Hello my faithful, and I have to start this off with an apology.

I have been having a few RL problems that have left me a little out of the loop...because of this my stories have been a bit neglected. I had my wife bring me my laptop, so please do not fret, I will update all that are behind and do my best to keep up. Again I apologize.

Half a Man

Chapter 7

Raven shrieked loudly as she ran around a tree in hopes of dodging the projectiles.

If anyone from her past saw her now they would be shocked and bewildered by her behavior.

Ok…rather they would be stupefied.

Even her team mates now (sans Cyborg) would be at a loss for words from the girly shriek she had let out moments before.

In fact most would be shocked into unconsciousness by the sheer absurdity of the situation. Raven looked around the tree with trepidation as her hands gripped the bark like a shield. She was sure at any moment she would be attacked again, but like most people human nature led her to do the obvious.

She didn't see her relentless pursuer and it made her wonder where he could be as she came out from around the tree, when it suddenly seemed like a darkness loomed behind her and as she turned she saw one red glowing eye before a deep voice resonated in the air. "I told you I'd get you back…"

And two large water balloons came down and burst against her, drenching her completely!

Raven screamed like a banshee as the cold water shocked her senses and made her shiver to the bone. Not that Raven minded cold water, it's one thing to be prepared for it another to have it thrown on you by surprise.

Rachel stood looking very wet, hair hanging and dripping, and the dress she wore was stuck to her frame like a second skin as she mock glared at her boyfriend. "Butthead." She said in a deadpan voice before she smirked and giggled.

Victor cackled like a loon as he looked at his girlfriend before he waggled a finger at her. "I told you. I've been outdoing B. B. for a long time now…you should have known that I would get you too eventually for your little trick."

Rachel shrugged at him as she held her arms out to her sides. "I didn't think you would get me so quickly though!"

A few days prior, Rachel teased the half metal titan by whispering in his ear before bedtime a delightfully naughty thing that kept him awake for a while.

While she hadn't actually done it yet, the thought of her sleeping with him in her panties and a wife beater made his mind go into overdrive and Rachel despite his dire warning went to sleep rather comfortably as she heard his hard drive click and whirr. She was sure it would be doing that for a while and indeed…after an hour or two of staring at the ceiling and his girlfriends sleeping head off and on he finally pushed the thought aside and was able to fall asleep.

Until the next night of course when it all happened again.

Anticipation sucks.

Cyborg smirked then shrugged his shoulders. "Well no time like the present."

Raven seeing an opportunity present itself, smirked at him before she blushed. "Indeed?"

She asked as she stood straighter.

Cyborg didn't see anything different at first…but then he noticed as Raven stretched arms above her head, back arched and a content groan came from her…that she was high beaming, or in simple terms her nipples were hard, and pointing at him it seemed.

And to make matters worse they looked like they were long and thick to be seen so clearly through her dress and bra.

Cyborg's mind went into overdrive…again…as Raven turned side ways, giving him a good profile shot which almost succeeded in smoking his brain.

Cyborg's hard drive immediately went into action clicking and whirring and his eye glazed as he stared at her.

Now Victor Stone wasn't a pervert, but he was a hot blooded youth who had emotions and so on and so forth.

Under normal circumstances…in the real world, this wouldn't have happened months even years prior. Sadly…it happened now.

Victor doubled over in pain and Raven immediately looked at him as she could sense it.

This wasn't a phantom pain or wrong electrical impulses or anything similar.

Victor was in ACTUAL pain and she was immediately at his side. "Vic? What's wrong?"

Victor didn't know and winced again visibly as his arms clenched around his stomach. "I don't know… system scans are normal…but it hurts…"

Raven frowning began to tug on his metal parts yanking away components and armor plate alike until the lower half of his body was revealed and she stood stock still and bug eyed…mouth agape in surprise until her face flushed completely.

Victor also stood surprised as he looked down at his rather impressive, naked erection.

Now…before anyone begins thinking this couldn't be the problem it has to be taken into account that Victor had never experienced an erection before…and in this world, their happy place…everything works like it's supposed to, and at Victor's age and physical development this should have already happened at least once before but never had. On top of that, his suit wasn't designed to cover a penis, erect or not.

Cyborg's real body was severely damaged in the accident and he was unfortunately, intimately aware of the loss…and while in RL this wouldn't have happened, neither expected this to happen here…but now that the cat was out of the bag neither was sure what to do other then blush.

Neither teen had any experience with the intimacy of this situation, and awkward was the only best way to describe it…but despite having lost large portions of his body including the meat and potatoes of the situation, Victor thankfully took the first step and imagined himself in swim trunks and the rest of his components off as he charged to the river. "Last one in smells B.B.'s shorts after a workout!"

Raven stood still for a second before she suitably changed as well into a black one piece and charged after him. "Oh I don't think so!" She cried as she landed on his back and they both splashed into the cold lake.

It might be some time before a sane discussion of this situation happened…but for now this was as close to a cold shower as the two would get.

O

Robin banged furiously on the keys of the keyboard as he ground his teeth. Shock was evident on his face and he was debating the sanity of certain individuals. "She must have a death wish…that's the only explanation!" he said in a tight manner.

Robin had been looking through the titan's records and discovered something that was entered "quietly" as not to alert anyone it seemed.

In actuality Robin wouldn't have noticed it at all if he hadn't been updating notes in all of the titan's records and that was when he found it.

Bumble bee had done the unthinkable.

She offered a tentative position on the titans east team to Jinx.

Granted…the former Hive operative had helped both west and east in the recent past…but it was still unsure where her loyalties lay.

In actuality Robin still toyed with the idea that she was a double agent and would betray them when the right time came as Cyborg did at one time.

Still without brother blood the hive was disjointed and disorganized which pointed to who the brains of the outfit really was.

Thankfully they cut the head from that snake long ago.

Still, even though jinx had distanced herself from her hive days, her loyalty was questioned by the majority of the titans.

It didn't help though that kid flash was enamored with her either…but according to him she was legit and was trying to move away from her days of old when she took the easy way to everything…much to her former teammates displeasure.

Robin…was not so convinced.

The reason he was so upset though was the backhanded way this was done.

Now…titans east was a separate entity, and could do as they saw fit…but new members to either team was discussed with both teams as they would work together on occasion. Robin growled to himself as his eyes narrowed in suspicion. While he trusted titans east could handle themselves, the fact that Bumble bee did this without informing anyone in titans west smacked of her overstepping herself severely.

A time would have to come soon where they all talked about it…but in the meantime Robin continued through the personnel roster to complete the notes he had been composing…but knew there would be a reckoning on the horizon.

O

The man grinned as another barrel was placed on the floor near the massive machine.

Connected to it was a clear tank that at this time was empty, but would soon be full of a chemical soup that would give him what he had wanted for the last four years since he woke up again.

The man's face was covered by a mask that while plain, left a person with a creepy feeling if you heard the voice wafting from it. It was almost like talking to a ghost and it just said it was going to pull the life from you.

"How many more barrels for this chemical?"

Atlas looked at the man with a grimace before he answered him. "Five more barrels and it will be done."

The man nodded his head and his voice sounded approving. "Good. Just three more compounds and we can begin."

Atlas nodded as he turned and walked back to the truck and grabbed another barrel.

The man smirked behind his mask as he watched the once proud robot bow to his will.

Of course, the robot knew that if it wanted to continue surviving he had better listen.

It took the man a few days but he finally procured the computer that housed Atlas's personality, and it was a simple manner to plant the explosives on it.

The mechanic that Atlas used was one of his minions so he wouldn't be fiddling with it, but Atlas didn't know this.

It was amazing to think a machine was afraid of dying to the point it would do anything to live.

Not that Atlas wasn't above evil deeds…but it was good to know.

His other minions were not so easy. The Earthenites were happy to continue what they were doing for the powers they had and the loot they obtained…petty thug mentality but he could care less. Besides which they were the easiest to manipulate usually.

His problem came when he tried to use HIS power to accomplish his goals.

He wasn't sure what was necessary to stop HIM, but he knew who he could use to achieve his goal.

She had beaten him once, she could do it again.

He only hoped what he was doing now would work for him at the very least.

The man stepped over and touched the machine with a smirk. "Ridiculous." He mumbled as he ran the same hand almost lovingly over the interface before he pat it and turned away from it.

The comment he made was for how easy it was to steal the machine from STAR labs. The project for it was scrapped years ago, but like most agencies including the government instead of dismantling and keeping the idea on hard drive somewhere, they kept a working prototype in mothballs.

More then likely they didn't even know that the thing was missing.

No one went down there and the equipment wasn't even inventoried properly. A few makeshift junk items, some tarps and crates and no one was the wiser. Really, what would a ten dollar an hour rent a cop know about a quarter of what was down there. The closest they come to technical knowledge would be star trek reruns. "BAH!"he said in disgust which caused Atlas to look up but the man paid him no mind as he sat behind a desk and pecked away at a keyboard.

Most accomplished…just a bit more to go and if everything works…

The man grinned behind his mask again but frowned as his hand began to look like it was wax under a flame, the skin becoming translucent and beginning to run.

With a grumble he walked over to yet another machine and opened it before he lay back in it and closed the lid.

Soon he thought I won't need these particular devices, and then we can truly begin.

And with a laugh sounding on the border of madness, he activated the machine and closed his eyes.

O

Robin frowned as Cyborg stumbled again in the training room.

While his systems were operating at peak performance, the titan in question seemed to be performing below his recent score.

Robin even had been forced to reduce the settings to level five point five in order for him to keep up.

THIS was one of the things Robin was worried about in previous days but had not had time to explore to discover the problem and find the solution. With a frown Robin slapped the suspend button on the console bringing the action to a halt.

Cyborg looked up towards the control room with a frown of his own as he straightened from his crouch. "Hey what gives? I was just getting warmed up."

Robin activated the intercom and spoke to his teammate, a slight edge to his voice. "Are you goofing off Cy? I mean if you are then no biggy, we can start over."

Cyborg frowned deeper as he wiped his brow. "What do you mean? I got this!"

Robin glowered at the video screen then slapped the shutdown button before leaving the control area and heading in the training room. "Look Cy…what I mean is your scores have plummeted from where they were. A few weeks ago you were on level eight, now you are back around level six. Is everything ok?"

Cyborg turned his head away as if in thought, but his human eye darted around as if he was avoiding the issue. "Yeah everything is cool…especially now with me and Rachel being together!" he finished with enthusiasm.

Robin looked skeptical but reached over in a strange moment between the two and pat his shoulder. "You know if something is wrong you can come talk to me right?"

Victor Stone looked in surprise at the boy wonder before he shook his head. "Yeah sure…if you say so."

Robin opened his mouth to say something he thought would be encouraging but Victor gave him no chance as he waved his hand. "Look there's nothing wrong. Everything is fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a project I'm still working on that needs to be finished."

Robin frowned as the half metal titan walked out of the door wondering if there was anything they could do or if this was something only he could fix.

Either way he realized if he wanted his team to trust him with personal problems as well as professional he would have to be able to show them he could handle it…and right now the only ones that seemed to trust him on that level was Star fire and Beast boy.

Raven would take a lot of time, and Cyborg…maybe just as long.

With a sigh, Robin turned and set up his training program and hoped he wasn't wrong.

O

Cyborg grumbled to himself as he continued to weld and solder pieces onto his new left arm.

This new add on would be the power he had wanted before with a bit of distance. The 'atomic pile' while nasty as hell at close range, was only good for hand to hand.

Victor noticed that his enemies were used to his arsenal and he had to make some changes.

While this new weapon wouldn't be as long range as his sonic cannons, it would be devastating at mid range…if the diagrams were correct. The big drawback was it required immense energy to fire. One shot from the new weapon would require one of his five fusion batteries, and he didn't dare fire it using his internal power…that was a sure way to shut his systems down and that was a big no; no so at most he could use it five times…if he got to where he had to use it five times, then they were really in the shit and he hoped that day wouldn't come. The metal titan frowned slightly as he looked at the blueprints and put two and two together. It seemed things he did not know about were opening up to him…things from the past. Victor understood what was happening now…he really didn't before because he was too busy wallowing in his own self pity but now he understood. The blueprints were being opened to him one at a time as the technology to create them became available.

His father must have toiled over these designs for months but in all honesty the designs were like the first computer. If his father had tried to create some of the things victor used it would be as big as or even bigger then a barn…and that did no one especially him no good at all.

With circuits and solid state technology constantly growing however…many things that weren't possible before now were.

He still wondered though how his computer brain knew when to release the information or when?

Did his father plan so far ahead that he theorized when the technology would be available?

Farfetched but he had no other explanation.

As he continued to ponder this, the door to his lab opened and in stepped his favorite assistant. "Hey." She said with a smile, giving her traditional greeting.

"Hey yourself." he smiled back at her before she leaned in and gave him a kiss which he eagerly returned.

As they broke contact she caressed his face before she looked down at what he was doing with an earnest look on her face. "What are you making? Is that a new design?"

Victor grinned and nodded eagerly. "Yep. I got a wild hair up my butt and started working."

Raven laughed at the mental image before she smacked him on his arm. "You're a nut you know that?"

Victor chuckled before he applied the welding tip to the piece he was working on again. "Yeah I know…but you love me."

Raven smiled at him because he was right…she was falling in love with him, but that was for a later discussion. She cleared her throat slightly and Victor blinked and looked at her. Raven's face was serious now, and he hoped it wasn't something he had done she wanted to talk about.

Especially not the incident from the day before. They had still not talked about that, and hopefully, they wouldn't.

"Vic…can I ask you something?"

Cyborg tried to keep his face neutral as he began to worry over her subject. "Sure…ask me anything Ray."

With a nod Rachel Roth took a deep breath and looked at him in his eye. "Is there something wrong? Robin told me that your practice session scores are way down."

Victor let out an internal sigh. Dodged yet another bullet. He thought before he grinned at her. "Everything is great Ray! You guys worry too much!"

Raven narrowed her eyes at him before she pulled up a stool and sat in front of him. "Victor…please don't do that with me…you know I would do anything for you."

Victor Stone frowned at his girlfriend for a second but began to worry. "Do what? What are you talking about?"

"Hide behind bullshit. I know you're worried about something, when you are lying your eye twitches."

Victor frowned as he thought about it. "No it doesn't." he argued as his eye twitched making her smile and him grimace. "See?"

Cyborg frowned and tried to rock back away from her but her hands held his and he couldn't find the strength to pull away from her as he stared into her dark eyes. "Please Vic…trust me?"

Victor Stone opened his mouth to protest, but the pleading in her eyes made him close his mouth again and look down at the floor.

He realized she was right, he couldn't lie to her, not now. Maybe before when they first started, but they had been through too much already. "Alright." He mumbled before he looked up. "I…had a dream a few days ago…something that I haven't thought again about until recently…"

Flashback

Victor Stone stood in blackness.

There was nothing around him that he could tell and he felt utterly alone.

This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, he had been alone for the longest time…but for some reason this felt wrong.

He thought of turning and walking randomly, but a bright light came on and he saw the back of a man standing in front what looked to be the form of the tin man from the Wizard of Oz, except the body was even more ridiculous then the original. A radiator where the chest was supposed to be, something that looked like a crane where the right arm was, a teapot on top where the head rested…it was the most chaotic thing he had ever laid his eyes on.

Before he could speculate about the scene however the man threw his arms in the air and laughed at the heavens as his hands clenched into fists. "I've done it! I have created the next best thing that can aid humanity! A robot that is capable of great feats of strength, agility, and speed! Nothing can surpass this!" But his head bowed again as he lowered his arms and mumbled at his feet. "Alas…it is yet incomplete. It is still empty inside like a can of ham devoid of its moist meaty center! It needs something to become complete…something like," and he turned and thrust his finger at Victor. "YOU!"

Victor Stone blinked in shock as the face of the man stared at him, foam dripping from the corner of his mouth. What shocked the titan thought wasn't the look of insanity on the man's face, nor the comical way he looked very much like a deranged mad scientist. What shocked him was the face though deformed was unmistakably his father's.

Before Victor could react mechanical arms came from everywhere and grabbed him hoisting him up in an unbreakable grip and pulling him towards the metal form that now seemed to have a giant mouth.

As he approached the metal maw he screamed and thrashed but couldn't break free as finally, the mouth closed around him with a final sounding chomp, and Victor Stone found himself trapped in a rigid standing position, unable to move.

He thrashed and tried to twist his head but nothing would work no matter what he tried.

Then he realized with growing horror as the man in front of him began to dance and sing that he wasn't just trapped in the machine…HE WAS THE MACHINE!

People suddenly appeared and where patting the man at his success. He had created the ultimate robot. All they saw was what was on the outside…no one saw what was inside the shell.

"NO! Please I'm not a robot! I'm a man! Please let me out!" He screamed impotently, the brash teenager had in seconds been emotionally reduced to a child again as the tears ran freely down his face and he tried to throw a tantrum inside of his prison.

But the metal body on the outside stood impassive and made no movement as his father accepted his accolades, but inside Victor Stone screamed and begged to be let out...but no one heard him.

Recall

Raven looked at Victor with concern as she rested her hand on his shoulder. She could feel the fear and pouring off of him like a physical thing and it hurt her to see him this way.

"Merciful Azarath…that…that's a horrible dream Vic. I can see why that would rip you up inside."

Victor Stone looked at his girlfriend but shook his head. "No…I think you understand somewhat but you don't know what it's like to be me."

Raven frowned at him before she tapped him on the side of his head with a finger. "Hello? In your head for a day ring any bells?"

Victor frowned then shook his head. "Yeah…I know. But you got to go back outside and live your own life…without the metal, without the armor, with living feeling body parts. I had to return to my…prison." He said quietly as he looked down at his hands. "I always do."

Raven felt bad as she considered and realized he was right on a level…but there seemed to be something deeper rooted that he wasn't telling her…or maybe he didn't know himself. Either way they had to discover it and fix it. "Vic I'm here for you now. I know you think everyone sees you as a machine…but I don't. I know you are so much more then the sum of your parts. I know you are a living, breathing, feeling man who I care about greatly. I acknowledge you as the man that I care for and the man that cares for me. Please don't let any of these things that bother you let you forget that. If no one else, I will ALWAYS be by your side…if you let me."

Victor Stone sat still for a moment and couldn't say anything. Her impassioned speech caught him off guard and touched him in such a way that he knew if he opened his mouth the tears would start, and he was a proud man…and of course…he couldn't cry.

Raven however…didn't want to hear that.

She touched his face and smiled at him gently before she kissed his lips. When she pulled back he could see the honesty and compassion in her eyes. "It's ok if you cry Victor. I won't be mean and I definitely won't hurt your feelings." The normally quiet woman opened her mouth to speak then stopped as she considered what she wanted to say and the consequences.

She hesitated as she considered because she was once again in uncharted territory and she didn't want to say anything that would hurt him, but say something that would take away his pain, to let him understand how much she cared, when her newest emotion appeared in her minds eye. The thing that surprised her about this was none of her other emotions had ever stepped forward by themselves before…only hate, and hate's opposite appeared to have grown. "It's ok…say it. He needs it and I know you mean it…WE mean it." Before she faded again.

Raven smiled internally before she let it appear on her face as she looked at Cyborg again. "I..I love you." She said with a slight hesitation. This wasn't because of fear, it wasn't because of anything that would be attributed to a negative feeling. Her hesitation was her using such words for the first time.

It didn't make much difference.

Victor's chin quivered slightly as his eye softened and his face relaxed.

And that was all it took as he pulled her close to him and held her to his chest as he cried quietly in her hair.

Feeling her big powerful man shed his emotions touched Raven in a way she had never felt before, and she found she was not immune to it either as her tears pattered quietly against his armor plate. "It's all right baby," she said soothingly as she rubbed the back of his shoulder. "Let it all out." And with that prompting, eight years of pain was remembered, and finally began to heal.

The man in the machine however was still human, and deep in Victor Stone's heart was still the doubt…still the worry, but for now it was silenced by something he had always wanted…and gave up on finding.

Love.

O

Victor sat quietly on his bed and marveled at the day which was supposed to be rather bland, but was actually quite eventful.

He and Raven had now developed a new step in their relationship that he had long wished for, there were no pressing emergencies, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he wasn't bitter about who and what he was.

After Raven had acknowledged him, and he cried like a baby, he felt at peace. For the first time in a long time he finally felt at peace.

Cyborg smiled the first true smile that was not forced even a little since he couldn't remember and felt giddy inside.

And it was all because of one young woman, who he had to admit…he was starting to fall hard for.

As he started playing past scenes of their recent moment in his mind, a knock broke his revelry and he frowned at the door. "Come in?" he said in confusion. He knew it wasn't Raven. He had recently given her the lock code to his room and she was coming in now without knocking.

The diminutive green titan caught Cyborg by surprise for a moment as he stepped in, but the serious expression made Cyborg wonder what he was thinking. "Hey B.B…you ok?"

Beast boy frowned at Victor before he stepped in and closed the door. "Yeah…I needed to talk to you. I got stuff on my mind that's been bothering me."

Cyborg nodded as he got comfortable on the bed and smiled at his green teammate. "Talk to me…we'll figure it out."

Garfield Logan usually had the tendency to bull his way around and his child like exuberance usually helped him to ward off any bad feelings by others when he was in the wrong. None of that was present now as he looked at the metal clad teen.

"I..I just wanna know if we're like you know…friends still? You spend all of your time with Raven and even though you play a video game with me once in a while, it's not like it was before you and her hooked up."

Victor Stone's face fell slightly and he blinked at Garfield for a moment before he leaned forward. "What brought this on B.B? Of course I'm your friend. What makes you think I'm not?"

Beast boy was looking at his feet as he thought of how to word it but after a few seconds did what he does best…wing it. "Well you hang out with Raven more then you hang out with me."

Cyborg chuckled and shook his head. "Well she is prettier then you and she is my girlfriend."

Garfield tried again as he tried to find the right combination that would get Cyborg to see his view. "You didn't act like this with bumble bee."

Under normal circumstances Victor would have gotten bitter and snapped something at his friend, but instead he considered then nodded. "I didn't feel the same about her as I do about Raven."

Beast boy chewed his bottom lip for a second before he blurted out. "I miss the old days! We used to hang all the time and no one got in our way or stopped us! Pranking, playing games, eating, and having fun! It's like I woke up and my best friend was gone and replaced with a stranger and I was told to accept him. I don't know where to start with you sometimes and where to end and…" Beast boy stomped his foot and lost control of his power for a second and turned into an ostrich. "It's pissing me off!"

His outburst done, beast boy seemed to get under control again and changed back into a boy as he flopped down on the floor arms crossed and glared at Cyborg.

The metal clad titan forced himself to frown as he figured if he laughed now he would hurt his friend's feelings.

Although seeing a green ostrich suddenly in your room having a tantrum had to go down in the record books as extremely funny.

Still this was a tangible problem he could fix and he was more then happy to do so. "Look B.B….you're taking this too hard. I'm not moving away from you. We're still buds…but you have to understand that girlfriends take priority."

Beast boy looked petulantly at Cyborg and almost stamped his foot again but since he was sitting on the floor all he accomplished was a scuff mark on the finish. "WHY?"

Cyborg blinked at the outburst before he frowned. "Because she's a better kisser then you and looks better in a dress?" At his joke however beast boy glowered more at him, fang poking out of his mouth which only made him look more comical.

Cyborg turned away for a second so he could compose himself then turned back to his friend and grinned in a semi serious manner. "Look Gar…you can't think like that. We will always be friends…I mean you are right…I do spend a lot of time with Raven…but you were the same way with Tara."

At the mention of the teen's previous crush, his face fell slightly but he nodded also after a few seconds. "Yeah…I know what you mean…I just don't want to lose you too ya know?"

Cyborg understood perfectly.
Garfield Logan was an orphan whose parents were killed in a tragic plane accident not long after he turned four. He never really had a family and if it wasn't for the doom patrol he might never had found out what it was like because of his green condition and physical powers.

He did have a huge inheritance waiting for him once he turned eighteen, but in the meantime he had to make do on his own. Victor had at least knew his parents…Garfield had only known his with a child's eyes…and nothing could change that.

After a few seconds Victor got up and came over and squatted down next to his friend. "Look Gar…Raven and I are going to be together…nothing is going to change that. I'm falling in love with her and I want us to be together."

Beast boy's face fell and he looked down with a frown. "Yeah I know."

But Victor pat his head with a grin. "But that doesn't mean you and I can't be friends and hang too.

Rachel understands and heck…she'll be your friend too."
Garfield smirked as he nodded. "Alright…I guess as long as you aren't leaving me completely. I just need to find something to keep me occupied too."

"Yep…and when Rachel gets tired of me…I'll come find you. Either way Gar…you'll always be my friend."

Garfield Logan stood up and grinned at Cyborg before he turned and skipped out of the metal titan's room.

It wasn't much, but it made him feel even better then earlier.

His door opening and his girlfriend stepping in and locking it made him smile at her.

Before he could say anything she came over and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with so much emphasis that it took his breath away.

After a few seconds when they broke apart Cyborg looked at Raven with a goofy grin. "What was that for?"

Raven smirked as she took off her robe and lay it on a nearby chair. "That was a nice thing you did for Garfield."

Victor chuckled and waved it off. "You heard?" He sai with a bit of embarrassment. "Shoot. Gar knows I'd never desert him…he just needed some verbal reassurance."

Raven smirked as she nodded. "Still, it was a reminder for me of how good you really are…and I suppose that deserves a reward."

Cyborg clapped his metal hands three times in succession. "Sweet! What do I get?"

Raven turned and hooked her thumbs in her nightgown's straps and slowly pulled them down, letting her garment fall to the floor.

Victor's eyes locked onto her bare breasts before travelling down to the black satin panties she was wearing and his mouth hit the floor as she walked to him. "I figure it's time we got a lot closer Vic…I've been wanting to feel your metal against my skin…and this is the best way."

Victor 's eyes kept darting down to her breasts and nipples before shooting back to her eyes, no tangible thoughts operating in his head.

After a few silent moments Raven giggled before she turned and hopped into his bed, pulling the blanket up over her body, and gestured for him to come join her.

Victor slowly walked over and stood next to the bed and he was finally able to speak to her.

"Ray…i..if it's sex you want…I don't know what I can do without some research. I don't have…" he started but her finger against his lips silenced him. "I just want to feel you against me Vic…that's all. No physical commitments, just us sleeping together as always my Shmedla." Rachel tried to keep a straight face but they both broke into laughter at the use of the unfamiliar term.

Still laughing Victor squeezed his girlfriend's leg lightly with one hand. "Star would be so proud of you."

Raven smacked his hand before she lay back on the bed. "Don't start!"

When the mirth had wore off Victor Stone sighed and climbed into bed with Raven and cuddled her to him…until her next words got his hard drive clicking and whirring. "No sex Vic…yet."

Cyborg didn't sleep that night either.

O

Two days later at one am

Monolith grinned as the guard walked by glaring at him.

Stopping at the security panel he checked the condition of the suppressor field that stopped monolith from using his powers then sneered at the Earthenite as he turned and walked to the next cell. Soon punk ass…real soon you won't be glaring at anyone. The massive man thought with a smirk.

He knew their time was coming again…very soon, and then they could start their rampage as the boss promised.

He just had to wait for the sign.

He blinked in surprise as the lights flickered in his cell for a moment then grinned wide as they went out altogether as well as the suppressor field.

With a scream of triumph he called forth his strength and bashed his way out of the cell and glared about him.

Other cells were being broken out of with just as much fervor and Monolith laughed as he watched various super powered villains escape or go on a rampage against the hapless guards who tried feebly to restrain or recapture them.

With a shake of his head he strode down the hall to the level stairs to retrieve his comrades, when significant weight collided with his hip, but failed to bring him down.

Looking at the attacker Monolith's grin grew in size.

The guard that had glared earlier at the Earthenite leader now stared at the man with naked fear in his eyes as he realized he was no match for him. The two men's eyes were locked together like some ancient battle of will until Monolith raised a fist in the air and in a childlike voice which didn't fit with his body whispered, "Nighty night."

The guard shut his eyes in time to not see the massive fist come down, but he would not be opening them again as the top of his head caved in and brains and other gore sprayed out around Monolith.

With a grimace, he wiped his hand on the dead guard's shirt, than casually walked down the stairs.

O

Next Episode: Promises…