NEXT CHAPTER AHOY! This one takes place during the Teen Titans episode, "How long is forever?". I liked writing this chapter (The parts that I made up, not the parts I practically copied...) I kept going back and changing it till it all worked out. Which I feel I managed to do. I also wanted to try something new, responding to some of the reviews? I know some people do that, so I thought that I'd give it a try. Tell me if I should keep doing it or not. (If I do continue doing this I'll probably only respond to logged in people)

TheMusicOfYourSoul- I though the story need a little break from all the action and such. I'm glad you thought so too!

avidreaded- Yeah, I've got that department covered right away. :)

KuriMaster13- Thanks for saying that… It did raise my spirits when I read that.

ChristellaShinobu- I don't think I'll be short on ideas, only on how to get to those ideas. The reason I actually started writing this was because I read other stories and thought, 'what if this happened?' It's cool that you'd be willing to help though.

Sakural7865- On the show Danny never really told anybody his secret… So it was hard to write about how he took five people learning his secret all at once.

Goodgirl275-Your exams are probably over by now… So I hope you did well on them! :D

Sophia Griffin- You honestly made me laugh out loud and kept a grin on my face the whole day. I have to sincerely thank you for that… Parties, pft. If only, right?

Assasin8- I love seeing people theorize what'll happen next, and you've done that a lot, which is awesome! I think it helps to know what people are thinking… If I remember right you've been reviewing for a long time, so a big thanks for that too.

Inviso-Al- What happens next indeed?

ANON- Sorry, but romance is a big NO for me. For some reason I can't stand reading about a romance, hinted romance depends on whom, but writing one would probably turn out disastrous. So maybe it's better if I don't…

Chapter 20- Too long to wait

"Why did he leave Amity Park…?"

Robin glared at his computer screen. He'd been looking all night, but he still couldn't find out why Danny left Amity Park. Everywhere he searched said they same thing. "Grrr… Phantom couldn't have kidnapped Fenton! They're the same person!" He slammed his fists onto the table and sighed. Maybe he'd been working for too long. The boy wonder looked at the digital clock on his table and frowned. "9AM… Have I really been working for that long?" He wondered to himself. Robin stood up and stretched. Working all night must have burned him out.

He walked out of his room and went straight to the living room. The only one there was Danny, who was lying on the couch and staring at the ceiling. Robin quietly approached the halfa. Danny heard though. He sat up and stared at Robin from over the top of the sofa. "Danny. I need to ask you-" Robin began. He was cut off by two bright rings that appeared at Danny's side. The hybrid transformed and vanished right before Robin's eyes. The boy wonder sighed and turned towards the radio. Danny'd been ignoring him ever since their conversation on the roof.

Robin managed to get an important piece of information out of the hybrid without him realizing it. Slade's blackmail was strong; it had to be if Danny was ignoring his obsession because of it. During their conversation Danny told him that the blackmail was related to him leaving Amity Park. Robin ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He'd been after this answer for a good five hours, but he still didn't have any new information. The masked hero absentmindedly turned the radio on and cranked it up loud. He couldn't think right now. He needed something to drown out his stress.

Within another hour all the Titans, except for Starfire, were in the living room. Robin was still listening to the radio, Raven was reading a book, and Cyborg and Beastboy were fighting over a videogame. Danny was in the room too. He was sitting on the other end of the couch with this arms crossed behind his head and his head leaning against the back of the couch. His eyes were closed, so he didn't see Starfire come into the room. In fact, no one seemed to notice her enter. The alien tried to get her friends' attention, but they were either busy fighting each other or ignoring her. After another attempt at getting their attention she frowned. Then the necklace she was carrying suddenly snapped.

"STOP!" Starfire suddenly screamed. Danny's eyes snapped open and his head turned to face Starfire. The other Titans all stood up and looked over at their teammate. "Friends must never behave this way. And especially not on Blorthog, or do you wish to invite the Rekmogs?" She desperately asked. Beastboy frowned. "Uh… Gesundheit?" He asked her. Starfire frowned and held the pieces of the broken necklace that were still in her hands close. "On my world Rekmogs means 'the drifting'." She explained. "It's the point at which close friends begin to drift apart, and their friendship begins to die…"

Cyborg shook his head. "Come on, Starfire." He said. Beastboy grinned. "We are so not Rek-whatevering." He assured her. Even Raven added in. "We're getting on each others' nerves. Big deal." She said. "Yeah. This is just typical roommate stuff…" Robin explained. "We're not going to drift apart Star. Promise. We'll all be friends forever." He said. Starfire smiled a bit. "Forever?" She asked him. Danny frowned as he watched their exchange. Did they include him with this Blor-whatever thing too? He didn't know. Robin already didn't like him for ignoring him, and recently he'd been, well, drifting from the others.

Suddenly Robin's communicator went off. "Titans, trouble." He said. The Titans immediately headed for the door. Though Robin stopped and looked over his shoulder to Danny, who was still sitting on the couch in human form. "Are you coming Danny?" Robin asked. The halfa frowned. He'd just heard Starfire give that speech about friendship and all, but… Was it really meant for him? Danny turned away from Robin and stared out the window. "Fine. Stay here then." Robin sourly said as he left the halfa alone. Danny just sighed.

"Ta-ta Titans. I enjoyed our time together, but I've got a very bright future ahead of me." The villain from future, Warp, said as he formed a time portal of his own. Starfire got up and from her place on the ground and glared at the villain. In Warp's hands was the Clock of Eternity, a very valuable exhibit at the museum. The alien wasn't about to let him get away with stealing it. On instinct she flew into the air and knocked herself and the villain into the time portal. Robin quickly got up and dived towards the closing portal. "Starfire!"

Though he was too late as the portal closed right in front of the remaining Titans' eyes. Behind them the sound of another portal opening filled their ears. They all turned around and saw the stolen Clock of Eternity clink to the ground. Then the portal closed. Robin stared wide eyed at the place where the newer portal once was. He rushed forward and picked up the Clock of Eternity. "Starfire…" The other Titans looked over at their leader. "Starfire!"

Cold. That was the first thing that Starfire felt when she ripped that piece off of Warp's timesuit. She brushed the snow off her arms and began to shiver. "What has happened?" She asked herself. "Why is it cold? And where are my-!" Her own gasp cut her off. She looked up and saw the Titans' Tower, but… It looked so old and degraded. Seeing it reminded her of the fight that morning. "My friends…" She mumbled. Starfire stood up and flew towards a big hole in the tower.

Once she was safely inside she began wondering around the worn tower. She reached the living room's doors and pushed them open. This room was worse than the others. It was dark, cold, and unfamiliar to her. Sections of the couch seemed to be thrown about and pieces of the ceiling were scattered across the floor. Wires were also snaked along the ground. Starfire slowly walked through the room and towards the center, though her feet kicked something aside. She bent down and picked it up. Her bright green eyes widened even more when she noticed that it was the very same necklace that she'd made only hours ago.

Behind her a dim, red light began to glow. She turned around and smiled. "Cyborg?" Starfire hopefully asked. She raised her hand and lit it with a starbolt. The green light revealed some sort of spider-like machine. She screeched and blasted it apart. Suddenly the living room door opened. "Yo! Whose breaking my-!" The familiar voice stopped. A much older Cyborg stared at his teammate is disbelief. "Star?" He asked. He walked over to her with a look of disbelief on his face. Starfire frowned, noticing the large cords that were attached to his back.

"Starfire. Is that really you?" He then asked. "You-you haven't aged a day." Starfire frowned at that. "Cyborg. What has happened? Why are you…?" Cyborg looked down at his cracked parts and frowned. "Old?" He asked. Starfire nodded. "Well, that's what happens when folks go away for twenty years." Cyborg explained as he walked past Starfire. The Tameranian frowned. "Twenty years?" She repeated in disbelief.

Cyborg nodded and continued to explain the situation to Starfire. He told her that she'd been missing since their last battle against Warp, which was twenty years ago. When Starfire presented the damaged piece from Warp's suit Cyborg figured that removing that piece of the suit stopped Warp's time jump at twenty years, instead of a hundred years, like he'd planned. And when she asked about their friends, the other Titans… "The Titans are history Star. Your friends aren't your friends anymore." He bitterly explained. Starfire frowned, and then suddenly perked up.

"What about friend Phantom? Surely he is still a friend." She asked. Cyborg turned around and faced the broken window. He didn't answer for the longest time, and then he finally answered her. "Phantom is gone, Starfire." Those words froze the alien in her place. "W-What?" She whispered. Cyborg closed his human eye and tilted his head to the ground. "A couple months after you left there was a huge fight. The kid was brave; he would have made an amazing hero. He risked his life for us all, but..." Starfire gasped. "No! I do not believe it! He is not-!" "It's true!" Cyborg suddenly snapped.

"After that fight Robin disappeared too! Soon me, Raven, and BB all split up! That battle ended it!" He paused, and then turned to face Starfire. There were tears in the girl's eyes. She hugged Cyborg and started crying. The robotic Titan put a hand on her back. "I want to help you go after Warp, but my last battery packs burnt out years. I'm obsolete. But maybe one of the others can help you." Starfire continued crying. "I can tell you how to find BB and Raven." Cyborg offered.

Starfire wiped her eyes and looked up at her old friend. "And Robin?" Cyborg frowned. "I already told you that we lost touch. I saw him a couple months after the fight, so I know that he's still in the city, somewhere. If you want to find him you're on your own…"

Starfire sighed as she walked down the empty streets of a broken Jump City. She met with both Raven and Beastboy, saddened by what they'd become. Beastboy was working as a caged multi-animal in a circus. He didn't even want to leave his cage, claiming that it kept everybody else out, protecting him. The young innocence that she'd seen in Beastboy was gone and replaced by fear. As from Raven… She had been without anybody to help her in times of need. It caused Raven to become lonely and…not sound of mind.

The alien shivered in the cold air. She watched her breath float into the air and become invisible. Suddenly a red laser beam blasted her. She looked up and glared at her attacker. "What's wrong dear?" Warp casually asked. "Caught you at a bad time?" He asked, wearing a smirk on his face. Warp then fired a barrage of lasers at Starfire. The Titan flew up into the air and weaved in and out of the blasts. She then threw blasts of her own, her starbolts. But Warp's force field protected himself from the blasts. Once Starfire was floating at Warp's level on the roof they both prepared to attack.

Warp simply waved a hand in front of himself, freezing Starfire in a block of ice and causing her to fall to the ground. She landed in the snow, which cracked the ice and set her free, but the fall had weakened her. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a triumphant Warp standing over her. She then noticed something. "You have also become old." She noted. It was true. Warp's face had become slightly more wrinkled and he now had a long black mustache along with his goatee. The villain frowned. "That is what happens when someone steals the vortex regulator." Warp held his hand out.

"The regulator, please. I really must get back to my future." He said. Starfire stood up and took a step back. Hey eyes' green glow matched her hand's glow. She held the regulator that she'd stolen from Warp's suit in the air and aimed a starbolt at it. "If you ever wish to see your future you will repair the damage you have done to my past!" She threatened. Warp frowned and shook his head. "Damage? Silly girl, there is nothing wrong with your past. One cannot damage history because history cannot be changed." Warp explained. Starfire's starbolt faltered.

"I went back in time to steal this because history said it disappeared." Warp held up the Clock of Eternity to prove his point. "And history said it disappeared because I went back and stole it. Past, present, future. It's all written in stone, my dear." Starfire looked down at the snow and frowned. Warp took the vortex regulator from Starfire's hand. The alien didn't even try to get it back. Warp chuckled and continued. "And nothing you do can ever change- GAH!" He suddenly screamed. A dark shadow tackled Warp and threw him into an even darker alley.

Warp hit the alley's wall and fell to his knees. This dark shadow then threw two exploding disks at him. Once the bright blast from the disks vanished the hero leaped at Warp in an attempt to get a punch in, but Warp disappeared before that could happen. Starfire slowly crept into the alley to follow her mysterious savior. His voice stopped her in her tracks. "It's good to see you again." The familiar voice said. Starfire's eyes widened. "Robin?" She asked. The man stepped out of the shadows. "I haven't used that name in a long time." He said. "Call me… Nightwing."

Nightwing paused and held a hand up to his ear. He looked at Starfire shivering in the cold, then up in the air. "Yes. I already scanned her-" He was apparently interrupted by a screaming voice from his earpiece. Nightwing sighed. "What is it with you and code names?" He asked the person on the other end of the line. "On second thought," The masked hero quickly said, "don't answer that." Starfire walked up to Robin, or Nightwing, and frowned. "To whom are you speaking…? Nightwing?" She asked. The hero smirked. "An old friend. Come on, Star." He walked to the side of the road and crossed his arms.

Nightwing rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to apologize, just get the car over here." He told the person on the other end of the hidden earpiece. Starfire was sure that she heard some grumbling from this other person, but within a minute a car slick black swerved around the corner and stopped in front of them both. The car parked on the side of the road and opened its doors. Nobody was inside. "Let's get out of the snow, Starfire." He said as he climbed inside. Starfire seemed to hesitate, but Nightwing held out a hand for her to take. She smiled and took the help. Once she was inside the car Nightwing drove off to his hideout.

Nightwing parked the car in his hideout and opened the door for himself. He helped Starfire out too. While Starfire was looking around the hideout Nightwing marched over to a big garage door that was on the other side of the large room. On the other side of the door sparks and clinging metal could be heard. "Are you working on that thing again!?" Nightwing shouted over the noise. The tool's noise died down. "Yeah. Why?" The man on the other side asked. Nightwing shook his head and frowned. "We have a guest." He said. "It's Starfire." The voice behind the garage door gasped.

"What!? But you said that she disappeared after your battle with Warp! Wait… Warp, time traveler, duh." Suddenly the garage door began to rise. Starfire walked over to Nightwing's side and watched the door rise. The man who stood there wore a dirtied white t-shirt and a pair of jeans, which also had grease and oil stains on them. His height matched Nightwing's. In his hand was a welder, explaining the welding mask over his face. "Wow, Star. I'm surprised to see you here." The man flipped his welding mask up and gave the Titan a small smile.

He cleared his throat. "Welcome to the future. I know it's not too bright, but I am the smartest person around…" The man quipped. Nightwing smirked. "More like smart mouthed…" "Hey!" The man shouted back with an equally large grin. Starfire frowned at the exchange. The man noticed and turned to face the alien. "What's wrong, Star?" He asked. "Don't recognize me?" Starfire stared at the man. She felt like she should, but for some reason couldn't think of who this was supposed to be. He grinned and took the welding mask fully off his head and placed it, and the welder, onto the table beside him. Starfire tilted her head to the side, the gasped. "Are you-!?"

He swiped a hand through his black hair, wiping it away from in front of his eyes. Starfire stared at the bright white streak in his black hair, but decided not to say anything about it. Danny grinned. A bright, mischievous look shined in his sky blue eyes. "What's wrong Starfire? Do I look older? Maybe twenty years older?" He asked. Starfire couldn't believe it! The only thing that even slightly resembled Danny was his hair and his bright, blue eyes. This future Danny was not the beanpole that Starfire had known him to be either. He had a stronger build in the future, not to mention that he was much taller.

Future Danny crossed his arms. "Starfire… You owe me and Nightwing some gifts. You missed a lot of birthdays, you know…" Starfire smiled. It felt good to see one of her friends in high spirits in this dark, gloomy future.

Future Danny? WHUT!? Ha! I loved writing as him. It made me smile. :) Like that. Anyways… Don't forget to review and all that jazz. :D I might answer questions if you wanna ask something nonspoiler-ish? Thanks and till whenever I get the next chapter… Bye.