He had heard of them; the Teen Titans. His father looked at him with shame whenever the phrase escaped from his lips. His mother had told him numerous times that his father had only a few bad memories from that age. But he knew better.
===~(*)~===
"Ugh, Redeads."
"I know, try not to get caught in the hug of death…"
"Did you know that they're actually gnawing on your head?"
"…what?"
"Yeah, the hug of death is actually a snack of death. 'Cause they scream, then they hold you down and gnaw on your little boy brains. You can't really tell though…these graphics are terrible."
"Child abuse!"
The two boys laughed, even though shouting 'child abuse!' was all the rage decades ago. Of course, how differently did they know? Their parents still used dialect from when they themselves were teens. Particularly Ricky's parents; his father called everyone 'dude'. Ricky wasn't quite sure what a 'dude' was, but he knew it wasn't an insult.
Just a few months ago, Ricky had been clawing through the cellar looking for something to entertain himself with. He came upon an old box, tattered and torn, with large black lettering: "BB'S STUFF"
He figured BB was short for Beast Boy, his father's old super-something name. So, as curious as he was, he tore open the box and was amazed by all the old dusty things he found. He snapped open old CD cases and found colorful discs, usually with writing on them, and posters for movies. One in particular caught his eye, titled "The Dark Knight", showing a man dressed in black with pointy ears standing atop a building. A giant bat-looking symbol hung in the sky, a pale yellow light circling the outside of it. He tucked it aside, making room for other things inside the box. He found a small book called "The Giver", showing a picture of an old looking man with a beard.
He whispered "Wow…" when he lifted up a slightly heavy purplish box with a black handle in the back. The front of it was gray, and had four holes, plus two small rectangular slots. The top had a black circle with small white writing: "NINTENDO GAMECUBE"
Not long after he found the purple box did he find cases with tiny, shiny discs inside them. The cases had "Only for Nintendo Gamecube" at the top, so he figured it was some ancient gaming system. He immediately texted his friend Daniel, who was astonished by Ricky's discoveries.
They started playing a game titled The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. They both hated the title, the graphics, and the fact that the style made everyone look like a cat. But they loved the story and the fact that he could shoot arrows so fast reminded them of their friend Lian's father.
The boys sat now in front of the projected screen, watching as the boy clothed in green swung his sword back and forth in the grass, making harsh noises and small yelps. Sometimes a green or blue gem would tumble from the grass, making a clink noise.
"I wonder if there are other versions of this game. Like, ones where he's not so…"
"Short? Annoying? Cat-like?"
"Yeah."
"Hm…I don't know. We could ask my dad."
Daniel and Ricky lazily stood up from the couch and directed themselves in the way of the garage, where Ricky's dad spent most of his time. They basically tripped down the stairs and tumbled out the door where the cold air made them both shiver.
"Hey dad." Ricky said, maneuvering around car parts and abandoned wrenches.
"Hey there, Rick! What's up?"
"Um...we just have a question about that one game we found. The Legend of Zelda?"
Garfield had to think for a moment. The name rang a metaphorical bell in his head suddenly.
"Oh yeah, that one! Go ahead."
"Uh, are there other versions of it? Maybe ones that don't remind us of old-school anime?"
Ricky's dad laughed. The heck is 'old-school anime'?! He wondered.
"There're tons of those games. I lost count after 14…" He scratched his head.
"Really?!" Rick and Daniel shouted in unison.
"Mhm. I don't have all the systems, though. You should try one called Twilight Princess; that one is my favorite."
"Mkay. See ya, dad!"
The two boys rushed out the door hurriedly, and stomped up the stairs to the attic.
===~(*)~===
In the old, tattered box, they found the game Ricky's father spoke of. On the cover was a picture that reminded them of the Yin Yang symbol. One side was the head of a wolf, while the other was the head of a teenage boy. They dug around some more for a memory card, but they found a different sort of card in the bunch.
It made them confused with the way it was so crumpled up, but still unopened. There, written in lacy handwriting, were the words Rick's father despised so much:
To the Teen Titans