The Next Generation

Neal gained a tiny frown as Raven spoke. Something was wrong, like what? He waited until she finished speaking before letting out a small sigh. "Raven you can read emotion, so shouldn't you know that more than anything I just want to help you somehow?" he asked as he looked right at her. "I want you to be happy Raven, but I can only do so much if you're not going to let me in. It feels like we've barely even talked the past few weeks"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you haven't done anything wrong, not at all," Raven insisted, taking his hands. You've only ever done things right with me... And that's the problem; I am letting you in. At least, I'm trying to. But... but fr some reason, I'm not happy. I should be happy. I was always happy with you, doing things with you, but now... everything that made me happy just... isn't. Like... like something isn't letting me. I just feel more and more indifferent and cold. I don't know what's wrong, I really... I really wish I did. And I'm sor... so sorry for it."

Neal looked right into Raven's eyes as she took his hands. The more she spoke, the more worried he was about her. She couldn't feel happy with him? Something was stopping her? How was that possible? Neal had no idea, he could only hope that things would fix themselves. "Alright.....just don't be afraid to come to me and say that something's wrong. I've been worried about you the past few weeks," he insisted before giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm your boyfriend, I'm supposed to try to help you......so just talk to me okay?"

Raven nodded, taking in a deep breath. "Yes, right, of course. I'm sorry, again. But, for now, I must look into this further. As I said, I have someone who might be able to help... I'll speak with you again about this later. I promise." She leaned forward to give him a quick kiss, then began to to head back to her room.

A moment later, Rose walked back in the room along with Cyborg. "Alright, I guess I'm all yours now," she said, with a small shrug. She really didn't like having to be babysat like this, but she didn't really much of a choice. "Just so long as you keep things interesting and don't get boring on me, I guess we can make this work."

Neal gave a small nod at Raven's words. "Alright, just let me know whatever you learn and I can be happy with that," he said with a weak smile before returning the kiss to Raven. He watched her walk away for some time. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he really hoped that Raven was able to get help. She deserved to be happy, more than anyone Neal had ever met.

His attention turned back towards Cyborg and Rose as they showed back up. Man, taking blood was a much faster process than it used to be. Thank you modern medicine! He heard Rose's words and just gave a simple nod. "I'll do my best, but we seemed to get along well enough yesterday," he added as he looked at her and crossed his arms. "What do you feel like doing?"

Rose lifted an eyebrow and smirked slightly. "Yes, we did, didn't we? Let's just hope the chemistry continues. Now come on, I need a morning workout." She paused for a moment, looking around. "Crap... I forget where the gym is. Mind leading the way? After that we can get another spar in. I'm sure Cyborg would love to watch..."

Neal just gained a small smile as Rose agreed that they had gotten along well enough yesterday. Other than being a littler too flirty, Neal didn't really have anything against the girl. Starfire was quick to throw her under the bus, but Neal truly wanted to help her and make her realize that they were still her allies. "Yeah, sure thing. Just follow me," Neal said as he began to head to the gym.

As they were halfway there, Neal glanced over at Rose. "Hey Rose, I'm sorry about what I said earlier," he said in a quiet voice. "The evidence just looked so concrete that I couldn't help but think you knew what you were doing," he said as he truly did feel bad about it. "I guess I just wanted to let you know that I really am sorry, and that I'm sure we'll do everything we can to help you"

"Eh, don't worry about it," Rose said, waving it off as she sat down on the weight bench. She was already dressed in clothes befitting a gym workout, a similar pair of remarkably short and tight gym shorts and half T-shirt as the day before. "I was actually starting to doubt myself there for a minute... sort of still am. I can't remember anything about what I did. I was at the pool, then I went to bed, that's all I remember. But obviously something happened to me. Someone's controlling me... again."

A shudder ran down her spine. "I've been used like a tool for as long as I can remember... now here I am going through it all over again." A short moment later, she lay down on the bench and gripped the bar above her. "Be a dear and slip on four hundred pounds to both sides. I want to really sweat this morning."

Neal listened as Rose spoke, staying upright while Rose lowered herself onto the weight bench. Apparently she really did want to get that work out in this morning. He continued to listen to her speak, absorbing it all in. "Well, we will do whatever we can to help you. It might take some time, but we'll make sure that you get in control and stay that way from now on," Neal said as he looked down at Rose.

At what she said next Neal could only stare at her for a moment. Four hundred pounds on each side? Wow, she must have thought that she was really rusty after that spar! "Four hundred on each side, coming up," Neal said as he began to move the weights and place them on. Once they were balanced and secured Neal gave a nod. "Alright, they're secured whenever you're ready"

Rose waited until the weights were all securely in place before tightening her grip and taking in a deep breath as she lifted the bar up off the holder, then exhaling as she brought it down toward her chest. She rested there for a couple seconds, then pushed back, extending her arms all the way, and then began to repeat the steady pace fifteen times. When at last her arms were starting to buckle and shake, she lifted the bar all way back up and placed it back on the holder. Letting out heavy breath, she sat back up and rotated her shoulders a few times.

"Phew, feels good to do some lifting again," she said, grinning to herself. It felt like so long since she'd been able to work out like this. "Alright, time for the treadmill. Let's see how long I can keep the pace of... let's try thirty miles per hour."It was about the only thing good that came out of her time being controlled by Deathtroke, her enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and pretty much all other manner of physical attributes.

Hopping up off the bench, she made it over to the nearest treadmill, punched in a few buttons, then started running full force as the belt beneath her feet took off. Looking back behind her, she added, "Try not to stare at my ass too much."

Neal just watched as Rose went about her exercises. It was pretty amazing to watch, it was strength even greater than what Neal possessed, and he considered himself to be one of the most in-shape humans on Earth. She was pressing eight hundred pounds though! That was only two hundred away from a thousand. Just thinking about that made Neal watch curiously, unable to take his eyes away from the display.

Once she was finished she moved over to the treadmill, beginning to type in several commands before taking off on her run. Thirty miles per hour? Neal would have to see just how long she lasted on that speed. As she made her comment about the direction of Neal's gaze, he merely let out a chuckle. "You wish, I'm watching your feet so that I know when to step in and stop you from breaking your face against the floor," he said jokingly.

"You already know I do," Rose replied with an amused smirk, as he made his comment about her wishes. Finally, she faced forward again, really starting to get into her run. Within moments, she was flat out sprinting on the treadmill, her feet moving impossibly fast. Granted, she was still holding back in order to pace herself. She could probably outrun a cheetah if she really tried, but probably only for about ten seconds before her legs gave out, and that wouldn't do any good for her workout.

About twenty minutes later, Rose's pace finally began to slow. her thumb moved up to the controls, gradually reducing the speed of the belt until she slowly and smoothly came to a stop. Bending over forward, her hands pressed against her thighs, she took in deep, gasping breaths. "Man," she gaped, her body dripping with sweat now. "Longer than I thought I could. Guess I'm in as good a shape as ever."

Neal continued to watch as Rose continued her pace. He only smiled at her comment, deciding not to return it again. She knew that he had a girlfriend, and Raven had warned Neal about how she acted around others. She was a tease and a flirt, there wasn't anything wrong with it as long as it stayed simple. It was if she started acting that they would have a serious problem between them. Despite their struggles, Neal still belonged to Raven's heart.

As Rose finally came to a stop on the treadmill, Neal just gave a small clap with his hands to show how impressed he was. She had really worked herself hard, she was in top physical condition and could probably outrun the far majority of people. "I'll say, you clearly knew how to train yourself," Neal said as he grabbed a towel nearby and offered it out to her.

"Thanks," she said, taking the towel from him and wiping her brow with it. She had definitely done what she meant to do that morning, worked up a sweat. But there was still more to get done. "Well, while I'm already nice and sweaty, might as well go ahead and get that spar in again. Let's see if we can't find Cyborg or one of the others to come standby. Preferably not the orange one." With that, she threw the towel over her shoulder and walked over to the nearby refrigerator, which was fully stocked with bottled water. She took a bottle, opened it, and began guzzling the contents as she moved along with Neal out of the gym.

"Really? Even after all that you still want to get that spar in?" Neal asked curiously despite already knowing the answer. She was a determined one, he'd give her that. "Well, Starfire would definitely be a terrible idea," Neal admitted as Rose specifically requested that they use someone else. "That would leave Cyborg or Sarah, and since Sarah is probably with Starfire.....we should definitely go ask Cyborg," Neal said before grabbing one of his own water bottles and following Rose.

"So what do you think? Maybe focus on hand to hand combat today? Or did you have something else in mind?"

"If you want to go hand to hand with me, then by all means, I'm game," Rose replied, with a simple shrug of one of her shoulders. "I have no problem with that." It was also easier to get back into than using weapons, especially dual swords, after having been out of it for so long. She wasn't expecting to be making as many mistakes as she did last night.

When they finally found Cyborg and dragged him off to the combat room with them, Rose took a moment to go back into the storage room and dress into her equipment. She didn't like to practice without it on, since she would have to be used to the extra weight all the time. After all, she'd never be going on a job without it on, so what was the point in training without it on?

"Alright, I'm all set," Rose said, adjusting her gloves and then taking a fighting stance.

Cyborg waved his hand down. "Begin." Apparently, he was acting as a ref, too.

And just as Rose thought, she didn't make those stupid mistakes that she'd made last night. Hand to hand was so much more natural than swords, when trying to grow reacquainted to them. It only took a few moments to get right into her old natural groove, moving like a dancing ghost as she and Neal exchanged attacks and defenses and dodges. He was good, she had to admit, a lot better than most non-enhanced martial artists she'd come across. He did hit her, too, quite a few times. And his strikes hurt. Hard, precise, vicious. He didn't hold back against her, she liked that. But in the end, she was just naturally faster.

"You're really good," Rose said, rubbing her cheek. That last blow had really been a hard one. "I reckon you could give Batman a run for his money. Really."

"Excellent, I haven't had a good hand to hand fight with someone in ages. The last few battles I had required more long range weapons," Neal said as he recalled how he had used the guns on the Watchtower to attack Darkseid and his legion of ships. It had been a good time, but fighting hand to hand was a far more personal fight, and it just made it seem all the sweeter.

Eventually they found Cyborg and got back to the sparring area in order to fight one another. Cyborg was the perfect person to have watch, as he wasn't going to intervene unless he had to. Rose would be a worthy opponent, and she would push Neal as he wanted her to. He would wait for Rose to get in uniform before entering into his own fighting stance.

As the fight began, it was clear that Rose was a more natural fighter than Neal was. She moved like it was second nature, as if she was born to do it. Neal's moves were strong, but they were more predictable than Rose's. She got far more hits on him, but he still landed several blows upon her before the end of the fight finally came.

As Rose spoke to him, Neal continued to take several breaths of air. His lungs were working hard, but it had been a good fight. "You think so? I've never even thought about challenging him" Neal admitted with a small laugh. "I still have room to improve though"

"We all have room to improve, I'm sure," Rose said, holding an arm against him as he recovered his breath. Poor guy had given it his all, she was proud of that. She never liked getting any less than a hundred percent from an opponent. "We can continue with our day as soon as your lungs swell back down. Easy breaths, easy breaths. Chuckling, she gave him a pat on the shoulder and then started to remove her costume, right down to the gym-wear beneath.

"Thanks for coming, Cy, but that's all we'll need you for," Rose said with a little wave. "Time for a good cool down, let's head to the pool."

Cyborg blinked, watching as the two began to leave. "Hey, I could come to-"

"Sorry, but you're not my caretaker today," Rose said, laughing softly to herself as they disappeared.

"Bastard," Cyborg said with a sigh, hanging his head. "How's he do it?!"

"True statement, I just like to make sure I don't ever get too cocky. Thankfully you didn't allow that to happen today," Neal said with a weak laugh as he was still trying to catch back up with the air in his lungs. "Hey, shut up," Neal said in a clearly joking tone. "I know how to breathe, it's just been a while since someone has pushed me that hard that's all," he said before shaking his head slightly. He was starting to feel better already.

At the end of that, Rose said that they were going to head to the pool to cool down. It didn't sound like a bad idea, although he hoped that she had some sort of swimwear this time. Or maybe she was just joking about the skinny dipping thing?

"Later Cyborg, catch ya later man," Neal said with a small salute before heading off after Rose.

"Your skills are amazing, I've only seen a few number of people that might be able to take you on in a fight. Your speed was just........phenomenal" Neal finally said as they headed towards the pool.

Unfortunately for Neal, Rose did not have any swimwear yet. She still didn't have any clothing of her own at all yet, as a matter of fact. All she'd been using so far was just what had been lying around. She still needed to go out shopping sooner or later. Also, as Neal would soon find out, she had not been joking either. Once they got inside the pool room, Rose went straight for the large pool, peeling off the little clothing she was wearing along the way and leaving the garments scattered behind on the floor. Within seconds, she was kicking away the last of it and dove gracefully into the deep end. She emerged a few moments later, throwing her head back and brushing her now wet hair behind her ears.

"Ah, now that feels good," she said, taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out.

As they entered into the pool room, Neal was disappointed to see that Rose was still planning on swimming in her natural self. "Apparently once you're off quarantine you'll need to go shopping," Neal said as he stood at the edge of the pool. As nice as it sounded to swim, there was no way that he was going to jump into a pool with a naked woman. He especially wasn't going to do it when Raven was going through such a hard time, he wasn't going to give her any reason to doubt his love of her.

"Shopping would be nice," Rose said, kicking back through the water. She had started doing a backstroke now. "Been a long time since I had some new clothes." She stopped her strokes once she reached the other side of the pool, then took a moment to tread water there at the edge. "So, after this, how about we grab something to eat? I'm starving after today, and I could really use a recharge." Kicking off the edge of the pool again, she swam on her back again, eyes closed and just enjoying the cool, refreshing water.

Neal averted his gaze from Rose. By doing a backstroke she was making some parts of her more apparent than others after all. He wasn't sure why she continued to do this, she knew that Neal had a girlfriend. Perhaps she just trusted him to the point that he'd look away. He couldn't name her reasons, he just had to work with it for the time being. "Yeah, food sounds good. We have a large variety to pick from. I'm sure we'll be able to fix something up that you'd enjoy"

It wasn't that she was trying to entice him or anything now, though he she wouldn't blame him if he wanted to take an eyeful, but rather she'd always preferred swimming without anything on than with a swimsuit. She only did so while alone or with just one other person, however, never while with a larger group there. For some reason, she was much more apt to shrug her clothes off and get down down to her skin with only one other pair of eyes in the room, rather than five.

Rose spent another twenty minutes in the pool, before finally starting to grow a little too wrinkled for her taste. It was definitely time to get out and dry off. Hoisting herself up from the side of the pool, she walked over to the towel rack and grabbed a towel, starting to dry herself off with. She wasn't quite sure what she was in the mood to eat, but with so many options, she was sure that there would be something she would enjoy.

"I'll be all set once I get dry," Rose replied, working to towel off the rest of the water from her body. "Then I can put my clothes back on and get something to eat."

She might not have been trying to entice, but Neal would be lying if he said that his body wasn't trying to rebel against him in order to take a bit of a look at Rose. Even with her clothes and costume on, Neal could tell that she had quite a nice body. The idea of seeing her without anything blocking his eyes was an extreme temptation. Thankfully, he was able to continue fighting it right up to the point where Rose hoisted herself out of the pool in order to dry herself off and change back into her clothes.

"Alright, we'll head out to get some food right whenever you're ready," Neal said even though he was looking at a wall at that time when he was speaking to Rose.

Temptation is a bitch.

----

Neal and Rose had spent the rest of the day together, doing everything from just talking to playing games and watching television. He kept her entertained, as that was what she wanted when she agreed to have Neal follow after her. It was starting to get late though, and Neal knew that it was getting close to the time where she'd have to go to the secluded area that Cyborg had described previously.

Neal and Rose were sitting on the couch, having just watched a program. "So, I hope your day today was enjoyable. Maybe tomorrow I can get permission to take you out and grab you some real clothes?" he suggested as he glanced over at her.