The Next Generation

Neal had to admit that he stood there in a bit of shock and surprise. He had asked, but he had never imagined that Raven was actually going to say yes. When she had though, Neal couldn't help but smile at her. She even added that only Neal could come the moment that Beast Boy opened his mouth, it was a good feeling. It wasn't what they had yet, but it was a sign that maybe it could all be rebuilt.

Neal leapt up and walked over towards Raven, putting his hands in his pockets as he did so. "So what's the plan? Go as civilians or as ourselves?" he asked curiously.

"I think going as civilians would be a wise decision," Raven said, as they walked back towards her room. She needed to get changed into suitable clothes, after all. "I don't really know what kind of reaction it would cause to have two local superheroes walking into the GAP on a Saturday afternoon for some shopping... but I'd rather not find out."

When they arrived at her room, she opened the door and mentioned she'd be right out. Within several minutes, she opened the door again and returned to the hallway. She was dressed now in a pair of jeans and a white hoodie sweatshirt, with the hood up of course. "Alright... I'm ready."

"Yeah, you probably have a good point. Didn't think about that I guess," Neal admitted with a small laugh. Due to his injury he was already in civilian clothes. There wasn't much point of getting into full uniform when you were still recovering after all. His leg was already mostly close to being fully healed, but he still needed to take it easy for the next little while. A trip to go shopping wasn't going to worsen the injury or anything like that.

Neal waited outside of Raven's room as she said that she needed to get ready. Once she emerged she definitely looked much more like a civilian than before. "Alright than, let's get going than shall we?" Neal asked as they began to walk. Neal had to admit that he was quite looking forward to this little trip of theirs. It'd be the first time that he and Raven would get to hang out without the others.

They decided to walk to the store, rather than take a cab or use a portal or anything like that. Well, they started walking after Raven used a portal to get them off the island in the middle of the river, anyway. After all, it would look a bit suspicious if two 'civilians' crossed the river from Titans tower in the ferry that the Titans owned. So she brought them about three blocks away from the mall, in a side alley that they could easily use to access the street without being noticed. Within about twenty minutes, they had reached their destination.

"What kind of swimsuit..." she muttered to herself, as they came to the clothing department. It wasn't like she was used to going out shopping for swimsuits, after all, and didn't really know what would be right for... a calender. The only one she owned right now was an old one piece suit she'd had for years. But even that she didn't wear out in public, let alone on print.

As they showed up at the store Neal couldn't help but look around as New York seemed to go on as if nothing had happened. The story about the League of Assassins didn't really go mainstream, so the public kept moving and acting like nothing even interesting had happened these past few weeks. It was strange, to be out and around them again; especially considering that Neal had been just in the lair of the League for almost a month straight without going outside.

He glanced over at Raven as she was debating about exactly what kind of swimsuit to get for the calender. He had a feeling that she wasn't used to this kind of thing, but he wasn't quite sure if she wanted his input either. "Were you aiming for a one piece or a two piece?", he asked curiously as they walked together.

"I... don't know, actually," Raven replied, taking a look at several different bathing suits hanging from the back wall in the women's section. There were quite a few varieties of all types, one pieces, bikinis, and some that could barely qualify as clothing at all. "I was thinking maybe a one piece. But... a two piece would probably be better for a calender. Starfire would definitely wear a two piece... or one of those." She was glancing over at what could only be classified as strings. "I don't think I'm going for one of those, though."

Continuing to look around, she pursed her lips in deep though. "Color is important too... definitely blue. Dark blue. Or purple... dark purple." She definitely had simple tastes when it came to color. "Maybe I should get multiples... different types for different months. That is how these types of calenders work... right?"

Neal just looked at some of the different suits with Raven, thinking about what would both look nice and not make her too uncomfortable at the same time. Showing skin was definitely not Raven's strong suit, not that there was anything wrong with it. It was just how she was. "Yeah for calenders normally men adore two pieces, but sometimes a one piece can work just as well" Neal said as he was trying to sounds supportive and not push Raven into any specific choice.

"Blue and purple are definitely your colors," Neal said with a smile as he looked over towards Raven. "And I'm not quite sure how Beast Boy plans to do the calender. If you divided it up evenly, each of your girls would have four months dedicated to you" he thought out loud. "So I guess you could look for four, try to get a variety going?" he suggested.

"I guess that would work," Raven said, still looking over her choices. There weren't many that caught her eye, but the few that did she seemed rather interested in. Well, as interested as she could be, considering what it was for. Before long, she had six possibilities, three one pieces, and three bikinis, most of them far from as revealing as what Starfire would be wearing, but still attractive nonetheless. "I suppose I should go try these on now... and try not to laugh. I'm not used to being seen in... swimwear. Just tell me which ones look better." And with that, she headed over to the changing area. There were a couple of chairs outside, where Neal could sit and wait.

"It's just a thought, just do what you feel is right Raven," Neal said as he stood and watched as Raven moved forward and began to pick out a few options. It seemed like she was pretty hesitant, as few matched the specific tastes that Raven tended to have. Before long though she had quite a few possibilities and she seemed ready to try them on. "You have my word that I won't laugh, I doubt that I have any reason to anyway" he added with a smile as he tried to show some support. Outside of the changing area Neal took a seat and crossed his legs, patiently waiting for when Raven would come back out.

Raven opened the curtain again a few minutes later, having removed her other clothing and put on one of the swimsuits in their place. She had gone with one of the one pieces first, a dark blue one with the sides cut out, so it exposed some skin on her sides, from her waist up to just under her arm pits. It fit her snugly, showing off her figure well enough, and it felt rather comfortable. Taking a few steps out of the dressing room, she shifted her weight and tapped her foot. "So... how's this?" she asked, turning around slowly so he could get a look at all sides of her.

Neal glanced up as he heard the curtain parting, the sign that Raven had finished changing and was waiting to show off whichever suit she had picked first. He looked her over as she moved around, enjoying the view on several occasions. It was definitely something that she'd probably wear. "I'd say that it definitely suits you and looks nice" Neal said with a smile. "It definitely feels very you, and I think that's exactly what you're looking for"

"You think so?" Raven remarked, taking another brief look down at herself. It did feel alright, and she guessed it looked okay. At least she didn't look terrible in it. Either that, or Neal was just being nice to humor her. After all, she didn't really think she looked great in swimsuits, but then that's because she never bothered to wear them, for specific reasons. "I'll go try the others on now."

She closed the curtain behind her, then came back out to show off the others one at a time. The other one pieces were differently designed than the first, but had similar coverage, while the two pieces were obviously more revealing, probably what someone buying a calender would be looking for. Two of them were rather normal looking, but the third had a trimmer top piece, and the sides of the bottom piece were bare except for two strings that tied the front and back together. Not overly revealing by any means, but much more than she'd usually consider. And while modeling the bikinis, Neal would probably notice something he'd yet to see on her before, which was her lower back tattoo, of an upside down raven in flight, wings spread wide.

"Yeah, I think it has that certain Raven charm that you've always had," Neal said as he looked over to Raven once. Neal had a lot of respect for Raven, and he never really thought of her as hot or sexy, but he did consider her pretty and beautiful. Neal thought that he liked her eyes the most, there was just something about them that just spoke to him. Neal nodded once Raven said that she'd go try the others. "I'll wait right here" he said.

Neal kept sitting there and waiting as Raven showed him the other swimsuits that she had picked out, all of them nicely showing off her figure. Neal would be lying if he said that he didn't find the two pieces a bit more attractive, but he kept saying that they were all nice and lovely on Raven. He didn't want her to be pressured into anything because of him. As she was showing them off though Neal couldn't help but notice that tattoo, something he was now deepy curious about.

"Raven, I never realized that you had a tattoo" he admitted.

"Hm?" Raven uttered, at Neal's statement. She glanced down over her shoulder as she was turning around to show him the backside of that particular two piece, to look at the tattoo adorning her lower back. "Oh, right... that. I got it a long time ago, back when I was having trouble... expressing myself. I think in retrospect that maybe it was a mistake... but it's permanent, so I live with it." She simply shrugged, and then headed back inside the dressing room to put on her regular clothes. When she returned, she carried all six choices with her. "I think I'll get four... which ones did you like the most?"

Neal listened as Raven explained the history behind the Raven tattoo. It was of a Raven, which was easy enough to figure out since her name was Raven and that was her spirit projection as well. What Neal couldn't figure out was why it was upside down in flight, he'd have to ask her that later. "I wouldn't call it a mistake. It's nice" Neal said with a small smile before Raven left to go get back into her normal clothes. Neal waited patiently until she finally came out, saying that she wanted to get four. Was she leaving it up to him which ones she got?

"Well uh......I'd say the three one pieces, and this one" Neal said as he picked out the two piece where the bottom was fashioned on with strings. He figured that it'd be a good balance for Raven and not push her too far out of her comfort zone. Plus he meant it, she really did pull off the one pieces very nicely.

Raven looked over Neal's choices for a few moments. She might have had suspicions about him selecting the quite obviously most revealing one, had he not also selected all three of the one pieces. It actually made her wonder why he didn't think any of the other two pieces looked better than the one pieces. Was he just trying to be courteous and not seem like... well, a boy? That was probably the case...

"Those aren't bad..." she said, starting to put back the ones she wouldn't be buying. She put back one of the one pieces though, instead keeping another of the bikinis. "That one... didn't feel right, though. I'll take two of each."

Neal gave a small nod as Raven decided to veto one of his choices and instead pick another one of the bikinis. In truth it surprised him, but it also made him happy. It seemed like Raven was pushing herself to points that she normally wouldn't go to, and that made him proud of her. No one was going to be able to say that she wasn't doing her fair share to earn the money. "Sounds like a plan, as long as you're sure they are the ones that you want" Neal said before they began to make their way to the counter.

"So I was thinking......if you had time I'd appreciate it if maybe we could meditate together again. Like on the roof or something" Neal brought up a bit slowly. He hadn't meditated in close to a month, and he really needed to get back into practice. Who better to do that than with Raven?

"I'm sure," she replied, walking with him over to the checkout counter so she could pay for them. Within several minutes, her purchases were in a bag, and they were ready to go. That hadn't been nearly as awkward as she had expected it to be, which rather surprised her. She normally didn't like shopping that much, but at least with Neal to provide some company, it wasn't too unbearable.

When he requested that the two of them meditate again together some time, she paused for a moment and took a long look back at him. She didn't know if she was ready to open her mind up to him like that quite so soon... but she supposed that it would be worth a try. After all, if they were going to repair their friendship, they had to start somewhere. The shopping trip was but a stepping stone, perhaps to something more involved. "Yes... sure. We'll do that again soon."

Any warm moment that was about to be had between them, however, was suddenly put on hold the second they walked out of the mall. A black car with tinted windows him racing around the corner. As it passed by the nearby jewelry store, several automatic weapons stuck out from the car and fired, bullets raining into the large open window. Customers ducked for cover in a panic. There was no telling if any of them had been hit.

"Those people are in trouble!" Raven shouted, starting to run forward. it was at this moment she remembered that they were out as civilians, and Neal was still recovering from his injury, and even if he weren't, he didn't have his protective suit or any of his gadgets, leaving him with little defense against machine guns. Raven knew she could certainly try to take out all of the men in the speeding car by herself, though at the cost of revealing her identity to the public. As she stood there, frozen in frantic thought, the car was getting away.

Neal smiled as Raven said that she was certain. He was glad that they were taking time like this to be together again. He knew that he had made mistakes, but it seemed like Raven had been the one who had forgiven him first. In truth it was probably Raven's words that had saved Neal from doing something incredibly stupid and selfish. She wanted him to still be in the Titans, and that meant a great deal to Neal. He owed her, a lot more than he'd probably ever be able to pay her back.

However, only a moment later and Neal felt his heart begin to drop. After making the request for meditation it seemed like Raven was still hesitating a great deal. The meditation process was one that had made them very close, was she now afraid of what more she would find in his mind if they participated in it again? He didn't know, but he couldn't help but worry. It was only when Raven finally said yes again that Neal smiled back at her. "Thanks Raven" he said simply.

And that was when all hell broke out. Before Neal could even tell what was going on there was a car that drove up and began to attack a jewelry store with automatic fire. Robbers, great cause that was exactly what Neal needed right now! They weren't in uniform, and with Neal's leg and lack of armor he'd certainly be killed if he tried to do anything. Raven though....Raven had her powers and she could still fight. She was wearing her civilian clothes though....Neal could fix that.

Neal suddenly reached over and took Raven's shopping bag from her. When she turned to look at him he just smiled and gave a week. "Go save some people Raven" he said as Raven would notice that her appearance changed back into her uniform. Neal would have to remain close to make the illusion appear and function real, plus he wasn't going to leave while Raven did all the work. If something bad happened, armor or not he'd have to jump in there and help. "go, before they get away" Neal said as he took a few steps back.

Raven was both surprised and impressed to suddenly see herself dressed in costume. It was quick thinking on Neal's part, likely making it look that way to whoever came into range. Well, at least now she could act without fear of exposing her identity. Those criminals were definitely not getting away now! As Neal took her bag, she flew into action, levitating herself up and heading straight after the car, which had now put quite a bit of distance between them. She'd have to hurry if she wanted to catch them, but she could handle that no problem... if there weren't a civilian standing right in the car's path.

What the hell was that woman thinking?! Whoever that random red haired woman was, she'd gone and walked straight into the middle of the car's path and was just standing there. Did she have a death wish?! And the car showed no signs of slowing down, either, rather going faster now, in attempts to scare the woman off... or otherwise mow her down in the middle of the street.

"Damn it," Raven muttered, pushing herself faster as well. She raised a hand, ready to cast out some of her soul-self to either grab the woman and pull her away, or stop the car dead in its tracks. Before she ever got the chance, however, the woman in question proved that she really didn't need any help...

The moment that the car got in range of the woman, she punched down with her fist, caving in the entire front of the vehicle and causing the entire street to quake. The car stopped instantly, ejecting the front two passengers from the car through the windshield. The woman caught both of them, one in either hand, plucking them out of mid air and then throwing them down a bit roughly. They were bloodied up, but alive.

"Damn criminals," the woman stated, reaching up and grabbing her hair... or rather, her wig, as she pulled it off, exposing short blond hair beneath. "Always ruining my day. I try to take a little vacation, and what happens? A drive by, of course. What else?"

One of the men still in the car opened the door and rolled out, grunting as he hit the street. Recovering a few seconds later, he turned over and aimed his weapon at the woman, blanketing her in automatic fire. It didn't even phase her. Rather than dropping her on the spot, like it would have a normal person, the bullets pretty much bounced off of her, as if her skin were made of reinforced steel. The only markings it left behind were small holes in her dress.

Walking forward through the gunfire, the woman grabbed the barrel of the gun and bent with little effort. "Now that's not any way to treat a lady," she said, raising her thumb and forefinger and flicking the guy in the head. He went tumbling backwards as if struck by a truck.

Neal watched as Raven moved to try to intercept the car. They were starting to get away faster than Neal had expected though. If he was going to keep the illusion around Raven he had to be able to see her and be within a certain range. Translation, he was going to have to try to catch up with Raven until she had dealt with the problem. He looked around, noticing that most people were running the opposite direction of the car. "Perfect" he said to himself before quickly getting up and moving to try to get closer to Raven and their enemies.

As Neal kept moving, that was when he noticed something strange happen. It wasn't Raven's power, it had to be something else entirely. The car just seemed to suddenly stop and nearly flip over itself. "The hell?" Neal asked himself as he continued to try to catch up. He would have been faster but his leg was still in some pain and he wasn't supposed to strain it. But now Neal couldn't help but wonder what on earth was going on ahead of him.

A few minutes later and Neal finally caught up to what had taken place, just in time to see a blonde haired woman flick a man in the face and send him away flying. "Okay, no matter how much you work out that shouldn't be possible.........she has powers" Neal said to himself as he tried to runover to where Raven was. The question remained though, friend or foe?

"Do you have any idea who that is?" Neal asked as he approached Raven from behind.

"Uh... not a clue," Raven answered, coming down to land on the street next to him. She was just as dumbfounded as he was. She'd never seen this woman before, and had least of all seen such displays of pure power outside of the likes of, well, Superman. Just who on earth was she? Whoever she was, she seemed to be dealing with the situation well enough, so there was no need to interfere... best just to watch for now.

With most of the criminals down for the count, the woman suddenly reached down and startd to pull her dress up over her head... which would have been much more shocking had she not been wearing a white leotard complete with red belt underneath, made of some awful durable material, considering the bullets hadn't damaged it. Aside from its durability, the most notable part of said leotard was the rather large open window in the... chest area, showing off quite a great deal of her, er... rather large assets.

In one motion, the woman reached into her purse and pulled out a large red piece of fabric, unfolding it and then slinging it over her shoulder via a gold rope that sat across one shoulder, forming a sort of half cape. Finishing the touch, she added two blue gloves to match the boots she was wearing.

At this moment, the other back seat opened, and the final gunman rolled out. He lifted his weapon at her, but he never even got the chance to fire. She simply stared at him, and suddenly two red beams of light shot from her eyes and melted the front of the gun barrel. The gunman let out a shout of surprise and dropped the weapon.

"You're really starting to piss me off," she said, walking over to him and lifting the guy up by the shirt with one hand. She then tossed him over by the other three, finally sitting them up in a nice neat circle. She then reached over and plucked up one of the nearby light poles and wrapped it around the four men, effectively tying them up. She then brushed her hands together and placed them on her hips. "Thanks for ruining my day, assholes."

"Huh, I wonder who she is" Neal admitted as he watched the woman begin to deal with the situation. The woman started to pull her dress up, something that Neal definitely hadn't been expecting. Of course it made sense she now revealed what appeared to be her own uniform beneath it. So she had been in disguise? It must have just been lucky chance that she ran into the car with the gun men. As she went about doing her duty, Neal couldn't help but notice that she had definitely a nice pair of assets.

Once she had finished wrapping up the criminals Neal glanced over at Raven and motioned to the new girl. "Should we talk to her ya think? She did just help you catch some criminals after all, she must be another hero. Maybe she's here for some reason?" Neal questioned. He hadn't heard that she was here on vacation.

"Uh... yeah, I suppose so," Raven said. She wasn't quite paying as much attention to this woman's attire as Neal was, but she did agree that they should probably talk with her. After all, she had just busted up an entire group of criminals right in their own city. Even if it was their job, it was nice to be the ones to get to sit back and watch for a change.

Walking over to the woman with Neal, she stopped a short distance away. "Um... greetings," she said, trying to think of the best way to strike up a conversation. "That was quite impressive, but... well, we've never seen you around here before. Who exactly are you?"

The woman turned towards the two of them and just looked them over for a second. "Huh... I could ask you the same question. You wouldn't happen to be part of the local Titans, would you?"

"Uh... we are," Raven replied with a nod.

"Well, in that case," she said, walking over and taking Raven's hand in a big, welcoming shake, "you can call Power Girl. Nice to meet you..."

"Raven," she answered.

Power Girl pulled her hand back a second later and gave Raven a friendly pat on the back. "Raven, got it." She then glanced over at Neal. "And who might you be? Don't worry, they can't hear us." She was referring to the onlooking civilians, who were at the moment out of ear shot.

Neal walked over closely as the new girl in question revealed herself to be Power Girl. The name sounded vaguely familiar but Neal couldn't associate it with anything. It must have been a name he once heard before he gained his power, that was the only way a name could escape him after all. Still, she had handled herself well and her powers were impressive. There was no way that this was her first day on the hero job.

Neal watched as Raven and Power Girl met before she turned and addressed Neal. "Oh, I'm Fade. Newest members of the Titans," he said with a nod as he extended his have to give Power Girl's a shake. He wasn't sure if he should considering that he wasn't in uniform as a Titan, but on lookers might just think that he was a civilian saying thank you right?

"So what brings you here Power Girl?"