The Next Generation

All things considered, today hadn't been nearly as much of a drag as Rose had been expecting. Would she have liked some alone time? Sure. But at least the person looking after her the entire day wasn't a total snooze fest. He was actually pretty entertaining, reminding her a lot of Blue Beetle back in the day. Of course, Blue Beetle's entertainment came from the fact that he had been entirely naive and oblivious, but he had always kept things interesting. Still, with the day coming to and end, that meant she'd be going into lock up for the rest of the night, a thought that only made her frown. Of course, there was no other choice, it was either that or be kicked out of the tower until they figured out a way to fix her, but it still sucked.

Rose sat back on the couch, letting out a small yawn as the hour grew late. She wanted to remain with Neal as long as possible for the purpose of not having to go into her prison ward, but even she needed her beauty sleep eventually. The other Titans were also sitting around the room, except for Raven, who hadn't been seen all day, and Nightwing, who was still recovering in the hospital ward.

Starfire hadn't said a single word to her since the morning, which was fine by her. She knew that if they did start talking, punches would likely start flying. That Tamaranian reminded her so much of Wonder Girl it wasn't even funny. The only difference was that Rose and Cassie had spent a lot of time together and eventually warmed up to each other, being on the actual same Teen Titans team. Starfire, who had been mostly off doing her own thing during that time period, hadn't spent nearly as much time with Rose, so she'd never gotten to warm up to her like Cassie did. As far as Rose knew, Starfire still thought of her as just a traitorous killer's daughter that the Titans never should have given a second chance. Well, third chance. Or fourth chance. She couldn't really keep track anymore.

"Well, it certainly wasn't terrible," Rose said, stretching out her back a little and popping all the tight knots that had built up. "I suppose going shopping tomorrow could be nice, I can't go around here wearing work out attire all the time, huh? Besides, it'll give me a chance model off some new lingerie. I mean, I haven't worn sexy underwear in what seems like forever. I can only put up with white cotton panties for so long."

A crash was heard on the other side of the room. Cyborg, who had been working on something at the counter, had fallen off his seat. "It's okay, I'm fine, I'm good."

Neal glanced over to Rose as he began to hear the knots in her back pop and crack. She really had worked herself today, swimming and fighting had definitely allowed her to at least get rid of a bit of energy. Hopefully she'd be able to sleep well tonight, despite the fact that she would basically be a prisoner in her own room. Neal couldn't help but wonder if Cyborg was going to have someone monitor her on camera, see if she did anything strange.

At the comment about shopping, Neal just gained a tiny smile. She really was an open and free spirit wasn't she? It became evident that Cyborg heard it as well, as he had fallen off of his chair and crashed onto the ground. Neal laughed at that. "So Cyborg, you alright if I take her out tomorrow?" he asked curiously. They were debating just throwing her out anyway, so Neal didn't really think that there would be a problem with Neal traveling with her and monitoring her actions.

"Uh huh, yeah, sure, go ahead," Cyborg responded, getting back up to his seat. This bastard had everything! What he wouldn't give to have just a small bit of that female magnetism rub off on him... "Just, you know, make sure you don't let her out of your sight. Well... except the changing rooms, I guess."

"Oh he can come in there too if he wants," Rose commented innocently. She smiled slyly. "But I won't push him. I don't think his girlfriend would be too happy about that."

Throughout the entirety of this conversation, Starfire was sitting straight with her arms folded, a frown on her face, and just staring at Rose. It was like everything that she did and said just rubbed Starfire the wrong way. At least Sarah was there to put the Tamaranian at ease and keep her from, well, starting a riot. It was actually about that time that Sarah got up and led her wife off to bed.

"Well, guess I should be getting off to bed now," Rose said, standing up. To Cyborg, she added, "If the prison guard would be so kinds as to show me to my cell."

"Just follow me," Cyborg said, waving her over as he led her out of the room.

---

Meanwhile, Raven knelt low against the floor, her hands calmly against her thighs. She wasn't in Titans Tower, but rather had teleported to a rather distant location, a pocket dimension actually, to seek help from the one person that could probably figure out what was wrong with her. Her surroundings were nothing more than an empty void, with stairs and platforms made of bright light. Several floating ankhs made of similar light floated aimlessly in the dark air. With her eyes closed and mind cleared, her old acquaintance held his hands to her temples, studying her inner thoughts and experiences, focusing mostly on those with Neal.

"Interesting," Dr. Fate said, as he learned more about Raven's apparent condition. "I've never seen anything quite like this before."

Raven's eyes opened slightly. "You know what's wrong with me?"

"I believe so... though I will need to study your mind a bit more to be certain," he replied. "It appears as though you and this Neal person have highly conflicting emotional matrices. Normally inconsequential, but because of your empathic abilities..."

Raven felt her heart wrench. "It means I'm feeling the resulting negative emotional feedback..."

"Precisely," Dr. Fate said. "The longer you spend in deep and intimate situations with him, the greater it affects you, to the point where your own abilities cause you to feel more and more indifferent, cold, negative."

"So I... cannot be happy with him," Raven uttered, feeling her throat go numb. "I... physically can't."

Dr. Fate let out a sympathetic sigh and slowly shook his head. "I am sorry."

"Don't worry, we'll stay close the entire time," Neal said until the changing room comment was brought up. "Right, with that exception of course," Neal added so that no one would think that he had been implying the wrong kind of idea. Rose's additional comment about allowing him to come in if he wanted didn't help either.

"Believe me, more than anyone else here you don't want to have Raven holding a grudge against you. It would not end well," Neal said as he looked over at Rose. He was certain that she was just kidding, but it was not a wise idea to joke about it around Raven. She might not respond too kindly to the information.

It was at that time that both Cyborg and Rose, along with Sarah and Starfire, departed the main living room. Neal was alone now, looking out the large windows at the front of Titan Tower and viewing the city in the distance. He really wished that Raven was here right now, it'd be nice to just have a few moments alone together. Still, it was not to be. She needed to figure things out and Neal needed to respect that.

With a small sigh Neal began to head to his room, intending to turn in for the night.

When Neal entered his room, he'd find someone waiting there for him. Raven sat on the edge of his bed, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and looking down at the floor. Her insides were flip flopping all over the place, making her feel almost physically ill. Another part of her was angry that fate had dealt her this hand. The one person she'd ever had to make her happy now could not. And still another part of her was crushed, not only for herself, but for Neal. This was her fault, after all. If not born with these abilities to feel emotion, they could be together perfectly fine. But because she cold feel it... they could not.

Raven looked up when Neal walked in. She tried to give at least a small smile, but her body just wasn't capable. She couldn't even fake being happy right now, not with the news she was about to deliver. "Neal..." she uttered, her voice sounding slightly hoarse. "We... need to talk."

Neal opened up his door and moved to close it behind him. He brought up his gaze and nearly jumped at the site he was met with. It wasn't because he was afraid of Raven, he just hadn't expected to see her in his room, not right now at least. At first, Neal was thinking that it might be a good sign. She had been avoiding him for so long now that just having her in his room made Neal feel like she wanted to be here. It was only when she tried to put on a smile and failed that Neal's eyes began to show some concern.

We need to talk.............the dreaded words.

Neal just moved forward and took a seat in a nearby chair that he had in his room. He took a deep breath before looking up fully at Raven. "About what?"

"About... us," Raven uttered, looking up at him. Her eyes were a bit bloodshot; she'd been crying, something he rarely ever did. "And about... about what's wrong with me. Why I... haven't been able to be happy around you." She took in a deep breath, slowly letting it out. She almost didn't want to tell him, knew that it would hurt him just as it had hurt her, but she had to tell him. She couldn't lead him along or try to put up with it just for the sake of staying together. It would just be a lie to both them.

And so she explained to him what Dr. Fate had told her, and that he had confirmed it to be the problem. She kept stumbling through her words, clearly deeply upset by this fact. She loved him, wanted to be with him, but could not be happy around him. It was how the universe had decided to play them. She started tearing up again, eventually dropping her gaze and closing her eyes, her throat still numb.

"Neal, I... I'm so sorry..." she whispered, swallowing a hard lump.

The moment that those first two words escaped Raven's mouth, Neal was certain that this was not going to be a conversation that looked back on fondly. She apparently had finished her research and found out why she wasn't happy. No matter what Raven was going to say Neal couldn't imagine being happy about it, it was only once she revealed the real reason that he just stared at her. He could hardly believe it, was it really possible?

He just stared at her the entire time, listening to her speak and say that she had it confirmed. Neal wasn't still certain how exactly it worked, but he had gotten the picture. As long as they were together, Raven wasn't going to be happy.

"So....you're saying that no matter what, you and I can never be happy together? Even just trying to force it to work would only end up hurting you?" Neal asked as he looked right at Raven. The pain in his eyes was clear, he had always tried to do Raven right after all.

Apparently it was all for nothing.

Raven slowly nodded, looking back up at him again. He wasn't the only one with pain in his eyes. "I wish... I wish we could force it. I really do. But... but I would never be the girl you fell for. I wouldn't be fun, I wouldn't be interesting, I wouldn't be enjoyable for you... I would just be a cold shell that couldn't possibly provide you with any warmth or reassurance... and I won't do that to you. I love you too much to do that to you..." She swallowed again, reaching forward to hug him. She was starting to cry again. "I'm sorry Neal. I really... I really am. I thought that... with you, the world was finally letting me be happy. I guess... I guess I was wrong. The world will never let me be happy."

At least Raven was feeling pain too, as selfish of a thought as it was, it did Neal some good to know that Raven was just as unhappy about this as he was. What he wouldn't give in order to change himself in order to make this work. He never could though, Neal was who he was as Raven was her own woman. It was just the hand they were dealt. Neal returned the hug, wrapping his arms comfortably around Raven. The tears were still falling from his face as he held her. "I hope that we can still be friends at least. I'll never forget how important you are to me," he whispered.

As Raven continued to speak, Neal's grip on her tightened. "There's someone out there for you Raven. I don't know who or where he is, but he exists. I'm just sorry that it's not me"

"I'm sorry, too," Raven said quietly, in response to him not being the one to make her happy. She had really thought that this time she could get a relationship to work. As it turns out, it was just another slap in the face by destiny. "But we will always be friends, I promise you. Even if we cannot be together, I would not give up your friendship for the world. You've been too good to me." She held him for a while longer, before finally, and slowly, pulling away. Taking in a deep breath, she stood up, and held her arms around herself. "Good night, Neal... I must go meditate now. My mind... I must calm it."

Well, at least there was a small reassurance. They couldn't be together, they couldn't love one another, but at the very least they could stay amazing friends. Neal was at least happy about that, but things weren't going to be the same. How could he look at her tomorrow and pretend that he wasn't in pain? He could never hide that from Raven even if he tried. "I understand, you should go," Neal said as he held his hands together in his lap. "Goodnight Raven," he said before she left.

Once she did, he just sat in that position for the next hour as all the thoughts were on his mind. It was only after that hour that he finally lay down, but sleep did not come easily to Neal. It was only with tears on his pillow that he finally dozed off.

The next day, Rose was pacing back and forth in the closed off hallway, a heavy metal security door with a small little window in it standing between her and the rest of the tower. It was already seven in the morning, when were they going to let her out of here?! "Helloooo," she called, pressing her face against the window and looking for any signs of someone coming to let her out for the day. "Anyone out there? Cut a girl a break already, I'm starving and I'm bored! Anybody?"

Neal had been walking up to Rose's room, having already acquired the code that would release Rose back out of her lock-down. As he walked he was just staring at the ground. He looked pretty terrible, his hair was all messed up and his eyes seemed more droopy than normal. Neal glanced up as he heard Rose shouting from the other side of the wall. "Yeah yeah I'm coming, hang on," Neal said before typing in the code and opening the door for her. He just looked up at her but didn't say anything else.

He wasn't in much of a talking mood today.

"Ah, finally," Rose said, waiting for the door to finally open and let her out. She spread her arms out and breathed in a fresh breath of air as she walked into the hallway. "That's better, now it's time to get something to eat. Guess you'll be escorting me today again, huh? Gotta get that shopping done, after all." She took a few steps by him, only then glancing over taking a good look at him. Well that was definitely off, the guy looked like he just rolled out of bed. And he really didn't look like he was in very much of a good mood compared to yesterday. Waving a hand in front of his face, she stared at him and asked, "Hey, yo, you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, shopping. Should be fun," Neal said in a very not natural voice. Any positive energy put into it was an attempt to be fake. He knew that it wasn't a good act, but he was really hoping to avoid the subject today. It had happened, he and Raven had broken up and they were never going to get back together. It was just a sucky way to end a day and move into a new one. Neal didn't want to discuss it though, not really with anyone.

He glanced over as Rose waved a hand in front of his face. As she asked her question he just gave a shrug. "To be honest, not really," he said as they kept walking down the hallway. "Just got a bit of bad news last night. Guess it's obvious I'm not taking it that well"

Rose frowned a little, raising an eyebrow. He'd gotten bad news and wasn't taking it well, huh? Well this was no good, she wouldn't be hanging around with someone in this kind of bad mood all day, that would just make the entire thing a major bore. Holding her arm around his shoulder as they walked, she said, "You know, normally I'm not one to be into the whole 'consoling' thing, but since we have to spend the day together, I don't want you being all mopey. So come on, walk with me, talk with me. What's wrong?"

Neal glanced over at Rose as she put an arm around his shoulder, saying that she might as well help him since they were going to spend the day together. He gave a weak laugh, he supposed that she had a point. Neal wasn't going to be much fun if he spent the entire day in this state of mind. "Alright, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. It's still on the down-low right now," Neal insisted as he glanced over at Rose.

And with that he told her the story, about how Raven had been his girlfriend and things were going over so well until a few weeks ago. He explained Raven's condition and why it was affecting her so strongly. Finally, he told her about last night. "And so we're officially broken up, and despite how important we are to one another there's no way that it could ever work out," he said as he looked over to Rose once again.

"Sure, I'm good at keeping secrets," Rose responded. A little too good, sometimes, but those were stories for another day. Instead, she just listened to Neal as he explained the whole situation with him and Raven, his girlfriend. To be honest, she'd never guessed Raven of all people to ever be seriously dating someone, what with all her emotional issues and such, but hey, it had been four years, apparently things had changed. Of course, as it turns out, those two just couldn't be together anyway.

Conflicting emotional specrtrums? That didn't sound like anything she'd understand, so she just went with it. Of course, what with Raven being a total empath, she guessed that would make things a bit more difficult if there were constantly negative emotions being generated between them, no matter how much they liked each other. After a while, Rose removed her arm from Neal's shoulder. Considering what he was going through, she didn't know if he wanted another girl grabbing onto him right then. Sure, she was a flirt and a tease, but even she could understand a guy's problems and back off... for the time being, anyway.

"Well, that, uh... really sucks," she said, probably making the biggest understatement of her life. "I mean, I wouldn't really know what that's like, to have loved and lost, mostly because I've never loved. Well, not in that way anyway. All my flings are just that: flings. Never really got emotionally attached. But I can't imagine that would feel good... what you're going through. So... I guess I'm saying I'm sorry. As much as that helps. I'm not really that good with this sort of stuff."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Neal said as Rose agreed to keep things a secret for the time being. He knew that he would have to tell the others soon enough, but he wanted to wait until he and Raven could explain things. She was nervous about starting a relationship in the first place, and he didn't want her to feel like he was throwing her under the bus by coming out with the truth so quickly. They'd know at some point, but just not right now. Neal was appreciative to Rose for listening though.

Neal turned and looked at Rose as she spoke, saying that she was sorry in a very interesting way. It wasn't quite the most comforting words that Neal had ever felt, but hey at least it was something. "Don't worry about it, obviously there's no miracle words that can make everything better. Thanks for wanting to listen anyway," he said with a small smile as they continued to walk. "I guess I don't have much choice to move on as strange as that will be, but there's no point in just standing around and being sorry for ourselves right?"

They kept walking forward before Neal turned and looked at Rose once again. "So, right after breakfast do you want to head to the mall? Or is there anything else that you want to do before we head out?" he asked curiously.

"Well spoken," Rose responded, giving him a pat on the back. She always said that there was never any point in standing around feeling sorry for yourself, and Neal seemed to echo that thought right here. At least he realized there wasn't anything that could be done and he just had to move on. Moping in the corner about it wasn't going to get him anywhere; all it would do was make himself miserable, and nobody wanted that. It was what it was, and that's that.

"Might as well get the shopping out of the way first," Rose responded. "Usually less crowded this early, so we won't have to deal with long liens and all that shit that makes shopping a pain in the ass. Besides, I have all day to workout and kick your ass around in the training room." She gave him a small smirk, glancing at him with a playful look. Hopefully her naturally pleasant personality would be enough to cheer him up. Of course, naturally pleasant might be a stretch, but as long as nothing put her in a bad mood...

"Thanks. I'll just be hard these first few days or weeks ya know?" Neal asked as he looked over at her. He hoped that she could understand and not see him as pathetic. For someone who had never fallen in love before, he hoped that she could see the importance of holding on to it once you had it. Neal had to let go though, despite how much he wanted to hold on and never let her go.

As Rose spoke about what they would do, Neal had to admit that it put a smile on his face. Somehow, it helped that she was just acting natural and being honest with him. She wasn't going to hold him for hours and tell him that everything would be okay, she just acted like herself. Why was it that whenever Neal was struggling, someone new always showed up in order to help him get through it? He didn't know, but he was thankful for it.

"Very well than, sounds like we need to make a stop in the kitchen, after that we can head out and enjoy the day," he said with a smile as they walked to the main area in Titan's Tower.

Breakfast was pretty brief, as Cyborg already had the entire meal ready and waiting for people to get there. They were able to fill their plates, eat the food, and get on their way without having to stick around for Starfire to show up. Honestly, the less she saw of that woman, the better. According to Cyborg, too, Nightwing still hadn't woken up yet. He was in a stable condition since Raven healed him, but he was just still out of it. Hopefully, he'd wake up soon and provide hem with a little bit more information on what had happened to him that night.

When they got to the mall, Rose looked around carefully, trying to decide which store they should hit up first. She basically needed an entire wardrobe, so chances were, they'd be spending quite a lot of time there that morning. At least she had someone there to kept things interesting instead of having to go through it all by herself.

"Alright," Rose stated, folding her arms, while her gaze settled on the 'Victoria's Secret' in front of them. "I like to start my shopping from the inside out."

Neal ate his breakfast quickly with Rose, thanking Cyborg for it since he cooked basically every morning. The man definitely had talent in cooking, and Neal was happy to take advantage of it. As they discussed the rules of their trip one more time, Neal made it clear that he'd still keep a close eye on Rose to make sure that nothing strange happened. He also requested for Cyborg to call Neal on his cell phone should Nightwing wake up that day. Whatever he said, they should all be present for it.

As they went to the mall, Neal assumed that they were just getting Rose a new wardrobe. She had arrived with nothing after all, so they basically needed to buy her an entirely new look. Thankfully, Beast Boy's money-making plans seemed to be working for the Titans as they had plenty of money on the table. Buying clothes for Rose would hardly leave a dent.

"Inside out huh?" Neal asked as they stood outside of the store. "Guess this is the perfect place to start for you than," Neal said as he motioned for her to go forward. "Ladies first"

Rose gladly led the way into the store, starting from one wall and working to the net, and so on. She wasn't nearly as apprehensive about certain types of styles as, say, Raven was, and knew exactly what suited her. She grabbed everything in sight that caught her eye, most of those being the much more revealing types of undergarments. Though, she did of course pick a few normal, practical styles, for the cases where she knew she'd be going out into the field and didn't want a thong riding up her ass in the middle of combat.

Once she had a variety of selections, she marched on over to the dressing rooms. There were a few chairs outside for people to wait by, of course, but she wasn't going to go in there without at least giving him an opportunity. "So, you gonna wait around out here or you coming in with me? I'll be showing off everything I got here to you either way."