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The Titans: Triptych	By : hentaigoten Category: DC Verse Cartoons - Teen Titans > Crossovers > FemmeSlash Views: 1932 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or JLA. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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#5

The Sundering

Chapter 5 of 6: Fractures

There was a rumble, the grinding of concrete against metal support beams, and a huge slab of rubble was lifted off the ground by dark telekinetic force.

“Go.” Raven said, gritting her teeth as Nightwing and Starfire dashed inside the ruined building, scooping up the people Nightwing’s heat sensors had detected.

“I see you dealt with Slade after his resurrection gig.” Nightwing said conversationally as he dashed back inside the building, grabbing more survivors.

“You heard about that, did you?”

“Made national news several times. Especially in the latter part of the campaign.”

“But the rest?”

“Police hacks.” He said, casually. “You handled yourself well.”

“I wasn’t the only one there.”

“Yeah, but you were in command, throughout the whole three months. That’s something else entirely.”

“…of course.” Raven said, finally releasing her hold on the rubble as Nightwing signalled it was clear.

Holding his hand to his ear, Nightwing remained motionless for a moment as he listened to something, occasionally responding in quiet tones. A minute later and he looked up at Raven and Starfire, who stood nearby.

“We’ve done what we can here. And dawn is rising. I’m to return to base.” He said, pausing for a moment, considering something carefully before continuing on. “I have a forward base nearby. We can go there.”

He moved off, the other two close behind.

He gave them directions, but even with them flying ahead, he had still arrived ahead of them. They knew better than to ask questions to which they would never get answers, and so simply followed his lead after he had emerged from the shadows.

It was a derelict factory, abandoned long before the earthquake. A sprawling industrial complex, rotting in the Gotham summer, and rusting in the winter. Nightwing led them to a main building, down a hatch covered in grime, and down a vertical metal ladder into a sub basement

“It’s one of Batman’s equipment caches. I’m using it as a forward base for the duration of the emergency.” Nightwing said in way of explanation. Sealed containers dotted the room, and a couple of ancient couches sat next to a worn looking television. Wires led to a stack of batteries and a small generator, and wires led to various points in the room.

A simple bed had been made under a tarpaulin, and a basic cooking arrangement was set next to it, stowed away neatly. Little else indicated the place had been entered for years.

“There’s a crude bathroom at the back. Not the highest of tech, but there’s no running water in Gotham, no sanitation. Some anti-bac fluid keeps things as sterile as they can get.”

Sitting down, he reached up, gingerly pulling off the mask that covered the top half of his face.

“Damn adhesive. I swear it’s slowly taking my eyebrows off.” He said in light humour, looking up at his two guests.

“Sit down. It’s a free country.”

Koriand’r sat next to Grayson, about to launch into a series of questions. Raven sat away from the two, gazing off into the distance, trying to tune the two out as they talked.

It was…difficult.

They talked shop, briefly. Raven intoned replies to questions and compliments they made of her time leading the Titans. They talked of meaningless things. They talked of the world around them, of what they had done in the last nine months, about what was in the room, about…

Silently Raven got up, and slowly walked along the length of the room. She made a pretension of looking at the various containers that filled the room, until she allowed herself to disappear out of sight.

Back on the couch, Grayson took note but said nothing. It took a while longer for Koriand’r to respond. She could be quite oblivious at times. It was endearing, really. None of the group of heroes assembled around the Bat could claim to be anything other than painfully aware of the world around them, and the idea of being oblivious was…enjoyable to see.

“Rae…she…” She began, almost apologetically, to Grayson. “Has been having…problems, lately.”

“No need to apologise, Kori.” He replied with a smile. “And I know she has. Leading a team is hard. Facing someone who…hurt you…is harder.”

“You know about what happened on Themyscira?”

“Yes. It was set to be prime gossip amongst the League before this…”

“Perhaps I should go talk-”

“No, you stay here. I’ll have a word with her. It…can’t have been easy for her.”

Without another word, he got up, moving silently through the expansive sub basement.

She allowed herself the luxury of slumping against a wall, her eyes clenched shut as she struggled to get a hold of herself.

Focus. The mind can conquer the body. The mind can conquer the heart.

It matters nothing that you have met with him again. It means nothing to either of them.

She tried to rationalise her emotions away. It’s been nine months. What more can be done to separate ourselves from him? What more? They hadn’t talked, hadn’t exchanged a single word in all that time.

He hadn’t even told them he’d taken up a new mantle, a new beginning for himself.

But it seemed like they had only spoken yesterday. Koriand’r felt the same way. She’d felt the feeling radiate off of her.

“Hey.”

Her eyes shot open as he spoke, shifting her face into a neutral position.

“Grayson.”

“Saw your attempt at a disappearing act there. You need to practice at it more.”

“Don’t blame the pupil for the teacher’s errors.”

“Heh. Deserved that.” He replied, finally dropping out of the shadows and landing a foot before her.

She didn’t reply.

“Apologies wont mean much to you. And a dishonest one would mean less. So, I wont pretend I’m sorry about leaving. It’s what I had to do.”

“I’m sure.”

“But, I never meant to hurt any of you. And seeing you like this now, it’s…”

“What?”

Grayson paused, running his hand through his hair as he composed his thoughts. “Look, let’s put it like this. Batman trained me to read peoples emotions. And right now, I’m reading you like a book. That alone is frightening.”

“I thought I was supposed to be the empath.”

“I do things the old fashioned way. And for an empath, you’re ignoring a lot.”

“What?” Raven shot, glaring at him from under her hood.

“You’re angry at me. I expected that. But I didn’t expect to see jealously.”

Raven didn’t reply, gazing at the floor.

“It took me a while to figure it out. I couldn’t think of why you’d look at me like that. Then I took a while to read Koriand’r. To see her changed mood to me. To read the body language you presented to her. To…”

He paused, sighed. Nervously ran his hair through his hand again.

“I know the way you think, Rae. You don’t expect to have a chance in, well…you don’t think you’ve a fucking chance.

“For once, listen to me when I say you’re wrong. I can’t predict the future, but…there’s something returned. The way she praises you, says your name…”

“She says the same things about everyone.” Raven said under her breath, her gaze fixed resolutely on the floor.

“But not in the same tone. When you get back to the tower, when things return to what passes for normal for people like us…try.”

“Didn’t think…you wouldn’t…I mean-”

“Thought I’d give you a stern talking down to? I may have been trained under his wing, but I am not Batman. I wont deny you a chance for happiness.”

She looked up at him at last, her face a mass of conflicting emotions displayed openly. He smiled, laid a hand on her shoulder.

“I…” She began, faltered.

For a moment, she didn’t say anything, before saying in a hushed tone,

“…thank you.”

He sat, bathed in the dim glow of dozens of computer screens. Scrolling lines of information, live video feed, audio recordings, and still images bombarded him.

His cowl was pulled back, allowing air to circulate. His gloves were at his side, freeing his fingers as he accessed information.

A monitor beeped. An identification code came up, and Batman hit a switch.

“What is it, Nightwing?”

“Thought I’d check in. It is four, after all. Night’ll be coming a few hours.”

“You’ll be having to take some extra responsibility, if only for a while.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll be heading to Washington tonight. Reports indicate the damage to Gotham has shook them badly.”

“How much?”

“Reports are that the president’s shitting bricks.”

“Damn.”

“I know. I can’t ask you to stay for much longer- I know you have much to deal with in Bludhaven.”

“I know. But Gotham needs-”

“All the help she can get, yes. The League’s doing what it can, some aid packets are coming in…but we’re talking about a major business zone here. The physical damage alone is catastrophic. But the stock market has plunged dramatically. We’re on the verge of another disaster is something isn’t done. And I can’t affect that as Batman.”

“I understand.”

“How are your guests?”

“They’re doing alright, all things considered.”

“That Raven shook up by her encounter with Zatana?”

“Partly. The rest of it’s…private. More personal.”

“I see.”

“They’re ready to help, though.”

“Good. Get them to report to a League member. With any luck, their presence might help.”

“Of course. I’ll check in with Oracle later, get where I’m needed. Nightwing out.”

Clicking off the radio channel, Batman again studied the information before him. He let the information flow over him for another twenty minutes before he got up, making his moves to discard the role of the Batman.

He’d do what he had to do. He’d do so without objection, without pause, until the job was done.

It was what they all did, eventually.

A firm, insistent hand and voice woke them. Grayson’s. He gave them a simple meal, and some minutes to orient themselves before he began any meaningful conversation.

“The focus is changing.”

“Oh?” Raven managed to say, spooning yet more barely edible food into her mouth.

“The refuge camps outside the city. The shanty towns springing up inside Gotham.”

“Are there not more people to be rescued?”

“Probably, Kori. But there are search and rescue teams all over the city now, as well as metas with experience in this sort of thing. I’ll be taking the shanty towns. It’s where I belong.”

“And what of us?”

“Refuge camp. Report to a League member, get yourselves involved. You may not have been meant to come here, but I doubt they’ll kick up too much of a fuss about you coming here.”

“I see…” Koriand’r said, her words level.

“It’ll be some time, wont it?” Raven asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes. You’ve based on one coastline, I’m on the other…”

“Of course.”

“But I’ll try and make sure you get a contact address this time. I don’t want you having to trudge through a disaster site looking for me next time.”

A few minutes later, and they were above ground. Night had fallen.

“I look forward to hearing your exploits on the news.” Nightwing said, his demeanour already slipping into that role from the moment he had first put the mask back on.

“Of course. And I yours, Nightwing.”

“I doubt you’ll see me in the news. But thanks for the thought.”

Starfire nodded, smiled, and took off. Raven hesitated for a moment.

“Just trust me, okay?” He said simply.

She simply nodded, the rarely seen motions of confusion on her face, before she took off into the sky, following Starfire.

Nightwing looked up at the sky for a moment, watching them as they receded into the darkness. Then he slipped away into the dark.

They ran into him an hour later. He wasn’t in what could be considered the best of moods, but…that happened when you were drafted by the League, and unable to try and track down your friends.

“You could’ve kept in contact more. Like you promised, y’know.” Beastboy said, his arms folded as he glared at them.

“We had other things to give out attention to, Beastboy.” Raven said sternly.

“Yeah, other than keeping your friends and teammates in the loop?”

“Like saving lives, stopping fights over food…need I go on?”

“No, no…it’s just…” Beastboy shook his head absently. “Sorry. Just that this whole thing is a bit over my head. Give me a supervillian, an alien invader, any day…something I can hit, I can fight back.”

“I know the feeling.”

He stood sheepishly for a moment, not meeting the eye of his team leader. “So…did you find him?”

“Yes.”

“You did? Well, how is the boy wonder doing?”

“For one, he’s not the boy wonder anymore. He’s Nightwing. There’s already an another Robin. There was one between them, but…something happened. He wouldn’t go into details.”

“Damn. I wonder what happened…”

“I don’t think prying would do anything other than get us a beating from Batman. Or Nightwing, for that matter. Or any of the other ones. They play things close to the chest.”

“Yeah, yeah…always wondered why Robin was a member of the Titans. I mean, I thought Batman would have a mad on against us.”

“Don’t know his opinion of us. Don’t think I’d ask.”

“Yeah, he is- hold on. Are you…intimidated by him?”

“Who isn’t?” Raven asked back.

“Good point…” Beastboy replied, dropping the subject. She had a good point. “So, what are we going to do while we’re here?”

“I’ve already talked to a League member. That Steel guy. Says he appreciates the Titans being here. He’ll put in a good word for us with the Inner Council of the League. We’ll probably end up doing what you’ve already been doing, keeping the peace in one of these refuge sites, ferrying food supplies about, that kinda thing.”

“Ah, right. Hey, you heard about the Titans East being deployed here?”

“No.”

“Well, it’s sort of, well, it is a rumour, but I hear they’re being called in. Because the League has so many things to do all over the place, they need all the help they can get.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“So you think they’ll come?”

“When I talked to Cyborg a couple days ago, he was already straining at the leash to get into Gotham. If he hasn’t been allowed in soon, he’ll be here soon.”

“Ah, cool. It’ll be great to see him. I mean, playing against him over the ‘net on Counterstrike is great, but I don’t get to see his expression when I kick his ass!”

“I was under the impression he was superior at that game.”

“…shut up.”
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The Titans: Triptych