Kishi: Another request fic, folks. Honestly, if you do have any requests, please feel free. Anyway, this one's for St. Leo Kiser, so without further ado….
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Practice Makes Perfect
Chapter 1
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Of course, it was tonight when the Weather Channel would prove right in its predictions. The rain had come suddenly, and it hadn't abated after their recent struggle, nor had it even ended when they came back to the Tower.
The Titans had just recently been privy to a repeat performance by Mumbo Jumbo, a maniacal mage who, fortunately, had all his props rely on wood or fire this time. When the first drops fell, the fight was over.
Flying card shuriken? Flopped out. Fire-eating? Forget about it. Saw-the-pretty-lady-in-half? The box turned to mush almost in the instant he was setting up.
Unfortunately, those were the nicer things that happened to him that evening.
"Hoo man!" said Cyborg as they walked in the door. "Of all the days y'all told me to leave the car…."
"What I do not understand," said Starfire, wringing water out of her dampened mane, "is why humans don't learn how to control weather? It would certainly make life easier."
"Don't hope for too much," came Raven's monotone. "They haven't even figured out how to seed clouds properly."
"What? But that is the simplest form of weather control!"
"Exactly my point."
"Well," said Beast Boy, "I hate to deprive you of my company, but I gotta jet. Stuff I gotta do whether the weather agrees or not."
Robin nodded to him. "Later!"
Cyborg looked after the retreating figure that changed into a dog. "That's funny. Tonight's usually the night where I pound him into the ground at Smash Bros. Why would he skip out on that?"
"Maybe that's why," said Robin. "How 'bout I take you on instead?"
"You're on!"
Starfire walked forward, then turned around. "Aren't you coming?"
"No," said Raven. "Something weird here. Beast Boy always holds to a set pattern of behavior. This isn't part of it. I'm gonna follow him."
"Very well," said Starfire cheerily. "Have fun!"
Raven looked back out at the rain. "Whatever."
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It had taken her all of 16 minutes to pick up his mental signature, and within minutes, she was standing outside a wall of windows. Outside, a sign lit in neon red pronounced "Sil-Lum Kung Fu." Inside, plaster walls held weapons racks, and the floors were garbed in stubby black carpeting. Beast Boy was in there, all alone under fluorescent bulbs, the green gi hanging off his thin frame. He seemed to be moving through some sort of kata involving horse and crane stances, not to mention some sort of 45-degree stance.
She walked through the glass door, stepping onto a white tile shore in the black sea. Hearing her steps, Beast Boy turned to look. His jaw dropped just slightly. "Raven! What're you doing here?"
"It's raining and I didn't feel like staying in it any more. What are you doing here?"
"Oh just… y'know, a bit of this, a bit of that," he said evasively. Raven kept her glare on him. "Oh fine. I'm practicing for a tournament."
"A tournament? The last time I saw you practice for anything was when you were preparing to sneak into E3 for the Gamecube release demos."
"That would've worked, too, if it weren't for those meddling security staffers!"
"Quit trying to change the subject."
He looked down, almost sheepishly. "Well," he said, finally, "when I change to animal form, the animal's mind comes with it. I have to fight it while trying to help you guys. I started coming to Sifu Lang's school when I learned about this style, which focuses on animals. I'm doing this to help me focus and get better." He put his hand behind his head and grinned a bit less nervously. "Kinda felt like taking a page from your book."
For a reason she couldn't fathom, Raven found that oddly flattering. What she said was, "I'm glad to see that at least some good habits are rubbing off on you."
"Go fig, huh?" he said, before going back to that same kata.
She watched him for a bit before asking, "So what's this about a tournament?"
Without breaking form, he answered, "I entered a tournament a couple weeks ago as a way to test myself."
"Oh please," she said. "Any of us could've given you a better test than what they will."
"Yeah, but…" he faltered just slightly, then continued in the form. "I have to know for if the training is actually helping me. I did this for more than just my health. I really want to be able to help, even if my powers aren't any good."
Beneath her hood, Raven's eyebrow rose just slightly. "Whatever gave you that idea?" she asked.
"Oh come on," he said. "It's obvious. When have I ever been useful for anything except cannon fodder? I figure, as long as I'm gonna be fodder, I'm gonna be good fodder."
"If that's the way you look at it, then this will never help you." Beast Boy came to a definitive stop as Raven continued, "Don't you get it? It's all in your head. You are simply an extension of what your mind perceives. If you think you're useless, you'll never get better at any of this."
"What exactly are you saying? Like, mind-over-matter?"
"Exactly."
"And now, hopefully you'll get it!" said a new voice that sounded like wind passing through reeds. Raven turned and saw a man who, had she less control of her emotions, she would have been inclined to laugh at. He appeared to be the stereotypical kung-fu sage, complete with great white beard and bemusedly crinkled eyes. Drably colored robes swirled with his movements as he walked with the assistance of a cane by his side. Raven, however, had the distinct feeling the cane was for show.
"Get what, sifu?" asked Beast Boy.
"Maybe not," cackled the old man. "But I'm feelin' too lazy tonight to teach. My daughter's just had a daughter of her own, so I'm feelin' a bit like partyin'. How 'bout you teach him?" he asked, gesturing to Raven.
"Are you sure you want me to do that?"
"Yes."
Raven sighed slightly, then turned to face Beast Boy. They stepped out into the center of the open space.
"One condition," called out the old man. "No special powers of any kind."
"All right, then," said Raven. "Let's begin."
At first, they didn't do anything except stare at each other. However, when Raven suddenly charged forward and sent him back a step with a blow to the head, Beast Boy managed to recover himself enough to block the low blow that came afterwards. A knife-handed chop from the right was blocked, and the knee to his middle was met with a knee, but the strike to the side of his head disoriented him just enough to allow the roundhouse to his side.
They separated. "Come now, move!" called the teacher. "Ya got legs! Use 'em!"
Beast Boy shook his head a couple times and stood still. Raven attacked again, aiming high, then shooting low with a sweep. Beast Boy lifted the intended target and responded with a low forward kick. Raven brushed it aside and came up in an uppercut, which Beast Boy neatly dodged by stepping away from the blow. Then, since he was close enough, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a strike to her ribcage. She fought the urge to give in to the sharp pain in her side as he let her go, but she shook it off.
They began circling and attacked again. Unnoticed by them, other students had wandered in through the front door. Some went off to change, but those already in uniform watched the match with more than a passing interest.
Beast Boy and Raven had both reached an even keel as far as their fighting skills were concerned. No move was made without its countermove to meet it, and the tension between the two of them seemed almost palpable.
Raven made a forward kick that was deflected by Beast Boy, and stepped forward to deliver the elbow to his armpit just as she'd intended. Beast Boy stepped back, then stepped forward into the roundhouse that Raven had waiting for him. Only he caught it in his arms and made as if to shove her away. If she hadn't caught hold of his gi, he might have succeeded, but he was yanked off his feet with her as they both went crashing down.
The match would've continued as well, except that before they could their eyes met. Such a common occurrence wouldn't have stopped them except for what they both saw. Beast Boy looked and was utterly enthralled by the mysterious depths that his gaze took in. Raven looked and was stunned to perceive the openness and honest sincerity in his gaze.
They might have stayed that way for a longer time if one of the students hadn't crowed, "That's one way to do it, BB!"
Quite suddenly, Raven wasn't there anymore. Beast Boy got back to his feet as Raven's robes settled around her. "You have improved," was all she said as she turned to bow to the teacher and walked out the door.
Outside, Raven sighed and stared up into the rainy sky. The openness of those eyes… it'd almost been nice to see that, an exception to the tedium of seeing her same dead expression day after day. She sighed again and flew off into the night.
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As Beast Boy bowed to the upperclassman who was leading warm-ups, his only thought in reflection was, I've gotta remember how to do that.
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A poster's garish colors and loud letters pronounced the date and time of the impending tournament. A tall and massive figure scanned it for information. His hands clenched into fists involuntarily at the glee coursing in his veins.
"I wonder," growled the figure, "how many I can send to ICU this time?"
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Kishi: Of course, you do realize that this can't be a one-shot because there's too much room for possibility. Whether that's good or bad… well….
::the author shrugs::
Kishi: In any case, I don't know when the next part will be, seeing as I have other writing projects to attend to, but… well, we'll see.
Teen Titans is copyrighted to DC Comics and all related authorities. The TV series is copyrighted to, I believe, Glen Murakami, but I don't know for sure yet.
The only things that are mine are those things that I perceive as original, and thusly are mine. If you recognize an idea that you came up with first, all credit goes to you.
God only knows where I can be contacted; it should be posted in my profile somewhere….