Strange Behaviour
It was quiet behind the doors to Titans Tower's main conference room. Far too quiet for Robin's liking. He, Cyborg and Beast Boy were all standing in the hall, waiting for the all-clear from their team mates. Raven and Starfire were dealing with the situation in the conference room. Only two minutes had passed since the girls had entered, and shut the door behind them, but Robin was already finding it hard not to fidget. He glanced at his friends stood at either side of him. The looks on their faces told him that they were probably thinking the same things he was.
Why was this taking so long?
Had something happened?
Had it somehow gotten away from them!
None of the heroes relished the thought of re-entering the conference room with the risk of it still lurking somewhere. Robin was about to try asking Raven for a status report over their communicators, when the large steel doors silently slid apart and revealed the hooded heroine.
The male Titans all stood silently, waiting for news; good or bad. Raven looked at them briefly, then stated in her usual calm voice,
"It's gone."
Cyborg and Beast Boy gave out cries of elation and slapped each other a high five. Robin looked relieved as well, but didn't want to risk celebrating prematurely.
"Are you sure?" He asked Raven.
An eyebrow rose slightly in the shadow of Raven's hood. She knew Robin didn't doubt her word. It was just the cautious leader in him that wanted to be absolutely certain everything was fine.
"Yes. Starfire's taking care of it as we speak. It's safe to go in."
That seemed to be good enough for the boys. They marched back into the conference room and proceeded straight to the gamestation, so that they could resume the three-way free-for-all they'd been having on 'Ninja Dino Robots'.
Raven shook her head slightly and set off for her room. And people thought that she was strange.
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Starfire descended slowly from the conference room window of Titans Tower. In her hands, held firmly but gently, was a small plastic cup. She had it upside-down with a piece of card covering the bottom.
Her feet touched the ground in the fledgling garden that the Titans had started to cultivate at the base of their tower. She looked at the budding flowers and plants surrounding her and decided this was probably the best place. Kneeling down she placed the cup on the ground and lifted it up, leaving the card on the grass.
At this point, the young Tamaranian's thoughts went back to her friends' behaviour only a few minutes ago. She'd be lying if she said she completely understood the need for it. Having been a resident of Earth for a couple of years now, Starfire had long grown accustomed to many of the Earthling's ways. Their laws, their food, their clothing; but, now and then, she would encounter behaviour that she couldn't help but find… strange. Her team mates' outbursts being a prime example. But then, having said that, who was she to judge? Just because she didn't understand something, didn't make it wrong. Maybe there was a perfectly good reason Robin and the others had reacted the way they had. It might've been some form of Earth taboo that she was not yet familiar with. Raven had not acted the same way as the boys, but then, she hadn't been born on Earth. So maybe she didn't follow that custom.
Starfire's attention fell back to the cause of all the 'strangeness'. It had wandered off of the piece of card and was walking towards the flowerbed. Its' eight legs moving rather gracefully; Starfire thought.
"Farewell, little arachnid." She called softly after the small creature. "I trust that you will find a more fitting home among our garden's flora. And I hope my friends' outcries did not frighten you too badly."
Retrieving the cup and card, Starfire flew back up to the open window she had come out of. She entered the conference room where Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy were doing battle on the gamestation. As she closed the window behind her, she noticed the boys were all glancing towards her.
"Is it gone?" Asked Cyborg.
"Yes. There is no more need for the shrieking." Starfire answered brightly, while offering a reassuring smile. However, the boys didn't look entirely convinced. Their eyes kept going to the cup in her hand, as if expecting the arachnid to still be in there. She tilted it so that they could see inside and confirm for themselves that it was empty.
Finally satisfied, the boys resumed their game, laughing and taunting each other as if nothing had happened.
Starfire cast a questioning eye to the cup in her hand and then to her friends. She shook her head in puzzlement and murmured quietly to herself,
"Strange."
