Petticoats and Roses
Dear Reader,
It pleases me to see you've returned to my little endeavor. It would make me ecstatic to hear from you. I'm a book; I have no life.
Anyway, this next chapter was a little harder to figure out, considering I wasn't with the Titans when they got the alarm that Dreamcatcher was attacking the city. I was actually partially doing the attacking myself since Dreamcatcher used me to complete her goal of total world domination.
Because I did not essentially witness this part myself, I had to call upon my powers of telepathy. Yes, I'm a book that can read minds. Don't act as if you've never heard of the possibility. I'm also using my mind to type this since it would be very odd for Band Geek Letter 1 (who still doesn't know I'm using her identity) to wake up at three in the morning to find the inconspicuous book she checked out from the library hopping on the keyboard typing out this author's note.
I'm rambling again. The quickest cure to rambling I have found is to cut this note short. So here I go…
Sincerely,
THE BOOK
Petticoats and Roses
By THE BOOK
Part the Second
THE BOOK Becomes a Swirling Vortex of Terror
Raven usually never concerned herself with trivial matters, such as a new insane lawbreaker trying to take over the world. And today would be like all the rest, she promised herself. Not even a fresh supervillain would faze her.
As she flew over to the scene, however, she felt doubt creeping up on her. In the distance, the new supervillain stood in the middle of the street, holding a curious blue object. Raven soared in closer, observing that the object in question was a book. She frowned as she took in the mysteriously blank pages.
Raven pondered this oddity for a moment before the appearance of an enormous Godzilla-like monster snapped her out of her reverie. The monster swung its tail at her and swiped with a giant claw as Raven ducked and maneuvered out of its way. She flew over the monster's head, glimpsing the glowing supervillain behind it. The book in the supervillain's hand glowed as she spoke, creating five more monsters out of thin air.
"Raven!" Robin called to her. Raven dove to join the other assembled Titans. She alighted on the ground as it shook under the weight of six monsters attacking Jump City.
"She's creating the monsters," Raven explained. "I don't know how, but if I could get closer maybe I could stop her.
"Each of you pick a different monster," Robin commanded. "We'll concentrate on her when we take all these things. Teen Titans go!"
And with that, each of the Titans ran off to take down the fell offenders.
Raven bit her lip as she concentrated on ripping a nearby lamp post out of the concrete. The wires sparked dangerously, catching the attention of the monster. It stumbled toward her. Raven took a moment to center herself before using her powers to stab the monster in the gut. It took all her power, but the lamppost sliced through the monster's flesh like bread. The monster gurgled as it coughed up blood before it sank to the ground and collapsed against the side of a skyscraper, dead.
Raven poked the dead monster with her foot to make sure it wouldn't get back up before turning her attention to her friends. Beast Boy roared past her in the shape of a lion, biting his monster on one of the legs while Starfire blasted hers with starbolts. Cyborg and Robin were similarly occupied. Raven noticed a glow coming from around the street corner and flew over, anxious to finish this fight. She peeked around and saw the woman standing in front of Jump City National. Her book glowed ominously as money poured out of the bank and into a large sack at the woman's feet.
Raven enveloped a nearby manhole cover with her dark power and flung it at the woman's exposed back. To her surprise, the manhole cover stopped short and fell to the ground, harmless.
"Fool!" The woman cackled as she turned around. "No one catches the Dreamcatcher by surprise." Her crimson domino mask glinted as the book in her hand glowed brighter. "Looks like it's time for Chapter Two. The beast wasn't dead. It rose up behind her . . ."
The ground trembled as Raven ran back to the street where she had left her friends. The dead monster climbed to its feet, evidently no longer dead, and pulled the lamppost from its belly as if nothing had happened. The lamppost clattered to the ground as the monster set its sight on her.
"This is not good," Raven muttered to herself. The creature picked her up in its disgusting, dirt encrusted claws and roared in her face. Raven recoiled at the nauseating smell and squirmed, trying to break free as the monster brought her closer... closer… and closer to its gaping mouth. Without warning, Robin ran underneath the monster and repeatedly stabbed its pinky toe. The beast howled and relaxed his grip, allowing Raven to wriggle free.
Raven found a car parked nearby and flung it into the monster's chest. The beast's image crinkled, and then disappeared altogether in a puff of smoke. Robin fell from his position on top of the monstrous creature's toe to the pavement below, where he landed in perfect form.
"I think Dreamcatcher's power comes from that book she's holding," Raven explained as she landed next to him. "Distract her so I can get it out of her hands." Robin ran off to do as bidden, grappling with the force field projected by Dreamcatcher for her protection.
Raven found a brick among the rubble and shouted, "Duck!"
The brick glowed black as she hurled it towards the book. When Robin ducked, the brick collided with the book, knocking it from the Dreamcatcher's hands. It glowed pure white upon impact. As it crashed to the ground, a rainbow-colored vortex burst from the fluttering pages. Raven grabbed a nearby mailbox for stability. . The portal sucked up Robin almost immediately. He disappeared in a flash of blue light.
"Stay back," Raven screamed to the others as she lost her grip on the mailbox. She tried to fly out but the gusts of wind from the portal swallowed her up.
After a while, the eddy collapsed in on itself and fizzled out. The glowing dimmed slowly, until all that was left was a closed book.
Cyborg seized Dreamcatcher by her collar. "Where are Raven and Robin?" he yelled in her face.
"I don't know," she sniveled. "THE BOOK could have sent them anywhere." She wiped her nose on her sleeve, trying her best to look meek and innocent.
"What are you talking about, woman?"
"Friend Cyborg, I believe she is talking about this book of reading," Starfire commented as she picked up the book. She flipped through the blank pages anxiously. "Friend Beast Boy, I do not know much about books of reading, but are there not words that cover the pages?"
"Yeah," Beast Boy responded. "They usually have words. Why do you ask?"
"Because this book of reading is blank!"
"What!" Beast Boy exclaimed. Cyborg dragged Dreamcatcher over to Starfire while Beast Boy peered over her shoulder at the naked pages. He snatched THE BOOK from her hands and flipped through it himself.
"What is going on?" Cyborg shouted at Dreamcatcher. "You have five minutes to start explaining before I punch you senseless!"
Dreamcatcher cringed. "Okay! Okay. They've gone inside the book. I don't know where they are or what will happen to them. What I do know is that every day new words will be added to the Book. You can read what is happening to them."
"And how do they get out?" Cyborg asked.
"They can't. However, once the story is finished, the Book will teleport them back." Dreamcatcher answered.
"Well then. In the name of justice, we're confiscating this book." Cyborg peered at her, adding, "You're nothing without it, aren't you?" Dreamcatcher nodded. Cyborg grinned as one does when one is correct, and turned to his two teammates, who were in the midst of a hugging and crying session.
"And in the name of bacon, will y'all stop your bawling and 'cuff this fiend?" Beast Boy cut off the waterworks and handcuffed Dreamcatcher's hands behind her back. Starfire, however, ignored this order and continued to empty her tear ducts.
"Oh, this is horrible!" She attempted to hug Beast Boy again, but seeing as he was busy handcuffing the perpetrator, she settled for Cyborg. "We will never see Friends Raven and Robin again!"
"Careful," Cyborg reprimanded. "We don't want anything to touch the Book. This is our only connection to them."
"I am sorry," Starfire apologized, drying her tears. Beast Boy, who was more than done handcuffing Dreamcatcher by now, returned to the group and took the Book from Starfire.
He turned to the first page and squealed, "Look!"
"What is it?" Cyborg asked, excited.
"Hello…" Beast Boy said sarcastically, waving his hands in front of Cyborg's eyes. "Can you not see where my finger is pointing? We have a title!" And he was right. Petticoats & Roses appeared in elegant script in the center of the first page.
"Petticoats?" Starfire asked, perplexed. "What is a petticoats?" She turned to Cyborg who shook his head back and forth.
"Dude, I don't know!" Cyborg replied.
"Duh, a petticoat is," Beast Boy explained, "a skirt worn under another skirt or dress during… the olden times."
Cyborg and Starfire looked at him quizzically.
"What? I know stuff."
"Do I want to know?" Cyborg asked.
"Probably not." Beast Boy answered. "Listen, police sirens."
A Crown Victoria pulled onto the damaged street. It parked alongside the mailbox. The sirens shut off but the lights stayed on as Detective Green stepped out in a sharp green suit.
"Detective Green," Cyborg greeted him."Good thing you're here."
"The bashing of the villains was quite strenuous," Starfire added.
Detective Green looked at each of the three Titans in turn.
"Aren't there five of you?" he asked. "Don't I normally talk to Robin? And where's the gloomy chick?"
"They are in here," Starfire answered, motioning to THE BOOK in Cyborg's hands. Detective Green looked back and forth from the serious faces on each of the Titans to THE BOOK and burst out laughing.
"What is it?" Starfire asked. "I do not find this situation amusing." Detective Green paused mid-hysteric laughing fit. Sweat beaded on his brown skin as he loosened his collar.
"Wait. You guys weren't kidding."
The Titans nodded.
"Well… um…" Detective Green continued, clearly embarrassed. "I'll take that scoundrel off your hands, and… um… leave you to your reading."
He turned to Dreamcatcher and commanded, "Get in the car." Dreamcatcher grunted as Detective Green shoved her into the backseat. He slammed the door on her and hopped into the front seat before driving off, leaving the Titans behind with the mysterious blank novel.
"So now what?" Beast Boy put forward.
Cyborg paused and seemed to be in a state of intense concentration until he offered up his suggestion.
"Well, I guess we should just bring it back to the tower and wait for tomorrow. I don't know 'bout ya'll, but I am dying for some answers."
