I'm not dead I swear! I am sooo sorry this took as long as it did. But, you guys wanted the next chapter pretty badly. So, I'm not going to make you wait for it any longer.

But I do owe you guys an explanation as to why this has taken so long. I don't want to take up too much space up here, so I'll put the explanation at the bottom of the chapter.

They returned to the tower. Cyborg, Robin, and Raven decided to get some more sleep, but Beast Boy, Starfire, and Latias stayed up a little longer. They were sitting on the couch, with Latias in the middle.

The poor girl was still shaken up, but was much calmer than before. Calm enough to give the feeling back into Starfire's and Beast Boy's arms, at least. Her hands were gripping each /other on her lap.

Beast Boy was completely clueless in this situation. Sure, he was able to calm her at the warehouse, but he doubted his puns would completely do the trick. He was terrible when it came to girls. Emotional girls were bad. Emotional girls who can't talk and he doesn't know much about were even worse.

"Latias, are you alright?" Starfire asked, her voice soft and gentle, as if she were speaking to a cornered puppy.

Latias, unsurprisingly, shook her head no. She was not fine, and it would be foolish to lie about something so obvious.

Star sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "My friend, we do not blame you for any of this. You protected us, and we came to help you. We knew your body was being controlled. None of us hold it against you."

"Yeah. And besides, we attacked you, too. You can't be completely at fault," BB added, getting Latias to lift her head a bit. Her back did hurt from Cyborg's cannon…

But still…

She made a whimpering noise. It was very faint.

"I don't want you to leave me…"

She felt tears forming in her eyes and brought her hands up to cover them. Bianca's betrayed face appeared behind her eyelids and she moved in closer on herself. She felt thin arms around her but didn't care. She heard words being exchanged and the sofa shifting as someone got up.

'Latios… I'm scared…'

She didn't know when she fell asleep. One moment she was silently crying her eyes out, and the next moment the sun was blinding her. She winced, moving her arm to block the light as she pushed herself up. She looked down, noticing the pink sheets of Starfire's bed. Her brows creased in confusion, taking a look around.

When did she get in here? Did Starfire bring her up? Most likely, but why? The couch was a good place to sleep, not that she even cared at the moment.

She heard the door open with a hiss and looked over to see Starfire with a tray of food in her hands.

"Good morning, friend! I am glad you see you are well." Latias didn't respond, instead choosing to look away. Starfire frowned and walked over, placing the tray on her bureau. "Perhaps, you are still unwell?"

Latias felt the bed shift when Starfire sat next to her. She saw something in the corner of her eye and looked over. Star was holding out a notebook and a pen. Hers.

"Here. I wish to talk, if you are feeling up to it." Latias took the notebook and flipped to a new page. "Latias, why are you so frightened? After we defeated the Puppet King, you seemed...disturbed."

The Pokemon's hand shook as she wrote, 'I'm sorry…'

Starfire frowned in confusion. "But why? You saved us and we, you. I do not understand…"

'I hurt you.'

"But we have told you many times we do not hold you responsible." Starfire was getting even more worried now after repeating that sentence again. Those words did nothing for Latias. "Why do you choose not to believe us? ...Is it because of your past experiences?"

'I' … She crossed that out and wrote again. 'Do you remember the girl I told you about?'

"Yes. Her name was Bianca, correct? You said she had abandoned you after an incident."

Latias nodded. 'I wouldn't eat. She tried to force me to eat so I wouldn't starve. And she mentioned my brother… I got angry and attacked her. It wasn't a fatal wound, but' She paused, eyes downcast, her hand moving away from the paper.

"That was the last time she was in the garden, correct?" Latias nodded. "And you believe that because you had attacked us, we would abandon you as well?" Another nod. "I do not see why you would still believe that, though." Latias looked at her in confusion. "We brought you back to Titan's Tower with us. And I had brought you into my room to sleep. If we never wanted to see you again, we would have left you there. But we did not."

Latias paused, thinking about what she said. She made a good point. A small part of her said that they were just waiting for the right time to dump her, but the rational side of her said they were never going to; never planned to.

Just like good friends should.

But she just couldn't shake the feeling. The constant, agonizing feeling...

"I-I'm sorry…"

Star's eyebrows creased. There it was again… That voice… It was scratchy, and parts of it were harder to hear.

"Do you hear that?" she finally asked, getting Latias's attention. At her confused look, she elaborated, "The voice. It was hard to hear, and sounded like it was in my head. People on this planet believe hearing voices in one's head is a sign of craziness. Did you not hear the strange voice?" The look Latias gave her was enough of an answer. "So you did not. Am I crazy, then?"

Latias quickly wrote something down. 'What did the voice say?'

"Um… It was hard to understand. But I believe it said 'I am sorry'."

Of course… Of course! How could she not have thought of it before?!

"Latias, are you alright?" Star asked. Latias had suddenly gotten a huge grin on her face and Starfire had to do a double-take just to make sure she really wasn't crazy.

Latias, meanwhile, was mentally slapping her head. 'Idiot! I can use telepathy! Well, I don't exactly know how to… but it's still possible!'

She turned to Starfire after writing another message.

'Star, I'm going to try something. I want you to tell me exactly what you hear.'

"Uh… alright?"

Latias closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She channeled her psychic powers to her thoughts. It took a few moments, but she was finally able to.

"Starfire, can you hear me?"

Starfire jumped slightly at the voice that invaded her mind. Once again, it was scratchy, like a voice that, after years of being unused, was finally able to be used. Some parts were cut out.

"I… I heard, 'Star, can… hear me'."

Latias sighed, shaking her head as she pressed her cool hand against it. She was going to have to get used to that. Projecting thoughts were easy for Psychic Pokemon; legendaries, especially. But that didn't mean it wouldn't feel really, really weird. She never used it before. Channeling the psychic energy into her head was not a normal thing.

"Latias, was that voice...you?" Starfire asked, looking at her friend in confusion. After a moment, she nodded.

'Yes.' she wrote, 'It's called telepathy. I can't use it that well yet. I completely forgot I could. Talking just wasn't super important to me. I never had to use it before.'

"This is wonderful news!" Starfire exclaimed happily, "Now you are able to talk to us, yes?"

'Not quite. It's going to take some getting used to. But it shouldn't take too long. Legendary Pokemon are able to get more of a handle on this kind of thing.' She gave her a grin at that last statement.

"But you can speak to us, correct?"

Latias sweatdropped. 'Yes.' She paused. 'Would you be able to help? I need a target to connect with. It should hopefully speed it up a bit.'

"Of course. I would love to help."

Latias yawned and stretched her arms as she walked into the Ops room. She had stayed up nearly all night with Starfire practicing her telepathy. She felt a bit bad for making her stay up that long, but she was assured it was fine.

During that time she had also thought about what Star had said more thoroughly; about trust. The Teen Titans had been nothing but kind to her. Even when she was in danger, they did whatever they could to help. They gave her food and shelter...and family…

Maybe...Maybe she could trust them. Or at least, open up a bit more. If only to repay their kindness.

At this point, however, her eyes could barely stay open and all she could think of was food. Food and sleep, but food came first.

She went over to the fridge and opened it, looking through the selection. For a group containing two extreme gluttons, they didn't have a big assortment of foods. She was surprised they were all fed.

She grabbed a can of soda and examined it. She's seen Bianca have sodas before, but she herself has never tasted one. It made her curious…

The can opened with a hiss and Latias took a small sip, followed shortly after by another larger one. It tasted pretty good; the color was orange and the taste reminded her of a grepa berry, though more tangy.

She heard the door open and turned mid-sip to see who entered. The Boy Wonder himself.

"Latias! You're awake." He walked over, his surprise not well hidden, but overshadowed by his concern. "How are you doing?" She gave him a shrug; she felt pretty good now, all things considered. Her eyes caught on his cheek and neck, where bruises had already formed and were not looking pretty. She winced, looking into his eyes apologetically. He reached up and touched his neck. "Oh, these? Don't worry, they don't hurt too bad. A little uncomfortable, but nothing I can't handle." Her frown deepened sadly, her hand reaching up and lightly brushing against the bruise on his cheek. He winced slightly and she quickly pulled away. Robin quickly noticed the guilt starting to form on her face and his expression hardened.

"No. Stop. This was the Puppet King's doing, not yours. Understand?" Sighing, Latias nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. "Good."

She looked around, lowering the can from her lips. She gave him a confused expression. He caught on quickly.

"The others are still asleep. We were pretty tired after that fight last night. If you hang around here for a while they're bound to appear. Just take it easy, alright?" Latias nodded. Robin grabbed some food to bring to his room and left with a wave, leaving her alone once again.

It was another hour or so later when she got more company. In that time, she managed to nearly break the video game system...three times. Can anyone blame her, though? She had watched Beast Boy and Cyborg play multiple times during her stay and she finally got curious enough to try it out. Not her fault technology is hard to understand.

The doors slid open and Cyborg walked in with a yawn. He looked around and at first thought nobody was here. That is, until, a head popped out from the other side of the couch and nearly scared the life out of him. "Geez, Latias, don't scare me this early on in the day!"

She completely ignored his yell as an idea sprang in her mind, giving her a smile. She flew over to him and tugged at his arm. "Hey, what are you-whoa!" She managed to drag him over to the couch and push him into the seat. Cyborg barely had time to recover from the sudden revelation of just how strong she is, though, since she was currently pointing at the gaming system. He gave her a confused look and she rolled her eyes. After a few seconds of charades he was able to understand what she wanted.

"You...want to play?"

Latias threw her arms up in victory, then watched carefully as Cyborg went over to the console, knelt in front of it and…

...pushed...a button.

A button.

A. SINGLE. Button.

"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!"

Cyborg jumped to his feet in surprise at the sudden voice, his blaster out and pointed at the door. Latias jumped as well, although it was due to his sudden moves.

For a moment, nothing happened.

"Did you hear that, too?" Cyborg asked. He looked over to Latias, who looked surprised but more at him than anything else. "What?"

Latias pouted. 'Dangit, I wanted it to be a surprise… Maybe I can get him to forget about it…' She looked over to the screen that had appeared when the game console was turned on. She smiled and sat onto the couch, grabbing a controller and looking at him expectantly.

Cyborg quickly forgot the voice as he taught Latias how to use the controller.

By the time everyone else had woken up and gotten food, the two had already gone through a few of the tracks and were now on the last lap of the third race.

"Hey, Latias!" Beast Boy called, getting her attention. Latias turned away for a split moment, which was enough for Cyborg to get ahead and win the race.

"Booyah!" Cyborg exclaimed, throwing his fist in the air. Latias looked at the screen in horror, then turned to Beast Boy with a glare.

"Uh...sorry," he replied nervously, hands held up slightly in defense. She shook her head and placed the controller on the cushion next to her. After giving Cyborg a smile as a silent thank you for teaching her how to play, the disguised Pokemon made her way over to Beast Boy. Seeing her no longer super upset, a grin formed on his face. Latias raised an eyebrow. He seemed very...happy.

Without warning, he grabbed her wrist and started making his way to the door. "Come on, I gotta show you something!" Latias blinked in surprise, allowing herself to be dragged along. The two walked down the hallway until they finally reached a door. Curious, she looked to Beast Boy, only to see his grin had grown even bigger.

"You ready, Latias?" he asked as he stepped toward the door. She gave a small nod, a little hesitant at what he was unveiling. "Then I present to you…" He hit a button and the door opened with a hiss. He gestured to the room. Latias's eyes widened. "Your very own bedroom!"

Latias stepped forward into the room. Her eyes scanned every inch. The walls were a very, very light pink, and the floor was a soft, fluffy red carpet. There was a bed in the far right corner, with pink covers and pillows. A dresser sat against the opposite wall of the bed. Her communicator rested on top. Hanging next to the head of the bed were some interlocking square shelves. They were empty, bit Latias knew she would be putting some things there eventually. Next to the foot of her bed was a closet with two sliding doors. One was open, letting her see inside it. It wasn't too deep, but it was big enough for her clothes or any storage she wanted. Directly across from that was a long rectangular window, giving her a good view of the ocean and a bit of the city.

Latias stared out the window in awe. It was much, much smaller than the wall-to-wall window she's used to, but this was her window. In her room. It was a feeling she absolutely loved.

"Well?" She turned around to see Beast Boy standing just inside the room, hands on his hips and the wide grin still on. "I know it's a bit empty right now, but we wanted you to personalize it yourself. Star picked the clothes." He gestured to the closet with a few outfits picked out. "The rest of us didn't really know what to get you. So, what do you think?"

Latias didn't move, let alone reply. After a few moments of silence, Beast Boy's smile fell and he walked toward her. "Latias?" he called, worry in his voice. Did she not like it? Was the color too pink? Maybe she wanted a darker red, or another color all together. "If you don't like it, we can always change i-woah!"

His breath got knocked out of him when a blur shot at his stomach. He looked down at Latias, her head buried in his chest and her arms wrapped tightly around him. He stared at her in surprise, then gave a small laugh. "So, I guess you liked it?"

She nodded, her grip tightening around him. After a moment she let go and straightened. She wanted to thank him, but her telepathy wasn't perfected yet. She doubted Cyborg heard all of what she had said earlier, either. Most likely it sounded muffled, with only a few words reaching his ears.

A small smile forming on her lips, she stepped forward and kissed Beast Boy's cheek, moving back to give him a bright smile. He stared at her in surprise, a small blush dusting his cheeks.

"Uh...R-Right! Well, your welcome. I think.." Latias put a hand over her mouth to try and hide her chuckles, though the shaking of her shoulders definitely gave it away. "Hey, stop laughing!" His exclamation didn't help, only serving to make her laugh harder.

Suddenly, a voice cut through the air, startling Latias. "Titans, trouble!"

"Come on!" he immediately rushed out of the room. Latias was quick to follow, stopping only for a moment to look back at her room once more before running down the hall.

The two Titans rushed into the room where the others were already in front of the large holoscreen. Latias skid to a halt before she rammed into the couch, eyes trained on the strange fish-man picture that appeared. She actually had to force down a shudder. He just looked so...weird. And coming from a Pokemon who's seen fossils come back to life, that's saying something.

"Who's the fishstick?" Beast Boy asked.

Robin turned to the picture. "This is Trident. We don't know a whole lot about him-" That's a good start. "-but we do know he attacked a ship recently with just around forty barrels of toxic waste."

The word 'toxic' stood out to Latias almost immediately. Toxic meant poisonous, and she's met a couple poison-type Pokemon in her life, very few of which were friendly. Their attacks were deadly, some even melting rocks due to how acidic they were. If that kind of toxic was similar to the kind the team was talking about, then that wasn't good. Why would humans carry around such hazardous things that could easily kill their own kind as well as the nature around them? It didn't seem like a smart thing to do for such an advanced species.

Then again, some Pokemon are literal piles of toxic waste. She couldn't judge too harshly.

"So what do we do about him?" Raven asked. This time, it was actually Cyborg who answered her.

"We're going to be taking this baby right here! The T-Ship!" He pressed a button on a remote and another picture popped on screen, showing the orange ship. "We're gonna deep dive into the ocean!"

After looking at it for a few moments, Latias realized a slight problem. And she wasn't the only one.

"Wait, there are only five seats in the ship," Starfire pointed out, floating forward slightly. "And yet there are six of us."

Cyborg looked sheepish, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, about that-"

"Cyborg made this ship before Latias became a member of the group," Robin explained, looking over to Latias apologetically. "We were going to change it so it allowed for another person, but this mission was so sudden we didn't get a chance."

"So, Latias cannot come with us?" Starfire asked, also looking to the disguised Pokemon sadly. Latias returned the look with a shrug.

"Sorry, Latias," Robin apologized. She gave him a smile to let him know it was fine. Besides, it would be a little dangerous to leave the tower unattended. Who knows how long they'd be down there?

After some more debriefing the team was ready to go. They all got into their respective seats on the ship and prepared for launch. Latias watched from the platform next to the ship, a worried look on her face. She didn't like not going with them. She knew they were strong, and would be able to handle themselves, but there was always that nagging fear in her gut. Her hand gripped her arm tightly to try and alleviate some of the tension in her body.

Beast Boy looked over, noticing his friend's stiffness. Sending a smile her way, he raised a hand to get her attention. "C'mon, cheer up, Latias!" his voice boomed over the speakers, "We'll be back before you know it. With me as our secret weapon, you've got nothing to fear!"

Latias had to smile a little at that. His enthusiasm was infectious. She could see Raven roll her eyes and her grin widened.

Robin pressed a button in his pod and the ship sunk slowly into the ground. Latias watched until the hatch's doors shut with a bang. Letting out a sigh, the Pokemon made her way back to the main room. Once there, she looked around at the empty space.

Honestly, she didn't know what to do. She was so used to living with people again that being all alone made her feel...well, not good. There was one thing she could do, though.

Taking a deep breath, Latias closed her eyes and felt a soft tingling sensation flood her body for just a moment before disappearing. Her hands were gone, replaced with three claws. Her legs no longer existed; instead red wings sprouted from her back. She was back in her true form, that of a Pokemon.

Another downside to living with a bunch of humans, she supposed. Her fear of them never truly left, and she was afraid of what her friends would think of her form. True, Starfire didn't react that badly, though she wasn't exactly conscious to see the initial shock. But Star was an alien. She must have seen weirder creatures. The other Titans are used to aliens like Raven or Starfire; aliens that are more human in appearance. To learn that one of their teammates was more akin to a pet than anything...it made her worry. If they knew how much she was worth, how much power she held, would they treat her differently?

...Now she remembered why she didn't like being alone.

So, time for the explanation. There really isn't much. For a while, I had a good portion of the chapter all written out. But I fell into a HUGE writer's block that prevented me from finishing it. Not only that, but I got interested in Voltron: Legendary Defender. Some fanfic ideas have been popping up (all of them similar to this fic), so that's been taking up space in my mind.

But honestly, I can only say that I'm sorry it took so long. You guys are amazing, and I hope this one will satisfy you for a little longer.