AN: Wrote another chapter and decided to upload it. I was going to delete the first one until I finished the entire story, because I was unsure about whether or not I would edit it when I went further into the story, but someone had already reviewed it, and it might've made them sade :(. So, it's still here. And now, since I'm following that pattern, I'm uploading this chapter so there wouldn't be a huge gap between uploads. Also, you may notice that Slade is now apart of the story. This is because I've lengthened the plot. I feel weirdly honoured to write about the notorious villain lol. Anyway, this AN is getting long and I don't want to disturb people from reading, so Enjoy!
2
A few weeks later, everything was prepared. The day of the banquet was upon the Titans, and they were getting themselves ready. Each hero had something to do; Robin was tweaking with the many tiny black cones that stuck out from his scalp, Starfire was applying an Earthly lip gloss that she'd bought at the local mall, Beast Boy was currently trying to free his hand, which was losing circulation in the poorly-tied knot in his tie, Cyborg popped his collar, admiring his reflection in the mirror, Raven sighed, accepting the way her hair fell to her shoulders, and Bumblebee relaxed as she rested her tired arms after spending hours styling her unruly strands.
Once the super-powered teens were finished preening, they exited their rooms, making their way down to the bottom of their trademark, T-shaped building. The doors to the foyer slid open to reveal a very pink-looking Koriand'r in a silver mask as she stepped carefully into the room. She held the pink puffy skirt of her dress in her hands and walked slowly in her silver heels to the far wall, leaning and waiting for the others to arrive.
Victor appeared to be the second, showing up in a light blue suit and a white mask. He smiled when he spotted his alien friend and walked over to her, uttering a friendly greeting.
"Whoa, Dick's gonna freak when he sees you," the metal Titan smirked. Starfire blushed, smoothing her curled hair. She played with the clasp of her silver clutch, wondering what her boyfriend would in fact think of her outfit.
"Thank you, friend," she said finally, looking up and smiling. The doors slid open once again to reveal Raven and Bumblebee, who conversed quietly as they approached their teammates. Once they arrived, Koriand'r gasped.
"Oh friends! You are both looking most wonderful tonight!" she clapped, grinning at the other two girls in the room. Karen smirked behind her black mask and showed off her short yellow dress, making it clear that she'd accepted the compliment. Rachel, however, lowered her gold-masked head to look at the cloth that covered her, raising an eyebrow at its monochrome.
"It's just…black," was what she responded with. She pinched the material, not seeing how a simple dress could make anyone look wonderful. Bumblebee put her hands on her hips, scowling at the dark Titan.
"What did I tell you about taking a compliment?" she reminded. Raven rolled her eyes, snorting and crossing her arms. She turned away, not wanting to see Bumblebee's scolding glare. Cyborg cleared his throat, stepping into the middle of the circle.
"Well, I for one want to second Starfire's notion," he wrapped and arm around Karen's shoulder, making her giggle. She playfully slapped him away.
"Third," Raven heard a whisper by her ear, and before she could jump, two arms wrapped around her and brought her to her boyfriend. Garfield nuzzled her neck and bit her ear. The dark girl turned a deep red, batting at the green Titan.
"What did I tell you about sneaking up on me?" Rachel hissed, her "menacing" tone not fooling anyone. Beast Boy laughed behind his Phantom mask, releasing a hand to wave at the others. Starfire saw the two happy couples and suddenly felt a desire to be a happy couple herself. The alien looked around the room in search of her boyfriend, but found no good result.
"Where is Robin?" she asked, more or less to herself. Cyborg overheard.
"Don't worry, Star. He'll show up," he reassured. He didn't expect the masked Titan to be involved in anything that would take up too much time, so he didn't think much of his absence.
"Maybe he's still doing his hair," Garfield snickered, burying his face in his girlfriend's hair as he laughed. Raven rolled her eyes and tried to inch away from him.
"Knowing him, he's probably fixing his mask," Cyborg suggested. Karen smirked.
"Or abusing caffeine," she added.
"Or bitching about Slade!" Beast Boy joked. Everyone snickered, which was surprising, considering that the green teen rarely made a joke that was the least bit funny. Starfire wasn't laughing though. Her forehead creased with worry.
"Aw, Star, don't worry. He'll be here," Victor rested a hand on his alien friend's shoulder. Starfire looked up and forced a weak smile. Finally, Robin appeared through the sliding door.
"Dude, finally!" Beast Boy mocked scolded, to which Richard frowned.
"Yeah, man. Where were you?" Cyborg asked. The fancily-masked Titan looked anywhere but at his teammates, scratching the back of his head.
"I-It's irrelevant," he dismissed, not wanting to share an excuse. The truth about his lateness involved about two thirds of his bottle of hair gel, and he wasn't about to admit that to his team. Instead he cleared his throat and asked if everyone was ready. Each Titan nodded and Cyborg took out his metallic arm, pressing a button and summoning the heroes' beloved T-car to the group. The vehicle that appeared was long and black in colour, light gleaming off of it. The metal Titan breathed on his fingers and whipped them on his tux, smiling in pride.
"Whoa…" Beast Boy awed.
"With built-in auto pilot and everything," Cyborg bragged. Robin shrugged.
"Alright. We're off," he announced, gesturing for his friends to enter the car and drive off.
"How dare he…"
A small girl stood in the middle of a floor, gritting her teeth and clenching he fists. She took a few steps to her right and stopped, anger rising within her.
"How dare he!" she stomped, her voice ringing throughout the large room that she was placed in. The girl was livid, and her location wasn't likely to let her forget her reasons. A man walked over to her right, laying a large hand on her thin shoulder. He patted her in a patronizing manner, not expecting the girl to gain any comfort from him. He wasn't the comforting type. He retracted his hand when the girl stepped away, screeching as she turned to face her mentor. The girl took a look at her mentor, who, despite the fact that his face was covered, looked at her in amusement. She bowed her head, letting her blond hair fall to the sides of her face. She admitted it; she was angry.
"Do not fret," her mentor told her. He stepped as he talked. "Of course he would eventually abandon you. They all would. Isn't that what I've told you?" The masked mentor picked up a remote and eyed it interestedly. After inspection, he put it back and faced his apprentice.
"But…but he…" the blond girl felt confused. Her mentor threw her a newspaper, which she immediately caught by reflex. The man smirked behind his face covering, slightly pleased to know that his apprentice still recalled her training. The girl looked at the paper and grimaced in anger at the front page. She growled, crumpling the journal and throwing it away. The sight of it made her stomach turn. She pressed her fingernails into her palms until they bled, a single tear gathering at the corner of her right eye. The man walked over to the small girl and laid a hand on her shoulder again.
"They all betrayed you, did they?" he whispered in her ear. "Don't you want revenge?" The girl wiped the tear from her eye before it fell. She nodded.
"Yes," she answered. The man smiled. "But…" The man was intrigued.
"I want to keep him," she said. Her mentor thought about her condition. He mulled over his options, the consequences that followed each path. He sighed.
"I suppose I could allow you a pet. After you've disposed of the Titans, once and for all," he replied. "Though, Terra, I would want to know why."
Terra displayed a tight smiled.
"Because. It would earn me a much better reaction from her." Slade laughed.