A/N: Welcome to Part One: Chapter Nine of "Firelight"! The fight scene may be over, but there is still more. As a bit of forewarning, lot of interesting things happen in this chapter. I hope that you like it! :)

P.S.: I would like to thank those of you who have commented! I really appreciate the feedback!


Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.


Part I: Inception: Chapter Nine

Jump City

Later That Night

For a superhero, Frostbite's place of residence isn't big. Instead of living in a big and flashy Tower like the Teen Titans, the water user lives in a one bedroom apartment in the suburban part of Jump City. This neighborhood isn't poor, but it isn't wealthy, either. It's quiet, middle class, and the neighborhood very rarely sees any trouble. To Frostbite, the section of town that he lives in is nothing less than perfect.

What is the best part to the young man? What he likes the most is that, when he is in his apartment alone with the door bolted shut, he doesn't have to be "Frostbite". Rather, the pony-tailed hero gets to call himself by his birth name: Saeran. His official title used to be "Saeran of the Fire Phoenix Clan, Royal Squire of Planet Dabnod", but he hardly thinks of himself that way anymore. Dabnod is gone, he is most likely the only member of Squadron Thirteen left alive, and with the loss of his planet, the fact that he is from the Fire Phoenix Clan is no longer important. Therefore, when he is alone, he is simply Saeran.

Unfortunately for Saeran, tonight is one of the many nights where his dreams are filled with the loveliest sort of torture. Some nights, he will fall asleep dreaming that he is back on Dabnod in his family's little cabin at the top of the purple, grassy, hill. He will wake up in his old bed next to the window that faces the pond at the bottom of the hill. After waking up, he will get dressed in his loose black pants, green tunic, and hook the belt around his waist that bears his Clan's symbol: a majestic fire phoenix with outstretched wings. Then, once he's dressed, he will go into the main room for breakfast with his family.

Once in the main room, he will give Mama a hug before accepting the morning meal of fresh rintcakes and reizen from her. Over breakfast, he will ask Mama about how work at the Royal Palace is going and if Queen Guayusa is doing well. His mother always responds in the positive, her lengthy hair coloring a happy shade of orange and her eyes turning peach. Following his conversation with Mama, Saeran will then turn to his beloved baby sister. Damiana always had so many stories to tell.

Every morning at breakfast, Damiana's hair would turn a lovely shade of rose red and her eyes would turn soft pink. Those were always the colors that they would turn when she was at her happiest. She always had a new story to tell them about. It was usually a story she'd read in some new foreign language from a far off planet. Other times it would be a story native to Dabnod that she told he and Mama about. Of course, it was never a story written in the modern language. They were always written in dead languages thousands of years old that the Palace Scribes couldn't begin to decipher!

His little sister was a true Dabnodian prodigy. While it took him three months to master the English language spoken on Earth, it took Damiana two weeks to learn it fluently. For dead languages that took the Royal Palace's most talented Scribes a year to decipher, they took Damiana only a couple of months. And don't even get him started on her talent with their Clan's dominant element! Damiana became such a prodigy with her fire that Queen Guayusa began taking notice of her. Their father and the Clan Elders were ecstatic!

"It has been a long time since the Fire Phoenix Clan saw a child this talented," said their father only a few months before his death. "With her skill, she could become the greatest Queen that Dabnod has ever seen!"

Of course, Damiana never did pay her talent much attention. More than anything, Saeran's baby sister viewed her skills as something convenient and something to have fun with. They were simply a part of her. Every morning at breakfast, both in Saeran's dreams and in what was once real life, the girl always managed to express this over the table. If not through tales she'd learned in other languages, then by telling them about a new fire-using technique she'd mastered.

Damiana was always such a happy child, and he and Mama were always happy to listen to her. They were always happy to listen to him, too. Admittedly, he had his own share of stories. He had stories of intense training that he'd gone through, tales of war that he'd heard from the more seasoned Royal Knights, and stories of quests that he'd gone on with Squadron Thirteen. When it came to the quests with his Squadron, Saeran remembers telling about he and his friend, Adriel, most of the time. They'd gotten into so much trouble together as children! It's no wonder that it took them so long to move up the ranks from Pages to Squires…

Currently, Saeran is having another breakfast dream. In this one, he is telling one of his many stories about he and Adriel. By the way he remembers, the dream he's having was once an actual conversation. He must have been around twelve years old at the time.

"…and after he buried him with his mud, it took us three hours to dig Knight Master Urrvink out! Adriel would have gotten him out by pushing the dirt out of the ground, but Master Urrvink was afraid that he would accidentally crush him. He didn't want me to use my water to get him out, either, because he didn't want me to freeze him. Apparently, me and Adriel don't have good enough control over our heart energy yet. That's why we're going to the Palace Training Grounds today is to train some more."

Mama, who is busily flipping large chunks of reizen in her frying pan, gives an irritated sigh as her hair turns a dangerous shade of midnight blue. "Honestly, Saeran! If I had a say in the matter, I would keep you and Adriel separated! Together you're nothing but trouble!"

Swallowing a mouthful of his food nervously, Saeran shrugs with uncertainty. "We don't mean to do things like that, Mama. We just kind of…end up…in those situations."

Narrowing her sharp dark blue gaze at him, Mama eyes him skeptically. "Right. I bet burying your Knight Master up to his chin in mud and phoenix manure was a complete accident! Just like that incident last week when one of the Queen's Courtiers found a nest of hatching sky serpent eggs in her wardrobe!"

Forgetting to filter his words, Saeran responds in anger. "Hey, that jerk lady insulted Adriel's sister! She had it coming!"

Again, Mama sighs. "I should have held off on giving you your Clan belt. Maybe your father was wrong. You're not mature enough to wear it yet."

Offended, Saeran's eyes widen. "Hey, that isn't true! If Dad said that I get to wear my Fire Phoenix Clan belt, then I should get to wear it! Besides, it's not like you would hold off on giving Damiana her arm cuff."

Mama's hair lightens to pale blue along with her eyes, and she smiles at her son knowingly. "Yes, but Damiana doesn't go around causing trouble, either. When she gets her Fire Phoenix arm cuff when she turns twelve, I'm certain that she will have earned it."

After a lengthy period of silence, Damiana speaks. For once, her hair isn't red. It is neon green. "Mama, why does Saeran get the belt? Can't I have one, too? I don't want the arm cuff."

"I already told you, Dami. You can't have the belt. The belt with the Fire Phoenix is for Saeran because he's a boy. When girls are old enough to start wearing their Clan symbol, they wear theirs on a metal cuff on their upper arm. That's just how it is."

Her hair greener than before, Damiana asks, "When can I wear my Fire Phoenix arm cuff, then? I want to wear our Clan symbol like Saeran!"

Amused by her daughter's enthusiasm, Mama smiles at her gently. "You can wear your arm cuff when you turn twelve the same as your brother. Age twelve is when you're officially old enough to become a Clan Member. You're much too young right now, Damiana."

Damiana pouts. "Okay. I can wait. I really don't want to, though."

Mama flips the reizen in the frying pan once more. Based on how she is gripping the handle, she is prepared to offer more food to anyone who wants it. Before she gets the chance, however, deafening beeping is heard. At first Saeran is afraid that it is a warning signal to let him know that the Tamaraneans are invading, or that Knight Master Urrvink is using his bell to time him and Adriel on a training exercise. It is only as the ringing persists that Saeran is brought back to reality.

Sitting straight up in his bed with limbs tangled up in the covers, Saeran sees that he isn't in his old bed. Neither is this his room that faces the pond at the bottom of the purple hill. Instead, Saeran is lying in his twin-sized bed inside of his one bedroom apartment located in Jump City. Outside of the window isn't a tall grassy hill, but buildings and the busy street below. Like every other time he wakes up in this reality, Saeran feels like sitting in his bed for an hour and crying bitter tears.

Of course, once the Dabnodian man peeks over at his bedside table, he realizes that there isn't any time for that. Shoving a strand of long hair dyed blonde out of his face, Saeran sees that the time is currently twelve thirteen AM. Sitting beside his digital alarm clock is his Titan communicator, which is beeping frantically. He quickly untangles his limbs from the sheets and reaches his bare upper torso toward the bedside table. Yawning, Saeran makes sure that he is speaking English and not Dabnodian before picking up the communicator.

"Hello, you have reached Frostbite's twenty-four-hour emergency hotline. We are happy to service you at this convenient hour of midnight. How may I direct your call?" the young man yawns into the communicator with sarcasm.

On the other end is Robin, his hair tousled from sleep. Despite the lateness of the hour, the bird boy has never sounded more awake. Or troubled, for that matter… "Hi, Frostbite. I'm sorry to wake you up so late, but you need to come to the Tower right now. The Titans East just contacted us. They have news about Black Shadow. I know that you don't want to hear it, but you're a Titan just as much as my team, so you need to hear what the Titans East have to say. It's important."


Steel City: Titans East Tower

Meanwhile…

Bumblebee stands in front of the kitchen table where the small, metal, device sits innocently. She just finished contacting Robin, telling him to get in touch with Frostbite, wake up the rest of his team, and that she will contact him again as soon as the rest of her own team shows up. Besides Mas y Menos, who have fallen asleep on the sofa, Bee is the only one here. While waiting, she stares at the semi-circular machine that Black Shadow gave them in a mixture of fear and curiosity, wondering what on Earth the device could be.

"Whatever it is, it can't be anything good," Bee muses. "We'll have to tell the Titans West everything that happened and get Sparky over here to take a look at it. If anyone can figure out what this machine is for, it's him."

The machine's blue stripes and silver buttons twinkle up at her as if challenging her to a staring contest. Losing the money that they were supposed to return and letting Black Shadow escape is bad enough already. This machine makes their situation ten times worse.

Bee sighs. "I don't think anything can happen to make this day more of a challenge."

Then, as if the universe is against her, she hears the doors to the common room's main entrance slide open. Her initial concern upon Speedy's and Aqualad's return is that Leila won't be with them. Based on what she has heard about her from Speedy, and on what she has seen of the girl herself, there's no doubt that getting Leila to come back to the Tower is a difficult task. If anything, Bumblebee was partially expecting them to walk in without her and to say that she ran off never to be seen by any of them again.

It is due to these assumptions that what she actually sees surprises her to no end. First Aqualad enters, sporting a deep frown of concern. A few feet behind him is Speedy, who appears nothing but distraught. Certainly enough, Leila is with them, but she is completely passed out in Speedy's arms. The girl is limp and incredibly pale, the archer supporting her head of strewn brown hair in the crook between his chest and his upper arm. His opposite arm holds Leila under the crooks of her knees, making it known that he is being very careful not to drop her.

Chocolate eyes the size of saucers, Bumblebee takes to the air and rushes toward them. "Oh my gosh! What happened to Leila?! Did Black Shadow's robots do this to her?!"

Descending the stairs and heading in the direction of the lengthy sofa, Speedy explains, "They did, but indirectly. When she uses fire, Leila is the robot-destroying queen who can feel no pain. It turns out that it's not the same thing when she uses lightning. She was able to take out every robot in the building with her lightning, but whenever she uses it, this happens." Setting her down gently on the end of the couch opposite from Mas y Menos, he clarifies with irritation, "She never told me about the side effects when she suggested using it."

Bee watches as Leila unconsciously snuggles into the couch. Her skin is regaining some of its color, her breathing is becoming deep and even, and she looks as though she is quite comfortable on the Titans' sofa. When her deep even breathing turns into soft snoring, the three Titans are immensely relieved. She may be unconscious, but at least they know that she isn't in pain and that she will wake up unharmed.

Growing calmer, Bumblebee says, "I guess Black Shadow wasn't lying when he told us that Leila's the one who took down the robots. It's no wonder that she was knocked unconscious. Destroying all of those robots at once probably takes a lot of energy." The winged woman gawps at the girl. "It's amazing that lightning is the only thing that does this to her. Leila's fire really doesn't hurt her?"

Speedy gazes at the fire user's sleeping form. "No, it doesn't. The way Leila explained it to me is that her fire is a part of her that comes naturally. Since it's a part of her, her body doesn't fight against her when she uses it. The reason her body fights lightning is because it isn't naturally a part of her, so her body tries to get rid of it." Scratching his head awkwardly, he confesses, "It's something like that, anyway. She told me about it the best she could, but I'm still not sure I get it. I don't have crazy powers like she does, so it's probably hard for me to understand."

Each of them continues staring at Leila with interest, wondering how she is going to react when she wakes up. Though none of them says it aloud, each of them knows that she never intended on getting involved this deep with them. If one thing is for certain, it's that her life has most likely turned upside down in the three days since she has met Speedy. In a way, they feel bad that she had to get pulled into this horrific situation.

"I don't think she's waking up anytime soon, so we shouldn't just leave her on the couch. Let's give her some privacy. Put her in my room for the night," suggests Bumblebee.

Baffled, Aqualad asks, "Your room? Can't we just put together one of the guest rooms?"

Their leader shrugs. "We could, but all that's in any of the guest rooms are bare mattresses, and I don't feel like digging around in the downstairs closet for sheets and blankets. If she decides to stay, then we can put together a room for her tomorrow. Once we're through relaying all of our information to the Titans West, I'll sleep on the couch." The duo nods, and she gives her orders. "Aqualad, take Leila and help me get her to my room. Speedy, you can put Mas and Menos in their beds. I don't think that either of them will make it there on their own."

Stretching his arms over his head, the archer complies. "Okay, will do. I can definitely say that I've gotten my workout today. Who needs barbells when you have people?"

Aqualad takes Leila in his arms in the same fashion that Speedy did earlier. Similarly, Speedy picks up the twins with one of them in each arm. It's a good thing that he works out, because even at a first glance it's easily seen that both of the twins together are heavier than Leila is.

Each of them with their respective unconscious people in their arms, they walk toward the part of the Tower where the bedrooms are located. As they pass through the kitchen to the double doors, however, Aqualad and Bumblebee note as Speedy pauses. A curious expression painting his face, he turns toward the table that contains the semicircular machine of black, blue, and silver. Having no idea what he's looking at, the redhead looks to his teammates.

"Bee, Aqualad, what the heck is that thing?"

Nibbling her lower lip anxiously, Bumblebee continues walking toward the common room's exit. Even so, she manages a response. "It's nothing good, I can tell you that. We'll talk more about it once we make contact with the Titans West. For now, let's just take care of Mas, Menos, and Leila."

Brow furrowed, Speedy turns away from the table and follows. Nonetheless, he asks another question. "Can you at least tell me where you got it? I'm kind of in the dark, here."

Sighing, Bumblebee gives a short and clipped answer. "Black Shadow gave it to us as a way to taunt us."


It amazes Speedy how carrying the twins down the hall to their bedrooms was more strenuous than carrying Leila several miles across town to the Tower. Either he was very distracted during the across-town hike and didn't notice her weight, or the girl is a walking skeleton. Considering how all of his thoughts were on Leila while he was carrying her, this archer would place his bet on the latter. Sure the girl is tough as nails and knows how to survive on her own, but choosing to starve to death instead seeking help is crossing the line.

"Hopefully she won't freak out too bad when she wakes up… It would do her good to stay for breakfast…" the archer muses.

As he looks over at Bumblebee, who is busily typing the Titans West's frequency into the keyboard of the main console, all thoughts of the bony fire user immediately vanish. With Aqualad standing next to him holding Black Shadow's blue, black, and silver machine, Speedy's mind instantly returns to the situation at hand. There's a madman on the loose with some crazy, undisclosed, plan to destroy the Titans, and somehow the machine Aqualad is holding contains all the answers.

"Right," says Speedy internally. "It looks like Leila will have to wait for a bit."

Bumblebee finishes typing, and bright white letters flash across the screen. They spell out: "Connecting". As their Tower connects to the Titans West's frequency, Speedy takes the opportunity to question his teammates. Whatever he missed while he was separated from them must have been very important; especially if they're contacting their friends on the west coast in the middle of the night.

"So, Black Shadow threw some random device at you and left? How do we know that we have anything to worry about? This machine might not even do anything! He could've been playing mind games. Black Shadow does that, you know."

Speedy does his best to hide his nervousness, but ultimately fails. Of course, this doesn't matter. The winged girl and the aquatic Titan are clearly just as unnerved as he is.

Aqualad replies, "Speedy, you know just as much as we do that Black Shadow doesn't make empty threats. He escaped from the Swarzberg Prison. He has been popping up in Justice League cities all over the country. He made in-depth replicas of our cities and tested his robots on us. The evidence is there. That machine isn't useless."

Bumblebee adds, "The fact that he's planning our destruction is obvious. The only thing that isn't obvious is how he's planning on doing it."

Speedy doesn't have time to reply to his teammates' statements. A second later, their Tower connects to the Titans West's frequency. The face of an awake and completely alert Robin is on the screen. Directly beside him is the masked man with the ponytail, clad in white and icy blue. Much like Robin, Frostbite is awake and ready for action. Of course, after giving the screen a second glance, it appears that they're the only ones.

In the background, curled up on one end of the couch and snoring softly, is Starfire. Cuddled up in her arms is Silkie, who is also sleeping. Sprawled out across the sofa's opposite end and snoring much more loudly, is Cyborg. In the middle of the sofa is Beast Boy, his feet laying across Cyborg's lap, and his head and arms snuggled into Raven's midsection. The green Titan hugs Raven around the waist tightly, looking very comfortable. The whole time Raven works to pry his arms off of her, the dark girl grumbling drowsily. The trio of East Titans quirk their brows at the sight, paying more attention to the background than to Robin and Frostbite.

As they gawk, the Boy Wonder addresses them. "Hi, Bumblebee. I got Frostbite over here and woke up the rest of my team. We're alert and ready to hear whatever news you have to give us about Black Shadow." Turning to face his team, he raises his voice, "Right, Titans?!"

The teens are instantly awoken from their slumber. Starfire shoots into the air with her emerald eyes wide with surprise, accidentally tossing Silkie across the room. Cyborg wakes up as well, scurrying to his feet in a frenzy. This causes Beast Boy to fall to the ground due to the position of his feet on Cyborg's lap, forcing Raven to fall with him. When Beast Boy ends up on top of her, the dark girl doesn't hesitate to use her dark energy to send him flying much like Silkie.

Frostbite and Robin watch the scene along with the Titans East. The only person who gets any amusement from the sight is Frostbite, who smirks sardonically while speaking to them. "I guess my middle of the night dash across the city is nothing compared to the dreaded hike from your bedrooms to the common room. A journey that causes so much exhaustion must be truly painful."

"Not as painful as fighting robots for half the night and almost running out of arrows," adds Speedy from the screen's other side. "You should try it sometime. It really tests your endurance."

Rubbing his human eye tiredly, it is Cyborg who answers. "Sorry, Speedy. We were waiting a long time for Bee to contact us, and I guess we got tired. It is twelve-thirty in the morning."

"It's three-thirty in the morning over here," states Aqualad bluntly. Then he adds with a shrug, "But I guess that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is telling all of you what happened tonight."

Beast Boy, who walks back on screen while rubbing his head tenderly, speaks for everyone on the Titans West side of the screen with his inquiry. "What exactly happened when you guys fought Black Shadow? If you're contacting us in the middle of the night, then it must be majorly bad."

"'Majorly bad' is an understatement", replies Speedy. "Black Shadow wasn't messing around in Steel City like he was in Gotham. We fought these special robots that he invented, and they were no joke. If it hadn't been for Leila, I wouldn't have made it out of there. I'm not sure if any of us would have."

Astoundment crossing his features, it is Robin who answers. "Leila? The source who you left to meet with earlier? She was with you?"

"Yep. She was with us until the end," Bumblebee confirms. "Finding the hideout, fighting the robots, working together with Speedy to help take them down, all of it was Leila."

"It turns out that she's more than just a source. She has superpowers, too." says Aqualad. "Leila also seems to have plenty of fighting experience. She didn't even flinch when Black Shadow showed up."

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Speedy smiles. "You're right when you say that she has fighting experience. She can tear apart five robots at once like they're plastic toys. She's feisty when she fights! But I guess Leila is always feisty…"

Apparently it is realized that they're getting off topic, because Bumblebee quickly works to reroute the conversation. In a way, Speedy is thankful. He doesn't want to think too much about the sleeping girl when there is a maniac on the loose, and he can tell that neither does Aqualad.

"Don't get me wrong. It's a good thing that Leila was there, but it doesn't matter too much in the grand scheme of things." Bumblebee moves in Aqualad's direction and gently takes the machine from him. "Black Shadow's robots might be gone, but Black Shadow isn't. Right after Leila and Speedy beat his insane robots, he came out of hiding and gave me, Aqualad, Mas, and Menos this."

If the six heroes on the opposite end of the screen weren't awake before, then they certainly are now. Eyes wide with a mixture of astonishment and bewilderment, those who were previously loitering in the background move closer to the screen.

"Dude, what is that thing?!"

"We don't know," Bee answers sounding downcast. "The only thing we do know is that Black Shadow is out for revenge. This machine is a part of his plan somehow. "

Aqualad puts in, "His exact phrasing was that he has been planning his revenge against the hero world for a long time now. He gave us that machine, told us that it was a reward because Leila figured out how to destroy the robots, and then said that it's the Titans' job to figure out what it does." Bone-chilling dread is seen in his eyes. "Also, when we found Black Shadow's lair, we saw that he made exact replicas of every city protected by the Teen Titans and by the Justice League. My guess is that he's trying to destroy us like the Brotherhood of Evil tried to do. Only, this is going to be different from that situation. He's probably going to focus on destroying the Titans first, and then he'll likely move up the ranks to annihilating the Justice League."

For the first time since returning to the Tower, Speedy is finally starting to understand the real depth of the situation. Out of all the villains he has faced, the Brotherhood of Evil leaves him with the worst memories. Being hunted down, captured like a helpless child, and ending up frozen like some kind of victory trophy is something that he never wants to experience again. Knowing that his friends were being captured and taken out the same as him made him feel more helpless than he'd ever felt before in his life.

The only thing that could possibly compare to how helpless he felt while being captured by the Brotherhood of Evil and their cronies, was what it was like shortly after he split from Green Arrow. Being twelve years old and on the streets with nowhere to go is hard. There is no feeling more terrifying than wondering if someone is going to kill you while you're sleeping on the park bench, or if that day is the day you're going to starve to death or overdose. No kid should ever have to go through that…

Knowing where his thoughts are going, Speedy puts them to a halt then and there. Those days are over, as are the days where he was captured by the Brotherhood of Evil. He is a Teen Titan. A new threat has arisen - one that is larger than the previous threats that he has dealt with. Even if the idea is terrifying, he is going to have to face potentially being taken out by Black Shadow just like he had to face it with the Brotherhood of Evil. He is a superhero, after all.

As Speedy is pulled back to reality, he hears as Bumblebee speaks yet again. "Black Shadow may like to play mind games, but it isn't a game this time. He must already be making plans to eliminate us. He made fast progress with rounding up his henchmen and building a lair here in Steel City, so I think all of us know that his first major attack is coming sooner than we're ready for."

Robin frowns. "No matter how long his plans take, I don't think that we're ever actually going to be 'ready'. All we can really do is get prepared, and when the time comes, we need to be willing to fight to the end." Turning to his team, the Boy Wonder continues, "If anyone should know this, it's the Titans West. Before the Brotherhood of Evil, our little team had to stand up against Slade and against Trigon."

Raven comments, "We weren't ready to fight them, but we fought them anyway. Now, we're going to have to come together so we can handle Black Shadow the same way."

Bumblebee gives a small smile. "That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say. Who's better to call in a tough situation than our friends from the west?" The winged girl holds up the device given to them by the villain as she makes a request. "I know that this is a lot to ask, but I was wondering if the Titans East could get Sparky over here. If anyone can figure out what this thing is, it's him."

Exchanging surprised glances with Aqualad, Speedy can immediately tell that this is the first either of them has heard of Bee's idea. Even so, they both smile at their leader's inquiry. Honestly, asking Cyborg to take a look at Black Shadow's machine is an excellent idea. Being the most knowledgeable on technology out of all of the Titans, both honorary and official, there isn't anyone better to do the job.

Immediately, Speedy voices his agreement. "Cyborg looking at it would definitely be helpful. Maybe he could help us examine some of the robot parts that we salvaged, too. Who knows? There could be a connection."

There is a moment of silence from the opposite side of the screen. When someone responds, it is none other than the technology wizard himself. "Hold on. You want to examine it? Why haven't you destroyed it?! He could be using it to bug the Tower!"

Speedy shrugs. "The man is a shadow. He doesn't need the machine to bug our Tower. Besides, he seems to enjoy a good challenge. He probably gave it to us as a way to tease us into trying to figure out more about what he's planning."

"I have to agree with Speedy. I don't think that the machine is rigged," Aqualad concurs.

Cyborg gives a hesitant nod of agreement, though he still doesn't appear convinced. "Well, okay... If you say so, then I guess I can take a look at it... But if I find any sign that Black Shadow did something to it, it gets destroyed!"

Bumblebee grins. "Understood. So, you're coming, then?"

"Yeah. As long as it's okay with Robin."

All eyes turn in the direction of the Boy Wonder. Luckily, his response is in the positive. "There is no hesitation from me. I think having Cyborg go to Steel City to look at Black Shadow's device is a good idea. Your Tower has also been needing some upgrades, so he can get those installed while he's there, too."

Turning his gaze away from Robin, Cyborg faces the Titans East. "Well, alright. It looks like I'm taking a trip to Steel City. In that case, I'll pack up, and I can head out sometime tomorrow." Moving so that he's standing in between Robin and Frostbite, the metal man claps the pony-tailed hero on the shoulder. "While I'm gone, maybe Frostbite can fill in for me. I know that he has been dying to see what life is like in the Tower. He can play video games, meditate with Raven, and maybe even try some of Beast Boy's tofu." Grinning, he adds, "I know you like tofu!"

The frown of uncertainty on the solo hero's face tells all of them that moving into the Titans West Tower, even if it's only for a short while, is the last thing that Frostbite wants to do. "Fill in for Cyborg? Live in Titans Tower? Wow. That sounds…interesting…" He coughs with palpable discomfort. "I would love to, but sadly, I don't think I can manage it. I would need to pack my stuff and bring it over here, and while I'm here, my apartment won't get cleaned. Not to mention that I have a cat. Mr. Whiskers is going to get very lonely without me…"

"Then pack Whiskers up, and bring him with you!" says Cyborg happily. "Silkie will be here to keep him company. I bet the two of them will get along great!"

Frostbite doesn't have much to say after this. He gives a weighted sigh. "I don't know. I'll think about it."

Either they were listening to his words halfheartedly, or the phrase "I'll think about it" is the new way of saying yes. Before he has time to protest further, Robin walks around to his other side and gives him a manly clap on the shoulder. This is followed by Cyborg who grips his opposite shoulder tighter, and Starfire who flies over to give him a suffocating hug around the midsection.

"Great! I knew he couldn't resist!" exclaims Cyborg.

"Welcome aboard! We can get your room set up tomorrow," says Robin with a smile.

Starfire simply shouts joyfully. "Yay! New friends!"

The whole time, Raven stands back and watches the scene with a raised brow. Beast Boy stands beside her, shouting in excitement. Only, his excitement is for different reasons than his teammates'.

"Ooh! Cyborg's going to Steel City? This is so awesome! Since Frostbite's filling in, maybe I can go with him! We can have men-only road trip!"

The other side of the screen becomes so loud and so filled with chaos that Bumblebee, Aqualad, and Speedy can do nothing other than stare. If there is one thing that they know for certain, it's that this night has made things very interesting in more ways than one.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I've been trying to reveal a bit more about how Dabnodian culture works as well as how their physical bodies function. I feel like I have a lot of ideas for the Dabnodians, and I simply haven't shared them yet. I really hope that you find all of the facts I'm revealing about Damiana's and Saeran's race interesting. Also, I've started revealing more about Speedy's past, too. Just so you know, this story is one that is about Speedy every bit as much as it's about Damiana. Speedy's character has always been one that has intrigued me, so I wanted to dig into him a little bit, too.

Anyway, that's enough for now. I will try and update again next week, but I have assignments due, my second internship to prepare for, and we're washing down the outside of my house this weekend. Not to mention that I have two tests to prepare for. Hopefully I can get out another chapter, but even if I can't, I will try not to keep you waiting for too long. Whether or not you comment, I know that I have a decent amount of people who are keeping up with the story and would like to hear more. :)

Until next time, my friends!

Forever and Always,

~OCQ