The Next Generation

Neal listened as his daughter's pained voice reached his ears. He hated to hear it, knowing that there was little he was going to be able to say in order to comfort her. "I'm sorry Blade, but there's nothing that we can do now," he said as he held on to his daughter. "What you're feeling right now is exactly what she felt when you volunteered to stay behind. She clearly loved you just as much as you loved her," Neal said.

"I don't know know about the time travel, I don't know how it's going to work Blade. It's why I was scared to bring the two of you back here," he admitted. "All we can do is hope for the best and make sure that none of this happens," he said as he looked up at the tower. "That means stopping your mother from making the biggest mistake of her life"

Blade sniffled, trying to fight back the growing lump in her throat. The tears, though, she could not stop. "I just... I never even got to say goodbye," she said, swallowing hard and closing her eyes. But her dad was right about one thing; if they made sure that none of that happened in the future, then the time in which Lori remained would be changed, rewritten... and hopefully there, she could live out a normal, happy life. Maybe not with Blade's future self, if the past changing affected their relationship, but with someone else that made her happy.

"I'm... I'll be... okay..." she uttered, slowly starting to get back to her feet. Her legs shook, but she managed to remain upright. "Let's go make sure that... that Lori gets the future she deserves." She smiled slightly, trying to hide her emotional pain. Even though they could make sure that Lori's future was a good one, Blade now had to live out the rest of her life without the woman she loved... and it would take time to get through that grief.

"I know that feeling," Neal said as he continued to hold on to Blade. He knew that words wouldn't do her any good right now, she just needed to know that he was there for her and would be in order to help her get through this time. He couldn't bring Lori back for Blade, all he could do was try to make sure that she was loved in this world. He would trade places with her if he could, but he couldn't and he would make no promise. Neal had been sent there once before, perhaps Lori would find a way to make it here.

"Take whatever time you need Blade," Neal said as he stood up fully. "I need to stop your mother before she sets the future down the wrong path. Follow me whenever you're ready, I'll leave the door open behind me...........I know it's hard to believe but she's going to love you so much," Neal said before leaning in and giving Blade another kiss on the forehead.

After doing that he quickly turned and ran towards the tower. There was no time to waste, he couldn't risk the chance that Rose was going to leave immediately. Neal opened the door using his code before sprinting inside. Where was everyone!? "Guys! Anyone!" he shouted.

"Hey, Wendy!" Rose called. "Are they done in the field yet? Need to know how much time I have left to get ready here."

The woman in the wheelchair looked over from the center of the lounge. She'd been watching for Lori while the team was out on their mission, and since Rose had to be setting up for the party. Better to have someone there to keep eyes on the curious little Tamaranean girl at all times.

"Uh... let's see," Wendy said, checking her comm device. "According to this, they're on their way back now. Better put on the finishing touches."

"You think he's going to like it?" Rose asked, glancing back at her. "I hope he likes it."

Wendy raised an eyebrow. "Which part? The party, or the big news?"

"Both," she said, with a small smirk.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about," Wendy assured, turning back to Lori. "Come on, little Loriand'r. Let's get you cleaned up before Mommy gets home."

A few minutes later, the doors opened to the lounge and the Titans stepped in. Rose ran forward, ready to yell 'surprise!' along with everyone else... but no one else yelled it with her. She suddenly felt like an idiot, being the only one to say it... and that's when she realized that everyone looked like death had warmed over. This was supposed to be a happy occasion, but they were all so distraught it made her insides quiver. As they filed in, however, that's when she discovered that something was wrong, very wrong.

"....What happened?" she asked, glancing around the group nervously. Where were they? Why couldn't she see them? "Where... where's Neal? And Joey? Where are they?"

"Rose, we..." Cyborg started, unable to get the words out.

Starfire choked out a couple words of her own. "They were... they..."

Rose blinked, glancing past her. "Wait, what's that?" It sounded like shouting. "Neal? Neal is that you?" She started running past the others towards the doors, just as her husband appeared. Joey was with him. Blade had needed a few moments to herself, and opted to remain behind for the time being. "Christ, there you both are. Don't do that again, coming in late like that. Almost thought you were both gone."

The other Titans, meanwhile, stared back with eyes wide and mouths agape. What the hell?!

Neal continued to run through the tower, hearing Joey following right behind him. He ran in just in time to see Rose heading his direction while the other Titans looked on in shock. As Neal saw Rose he quickly put on a smile when she spoke about how she thought that the two of them had died. "Yeah well, it was a pretty close call. For a moment I thought we were," Neal admitted. Blade was outside, so there was no point in denying what had happened.

"To be honest the story is a lot more complicated, but I am here, I am alive, and everything is okay," Neal said in a forced voice. By this time everyone would probably know that there was more to the story, especially Rose as Neal was trying to drive the point home that he was okay and that she didn't have any need to freak out. Of course the other Titans were probably still trying to get over Neal being you know...........not dead.

Rose looked back at him with a hard look, trying to get a read on him. He certainly looked wiped, like he'd just been through some sort of battle, which made sense considering they'd just come back from beating up a giant robot. But still, something in his tone, and the way he kept assuring her that he was fine and alive, seemed... off to her. There was something more going on here, she could feel it. Of course, the dumbfounded stares that the other Titans were giving certainly didn't help much in hiding that fact.

"Neal, is... everything alright?" she asked, giving him a concerned expression. That's when her eyes noticed something else beyond him, another person. She glanced up curiously, and then let out a startled breath. That girl... looked so much like her. "And wh... who is that?"

"Honestly? Yes and no," Neal said seriously. He wasn't sure how to answer the question. He felt like he had just survived the end of the world, and yet in the present everything was okay. How was he supposed to explain everything that had just happened. "I have a really long story to tell you......all of you," Neal said as he glanced back at the other Titans.

It was when Rose asked who was behind him that Neal glanced around. Neal took a deep breath before taking Rose's hand and having her walk towards the girl. He hopes this would end up alright, it certainly was going to be a shock for Rose. He finally let go of Rose's hand when was about five feet away from Blade. He stood between the two of them. "Blade, this is Rose Wilson," he said before looking over at Rose. "And Rose, this is Lillian Wilson. She's our daughter"

Rose glanced at Neal curiously, as he brought her closer to the girl. Just what on earth was going on here? From the way he acted, it was like this new person was someone very important... but how important could she be when they'd never met before, right? It was, of course, when Neal dropped the bombshell of a lifetime that her eyes widened in both disbelief and shock.

"She's our... what?" Rose uttered, taking a long look at her. Blade shifted uneasily, hands held behind her back, gaze just sort of wandering and not really wanting to look her mother in the eye. "Our... daughter? That's... why she looks like me... like us?"

"Woah woah woah woah, hold up!" Cyborg announced, waving his arms. "She's... what?"

Starfire had to agree. "Yes, she is... I mean... she is your age."

"Or at least close to it..." Hot Spot said, scratching his head. "Did we miss something?"

"Our daughter Rose," Neal said again. He was certain that she heard it the first time, but he repeated it to make sure that Rose had zero doubts about what exactly he said. He knew that it would be hard for her to accept, but she was going to have to eventually. Blade was going to stay with them now, and the two of them couldn't afford to ignore each other.

As everyone began to voice their confusion Neal turned back to the Titans. "You guys should sit down, this is going to be one hell of a story," he said with a weak smile.

---

"And that's what happened, I set the time for here so that I could make sure you guys didn't freak out. I wanted to get back as soon as I could," Neal said as he finished the story. He was sitting next to Blade as they described what had happened in the future. Neal made sure to avoid certain details though, such as Rose's story of how she caused the events to take place, he also avoided specifics about any of the Titans, mainly Raven and Starfire.

"I know it's gonna be hard to believe, but I'm here...........isn't that evidence enough that it happened?" Neal asked as he placed a hand on Blade's shoulder. "And you can't ignore her, she came back with me after all. She's really our daughter" he said as he looked at Rose.

And so they all sat down, listening to the wild tale. The only one who didn't have their mouth hanging open and eyes popping out of their head the entire time was Rose, who took in the information with a more bewildered calmness. What he was telling them... it all seemed so impossible. And yet, how could it not be true? What, did he make the story up on his way back from the mission? Did he randomly create a young woman who looked just like them? And of course, there was Joey, too, reinforcing everything that Neal said. Joey had been there, too, through everything, and Rose knew that he would be the last one to play some kind of practical joke like this.

When all was said and done, Rose stood up and stared at Blade, her expression one of wonder. "Lillian... that was my mother's name," she uttered, holding her hands up to her mouth. "We named you after my mother... you... you really are our daughter?"

Blade shifted again, slowly glancing up at her mother. It was still a bit difficult to look her in the eye, considering the last time they saw each other, they were engaged in combat. "Hi, Mom... it's, um... it's nice to finally meet you."

With no further hesitation, Rose reached forward and pulled the girl into a tight, loving hug. "This is... this is unbelievable. I can't... I mean it's... oh for fuck's sake, welcome to the family!"

As Neal finished his story, he looked over at Rose who seemed to be taking it the best. He was just glad that he had left out all the information about her part in the story. Having her die at a young age in a heroic way was a much better way for the story to go. The truth wouldn't do anything but hurt everyone. Rose had only just earned her good reputation back, and Neal wasn't going to ruin that for her. It'd be wrong.

Blade's introduction was polite enough, but it was Rose's response that caused Neal's eyes to widen. Out of anything that Rose could have pulled out, that was NOT what Neal had expected to happen. She seemed truly and genuinely happy that she had met Blade and had her as part of the family. She seemed to accept it so easily, Neal thought that things were going to be strange at first.

Finally, Neal just gained a tiny smile. "I told you that you'd like her once you met her," Neal said as he glanced over at Blade.

Rose pulled back a second and let out an exasperated breath. "I mean, yeah, sure, this is going to take some getting used to, but hey. She's our daughter.... even if she is, like, just a few years younger than us." She laughed, scratching her head and blinking in surprise. Then, glancing down at the small wrapped box she was still holding, she let out a small sigh. "Well, I guess you know what this is, then, huh?" Her hand then went down to her stomach. "And what this is... I guess it's a girl. Go figure."

"Yeah... I'll probably be the only person in the world who can say I witnessed my own birth," Blade said, with a slight smile. She had to admit, her mother did seem like a pretty nice person... when she wasn't having a mental breakdown and sending the world spiraling into oblivion.

"Well, it is most wonderful to meet you, Lillian," Starfire stated, getting up and walking over to her. Lori was holding on to her leg, walking over as well. Glancing down, Starfire lifted the young child up into her arms. "I am Koriand'r, but you may call me Kory. This is-"

"Loriand'r," Blade said, with a small breath. "Can I... can I hold her?"

Starfire nodded, allowing Blade to take the child into her arms. Lori took and immediate liking to her, hugging the new girl and giggling.

"It... It's great to meet you, Lori," Blade said, smiling. "And you, too, Au... Kory." That's right, she wouldn't know that Blade had grown up calling her 'aunt'. "And all of you... really, thank you."

"I think once you spend some time with her it'll be pretty easy to get used to," Neal said as he looked over at Blade and smiled. "That's how it went with me at least," he said before glancing back over at Rose. "She's a lot like her mother as you'll notice............a bit hard-headed sometimes," he added with a laugh despite whatever response he got back from Blade and Rose.

So Rose was throwing a surprise party to tell Neal that she was pregnant? Man, talk about your timing of these kind of things. The very day that she was going to tell Neal, he was sent in to the future in order to save the world and be united with his daughter. Talk about trippy.

Neal turned his gaze and watched as Blade held Lori. He could only imagine how hard that must be for her, looking down at the girl she loved as an infant. Lori should have been there with all of them, not back with Slade in his destroyed world. It wasn't fair, those two deserved to be happy together. It now looked like that was never going to come true.

Neal finally just leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes before letting out a long breath. The battles, the death, the blood, the secrets, the lies......it was all starting to get to Neal as the information resounded in his head. He was getting a headache and felt like he could sleep for three days straight. A good night's sleep would be a blessing.

"Well... I'm not gonna lie," Cyborg said, holding his hands to his hips. "This whole thing is messed up and trippy as hell. But if that's the way it is, then that's the way it is. So come on then, let's get you set up here at the tower. I'm sure we can find you your own room. And after that, we have a party to get started here, people! I know you all better save me some cake."

"Right," Hot Spot said, eyeing him. "You'll get what's left, because if we don't eat it first, we won't get any."

"Hey now, I know you ain't cracking on my eating habits," Cyborg replied, giving him a glare.

Blade couldn't help but smile at the scene. Her whole life she wanted a family, and a normal life. That's exactly what these people were... a family. It may not be a normal life by regular standards, what with the whole superhero business, but it was as good as it was going to get... the only thing that would possibly make it better was her Lori being there with her... but that wasn't going to happen. She could only hope that things in the future worked out for her... that they had changed the past, and therefore what the world would become.

---

Epilogue...

Blade hummed quietly to herself as she finished putting up the decorations. Everything was perfect. The streamers, the party favors, the cake, the little cone hats... it was all cheesy as hell, but that's what made it great. Taking a step back, she gave the tower lounge one last look over. Yeah, perfect.

"How are things coming in here?" Rose asked, stumbling through the doorway with an armful of wrapped gifts. It wouldn't be a birthday party without gifts, after all.

"Just fine, Mom," Blade stated, with a satisfied nod. "Dad on his way?"

"Yeah, he and your Aunt Lil are on their way now with the pizzas," Rose declared, letting out a small breath as she set the gifts down. She might be strong, but at the ripe age of forty five, she just couldn't lift what she used to. "The others will be here later."

Blade pursed her lips nodding. Aunt Lil, of course, was her own spitting image twenty years from now. It was funny how her mother's 'sister' could look so much like her... but then, who was she to question it? Not like Aunt Lil was really herself from the future or anything, right?

"So, Aunt Kory and the others are making sure she has no idea, right?" Blade asked. "I really want this surprise to be special."

"She doesn't know a thing," Rose assured, nodding.

Blade smiled, glancing down at the small black box in her hand. "Good... Lori's gonna love this."

It had been several days since Neal and Joey returned home, bringing Blade back with them to the present times........or her past. It depended on how you looked at it. Thankfully things were getting back to normal, and the Anderson family was enjoying some serious bonding time together.

"Come on Rose you call that a punch! I think your daughter hits harder than you do!" Neal shouted as he blocked an incoming hit from Rose. Blade then sent out a kick in his direction and Neal jumped backwards in order to avoid it. They were having a three way spar, and so far things were pretty interesting. They all agreed to stick to physical ability and not go as far as to break anyone's faces in.

Neal was breathing heavily and wiped a bit of sweat from his face. "Glad to know that we can at least keep each other on our toes"

"I'll do more than keep you on your toes!" Blade yelled, leaping through the air and spinning into a kick aimed at her father. Before she got there, however, Rose came in from the side and body checked her straight out of the air. Blade tumbled across the ground before coming to a stop and pushing up to her hands and knees. "Hey! This is a three way! You're not supposed to help him!"

"I didn't help him," Rose assure, then spinning into another strike aimed at Neal. "I helped myself!" It was about coming out on top on this spar; she was just trying to take out one of the three and put her in a better position to win, of course. Now, Neal had her to deal with, and he already knew full well what she was capable of.

"We will see about that!" Neal yelled as he got ready for Blade's attack. He raised up a block that he was going to use to throw Blade back to the ground. As he got ready though Rose came in and quickly threw Blade away. Neal just stared in confusion for a moment, wondering if she really was trying to help Neal.

At what Rose said next though he quickly got himself prepared and brought up his defenses. He had known Rose long enough to the point where he could hear how serious her tone was. As he blocked the strike he tried to send out a quick kick aimed at her lower leg in the attempt to make her lose her footing.

When Neal's leg swept beneath Rose's in attempts to trip her up, she locked herself firmly in place and pushed forward, gaining leverage by coming closer to him and driving her elbows towards his ribs. Her goal was to double him over and drop him to the floor with a finishing blow to the back, but she never got that far. Blade recovered fairly quickly, and came lunging in from the side, with a double aerial kick, having either of her feet aimed at both her mother and father's face. This was her chance to take both of them down and come out on top!

Neal tried to move as best as he could but Rose was just too damn fast. She always did have him built on speed, and the moves that she knew easily made up for his edge in strength. He felt the elbows in his ribs, causing a surge of pain to move through his body. As he yelled out though he saw movement off to the side. Blade was coming right for them. "Shit" Neal said as he tried to move away but the position that Rose was in caused him to fail at this. It was only a moment later that he felt the boot crash in to his face and send him towards the ground.

Blade landed gracefully on her feet, as both her parents toppled to the ground, spinning head over heels before coming to an abrupt halt to slowly recover. After flipping herself over and righting herself, Rose picked herself up off the ground and let out a small groan, rubbing her cheek. She had to admit, her daughter packed one hell of a punch. She couldn't be anymore proud of the girl, and she'd only known her for about three days.

"You really are my daughter," Rose said, with a small laugh. She reached up when Blade extended her hand, accepting her daughter's aid to pull her up to her feet. "Excellent job."

The two shared a hug, with Blade gripping the woman around the midsection a little more firmly than was necessary. But she couldn't help it; this was still one of the first times she'd ever hugged a mother who loved her. "Thanks... I try."

Neal just lay on the ground for several moments. "God Damn it," Neal muttered as he rubbed at his own jaw. He had turned just before Blade hit them, so the front of his jaw hurt like hell. Of course now that his head had smacked the floor he also had one of the worst headaches of all time. "That's my girl," Neal muttered to himself. She really was Rose's daughter, there wasn't a single soul that could deny that fact.

Neal glanced up to see Blade help Rose up only to have the two hug each other. "Don't worry guys, I wanted to just stay down here for a little while. I'm fine," Neal said before finally pushing himself to his feet. "Well, I don't know about you two but I think I'd call that a successful amount of training"

Blade glanced over as Neal commented on their not helping him up. Oh right, she knew she'd forgotten something... oh well. She chuckled, finding it rather amusing, actually. Eventually, she made her way over to him and gave him an equally affectionate hug, before finally pulling away and looking at both her parents. Hands on her hips, she just smiled at them. Not everything had gone the way they planned in their planned journey to the path, most notably Lori not making it with them, but she was still thrilled at finally having real, loving parents, in spite of the whole age things. Besides, she was sure that they were already building a better future, a future that her Lori would be living in right now, happy as she could ever be.

"Yeah, I'd say I've had enough of kicking your asses for the time being," she remarked, giving them both a little grin as she began heading for the door. "I'm gonna go hit the showers for now, though.

Rose gave her daughter a wave as she disappeared, then looked over at her husband. "She... she really is amazing, isn't she?"

Neal was rubbing his forehead as Blade made her way over to him. "See, this is why I wear my helmet," he pointed out with a tiny chuckle before feeling Blade's arms wrap around him. He returned the hug and held her close for several moments, wanting to just hold her close to him for as long as he could. She was just so strong, and he couldn't tell her enough words to show how truly proud of he was of her. He was just so happy that she was here.

"Wait till tomorrow, we'll see how well you do. I still need to show you a few of those moves that I haven't taught to you yet," Neal admitted before watching her leave. "We'll catch you later today, have fun," Neal said with a smile.

As he heard Rose speak he only looked at her for a moment. "You should have seen what she was like. I saw her lead squads of men against insane odds and still come out on top," he said as he looked at the door that she had left through. "I haven't seen such a strong individual since............well since I met you"

Rose smiled softly, as Neal told her about what their daughter had been like in the future. It sounded pretty unbelievable, but then Blade was their daughter. "Sounds amazing," she said, giving Neal a quick kiss. "I mean, in spite of what that future was like. I just wish I could have been there to see it..." She paused a moment, then shifted her weight. "So, I really died in action, huh? And too early for our daughter to even remember me... Well, this time around, I'll be here. For both of them." She was of course referring to the older Blade, from the future, as well as the younger Lillian, who had yet to be born and was currently growing in Rose's womb.

"It really was," Neal said before returning Rose's kiss. Things seemed to be pretty normal, the Titans still saved lives and the Anderson family was acting like a real family now. Neal still hadn't told Rose the truth about what happened, and he didn't think that he ever would. Rose was here now and she was okay, what good would come from telling her about what another version of her did? It would do nothing but cause doubt and confusion to enter in to her mind?

"Yeah, I'm told that there was actually quite a large funeral in your honor. You died and saved a lot of people that day," Neal lied before wrapping his arm around his wife. "We'll both be here, our daughters won't have to worry about growing up alone anymore"