Speedy was a lot like Robin. It was not just the way they fought, thought, looked and talked, it was more. It was, to a certain degree, their personality. Speedy, just like Robin, enjoyed some time alone every once in a while. And time alone for people like them meant being on the move at night, looking for some criminals to catch. A titan's definition of 'taking a walk'.
But it was during one of those nights, where Speedy faced that one major difference between him and Robin. He didn't have a cute alien girl in his team. He didn't have his own Starfire like Robin did. It was obvious that the two liked each other. And Speedy? There was only one girl among the Titans East and Bumblebee was just one of those girls he hadn't such an interest in. Not that it meant anything, as pretty much every girl on earth belonged to this category. With one exception.
"Cheshire." he said, looking at the back of the assassin. She suddenly appeared in front of him and, her being on the evil side, he simply had to follow her. At least, that's what he was telling himself. Once she realized he was behind her, she stopped, not turning around until the moment she heard his voice.
Now, looking at him, with her mask on, she spoke. "It's always nice to be reminded, that you didn't forget my name, Speedy."
"How could I ever forget it?" He smirked. Not the kind of smirk that made people feel unwelcome. More like a smirk that covered ones very own uncertainty. Until today Speedy had to deal with Cheshire quite often. For some reason he never arrested her or hurt her. They always fought, just like at some point they always seperated, long before the fight could come to an end.
Underneath her mask, Cheshire was smiling and she was very happy, that he couldn't see it. Just like him, she was hiding something, only that her face really showed her emotions. Emotions she kept hidden with her mask. All he could see was the typical grin.
"So..." he continued. "What are you doing tonight? Stealing? Killing? There are so many possibilities." In their very strange way of communicating with each other, this wasn't nearly as sarcastic as it may seem to be. A hero asking an assassin how her day was seemed very wrong, so Speedy said it the way he did and, just like many nights before, Cheshire understood that he this wasn't your ordinary hero-saying-whatever-semi-cool-line-they-could-think-of-talk.
"The usual." she answered, slightly tilting her head. "What about you?"
"The usual."
"I expected as much." She raised her claws. "Now, you want to fight, I presume."
"We're here already." he said, reaching for one of his arrows. "So we might as well fight."
Cheshire nodded. "As usual..."
XXX
Machines. To a certain degree, they stand far above all living beings. Especially humans. Humans can be slow or weak, they can disobey you or even betray you, they can forget, they can make mistakes, they might be the cause of a lot of trouble and in the end they will still fail. Humans are unstable. But machines are different. If ordered, they would go to hell and back in the name of those who send them, they are willing to face any consequence, including their own destruction, they never complain, never act against their programming, even their flaws and thus their failures are foreseeable. Where humans are variable, machines are constant. When it comes to humans, you are forced to adept to every new situation. With machines you can plan everything in advance. And in the end, a great plan and a great constant, might even make humans, and even more so heroes, very predictable.
Somewhere, within a factory nobody seemed to know anything about, Slade stood, watched his inhuman comrades grow in numbers, by hundreds every day. And he knew, this time everything would be just as planned. For too long he knew his enemies. And too well he knew the creations that would bring him victory. "The time has come, to face more challenging obstacles."
As he spoke, he turned around, looking at something else. Memorabilia of those that proved that this only slightly new way of handling things already was a success.
Pantha.
Bushido.
Herald.
Deceased.
XXX
Terra. Nobody knew how she returned. Or, more likely, was brought back to life. After that nobody knew if she was still herself or if she truly had forgotten everything. Then, when she came back, when she wanted to rejoin the Titans, nobody knew why she decided to do it. Nobody knew what changed her opinion or, if that was the case, what had brought back her memories. The thing is – nobody asked. They were all aware of the fact that it might as well be a trap, that it might be some Terra-look-alike that somehow, thanks to a strange plot-twist gained the original Terra's power. As stupid as it may sound, things like that happened all the time in the life of the Titans. But this time they didn't care. They just wanted to believe. Robin wanted to believe it, Cyborg wanted to believe it, Starfire wanted to believe it, even Raven wanted to believe it. And of course there was Beast Boy. And he truly believed. It was Terra. She was back. Nothing else mattered.
"Hey Terra, let's play games!" BB shouted from the sofa through the entire room. Terra responded. It sounded like she said she was coming, but you couldn't be sure, as her mouth was filled with strange stuff Starfire seemed to call food. Terra liked it just as much.
"Ready to get your ass kicked?" Terra smiled, as she sat down next to Beast Boy.
He too smiled. "Not today – I'm in the mood for kicking some ass myself!" he explained.
While they were playing, Starfire also walked over to them. "May I join you in the kicking of the ass?"
The changeling nodded. "Sure, winner fights Star!"
Raven was also in the room, but ignored the others, at least so it seemed. While she was indeed meditating, or trying to do so, she was at the same time listening. Starfire always seemed to be happy. A lot had to happen to actually make her sad, so she appeared to be the same as always. Beast Boy was different. Despite him always making fun off just about everything, he was different now. He was happier than Raven had seen him in a very long time. Maybe he was even happier than Raven had ever seen him be.
It was strange. At some point Raven started to focus on Beast Boys voice, without even intending to do so. It was like looking at some one, thinking about that person and in the end you just appear to be staring. Difference was that nobody noticed her doing it.
And suddenly she, along with the other Titans, heard the alarm. Robin entered the room together with Cyborg, looked at the others, with Terra being the last one, as he said the words they were all waiting to hear. "Titans, trouble!"
Only seconds later they were ready.
XXX
Robots. Dozens of them. Enough to do a lot of damage. Enough to scare civilians. Enough to get rid of ordinary guards.
Hardly enough to defeat the Teen Titans.
Again, like many times
before, Slade's mechanic servants were about to steal something
when the team showed up. Looking at the number of enemies, they all
knew that they could do this.
"He just won't give up." Robin
said. It was time to prove how useless these efforts were. "Titans,
GO!"
As the boy-wonder spoke the magic words the six of them
began to attack. Cyborg began with shooting them, but soon after
moved on to close combat. Smacking them right in the face felt even
better than blowing them up. Beast Boy turned into the biggest
dinosaur he could think of. Being a creature of that size, all he had
to do was move around to destroy many of his opponents. So easy, it
was almost boring. Starfire continued with her usual flying around
and shooting at everything that looks like an enemy routine. Terra
did her raising rocks from the ground and crushing the enemy with
them thing. Raven used her magic to tear them apart. Robin threw just
about every gadget he had at them. It didn't take long until they
were finished. Another day – another victory.
"BOOYA!" Cyborg shouted.
"I wonder why he's even trying anymore. Slade really has seen better days than this." When, as a villain, you reach a point where even Beast Boy successfully makes fun of you, you really should rethink your life.
Robin wasn't in the mood for jokes. "That's the question that haunts me." Everyone was looking at him. "This has been what? The fourth time? Fifth? Slade isn't stupid, he would learn from his mistakes as well as his losses. How come he's trying, again and again, the same way as before?"
"So, you think he's up to something?" Terra asked. Silly question, as it was obvious what Robin was thinking.
"Exactly."
XXX
Speedy was already breathing hard. Fighting Cheshire, while something he did on an almost regular basis, wasn't the easiest thing in the world. She got her good reputation for a reason.
"Already finished?" she asked. He couldn't tell if she truly wanted to know or if she was just mocking him.
"Nah. Hardly. It's not over yet." He said so, but he wasn't sure what else he should do. He didn't want to use his arrows against her and when it came to fighting without weapons she was just out of his league.
"Whatever you say, dear. But you look like you need a break."
"Maybe later." He ran towards her. For a long time he tried to avoid getting to close, knowing what she could do with those claws. But maybe, much like him, she would try to not do any real damage. Fortunately, he was right. As he suddenly came closer and attacked her, Cheshire began to only defend herself. For now she wasn't attacking – she couldn't. Threatening him was one thing, slicing him in half another. As soon as she got the chance she jumped away.
"Already finished?" he asked, grinning.
She shook her head. "No. I'm just about to begin." Now that there was some distance between them she could finally take of her claws – along with her mask. "That's better."
This time she was the one attacking, but Speedy was ready for her. The two of them were punching, defending, dodging and at some point, almost simultaneously tried to hit each other, yet both grabbed the opponents fist, just as it was about to reach their own face. Neither one was willing to let go, so they used this moment to look at each others faces. It was a very close look.
"Cheshire." Speedy
said, all of a sudden.
"Yes?" the no longer masked girl
replied.
"You're beautiful." He truly meant what he said.
She smiled. "I know."
He chuckled. "Isn't this the moment where you should say something nice about my hair?"
She almost started to laugh. "What is it with you and your hair?"
Actually, a very good question. "I just like it the way it is."
"So it seems."
"I
guess...well?"
As they continued their little chat, everything else around them, even their own fight, didn't seem to matter any more. For now it was all about each others face and each others words.
"What if I offer you something better than a compliment?" A meaningful smile showed on her lips.
"Something better?" He raised an eyebrow.
"You would like it." As she spoke her face came closer to his.
"I would?" He tilted his head.
"I bet you do." She nodded.
"What is it?" He smiled.
"Don't you know?" She seemed disappointed.
"I guess I do." He grinned.
"So?" She grinned as well.
"I take it."
"Good."
And without further ado they closed the remaining distance between their lips. It wasn't her kissing him or him kissing her. They both moved their heads forward, just enough so their lips would touch. They both wanted this. Their first kiss. Again simultaneously they closed their eyes. Right now, not even words or faces mattered. Only this feeling did. This kiss.
And although she didn't say it – Cheshire liked his hair.