Disclaimer:I don't own Teen Titans. That's DC's privilege.
A/N: That's right – time for the updated version! I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but re-reading the original was too cringe worthy. I'm keeping the original up for comparison reasons. Now, let's see how much my writing's improved over the past year, shall we?
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Raven entered the common room, book in one hand and an empty mug in the other, coming to a stop as she spotted Beast Boy in the oversized kitchenette in the form of an octopus, holding a carton of soy milk with four arms as a fifth worked to take the screw cap off the top of the carton.
"Beast Boy… what are you doing?"
The changeling didn't reply at first, waiting until he had successfully removed the lid before morphing back into his human form and turning to look at the empath. "Today's Friday 13th."
"…So?" She frowned.
"You know! Bad luck and all that?"
The frown remained on Raven's face as she made her way over, playing her book down on the kitchen counter before switching the kettle on. "And that explains you being an octopus, how?"
"I'm bring extra careful, so nothing bad happens." He answered as though it should have been obvious.
"Isn't that kind of taking it to the extreme?"
"No. I mean, I've already fallen off the top bunk of my bed, the hot water ran out during my shower this morning, Cyborg been me on a racing game-"
"-which he does anyway."
"-I went back to my room to find Silkie had eaten the controller to my old gamebox, and it's my turn to clean the pots tonight! I swear the universe is out to get me!"
Raven sighed. "You're over reacting. It's just a myth Beast Boy; like breaking a mirror or spilling salt. There is no proof those things actually cause bad luck."
"Yeah? Then explain everything that's happened to me so far!" The green titan challenged.
"This is pointless."
"See! You can't!"
"Fine. For starters, the top bunk to your bed doesn't have railings, and you're an idiot. You're not the only one to shower in a morning, and the fact that you're always the last one increases the chance that there won't be a enough hot water for you. Like I said, Cyborg always beats you, and your room is a mess. No doubt there was some sort of… food residue on your controller that attracted Silkie's interest. As for the pots, it's fixed. It isn't your turn just because it's the 13th. It's your turn because it was Cyborg's yesterday, and you're after Cyborg on the list."
"…I still say it's bad luck."
"And I still say there is no such thing."
The changeling jumped as the klaxons suddenly sounded, one of his flailing arms knocking over the open carton of soy milk. Raven quickly snatched her book off the counter, only just saving it, before glaring at Beast Boy.
"What? I told you! It's bad luck!" He shouted to be heard over the alarm.
The common room doors opened and Robin ran into the room, shortly followed by Starfire and Cyborg. Their leader quickly entered his password into the main computer, silencing the klaxons and bringing up the alert.
"It's the H.I.V.E Five at a jewellery store on Main Street."
"That's the third time this week!" Beast Boy complained. "Dude, this is seriously getting old!"
"We can take 'em." Cyborg told the changeling.
"Sure." Raven muttered, her voice heavily laced with sarcasm. "Because we obviously beat them the last two times."
Cyborg glared at the empath, not wanting to admit she had a point.
"We'll stick to the normal tactics. Raven, focus on Jinx. Beast Boy, Star, I want you two to focus on Mammoth. Cyborg, we'll deal with Gizmo. Arresting them comes second to making sure they don't manage to escape with any stolen goods. However it would be nice if we actually managed to catch them this time." Robin sighed. "Beast Boy's right. This is getting old."
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"These snot-munchers still aint here." Gizmo sniffed as he walked over to where his leader was stood watching the shop's front door. "I say we just take what we got an' scram."
"You said you were with me on this!" Jinx snapped.
"Yeah but… what if it don't work?"
"It will work. Leave the witch to me, an' just keep the others busy. We'll only be fightin' for a few minutes, then I'll pull this joint down and BAM, we're out."
Gizmo eyed the building sceptically. "You sure we're gonna be able to topple this place? Looks kinda sturdy."
"Certain. I didn't plan it for today for no reason. It is the 13th, after all."
"So?"
"Friday 13th's meant to be bad luck." Mammoth called up from the back of the room where he was busy collecting the various pieces of jewellery on display, dumping them into a bag.
"And I'm bad luck, remember? This really won't be the titans' lucky day."
"I still don't understand why you're botherin' with this stupid plan. I mean, what happened to easy pickin's an' all that?" Gizmo frowned.
"Because if this goes as planned, it could seriously damage the heroes reputation. We might even get a new team mate out of it. With 'er powers on our side, we'd never have to worry about messin' up a job again." Jinx shook her head. "For a 'genius' you really are stupid."
"They're here." Mammoth spoke up as he heard a car pull up outside. Zipping the bag shut, he slung it over one shoulder before moving to join his team mates.
"Just leave Raven to me, an' for god's sake keep the other four busy." Jinx ordered. "Five minutes, then we can scram."
(…)
The team wasted no time in exiting the T-Car, Robin and Starfire rushing through the store's main doors while Raven teleported inside with Cyborg and Beast Boy. The superheroes were more than surprised to find the H.I.V.E Five ready to fight, usually being able to catch the thieves off guard.
"We were wonderin' when you snot-munchers would get 'ere." Gizmo sneered.
"Why don't you guys just give up? Beast Boy whined. "You know you're only gonna get your butts kicked!"
"Not this time." Jinx smiled as Mammoth laughed at the titan. With a signal from Jinx, He charged towards the changeling, quickly crossing the space between them.
"Titans Go!" Robin shouted, the team quickly springing into action.
Starfire was the first to land an attack, hitting the charging giant with several green star bolts, the force of the hits making Mammoth to veer off to the side and miss his target. Beast Boy was quick to morph into a bull, and ran at the H.I.V.E member, hitting him square on and throwing Mammoth back into one of the building's walls.
Robin threw several explosive disks ahead of him as he ran towards Gizmo, Cyborg not far behind. The small genius quickly shot down Robin's gadgets with his remote controlled laser gun, before launching several devices of his own at the two titans, forcing them to scatter.
As Jinx jumped into a flying kick aimed for the cloaked titan, she marvelled over how easy it had been for her to get the set-up she needed. Even though she usually ended up fighting against the empath, more often than not the titan would have help. Today was just her lucky day.
Raven quickly sank through the floor to dodge the meta human's attack, resurfacing behind Jinx and moving to trip the girl up. Jinx quickly countered the move, having been expecting it, and jumped forward before spinning to face the empath, a Cheshire cat grin on her face.
Raven's stoic mask gave nothing away as she lifted two of the jewellery counters with her telekinesis and threw them at the girl. Jinx ducked under the first with graceful ease, hitting the second with a pink hex bolt that shattered the wood, leaving the small splinters to harmlessly hit the tiled floor around her. She threw another hex, this time towards the empath, but Raven was in the air the moment the pink energy had left Jinx's fingertips, the hex harmlessly hitting the floor, ripping up some of the tiles.
Having Raven in the air was not good for the meta human's plan. Using their powers, in a fight Raven had the advantage, and Jinx knew it. She needed to get in close to the titan; close enough that the empath would be hesitant to use her abilities. The two girls were evenly matched when it came to hand-to-hand combat, being of similar weights and heights, and Jinx could still use her powers without worry.
The H.I.V.E leader's eyes widened when she caught sight of Raven lifting a nearby armoured boy – probably used for protecting the more expensive items during travel – with her dark energy, quickly moving to the side as the empath threw it at the villainess.
Jinx turned her head to watch it burry itself into the wall behind her, before looking back at the titan. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"I was going for unconscious, but I'll take either." Raven muttered, her eyes glowing with a white light.
Deciding she couldn't afford to have Raven on the offensive, Jinx did the first thing that came to mind and ran forward, vaulting off a jewellery cabinet and grabbed on to the empath's ankle. Surprised, Raven fell from the air as she lost concentration, Jinx falling with her.
The titan had only managed to get to her knees when the meta human threw a punch at her. Raven quickly blocked it with one of her shields, before encasing her hand in that same energy and sweeping Jinx's legs out from underneath her.
The H.I.V.E leader made a small, startled sound as she hit the floor, glancing over to her two team mates to find the titans beginning to overpower them. Jinx quickly rolled to her knees and smashed her hand into the tiles near Raven's legs, releasing a bolt of hex energy with the same hand.
The ceramic broke into sharp teeth and stuck up at angles as the concrete below them shattered. Pieces of the tile cut into Jinx's hand, most burying themselves into the empath's leg.
Raven's stoic demeanour crumbled slightly as she tried to move her leg away from the worst pieces of broken tile, only managing to lodge some of the shards in deeper. Jinx glanced around to check the rest of the titans were still busy fighting her team mates before she grabbed Raven's chin with her injured hand and forced the empath to look at her.
"And to think I was hoping we wouldn't have to do this the difficult way." The meta human murmured as she traced her thumb across Raven's lower lip.
The villainess smiled slightly before she ducked her head, and roughly kissed the titan. Several glass cabinet covers exploded as Raven's muscles seized up on shock, the empath struggling to process what was happening.
Jinx pulled back, a coy smile on her face as she shoved a slip of paper into the titan's hand. She winked, throwing on arm out behind her, releasing several pink hexes that hit the ceiling.
"Call me." She smiled before scrambling to her feet and calling out for her team mates to follow as she made a dash for the front doors, the building creaking loudly around them.
"She's bringing the building down!"
Robin's voice seemed to snap Raven out of her shock and she went back to trying to dislodge the sharp pieces of tile embedded into her leg, attempting to ignore the steady flow of blood dripping down her leg.
"A little help here?" Raven called out as the first pieces of plaster began to fall from the ceiling.
Cyborg quickly ran over, helping the empath to her feet, then letting her use him for support as he started moving for the doors. "Sorry Rae, but you're gonna have to hold off on the de-splintering until we don't have a buildin' collapsing on our heads."
Reaching the street, the team moved to stand in the middle of the road, a safe distance away from the building as it slowly collapsed in on itsef in a large cloud of dust.
"Anyone see which way they went?" Beast Boy asked.
Robin shook his head, a quiet rage running through him. "No. They got away."
With on hand on Cyborg's arm for support, Raven bent down to get a better look at her leg, her face darkening. "I'm going to kill her."
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I morphed chapter one and two together here, due to how fucking short they were ¬.¬
Reviews welcome :)