CLASH OF THE TEENS: RELEASE THE KRAPEN

Episode 2: Fan Clubbing

It was a nice evening at the Michelangelo, the most prestigious restaurant in Jump City, a restaurant so prestigious that it didn't even says "Restaurant" after its name, it was just "the Michelangelo". There was some nice piano music echoing throughout the busy establishment, mixed in with the voices of the rich and generally cool people that were there. But tonight was a special night, for there were two people there that had even the generally cool people darting their eyes about every few seconds, hoping they could catch a glimpse.

Yes, the rumors were true (well, a lot the rumors in the Jump City Birdseye AREN'T true, but this one in particular was), Robin and Starfire of the world-renowned superhero team the Teen Titans were on their first public date. The press weren't allowed at the event (at least not inside the building, there were plenty of them snapping pictures outside the restaurant), and since it was their first non-crime-fighting public sighting since the announcement that they were dating was made two weeks back, it was a good thing, cuz not only was this an important event for the people of Jump City, it was also an important event for Robin and Starfire. It was their chance to show the world that they were, well, a normal couple, and that was what they were doing.

Well, Starfire was doing it better than Robin was. They were both wearing usual dress wear, Starfire in a black dress with fancy silver earrings and Robin in a nice tuxedo, but while Starfire was elated to be with Robin out in public, Robin was a bit on edge. How was he to know that no one was just going to shoot one of them in the head while they were sitting there? He hadn't hired any protection, and even though all the big villains were gone there were still regular robbers out there, and it's not that hard to get a gun these days. The fact that, when they walked in, the bouncer (wearing a blue hat that didn't match the rest of his clothing at all) had assured them he would protect them was good, but what if there were tons of robbers? Robin tried to push the crazy thought out of his head, and tried to listen to Starfire talk about what kind of foods she hoped they would serve here.

She was throwing out the names of many Tamaranian foods which Robin knew would taste horrible just by the name, but at least he had educated Starfire a bit on table manners before going there. She seemed to be doing fine, looking beautiful as always, and not too energetic. Their (well, more just her) conversation was interrupted when the waiter came over and asked what they would like for a drink. Robin noticed that he was wearing the same blue hat that the bouncer was wearing, and that there was some kind of insignia on it. Since he didn't want to be impolite, he didn't take a closer look, but he did take note of it before ordering some apple juice, as no matter what your social status was the drinking age was still 21. Robin didn't mind much, though, he liked his apple juice. Starfire asked the waiter if he had any Tamaranian drinks, he said no, and she ordered some chocolate milk...With a bottle of mustard. The waiter left, and Starfire continued talking. "I hear that humans have a food very similar to rolled blugworms..." It was at that moment when Robin felt the strangest sensation, like he was being watched. Sure, he felt this often and sometimes almost hit one of his team members when they walked up to him to say something, but this time he felt it was genuine. Heck, everyone in the establishment was probably watching them! But why shouldn't they be? Robin thought. It's not every day we go out on a nice little date. But he couldn't turn around, he had to pay attention to Starfire! It was out of the question. But they could be planning a group attack! No...It's out of the question...OUT OF IT...But Robin's instincts triumphed in the end, and he quickly turned around to see a few people quickly turning back to their food. Robin, knowing that they were probably just looking cuz it was freaking Robin and freaking Starfire, didn't do anything rash, but narrowed his eyes, stared for a few seconds and turned back to Starfire.

"Sorry," he said. "I just-" "Oh, were you looking at the hats?" Starfire cut in, not angry like Robin though she would be. "The hats?" Robin replied. "Yes, they are quite nice!" Starfire said. "You didn't see them?" "Well, I did see that the bouncer and the waiter were wearing hats, but..." Robin turned back around, and that time only one or two people turned rapidly back to their meals, but he saw that both of those people, along with the ones who turned earlier, were all wearing the same hats as some of the employees. What the heck is going on? Robin thought, turning back to Starfire again. "Star, do you know why everyone is wearing those hats?" he asked her. "No...But you can ask the "waiter", he is walking here now!"

Sure enough, the same hat-wearing waiter who had took their orders was coming back to give them their food. At least the service is good here, Robin thought before the waiter got to their table. He had turned his hat around since retrieving their order, but that didn't keep Robin from asking. The waiter finished placing their drinks (along with Starfire's mustard) on the table. "Alright, what'll you be ordering for entrees tonight?" He asked them. "Well, first," Robin started, "if I could possibly ask what that hat is and why so many people in this restaurant are wearing it." The waiter immediately turned beet-red. "Er...Um..." "I'd really like to know." Robin said. "It's...." the waiter said something unintelligible. Robin leaned in close to the waiter, who looked like he was going to faint. "Can you please say that again?" "Uh...Um..." The waiter stuttered. "It's f-for...th-the...It'sforthefanclub." After saying this he immediately dashed away, walking as fast as he could walk. Robin and Starfire were silent for a bit. Then Starfire broke the silence. "The what?"

Titans Tower

"The Robin and Starfire Fan Club," Cyborg said, a non-evil newspaper in his hands. "Can you believe it?" he looked up from the couch at Raven and Beast Boy, who were in the kitchen. "What I can't believe is that you're sitting in front of the TV and not watching it, and that your alternative is reading the newspaper...And it's 8:30 at night." Raven commented. "Oh Raven." Cyborg shook his head. "Just cuz I don't read the paper in the morning doesn't mean I don't read it at all." "Well that's probably because you're too busy examining every inch of your waffles to do that." There was a short silence. "Uh, YES." Beast Boy and Cyborg said at the same time, before breaking out into laughter. "But really," Cyborg continued, "why would anyone gather a whole group of people just to support two people?" "Cuz love is mysterious," Beast Boy replied jokingly. "Right, Raven?" "Right, Garfield." "Aw, c'mon!"

An hour and a few minutes later

Robin and Starfire entered the main room looking flustered. A calm voice sounded from the front of the room, where the huge TV was on. "The Sasquatch is usually rumored to dwell in New England and the surrounding areas...." "Team meeting." Robin called. Raven (who always held the remote as a tiebreaker for Beast Boy and Cyborg when it was just the three of them) turned off the TV and got up. "Man, if only I could turn into a Sasquatch..." Beast Boy was saying to Cyborg as they got up. "Then I would just roam the forest, freaking people out! Of course, they'd know it was me..." Robin took off his coat, and, being a gentleman, Starfire's, and layed them on the kitchen table. He looked pretty strange in just a tuxedo shirt. "Well, something very interesting happened to me and Starfire while we were having dinner..." "Stalkers?" Cyborg asked. Robin was somewhat surprised. "Well, yes..." "We heard," Beast Boy said. "Some fan club springing up to support you guys." "You HEARD?" Robin almost yelled. "WHERE?" "The paper," Beast Boy said. "They had a little blurb about it in the celebrity section." He said the last two words with a certain bravado, as he had been mentioned in that section quite a few times, which must mean he was a celebrity. "Apparently, no one even knows who owns it. The members of the club say he's a really cool guy, though."

"Well whoever they are, they're spreading quickly." Robin stated. "Robin..." Raven started. "Don't tell me you think that this is some kind of crime syndicate out to get you?" "Well, you never know," Robin replied, Beast Boy and Cyborg groaning. "But if we don't find anything on the computer about where this fan club is and who owns it, which I have a feeling we won't, I think we may have to send someone out undercover." Robin hooked up the computer and looked for a few minutes. "Nothing," he said, sighing. "You guys see where I'm coming from, right? Doesn't this all seem a little too mysterious to just be some club?" "Well, I guess, but-" Beast Boy said before Robin interrupted him. "No...I think we're going to need to investigate. We're going to have to send someone out. It can't be you, Beast Boy, because even if we put makeup on you it would still look bad, and it can't be you (looking at Cyborg this time) because there's no way to hide your shape without looking shady. It can't be you (Starfire) because of your skin and your eyes(he also thought she would probably get way too excited about it), and it can't be me because people know how I talk and what I look like here in Jump City. In Japan it was different, but here....no. So that only leaves one of us." Everyone looked at the remaining Titan. "You know..." Beast Boy said. "Teenage emo chicks do like to support celebrity relationships...."