Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, nor do I profit in any way from writing this. It is entirely FanFiction.
It was a quiet morning in Titan's Tower, much to the dismay of their fearless leader. He had slept through his first alarm, and barely registered his second as a thin streak of sunlight snuck its way through the crack of his curtains.
Groggily lifting his head, the boy wonder wiped the excess drool from his cheek as his other hand shut off the quiet buzzing of his alarm. As his room fell into a comfortable silence, he reached for his mask, which seemed to have fallen off sometime during the night. Delicately placing it over his sleepy eyes, he pulled himself out of his twisted covers and stepped into a pair of black bunny slippers – a gift from his lovely alien teammate.
With a quick glance at the clock, his eyes widened comically beneath his mask when he saw what time was displayed: 5:58
He couldn't believe he had slept in that late!
He continued to stare at the clock in disbelief for a whole minute, before realizing he was only wasting more time. The sun had been up for nearly fifteen minutes – and he had spent that precious time snoozing, when he could have been doing more productive things, like making his morning coffee… Or going over the report from yesterday's mission a fourth time… Or having time to properly slick back his hair.
Letting out a frustrated grunt, Robin dragged his feet towards the door, not even bothering to change out of his pajamas; after all, the day was already ruined.
Sitting on the sofa and idly stirring her tea, the empath reveled In the silence that surrounded her in the common room. Usually she shared the blissful quiet with her equally-stoic teammate, but it seemed her leader had preoccupied himself with something else on this fine Sunday morning.
Nevertheless, Raven knew to be thankful for the peace she was granted at the crack of dawn; after all, it was only a matter of time before her robotic teammate took over the kitchen. Though, she did have a good two or three hours before her loudest teammate made an appearance, and for that, she was eternally grateful.
Sipping her hot beverage, she absently wondered what would become of the day set before her. Would the usual lull in crime remain, or would a wayward villain grow a wild hair and decide to wreak havoc on their usual day off? Would the local bakery catch fire? Would the harbor become contaminated by an oil spill? Would her father make an unannounced (and uninvited) appearance, and attempt to destroy the entirety of mankind once again? The day was full of possibilities, though none sounded as enticing as the thought of curling up on the sofa and getting lost in her new book.
Smiling to herself, she decided to do just that, levitating her book from the table and into her hands. After all, the day wasn't ruined yet.
Marching through the halls, the robotic titan couldn't squash down his giddy feeling. Sunday mornings were his favorite mornings, because Sunday mornings meant Sunday Morning breakfast – his favorite breakfast.
It was his one day of guaranteed morning freedom, and he always went all-out. Eggs – scrambled, hard-boiled, sunny-side up. Wheat toast, white toast, pumpernickel – whatever kind he could find. Bacon, ham, sausage; even the protein-packed bacon-ham-sausage omelet Robin would request. Waffles for Raven, mustard-flavored waffles for Starfire – hell, he even made tofu eggs and bacon for Beast Boy! Sunday Mornings were his time to shine!
His grin only growing, Cyborg rubbed his hands together in anticipation. They all were going to be eating good, that was for sure. After all, what better way was there to start the day?
Running her fingers through her thick, silky hair, the most cheerful of the titans hummed an alien tune as she readied herself for the day. It was important to always look her best, for she always felt her best when she looked good. And the biggest factor in looking good? Making sure her hair was glossy and tangle-free. Of course, there were more important things in life than vanity – such as the well-being of her teammates, as well as every other living creature. Being kind was also important, and the redhead knew she would give up her looks in a heartbeat if they ever interfered with her personality.
But no matter where her outer appearance fell on the spectrum of what was important to her, she knew that her looks always rewarded her with what she desired most – her leader's attention.
And due to the no-nonsense nature of the boy wonder, the alien could hardly ever bring him back to the real world with her words, so she decided to let her appearance do the talking. And judging by his derailed trains of thought and stuttered speeches, it appeared her appearance had a lot to say.
Smiling at her reflection, Starfire gave thanks to the fact that the men on earth held beauty so highly, and that even though she'd prefer to woo Robin with what she had to offer on the inside, she was just happy to even be noticed. And even if it took months, she was slowly cracking open his shell, one smile and hair-flip at a time.
Giving her hair one final brush, Starfire stood from her vanity and headed towards her bedroom door, already feeling the excitement of the day ahead of her. After all, the day had only just begun.
Waking to the smell of burning flesh wafting through the tower, the youngest titan cursed his sensitive nose, silently pleading that he could ignore the stench for just five more minutes.
But as the scent of bacon grew stronger, electing a few contradicting feelings within his stomach, the changeling knew that sleeping any longer would be futile.
Lifting his head from his pillow, Beast Boy squinted his eyes as the morning sun poured through his window. Judging by the light flooding into his room, he figured it was nearing nine or ten – meaning he had slept in longer than usual.
Though, on account of the fact that he hadn't been awoken by the sound of an alert or his irate team leader, he figured that he probably wasn't in too much trouble. Maybe he'd receive a passive-aggressive comment from Robin, accompanied by an eye-roll from Raven when he'd stumble into the common room, but that would be the extent of it. Then he could continue on with his regular routine of arguing with Cyborg, before teaching the endearingly naïve Starfire a few dirty phrases, and rounding out his morning with a couple rounds of video games after breakfast. After all, it was just another day.
Robin surveyed the scene before him with a healthy amount of apprehension. Cyborg had definitely outdone himself this time – there was hardly any room for the titans' plates as his team eyed the feast before them. Mountains of eggs and towers of waffles stared back.
"What are y'all doing? Come on, dig in!" Cyborg announced gleefully, before plopping down at the head of the table with a plate of his own. As if freed from a trance, the other titans complied, and the room was soon filled with the sound of clattering dishes and satisfied murmurs.
Robin continued to observe his team as he cut his omelet into bite-sized pieces, and brought the eggy-deliciousness to his mouth. Resisting the urge to sigh contently as the combination of peppers and spices danced across his tongue, the boy wonder kept his expression stoic as he swallowed down his favorite morning meal.
"Remember, training starts at two today," he began between mouthfuls, "unless we have an alert – in which case, training will directly follow."
He wasn't surprised when his team expressed their disappointment through grunts and huffs, though no one made a show of outright complaining.
Until, of course, Beast Boy's brain fully processed the command.
"Awe, come on, Rob! Isn't an alert just like training? Why do we have to train after we train?"
After waiting a moment to see if the changeling had anything more to add, Robin smirked. "Training is done in a controlled environment, specifically targeted towards certain aspects each individual titan has to work on. Fighting crime isn't nearly as difficult," he replied, somewhat smugly.
He received a snort of amusement from Cyborg in response, while Beast Boy, once again, sat silently as he pondered over his leader's words.
"Oh," he said after a minute, before returning to his tofu eggs.
The room fell into a comfortable silence as the heroes continued to enjoy their breakfast. Robin's eyes swept his surroundings once more, making a mental note to remind the titans that they were required to wear their uniforms during waking hours, before remembering that he, himself, was adorned in nothing more than his boxers and a robe.
Beast Boy's outfit consisted of a pair of multi-colored boxers as well, paired with a t-shirt that had an obnoxious saying plastered on the front. Raven was dressed more modest in a loose-fitting sweater and a pair of plaid pajama pants, while Robin couldn't even bring himself to glance at Starfire's pink tank-top and matching polka-dotted short shorts for longer than a few seconds.
Cyborg, naturally, was naked – or was his robotic appearance considered a uniform? Robin wasn't sure.
Deciding not to ponder over it, he instead opted to join the sudden conversation on video games between his fellow male teammates.
Raven pretended not to listen as she enjoyed her lone waffle, her thoughts wandering towards the book lying innocently on the coffee table a few meters away. It would be easy to summon it with her powers and place it in her lap, but she knew that getting caught would result in a lecture from Robin about the importance of team bonding during meals. So, instead, she reluctantly nodded along as Starfire attempted a conversation with her.
"I very much enjoy the pitch at which the newest band of boys sing, but I am told by the countless comments on the internet that these men are singing at frequencies that are more commonly associated with females. Am I mistaken to have assumed that these boys are, in fact, boys?"
Staring blankly at the redhead seated across from her, Raven attempted to decipher what had just been said. She was certain the alien had spoken English – she just wasn't sure what the girl was saying. With Starfire's big green eyes patiently drilling holes through her, the empath decided to guess.
"You're free to enjoy whatever music you want to listen to," she deadpanned. "And not all guys have deep voices. Just listen to Beast Boy."
Despite not knowing how Raven insulted him, Beast Boy chimed in an obligatory "Hey!" at the sound of his name, which was promptly ignored.
"Perhaps the sayers-of-nay are just envious of the groups' musical success?" Starfire suggested innocently.
"Perhaps," Raven agreed, though she couldn't have cared any less. She liked to think her taste in music was more refined – classical was her preferred genre, as she found the melodic notes soothing; the perfect background noise during meditation.
Sure, she was subjected to Starfire's love of dance and pop more often than not, but anything was better than the tinny 'punk-rock' Beast Boy listened to.
Speaking of the booger, Raven noticed that the green titan was no longer participating in the conversation between the male titans, and was instead focusing intently on the piece of tofu bacon he held before him.
His brows furrowing in confusion, he gave the suspect strip a tentative sniff.
Yup - just as he expected.
"What the heck, Cy! You cooked this in bacon grease, didn't you?" he exclaimed, throwing the offending piece of soy-protein at the robot next to him.
Cyborg's human eye widened in surprise as the strip of tofu torture smacked him across the face, leaving a noticeable grease-stain on his cheek.
Beast Boy was now standing, his chest puffing in and out rapidly as his usual green face turned red with anger.
Starfire's futile attempt at bonding with Raven ceased as the girls stared open-mouthed at the scene before them.
Robin, on the other hand, continued to enjoy his meal, as well as the show.
Cyborg's face was still twisted into a state of shock as his mouth opened and closed helplessly. It wasn't often that the snarkiest titan was at a loss for words.
"Awe man, I didn't, did I?" he asked after what felt like an eternity.
Beast Boy continued to glare at him, his anger undiminished.
"I totally didn't mean to, BB," Cyborg insisted. "I was just so excited – you know how I get when I'm excited – and I just totally spaced when making your food."
Despite his anger, the changeling could tell his best friend was being genuine. But even so, the fact remained: Beast Boy had unwittingly consumed a form of meat.
"I'm gonna go sanitize my mouth," he muttered bitterly, dragging his feet towards the door in what could only be described as overly-dramatic. Every step appeared to take great effort, as if the linoleum floor were magnetized, and Beast Boy's feet were nothing more than stinky, green refrigerator magnets.
"It's called brushing your teeth, Beast Boy," Raven chimed in flatly as he neared the exit. "And you're supposed to do it more than once a week."
The changeling merely waved off her insult as the common room doors hissed open, before disappearing into the hallway.
Starfire felt a twang of sympathy stir in one of her stomachs as her eyes darted between the empty doorway and Cyborg's crestfallen expression. But before she could offer words of condolences, the common room was suddenly flooded with flashing red lights, the alarm blaring overhead.
The remaining titans stood in unison, barely waiting for Robin's command as they rushed into action – meaning all but Cyborg made a mad dash towards their rooms to change into the appropriate crime-fighting attire as the half-robot himself made a b-line for the garage.
Fully-dressed and ready to kick some bad-guy butt, the titans arrived at the scene of the crime just in time to witness a peculiar sight.
Cinderblock's attempt at destroying the face of the bank was thwarted by a lanky teenage boy, whose legs shook with fear as he pelted the behemoth with excess rubble.
Obviously, the villain was not pleased, and lunged towards the kid, who was attempting to adjust the strange goggles he was wearing.
Jumping out of the car, the titans were about to step in, but a sudden blast of red light shot from the teen's eyes as both he and Cinderblock wailed in agony.
"Star, Cy – help me take down Cinderblock. Raven and Beast Boy, get that kid out of there!" Robin commanded, his voice barely audible over the boy's screams.
The light continued pouring out of the skinny teenager, his wobbling legs threatening to give out at any moment.
Beast Boy shifted into a cheetah and ran towards the wannabe-hero as Raven trailed in the air behind him.
He could hear Cyborg's sonic cannon charge up as flashes of green and white joined the bursts of red, before a blast of blue knocked Cinderblock off of his feet.
But despite the villain falling down, the red energy emitted from the teenager before him continued, only now it was directed upwards as the kid fell onto his back, his fingers scratching at his face as his screams became more frantic.
It didn't take being a genius to realize that the guy was in excruciating pain.
The sudden smell of burning flesh washed over Beast Boy like a tidal wave, and the realization of why the kid was screeching hit him full force as the red energy suddenly diminished.
Shifting back into his human form, Beast Boy cautiously approached the now silent citizen before him. He looked to be maybe fifteen, with ashy-blond hair and crooked teeth. A pair of black goggles hid the rest of his face as the boy helplessly whimpered, his hand shakily reaching towards his eyes.
"We need to remove the goggles to assess the damage."
Raven's voice startled Beast Boy out of his stupor as his teammate knelt next to the teen. The faint sounds of battle in the background set the somber mood as Raven slowly removed the goggles.
It took all of Beast Boy's willpower not to blow chunks.
Raven gulped nervously as she stared into what should have been the blonde's eyes. Instead, she was faced with empty, singed sockets as the teenager before her sniffed helplessly. Knowing there wasn't anything she could do to restore his sight, the empath gently laid her hand against his clammy forehead, hoping to at least relieve some of the pain.
"It h-hurts," the boy murmured, his voice strained.
"I know," Raven replied, cringing at the harsh sound of her monotone as her powers went to work.
"N-no, not th-that," he continued, turning his head slightly while straining his neck. "Th-this." He then pointed towards the back of his neck. Not wanting to risk injuring him any further, Raven motioned with a nod for Beast Boy to check it out.
Taking a deep breath, the changeling knelt down beside his teammate, doing his best to ignore the kid's face as he craned his neck awkwardly.
From what he could tell, there was a sizable patch of skin scratched off, exposing a tiny piece of plastic. But before Beast Boy could start prodding at the thing, the heavy footsteps of Cyborg drew near. Turning around to face him, the green titan couldn't help but envy his friend's neutral expression as he eyed the scene before him.
"Awe, shit…" the eldest titan muttered, making fleeting eye contact with both his teammates.
"He's passed out from the pain," Raven deadpanned, her hand still pressed firmly against the now-unconscious citizen's forehead. "He was complaining about pain in the back of his neck beforehand."
"Yeah," Beast Boy agreed, nodding towards his discovery. "There's something in there, dude."
Curious, Cyborg got onto his hands and knees, squinting his eye as he, too, noticed the foreign object protruding from the teen's neck.
"The hell?" he mumbled to himself, before tentatively reaching towards the mysterious piece of plastic. But, much to the horror of all three titans, once his finger brushed the unknown object, he suddenly stood straight up, his arms dropping to his sides as his robotic eye flashed sporadically.
Before either Beast Boy or Raven could say anything, their teammate trust-fell right onto the hard asphalt behind him, enveloping them all in small cloud of dust.
"Cy?"
As the air before them finally cleared, both titans stared in mutual confusion at their fallen teammate, whose eye had yet to stop blinking. Their heads turning in unison, they then both directed their gazes towards the unconscious boy before them, whose mysterious neck-wound rendered Cyborg immobile.
"That thing has got one nasty virus," Beast Boy announced, recognizing Cyborg's automatic defense against viruses – totally shutting down.
"Well, it's not doing any good just sitting in this guy," Raven pointed out.
Nodding in agreement, the changeling slowly reached towards the strange little object.
"Wait!" Raven exclaimed, the worry in her eyes betraying her otherwise blank expression.
Beast Boy looked back at her, his fingertips twitching in anticipation. He was somewhat surprised to see his stoic teammate look so distressed.
"Be careful."
Feeling rather smug at Raven's concern, he responded with an exaggerated eye-roll as he quickly yanked the thing out.
"Always am, Rae."
It was her turn to roll her eyes, before they both directed their sights towards Beast Boy's hand. Lying innocently on his gloved palm was a small, bloody microchip.
Robin let out an exasperated sigh as Cinderblock was finally packed into the large, specially-designed prison transport vehicle. It had been surprisingly easy to take down the villain, but the boy wonder couldn't complain – it was the day of rest, after all.
Brushing the excess dust off of his uniform, he felt his brows furrow in confusion as he noticed his teammates huddled off to the other side of the road. With a quick check for traffic, the titans' leader bounded across the street to see what all the fuss was about.
The paramedics were loading the teenager from earlier into the back of an ambulance as Raven and Beast Boy wore matching puzzled expressions, their eyes focused on something in the changeling's hands.
Starfire floated behind them, though her concerned gaze was instead directed towards the robot lying on the ground before her.
"Uh, guys?"
Three pairs of eyes immediately darted towards him, each looking more and more bewildered.
But before Robin could ask what had happened, the strangest scent attacked his nose.
"Why does it smell like bacon?"
Without warning, Raven was suddenly covered in the regurgitated form of Cyborg's well-intended tofu-breakfast, courtesy of Beast Boy.
Thought I'd try my hand at a bit of FanFiction. I would love any feedback, so if you feel the need to review, please do! :)