Sink, Swim or Fly
One Shot
Author's note: Here's wishing everyone an early 'Merry Christmas'!
Written for the Teen Titans Challenge Forum initiated by Evilevergreen. I was browsing the forum and I can't stop laughing at the lines set up for the challenge! I added a tinge of Aqualad/Bumblebee to fit into the theme of the challenge. Remember: They're meeting for the first time.
Disclaimer: Don't own the Teen Titans. All Spanish translations are done on MS Word translation and some websites. Don't kill me if there are any mistakes, I'm miles from anyone who can speak Spanish.
Two pairs silhouettes on two sides of the river. On one side, the other seemed blurred by the smoke from Steel City. On the other, it was almost impossible to see the two dark shapes against the giant structure, a simple vertical tower.
A phone rang on one side. The three young heroes looked at it like it was a plague rat, neither willing to pick it up.
"Recoja el teléfono!" Bumblebee didn't need her English-to-Spanish dictionary to help her, as her hand snatched the cell phone, her finger depressing the 'receive call' button after some deliberation. A crisp voice spoke on the other side.
"Which of you is… are Mas y Menos?"
Bumblebee resisted throwing the phone into the water, but eventually shoved the phone into the twin's faces.
"¿Para nosotros?" One of them (Bumblebee couldn't tell which one) received the phone from her. "Hola, somas Mas y Menos. ¿Qué necesita nosotros hacer usted?" There was a pause, and all that could be heard was the rustling of paper, before the voice spoke again.
Bumblebee, who was listening to the conversation with great interest, was suddenly thrown back as the twins sprinted across the water, towards the abandoned tower. With their super-speed, the water was no more than a bridge, and soon their tiny frame was invisible from where Bumblebee was standing.
Now how the heck was she supposed to know what to do? She threw up her hands in exasperation, turning around to leave, when the twins sped in front of her, handing the phone back to her. "¡Buena suerte!" Giving her two thumbs up, they zoomed back across the water. If that wasn't weird, she thought, putting the phone to her ear.
"You're Bumblebee, right?"
"No, I'm extremely pissed off right now," she retorted. That'll teach him. Some kind of hero recruitment this has been… Hopefully the 'test' wasn't a stupid one.
"I'll take that as a yes. We need you to cross the river. See the surfboard over there? When you reach this side, I need you to stop on a dime and give me nine cents change." There was a pause, followed by raucous laughter from over the line. If Bumblebee wasn't desperate for this, she would have left. First of all, that joke was plain lame, and secondly, it wasn't funny.
"Look, here's a dollar, just promise you'll never say that again. Ever." Bumblebee hurled the coin over, relishing the thud it made over the phone. Still seething, she walked over to the lightning-blue surfboard. This job better pay well, she told herself. She had never been on one of these, what if she drowned? Clipping the cell phone on her belt just in case, she tried to balance on the board, and promptly fell off. Hopefully the cell still works underwater, she thought with a smirk.
Finally she managed to get herself on the board, and worked to paddle out to sea. The tide worked to oppose her, but at least she got far enough to realise there was no turning back. From here, she could try to swim across, but the cell phone gave her another idea. Surprisingly, it worked despite the abundance of saltwater in its circuits.
"Help… drowning…" Gargling into the mouthpiece for a second, she plunged the phone into the water for a second, switching it off underwater. If they wanted to joke like that, they'll have to contend with her. Shrinking to bee size, she hovered over the board, waiting for them to come find her.
The face that popped out from beneath the water surface confirmed her choice to respond to the grimy flyer she picked up. 'Junior heroes wanted. Meet by the edge of Steel City if interested,' it had said. If she had known that she'd be working with such a cute guy, she would have signed up earlier. His eyes scanned the area, way to calm for someone on a rescue mission.
"Alright, you can come out now, Bumblebee. I know you're not drowned."
Bumblebee pumped her fist in mock anger. How did he know, anyway? This would give him one last scare…
Aqualad glanced up at the growing shadow over him, as a flash of black and yellow landed on him, pushing him underwater. With a gasp he resurfaced, eyeing the teen in front of him with a mix of shock, irritation and relief. She fluttered her wings, shaking the water off them, as she got back on the surfboard. "You know, you could just fly."
"Why? When I know you'll never let me drown. Your team looks pathetic enough to go down to a bunch of drunken college kids. You need me, and you know it." With a sly grin, she started paddling across the water, with Aqualad swimming beside her.
The pair reached shore, with Bumblebee trying to dry herself by shaking off the water, raining water on Mas, Menos and another guy with orange hair. "Speedy," he introduced himself. Bumblebee shook his hand briefly.
"So… what are we doing here again?"
Aqualad cleared his throat. He had obviously prepared a speech for this. "Steel City isn't exactly the safest place, as most of you know. I figured that we need a team of heroes… like the Teen Titans in the west… they've got it together…"
"Cut the crap and show us where to crash, fish-boy," Speedy interrupted. The tower behind them was abandoned, but if they wanted to stay in it, it'll need work. Make that a lot of work, Bumblebee thought, as the front door crashed to the floor with a bang.
The top floor had a meeting room, where the five heroes could talk. "I was thinking of modelling ourselves after the Titans in the west, what do you think?" Aqualad suggested. "We would have to change the tower to a 'T', though," he added, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"You know what we need? A leader; and I vote… me!" Speedy pounded his fist on the table for added conviction.
"Me! Me! Me!" Mas y Menos started arguing among themselves as to who should be the leader.
"No way, you three. It's girl power this time, so move over, boys."
Aqualad's head slumped on the table. It looked to be a long day.
The good thing was that construction for the Tower was under way. Despite the occasional arguments, each of them contributed in their own way. Aqualad mixed a bucket of cement with his powers while Bumblebee laid the bricks, hovering over their worksite.
"So tell me, what's it like to fly?"
"What's it like to... it's like experiencing your first kiss over and over." She looked longingly over the horizon, before she realised that Aqualad had this dreamy look plastered on his face, looking into nowhere in particular. "What's the matter? Thinking of that first kiss?"
"Don't laugh, but it was with an angel…" Bumblebee's face cracked, as she burst out in fits of laughter, before Aqualad added frantically, "It was an angelfish, alright? It was my first pet!"
Just then, across the level, a shouting match had ensued between Speedy and the twins. "I think we need help," Bumblebee admitted, as they rushed over to prevent any strangulation of their team mates. "And I know just the person…"
End notes: A real joy to write, though it's too informal and rather… sloppy for my taste. Check out the forum, it's by Evilevergreen. Sorry if it didn't have the romance you required, this was the best I could muster. Personally, pre-Titans East, I don't think they can actually develop a relationship that fast, then start arguing when Cyborg appears.