The Next Generation

Neal watched as Raven paced the floor, obviously trying to ponder and think about what she wanted to do. If she knew she would've just come out and said it after all. Man what he wouldn't have given in order to be able to read her mind right now. Still he waited patiently in order to see what it was that she'd decide. No matter what she decided, he would accept it and live with it.

As she took his hands into her own, he looked right into her eyes to see what it was that she would say. As she spoke a large smile appeared on Neal's face. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not, but he figured why not. He let go of Raven's hands and moved in for a simple hug, holding her close to him. "I won't hurt you. I promise that", he said and truly meant it.

Raven seemed taken off guard by the sudden hug, stiffening up rigidly at the unfamiliar act. After several moments, however, she allowed herself to relax into it, then reaching her own arms around Neal to return the hug.

"I know," she said. It wasn't him hurting her that she was worried about, though. Rather, it was the other way around that concerned her. She would have to find the right balance between controlling her emotions and opening them up to him. Otherwise, it would end just as poorly as all her other attempts at this.

"So... should we begin now?" she asked, referring to the training that he had come there for.

Neal knew that he probably shouldn't have jumped into the hug without any form of warning, but considering that Raven had kissed him on the cheek only yesterday he figured that a hug wasn't that bad in comparison right? Still, he understood why she acted the way she did, but was even more happy that she eventually returned the hug and said that she knew that the wouldn't hurt her.

"Yeah, yeah right the training," Neal said before sitting down and entering into their usual meditative stance. Of course he just realized that this training might be different. "Uh.......do we still train while sitting like this?" he asked curiously as he glanced towards Raven.

Raven nodded, as she too sat down across from him. "The training will begin with the mind," she explained, taking his hands and closing her eyes to concentrate. "We must take a trip into the deepest parts of your soul. It is there that you will learn how to harness your spirit and manifest it into your soul-self. What form it takes when in physical form will vary depending on you own personal values and preferences. Mine, naturally, takes the form of a raven, as you've already seen many times. Only time will tell what yours will become... if you manage to master the ability, of course."

Neal gave a nod as Raven explained that they would be beginning with the mind and moving on once she felt that he was ready. He listened to her explain about how it might manifest in a different form depending on his own preferences and values. That was an interesting question, Neal couldn't help but wonder what it was that might show up if he was able to master this ability. "Alright, let's do this. I have full faith in your ability to teach me and my ability to learn it" he said with a grin before they began.

---

Neal was breathing deeply, beads of sweat coming from his face as he his hands reached up and grabbed his head. Pain, he felt pain like it was the worst headache that he had ever received. He had been training with Raven for the better part of a week now, and he felt as if he was about to tear his own head off in order to make it stop. He couldn't allow himself to stop though! Not yet! A small trickle of blood began to come from Neal's nose although he failed to notice it. He had been pushing himself quite hard in these last few sessions.

"How......How am I doing?" he asked as he looked over to where Raven was sitting. "I need just a minute, I can keep going", he said in between heavy breaths.

Raven watched Neal carefully as he continued to push himself harder and harder. She knew that he was starting to overexert himself, yet he still seemed so driven to advance as much as possible. She admired that determination, but at the same time she also could not watch him continue to cause himself so much pain. She could tell that they would soon be finished for the day. Perhaps she would allow him a day or two off, as well. if he kept pushing himself this hard, his mind might break.

"You're doing great," she said, as Neal's nose started to bleed. Sitting forward, she took a cloth and pressed it against his nostrils, holding it there to stop the bleeding. "But that is quite enough for the day. You'll only hurt yourself more if you keep going like this. I think a long break is in order. Perhaps some lunch?"

Neal only became aware of what was happening when Raven leaned forward and placed a cloth against his face, it was only than that he realized just how far he was pushing himself. He heard her say that they should break for the day, something that he really didn't want to do though. He glanced down at the bloodied cloth and saw that he was pushing himself though, obviously it wasn't from a lack of trying. He'd just have to work just as hard next time.

"Yeah, I could go for some lunch", he said as he held the cloth towards his nose until the blood stopped flowing. Once it was done he removed it and gave Raven a nod. "Thanks, guess I didn't even realize how far I was pushing myself"

Raven brought her hand up to his cheek and let out a small breath. "You're determined, that's all. We just need to be conscious of how much you're working yourself is all. I did say this wouldn't be easy, nor is it something you'll get done in a couple of weeks. Now, come on, I think it's time for some food." Standing up, she motioned for him to follow and exited out of her room, heading towards the main lounge's kitchen area.

Cyborg was already there cooking up some burgers when they arrived. "Hey guys, just in time," he said, flipping several of the burgers. "I got all ya need, right here."

Beast Boy was on the other side of the kitchen, putting together the tofu salad that only he would be eating, of course. He gave a cursory glance to the others before frowning and taking a bite of tofu. Delicious.

"Good day everyone!" Starfire announced, practically skipping into the kitchen, while pulling Sarah along and spinning her around into a hug. "It is most wondrous, is it not?"

"Hello ladies," Cyborg said, tipping his chef's cap at them. "Haven't seen you all day."

"Oh, we had some trouble getting out of bed," Starfire assured. "There were other things most more enjoyable to take care of."

At this, Sarah just scratched the back of her head and shifted her wight, smirking a little.

Neal looked towards Raven as she brought her hand to his cheek, holding it against him gently. Physical contact like this, the kind that seemed slightly more intimate, was normally how Neal could tell that she was pleased with him. If she was displeased with something she'd normally just come out and say it. She didn't really lie, she normally said things as they were and that was just how she was. As she motioned for him to follow he gave a nod. "Yeah you're right. Sorry, I guess I'm just a bit anxious. Maybe I just need a day off of training, it almost feels like I train more to fight crime rather than actually fighting it," he admitted as he followed her out of her room.

As they arrived at the kitchen it seemed like everyone else was gathering around for the same reason that they had, it really was right around lunch time after all. It was amazing how minutes training with Raven would easily turn into hours without any trouble at all. It was nice, but at the same time Neal still knew that he had many more hours of training to go with Raven before he saw any serious results.

As Starfire gladly made their introduction obviously Neal couldn't help but let out a laugh at Sarah's comments. If there was anything Starfire wasn't, it was shy after all. "Man I hope you made plenty of burgers Cyborg, I swear I have never been more hungry in my entire life than right now"

"Ask and you shall receive," Cyborg replied, fixing up the burgers on a platter and passing them over to the main counter, where everyone was sitting. There were at least twenty. "Eat up everyone."

"Mmm," Starfire said, taking one of the burgers and munching on it happily. "I do enjoy your burgers, Cyborg. They are most delicious."

Raven ate her burger much more quietly and reserved, as was to be expected. She sat calmly, taking small bites, eyes closed. "Very good," she said, softly. Even she could appreciate the taste of a well made burger.

"So, I was thinking," Starfire declared. "Since there have not been many alerts this past week, perhaps Nightwing will let us take a day off? I would so love a trip to the beach. It has been ages since I last went."

Neal had to admit that he ate more than he normally would have. He thought that he ate three, but he wouldn't be surprised if the actual number was closer to four or five. He would swear on his life that a burger had never tasted as good as it did in that very moment. It was glorious. "That was amazing", Neal admitted as he placed that last bite in his mouth and just savored it for a moment.

It was than that he turned his attention to Starfire who suggested taking a beach day in order so that they could all relax. "Don't you guys kinda draw attention to yourselves when you're out there like that?", he asked curiously. He couldn't even see why someone like Cyborg would want to go to the beach, but overall he wasn't against the idea. Neal glanced over at Raven, wondering if she would just choose to stay at the tower rather than go out. The beach didn't seem like her kind of scene.

"Actually, I think that's a good idea," Nightwing said, suddenly walking into the room. He was dressed in street clothes, not his uniform. "Crime's been pretty quiet lately, nothing that the local police haven't been able to handle. I think we could all use a break to recharge."

"Heck yeah, sounds good to me," Cyborg said, folding his arms. "I could use some fun in the sun." Obviously, he couldn't go in the water, since he'd pretty much short out. Even taking showers was a challenge in itself. But he could still enjoy the atmosphere."

Beast Boy stretched his arms out and laughed. "Attention's all part of the game, man. I'll bring a box of pens, I'm sure we can sign a few autographs while we're there."

"Oh, goody!" Starfire exclaimed with a clap. "Is this not most wonderful new, Sarah?"

Sarah leaned back in her seat and smiled a little. "Yeah... the beach sounds great."

There was still one that had yet to speak up, though. Raven glanced up at everyone else, who were now all staring at her. She could practically feel the insistence. "The beach... sure. I guess." Her eyes shifted briefly over to Neal. "That might actually be just what we all need..."

Neal's eyes glanced up as he saw Nightwing in street clothes, something that anyone around the tower very rarely saw despite how low crime was. Seeing Nightwing in a relaxed mood was probably evidence enough that crime was at a low. Other than Blood and Black Adam things hadn't gotten heated enough for the Titans to truly be needed. They were happy to help whenever there was any sort of larger scale disturbance, but it wasn't as if they were truly needed.

Neal listened as all of the others agreed that going to the beach would be a very good idea, all of them personally showing their enthusiasm for taking a true day off. Neal's eyes glanced over at Raven, hearing about how she thought that it might be a good idea. He knew that she had been working him hard, but he didn't want her to go just because of him. Raven alone would begin to hear Neal's voice as he activated his power. "If you don't want to go we don't have to. We could just stay home and relax. I promise that I won't train until you say it's safe again.....but if you don't want to go to the beach just say so. I'll understand"

"The beach... is fine," Raven replied in her head. "I'll just bring a book and read. It will be a nice change of pace." It wasn't really the first choice she would make, a trip to the beach, but there could be worse things. Like the opera. She shuddered at that thought.

"Sweet, last one to the car's a rotten egg!" Beast Boy said, hurrying off to go pack his beach gear. Sure, they could fly and teleport and such, but this was supposed to be a relaxing day, which meant driving just like normal people.

"Let us go get ready then," Starfire said, clapping her hands together again. She then hurried off with Sarah.

"I'll meet everyone downstairs, then," Nightwing said, giving them all a small wave. "Hurry up, though. Day's half over already."

Neal gave a simple nod as Raven repeated that the beach would be fine. If she insisted than he wasn't going to question her any further. After all, Raven was normally pretty honest about how she felt. She might have wanted to go for a change of pace, but Neal couldn't help but wonder if she was doing this more for him rather than herself. He couldn't help but smile at that thought though.

"Yeah, I'll meet you all there", Neal said before heading up to his room and changing into some civilian clothes. He couldn't help but look forward to this, the Titans had never really been on a vacation since Sarah and himself had gotten there. It would be nice to just all hang out together. After grabbing the proper clothes Neal took a look at himself in the mirror. He was from New York, and he wasn't going to risk running into any old friends. He cast an illusion upon himself, granting him a much more different face than before.

A few minutes later he showed up towards the car, looking around to see who else hadn't arrived or if he was the last one to show up.

The others showed up a short while later, except for Beast Boy, who was already in the car and waiting by the time Neal showed up, and dressed in his swim trunks and a flowered Hawaiian shirt, outfit complete with sun glasses. Someone was really ready for the beach. Once everyone was finally ready, they took off and headed for the Jacob Riis Park, one of the cleaner New York City beaches over in queens.

"We are here!" Starfire declared, jumping out of the car and stretching her arms up to the sun. She was wearing that same amazingly skimpy bikini that she had worn while meeting Sarah's parents for the first time. "Ah, the sun feels most wonderful!"

Cyborg was next out of the car, carrying a bunch of beach equipment with him. "Come on, B, help me set up the volleyball net!" Beast Boy was already right behind him.

The three more noticeable members of the Titans were sure to go on ahead of the others. Hiding their identities was pretty much impossible, as their appearances gave them away quite easily, so it was no big deal if people saw them there at the beach. But the others had to stay back for a bit, or people would be able to figure out who they were, probably. If they arrived separately, they were just ordinary beach goers.

Raven was dressed much more reserved that Starfire, having a long T-shirt over her swimsuit, one she didn't intend on taking off to go swimming. People seldom ever saw her without her shadowed hood hiding most of her face, too, so she could walk around perfectly fine, without anyone noticing.

"It's very... bright," Raven said, blinking up at the sun while shielding her eyes with her arm.

Neal couldn't help but let out a small laugh as he saw how enthusiastic Beast Boy was to go to the beach. That getup just made him look absolutely priceless, it was the kind of thing that everyone would be taking pictures of once Beast Boy arrived at the beach. "Glad to see that you really get to play the part when you go out to these kind of things," Neal said with a laugh before everyone else showed up and they gladly took off.

As they arrived Neal watched as the three more......noticable members of the Titans moved forward. Despite the fact that they weren't wearing their costumes they couldn't exactly join Starfire and the others. After all it wouldn't take long for everyone to figure out that they might know each other based off of their work. So the rest of them hung back, waiting for it to be a bit safer to go on ahead.

As Raven got out of the car Neal couldn't help but smile as she reacted to the environment that she normally tried so hard to stay away from. She was right to bring Neal here, his mind was completely off of his training and was looking forward to having a day just to themselves. Granted there would be other people, but at least they didn't have to worry about any huge responsibilities that they usually had to take care of. Neal moved over and stood next to Raven as she used her arm to cover the sun.

"We could always get an umbrella if you like, they hardly cost anything to rent them," Neal pointed out as he glanced towards her. "Shall we go take a seat?" he asked as he held his smile. They were here to have fun, but Neal still would enjoy just sitting and talking with Raven. They were a couple now, even if they were holding that back from everyone else. The Titans knew that Neal and Raven were close, they trained together almost everyday after all, but no one knew just how far it had gone yet. Until Raven wanted to say differently, Neal wasn't going to mention it to anyone.

"An umbrella... yes, that would be good," she said, squinting a little. She wasn't used to being in this much... brightness. Especially without the aid of her hood to block most of the light. But a nice shaded spot to read at would definitely be the best option she could think of for her. Carrying her beach towel, she walked after the others, down the long pathway, and finally onto the sands of the beach.

Needless to say, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg made quite the uproar when they walked into the public. Half the people around them stopped what they were doing and excitedly ran up to them in amazement that some of their local superheroes were joining them on the beach like regular people. It was a good thing that Beast Boy brought pens, because they hadn't made it twenty feet onto the sand and already they were being bombarded by autograph requests.

And of course, considering what Starfire was wearing, most of the men were taking their time to ogle her... until Sarah finally arrived, stood right at her side, and held her arm around her waist, causing the men's stares to turn from excited to confused.

"Step back folks, step back, one at a time," Cyborg declared, trying to get everyone into nice and even lines. "We'll sign as much as we can in twenty minutes, but after that we're hitting the beach like everyone else. I'm gonna be starting a volleyball tournament too, so everyone who wants in on that, sign up on this sheet right here."

Naturally, everyone and their mother was jumping at the chance to say that they played volleyball with some of the Titans. They must have had a couple hundred entries within ten minutes.

Neal gave a quick nod as he saw a stand over a way's off that was renting out some umbrellas for the day. "You go pick out a spot and I'll join you in a little bit," Neal said before turning and making his way off to the stand. He wanted Raven to have fun, especially considering part of the reason she was doing this was in order to help Neal relax from all the training he had done. Even though he sat with her all day, it still tired Neal on every single level that he could imagine. He had never been so tired.

Thankfully, the presence of the Titan's on the beach turned what would have been a ten minute wait into a dead line that rushed off the moment that they saw them. Even the guy renting out the umbrellas looked as if he wanted to run out in order to see the local heroes. Well, that was just fine with Neal seeing that he didn't really want to keep Raven waiting. "I'll take one for the day," Neal said before placing some money down.

The owner glanced over at Neal once. "Yeah, sure thing pal," he said before moving back and eventually finding a fairly nice umbrella. He handed it over to Neal and gave a nod. "Hey if you get the chance don't forget to say thanks to those guys. God only knows how much good they've done for this town"

Neal just smiled. "I'll keep that in mind friend," he said before placing an extra five on the table as a tip for the man. Neal than moved over towards Raven, unfolding the umbrella and setting it up right over where she was. He took a moment to adjust it, making sure that the sun would be completely blocked. Once done he took a seat down next to Raven, looking over at her book.

"What ya reading?," Neal finally asked.

"Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," Raven said, without looking up from her book. "I find the tale to be... gripping." She was quite content there under the shade of the umbrella, which kept the sun out of her eyes. She really wasn't a fan of bright sunny days like this... in fact, her favorite weather was rain. It soothed her, in a way. After several moments, she glanced up at him, then out at the ocean in front of them. "You don't have to sit here, if you don't want. I don't plan to, but you can go swimming. It is a beach, after all."

Meanwhile, Cyborg was breaking through the crowd with Beast Boy with the volleyball net. While Beast Boy was supposed to be helping to set it up, he was instead spending his time entertaining people by transforming into various animals. The girls practically squeed when he turned into an adorable kitten or puppy, while men thought the lion was pretty cool. So Nightwing took his place in helping.

Starfire meanwhile grabbed Sarah by the hand and pulled her along in a hurry. "Come Sarah, the far east side of the beach is what your society calls 'clothing optional!' It is most perfect!" And before Sarah even had a chance to object, they were halfway there.

Neal had to admit that it wasn't the kind of book that he suspected Raven would read. He figured it would be some sort of murder mystery, or perhaps something with a bit more symbolism in it. But hey, who was Neal to question it? He had never even read the book in question anyway. His attention turned back towards her as she mentioned that it was okay for him to go off and swim. "Alright, I'll be back a little later though. Might take a little bit of a swim. I'll be back later though", he said before getting up and walking towards the water. He took only a moment to test the waters before jumping right into the ocean.

He just began to swim around, not having done so since he had gained her extremely fit body. It was amazing how much easier it was to swim, even against the waves and the currents. Someone might have thought he was training for something, but no this was Neal's time to relax right now. He'd spend some time in the water before getting back up to see how Raven was doing. Hell, he might just sneak into that volleyball game that Cyborg was setting up.

The rest of the day went by pretty much as expected. It was enjoyable, nice to finally have a day off to relax and have fun. Raven stayed by the umbrella, reading nearly half the entire book in just those few hours. Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Nightwing, participated in the volleyball tournament, and despite the best efforts of all those who opposed them, the heroes' team won pretty handily. Starfire and Sarah weren't even heard from again until they finally returned from the clothing optional portion of the beach, where Starfire made sure that they both took advantage of said option.

After several hours of fun, though, the day finally began to draw to a close, as the dun drifted low over the horizon and most of the beach goers started to head home. The Titans, though, were the last ones to remain behind, now taking time to enjoy the sunset. They didn't say anything, they just sat here, watching the colors of red and orange in the sky. Starfire did have her head rested against Sarah's shoulder, though.

"Today was a wonderful day," she said, taking in a slow breath and letting it out. "I am just sorry it had to end."

Neal spent the rest of the day just relaxing and enjoying himself, knowing that Raven wanted him to get his mind off of training so that they could take this full day to relax. It had worked, within just a few minutes his mind was completely off of training and he ended up having more fun than even he expected. He swam, talked to Raven for a bit, and even got a bit of a tan by laying in the sun. He stayed in the clothing mandatory section though, he didn't feel anywhere near as open as Starfire was.

A bit later, Neal ended up joining up with the rest of the Titans. He even allowed himself to take up his normal form again as everyone else departed. It didn't matter anymore if they were all sitting together since no one was there to watch them. He glanced over at Starfire as she talked about how awesome the day was. "Yeah, it has been pretty good," he admitted before looking at all of the Titans. "For what it's worth, I'm really glad I met you guys. I don't even know where I'd be right now had you guys not saved that bank a year ago," he said. He could hardly believe it had been like a year since he and Sarah first joined the group.

It definitely felt like being a part of a great big family.

"Yeah... me too," Sarah said, with a small smile. She held an arm around Starfire, feeling happier than she had in a long time.

Several moments later, however, several green streaks appeared in the distance in the darkening sky. They all squinted, trying to make out what it was. A meteor shower, perhaps? But then, what kind of meteors were green? Within seconds, their question was answered, as those streaks turned out to be several flying individuals, all alien in nature. They were lead by a particularly massive one. The large, hog-like alien stepped forward when he landed and looked down at them all, but his eyes soon focused on Sarah.

"Lantern Sarah," he said. "Good to see you again."

"Kilowog," she said, suddenly standing up from her spot to give him a bow. He didn't really take to the human custom of handshakes. "Yes, it's good to see you. What are you doing here?"

"We have a crisis in sector 1854," he explained. "All Lanterns are needed to respond."

Sarah blinked for a moment, then let out a small sigh. She knew it would come eventually, she just didn't think she'd be called away so soon. "I see. I guess that includes me, huh."

Kilowog just nodded.

Turning back to the others, Sarah took in a breath as if to start saying something, but lost her words before they even came out. Starfire was on her feet as well, looking suddenly very sad compared to how she'd been feeling only moments before.

"So you... must go now?" Starfire asked.

"Kori, I..." she uttered, stopping though when she thought of an alternative. "Come with me."

Starfire blinked. "What?"

"Come with me." Sarah took her hands in both of hers and held them close. "We'll go together. I'm sure Kilowog wouldn't have a problem with that, right?"

Kilowog merely shrugged. "We'll take all the help we can get.

And then Starfire appeared overjoyed again, welling up and letting out a happy yelp while taking Sarah in for a tight hug. "I would love to go with you! It will be most- oh..." She then suddenly turned back to look at the other Titans with an almost guilty look, as if asking permission with her gaze.

"Go on," Nightwing said, with a quick wave. "We know you want to."

"Yeah, we got things covered here," Cyborg said with a smile. "Have fun."

Neal listened to Sarah's word before turning his gaze back out towards the sunset. It really was a beautiful day, and there wasn't a single group of people that Neal would rather spend it with. These people were his friends and family, they were everything to Neal and he'd do everything he could to make sure that they were okay, so long as he lived. It was only in that brief moment that Neal began to notice something strange.

The other Lanterns showed up, requesting Sarah's aid and apparently recruiting them to go off and fight in some various sector. It must have been pretty serious if they were going to take all the help that they could get, which now apparently included Starfire as Sarah recruited her to go. He supposed that it made sense, Starfire had way more experience with space fight than Sarah even.

Neal gave a nod along with Cyborg and Nightwing. "Go and have some fun, just try not to take six months this time. You know how much we miss you when you're gone," Neal said jokingly as he gave the smallest of salutes to Starfire and Sarah. They would understand what it meant at least. "God's speed, and come home safely"