AN: Finally! After six months I managed to get this chapter finished! For those of you who have come back to this story, thanks for your patience. Now, I'm not making any promises but I have started on chpt 7, so hopefully you won't have another six month wait!

Replayed the first Walking Dead game while writing this. Damn the ending gets me every time, poor Clementine. If you haven't played it, it's well worth it. And if you're not a game player, find a play through on you tube. Guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Robin wearily poked his head out of the man-hole and was momentarily blinded by the early morning light. When he was sure there was no moment he climbed out and offered his companion a hand, which she took. Kate let out a sigh of relief as she moved out into the pale dawn before taking in a deep breath of fresh air.

"Damn, it's good to be out of the sewers." She stretched her arms above her head and twisted her back until something popped as she claimed, "I never did like small spaces."

"It's safe, but that's about the only thing it's got going for it," Robin nodded. "On the bright side, a lot of the rats seemed to have left."

Katie grinned. "I had wondered about that. I'd always imagined sewers to be infested. I think I saw two, and one was dead."

"I know it hasn't been that long but with the city evacuated they have a free run. Either that or they're a damn sight smarter than ourselves and left with the wind." Robin checked his utility belt out of habit. "You got that bo-staff?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Remember what I said; hit hard. They're not human and given the chance they will kill you. We'll go to the hotel before making our way to Titans Tower. Hopefully we'll find you something easier to use – and more lethal – than the bo-staff."

Katie pulled the light-weight staff from her pocket and extended it out, gripping it tightly in her right hand. "So why are we still here?"

Having searched and found a more practical outfit that included trainers and jogging bottoms the night before for the red head, she moved easier than they had on their flight from the hotel and the pair made good time. They travelled along the same route, slowing down as they moved through the ground floor of an office complex, sticking close to the white walls.

They were near the lobby before Robin heard any signs of light, and he pushed the woman closer to the wall with an extended arm before motioning for her to remain still. He removed a bird-a-rang from his belt, hugging the way until he reached the blind corner and slowly eased to see round.

He wasn't expecting the demon to be mere inches away, and he threw the bird-a-rang through pure instinct and little else, the sharp edge burying itself into the putrid flesh of the creature's neck. It tried to scream but all it managed was a weak gurgle as it pulled the bird-a-rang free, black sludge spurting from the wound. Robin reached for his bo-staff as the demon stumbled back, extending it with one sharp flip of his wrist, using both hands to swing it round in a wide arc.

Robin aimed for the wound his bird-a-rang had made, the blood flowing thicker as the staff buried in deep, the sound of something snapping letting him know he'd found the spine, and the creature dropped to the ground, limp.

Looking up, nothing else moved and Robin motioned for Katie to follow him. She took large steps over the fallen demon, staring at it with wide eyes.

"You're not expecting me to be able to do that, are you?" The woman asked, and Robin grinned to himself.

"No. Don't worry, we'll be swapping the staff for something sharp and pointy the moment we can."

"Not a gun?" Katie asked. "I'm a good shot – was raised by a hunter."

"No guns. Not unless you want the entire city to hear."

"Right. Yeah. Kind of forgot about that. They always use guns in the movies."

"If guns were even as half as effective against these things are they are Hollywood monsters, the army would have won things by now."

Robin came to a stop as they reached the door leading out onto the streets, carefully peering out of the glass panelling on the doors, relieved to find the road outside was clear.

"We're going to run. Stick close to me, and try to keep an eye out for anything behind you. The hotel's just around the corner."

The woman nodded determinedly. "Got it."

Robin started to open the door but paused as he looked back at Katie, asking, "You said you were a business woman – doing what?"

"Fasion – it was my job to get as many shops selling our brand as I could. Why?"

"I… never mind. You ready?"

"I was born ready," she grinned nervously, gripping her staff tighter.

The boy wonder shoved the door open and they were out on the street, shoes hitting the concrete in a steady rhythm. Robin reflected it might have been a better idea to move slower and quieter but admitted it was too late to change that now. He didn't want to slow down with the risk of something on their trail. He led her through the streets, trying to recalled their escape path from the night before. His memory served him well, and they found themselves facing the hotel within minutes.

Katie anxiously looked up and down the street, panting slightly as she asked, "Where's the door?"

"We used the fire escape, remember?"

"So we're going back that way?"

"You remember which window it was?" Robin asked, and the woman shook her head. "Neither do I. We'll use the lobby. I assume you remember your room number?"

"212," Katie nodded. "We're… not going to have to take the stairs are we?"

"If the lifts aren't working we can use my grapple hook," Robin reassured her, the red head letting out a sigh of relief.

"Good, because that's an awful lot of stairs."

The leader of the Titans smiled slightly as he led her round the side of the building and through the front doors. The lobby of the hotel did nothing to hide the evidence of the panic that had swept through the place.

Suitcases - some half open and spilling their content onto the floor – lay in disarray with luggage trolleys, a baby stroller and even a few handbags. The pair carefully picked their way through the mess, trying to make as little noise as possible. So far it seemed as though they'd gone unnoticed, but Robin knew it wouldn't last and, given the choice, would prefer to face the demons outside in an open space.

They reached the elevator doors, and Robin pressed the call button, Katie peering over his shoulder, happy to see the light went on.

"This makes me kind of glad I'd decided to stay in my room," she muttered. "It doesn't looked like the evacuation went as planned."

Robin didn't answer, hearing the 'clank' of the elevator coming into place on the other side of the door, waiting until they were inside and moving towards floor five to say, "They should have evacuated the city weeks ago but they wouldn't listen. They thought it would be over before it had reached the coast."

"Nothing wrong with being optimistic."

"There is if peoples' lives are involved."

The woman didn't have an answer to that, and they arrived on the fifth floor in silence. Robin had his staff raised and ready as the doors opened, and he carefully checked the hallway before venturing out.

"To the left. It's on this corridor," Katie told the Titan, and he took lead, glancing back every few steps to ensure they weren't being followed.

Reaching room 212 Robin tried the door only to find it locked, and he looked back at the red head. "You don't happen to have your key, do you?"

Katie shook her head wordlessly, and after checking the corridor once more for company Robin backed up before running forward and kicking the door. It took two attempts before he managed to break the lock and he quickly ushered the woman inside not happy about the amount of noise he'd made.

Robin closed the door behind him, leaving Katie to her own devices as he quickly searched the room.

"It's not here," he told her, frustrated.

"What?"

"If I dropped it here, someone's picked it up. Maybe even my teammates."

"So what do we do now?"

"We find you a weapon. My teammates will find us."

The woman frowned unhappily. "How? This city is huge."

"Beast Boy has a good nose, and Raven can sense people – we'll head over to Titans Tower. I can contact them from the computer there is needs be."

"But that's on the other side of the city!"

Robin nodded. "It might take us a while." Heading back to the door he did his best to offer the woman a comforting smile. "But we'll be fine."

Walls of black rushed past Raven, her small body falling, falling, falling. She wanted to scream, to find an outlet for the terror she felt but her lungs were empty of air. It was like she was winded. The idea of drawing in a breath to fuel her scream seemed like an impossible feat.

The hand on her wrist was a heavy, bruising weight that seemed to pull her down faster, as though without it she might float like a downy feather. At the back of her mind something much more pressing was demanding her thoughts. The floor. She could see the floor and she was still falling.

The surface – as harsh and unforgiving as the walls surrounding her – approached at an impossible speed. The thought crossed her mind that she might actually die, her eyes slamming shut as she prepared for the impact…

She sat up, her eyes snapping open, a panicked gasp on her lips and her arms held out in front of her to ward of the impact that never came. There was a moment of calm as Raven registered where she was, the stone temple built for her father more familiar to her than she'd have liked, the bitter, damp air cold to her skin after the heat in her dream. Then the pain hit. Intense fiery fingers that ripped through her chest and stole her breath away.

Raven didn't remember moving but she was suddenly huddled over herself, the idea of straightening up daunting. A noise of pain escaped her lips, barely louder than a whisper, but Jinx was suddenly knelt beside her looking worried.

"Rae, what's wrong?"

What was wrong? It took the empath a moment o recall her broken ribs. For some reason – probably thanks to the nightmare – she'd woken while her body was in the process of rapid healing. It had happened to her a few times before and each had been as agonising as the first. She attempted to tell Jinx but all she could manage was a small breathless moan as she crossed her arms over her chest, hoping to relieve some of the pain.

"Are you injured?" Jinx asked moments before recalling the bruises she'd seen spread across the empath's chest. "Your ribs! Damn it Rae, why didn't you say something?"

With some effort to get Raven to unfold her arms, oblivious to the woman's hand gestures as Raven tried to tell her the pain would pass, Jinx gently felt the woman's ribs through her t-shrt before trying to pull the material up for a better look, the cold skin on her hand cutting through Raven's pain for an instant.

The halfling fought to pull her top back down but Jinx slapped her hand away as she asked, "Do you realise how bad some of these breaks are? One wrong move and you could have punctured a lung or something! If you'd have said something I could have at least strapped them for you!"

"I'm fine," Raven managed to force out, and seeing Jinx's brow rise in disbelief she made herself add, "I'm healing. The pain… it's from rapid healing." She winced as the thief continued to prod at her. "Imagine the pain of a healing break… over a few weeks, and roll it all into one day."

"You sure? 'Cause it don't feel like they're healing."

"Certain."

Jinx sat back on her heels and withdrew her hand, watching uncertainly for a moment before she asked, "Anything I can do to help?"

Raven shook her head. "Just… give me a minute."

The theif estimated that many half an hour had passed before Raven started to relax, slowly straightening her back before she let herself collapse onto the pile of blankets and duvets she'd been sleeping on. Jinx quickly moved back over and prodded her chest again, able to feel enough to confirm the breaks were no longer half as bad before Raven pushed her hand away.

"Quit that – they still hurt."

"I thought you said they were healing," Jinx accused.

"They have, to a point. I've never been able to heal breaks or fractures in one go."

"Great. So let me see how bad they are. Running around while you're injured won't-" Jinx came to an abrupt stop as Raven sat up, grabbing hold of Jinx's hand as it threatened to poke her again.

"Just stop. I'm fine. Understand? Now back the hell off."

Jinx snatched her hand back, moving away as she replied angrily, "Fuck you then. I'm only trying to help."

"How can you help me when you don't know the first thing about me? We don't know each other, I get that, so when I saw I'm fine, take my word for it!"

"Alright! No need to lose your god damned head! But just to remind you, you were the one who said we were on the same team." She crossed her arms and stubbornly stared at the woman for a moment before asking, "So, what's the plan?"

"Plan for what?" Raven asked, letting her eyes drift shut as she lay back down.

"For today. What's the plan of attack?"

"At the moment? To let me recover. I just… need a minute or two," She admitted tersely. Jinx nodded, though it wasn't the response she'd been hoping for. Sitting around gave her time to think, and she didn't want to do that."

The thief only managed to keep her silence for a minute or two before she broke it. "This is just contained to America right? It's not gonna travel further than our shores?"

Raven opened her eyes and studied the woman carefully as she told her, "Before the demons had reached California and we lost contact there had been a few reports overseas, particularly in China and parts of Europe. As far as we know, they can't swim so we'd assumed they were somehow getting aboard ships before the marline boarders came into effect, but then the numbers reported increased… Where ever these things are coming from, it's a different dimension. Despite popular belief, the fabrics of dimensions are quite unstable. It is possible that after the first portal was opened others appeared in spots where the 'walls' between dimensions were weak. To open a portal like the one in Gotham and maintain it – it would have taken a very powerful blast of magic. It would have damaged more than just the immediate area. It could have destabilised the entire thing." Jinx managed to go a shade paler, and it didn't go unnoticed. "You have family overseas?"

Jinx slowly nodded. "It's stupid. They could have died years ago for all I know, but death from illness or an accident or even a violent mugging is better than the idea of… they're not metas or trained fights, and when I left my eldest Brother was in the army. He'd be on the front line of defence…" She let out a short, distressed laugh. "I haven't even thought about them in years. Go figure."

"I understand. Death happens every day in many forms, and it is expected so easier to accept. But to be killed by something that shouldn't even belong here…"

Jinx nodded. "So what about you?"

"Me?"

"Your family?"

"They're… not even in this dimension."

"Oh, yeah. You mentioned you weren't from here already didn't you?" The thief frowned at her. "Why don't you go home? Escape this?"

"Earth is my home now."

Jinx didn't say anything, watching as Raven carefully stretched. "These… dimensions and portals. You seem like you know what you're talking about. That mean you'll be able to find a way to reverse it all?"

"It'd have to be a spell of some sort, and these things tend to be very specific. I'll need to find out the name of the dimension they're coming from first."

"And if this 'wall' between dimensions collapsed completely? What would happen?"

"I'm not sure. No doubt the two dimensions would merge, though I don't think-"

Raven cut short, and Jinx scowled at her, watching as she tilted her head to one side. "… everything okay?"

"I think…" The empath trailed off again as she stood, eyes going to the roof above them.

Jinx followed her gaze, seeing nothing but rock. "So was that a 'yes' or an unfinished sentence? You need to stop half answering shit. I'm not a mind reader you know."

"I think I can sense them," Raven told her patiently. "My team mates. Or three of them, at least."

"What?" Jinx asked excitedly, following Raven to her feet. "You mean like, nearby?"

"Yes."

"How'd you know it's them?"

"People have different energy signatures that I can feel and recognise. Starfire's stands out due to her being an alien, and is recognisable even from a distance," Raven explained distractedly. "I think it's her I can feel now."

"Then what are we waiting for?! Can you find them?!"

"I shouldn't have to," the empath smiled, looking at the thief. "There's nothing for them to come here for, except this place. We'll wait until they're closer. If it feels like they're moving further away we'll go."

"You gettin' anything yet?" Cyborg asked as they slowly moved down streets they hadn't set foot in since Trigon's defeat.

They'd managed to reach the old block of town without conflict, but the Titans knew it wouldn't last and fancied their chances better with Raven at their backs.

Beast Boy shifted out of his bloodhound form to shake his head and answer, "Nothing. Not even from the other demons and I don't blame them. Nothing's down here."

"Raven may not have used these streets, but that does not mean she isn't using the library," Starfire pointed out stubbornly.

"And I totally agree with you," Beast Boy quickly nodded. "There's just one problem."

"There is?" Cyborg asked.

"Yeah. Even if Rae's usin' the library, how are we supposed to get in there to check? Without Rae that place is going to be locked up tight."

"If Raven is there, we will not need to get in – she should be able to sense us," Starfire told them confidently. "I believe you told me that's how she knew I was nearby after we first met. If she could recognise us minutes after meeting us I'm certain she'd have no problems recognising us now."

"And if she isn't here?" Beast Boy asked as he led them round the corner and onto the street housing the old building, standing tall out of the rubble and surrounding buildings. "What if she's already gone out looking for us or something?"

"Then you'd have a long day ahead of you."

The three Titans spun round upon hearing the unmistakeable rasp of the demon halfling, large smiles of shock and joy on their faces as they found Raven, and a few steps behind her Jinx.

"Raven!" Beast Boy launched himself at the empath, drawing the surprised woman into a bear hug. For once she returned it, though not quite as enthusiastically.

For a moment she felt a twinge of bitter jealously from Jinx, and underneath sadness at the lack of her own team, but it disappeared as Cyborg strode past Raven and the Changeling, a large smile on his face as he approached the thief and pulled her into a hug.

"Damn girl, do you even realise how lucky you were to catch up with Raven?"

"I've got an idea," the hex caster muttered with a small smile.

Raven pushed Beast Boy away from her, managing to turn to observe Cyborg and Jinx before Starfire invaded her personal space, her hug bruising.

"Catching up might be safer inside," Raven spoke up as she patted Starfire on the back before detangling herself. "You were right to assume I would be using the library for a base, though I don't know how – it was kind of a last minute decision made when I had no other choice."

"I just know you better than you think," Beast Boy grinned, and when Raven scowled at the shape-shifter Cyborg told her,

"BB was the one who suggested looking here. So I take it you haven't seen Robin running around anywhere?"

Jinx got the sudden image of Robin running along the rooftops and waving at them before disappearing, her burst of laughter making the others jump. She shook her head as they all looked at her. "I just… never mind."

"We haven't seen him," Raven said, gaining her friends attention.

"We did find this," Starfire spoke up, unclipping a bright yellow communicator from the belt on her skirt and holding it up for them to see. "His communicator."

Raven's expression darkened for a moment before she motioned for them all to step closer to her. "Let's go inside and we can discuss everything properly."

No one argued with her, and once they were close enough she enveloped them within her soul self, the black mass sinking through the cracked concrete. Reappearing in the room Jinx and Raven had decided to make us of seconds later, the dark energy receded, Jinx shivering uncontrollably as she quickly stepped away from the empath. The others weren't half as phased, and after a quick look around Beast Boy made himself at home, sitting on one of the two makeshift beds on the ground. Raven went over to the stash of goods they'd been collecting, grabbing several water bottles and passing them around, Jinx hovering near her uncertainly as she studied the Titans.

"Though we haven't managed to get much, we do have food," Raven told them as she sat down on the other 'bed' before motioning towards the pile. "Help yourselves."

Cyborg didn't hesitate, not needed to be asked twice, but Beast Boy and Starfire didn't move. Raven spared a glance for Jinx as the woman sat next to her, only inches away, before turning to Starfire.

"Exactly where did you find Robin's communicator?"

"A hotel room," the alien answered, and the two boys seemed content to let her explain, "There seemed to be no signs of a struggle, although the window was shattered."

"I'm sure he's fine, "Raven said after a moment's silence. "No doubt he used the window as a quick route in or out of the building."

"That's what we thought, since his trail just stopped, "Beast Boy nodded before accusing Raven, "and he's not the only one. If you'd have just walked it would have been so much easier to find you."

The emapth shrugged. "Easier for you and everything else on our trail."

"How are the two of you anyway?" Cyborg asked as he wandered over, holding several energy bars.

"Fine," Jinx quickly answered before glaring at the woman next to her. "If 'fine' happens to be your definition of several broken ribs."

Everyone looked at the empath, but it wasn't with the level of concern the thief had expected from them.

"How bad?" Cyborg asked.

"Nothing that warrants medical attention. They're about half healed now."

"From the fall?" Cyborg asked, and Raven nodded.

"Am I the only one who sees the problem here?" Jinx asked, frustrated. "Broken ribs are serious!"

"Raven's healed worse on her own," Beast Boy grinned. "Probably did straight after the fall. I mean she did fall of a building with twenty floors – couldn't expect her to come out unscathed."

"A 20 story…" She looked at Raven. "You never said it was a building with twenty fucking floors!"

"I didn't exactly count them on the way down," Raven responded dryly before telling her teammates, "Jinx has a few scars but they should be fine – I healed the initial wounds. And apart from my factures…"

"How did you find each other?" Starfire asked as she sat down next to Beast Boy.

"She has a loud mouth, though we always knew that," Raven smiled slightly before continuing seriously, "She was being attacked by several demons. I almost didn't make it in time. She was unconscious when I reached her."

The Titans eyes on her, Jinx shrugged and grinned weakly. "I always was lucky."

"I'll say!" Cyborg responded before asking, "What about the H.I.V.E Five?"

"Kyd disappeared pretty early on an' I don't blame him. We'd thought we'd be safe to hide out in our base – you guys never found it – but we were wrong." The thief cast her eyes to the ground. "I didn't see Mammoth or See-More escape so they might'a made it, but Gizmo and Billy…"

No one knew what to say, Starfire eventually saying, "then we must look for Mammoth and See-more too."

"See-more was badly injured when I last saw him. I don't think-"

"When we last saw Rae she were fallin' from god knows what height, and we couldn't get through to her communicator," Beast Boy interrupted with a gentle smile. "We'll find them. You're a tough bunch."

Jinx didn't respond, and Raven eventually asked, "The evacuation? How did it go?"

"Well, it couldn't have gone any worse," Cyborg smiled unhappily. "We were overwhelmed. It got to the point where our only option was to hide. Most of the buses got away though. That sayin', remember New York where everyone feeling was caught on the highway in traffic and a wave of the things just wiped them out?"

"Don't say that!" Starfire protested, upset. "They will have made it I'm sure! Most of the demons are still here in the city."

"Only because there are still people hiding," the robotic man muttered. He was feeling helpless. They all were. Ignoring the scowl he received from the Tameranean princess he looked at Raven. "Right. Robin's not here which puts you in charge. What are we doing?"

The woman cringed. "Then… Cyborg I nominate you for leader until we find Robin."

"I don't think so. Besides, you know more about our situation than any of us," he replied. "Robin didn't make you second in command for nothing, you know."

Raven pouted for a moment, her mind blank now she was in the spot light before suggesting, "Well now that there are five of us, we should probably start to think about going to Titans Tower. Jinx and I were planning to stay here due to it's security but if we're at the Tower I can go through my books and try to figure out our best move while we search for Robin." She paused, before deciding, "Three more nights here – that should give us time to search downtown before heading to Titans Tower. If we conduct all the searches from the Tower we'll – you'll – only waste time travelling back and forth."

"Sounds like a plan," Cyborg nodded approvingly.

"Jinx and I were going to head out anyway to do some more searching – we'll pick up a map and we can figure out a route and boundaries to search. No doubt you three would prefer to remain here and rest?"

"Yes!" Beast Boy sighed in relief as he flopped back onto the 'bed', though the other two didn't look so convinced.

"What if something happens while you're out. We'd be stuck down here," Starfire worried.

"Nothing will happen. We'll teleport out of the area at the first sign on trouble."

"Maybe I should come with?" Cyborg asked. "Until I've got some way of recharging there's no point for me to sleep."

"We got this," Jinx grinned as she got to her feet. "We make a good team. Besides, we've managed this far haven't we?"

"Just leave them to it, dude," the changeling yawned. "Half robot or not, you can't say you aren't tired and this place is just about as safe as it's gonna get."

"Alright. But try not to be any longer than two hours, yeah?"

"Okay, dad," Jinx grinned as she offered Raven her hand, surprised when the empath let her help her to her feet.

"And you should take Robin's communicator, so we have means of getting in touch," Starfire said as she passed Raven the yellow device.

The demon halfling nodded, securing it onto her jewelled belt before looking at the pink eyed hex caster. "Ready?"

"Not really, no," She replied but stepped close enough to the woman that their shoulders brushed. "Let's just get the whole cold dark energy thing over with, shall we?"

Jinx carefully made her way through the pitch black tunnels beneath the old library, a dim torch clutched in one hand as she searched the ancient rooms for the empath. She could feels the hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention, her shoulders tense, keeping her on edge.

"Yo, Rae? You here?"

There was something about the place that made her want to keep quiet, even where they'd set up camp. Jinx swept the dull yellow beam of light back and forth the void before her, dragging her feet along to reduce her chance of tripping, the idea being that she'd feel anything in her way first.

"Come on, Rae. Where did you go?"

"You shouldn't be wandering around on your own."

Jinx almost dropped the flashlight she jumped that badly and she tried to find Raven as she felt her face grow red with embarrassment. "Yeah, because you obviously didn't come down here on your own. Anyway, I thought you said we were safe down here?"

"All the doors are locked to those without… a key of sorts, but you may have noticed the air flow – we'd suffocate without it. I'm not entirely sure of its source. Hopefully the vents are inaccessible but I don't know."

"Comforting," Jinx muttered quietly as she did another sweep of the area with her torch before giving up. "So you gonna keep talkin' from the shadows or are you going to come out where I can see you?"

"Keep walking forward and I should come within range of your pathetic excuse of a flashlight."

"My flashlight? I'm sorry but I'm 90% sure this is the one you picked up from the same place we got that map," Jinx retorted as she slowly continued forward. A smile broke her lips, but only just. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watch, and not just by Raven.

Grey skin and purple hair melted into the light of the torch and Jinx felt herself relax slightly. The woman was sat down, twisted at the waist so she could watch the thief.

"What are you doin' here anyway?" Jinx asked.

"Thinking," Raven shrugged. She patted the floor next to her and the thief moved over, sitting down.

"Yeah, well everyone was starting to worry about where you'd gotten off to. I was startin' to worry."

"I don't know why." Raven turned her eyes back to the dark space in front of them, staring at something neither Jinx's eyes nor flashlight could pick out. "We're not going to move anywhere until the sun comes up."

"An' I suppose you suddenly have a watch on you?"

"I don't need one. When the sun rises this entire chamber lights up."

"What? How?" Jinx frowned. "Aren't we underground?"

"I'll bring you here tomorrow at dawn if your really interested. I suppose to some it could be called pretty."

The pair sat in silence for a moment before Jinx asked, "So what were you thinking about?"

"Everything?" Raven muttered. "I just… needed some space."

"We just found your team. Well, most of it, and you need some space? I thought what you'd need is to sit in that room with the others and do some catching up, maybe plan out our next move."

"We have – we're setting out search areas on the map. Then we're going to patrol those areas looking for Robin and your team mates."

"There's something bothering you. What's up?"

"It's the end of the world – what isn't bothering about that?" Raven replied dryly.

"Not exactly." Jinx mused in her lilted voice. "I mean regardless of whether or not the human species is wiped out the world – Earth – will still be here. It'll be different, but it'll be here."

"Was that supposed be to a positive thought? I couldn't tell."

Raven watched a wide grin break across the woman's face. "Neither, because if we think we'll fail we will, and I don't want that. I wanna live till I'm eighty – Kinda curious about whether or not my hair will turn grey. You know, different genes, different rules."

"You won't have to wait until eighty for that," The empath replied with a small smile.

"Don't be too sure. Pitāmahī didn't get any grey hairs until she were closin' in on seventy."

"Pitāmahī is Sanskrit," the Titan told Jinx. "I believe the direct translation you're looking for is Grandmamma."

Jinx didn't reply, staring at the space in front of her before letting out a quiet "…shit."

"So, that family overseas you mentioned..?"

"Fuck off. You mention this to no-one, yeah? It was slip of the tongue. I'm tired."

"It's not that big a deal."

The thief chose not to reply, instead accusing, "You understand Sanskrit."

"I can do a bit more than understand it. It's one of six languages I'm fluent in, though I haven't had much cause to use it."

"I… don't actually speak it. Not fluently. You pick up another language when a third of your town speaks it." Jinx frowned and sat up straighter. "But we're not talking about me. You still haven't told me what's bothering you."

Raven sighed, looking away from Jinx. "Right at this moment? The whole 'leader' thing. Cyborg said I know more about this situation than they do but I don't. I know no more than they do. I don't know how to fix this and even if I did I'm not leader material. I follow or play by myself. I told Robin making me second in command was a bad idea. Cyborg wanted the position – hell even Beast Boy would do a better job at it than me."

"The grass stain?" Jinx asked sceptically.

"He lead us against the Brotherhood of Evil, remember?"

"…Point. But you know, sometimes those who don't want to lead make the best leaders. Me excluded, of course."

Raven turned to scowl at her, though Jinx didn't see it in the dark. "The sooner we find Robin, the better."

"What are we going to do once we've found everyone?" Jinx asked quietly. "I mean we can't exactly stay in the city forever."

"I don't know. Robin will have a plan. He always does." She stood after a moment and offered Jinx a hand. "We should probably head back to the others."

"You know, we're kinda short on suitable bedding. If we have to double up I'm calling dibbs on you," the hex caster grinned as she let the woman pull her to her feet.

"Fantastic," Raven muttered, careful to make sure her voice was heavily layered with sarcasm.

"Relax, I don't fidget in my sleep much."

"The last time I tried to wake you, you tried to kick me in the ribs," Raven countered as they started walking.

"Well, yeah. Waking me up is a whole different kettle of fish."

"Some of your sayings are almost as stupid as Beast Boy's," Raven remarked. "'Kettle of fish'?"

"You're almost as stupid as Beast Boy."

AN: No, I didn't get this beta'd. You might have noticed. As always, reviews are welcome, and so long as you're signed in you will get a reply.