A/N: This is going to be a sad story with the potential for a happy ending. I hope that everyone will tag along for the ride.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or any other trademarked or registered items.

THE ROAD OF LIFE

By: Tech-Man

All of the furniture in the great room had been pushed to the sides, and the floor had been evened out using specially made metal skids. Row after row of chairs were placed all facing the huge windows on east side of the tower. In front of the windows a podium was placed with the Titan's embalm carved into its dark oak finish. The front three rows had been roped off with yellow tape that read reserved. There was a peace about the room as Robin surveyed the final arrangements for his speech.

The double doors whooshed open and all the guests began filing into the room along with reporters and officials from the various locations the Titan's had helped rescue. Robin stood near the podium as everyone came in and took chairs. The close groups sitting together and the estranged ones apart. It was interesting to watch the different groups find seating within the rows of chairs. Waiting a sufficient amount of time Robin took the stage behind the podium.

"Ladies and gentleman, Honorary Titans, I would like to thank you all for coming to the special day. My I introduce the Titans East,' Robin said as the five members of the Titans East passed through a side door. Once they were seated Robin motioned again towards the door as the original Titans entered. The room held a steady applause as both teams took their seats.

Starfire looked up catching Robin's eye. A slight blush formed on the masked hero's face as he pulled himself together and once again addressed the crowd. "Please, everyone have a seat. We are here today to witness the end of a tradition. The Titans were once strangers and have joined to together as friends and family. Those of you who went on to join the Titan's East or even those who become honorary titans yourself are now a part of this tradition. You are no longer strangers. Some who were once on the opposing side have now seen the error of their ways and joined with us." Robin glanced towards the back of the room where a pair of pink pigtails stood above the crowd.

"Hey, you know I just might change my mind," Jinx yelled from the back of the room where she was sitting with Flash. "Don't think I can't or won't make an exception just for you bird boy." The smile was evident in her voice as she heckled Robin.

The crowd all turned and looked towards the back of the room, then back towards Robin. A smile graced his features as he directed his eyes towards a certain speedster trying to look nonchalant. "Flash, you picked quite a girl."

Flash looked towards Robin. "You know as well as I do that we didn't pick them; they picked us." The comment elicited laugher from the crowd as they once again gave their full attention to Robin.

Robin chuckled to himself before continuing on with his speech. "Well Titan's, this has been a great journey. We have served and protected our various communities for many years. We banded together to bring about the end of the Brotherhood of Evil and other lesser villains, and now I am honored to call you all my friends and colleagues. This day will mark the end of a tradition, but the beginning to something new. I have met with the entire Titan's and most of you seated here. We have decided to disband the Titans from a formal unit. We have finally progressed from awkward adolescence into maturity, and it is now time for us to move in a new direction. We each have the places we would like to travel to. Except maybe for Flash back there, I think he has already been on very piece of dry soil this planet has to offer."

A small laugher rippled through the crowd. "The mayor of Jump City and I have been talking about a way to let shine the legacy of the Titans. In that respect we have agreed to turn Titan Tower into a museum slash hotel. Before officially vacating the premises we will help to secure the dangerous items housed here and make it a more suitable place for people to stay when visiting Jump City. Now, I would like to invite everyone here to attend a kind of going away party. Cyborg and Starfire have been working very hard on the decorations and food setup, and yes Beast Boy there will be tofu available. I would invite everyone to follow the highlighted path down to the combat simulation room where we have setup the party."

With Robin's final word the crowd began to stand and move towards the great double doors. Jinx pulled on Flash's hand when he stood. "Where do you think your going?" Jinx asked allowing her power to fill her eyes casting them in a pink tinge. Jinx enjoyed the slight paling of Flash's face as he sat back down next to her.

Jinx waited while the room emptied leaving just her and the slightly paler Flash. "Jinx, what's wrong?" he asked reaching over and picking up her hand.

Slowly, carefully, Jinx leaned in placing her lips next to his ear. "You were the one that chose Wallace, and I am glad you did." She placed a chaste kiss along his cheek before standing up. "But," she filled her eyes with her power, "if you ever repeat that I will have to kill you. Can't let a girls reputation go down the drain, now can I?"

A blur of red and yellow found Jinx in Flash's arms his lips hovering above hers. "I love you and I may have made the first move, but you were the one that decided I could stick around," he carefully laid his lips on hers in a brief kiss, "now lets go to the party."

The bottom five levels of Titan Tower consisted of the Combat Simulations Room or the Com-Sim room for short. The place normally housed the latest and greatest in non-lethal weaponry that can be configured in over 2.8 million different styles. Today the room was lush with banners representing all of the different Titan's and Honorary Titan's.

Beast Boy gazed up at the banners searching for one in particular. He found it in the corner a yellow banner with a T centered in a circle. An unconscious sigh escaped from his lips as memories filled his mind. He had followed the 'new' Terra since first laying eyes on her all those years ago. He had been at her high school graduation, a small bird sitting on one of the rafters high above the stage. She had left Jump City after graduation headed for college. Beast Boy had watched from the forest where it encroached upon the train station as she boarded it headed for some city on the east coast. He had desperately wanted to board that train and just see where she was headed, but his communicator had signaled some emergency in the city. He had turned and left; the last image he had of her sitting down next to the window attaching a small clip to hold her hair back. Some careful research later he discovered that the train was headed for San Francisco where the Titan's East were located. Pleading with Bumble Bee, Beast Boy had managed to get her to agree to locate Terra once her train arrived. He had eagerly awaited the report that finally came three days later. There had been no sign of Terra on the train and nothing to indicate that she had even arrived in San Francisco.

Beast Boy's daydream was interrupted by Cyborg slapping him on the back. "Hey man, why are you staring up at the flag? You know we sent an invitation to her last known good address. It came back man I don't know what to tell you. Now come on, let's get something to eat," Cyborg said directing Beast Boy towards the four buffet lines. Beast Boy followed without much enthusiasm his thoughts still trained on a blue-eyed girl.

"Robin, are we truly going to go back to Tamaran? Did you mean it?" Starfire asked hovering several inches above the ground with excitement. Robin smiled at his fiancé.

"I told you that. I want to marry you Starfire and I want to do it the right way. Now, come on let's enjoy the party before we leave," Robin said directing the Tamarain's attention back towards the party.

The atmosphere of the party had originally been one of quite sadness had transformed in to a celebration of the fun they had had as part of a team. The crowd that had begun the party in a somber mood had suddenly made a drastic shift towards cheer. The young heroes intermingled dancing and generally having a good time. Some even used their powers to create inside fireworks. Raven was even spotted with a smile on her face. The party lasted for several hours and well into the next day. When everyone was finally winding down and heading towards their own corners of the world and five original members headed off towards the roof.

"Do you remember when we first met; Starfire trashing the city and Beast Boy just trying to get people to go get pizza with him," Cyborg commented lounging in one of the chairs. "I can't believe that from those first awkward meetings we actually managed to form a team."

"Yes, the look on Robin's face when I kissed him to learn your language. Only now do I know the confusion that he felt about it," Starfire spoke while holding on to Robin's hand.

"Man, I can't believe that we're separating. Oh you guys are going to have to come over and hang out. I've put a down payment on an apartment in the city. I am going to have the entire place decked out to play Monkey Ninja's 7," Beast Boy said the excitement coming off him in waves.

"I'll be there just to whoop your butt little green man," Cyborg said jumping to his feet and mimicking the defeat of Beast Boy.

"Oh no, I will so own you," Beast Boy came back jumping onto Cyborg's back. The two struggled for a moment then laughing joined the others.

"I can't believe I am about to say this," Raven spoke up getting the groups attention, "but I am really going to miss this kind of stuff." That sobered the group up as the all reflected on this being the end of the Titan's. "I will be joining what is left of my family on Azarath tomorrow," Raven said.

"When will you leave friend Raven," Starfire asked concern lacing her voice. The others looked from Star to Raven.

"I will be leaving first thing in the morning Star. It takes a great deal of power, concentration, and time. I will have to get started soon if I am to arrive on time." The others nodded as if they truly could understand what Raven was talking about.

"Robin and I will be leaving for Tamaran tomorrow morning. I hope that you will all join us for the ceremony in a few months," Star said trying to bring everyone back to the fun they had planned.

"You know we wouldn't miss your wedding for the world," Cyborg said seconded by Beast Boy and Raven.

"I hope that we can still spend time together and continue to do the hanging out as we have always done," Star said clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture.

"We're still going to hang out," Robin said coming to his feet and wrapping an arm around Star's waist. "We have all had a long day and night and several of us are leaving in the morning so I would suggest that we go ahead and go to bed." The others agreed and one by one they filed off the roof and down the stairs toward the dormitory floor.

Beast Boy lingered around the door that led to Terra's room. He desperately wished that she was in there or that he at least knew she was okay. He had spent months after she left covering every stop that her train had made. No one was able to help him locate her; they couldn't even remember seeing a girl matching her description boarding the train. The college that she had enrolled in showed that she never showed up to fill out her admission papers. He just couldn't think of where she could have possibly gone. "I miss you Terra," he sighed under his breath as he turned and headed towards his own room.

The morning found the Titan's bright eyed and eager for the next stage of their lives. Raven opened an inter-dimensional portal and bidding everyone farewell stepped through. Robin and Starfire boarded the T-Ship and launched off towards Tamaran. Cyborg loaded the T-Car and waved to Beast Boy as he headed off towards San Francisco and Bumble Bee. Beast Boy grabbed his bag and headed off towards his newly acquired apartment. All had plans to meet in the near future, but first they had to get a start on their own lives.

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