't say yes either?"

"…Not exactly. But they have a history. They make sense as a couple. And… he would never see me that way."

Cyborg sighed and sat down. Before, Raven didn't even want to look at him. But now, she was looking right at him, perhaps expecting him to give her some kind of answer. She waited patiently as he collected his thoughts. Cyborg took a deep breath. "This is hard, Raven. You're my friend, and I want you to be happy. But Starfire is my friend too. Now, I don't exactly know what's going on between her and Nightwing right now. But from what you told me, it sounds like she still loves him. I don't know if he loves her. Under different circumstances, I'd definitely tell you to go for it. But I don't want to see Star get hurt. But I also don't want you to get hurt." Cyborg leaned back in the chair, and looked up at the ceiling. Raven sighed.

"I understand." She said. "The best thing is for me to say nothing, and leave them be. I'm… sorry I burdened you with all this. Just, keep this between us, please." She turned around towards the door.

"Raven, wait." He said.

"Its okay, Cyborg." She walked towards the door.

"What about talking to them?" he said. Raven stopped.

"Talk to them?" she said.

"Not at the same time, but, you know, separately. Maybe start with Starfire."

Raven turned her head back to him. "And say what? I'm in love with your boyfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend." He corrected.

"You don't know that." She said.

"You don't know either. That's why you should talk, and find out. Just ask her what's going on."

Raven stood there a long moment. There was a sad longing in her eyes. That, combined with the shadows cast by the dim lighting, gave her face a haunted expression. "And what if she says that she's in love with him, and they're back together?"

"Then you'll know. And you can move on. But if they're not together again…" He trailed off while holding out his hand for emphasis.

Raven fully turned to face him now. "Even if they're not, I don't think Starfire would appreciate me trying to be with him. I mean, I'm sure that he'd reject me. But just asking…"

"If Star says they're not dating, then you can explain the situation to her. If it makes you feel better, you can… ask her if she'd be okay with it."

Raven furrowed her brow. "That certainly sounds awkward and embarrassing, and could potentially ruin our friendship. And… he still might reject me, so it might all be for nothing anyway." This last part was said in a low, barely audible voice. Raven put her hand to her head, making an effort to keep her breathing steady.

"I don't think Star would hold a grudge against you over that. But if it makes you feel better, I can be there with you when you talk to her. If you decide to talk to her." He quickly added.

"I don't know." She said. She grabbed her arms again, but otherwise seemed calmer in the moment. Cyborg stood up, and held up his hands.

"Look, I'm not going to pressure you. If you decide you want to do this, I'll be with you. And if you decide you don't want to, then fine. Just think about it. I just don't want you to have any regrets."

Raven looked at him with worried brows. "Me neither." She walked towards the door and opened it. "Thanks for listening Cyborg. I'll think about all this. I just need some time." Cyborg nodded, and Raven left the room.

Hours passed by. After the talk, Cyborg left with Beast Boy to patrol. Raven stayed in her room, alone. Nightwing and Starfire returned from their excursion, although Raven did not come out to see them. Eventually, Beast Boy and Cyborg returned as well, with nothing in particular to report. Things were quiet. The tower was also quiet. There was some small talk, but not like the old days. The sun went down, and night came.

At some point, the tower came alive again when an alert sounded, and everyone was called to the ops room. Nightwing was waiting for the others there. He stood straight as the rest of the team gathered. Starfire exchanged a momentary glance as she walked in. Nightwing made eye contact for a second, and then looked away. Starfire looked at nothing in particular, and appeared to be thinking about something. Cyborg noticed this, and glanced at Raven. He couldn't tell if she had noticed anything. She had her hood up again.

"What's up?" Beast Boy said.

"Something big has happened." Nightwing said. "You know we've been monitoring police frequencies."

"Yeah, me and Cyborg set that up." Beast Boy said. "Well, Cyborg did most of the work, but I helped."

"You did help me find that wrench." Cyborg said.

"Guys, this is serious." Nightwing said. "Gizmo was attacked."

"Gizmo?" Cyborg said. Nightwing confirmed. "Do you think it was the Ravagers?"

"From what I heard, there were reports of gunfire, and people chopped down with swords. Sounds like them."

"Is Gizmo alive?" Cyborg said.

"I don't know." Nightwing said.

"Isn't he like, your nemesis?" Beast Boy said. Cyborg put his hands on his hips.

"First of all, no way. The closest thing I had to a nemesis was Brother Blood. Gizmo was more like an annoyance. Secondly, I don't like the guy, but I don't wish him dead."

"Perhaps we should go and see for ourselves, instead of speculating if Gizmo is alive or dead." Said Starfire.

"Well, we can't now, there are cops everywhere. And they don't like us right now." Beast Boy said.

"Actually, I think we should go now." Nightwing said. He stepped closer to the others, moving about them.

"Say what now?" Cyborg said.

"This is our one chance to see the crime scene before they clean it up." Nightwing said. "And maybe we can find something that will put us on the trail of our killers, before it goes cold."

"Nightwing." It was Raven who spoke, although she didn't look directly at him as she said it. He turned to her. "What if they're waiting for us there? Last time, you were worried about a trap. This could be one too."

"The cops are still there." Nightwing said. "They're going to want to avoid the police, which makes it the best time to go without having to worry about an ambush."

"Yeah, but we want to avoid the police too." Cyborg said.

"Then we'll just have to not be seen." Nightwing said.

"Its not the worst idea we've had." Beast Boy shrugged.

"As usual, stealth ain't my thing." Cyborg said.

"Noted, but you can be backup if we need you." Nightwing said. He then turned to the girls. "What do you two think?"

"I… don't know." Raven said.

Nightwing furrowed his brow. "Raven…"

"I think it's a great idea." Starfire said. "The element of surprise is good. They will not expect us there so soon.

"Thank you. But you're not great at sneaking either. I was hoping Raven would be there with me." He looked right at her.

Raven opened her mouth. "I… think Starfire would be better for this."

"You know how to blend into shadows, and you can disappear. That would be useful." He put a hand on her shoulder. Raven turned her head toward his hand. Starfire did likewise.

"You do not think I would be useful?" Starfire said.

"Sneaking past police?" he said. "No offense, but that doesn't seem to fit your skillset. But there are plenty of other things you can do."

"Nightwing…" Raven said. He turned to her, and noticed his hand still on her shoulder. He removed it. Starfire looked at Nightwing for a long moment.

"I see." Starfire said quietly. "Then let me know what you do need me for." She stepped away. Nightwing took a step back and turned around.

"Alright, we don't have a lot of time. There are cops all over the place, so we'll need to be very careful. Everyone get ready, because we're leaving in a few minutes. And we don't know what we'll find there."

With that, everyone started preparing for what was sure to be an interesting night.

End Notes: I managed to get this done in December. Although it is shorter than usual. I likely won't post anything else for the remainder of this month though.

Again, thank you to everyone who reads this story, and plans to continue doing so. I appreciate it, and I appreciate the comments even if I don't respond to every single one. If anyone has a specific question though, then I will try to reply shortly.