*NEW AUTHOR'S NOTE*

Hello, readers. I know that this must be strange for you to see that I have updated this story. I am not adding anything significant to the story, I am simply reading through and fixing all of the grammar errors and changing around anything that I feel did not come across the right way the first time I wrote the story. I have recently decided that I wanted to return to the fanfiction world, and I thought the best way to do that would be to refamiliarize myself with my works and style. It's been so long since I've written anything, so I think this is a very important step for me to take for my return. If this is the first time you are reading this story, I hope you enjoy it. If you've already read the story before, I hope you like my new edits. One of the major differences is that I am trying to make the M rating that this story has consistent through all of it. Originally, the story evolved to become M rated, which gave it an awkward feel when put all together. I hope I can do it well enough without compromising the integrity of the story, but that's for you all to tell me. Please review so I know how to improve so that when I make my return I can be the best writer I can be.

Seeing as I wrote this story a very long time ago, I would like to remind you all of the time period that the story is set in. The story takes place during Season 2 of the series, weeks after the events of "How Long is Forever," but before "Transformation." To be precise, the whole story takes place between "Date With Destiny" and "Transformation." If you need to refamiliarize yourself with the content of these episodes, I suggest searching the show up on or and read descriptions, or you can watch episodes on YouTube.

Also, please note that I am making the future titans come from ten years in the future rather than twenty like they said in "How Long is Forever."

THE DIALOGUE FROM WHEN WE FIRST GO TO THE PAST UNTIL WHEN NIGHTWING ENTERS COMES DIRECTLY FROM "HOW LONG IS FOREVER," WORD FOR WORD. I wanted to establish as much continuity as possible before launching into the plot.

Without any further ado, I give you Back to the Present… REVISED.

Disclaimer: I have not, and never will, claim ownership of Teen Titans and all its elements and characters. Teen Titans is property of DC Comics, Cartoon Network, and other intermediate companies.

Summary: The Cyborg of the future fixes Warp's time regulator which allows him and the futuristic Titans to travel back in time to visit their younger selves, but Nightwing only cares about one thing - seeing his Starfire again. Chaos ensues as Robin finds another man making moves on his crush, even though this other man happens to share his DNA. Can these two vigilantes put their differences aside in order to help the one person they love?

Rated M for language and violence.

BACK TO THE PRESENT
Chapter 1: Back to 2008

By Jacque Nicole

***

Titan's Tower, 2018

Nightwing sat silently in the middle of his room in a deeply meditated state. His legs were crossed in Indian style underneath him. His breathing remained even. He raised his muscular arms slowly above him, inhaling as they went up, and exhaling as he brought him back down again.

Nightwing was never the type to do yoga, but he'd picked up the hobby after she had come. After an encounter with her, he had needed to unwind just to stay sane.

He slowly began to move in several poses, enjoying his peace, his solitude, his –

"Nightwing! You'll never believe what happened!" a deep voice shouted to him from somewhere down the hall, jarring the former Boy Wonder's concentration.

The vigilante's shoulders slumped as he sighed. "I should've known this wasn't going to last long," he mumbled to himself, rising from his yoga mat.

Suddenly, an overly excited Cyborg burst into the room with a broad smile on his half-metal face. "Nightwing!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I've finally done it!"

Nightwing remained aloof. "So what have you done this time?" he responded lamely.

The half robot ignored his leader's slight sarcasm. "You remember when Starfire came a couple of weeks ago," he stated the obvious, oblivious to Nightwing's brief flinch at the girl's name. He continued, "Well, I've been trying to repair the time regulator I used to get her home." Cyborg paused and looked toward his spandex clad companion for any reaction. At his lack of response, he continued, "Well, turns out, it was a simple fix and I even made some improvements!"

Nightwing's eyes widened. 'Okay,' he thought. 'So you fixed a broken toy. Whoop-di-doo. What do I care?' He looked longingly at his abandoned yoga mat and wondered if there was any chance of getting back to it without hurting Cyborg's feelings. "And that means...?" he said, desperately attempting to sound intrigued.

"It means that I've perfected trans-dimensional time travel!" Cyborg exclaimed proudly.

Nightwing lay down on the floor and began doing his daily crunches. "Wow, Cy. I haven't seen you this happy in years," he said. 'Time travel,' he thought with a slight grin on his masked face. It was definitely an achievement for his best friend to perfect what was once seen as impossible. Good for him.

'And good for me,' the vigilante couldn't help adding. It seemed that Cyborg's new tool could help his solve all his problems once and for all. If what his mechanical genius of a teammate was saying was true...

"You'll be seeing Starfire in no time, Nightwing!"

Nightwing's heart burst with joy at the thought of seeing his Star again. "How soon could we leave, Cyborg?" he said, pulling himself all the way up and off the floor. This was just the opportunity he was waiting for.

Cyborg wasn't at all surprised at his best friend's hasty decision to see his past crush. "Anytime, man. Anytime."

"Well, guess where we're heading, Cy?"

"2008, here come the Titans!" Cyborg exclaimed before he left to fetch the regulator from his quarters.

Meanwhile, Nightwing folded up his yoga mat before going to the Main Room. As he made his way through the halls of Titan's Tower, he noticed how beautiful they had managed to make it. The halls had been re-carpeted the walls were freshly painted. Gorgeous portraits and exotic plants lined the entire tower beautifully.

After Starfire left to return to her time after the ordeal with Warp, he and the rest of the Titans had decided to reunite for the good of Jump City, not to mention for themselves. They realized how much they missed each other, and, in no time, they were able to rebuild the bond they shared when they were teenagers. Immediately, they decided to reoccupy the Tower, which had been where Cyborg had lived since the initial break-up.

When Nightwing arrived in the Main Room he spotted Raven and Beast Boy engrossed in conversation. Even though he was not a boy anymore, Beast Boy demanded that he'd keep his old name. He said Beast Man made him sound old. Cyborg responded by saying that his face made him look old and an argument had ensued.

It had been just like old times.

Ever since Starfire went back to her own dimension, Beast Boy had decided to put himself through some self improvement. He no longer harbored a pot belly. He now had a relatively flat stomach, and he was still working on developing the six pack he'd always wanted.

Raven's insanity vanished when she reunited with her friends. Having been cleansed of her father's evil when she was a teenager, she was now much more in control of her power than she'd ever been. Now that the darkness that once consumed her soul was gone, Raven's attitude towards life had changed drastically. She now made the most of each day, and she had fallen out of her gothic 'phase'. She wore a white version of her uniform and a smile on her face rather than the gloomy black version and a frown. Nightwing would have liked his friend either way, but was glad to have the change, if only for Raven's mental well being.

Snapping himself out of thought, Nightwing addressed Raven and Beast Boy. "Did you hear about Cyborg's discovery?"

Beast Boy smirked. "Well, yea, dude. He was only running about the Tower shouting 'I fixed it! I fixed it!' and 'I'm father time!'" he answered sardonically.

"So you know we're going, right?" Nightwing asked, smiling in anticipation.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Raven answered, returning a goofy grin of her own.

Suddenly, Cyborg appeared carrying a disk shaped object. "I got it!" he said, connecting the machine to himself. He pointed to an empty space in the Main Room, typing in a few codes. Suddenly, bright blue light emitted from the machine, tearing open a portal. "Well," Cyborg announced over his shoulder to his fellow Titans, "It's now or never guys."

"I choose now," Nightwing replied before jumping into the time portal. The rest of his comrades followed suit.

***

Titan's Tower, 2008

"Unless you want your city reduced to a moth eaten wasteland, you will do exactly as I say."

Starfire and Robin stood in the Main Room of Titans' Tower staring at the big screen monitor. Killer Moth was on it, dictating his demands to Robin concerning the removal of the giant moth-like creatures that were presently destroying a bridge in the city. Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were out trying to hold off the creatures but to no avail. Robin had no choice but to play along with Killer Moth's demands until he received more information from his second in command.

"What do you want?" Robin prodded.

"My demands are simple," Killer Moth began. "The city will declare me ruler, the Teen Titans will surrender… and Robin will take this lovely young lady to her Junior Prom!"

Immediately, a pink box containing the 'lovely young lady' in question appeared. "Hi Robbie-poo!" she said in the most high pitched and annoying voice that both Robin and Starfire had ever heard.

Robin's jaw dropped in shock. "Um… What was that last one again?"

Starfire's face fell in a deep frown of jealousy. "Robin," she said slowly, "Who is this girl and why does she call you 'poo'?"

Killer Moth continued on the screen, "Her name is Kitten." The girl in the box started to make flirtatious faces at a repulsed Robin. "And you will take her to prom!" the insect-like villain commanded.

Starfire flew up to Kitten's image on the screen. "This 'prom' is some manner of duel, yes?" she said as she removed her glove from her hand and slapped it across the image of Kitten's face. "Robin eagerly accepts!"

Robin shook his head slowly, dreading his next words. "It's not a duel, Star. It's a..." he gulped, "date."

There was a short silence, kind of like the calm before the storm that was Starfire. "A what!" The Tamaranean princess' screech could be heard throughout the entire Tower. "He does not accept! Do you hear?! Robin does not accept! Oh the scandal! The atrocity! These demands must not be met! Clearly this demented madman has no idea with whom he is dealing! He is absolutely out of his mind if he believes you would even consider such a distasteful…" Starfire continued her tirade even as Robin grabbed her foot and dragged her out of the room.

"We're going to need a minute," Robin said as he towed Starfire and himself through the doors to the hallway. He pulled out his hand-held communicator and typed on the mini console to call Cyborg. The screen blinked and flashed for a few seconds before Cyborg's image appeared.

The Boy Wonder sighed tiredly. 'I'm really not in the mood for this shit tonight.' "Cyborg, report," he said to his robotic friend. "How bad is it?"

"Bad. Can't hold them off much longer. If you're going to do something, do it quick!" replied the half-metal teen.

Robin cringed as he saw the destruction that the moths had ravaged behind Cyborg. For a moment, he was glad that the most challenging things he had to deal with right now were an angry alien princess and a potential prom date from hell. Robin sighed in resignation. "I have to do it."

Starfire exploded in rage. "WHAT?!"

Robin turned toward his Tamaranean friend. "It's the only way to save the bridge… The only way to give us enough time to stop killer moth," he told her flatly.

Starfire was at a loss for words. "But…but… but…"

"I have to, Starfire," Robin interjected as he began walking back into the Main Room. "No matter how much I don't want to…" He halted his steps and looked up at the big screen where Killer Moth and Kitten's faces awaited him. "And I really don't want to," he grumbled under breath.

"Do we have a deal?" asked Killer Moth.

"I'll take the girl to prom," Robin told him reluctantly.

"Do not tell me. Ask her," replied Killer Moth.

Robin rolled his eyes. "You've got to be—"

"Do it!" the villain commanded.

Robin frowned. "Kitten was it?" She responded with a flirtatious 'meow'. "Right… Will you go with me to the prom?" he asked, he teeth gritted together and his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Starfire was fuming.

Kitten gasped dramatically. "Oh, Robbie-poo! I thought you'd never ask!"

***

A little while later, Robin departed for the event and Starfire was alone, preparing to leave the tower to follow Robin. She had changed into a beautiful shimmering purple spaghetti strap gown. She opted to keep her hair style simple, and she figured the fewer accessories the better. After all, she wasn't trying to impress anyone, right?

...Right?

Starfire examined her outfit in the full length mirror in her room. "Hmm, the device called the internet displayed this type of dress as suitable prom attire. I hope Robin likes it." She instantly blushed at her spoken thoughts.

The Tamaranean teen left her room and headed for the Main Room. "Now, where did I place my gloves?" she wondered aloud as she searched for the white gloves that went with her gown.

Suddenly, Starfire felt a tingling sensation shoot down her back. She turned around to see what was behind her just in time to see a swirling blue portal appear. She stood defensively with star-bolts generating in her hands, ready to be thrown.

The first thing Starfire saw was a leg clad in black spandex extending from the portal. Her eyes widened in recognition as the rest of the body emerged from the void.

There was a brief silence between them as they both drank up each other's images. The last time they'd seen each other, both thought they were saying goodbye, never to see each other again. The sight of each other was mind numbing.

Finally, the man coming out of the portal spoke. "Hello Starfire," he said with a glint in his eye.

Starfire found it immensely more difficult to form any cohesive words, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. "G-greetings... Nightwing."

...End Chapter 1...