Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everyone at Mount Justice knew something wasn't right, but no one had the guts to address it. Robin kept disappearing for a few days at a time and snuck back in at night. Aqualad notice how tired Robin began to look during combat training but didn't think it important to bring up. This was, of course, the main topic of conversation with the other team members, except Beast Boy. He waved it off, dismissing it as 'Robin' stuff. M'gann thought this was suspicious, but she dropped it, associating it with Garfield's care-free attitude to important things. (Sometimes, everyone forgot just how young Beast Boy was.) Black Canary wasn't fooled though.
“What’s wrong Robin? This is the third time this week I've managed to beat you, holding back.” she noticed, extending her arm to help Robin back onto his feet after knocking him over in training. He took her hand and pulled himself up, not meeting her eye.
“Nothing, I just can't sleep right lately.” he said hurriedly, walking back to his 'room'. It was more a lair where he could store his tool belt and hang out. He was slouching on a seat in his lair when someone timidly tapped on the door. It opened automatically and the figure of Garfield Logan was in the doorway.
“You're going back tonight aren't you? Back to Jump City.” he said quietly, taking a step inside, the door closing behind him. Robin looked up at Beast Boy sharply, narrowing his eyes.
“How’d you find out?” he hissed. Robin was always extremely careful and never left a trail behind, so how could Beast Boy know?
“Dude, we both have communicators. When you call the team, all communicators light up.” Beast Boy said, wondering how Robin overlooked this. “So are you going back?” he prompted.
“Maybe.” Robin admitted, sitting up properly.
“Then I want to come too.” Beast Boy bargained, pushing his luck.
“Beast Boy, you're 10. M'gann would hate me if she found out...” Robin started, looking up at his young companions face.
“We’re both Titans Robin. I know we're part of this team as well, but we were Titans first. I want to see everyone.” Beast Boy admitted, standing his ground. “I'll handle M'gann, if she finds out, okay. Just please let me see everyone else.” He pleaded. Robin had to think it over.
“Fine.” he decided, much to Beast Boy's elation. “Meet me by the zeta tubes at midnight.” Robin ordered.

Chapter Text

Midnight chimed and every person was asleep in Mount Justice. Beast Boy carefully creeped to the zeta tubes, wearing his old Doom Patrol uniform and trainers. M'gann had made him a bio suit that changed with his shape shifting, but his DP suit brought back memories of his past fighting career. Robin emerged from the shadows, wearing his uniform too. He held a finger to his lips and they both entered the zeta transporter. Instantaneously, they arrived in Jump City, right in the middle of town. It was still night, but there were quite a few people out, enjoying the mild weather that Jump City was prone to. Robin and Beast Boy made their way to Titans Tower. Beast Boy took a monument to admire it, as if he were admiring a work of art.
“It’s been too long.” he remarked, walking onto the island the tower rested on. Three figures were waiting for their arrival, silhouetted by the lights of the city behind them.

“ROBIN!” the middle figure cried out in delight, running forwards to embrace Robin. “BEAST BOY! How wonderful to see you both unharmed.” They embraced Beast Boy as well, nearly breaking his ribs in the process.

“Hey Starfire.” he replied, wheezing slightly. Starfire beamed at both of them, ecstatic about her friends return. The other two came up to them as well. An unusually tall, half-cybernetic boy greeted Robin enthusiastically.

“Hey dude, glad you're back.” Cyborg said, patting the younger mans shoulder.

“DUDE!” Beast Boy shouted, when Cyborg caught sight of him.

“BB!” Cyborg exclaimed, high fiving Beast Boy. He had changed slightly since Beast Boy had seen him last; it was obvious he had improved his cybernetics and he visibly looked older, if only a year or so. Starfire had changed noticeably more than Cyborg. She was taller and had a slightly more of a curvy figure and longer hair than the last time Beast Boy had seen here, but her personality had remained the same.
The third and final figure approached them, lowering her hood as she walked. Raven revealed herself to her old friends and Beast Boys jaw dropped when he saw a huge smile on her face. Her hair had grown slightly longer, but the leotard and red jewels that she donned remained unchanged.

“Hey Beast Boy. Long time, no see, huh?” Raven said, looking at him fondly.

“Err, hi Raven. Nice to see you too.” he replied. Ravens unusual cheeriness temporarily stunned Beast Boy.

“Beast Boy finally break you?” she inquired to Robin, folding her arms over her chest and looking at him curiously.

“You could say that." Robin answered, appearing non-chalant.

“Friends! Let us celebrate with the consuming of unhealthy junk foods.” Starfire proposed, leading everyone in. they snacked on leftover pizza and ice cream (vegan for Beast Boy). Starfire and Cyborg wanted to know all about Happy Harbour and The Team, so Robin told them as much as he could. He had to keep some stuff to himself, like the involvement of the Justice League and where it was. Raven was more than happy to just sit back and enjoy being surrounded but their friends, while Beast Boy constantly asked questions about the others. To shut him up, Raven recounted all the new villains that had cropped up and how they were defeated by the Teen Titans.
When every last morsel of edible food was devoured (most of it by Cyborg), the team made their way to their own rooms. It felt so good to be back with the Titans, but Beast Boy knew he had to get back the next day, otherwise M'gann would worry. At the crack of dawn, Beast Boy made his way to the zeta tube, leaving Robin with the Titans for a few more days. Beast Boy was transported back to Mount Justice (even though he wanted more than anything to stay with his best friends) when he knew something wasn't right. He took a step out of the zeta tube and saw all of The Team looking at him accusingly. M'gann stood at the front, with the others splaying out behind her. In her hand, she held Beast Boy's communicator from his Titan days.

“Uh oh.” he muttered, looking at all the eyes focused on him.

“I think you need to tell us something.” M'gann said accusingly, holding the communicator out in front of her. Beast Boy hung his head in shame, but did not answer.

“M'gann...” he said eventually, looking at his adoptive sister. He considered her his sister because it was her blood transfusion that granted him his Beast Boy abilities. “That’s a Titan communicator. Before I came onto this team, I was part of the Doom Patrol and then the Teen Titans along with four others. I went to see them.” Beast Boy admitted, deciding against lying to the telepathic Martian he considered family.

“You went by yourself?!” M'gann exclaimed in alarm.

“No.” he said quickly.

“So who went with you?” Aqualad asked, stepping forwards.

“Robin.” Beast Boy muttered, barely audible. Behind him, the zeta tube whirred into life and informed the team with its mechanic voice.

“RECOGNISED: ROBIN, B01.” It warned. Robin stepped beside Beast Boy and froze when faced with the team glaring at him.

“I walked in at a bad time, didn't I?” he said, half attempting a joke.

“This isn't funny Robin.” Artemis scolded, crossing her arms, demanding answers. Robin shuffled his feet and exchanged a sly glance with Beast Boy.

“Why did you take Beast Boy to Jump City?” M'gann interrogated, a strong maternal instinct taking over her.

“We both went to see our old friends: the Teen Titans.” Robin informed them.

“Hang on, wait.” Kid Flash said, waving his hands and shaking his head. “You both snuck out in the middle of the night, just to see Raven, Cyborg and Starfire?” he asked, reinforcing the information in his mind.

“He never mentioned their names.” Artemis pointed out suspiciously. “How could you know their names if neither of them told us that?” she put her hands on her hips and demanded an answer out of KF. He blushed out of embarrassment.

“I may have been an honorary Titan a while ago.” he mumbled, looking at the floor.

“Oh, Jinx says hi.” Robin said, wanting to draw attention away from his and Beast Boy.

“Jinx?” Artemis asked, looking suspiciously at Kid Flash. The force of her glare, made him take a step back.

“Dude!” KF exclaimed, looking at Robin earnestly.

“Wally?” Artemis pressed.

“Look, me and her might have been a thing, but it was a while ago...” while KF protested his innocence, all attention was drawn to the two of them.

“Why’d you come back so early? I thought you were staying a few days.” Beast Boy hissed to Robin.

“We need you back in Jump City.” Robin replied, dragging him to the zeta tube. Unfortunately, Aqualad and M’gann saw them.

“Where are you going?” Miss Martian demanded. The chill in her voice stopped the two runaways in their tracks.

“M’gann, we need to get back to Jump City.” Beast Boy urged.

“Then let us come with.” Aqualad suggested, standing beside M’gann.

“Fine, we just need to be quick.” Robin decided, allowing them to step up beside his and Beast Boy. The zeta tubes whirred back into life and the four of them appeared in Jump City, amidst a battle.

“Who’s the bad guy this time?” Beats Boy asked, gearing himself up to fight.

“Slade.” Robin said in the same way he always said his archenemy’s name.

“Who’s Slade?” M’gann inquired, following Robin and Beast Boy.

“A seriously bad dude.” Beast Boy answered mysteriously, transforming into a cheetah to run faster. Robin brought a small button out of his utility belt and clicked it. A motorcycle raged along the street and Robin jumped aboard, roaring along beside Beast Boy. Aqualad took out his Water-Bearers and aimed them at a fire hydrant.

“Miss Martian!” He shouted. M’gann broke the hydrant and Aqualad used the water as a platform to keep up with Robin and Beast Boy. Miss Martian didn’t have a problem keeping up with them since she just levitated in the air above them.

“Team, we are all linked telepathically.” M’gann informed, watching a massively tall building loom into view.

“That’s Titan Tower ahead of us.” Robin told M’gann and Aqualad.

“Where’s Slade targeting?” Beast Boy questioned, unsure why they were running towards home.

“Titan’s Tower.” Robin said grimly.

Chapter Text

“The others?” Beast Boy continued, glancing nervously at his companions.

“Inside.” Robin sped up, racing to get to the tower as fast as they could. The group reached the edge of the city and Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl and lifted Robin up by his shoulders to glide across to the tower. Aqualad stopped just before the water and dove in, swimming his way across. M’gann caught up with Beast Boy and looked down in horror at the battle commencing. Three people were clearly outnumbered by hundreds (maybe thousands) of mechanical robots all attacking the building and the people determined to protect it. A single man was standing behind the lines of robots. He wore a half-copper mask and he just watched the fight. Beast Boy signalled for M’gann to land with him and Aqualad jumped out the water in such a swift, elegant fashion.

“HEY SLADE!” Robin shouted, throwing a rock up at the masked man. Slade turned around and caught the rock mid air. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you to play nice with your toys?!” Robin quipped.

“Oh, dear Robin, how would you know how a mother would act?” Slade said back in his deep, smooth voice. Beast Boy could tell the remark hurt him, much to Slade’s pleasure.

“Team GO!” Robin declared, taking his staff out of his belt. Beast Boy and Robin immediately charged the robots, taking out as many as they could. Beast Boy morphed into a dinosaur, and began crushing the robots, making his way to the others. Robin started battling the bots but then made a beeline to Slade.

“Come on then!” Beast Boy telepathically urged M’gann and Aqualad. They hesitantly joined the fight, unfamiliar with the opponents. Beast Boy had managed to reach the others who were valiantly guarding the doors to the tower.

“Finally made it then?” Raven quipped, blocking an incoming projectile.

“Yeah, and we brought company.” Beast Boy said, briefly morphing back to his human state. The other two landed behind Beast Boy, looking at the team in surprise.

“Anyway we could help?” Aqualad asked, his Water-Bearers and tattoos glowing. M’gann stood, her hood down, taking in the appearance of the team.

“You could start by taking out as many of these bots as possible.” Cyborg suggested, blasting one to smithereens.

“Got it.” M’gann stated, lifting a robot into the air and smashing it into another. Aqualad drew water out of the surrounding sea, forming it into sledgehammers.

 

The moment the zeta tubes whirred to life, Kid Flash knew Robin and Beast Boy had gone, even though he had his back to it now. When the rest of the team realised they were gone, he was just as surprised as the rest of them to find Miss Martian and Aqualad had disappeared too.

"Where are M’gann and Kaldur?” Artemis demanded, ignoring Kid Flash for a moment.

"They must have gone with Beast Boy and Robin.” Zatanna concluded, bringing up the holographic computer keyboard. “Yeah, look. They were the last ones to zeta out of here.” She said, pointing at the names on the holographic screens.

“How did you find that?” Kid Flash questioned.

“Robin taught me a few tricks.” She said teasingly, putting her hands on her hips.

"So what are we going to do? Sit here and wait for them to come back?” Superboy asked rhetorically.

“Found Jump City, what are you guys waiting for?” Rocket said, standing in front of the zeta tube, which was already warming up. The rest of the team ran forwards and they transported to Jump City.

"Ahh, my old hunting grounds.” Kid Flash said jokily, looking at Artemis. Her expression wasn’t as stern, but it was clear she still wasn’t happy with him.

“Which way did they go?” Superboy asked, looking about him.

“Maybe to that huge tower shaped as a ‘T’?” Zatanna pointed to Titan Tower in the distance, leading the team to it. Finally, they reached the waterline, but were forced to stop.

“What now?” Kid Flash said stupidly.

“We take a boat Wally.” Artemis told him, gesturing to a speedboat on the harbour.

“That makes things simpler.” He agreed, letting everyone else get in the boat before settling in himself.

 

Aqualad smashed a robot that was charging towards Cyborg.

“Thanks dude!” Cyborg shouted to him, blasting another robot.

“M’gann, link us.” Aqualad ordered, changing the sledgehammers to swords.

“Got ya.” She shouted back, getting out of the firing line. Raven saw her rise up and a robot coming towards her.

“Starfire, cover me!” she shouted, forming a barrier around M’gann to stop the robots form getting to her. A pain suddenly took over her, forcing her to drop the barrier and clutch her head. Starfire and Cyborg shook their heads as M’gann linked everyone together. Raven took it worst though, falling on her knees.

“Get out of my mind!” she ordered to M’gann as she felt the Martians presence in her mind. A panic came over her as a few memories came in front of her eyes and Raven fell to the ground.

“RAVEN!” Starfire shouted, turning to her friend. A robot ambushed Starfire and immobilised her arms, rendering her unable to create starbolts.

“STAR!” Cyborg exclaimed, blasting the robot off her. Star was knocked forward by the sonic cannon but she managed to recover very quickly. 

Robin heard Starfire’s cry and turned to see her get up from the ground. Deciding his next move, Robin threw a couple blaster disks at Slade and joined in the fight alongside his friends.

Starfire tried to get to Raven to help her but the robots closest were faster. One was about to reach her when an arrow soared through the air, knocking the robots arm away from Raven. All the Slade-bots turned in the direction of the arrow and the Titans did the same. The team was standing on the edge of the small island. Artemis had already reloaded her bow and stood at the front, poised to shoot again.

“She is a good guy, right?” She asked Kid Flash quickly.

“Definatly.” He reassured her, giving her a small smile.

“Okay then.” Artemis concluded, shooting another arrow at the robot closest to Raven, which was laced with explosives.

“Don’t have all the fun.” Zatanna joked, raising her hands towards a group of Slade-bots. “yortsed eseht stob.” She said, her voice echoing slightly. A slivery smoke whirled around the robots but quickly dispersed, leaving remains of robots.

“Seems easy enough.” Superboy commented, leaping into the middle of the fight, quickly followed by Rocket and Kid Flash. Under the cover of the reinforcements, Starfire crept back to Raven and got her to her feet.

“Friend, please reawaken.” Starfire pleaded to the unconscious Raven.

“Huh?” Raven murmured, slowly stirring. A blast narrowly missed the two of them. The force of the impact on the solid rock behind them showered Starfire and Raven with debris.

“GET HER INSIDE!” Robin ordered, leaping in front of the girls as a cover. “AQUALAD, ARTEMIS, GO WITH THEM!” Robin shouted as Artemis fired at a robot behind Aqualad. She nodded and ran towards Starfire, closely followed by Aqualad. Cyborg briefly opened the doors and allowed them to take shelter. Cyborg had cut the power when the Slade-bots had attacked the tower so Starfire held up her hand, illuminating everything with an alien-green glow. The doors clanged shut and they could hear it locking itself securely. Starfire lead her protectors up some stairs to the living room.

“We should be safe inside.” Aqualad said, putting the Water-Bearers back in the pouch on his back. Artemis kept her bow securely in her grip as she looked around the Titan Tower main room overlooking the city.

“We are most thankful for your assistance, but maybe you are needed out with the others.” Starfire said timidly, laying Raven down on the sofa and removing her cloak (in case it suffocated her).

“Robin told us to protect you.” Aqualad said softly. “I am Kaldur’ahm, my friends just call me Kaldur.” He explained. “And this is Artemis.” He gestured to Artemis, who had taken a seat in one of the chairs.

“Hey, nice to meet you.” she said, slightly dismissively.

“It is very nice to meet you, friends of Beast Boy and Robin.” Starfire said warmly, increasing the amount of light.

“Do you always talk like that?” Artemis asked curiously.

“I am not from Earth, so I do not speak English as a first language.” Starfire explained, looking at Artemis curiously.

“So where’re you from?” Artemis continued, stashing her bow on her utility belt.

“I am from Tamaran, but my home is here on Earth.” Starfire continued.

“So, it’s one alien apiece.” Artemis remarked to Aqualad.

“It is not right to compare two teams who share the same goal.” Aqualad said disapprovingly. Artemis crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes at him. Starfire turned away from them and went over to Raven’s side.

“Should we take her somewhere safer?” Aqualad suggested, walking over to Starfire.

“She is in a trance. To heal herself. Raven has been like this before.” Starfire thought aloud. She turned around to face Kaldur, dimming the light slightly. “She is safest here, for the moment.”

“Then all we can do is wait for her to reawaken.” Aqualad said, taking a seat.

“So while they are beating up robots, we are stuck up here doing nothing?” Artemis repeated annoyed. She stood up and looked at her three companions.

“If you really want to, you can rejoin the others.” Starfire said timidly.

“Robin told us to stay with his friends.” Aqualad said sternly.

“So is he the leader now?” Artemis quipped spitefully.

“Robin is watching out for his friends, so we should listen to him.” He retorted, annoyed Artemis would stoop that low.

“Kaldur is right. Robin would never purposely endanger his friends.” Starfire agreed. Her words brought a brief silence, only to be shattered by a sound from Raven. She sat up suddenly and clutched her head again.

“Raven is awake, should we re-enter the battle?” Aqualad telepathically asked Robin.

“Make sure Raven is unharmed then let her transport you back into the battle.” Robin ordered, batting away a robot in Slade’s general direction.

“Friend Raven! Are you well?” Starfire asked happily. Artemis looked at Raven curiously. Her violet hair and eyes were unusual enough; but paired with pale-grey skin made her look very daemonic.

“I think so. Where are the others?” Raven asked. Artemis took in the rasp in her voice and the red jewel on her forehead.

“Still fighting the Slade-bots.” Starfire informed her, helping Raven to her feet. Raven still held her head in her hands when she saw the two new people looking at her.

“Hi.” She replied awkwardly, giving them a small wave.

“She’s a superhero?” Artemis thought sceptically, in her head, forgetting everyone was telepathically linked.

“Yes she is, and a very powerful hero too.” Robin’s voice filled Artemis’ head, silently shaming her. Quickly, Artemis glanced at Raven, and was surprised to see that Raven hadn’t heard.

“Sorry Robin.” Artemis quickly apologised, getting her bow out again.

“Raven, this is Kaldur and Artemis.” Starfire said, happy Raven could support herself.

“It is an honour to meet you.” Kaldur said formally.

“Same here.” Raven returned, recovering her demeanour. She reached down and picked her cloak up by the corner.

“Come on then, let’s get back to the action!” Artemis encouraged, watching Raven swing the cloak around her shoulders and pinning it with a large red jewel enclosed with a gold band.

“Stand close to me.” Raven said, straightening her back so she was at her fullest height. The others did as she asked and Raven closed her eyes. When they reopened, they glowed bright white and blackness protruded from her, enveloping the others. The next moment, the blackness was gone and they were on the edge of the island. Artemis shivered slightly from the cold but didn’t dare show it.

“Raven, I could use some back-up!” Beast Boy called out, quickly morphing into a variety of large, destructive creatures. Raven levitated over so she was over looking everything.

“Azarath Metrion Zinthos.” She whispered, holding out her arms so jets of her soul self became shots that damaged the robots.

 “Thanks,” Beast Boy said as Raven landed beside him.

“Don’t mention it.” she returned, quickly creating a barrier to stop one robot from punching the two of them. Across the battle field, the team from Happy Harbour were defeating a large number of robots too easily. The combined force of Raven and Starfire finished off the last two robots, leaving only Slade behind. Robin was still fighting him and the others ran to his aid. Raven clenched her fists as she remembered the last time she encountered Slade, and she wanted to forget his existence. Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire aimed at him and Robin stood in line with the Titans. Swiftly, the others joined The Titans and stood ready to fire. Slade looked at them all sadly, his eyes lingering over Raven and Robin for a second more than the others.

“Well, isn’t this nice. The heroes and the Titans, side-by-side. It was nice to see you again Robin, Raven.” Slade droned, jumping into the water behind him, out of sight. Aqualad was poised to go after him but Robin stopped him.

“He’ll have some form of quick getaway. It’s pointless.” Robin explained.

“Well that was fun.” Rocket said enthusiastically, looking around at everyone else.

“It was.” Zatanna agreed, standing next to her. All the ‘Young Justice League’ looked at the Titans with a mixture of curiosity and pride. Superboy stood next to M’gann, straining his ears to hear their conversation.

“He got away.” Cyborg said softly to Robin.

“Yeah, and he’ll be back.” Robin agreed.

“What are you guys going to do? You can’t stay here forever just to see if he’ll come back.” Raven pointed out, putting a hand on Beast Boys shoulder. He looked from the ground to Robin and back thinking of his answer.

“I don’t know.” he said quietly to the ground.

M’gann watched the close group talking, unable to hear what they were saying out loud. The team was comparing notes about the battle and the robots, eager to come up with opinions about the Titans.

“Who knew little kids could be so... heroic?” Rocket pointed out focusing on the tight knot of people.

“They aren’t that little. I think Cyborg’s about 18. He looks like he should still be in high school.” Superboy chipped in.

“They all do.” M’gann said, looking at her adoptive brother sympathetically.

“They can really put up a fight though. In school or not, they are tough kids.” Artemis countered, giving the team (especially Raven) newfound respect.

“They are, but should they be fighting alone?” Zatanna questioned, pointing at them.

“They aren’t fighting alone. They’re a team.” M’gann countered nicely.

“We’re a team too, but we’ve got the Justice League looking out for us. Who do they have?” Zatanna continued, looking at the Titans sadly.

 

The Titans were deep in conversation.

“Beast Boy, you could go back with them if you wanted.” Raven pointed out, her voice betraying her ever so slightly.

 “But you guys, we’re the Titans. We’re a team.” Beast Boy thought aloud, trying to form an answer.

 “We’re still a team; but you are also a part of that team.” Starfire said, looking over at the older people. Beast Boy shut his eyes for a moment and slowly nodded his head.

“I think I know what to do.” He said quietly, breaking away from the Titans. He started walking towards M’gann and the other Titans followed him.

“Hey Gar.” M’gann greeted him warmly, her voice was soft.

“I know what I want to do.” Beast Boy said bravely. “I want to go back to Mount Justice with you, but I want to come back every so often to see my oldest friends.” Beast Boy decided, his mind at rest.

“Robin, what do you want to do?” Artemis asked, feeling unnaturally sentimental at this point.

“I want to do the same. Beast Boy’s right: we are Titans, but we are also needed with you guys.” Robin concluded.

“I think we should be getting back. None of the Justice League knows we’re here.” Rocket remembered. Starfire hugged Robin tightly, not wanting him to go, and Cyborg patted him on the shoulder. Beast Boy said goodbye briefly, reminding himself he would see them soon enough.

“You keep safe out there.” He said in a very ‘older-brother’ way.

“Dude, don’t worry about us.” Beast Boy replied in a joking voice. Raven hung back with the goodbyes. She was afraid her emotions couldn’t be controlled at this point.

“Raven, stay safe.” Robin said gently, reciting the words Raven had said to them when the world was ending. A brief smile flittered over Raven’s face

“You too, Boy Wonder.” She said, slightly sarcastically. Beast Boy came up to her to say goodbye.

“Hey, Raven...” he started, but Raven pulled him into a hug briefly. Beast Boy was stunned by this simple action.

“Raven, you’re... you’re hugging me.” He said in disbelief when she released him

“Don’t get used to it.” Raven retorted, a smile betraying her words. The other heroes came up behind Robin and Beast Boy.

“You know, you Titans are pretty cool.” Rocket complemented. Starfire blushed at her words, while Cyborg seemed proud.

“You aren’t so bad yourselves.” He retorted.

“We could use people like you on our team.” M’gann stated, looking at the three of them.

“Thank you for the offer,” Raven started, looking at her team mates.

“But we like it here.”Cyborg finished, looking at the older people.

“We understand.” Aqualad said, secretly admiring their team. M’gann took a step forwards toward Raven, looking sheepish.

“I’m sorry about before. When I tried to link us and...” she apologised, not knowing how to phrase it.

“Oh yeah. Don’t worry, but a word of advice: no one should ever go near my mind.” Raven told her, going characteristically dark for a moment.

 “Oh, she’d fit in just fine.” Artemis remarked to Zatanna quietly.

“If you need us, we’ll come as soon as we can.” Robin promised, looking at his former team.

“Same here.” Cyborg assured the two of them.

“Thank you for coming to our aid.” Starfire said earnestly. Superboy turned around, his face moulded in a scowl, but his mask slipped slightly.

“No problem.” He replied, smiling briefly.

“Any chance I could visit sometime?” Kid Flash said jokily.

“As long as you aren’t annoying.” Raven bargained, her hood masking the sarcasm written on her face, but not in her voice.

“Can I join this team?” Artemis asked comically, grinning wickedly at Kid Flash.

“You’d have to be able to put up with Raven.” Cyborg teased.

“She can’t be much worse than Wally.” Artemis consoled her, jerking her thumb in Kid Flash’s direction.

“Your name’s Wally?” Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Aww man.” He moaned, looking disheartened. Cyborg and Starfire laughed. The corner of Raven’s mouth twitched as she showed amusement.