By the way, I call the tower in Jump City Titans Tower, and the tower in Steele City East Tower. Just so you know which tower I'm talking about! (Though East Tower is kind of obvious.)
Anyways, after having to read that completely pointless note, you may now continue with the story! Enjoy!
Chapter Two.
It was six months after Christmas, and it was beautiful weather in Jump City. The five Titans there were able to relax since there had been no crimes where the teen-aged superheroes were needed.
The same could not be said in Steele City, where a major crime spree had been going on for the past two months. Every time the exhausted teens had collapsed in their tower, the alarm went off only seconds later. Bumblebee had to physically restrain Speedy from breaking the alarm after the first month.
After the crime spree had apparently ended, Aqualad suggested visiting the Jump City Titans. Though he said he just wanted to see them, and challenge the guys to a video game match, both Bumblebee and Speedy saw right away he had another reason for wanting to head over to Titans Tower. If the alarm went off, they wouldn't be able to hear it ten thousand miles away.
But both of them wanted to get away as well, and the twins were too enthusiastic about the idea to say otherwise, so Bumblebee had called up Robin to inform him that they were coming over to visit whether he liked it or not, and hung up on him before he could even open his mouth to say hello. The Titans East then piled into their blue T-Sub, and started flying over to Jump City. It wasn't exactly the ride Bumblebee had been hoping for. The twins were arguing in Spanish over the intercom, Speedy had some rock music on full blast in his pod, and Aqualad had conveniently shut off his communication, and was positively ignoring Bumblebee's frantic waves to him. The aquatic prince had a very peaceful nap for the next two hours, while his leader practically tore off the steering wheel from having to listen to the twins argument and the archer's music.
Finally, the T-Sub landed in the docking bay of Titans Tower. Bumblebee was in a very bad mood, but the guys of the team appeared quite happy.
Starfire immediately rushed forwards and gave everyone a huge hug, while Mas y Menos gave her a faded flower that they had picked before the start of the trip. Beast Boy greeted Aqualad with a high five, Cyborg and Bumblebee gave each other a quick hug before pulling away blushing, while Robin and Speedy did a very formal handshake, before Speedy started laughing, and the two did a knuckle crack. Raven just stood there with her smile hidden in the shadows of her hood.
The Titans headed to the Main Room and instantly got sorted into their usual groups. Raven sat down near the window to read, Mas y Menos went off to explore the Tower, Aqualad, Speedy, Beast Boy, Robin, and Cyborg had a video game contest, while Bumblebee and Starfire sat talking at the table.
Two hours passed, and the contest ended, with Speedy as the champion, much to Cyborg's dismay. He told the archer straight off that after they took a break, the two were going to have a rematch. Beast Boy was trying to contain his laughter at his best friend's defeat, but he wasn't doing a very good job with it.
Mas y Menos were still missing from the Main Room, and Raven was still curled up in a corner reading her book about a mysterious serial killer. The rest of the group were talking among themselves earnestly, and laughing at a story Bumblebee was telling.
Raven wasn't paying any attention to it. Her focus was on her book which she had been reading for the past month. She just reached the end of one of the final chapters, when she heard a male voice directly above her.
"Wanna play?"
Raven's eyes snapped up, her violet eyes taking in the red-headed boy in front of her. "Play what?" she asked begrudgingly.
"Demons and Dragons," he replied, gesturing to the video game.
Dead silence filled the room, with every eye staring straight at the two of them. The four Jump City Titans were waiting for Raven to flatly refuse before blasting Speedy away from her like she did with Beast Boy. Aqualad and Bumblebee were too astonished to expect anything. Raven's monotone voice filled the room as she answered Speedy's strange question. "Sure."
She set her book down, stood up, brushed herself off, walked steadily past Speedy, and picked up a controller. "So, how does this thing work exactly?" she asked him.
Speedy grinned and sat down beside, reaching for a controller. "Okay, this "A" button is for jumping. This gray button here is for moving, like this." He proceeded in explaining to her the controls, neither of them paying any attention to the gaping teens behind them.
After nearly a half hour of telling Raven the rules of the game and making sure she had mastered the art of the controller, Speedy and Raven entered a fierce competition, Raven always losing, and Speedy not daring to let her win, lest she blow him away to another dimension. Raven discovered she actually enjoyed playing video games, even though she lost every single round. They played it for the rest of the visit, and Cyborg never did get his rematch with Speedy.
xxxxx
After the Titans East had departed, Beast Boy turned to Raven, his green eyes huge on his face. "Wanna play video games with me?" he asked.
Raven glared at him. "No," she deadpanned, before turning, and leaving the room with a grand swirl of her cloak.
Beast Boy stared after her, still in shock after what had happened earlier. "She said yes," he murmured to no one in particular. "She played video games with Speedy!"
He stumbled out of the room in a daze, still muttering to himself. Cyborg chuckled as he left for the garage. "What is so funny, Friend Cyborg?" asked Starfire innocently.
"I never thought I'd see Raven play video games and actually enjoy it," he told her. "And with Speedy nonetheless."
xxxxx
Raven couldn't believe that she had actually agreed to Speedy's question. It was so out of character for her. It was the night after and she was still mulling over what had happened. She sat up on her bed, and lifted up into her meditating pose, repeating her mantra over and over again. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." She breathed a sigh. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zin..." Her communicator went off.
Raven's amethyst eyes darkened as she grabbed her communicator. "What?" she snapped into it.
"Would this be a bad time to call?"
"Speedy? Why are you calling me?"
The archer shrugged. "Well, if you don't want me to..."
"No, no, that's not it, I just...well...didn't...expect you to call, that's all."
Speedy grinned. Not many people had seen Raven stuttering over her words. "So, anything new happened since I visited?"
"Not really. Beast Boy still can't believe I actually 'took up the controller' as he put it."
Speedy studied her. "Well, to tell you the truth, I can't believe you did either."
"That makes three of us. But, I had fun. Cyborg has some real competition in you."
Speedy's rich laugh reached her ears. "So Aqualad and Beast Boy are both horrible, and Cyborg and I are both great. I wonder where Robin is in that area."
"I don't know. He's a guy of many talents."
"He has to be. He was raised by Batman."
Raven smiled thinly. "You've seen him without his mask on, haven't you?"
"I told you we met as civilians."
"I have."
Raven felt Speedy's surprised stare. "You have?"
"Well, not exactly. I don't know if he told you, but we have a bond, a mental link. I entered his mind once and saw some of his memories."
"You can do that?"
"Yeah, but I've only done it once."
"So, know you two can like, read each others mind?" Speedy laughed. "And feel each other's emotions?"
"We can communicate telepathically sometimes, and yes, we do feel each other's emotions."
"So, when he was dating Starfire, you could feel everything he was feeling?"
"Yes," Raven answered sourly. "Luckily, I learned how to tune them out."
"Well that's good."
"You have no idea. It's good for him I'll never date."
"Why not?" Speedy eyed her. "I'm sure there are plenty of guys out there who would die for you. Have you ever gotten onto the computer and checked out some fan clubs? There are about twenty clubs that are for guys who are huge fans of Raven."
"And about fifteen billion clubs for girls who are huge fans of the Scarlet Archer?"
"You're missing my point. And anyways, it's more like fifteen hundred."
"Don't make me hang up on you," Raven threatened.
Speedy was about to make a reply when Raven heard the alarm go off in the other Tower. Speedy groaned. "Looks like you'll be saved the trouble. I have to go, but I'll call you tomorrow at eight."
Raven nodded. "I'll be here. Probably."
"Oh, and Raven? Check out The Pretty Bird club on the computer to see just how many fans you do have." And without another word, Speedy shut the communicator, breaking off the contact between the two.
Raven set the round object down and wandered out of the room. She stood, hesitating, in front of the main computer, before sitting down, and typing in the website name. Maybe talking to Speedy was not such a bad idea after all.
Reviews are an Author's best friend! So Please Review!