Not Really All That Subtle Chapter 4, a teen titans fanfic

Not Really All That Subtle

By Concolor44

. . .

Well … as it turns out, Chapter 3 wasn't the final chapter after all. You can all thank Nitebreaker for the inspiration for this one. His story "iCarly: iMeet the Relatives" has really captured my attention.

Disclaimer: It should still be obvious that I still don't have any sort of official connection with the Titans and it would still do no one any good to sue. The author (that would be me) disavows any sort of financial benefit from this story, which was written entirely and purely for his own enjoyment. The characters are borrowed. The plot, with its accompanying malaise, is mine.

. . .

Chapter 4

. . .

Lisa's House, May 10, 6:10pm

The setting sun peeking under the low clouds and through the trees in the side yard cast long shadows across the sidewalk and against the porch railings, dappling the small figure that sat huddled into herself on the steps. Several dozen wet spots on the painted wood between her feet gave mute testimony to her state of mind.

Maeve and Jazmyn paused at the short gate in the picket fence, giving each other a hollow glance before opening it and walking slowly up to the blonde. They took a seat to each side. Jaz laid a tentative hand on Lisa's arm. Maeve gave her a light hug and said, "Um … I guess … you got the hospital's report?"

Lisa only nodded.

Half a minute passed. Jazmyn asked, "Isn't there anything they can do?"

It took another half minute of repressed sobs before Lisa could speak in a mostly-steady voice. "It's … metastasized. It's … in her liver and … and a kidney and two bones and …" She drew a long, deep, shuddering breath. "The chemo didn't work. They say radiation wouldn't do any good. They tried that new … nanotube therapy. Doctor Gray thought it would … would …" Her head dropped back onto her crossed arms. "It didn't."

Now Jaz's eyes were leaking, too. She joined Maeve in the little group hug.

There wasn't any one big thing that alerted Marjorie McMahan that her life was about to take a radical change of course. She noticed that she was tired more often, and occasionally dizzy, but had been putting off seeing Dr. Fowler about it due to deadlines at work. When she finally made an appointment back in March and he went through his official poke-and-prod routine, his normally ready smile slipped away. Then the blood work came back. She was at the Regional Cancer Center in Sacramento two days later.

Cancer is not a single disease; it isn't really even a class of diseases. Each type of cancer is different, each can have a different cause (or multiple causes) and each responds to treatment differently. In the case of Lisa's adoptive mother, the team of researchers were pretty sure that exposure to certain compounds at her job had at least contributed heavily to her condition. Upon learning the details, Dave McMahan's emotional state swung wildly between the deepest despair and blinding rage at the pharmaceutical company for allowing Marjorie to handle such dangerous chemicals. He'd already spoken to a law firm about a possible suit.

But no amount of angst or drugs or prayer or anything else even slowed the progress of the disease ravaging her body. She could only stand for a few minutes at a time now, and pain was a constant specter. The specialists' original estimate of nine months had shrunk to seven, then four. Now it looked like she'd be lucky to make it to three.

And around this nucleus of doctors and sterile rooms and constant barrages of bad news and worse news, Lisa floated … detached, numb, confused … but mostly just terrified. She had some major decisions to make, and was running out of time when they could still be considered decisions. At the moment, though, all she wanted to do was cry on her friends' shoulders, and they were more than willing to let her.

7:20pm

"Dad?"

Dave looked up at his daughter's red-rimmed eyes, then back down to his wife's pinched face. They'd given her something to help her sleep, but even then she still seemed to be in pain. He brushed lank hair away from her face and whispered, "What is it, Honey?"

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay."

"Is Mom … asleep?"

"I think so. Mostly."

A deep breath. Two. "Dad, I've … got a lead on what might be a possible treatment."

He was on his feet instantly, dark, puffy eyes boring into hers. "What do you mean?"

She bit her upper lip, hard enough to bruise. "I don't know if it'll work, but … I, uh … know somebody who might be able to help."

His hands were on her shoulders, gripping. "Who?"

"That's … that's what I … see, it might take a few days. I'll have to track her down, and …"

"Do you need my help? The car? Money?"

"No. No, I'm pretty sure I've got that all covered. There are just a few other … things to work out." Her fingers pressed into his forearms. "I didn't want you to worry about me, since I'll be gone for a … while."

He searched her face for the rest of the truth he knew was hiding behind her careful words. "Sweetie … don't take chances. Please. Please don't. I can't lose you both."

"Oh, Dad, no. It's not like that at all. I just don't know if can talk her into …" She bit her lip again. "Please don't worry."

His stare was almost a physical touch. Finally, he said, "If you're sure. And I mean really positive that …"

"Dad. It's not gonna be dangerous. Just … tricky. Maybe. Or maybe not. It depends on a lot of things that might have happened in the last few months, and if she's changed, and if she's even still … but I think she probably is. I'll just have to see."

"… Who?"

"I'd rather not say yet. In case it … doesn't work out."

"When you say 'a while' …"

"Maybe a couple of days. No more than four."

His agonized gaze held hers for two breaths, then he pulled her into a fierce embrace. "Please … please be careful."

"I will, Dad."

11:35pm

The night was overcast, with occasional desultory light drizzle. In the shadow of the huge T-shaped tower the darkness was near absolute. Lisa, floating in a hollowed-out boulder of dark stone, was basically invisible.

She was familiar with some of the Tower's defense systems, but felt reasonably safe in approaching Raven this way. She just hoped the empath hadn't switched which room she called hers. Parking her rocky platform just outside the window, she used a tiny flashlight to illuminate the curtains, breathing a sigh of relief when they were revealed to be a deep purple. She flicked the light off, sat back in her rock, closed her eyes, and concentrated.

A quarter-minute later, a light came on behind the curtains, which were shortly pulled back. The two women gazed at each other soberly for a moment before Raven opened her window and stood to the side. Lisa stepped on the ledge and jumped down into the room. "Um … hi."

"Hello." Raven frowned, tucked a stray lock of hair behind Lisa's ear and said, "I don't think I've ever felt you so … disturbed. It's obviously something major for you to break cover like this."

Lisa nodded. "I wanted to ask you something really important."

That statement could have meant a lot of different things, and several of them raced across Raven's mind, making her catch her breath. "And … what would that be?"

Lisa licked her lips and glanced to the side. "I … you, ah, have some arcane abilities. Because of your heritage. Right?"

"Yes. Quite a few." That comment left her surprised and a bit confused. "What of it?"

"I'm … my, uh …" She took a long, hard breath. "I know you said the past was past and we're even and stuff …"

More confusion. "That's true." She took Lisa's hand. "Just go ahead and say it, whatever it is."

"I need a favor."

"Oh. Well … if it's within my ability, and not illegal or unethical. Sure."

"Okay. See … okay, I told you about my adoptive parents, right?"

"You did."

"They're the best. Really. I mean, they're like the best people ever."

"I'm glad for you. What's the favor?"

"My Mom … she's in the hospital. I wanted to know if you would heal her."

"In the hospital? Why?"

"… She has stage four metastatic pancreatic cancer."

Raven took a step back, one hand coming up to her throat. "Oh, Azar! Lisa!"

"She's … they say she's got another … six weeks. Maybe eight."

Slumping down on the edge of her bed, Raven just stared at the girl. "Lisa … my healing abilities … they're confined to repairing physical damage. They don't … I can't heal a disease."

"I know."

Even greater confusion. "But … Lisa, if you know already that I can't … why did you come here?"

"Because you can do magic."

The desperate hope in those blue eyes tore at Raven. "I … but … but it's mostly dark magic. That's why I avoid it. It isn't anything you'd ever want to be involved with, trust me, I know. I ran afoul of that once before, without even knowing it. And anything related to my demonic heritage is going to be based in evil. That's not something I can help."

Lisa sat down beside Raven, turned to her. "I know about that. But surely there must be something somewhere in one of your books! I know that sometimes people can make a deal with a demon for good health and stuff, but, see, you're a GOOD demon, and if you wanted my soul, I'd trust you with it and …"

"WHOA!" Raven jumped up and took two steps back. "Stop. Stop right there. I don't do that. I don't even know if I could do that. I leave the purely demonic powers strictly alone precisely because they'd be such a temptation. You have no idea what you're asking!"

"Oh, but I do. Yes, I think I really do." She stood and came to face Raven. "You beat your father. You saved our world. Our whole dimension, for that matter. And you were able to do it because you chose to be good. Your natural inclination, just because of your bloodline, might be evil. But YOU are not evil." She stepped closer. Laced their fingers together. "You're a good person, Raven, and I'd trust you with anything I have, including my life and my soul."

Raven stared into the girl's depths for a few breaths. "You really, really love your Mom, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Enough to trade your soul just so that she can have a few more decades of life? How do you know she wouldn't die of something else? And why do you think I'd ever want to be responsible for someone else's soul?"

"That's why it's a favor. And I know it's a big one, and it's REALLY a lot to ask of you, and if you can't … well …" She faltered, let her gaze drop.

"No."

"… 'No', what?"

"No, you can't go find another demon."

Lisa nibbled her lower lip. "I don't really know of any others, but I'm sure somebody could …"

"NO! Stop it! Just … damn, Lisa! Listen to yourself!" Raven took her by the shoulders, forced the blonde to look her in the eye. "Don't you think that if I knew some way to save your Mom, I'd do it instantly?"

"Yeah, I do. But my point is, maybe it doesn't work that way."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe part of the magic is that there has to be a payment. Some kind of trade or sacrifice."

"Why would you even think that?"

"Because it'll be dark magic."

Raven released her and backed away. "Lisa, I beg of you … please reconsider this."

"I've known my Mom was dying for over a month. I've had a LOT of time to reconsider my choices, and I've been thinking about this exact choice for two weeks. Today we got the final repor-port on her … prognosis." She wiped at her eyes, took a deep breath. Another. "I'd already made up my mind on what I was going to do." She took Raven's hand. "I just want you to be the one who ends up with my soul."

"Lisa …"

"Raven, hear me out. I know what you're going to say. I had a similar conversation with our pastor." At the empath's stunned look, she amended, "From a radically different angle. But my point was the same. My Mom, Marjorie McMahan, is worth it to me to save, whatever it takes. She is a better person than I could ever hope to be, and her living is worth my soul. Period."

Wrapping her arms around herself, Raven turned halfway and leaned against the wall. "Lisa … I need to think about this."

"I thought you would. It's not an easy thing to ask of someone." She walked slowly over and gently embraced the other girl. "And I can wait a day or two. But not much longer than that, because my Mom doesn't have very long, and it might take some doing to find another demon."

"I'm … I'll have to look through my books. To execute a masterpiece of understatement, this isn't something I ever anticipated would happen."

Lisa's face practically glowed. "So you'll do it!?"

"… Come back tomorrow night. I'll have an answer for you, one way or the other."

The hug got a LOT tighter. Through a tear-choked throat, Lisa said, "I trust you." Then she walked quickly to the window, stepped out, and was gone.

. . .

Titans' Tower, May 11, 5:00pm

"Raven?" Changeling's voice echoed in the hall outside her door.

She sighed, put down the book she was scanning, and floated over to the access pad, pressing a hand to it to open the door. Giving her green teammate a level stare, she said, "Yes?"

Oh, good, she didn't insult me! "Cy wanted me to let you know supper'll be ready in fifteen."

"Thank you."

"We didn't see ya at lunch."

"I was meditating."

"Or breakfast."

"What's your point?"

"Well, ya gotta eat sometime, and Cy made gumbo. I know you like gumbo!"

"Yes, Gar, I like gumbo."

"Great! Well, I'll be lookin' for ya in fifteen!" He turned into a greyhound and loped away down the hall.

She closed and locked the door, then returned to the circle of weighty tomes in the middle of the room. Two of them, she surrounded with an impenetrable shell of soul-self; she had to make sure she was shielded from the dark magic they contained. They floated up and opened, one about halfway and one near the back, and she resumed her reading.

Supper could wait. She didn't really need to eat that much anyway, and there were several questions she still had to answer before Lisa arrived.

10:35pm

Raven had sensed the blonde's approach and had the window open and waiting for her. As Lisa jumped over the ledge, the empath could feel the eagerness and hope and fear and dread that poured off her in roughly equal amounts … so she didn't waste any time. "Lisa … after you hear me out, if you are still one hundred percent sure that this is what you want … I'll do it."

"EEEEEEEE!"

"Hush! You want the others to hear?"

"… Sorry." She couldn't help a little bounce, though.

"There are several conditions."

"Anything!"

Raven placed a finger against Lisa's lips. "Keep. It. Down."

"Sorry." That one came out as a whisper. "But … but I'm just so GLAD that you said yes!"

"Hmm. Well." She motioned the other girl in and sat her on the bed, then stood in front of her, arms crossed. "Okay, first, you need to understand everything that's involved in this, and I do mean everything, because you were right on the money when you said dark magic would demand a sacrifice for the healing to work, and this one has some REALLY major…"

"Anything. I meant it then, and I mean it now."

"So you say. In any case, I did discover a way to heal someone of any disease. Part of the magic also keeps that person free of disease for the rest of her life."

"Wow! That's awesome!"

"There's a catch, though."

"Naturally. It wouldn't be demonic magic if there wasn't a catch."

"It limits how long she can live."

"… What?"

"I haven't had time yet to work out all the mechanics, but depending on how old she is now and what she's being cured of will have some determination on how much longer she'll live."

"But … are we talking decades or years or what?"

"I'm not totally sure. As I said, haven't had time to check my math yet, and I had to estimate her current age. But I think she won't live past seventy. Possibly seventy-five."

"Oh. Oh, okay. That's about a normal lifespan anyway. That's really all I'm asking for."

"There are a few other points, all dealing with what you have to give up. Three, to be exact."

Lisa rested elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. "Go on."

"The spell requires blood, specifically yours, and rather a lot of it."

"Define 'a lot' for me."

"It works out to a little over a quart. Given your, ah, compact form, I'm not sure you have that much to spare."

After considering that for a moment, Lisa asked, "Does it all have to come out at one time?"

"… Beg pardon?"

"Can I draw off a little tonight and then more in a few days?"

"Oh." Raven ran through the spell in her mind, then shook her head. "No. It all needs to be freshly spilled. And there are … rather a lot of cuts to be made. I have to carve a rune scheme into your skin."

"Sounds ... painful."

"How about that."

She turned that over a time or two. "Is there such a thing as a magic potion that would … well, replace the lost blood?"

"It would be incompatible with the dark magic. Besides that, once the spell is begun, things have to happen in an exact sequence. There is no time to take a break for a drink."

"Okay. Then I'll just have to eat and drink a lot before we start."

"I was going to suggest that anyway."

"Anything else?"

"Yes. The next is that you have to, ah … well … pledge yourself to me."

"I figured as much." A tiny smile flitted across her lips. "I don't really consider that a minus."

Raven gave a brief, but sour, scowl that morphed into a light blush. "You might after you hear what's involved."

Three minutes later Raven's cheeks were furiously red. Lisa had a shocked, bemused look on her face. "So … so we have to get … intimate?"

"In sum, yes." She took a long breath and centered herself. It had suddenly become uncomfortably warm in her room. "It's a fairly common aspect of dark magic, one of those 'domination' things. The demon marks her victim, demonstrates her control." Her speech sped up a little. "I tried to find a spell that didn't involve all that, and there were two, but they both would probably have killed you, and this one has better effects, and I know you said 'anything', but if it's distasteful enough that you can't go through with that, then …"

"Whoa! Whoa, there, Rae. I didn't say I minded."

"… What?"

"I mean, yeah, that's a little weird. But, hey … I've sorta had a girl-crush on you for a while."

Her mouth worked open and shut a couple of times. "… . . . … What?"

"Not what you'd call serious or anything, but really, ever since we met at the coffee shop … well, okay, maybe not EVER since, but off and on, I've … thought about it. Now and then. Kinda 'what-if' stuff." That little smile made another brief appearance. "At the very least, it'll be a new experience. So, no. I don't mind." She uncrossed her legs and crossed them the other way. "Is that it? Didn't you say there were three conditions?"

Raven dropped her gaze and muttered, "Yes."

"… I don't like that look you're sporting there."

"This is the worst part."

"Worse than possibly bleeding to death?"

"Significantly."

Lisa's eyes widened. She nibbled her lip. Finally, she said, "Well, don't leave me hangin'."

Raven drew a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "All records of you anywhere will vanish … and everyone who cares about you is going to forget you ever existed."

That stilled her. Hard. "I beg your pardon?"

"Your Mom and Dad. Your friends at school. Any teachers you studied under. Any blood relatives. Certainly the other Titans. I won't, because I'm the spellcaster. But, yeah. Your parents won't remember anything about you. At all. It will be as if you'd never been born."

After about twenty seconds of silence, Lisa realized she was starting to hyperventilate, and took a minute to get it under control. "Wait. Nobody?"

Raven shook her head.

"Nobody?!"

"Nobody. This is a very powerful spell. As you may know – or possibly you don't – magic, dark or light, has a great deal to do with balance. When I heal someone's wounds, I take the damage into my body briefly before transferring it to my soul-self, and thence to a different dimension. The wounded person gets better, I get worse, which is why it takes a long time to heal a serious injury. Here, what you are doing is preserving an entire life that would otherwise have ended in the natural course of things. That demands a balance, and the way this spell is configured, the inequality is balanced by erasing you." She held out a hand for a second, then drew it back. "I'm sorry. I've tried to find another way, but …"

Lisa stood abruptly. "I need … I need some … I gotta go." She all but ran to the window and dived out into her boulder. By the time Raven got to the opening, the other girl was nowhere to be seen.

. . .

Titans' Tower, May 13, 11:40pm

Meditation wasn't something that was crucial to her existence, as it had been prior to her defeat of Trigon, but it was still a haven, and she still preferred to get in an hour or two each day. Jump City's criminal element, though, had prevented that from happening until very recently. She had only been in her relaxed, hyper-focused state for about twenty minutes when she felt a presence outside her window. A very agitated presence.

She pulled the pane in on its hinges. "Hello, Lisa. I wondered whether you'd come back."

"Can I leave any messages or anything?"

"Excuse me?"

"Can I leave Mom a message. You said all my records would be erased and that she'd for- for-" Lisa closed her eyes and swallowed. "Forget me. But does that apply to a letter?"

Raven thought that over for a bit and frowned. "The way I interpret it – and I may be wrong, but I don't think so – anything that refers to you or would remind her of you would vanish."

"Vanish. Meaning what?"

"Cease to exist."

Shoulders slumping, Lisa mumbled, "So I can't even leave her a note somewhere that she'll find it?"

"No. Well, you could, but it would disintegrate as soon as the spell is complete. And she'd have no idea who it was from in any case."

"What about afterward?"

"… I … huh. I'm not sure. Maybe?" She shrugged. "Maybe you could start from scratch and rebuild the relationship? I don't know if the spell would allow that. That part where you pledge yourself to me reads as awfully exclusive. You won't be able to marry, for example, or fall in love with someone. The magic would prevent it." She blushed again and looked away. "And so would I."

"… You?"

"Demons are … territorial. Possessive. Um, very possessive. This spell is only going to intensify that. If we do this … you're going to belong to me in every sense of the word. It'll affect your free will."

"Seriously?"

"I told you. It's a very powerful spell. Demonic magic doesn't screw around. I did mention there were two other spells, but I wouldn't give you better than a one-in-three chance of surviving either of them, and there's not a guarantee that they'd work for your Mom. They're really more aimed at curing communicable diseases. Curing cancer wasn't something that anyone ever thought of, you know, way back when. They didn't know what cancer was. But this spell is powerful enough that it covers pretty much everything."

Lisa crossed her arms and turned away, scuffing a toe on the carpet.

Raven lifted a hand toward her. Let it drop. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Me, too."

Neither said anything for a minute, then Lisa asked, "How long does the spell take?"

"Start to finish? Less than two hours."

Another crowd of moments grew old and died before the blonde spoke again. "Do you need to get anything together first? Weird herbs? Black candles? Eye of newt?"

"It's not that kind of spell. This is blood magic involving the transfer of ownership of a soul. There are several incantations and, ah … physical actions. And some rune-work; I have to use my athame for that. We do have to perform it inside a warded circle, to protect your soul while it's in transit. But that's all. Demons don't like to rely on tangible objects for their magic."

"So any time I wanted to start …"

Raven nodded.

"Okay." Her steady gaze met the empath's. "I'll … be back in a few … well. I'll be back."

"I'll be here."

Lisa leaned in and gave her a quick but remarkably fierce hug, then jumped out the window.

. . .

Titans' Tower, June 18, 9:00pm

Raven was still down in the common room with one of her novels when she felt Lisa's aura pounding against her mind. Glancing over at her teammates, she saw that Cy and Gar were deeply involved in some first-person-shooter-death-match game. Robin and Star had left together a half hour earlier. She opened a portal and sank into it, reappearing in her room to allow Lisa entrance. "I was starting to wonder if you'd changed your mind. Not that it would be a bad thing, but …"

"No." Lisa shook her head emphatically. "I never. Not once we'd talked and I knew … all of it. But I wanted … wanted to spend as much …" She scrubbed at her eyes. "They put her into a medically-induced coma this morning. Because of the pain. I've said my goodbyes."

Raven squeezed the blonde's hand, but didn't say anything. Platitudes never had suited her.

Soon she was inscribing a circle of white sand on her floor, chanting under her breath and marking tiny figures on its circumference. Just before closing it off, she motioned for the blonde to join her. Then another set of eyes opened on her forehead, and all four of them flashed crimson.

The next two hours were the most intense combination of pain and pleasure that Lisa had ever experienced. It was when Raven was carving the final rune between her breasts that she lost consciousness.

. . .

Titans' Tower, June 27, 1:00pm

"Raven? Hello? Earth to Raven."

She pulled her gaze back from the thousand-meter distance she'd been focused on and then glanced over at the kitchen. It was Changeling's turn to clean up after lunch (and predictably he grumbled about their lack of decent maid service the entire time) and he'd been trying to get her attention. She gave him a bland smile. "Yes?"

"Remember last week when you said you weren't feeling well and I helped you with the dishes?"

"What you did was offer. As I remember it, you never actually accomplished any washing. I used my soul-self to finish the work."

Nightwing didn't even look up from his database when he interjected, "She's got you there, Gar."

"Hmph." Given her recent pleasant behavior and general good mood, he'd been hoping she'd take pity on him, but apparently that wasn't in the cards. "I did offer, though, right?"

"I believe I'll go get myself a soy chai latte." So saying, she wrapped herself in lightless vapor and disappeared.

"Dang it." He looked glumly at the pile of dirty pots and plates. "How can five people make this big a mess? It doesn't make any sense!"

Nightwing snickered again. "Maybe if you didn't get a new plate every time you go back for seconds/thirds/fourths it wouldn't be quite so bad."

Gar ignored the dig. "And she's been 'going for a chai' and then stayin' gone all afternoon every day for a week! What's up with that?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Me? Heck, no. I like all my body parts in their original condition. Why don't you ask her?"

"Two reasons."

He stared at Nightwing for a few seconds before responding, "Which are?"

"You're the one that's curious, not me."

"Fair enough. What's the other?"

"I already know."

"WHAT!? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Is it any of your business what Raven does in her spare time?"

He opened his mouth to make a retort, but couldn't come up with anything that didn't sound stupid, even to him. After scraping and scrubbing a handful of dishes, he asked, "So, what does she do?"

"She's made a new friend. They sit at the café and talk."

"… A friend? Who?"

"I don't know yet. Still working on that. But she's blonde and thin, and about Raven's height, maybe a tad taller. Blue eyes."

"Sounds cute."

"I won't disagree."

"So how come it's okay for you to poke into Raven's business, but it's not okay for me?"

"I didn't. Starfire saw them talking together and swooped in and … well, you know Star."

"So Star told you?"

"She did."

"This girl got a name?"

"Raven addressed her as Lisa. She wouldn't give Star a last name."

"Lisa. Huh. That's a cute name."

"Do NOT go getting any ideas about …"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa there, Tex! I'm just curious. You trying to tell me you're not curious?"

"Of course I am. But … well, I don't know if you've noticed, but Raven's seemed a lot calmer over the last week or so."

"Yeah, I have. She hasn't snapped at me once."

"Not even after the pudding incident? I heard about that from Cy. He said ..."

"Lies! All lies! I had nothing to do with that!"

"Sure."

Deciding to retreat before the battle became a complete rout, Gar returned to his task.

"Anyway," continued Nightwing, "I figure anything that gets Raven that relaxed and happy has to be a good thing, and I won't have any part of messing with it."

Gar couldn't fault his logic. Sighing, he attacked the dirty pile again.

7:30pm

Nightwing was in his command center when Starfire knocked on his door. He swiveled around and gave her a questioning look.

"Raven has requested that we all gather in the common room so that she may do the announcing of a surprise!"

"Really? Huh." He studied her sixty-kilowatt grin and said, "I'll bet you know what it is, don't you?"

"I am not supposed to be doing the telling of secrets. It is the impolite."

"I suspected as much." He rose to his feet, a smoothly oiled, perfectly balanced organism, and followed the excitable alien down the hall.

Cyborg and Changeling were sitting on the long sofa, and the newcomers took a seat to their right. Raven stood in front of the main window; a thin girl with long, straight, blonde hair stood to her left. Raven asked, "Everyone comfortable?"

Four heads nodded.

"Considering how things are going to be from here on out, I thought it wise to have some introductions." She pointed to the other Titans in turn, calling each by his or her code name.

The blonde gave them a shy wave. "Hi. I'm, uh … my name's Lisa."

Before any of the others could ask, Raven said (staring at Nightwing), "Her last name's confidential. At this time. At some later date, once she trusts you, you can have it for the files."

"… Files?"

"She's joining the Titans."

The guys' mouths dropped open. Starfire bounced up and down, clapping. She turned to the others and squealed, "Is it not the most wonderful thing? Not only has Raven found her True Love, we also get a new member!"

Nightwing was on his feet immediately. "Whoa! Hold the phone! You can't go and extend membership to just anyone! What about …"

Raven's upheld hand – and four-eyed gaze – shut him up pretty quickly. She motioned for him to sit, which he did. "In the first place, you issued invitations to Argent and Kole and Jericho with a lot less input. In the second, she has a most useful power that I think you will be very glad to have on the team. In the third, we are going to be married, so if she can't be on the team, I will definitely be off it."

In chorus, the three male members said, "Married?!"

Ignoring the soaring levels of shock and confusion, Raven continued, "So I suppose it is up to you, as the official leader of the Titans, whether we stay or not. If not, I'm sure there is somewhere else we can be useful. I understand the CIA has some openings. And they pay better."

"Raven … can we slow down for a minute? You have to admit this a lot to process."

"Sure. Take your time." Her eyes returned to their normal number and hue.

"You … Okay … Married. Really? Married? How long have you known her?"

"Long enough."

That answer obviously didn't satisfy the suspicious protégé of the Bat.

She temporized, "A few years, off and on."

"Really."

"Yes. Really."

"And why haven't we heard of her before?"

"How many of your acquaintances from your years at Batman's side have you introduced to us?"

"That's … beside the point."

She only smirked in response.

Gar piped up, "I thought you were straight. When'd you start batting for the other team?"

"All demons are bisexual. And it hasn't been an issue because it has never come up in conversation before."

He considered that, mulling over how he would have brought up the topic while keeping his skin intact, and finally shrugged. "Okay. So you two are an item."

"Definitely."

Feeling distinctly out of his depth on this point, Nightwing fell back to practicalities. "All right, then. Lisa. What are your powers?"

"Geokinesis."

Cyborg said, "You can move … earth? Rocks?"

"Yep."

Nightwing asked, "To what extent?"

"Um … my limits sort of … keep expanding as I get older."

"Can you ballpark that for me?"

"I'm comfortable handling around fifteen hundred tons, if it's all just in one big lump."

Quiet reigned for two breaths, then Gar let go with a low whistle.

A light blush spread across Lisa's cheeks. "I don't normally manipulate anything nearly that big, though. It's not usually necessary."

"Um … okay, then," said Nightwing. "Would you object to going down to the training area with us so we can get some metrics?"

"Not a bit."

They all headed toward the main door.

Gar sidled up next to Lisa and said, "So, you gonna have a code name? Or you plan to go by 'Lisa' when you give interviews?"

She pondered him for a moment, glanced over at Raven, clasped hands with the other girl, and said, with a grin, "Call me Terra."

. . .

End Note: Yes, this went in a direction I'd not been anticipating. As so often happens, the characters took over the keyboard. And this time I am NOT going to make any statements about this being the end. I was wrong before. For that matter, my Muse is already pestering me with ideas for sequels. As if I didn't have enough to do.

All comments/suggestions/gripes/wild speculation welcome. Feedback = Joy.