First things first, I am really sorry for how long it took me to update this story. I won't bore you with the details, just know that I'm really sorry. And since I'm apologizing, I want to say I'm sorry also, for the last chapter. Maybe it offended some of you. If so, I'm sorry. I'm not going to go back and change anything, because I think it helps show that the Teen Titans are adults now, and living in the adult world. It's not always a pretty place. Anyway, if I could rate the chapters individually, this one would be rated T. Some alcohol use and maybe one 'f' word. Nothing like the last chapter, I promise. Oh. One more thing. I'll apologize right now to any of my french speaking readers. I am sorry for butchering your language. Anyway, thanks again for reading, and if you like or don't like something, leave me a comment and let me know! Thanks.
-SOM
Paris, France
March, 2010
Just a little over two years after Batman commandeers the Teen Titans.
Paris. The city of love. Ah, if only that were true for everyone… Vivian D'Aramis had lived here her entire life and still has yet to learn the true meaning of the word. Oh sure, she knew what it meant to love certain things. She loved her city and her country, she loved her job (both of them) and she loved her sister Constance. She knew, truly, what it meant to love life. A man, however, now that was another story entirely.
It was a gorgeous afternoon. There's nothing quite as beautiful as Paris in the springtime. Vivian sighed happily as she sat; enjoying a nice, quiet lunch to herself. She was delighted that she had decided to pay a visit to L'Absinthe, one of her favorite bistros, due to its serene outdoor terrace. 'Ah, love…' she thought to herself, 'perhaps we shall meet one day…' Lost in her daydream, Vivian gazes off into the distance, lazily finishing her last bite as her waiter finds his way back to her table.
"Ah, Mademoiselle D'Aramis. Such a lovely day, non? I trust your carpaccio was to your liking?" He gives her a genuine smile and she returns it graciously.
"Oui, Claude. C'est epatant. My compliments to the chef."
"Ah, bon, bon. Merci. Well, here is your bill, Madame. Have a splendid afternoon."
"To you as well, Claude."
Mere moments after her waiter had taken his leave an unseen object in Vivian's purse began to give off a discreet beeping noise. She lifts up her hand and casually taps her right earring, activating a secret, two-way communicator. "Bonjour, J'onn!" Her voice is cheery, yet soft and smooth like velvet at the same time.
"Greetings, Vivian. I take it Constance is off duty, today?" His low, monotone voice was calm and controlled, as always.
"Oui, J'onn. It's just me today. What can I do for you?"
J'onn J'onzz, or the Martian Manhunter as he was more widely known, was one of the original seven members of the Justice League. After taking a brief hiatus from the League in order to get a better understanding of humanity, J'onn returned and resumed his former position as the focal point for communication within the team.
Vivian was always just a little disappointed whenever J'onn called her communicator rather than summoning her telepathically. When J'onn uses his natural Martian telepathy, he could "speak" to you without any actual sound being used. The end result is you "hear" him in your mind, but you're not really hearing his voice, only his thoughts. His 'voice' 'sounds' however you perceive it to. This delighted Vivian to no end; she would always imagine his voice with a cute little French accent. It was the little things in life that brought her joy. Of her two jobs, this one was her favorite. More commonly known by her compatriots as the Crimson Fox, she was amongst the third wave of heroes inducted into the League, along with Fire, Ice, Rocket Red, Booster Gold, Gypsy and a few others. Her natural powers were her superhuman agility and above average strength. Her costume had been outfitted with razor sharp claws on each of her fingers, and through the use of a special chemical compound, she gained powerful pheromone powers. It was her pheromone powers that often times proved the most useful, yet also seemed to cause her the most trouble. Using her charm and female persuasion, she found she could make nearly any man (or woman) do whatever she asked, within reason. The side-effect, however was that most of her victims ended up falling in love with her. But real love isn't forged by science and super-powers. No, Vivian vowed she would find true love one day, even if she had to fight her own powers to do it. When she wasn't engaged in internal conflict with her powers however, she was using them to fight for the greater good. This was something she enjoyed very much, and it's why she loved being a member of the Justice League so.
"I have a mission for you, if you are able to take it."
"Anything for you, J'onn. What do you have?"
"I am in need of someone to do some recon and surveillance for a friend of mine. You just happened to be in the right area. Nothing dangerous, all I need is for you to gather some information. I understand that you know Paris better than anyone else in the League."
Vivian smiled to no one in particular. Paris was her city. "Oui, J'onn. I do."
It was their first full day in Paris and for some reason Dick Grayson found himself alone. He and Raven had arrived the night before on the last train in and ended up going straight to their hotel. When he awoke the next morning, she was gone, leaving only a note with instructions on where to meet her. Knowing his girlfriend worked in mysterious ways, Robin tried not to read in to it too much and instead decided to play along. After stopping for a pastry and a cup of coffee, Robin continued his walk to the park that Raven described in her note. He was only a few blocks away when his cell phone rang. He didn't recognize the number but decided to answer anyway.
"Hello?"
"Robin? It's Jinx."
"Nicole?" Robin hadn't heard from her in months, it would have been a pleasant surprise if not for the sense of dread and urgency in the tone of her voice.
"Hi Robin. I just…I just wanted to call to say thank you…" She sounded sad, almost defeated.
"Nicole, what's wrong? Is Wally-"
"They found us, Robin. Batman and the others. They'll be here any minute, I don't think we have much time."
'Dammit,' he thought to himself. 'Why couldn't you ever let things go, Bruce?' "Hold on, Nicole. Let me think. There must be something we can do."
"No, Robin. You've done enough. I just wanted to call you and thank you for everything you've done for us. We never would have been able to hide from them for this long without your help, I just…" she stops as she chokes on her words a little. "I just can't thank you enough. We knew they'd find us eventually. Being able to spend every day of these past couple years with Wally was more than I could have asked for. After all the bad things I've done to you guys over the years and you still helped us out. You helped us more than anyone could have. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you."
"No. You came through for us when we needed you, Jinx. You helped us in maybe our darkest hour. It was the least I could do. Are you sure there isn't some way I can help now? Maybe if you explain the situation I could help think of a way out."
She pauses for a millisecond but then answers, her voice brave and strong. "No. Wally says he's done running. It's time to face the music. He thinks maybe if he talks to his older self they'll be able to work something out." Robin could sense the pain hiding just behind her words.
"What about you, Nicole? How are you holding up?"
"I'll be fine, Robbo. Just as long as I'm with him, I'll be ready for anything. Oh, hey, he's back. Here, hang on a moment. Wait. Robin?"
"Yeah?"
"Seriously. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Nicole."
"Hello?" The male voice was familiar, although for the first time it wasn't laced with a cheery disposition. "Robin?"
"Hey, Wally. I'm sorry man…"
"Hey! Don't you say that to me! You don't get to apologize, not after everything you've done for us. Dick…I don't know what to say, man. I'll never be able to thank you enough."
"There's no need to, Wally. I was happy to help. Do me one favor though, will you?"
"'Course. Anything. Just name it."
"When you see Batman, if he asks how you managed to evade him for all these years…be sure to tell him it was me. Tell him what I did and how I did it. I'm sure he knows, but I want him to hear it."
"Heh. You got it, bro. Shit. I think they're here. I have to go. Thanks again, man. And tell Raven we said thanks too. Anyway, it's been real, Dick. I hope I see you again some day."
"Me too, Wally. So you're just going to let them take you away? You have some sort of back up plan?"
"You kidding me? Of course I do."
Not far away, a man named Emil LaSalle stood just outside the Revson headquarters building. Revson was one of the world's leading manufacturers of perfume and cologne and was stationed right here in Paris. Emil sighed. The past several years had not been easy for him. Once a costumed criminal, he had the misfortune of running into the Teen Titans on his last job. Not the typical thief however, Emil was born nearly a hundred years from now, in the future. Donning a suit of golden, time-traveling armor he called himself Warp and conducted a great number of heists throughout the past, present and future. That was until he encountered the Titans. During their battle, the chronoton generator in his armor was damaged, rendering his time-travel device useless. That wasn't all though. See, that's the funny thing about time travel… It's always got a trick up it's sleeve. As a side-effect, Warp was reverse-aged back to an infant. It was temporary, of course, but by no means an easy ordeal. Over the course of a couple years he grew back to adulthood in awkward, random spurts. No one knew the term 'growing pains' quite like Emil did. By the time he realized he was forever trapped in this time period, all Warp could think about was revenge. When the Brain began contacting all the Teen Titan's former adversaries for their expanded Brotherhood of Evil, Warp leapt at his invitation. He quickly retrieved his armor from police custody. It may not be able to travel through time, but it was still able to travel through space. He could still use it to create small portals and teleport between different locations. Revenge would be sweet and ever so satisfying.
Of course that isn't how it turned out. You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men… After being defeated again, this time by literally dozens of international Titans, Warp decided to call it quits. He sought a new life, and that is what brought him here, to Paris. This may not be his time, but Paris was still the city where he was born, and perhaps it could be his home again. Of course he barely spoke a word of French, by his time the entire world had been converted to either the English language or Chinese. But that was alright, because he had something better than language, he had a family here. They just didn't know it yet. Emil had done some research and discovered that his great-grandmother on his mother's side was actually something of a business tycoon. Along with her sister she ran the ever-growing Revson company. He needed a stable job and hopefully if he introduced himself as a distant, perhaps long-lost cousin, they would give him one. Emil didn't expect any sort of free ride to easy street, he would be happy with any position at all, just a steady pay-check to keep him going. But first, he would need a place to live. That was proving to be the hard part. He needed to find an apartment to rent and maybe get some extra funds to get him back on his feet and his affairs settled. It seemed the only way to do this was to pull one last heist. Emil sighed again. 'Such famous last words…'
He was so lost in thought that he barely noticed a large man in a Revson security uniform walk up to him. "Excuse me, sir? You've been standing there outside our building for quite some time now, is there anything I might be able to help you with?"
'Oh thank heavens,' he thinks to himself with his dry wit, 'at least this one speaks English.' "Excuse me, I just recently moved here and was just trying to take in some of the sights. I didn't mean to concern you."
The security guard relaxed his shoulders and chuckled to himself. "No need for an apology, I understand. It's a beautiful city, isn't it? So what brings you to Paris, a girl?"
"Hah. No, well, not in the classic sense. I've come here to meet some family."
"Aaah. You have family that lives here?"
His father's last name was LaSalle, but Emil's mother's maiden name was D'Aramis.
"Yeah… yeah I do."
"So…what exactly were you doing all morning?" The young man known during his previous years as Robin was now walking hand in hand with his girlfriend Raven through Le Bois de Boulonge. 'Le Bois' as it was called by the locals was the largest and most famous park in Paris. After talking with Raven about the situation with Jinx and Kid Flash the couple decided to let it go and enjoy the remainder of their first day in Paris. After some minor small talk, Robin was now trying to get some answers regarding Raven's disappearance earlier that morning.
A small smirk plays at the tips of Raven's lips as she replies nonchalantly. "Oh, you know. Girl stuff."
He cocks his eyebrow and tilts his head downwards at her. "That's all I'm getting?"
"That's all you get."
He shrugs it off. "So I was thinking about dinner tonight…"
"You always are." Her tone wasn't so biting or sarcastic as it was playful, if not dry and witty. She was simply stating the matter of fact and she loved egging her boyfriend on, even if she didn't show much emotion while doing so.
"Right. So anyway, like I was saying, I heard about this place not far from here that supposedly makes an amazing Duck Confit. I was thinking maybe we'd try it?"
"That sounds great, Dick. It's been awhile since I've had good duck." As the couple continued along the leafy road, they began to approach the end of the park, near the bottom of Foch Avenue. Raven felt her thoughts waft over to the subject of food. "You know, after all those olive-oil salads I ate in Italy, and not that I didn't like them, but I could really go for a nice vinaigrette salad with dinner. Nothing crazy like raspberry or anything. Maybe an onion vinaigrette."
Robin chuckles lightly. "Onion vinaigrette, huh? Well look at you, Ms. 'Food and Wine monthly'."
"Cut it out, Dick. You're way more of a food dork than I am." She smiles at him slyly. "Mr. 'My butler trained at le Cordon Bleu and papa moneybags took me to all the fanciest'-" Raven stopped suddenly as she realized she inadvertently stumbled into a touchy subject. "Dick…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring him up, I just-"
But he only laughed. "It's ok, Honey. Really. Don't even worry about it. This trip is just about you and me. Not even Bruce can ruin it."
They had left the park and were now walking down a busy city street. Suddenly, Raven sensed something was wrong. "Dick…Maybe you already know this, but I think we're being followed."
Robin nods. "Yeah, you're right. She's been following us since we passed that first vendor in the park."
Raven blinked. That was nearly forty minutes ago. "You didn't think that was worth mentioning?"
"If I thought we were in any danger, I would have said something."
She frowns. Raven had learned long ago to trust her boyfriend and knew that he was more open with her than anyone else in the world but there were still times when she wished he would let her in on things a little earlier. "So how do you know it's a 'she'?"
"By the way she's moving, and her size."
"You know who it is?" The question was almost rhetorical, Raven was practically sure that he did.
"I'm not a hundred percent, but judging by our location and as much of a description as I can gather using only my peripherals, I'd say it's probably Crimson Fox."
The Justice League. Raven groaned. "I've read her file, and heard some things too, from Cyborg. I hear she's really hard to deal with. A bi-polar, borderline schizophrenic. Cheery and friendly one day, stubborn and rude the next."
Robin smiles. "Oh yeah? I heard there's two of them. They share the costume and have the same powers. Twins, probably."
Raven sulks. "That's stupid. There's no way that's true. It's too ridiculous."
"More ridiculous than the Justice League recruiting a bi-polar schizophrenic?"
"They let the Creeper join, didn't they? And not to mention Etrigan, too."
"Alright, I'll give you the Creeper, but Etrigan's not a schizophrenic, he's a completely separate entity that dwells inside Jason Blood's body."
"But he's a demon!"
"Ok, wait. Now as your boyfriend who loves you unconditionally, am I allowed to point out the irony of that, or am I just going to get myself into a bunch of trouble?" He grins and winks at her, Raven smiles to herself and grips his hand a little tighter.
"Any idea why she's following us?"
He shrugs. "Probably just Bruce using her to keep tabs on us. But like I said, I'm not going to let him spoil this. Hey. You want to have some fun with her?" A fire burns in his eyes and Raven knows that Dick just concocted some sort of mischievous plan.
She lets loose with an uncharacteristic grin. "Yeah. I do."
J'onn J'onzz stood alone in the monitor room of the Justice League watchtower. Multi-tasking as always, he was keeping track of and giving directions to the many different missions the various members of the League were participating in.
"Is she trailing them?" He may have been able to sneak up on nearly everyone else, but not even Batman could catch a telepath by surprise.
J'onn's gaze doesn't falter from the monitor screens as he answers his friend. "Yes. She has been following them for nearly an hour, now."
"Anything suspicious?"
J'onn sighed. "No. Nothing. Just like the last three times you asked me to have them followed."
"Hnnh." Bruce could feel himself getting mad. It rarely ever happened, but he hated being wrong.
"My friend, I'm beginning to worry. I fear perhaps you are obsessing too much, this time."
"I don't obsess."
J'onn decided he would let that one go. "Aside from aiding Kid Flash in hiding from us, I don't believe they have been doing anything out of the ordinary."
"I won't believe that, J'onn. Look at where they've been. Beijing, Bangladesh, London, Liverpool, Dublin, Glasgow, Sicily, Rome, and now Paris. They're globe-trotting again. They must be trying to contact the rest of my Titans. Perhaps undermining some sort of overthrow…"
"Bruce, please, listen to me. In the time that I've been observing them, they have done nothing of the sort. They've gone to operas, movies, and concerts. They've gone on picnics; they've been to countless restaurants. They take walks through parks and along beaches. They go sightseeing. They go dancing. In the past two years Robin has stopped a few crimes, but only if they occurred right in front of him, and even then he never displayed any advanced martial arts or gadgets. And Raven has barely used her powers, especially not in public. What ever you think they are doing, I can assure you that they are not. I believe that they are in love, Bruce."
"Nnn." 'It couldn't be that simple,' he thinks, 'Robin was the leader of the Teen Titans and Raven was his second in command and the team's most powerful member. They had to be up to something…'
J'onn shook his head as he saw Batman silently mulling over his own thoughts. Perhaps over the years, his friend had forgotten what it means to be in love. If that were the case, than it would truly be a sad state of affairs. Suddenly the monitor room doors behind them slid open in a swift mechanic swoosh and a cheery individual waltzed in.
"Hey J'onn, what's shakin' Bats?" His name was Wally West and he was the fastest man alive.
"Hello, Flash."
"J'onny! How's the wife? Anything exciting going on in monitor land? Hey, is that Crimson Fox? Rrraow. Hey Bats, how's the…uh…cave?" Flash's mouth always seemed to move about as fast as his brain, and often spoke his sentences in a rapid fire delivery, usually not waiting to have his questions answered before continuing. He turns to Batman. "You wanted to see me?"
Bruce pauses for a second as the Martian Manhunter communicates with him telepathically.
'Are you sure this is wise?'
'We've kept it from him for long enough. We captured the boy this morning, it's time he knows.'
'Yes, agreed.'
"Come with me, Wally. There's something we have to talk about."
"Ok, but I have a meeting with the Keystone City mayor at four, then I'm visiting James Jesse at the psych ward at five and having dinner with Linda at six."
"Hmm. You may have to cancel some of your plans, Wally. We have a serious situation on our hands."
"No problem, Bats. Just let me know what you need."
As the two heroes walked out of the door, all J'onn could do was hope everything turned out well. His acute Martian hearing picks up a bit of their conversation as they leave for another section of the Watchtower.
"So I'm to understand that you have some past experience with time-travel, don't you?" Batman asks Flash.
"Uh huh," he answers nonchalantly. "I do."
She perched herself like a gargoyle on the dusty rooftop of an old bank. Ever vigilant, Crimson Fox strained her eyes as she searched for her quarry. Although she didn't want to admit it, it appeared that she had lost them.
Suddenly everything around her begins to glow a strange obsidian color. She feels her body being lifted up just a couple feet into the air and she realizes she can no longer move. "Quoi?! What's happening??"
"That would be us." A confident male voice says from behind her.
"Who's there?" Still unable to move, Crimson Fox finds herself frustrated at the fact that she can't even turn to see her captors.
"Why don't you tell us?" A female voice deadpans. "You've been following us all afternoon."
"Oh, mon dieu! I do not know who you are! My mission was to keep an eye on you and make sure you stayed out of trouble. I was told one of you is a relative to a member of the League, he never told me who!"
"Shall we spin her around, honey?" Arms folded over his chest, Robin puts on his best smug look.
"Sure, why not? Arazath, Metrion, Zinthos." She chants her mantra and Raven is able to spin Crimson Fox around in the air, probably a few more rotations than necessary, before having her face the avian couple.
Fox's eyes widen with surprise when she sees Raven. "You? I know you! From the Teen Titans! Le Corbeau! The Raven."
Her brow drops a little. Her name is one word long, for Christ's sake. Why is it some people still manage to get it wrong? "Uh…it's just Raven, actually."
"And this strapping, young man next to you?" She bats her eyelashes and Robin feels sweat start to form at the back of his neck.
Raven's brow now fully furrowed, she huffs a little before answering. "He's my boyfriend, so if I were you, I'd put those pheromone powers of yours away before someone gets hurt."
"Ah, mes ami, I wouldn't think of doing anything of the sort. Now, we all know each other, would you mind please letting me go?"
"Not until you lose that fake accent. It's really annoying." Raven looks to Robin, asking him to step in.
'Gladly,' he thinks silently. "So…Crimson Fox, huh? Am I speaking to Vivian or Constance today?"
A look of shock washes over the Fox's face. "Y…You know??" The accent is immediately dropped, her voice now genuine, if not a little frightened.
Robin flashes Raven a cocky look that screams 'I told you so'. She rolls her eyes at him and turns her attention back to their captive.
"So which one is it?" she asks.
"I…I'm Constance. You have to believe me, I have no idea why the League wanted you followed. My sister took the mission from the Martian, but then she was called away on a business emergency and asked me to take over. I'm sorry, but I have no answers for you."
Robin shrugs at Raven and she releases Constance from her mystic grip. As the two young lovers turn to each other in conference, a wicked snarl brushes Crimson Fox's face.
'Make a fool out of me, will they? I'll show them.' Suddenly and without warning, she renders her claws and lunges.
The line inside the bank winds throughout the building like a slumbering serpent. Towards the end, near the door stands a nervous, sweaty man. Emil uses the back of his palm to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He wonders to himself why he was acting this way. He's pulled a hundred jobs just like this in the past, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. Then again, this was to be his "last" heist. Any career thief will tell you, either your last heist goes bad, or it isn't your last one. Convinced he would have the willpower to leave this life behind, Warp grits his teeth and prepares himself for the upcoming ordeal. The only reason he was standing in line was to familiarize himself with the building. Only an amateur would attempt a blind heist. He needed to get up to the teller's desk. From there, he'd be able to see the layout of the rest of the bank. All he needed to see was the general area the safe would be in. He could do a number of small, quick 'ports from there. Still towards the end of the line and lost in concentration, Warp is shaken out of his trance by the door behind him suddenly swinging open.
An English speaking man stands in the doorway with a frantic look on his face. "There's a fight on the roof!"
Like a Sheppard herding a flock of frightened sheep, the security guards begin evacuating the patrons from the bank. "No! Dammit!" Emil curses his luck. If only he had worn his harness, he could have just done a desperate 'port now. But the plan was to make it to the desk, get an idea of the layout, then leave, change into his "Warp" suit and teleport in from the back. Now his only choice seemed to be to leave with the rest and see what all the fuss was about. As he steps outside, his luck goes from bad to worse.
Crowds were gathering as the onlookers all gazed up to the rooftop and pointed. "Le ligue Justice!" A woman cries out.
'Oh great. Capes.' Emil raises his hand up to block the sun from his eyes to get a better view. From his angle, he could barely make out the figures on the roof, but one was definitely in a costume.
Crouched like a great jungle cat about to pounce, Crimson Fox snarls and then leaps forward, tearing the air in front of her as she swipes her claws at Robin's chest. He avoids her attack with a backwards somersault, making it look as easy and natural as a child playing hopscotch. Now it was time to go on the offensive. Dick curls the bottom three fingers of his right hand in tight. Then he closes in his index finger but doesn't curl it. He hooks it in with his thumb, its tip touching his middle knuckle. The kempo fist fully formed, he strikes straight forward, catching Constance in her left shoulder."
"Ah!"
When at all possible, Robin liked to start off with a simple, direct attack. It helps to make his sneakier, follow-up attacks all the more effective. He moves around the Crimson Fox in a hakbang tatsulok, a triangle stepping technique learned during his Escrima training. Constance slashes at him again, but this time he blocks it with a double-move called an au batido. The capoeira-based defensive attack starts with a cartwheel and ends with Robin planting his hand on the ground and striking back with what looks like an upside down, flying kung-fu kick. Robin smiled inwardly. It had been forever since he had a chance to flex his old moves. It felt good.
Irritated, Raven let out a loud sigh as she watched her boyfriend showing off, obviously just playing with his opponent. She loved Robin, but he was getting careless. Someone was going to see him without his mask, fighting like the former leader of the Teen Titans when he was just supposed to be her civilian boyfriend. Raven knew it was a risky move, but she predicted that if she were able to move the fight out into the public, the Crimson Fox would be forced to yield. Dick's identity was still a secret, but hers wasn't. It was time to get involved. "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"
From the ground, Emil barely hears the first two words, but hears the third one clear as a bell. "No…it can't be." Suddenly the outline of a giant black bird forms on the top of the roof and two of the combatants are flown down to the street, appearing in front of the crowd. Sure enough, there in front of him was one of his old foes. Raven, from the Teen Titans. She wasn't wearing her hood and cape, but even in her civilian clothes she was unmistakable. Her eyes were glowing, her arms and hands were postured just as they were the last time he fought her, and then there were those magic words. But soon Warp found his attention drawn to the other woman. The Crimson Fox. Maybe his luck was changing. Historical research told him that the Crimson Fox was none other than his great grandmother and her sister. Before he could be lost in thought, the thief inside him screamed out. Warp turned his head back to the bank. No one was in there. Everyone was outside with their eyes glued to the super heroes. He looked down the alleyway behind the bank. There in a plain shopping bag was his costume, just where he left it. He could run down there, put it on, and teleport into the bank without anyone knowing. But is that what he really wanted? Was there really such a thing as 'one last heist'? Emil sighed in defeat. If he really wanted a new, honest life, he would have to start now. It was either now or never. So which would it be?
"Give up, Fox." Raven droned. "I don't want to fight you. Especially not here, in front of all these people."
"Then let us go back up to the roof, non?" Raven noticed that Constance was using that fake accent again, probably because of the audience. It was most likely to disguise her identity.
'How annoying,' Raven thought. 'She should just get a better mask.'
Suddenly a strange portal appears in between the two warrior women and a familiar face pokes through.
"WARP?!" Raven readies herself for another attack.
"Wait! Don't attack! I'm here to help. I'm going to get her out of here, away from you and all these people. I won't hurt her." He turns to Crimson Fox before turning back and looking at Raven one more time. "You owe me." Warp gently grabs Constance by the arm and pulls her into the portal.
"WAIT! WHAT ARE YOU-" The portal closes, disappearing into thin air.
'Not a bad idea.' Raven thinks and follows suit, using her powers to teleport herself back to the rooftop where she left Robin. She finds him sitting casually at the edge of the building.
"Hey." He greets her calmly, as if the whole fight had never happened.
'Typical,' she thinks and smiles. "Hey yourself."
"So…crazy day, huh?"
On the other end of the city, another strange portal opens up in an empty alleyway and two costumed individuals tumble out of it.
"-DOING?! Wait…huh? Where am I?"
"Don't worry, you're safe. I wanted to get you away from that crowd before something went wrong. You're a member of the Justice League. Can't have you ruining your image, right?"
"Who are you?"
There would be no dodging that question. Warp slowly lifts his hands up and removes his helmet. "My name…is Emil LaSalle. You'll find this hard to believe…but I'm from a hundred years in the future. I'm your great-grandson."
Constance looks stunned. "My…my great-grandson?"
An embarrassed look sweeps itself across Warp's face. "Well…actually I have to admit I'm not sure if you're my great-grandmother or her sister. My great-grandmother's name was Vivian. Vivian D'Aramis."
"That's my sister's name. If you are from the future, what are you doing here?"
"I'm stuck here. I can't return to my own time. I…" He lets out a sad breath. "I've done some bad things. I was going to do another one today. But I don't want that to be a part of my life anymore. That's why I've come to you. You and your sister are the only family I have now, and I didn't know where else to turn. I won't ask for much. Just a job, in your company. Any job. I'll mop floors if I have to. Anything to take me away from my old life."
Constance approaches the situation apprehensively. "That sounds reasonable, but I don't know if I can trust you…" As she speaks the words, a wave of despair washes over Emil. 'Perhaps he was being sincere after all.' "I'll tell you what, Emil. I'll give you a job and a place to stay if you do one thing for me."
"Anything. Name it."
"Tell me about your great-grandmother."
The wave returns. 'How can I?' he wonders to himself. "She…she passed on before I was born…but my great-grandpa always spoke very highly of her. He told me she was a happy woman who loved life and everything about it. He said she used to keep him young."
A wide grin danced across Constance's face. 'So Vivian finds love one day after all…'
Somehow that rather hectic day managed to transform itself into a beautiful, gentle night. The stars swayed in the night sky like sequence on the black dress of a graceful dancer. A wafting breeze blew through the air like the goodbye kiss of a lover, knowing she'll be with you again soon.
A modern day Jack's beanstalk, the Eiffel Tower reached up, up, up into the heavens, calling out to lovers everywhere. It beckoned them to scale its heights and witness the view of Paris at night, love incarnate. Two such lovers decided to answer the call that night and were now standing together on the second floor of the tower, looking out over the city.
"Dick?"
"Hm?" They had been standing there in silence for a few minutes; Robin almost lost himself in his own thoughts before Raven pulled him back from the brink.
"Why do you think Bruce always sends Leaguers to trail us? He has all our old friends at his beck and call. You'd think he'd send someone who actually knows us rather than a random member of the Justice League."
Robin shrugs. "Maybe none of them will take the job. I know a lot of the Titans were excited to work with the Batman, but a good deal of them weren't happy with it."
She nods. "Aqualad, Speedy, Argent, Kole and Herald. Argent told me she quit, but that he eventually brought her back in."
"Maybe he finally just realized that he can't antagonize us without driving a wedge between him and his team. That could be why he always uses the League."
As the subject drifted away into the night, Raven swore she could literally feel love in the air. Paris truly was a magical place, especially at night. It's unexplainable but something about being there just makes you want to be in love. Raven smiled at her own luck, for she was already in love.
"Dick? Can I tell you something?"
"Of course, Rave. What's up?"
"Do you know why I fell in love with you?"
The question catches him off guard but Robin doesn't miss a step. "Are we being serious or can I give you a narcissistic, smart-ass answer?"
"We're being serious."
"Then, no. I mean, not really. I don't know how to answer that without making myself feel vain."
She smiles softly. "From the first day I met you, you've always accepted me for who I am. You never judged me, never questioned the way I acted, or thought I was weird or different. You…you made me feel normal, Dick. I know you probably can't understand that, but it meant the world to me. Out of all the Titans, you were the only one who never tried to force me to open up to you. You just waited for me to come around naturally, and I think I formed my most sincere friendship with you because of that. You were always there for me, if there was ever something bothering me, you'd always know it and you'd always come and find me and ask me if I was ok. Even though you always knew…what I am, you still treated me like an equal and shared some of your leadership responsibilities with me. You're the only person to ever truly understand me, without me having to explain myself. Dick, you've always just taken me as I am, and…and I love you so much for it. You're the only person in my entire life that's ever done that."
Robin knew exactly what she meant. Holding her small body close to his own, he thinks back to his friends and the life they all shared in their tower shaped like a T. All the other Titans loved Raven, but there was always a 'but' attached to it. Starfire wished Raven would be less gloomy, and a little more forthcoming. Beast Boy never lived down the day he once said something along the lines of, "Yeah, Raven's great and all, but sometimes she just creeps me out. I wish she could just be more normal."
Robin always thought Raven was perfect just the way she was.
"Well," he says thoughtfully, "I wasn't the only one."
"True, but even he didn't understand me as well as you did. No one does."
He nods. "Still…there was that one night…"
Everyone knew that Cyborg was the oldest member of the Teen Titans but it never really seemed to matter until his twenty-first birthday. It was maybe 3 months after the defeat of the demon Trigon and Cyborg was walking to the door of Titans Tower from his car. In his arms were two large paper bags, their glass contents softly clinking together with each step he took. He and Beast Boy had once schemed to get fake ID's and go out to the clubs, but Robin had squashed that idea. Their team leader didn't like the idea of two of the Teen Titans breaking the law to get drunk in a crowded night club. This however was a different story. Getting drunk off legally purchased alcohol in the privacy of their own home proved too tempting for even Robin to dissuade. Cyborg marches triumphantly into the common room. "Alright y'all, who's ready to get drunk!?"
Starfire looks confused. "Drunk? Is that anything like the 'crunk'? Because I am afraid I do not know where to acquire such shiny teeth."
Cyborg decided to ignore that as he put his shopping bags down. Beast Boy slides up to him and peers into the bags like a child trying to get a peek at his Christmas presents.
"So whatcha get?"
Cyborg proudly pulls his prize from their brown paper prison. "Couple bottles of Grey Goose."
Starfire looks bewildered once again. "Goose? That clear beverage comes from your Earth goose-bird? It is some kind of milk?"
Chuckling, Robin walks over to the perplexed alien. "No, Star. That's just the name. It's a type of alcohol. It's called vodka."
"Yeah," Beast Boy grinned. "It's awesome. And not made from geese. It's made from potatoes! In Russia!"
"Actually," Robin interjected, "Grey Goose is made from wheat."
"In France." Raven added. 'Idiot', she thought as she glared at Beast Boy.
Beast Boy shrugs it off. "Whatever. Let's just drink it. What kind of chaser did you get, Cy?"
He beams and pulls out a case of slim, blue and silver cans. "Red Bull."
"Sweet!"
Starfire frowns. "Red Bull? Is it made from-"
"Star! Enough with the animals already!" Cyborg was becoming impatient. "If you're going to drink it, just drink it. It tastes good. Just keep in mind that the more you drink, the funnier it's going to make you feel. That's what alcohol does."
Her eyes light up. "Ah! Just like Torkzonian Monkey Wine! See, we call it that because it is made from the urine of-"
"Alright! That's enough of the alien gross-out stories! It's my birthday and I want to get drunk!"
The rest of the night went on as any typical night of underage drinking normally would. For the first couple hours, Starfire was in heaven. She was giggling, and laughing and singing. Then, suddenly she didn't feel so good and consequently spent the rest of the night vomiting in the bathroom. Ever the Good Samaritan, Robin went with her to make sure she was ok. He held her hair back, brought her water and made sure she would be alright before helping her to her room and putting her to bed. Beast Boy took only six shots and then promptly passed out. He was still lying on the floor behind the sofa, sleeping like a log. Only two Titans remained.
"Everyone's gone." A pout forms on Raven's face.
"You know what that means," Cyborg says happily, "MORE FOR US!"
An hour later, and after making sure Star was going to be alright, Robin headed back to the common room. He had been drunk earlier but was now already beginning to sober up. He assumed Beast Boy would be unconscious by now but still looked forward to drinking with Cyborg and Raven. As he entered the room, Robin realized that perhaps he would need to have a change of plans. Both bottles of vodka were completely empty and the two culprits were now sitting together on the couch drunkenly making out. Unable to move or turn away for a brief moment, Robin could do nothing but watch as Raven and Cyborg locked their lips in a drunken passion. Thankful that he hadn't been seen, Robin quickly exited and headed back for his room.
At first, all he could feel was hurt. He had been so sure that Raven had some sort of feelings for him, and after all they had recently gone through together, he was beginning to think that maybe he had feelings for her as well. He swore that he felt a strong chemistry when she hugged him after the defeat of her father, Trigon. 'Maybe I just imagined it,' Robin thought. As he lay awake in bed, unable to sleep, Robin realized that it wasn't fair for him to feel this way. More than anyone else, Raven deserved to be happy and who was he to stand in the way of that. Besides, it was no secret that he and Starfire had a 'thing' for each other. It was on the tip of everyone's tongues and the headline of every tabloid. He thought perhaps it was finally time to actually pursue a relationship with Starfire. 'At least Raven will have someone too,' he thought. 'I'm happy for them.'
Unfortunately, it seemed Robin had celebrated too soon. Raven didn't come out from her room for three days after Cyborg's birthday and the hybrid hero was avoiding the subject entirely. Over the course of the next two weeks they barely said a word to each other and almost completely failed to make any direct eye contact. Eventually, they apologized to each other and agreed that it had been a mistake. Over time things returned to normal. Still, Raven would never forget that night, her first kiss.
Shivering a little, Raven felt Robin drape his jacket across the back of her shoulders and wrap her tight with his arm. "It shouldn't have been my first kiss, you know."
"I don't know, Vic's a great guy, and I know he cared about you a lot."
Raven shakes her head. "No, I know that. I regretted that kiss at first, but not so much now. I love Vic, and I always have, just not that way. Not like I love you. We just weren't right for each other and we knew it…as long as alcohol wasn't in there, fucking things up." She moves closer to Robin, a shy simper playing its way across her face. "That isn't what I meant, though. I didn't mean that I shouldn't have kissed him back then…I meant that there should have been another kiss before that one. And who knows, maybe then the Cyborg kiss never would have happened…"
Robin looked curiously at her. "What do you mean?"
"Come on, Dick. You've seen my dream. After we beat my father, after you saved me…when I hugged you, I practically threw myself onto you. I wanted to kiss you so badly. I wanted to whisper 'I love you' into your ear…"
"So why didn't you?"
"I don't know. The usual reasons, I guess. I was afraid you'd reject me, afraid of what Starfire would think, or say. I was afraid of what it might do to our team, you know, later on down the road."
A soft, bemused smirk pulled lightly at his lips. That was Raven. Even in the heat of the moment she was always thinking three steps ahead. It was one of the reasons they connected so well, but it was also why he chose her as his right-hand. Sure, in Robin's absence, Cyborg would call the shots, but it was always Raven whom Robin would consult when making a team-affecting decision. It was Raven he would ask to help him go over case files and Raven that he chose to help him run the team through training drills. Robin was a great leader, but he was also the figure-head. Raven was just as influential to the team as he was. It's like they say, "Behind every great man is a great woman."
"I love you, Raven." He says softly as he rests his head gently on her shoulder.
"I love you too, Dick." She takes a deep breath in, and then releases it. "Robin?" She still called him by his old moniker, not so much as a petname, but almost as more of a term of endearment.
"Yeah?"
A short pause. Another breath. "Will you marry me?" All her life, Raven was never the outgoing or outspoken type. As far as the opposite sex was concerned, Raven was the asker, never the ask-ee. Her love life, or lack there of, had been a long, and drawn-out cycle of waiting and regretting. But no more. Not this time. She would wait no longer. Raven decided to take her fate into her own hands and ask her lover the question she had wanted to ask him for what felt like an eternity.
Robin just stared in shock, his mouth slightly agape. "That…that just isn't fair."
Raven looks up at in befuddlement. "What?"
He laughs sadly to himself and pulls a small black box out from his pocket. Inside the box was a beautiful, diamond engagement ring. "I've been hiding this thing from you for months. I've been working, day and night to block it from my thoughts so you wouldn't know about it through our 'bond'. Why do you think I convinced you to make Paris the last stop on this little vacation of ours? I knew how much you were looking forward to it since you didn't get to come here during our little 'Titans around the world' fiasco. That's why I suggested we come up here after dinner. I was going to propose to you right here. I can't believe you beat me to it!"
Raven found herself laughing out loud. She felt bad but couldn't contain herself. What were the odds? She smiles warmly at him. "I bet you had a whole routine planned out too, didn't you?"
"And a speech! Look at my shoe, Raven! I untied it half an hour ago when I went to the bathroom. When I was ready, I was going to lean a little to the left, with my foot sticking out ever so slightly. I was counting on you always noticing the little things to let me know my shoe was untied. Then I'd kneel down to tie it, and slip the ring onto your finger." Arms crossed lightly over his chest, Robin's face was a mix of a half-smile, half-pout. "It was going to be perfect."
Raven laughs again. "Dick, I'd really hate to kick you when you're down, but that sounds so corny."
"You would have loved it."
"Dick? You still haven't answered me."
He chuckles before grabbing her by the waist and hand and spinning her around gently. "Do you really need to hear my answer?"
"I think I do."
He smiles. "Of course I'll marry you, Raven Roth. I'd marry you a thousand times over." Raven's smile is interrupted by Robin's lips and as the couple kiss, all the other people seem to melt away and only Robin, Raven, the Eiffel Tower, and the stars in the sky are left in existence.
After a few minutes, Raven reluctantly pulls away. "Ok, let's go."
"Huh? Go where?"
She grins. "Let's go get married."
"What?!?"
"What's the matter, Boy Wonder," she says tauntingly, "you said 'yes.'"
"You're serious?"
"Robin, we're in Paris! It's the city of love!"
"That's exactly my point! This is Paris, not Vegas, besides, what about our friends?"
She looks at him kindly, but sternly at the same time. "I'm not marrying our friends, Robin. I'm marrying you. You're all I care about. I don't want our wedding to be a show, I want it to be about our love. So come on, what do you say?"
"You're really serious. Right now?"
Raven beams. She had been waiting for that one. "What better time?"
"And you call me corny."
"Hey! It's your line."
"I know, I know." He lets out a short, sharp breath. "Ok. Fine. What the hell. Let's do this."
Raven lets out a character-breaking squeal. "Ok, come on. There's a church not far from our hotel, we've only got four more hours to get there and get it done before they think we aren't coming and call it off."
Robin is dumbfounded. "Wait. You mean you already set everything up?"
Raven flashes him a wicked grin. "Of course. Where do you think I was all morning?"
As the happy young couple runs towards the elevator, hand-in-hand, Robin says to her, "You know how much I love you, right Raven?" His voice is sincere and brimming with passion.
"She brushes her hand across his cheek, then closes her eyes and rests her head against his chest as she imagines the rest of their lives together. "Yeah," she says softly. "I do."
"If I were you,
I would take this as a sign.
Believe it's true,
we were never meant to fly.
I owe you, I know you
more than anyone alive,
and I will not let go."
Fade to white.
Soundtrack: "Circles" - Soul Coughing
Phew! Man! This was supposed to just be a short little interlude, but instead over the course of 3 weeks it somehow turned into my longest chapter yet. Seriously, this thing was like, 21 pages in ms word. Maybe thats not a lot for some of you, but thats pretty insane for me. Well, I hoped you liked it. I was trying out a cyclical writing style for this chapter. What did you guys think? Effective? Too redundant? Let me know. Thanks again for reading and I promise it won't be as long of a wait for the next update (I hope!)
Some upcoming plotlines in this story:
Cyborg in the Justice League
Flash meets Flash
The Queen of Tamaran makes a new, unexpected friend.
The return of some long-lost friends of the Titans.
Speedy? Aqualad? Bumblebee? Where are you guys?
A trip to Star City to meet the happily married Graysons, but Robin has a secret. What is it?
Robin meets Green Arrow.
Red X revealed!
What ever happened to Jinx?
Batman vs. Slade!!! (seriously!)
Speaking of Slade...just who is he, really?
The end of the world?
Titans together!