Welcome to another chapter of this story! Like I said, I've had these waiting in the wings, but there were a few reasons I was holding off on updating, but I finally decided the wait wasn't worth keeping things under wraps anymore. Instead, I'll just give you what I have. It has nothing to do with the chapter itself, mind you, but it does have to do with some bonus material I had planned, courtesy of HollyLu. But, we'll get into that later. In the meantime, thank you all for the awesome reviews for the first chapter, I honestly wasn't expecting it to get so many!
And as per the usual, there were some guest reviews thrown in there, so let's address them!
vi: Yes he did, Batman always chooses the worst times to appear, doesn't he? For both criminals and riled up teenagers lol. Here's the update you wanted!
Guest: Um, I assume this is comic canon information regarding Slade and his family? Thanks I guess, but I don't know what this has to do with the story so far lol. But either way, glad you're enjoying the story so far.
Miss geek: It's nice to know some of my AAML: D&P fans have followed me over here. I promise I WILL get back to that story soon, but I've just been so inspired by the Titans. I hope you continue to enjoy this in the meantime!
And that's it! Nothing left to say for now, except when you get to the bottom, keep an eye out for something nice. ^^ I own nothing except the story.
"You sure you'll be able to keep things under control over here? I know we usually call Titans East to watch the tower when we gotta head out, but-"
"Yeah yeah, don't get your iron panties in a bunch, Stone. We got this covered."
Cyborg scrunched his face in annoyance at the pink-haired villainess gone good. When he got the call from Robin that Batman had captured Red X in Gotham, it came with a very loud and temper-fueled order for him to get in the T-Ship and bring the Titans Europe team with him so they could watch Titans Tower in their absence. While he didn't appreciate Robin screeching at him like a lunatic, he knew that whenever Batman was involved, Robin instantly became more ornery than ever, even with Starfire doing her best to soothe him. He could deal with it knowing why his leader was up in arms.
What he couldn't handle, however, was watching Kid Flash and Jinx get all hot and heavy in their compartment of the T-Ship since there wasn't enough space for one person each. "Y'all better not be thinkin' about doin' the nasty in my baby!"
Jinx took a break from kissing her speedy boyfriend and gave the metal man a sour expression, sticking her tongue out at him childishly and pulling down on her eyelid with her fingers. Then she pressed a button on the compartment's console, and all of a sudden it split off from the rest of the ship, much to the shock of everyone else, especially the ship's builder.
"Yo! Get back here!" He shouted into the radio. "How'd you even know how to separate?! I didn't tell you how to do that!"
"I wasn't one of the top students at the Hive Academy for nothing!" Jinx replied with a victorious smirk. "When Brother Blood downloaded your blueprints, I took the opportunity to see how everything worked, including this ship. Clearly, they were accurate." Jinx then pressed another button on the console, and the ship switched to autopilot and zoomed ahead of the now incomplete T-Ship. "Seeya when you get there!"
"That compartment better be spotless when I see it! Ya hear me?! SPOTLESS!" Cyborg fumed as he watched the tail of his beloved T-Ship fly off into the distance, the rest of the Titans riding with him less angry but just as bewildered. "I may need to talk to Rob about choosing Jinx to lead y'all," Cyborg said wearily as he flipped some switches above him. "Compensating for the separation, it'll take us just a few extra minutes to get there now."
"Well, so much for our fearless leader." Hotspot scoffed as he crossed his arms and legs and leaned back in his seat.
"You're just jealous that Robin chose Jinx to lead the team and not you," Argent snarked at the fiery teenager. "I for one am just fine with her being a bit cheeky and getting some time with her sweetheart, I could tell she's been gagging for some lovin' since Robin put that responsibility on 'er."
"She what now?"
"Never mind, Hotspot." Cyborg sighed and placed the human side of his face in his palm before focusing back on the sky in front of him. "Look, I'm not really questioning Jinx's ability to lead your team, she's got the experience as a leader with teammates that are a lot less competent than y'all, so it should be cake for her to take charge of a team that has people with actual brain cells on it. I'm just on edge because Robin's not gonna be happy when we get there, whether we came together or not."
"What's got 'im all aggro anyway?"
"Simple, he's got Batman on the brain." Cyborg looked over his shoulder to the British girl in the wing behind him. "If you thought Robin was obsessed when Slade was around, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Whenever Batman comes up, he straight up loses it. Apparently they had this big fallin' out years ago and that's how he ended up in Jump City to begin with."
"I've heard stories of Batman." Hotspot spoke up. "He's someone who always seems to find a way out of any mess he gets himself into, and he's saved the whole world more times than he gets credit for. I don't see why Robin would wanna give up learning from someone like him, and that's coming from someone who actually prefers to work alone. He's gotta be the greatest crime-fighter ever."
"Maybe he is..." Cyborg acquiesced. "But from some of the stories Robin's told us, Batman's definitely got his weak points."
"Such as?"
Cyborg shook his head. "Not my place to say." He turned around to glare at the Moroccan hero. "And if you're smart, you won't ask Robin about it when we get there. All I'm gonna say is that there's a distinct difference in how Batman does things, and how we do things."
"Wait...you don't mean he-"
"No," Cyborg sighed as he cut off Argent's inquiry. "Batman doesn't kill, that's something we actually have in common with him. Look, can we just drop it for now? I'm gonna have to deal with this whole thing on the way to Gotham anyway, I'd like to be able to keep my mind off of it for as long as I can."
The topic was dropped, and the rest of the ride to the tower was fairly quiet. But the damage had already been done, Cyborg's imagination was running wild with the possibility of meeting Batman for the first time. He'd never tell Robin, but Cyborg had a strong admiration for the Dark Knight's feats of heroism. With nothing but his wits, body and will, he took down some of the most clever and psychotic villains on Earth, not to mention cracking down on the gang wars all over Gotham...that in particular resonated with Cyborg, what with his urban heritage.
How could a man who did so much good be so awful? Surely there was more to the story than meets the eye. After all, Robin was notorious for having an ego; he didn't appreciate being shown up, being outsmarted or being beaten, and all the stories of Batman's supposed faults came directly from Robin, who had admitted on more than one occasion that besides their falling out, he wanted to become a hero on his own merits, something that didn't seem likely to happen as long as he was just the younger member of the "dynamic duo."
Cyborg wanted to see the Batcave, Batman's computer system had to be state of the art; he wanted to examine the Batmobile, see what made it tick and see if there was anything he could reverse engineer into the T-Car, the possibilities were endless! The young man could only hope that he'd get an opportunity, hope that Robin would see it fit to introduce him and the others to Batman...I mean hey, what could be more impressive to a crime-fighting vigilante than a team of heroes who literally saved the whole dang universe? Maybe that would impress even Batman, and give Robin an opportunity to brag a little, he'd love that.
Cyborg was pulled out of his musings when a beeping noise filled his cockpit, and he regained his focus to see what it was about. "Oh, looks like we're here. By now Rob's probably read Jinx and K.F. the riot act for takin' off on their own." But when he looked down, he just saw Robin glaring up at them, almost blankly, not even moving. Terrific, he was pissed. Sighing internally, Cyborg landed the T-Ship and the rest of the Titans Europe hopped out in kind, exchanging greetings with the other Titans...except for Robin. "Geez, Rob, you could at least say 'hi' to these guys, they didn't do anything to you."
"I'll apologize later," The masked man grounded out as he brushed past his teammate and took his place in the cockpit, ignoring Cyborg's judging gaze following him. "Let's just hurry up and get this over with. The sooner we get to Gotham, the sooner we can leave."
Cyborg opened his mouth to speak up, but then decided against it and instead walked over to the rest of the Titans. As his eyes scanned the Titans Europe, they looked a bit uncomfortable after Robin's heated (and frankly, rude) exchange. It was looking at his regular teammates that got his circuits overheating. Raven had her hood up and was staring at the ground silently, Beast Boy looked like he'd just watched someone kick a puppy for six hours straight...and Starfire...the big brother in Cyborg roared to life seeing his alien teammate and friend so sad, and yet the concern and love for Robin she felt still found a way to shine through her luminous green eyes. Cyborg glared over his shoulder at Robin once again, who had his feet kicked up and was rocking back and forth impatiently in his seat, then he walked over and placed a hand on the Tamaranean's shoulder. "Don't worry, Star, this will all be over soon." He whispered comfortingly as he leaned in towards her ear. "Dick's just being...well, let's just say he's living up to his name."
Starfire scrunched her nose in distaste. "I do not begrudge Robin for his feelings, and although he has not been very open since speaking with the Batman, he has been...doing his best to try and not take it out on me or any of our friends, and for that I am grateful." She sighed. "I do wish that things could be different, and I am saddened that Robin will not allow me into his heart during his time of need...but, I know that it could be much worse; Robin is much angrier about going to visit the Batman than he ever was about Slade, I fear his pride has been injured."
Cyborg's expression softened a bit. At least Robin wasn't going over the top with them like before when he'd been under the influence of Slade's hallucinogen, and judging from Starfire's words, he hadn't laid a hand on her or anyone else and she really was just very concerned and worried for him, not hurt by something he'd done or said. "Bruised egos are hard to recover from, just don't let him use that as an excuse if he starts walkin' all over you...that means-"
"I am aware of what you mean with your Earth slang, friend Cyborg." Starfire gave a small smile at Cyborg's surprised expression. "I have learned much more about the rules of your language thanks to the extended lip contact Robin and I have shared..." Her expression hardened. "I intend to stay as supportive as Robin will allow me to be, but I promise, I will not allow him to abuse me should he begin to lose control."
"That's all I needed to hear." Cyborg smiled and quickly embraced the Tamaranean before flicking his thumb in the direction of the ship. "Go ahead and get ready for takeoff, I'll brief Titans Europe on how to work things here."
Starfire nodded and lifted off the ground to land in her compartment on the T-Ship, but then she looked at her brooding boyfriend and bit her bottom lip as she pondered if she should chance going to him. Finally, she slowly lowered herself to him, angling her body so that she could be close to him. "Robin-"
"Star, please...I just want to be alone for a bit."
Starfire closed her eyes sadly for a moment, only opening them to gently grasp his hand with hers. "Richard," She said softly before he could object, and she saw his eyes soften a bit at her usage of his real name. "I will honor your wishes at this time, but please remember that you are not alone. Your friends are here for you...I am here for you, so please do not shut me out."
"Star-"
She cut him off by raising his hand to her lips, kissing it despite the rubbery taste of his gloves. Then she leaned in close and whispered in his ear. "K'lu malth'era, Richard."
Robin's eyes widened, the Boy Wonder losing his angry disposition for the first time since hanging up with Batman. All he could do was gape in awe at the smiling Tamaranean who was floating away from him to get into her own seat, and wonder what it was she'd just told him. "Wait, what does that mean?" All he got out of her was a cute giggle as she closed her hatch, and he quickly pressed the button to activate the intercom. "Starfire! You can't just leave me hanging like that!"
"I will be most willing to tell you the exact translation later, d'anthe l'ani," She said with a soft and sultry smile as she pressed a few buttons of her own. "Just as soon as we finish our mission...that is...if you can wait that long."
"D-wha? And what does that mean?!" Robin just gaped dumbly at her, his frazzled mind desperately trying to reboot after the speech his girlfriend gave. God, the tenderness, the soothing tone of her voice, his stomach was doing flips underneath his skin which was now covered in goosebumps. "You're...really not gonna tell me?"
"I did not say I would not tell you, just that you must be patient."
"But-" Then the Boy Wonder was thrown back in his seat as the T-Ship suddenly lurched, and he instinctively fastened his seatbelt as the ship took off over the horizon. He'd been so preoccupied with Starfire that he hadn't even noticed the rest of the Titans had already gotten in and Cyborg had even done his pre-flight check while he conversed with her...which meant that the rest of his team probably heard their entire exchange, and his cheeks began to burn in embarrassment at the thought.
"Do not worry, Richard." Starfire's voice echoed in his earpiece. "I ensured that our discussion was private, our friends did not hear what we have just shared."
And just like that his eyes widened again, and he looked over to Starfire's compartment to see her smiling demurely at him, giving him a small wave before settling into her seat. His ears felt hotter than ever, but for a completely different reason than moments ago. He'd underestimated her again, somehow she just knew what it was that he would be concerned about and she reassured him in such a disarming way that it left him speechless. Finally he regained his senses and smiled back at her. "Star, you're the best."
Robin's good mood didn't last. As soon as they were within minutes of Gotham City, his scowl returned in full force, though he now had a better handle on his anger and was able to keep from blowing up on his teammates. "Raven, do your thing." He said evenly.
Raven nodded and closed her eyes, summoning her power as her hands were enveloped with her black energy. "Caveatis...Porcina...Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos!" The energy enveloped the ship, and though the interior didn't change in their eyes, the outside of the ship seemed to shift until it was drastically different. "Nice to know that not all the spells Malchior taught me were sinister, this should make the T-Ship look like your average luxury aircraft, though I don't know how long the illusion will last, a few days at the very most."
"That's alright, Rae." Cyborg responded. "I'm still workin' on the holographic generator for the T-Ship, with any luck it'll be done within the next week, I was havin' a little trouble replicating the effects of my holo-rings on such a large scale, but I've got most of the bugs worked out."
"It won't matter anyway," Robin said neutrally. "With any luck, we'll be leaving within a day. Two if absolutely necessary." He sighed, dreading the conversation that he'd been putting off until now. "Listen guys, as far as Batman knows, you guys still don't know my secret identity; when he does find out, it's not gonna be pretty, because then he'll assume you know his too...I'll probably have to run interference for you guys."
"I don't get it, what's the big deal anyway?" Beast Boy scoffed as he bounced his foot on his opposite knee with his hands behind his head. "We're all in the hero biz, we've got each other's backs, why does Batman care if we know who you really are?"
"Because Batman doesn't trust anyone outside his personal circle." His eyes narrowed. "Sometimes he doesn't even trust people inside his personal circle." He shook his head and fought down the wave of frustration that threatened to overtake him again. "Land the ship at the Gotham airport, Batman made sure that we can use Bruce Wayne's personal airstrip as long as we're here, so we won't be bothered."
"Bruce Wayne, he is your k'norfka, yes?"
Robin glanced over at Starfire and slouched his shoulders. "Yeah, I suppose he is," He mumbled. "For better or worse."
"Aww come on, Rob, the way you're talkin' about him, it sounds like you're just as upset with him as you are with Batman."
"It's not that simple, nothing ever is." He sighed again and took off his mask, revealing his bright blue eyes, then he grabbed a comb from his utility belt and began brushing down his spiky hair. "Here's the cover story guys, and listen carefully, because I'm sure by now the media has caught wind that Dick Grayson is returning to Gotham." He scoffed as he put his comb back, his hair now neatly arranged. "The surrogate son of a billionaire playboy is apparently a story worth covering. You've got holo-rings for everyone, Cyborg?"
Cyborg held up the rings in his massive hand in response. "One for each of you, even you, Rob. Just let me know if you'd like to adjust the way you guys look and it'll just take me a couple of minutes to modify the programming."
"Good. Now, here's what's gonna happen. As far as the media is concerned, Dick Grayson is returning to visit Bruce Wayne after spending the last couple years at a boarding school in a foreign country. If anyone asks where, play dumb. The idea is that no one knows where Dick Grayson actually is, in order to ensure his privacy so he can focus on his studies. You guys are my friends who came along for the ride, basically as tourists to see the sights. Each of you will be using your own secret identities, and you'll have to remember to act as normal as possible; no flight, no super strength, no morphing, nothing. If something comes up where you have to use your powers, either do it inconspicuously, or find an alley somewhere where you can take off your rings."
"We're not comin' with you?"
Robin flinched at the changeling's whined question. "I...guess it wouldn't hurt if you came to Wayne Manor with me. I'll have to actually visit with Bruce in order to keep up appearances, but you won't be able to do much there."
"Dude, Wayne Manor is like twice the size of Dayton Manor, and that place had an Olympic-sized swimming pool! You gonna tell me that Bruce Wayne has nothing to do there, especially since he had a certain Boy Wonder growing up there with him?"
"Am I the only one feeling jealous that I didn't grow up in the lap of luxury?" Cyborg snarked.
"Trust me, Cyborg, it's not all it's cracked up to be." Robin grumbled and got back to the task at hand. "Fine, you can come. I'll have Alfred, our...Bruce's butler, take care of you guys, I'll call ahead. Star, Raven, you're the only ones who don't have an Earth identity, you remember the background info for your alter egos?" He received curt nods from both the girls. "Good...Cyborg, signal that we're ready to land, bring us down, and make it look like we're a normal plane...and darken my compartment for a minute...I've gotta get into my disguise."
Several minutes later, the disguised T-Ship taxied into Bruce Wayne's private hangar, and with a little more magic from Raven, the illusion was maintained as one by one, the young heroes stepped out of a conveniently door-shaped portal, decked out in their chosen civilian outfits.
First came Cyborg, dressed in what appeared to be a blue football jersey and a black and gold letterman jacket and blue jeans. The holo-ring gave him back the appearance of real flesh and bone, but he had to be careful not to shake hands with anyone, lest they find out that his large hands were actually made of metal. Cyborg looked around as the workers didn't even bother to give him a second glance...it was so surreal, being looked at as a normal human again...a six foot six hulking brute of a human, but a normal human nonetheless. He wasn't Cyborg, he wasn't Stone, he was just Victor...it had been a long time since he'd just been Victor.
Starfire emerged next; the Tamaranean princess had altered her skin tone so she appeared much more fair, rather than her natural golden hue, and her face was highlighted by a small patch of freckles smattered across both her cheeks. Her fiery red hair had kept its length but shifted to a more Earth-friendly shade, more orange than actual red, and her eyebrows were now shaped like a human's as well. The biggest change, however, came from her eyes. No longer did they glow with the power contained inside her, instead her sclera had shifted to white instead of its usual green, and her irises were a more hazel shade.
Dressed in a green sweater that bore her midriff and showed off her curvaceous form, along with some fern-green and denim-blue plaid pants that hugged her bottom to go with her black suede winter boots and a necklace with a small, round amethyst pendant, the six foot tall Tamaranean princess - now disguised as her new alter-ego Kory Anders, which Robin helped her choose to honor her heritage - drew attention like a model, leaving her somewhat confused as to how to react when she heard a cat-call from one of the airport workers nearby. She glanced at Cyborg who had already walked down the steps and she saw him glaring at the man who had just whistled at her. She surmised that what had happened probably wasn't a good thing. "Victor?"
"Later, Kory," He whispered once she reached the bottom. "Just smile and wait for the others, and whatever you do, don't look at that guy again."
She nodded and turned to stand next to her taller companion.
Next came Raven, who had opted to be a bit more low-key with her choice of outfit. She wore an asymmetrical wine-red hoodie jacket (which she currently had flipped over her head) with pockets for her hands, faded grey skinny jeans and black high-top sneakers with red laces; she wasn't as glamorous as Kory, as she didn't want to garner any attention. Of course, with all eyes still on Kory, she didn't have to try that hard.
Not only was she much shorter than her friend, only at about five foot six, her curves were safely hidden under her clothing, the length of her jacket hiding her shapely rear and the majority of her legs, and her normally grey skin tone was shifted to a simple, less pale complexion, with her hair now a pale black rather than its usual purple. The only thing she had allowed herself to indulge in was her eye color; blue was still her favorite color, even if she had to let her eyes be a brighter shade of blue than she'd prefer; but it would suffice for Rachel Roth.
Then Beast Boy came out, and the others waiting at the bottom - Rachel included - had to stop themselves from gaping in shock at the figure in front of them. Gone was the green skin, hair, and eyes and the jutting fang, and in its place was an...undeniably handsome blond, wavy-haired, blue-eyed young man with only slightly pointy ears and a perfect smile, standing in at about Rachel's height of five foot six, maybe a few centimeters more; his lean build added to his appeal.
Being decked out in a simple sage-green t-shirt with a long darker grey coat with a tall collar, blue jeans and brown shoes, with a pair of headphones around his neck to complete the ensemble, Beast Boy could tell from the moment that he stepped into view that Garfield Logan would have some questions to answer.
"Wow, man...you sure clean up good!" Victor said with an approving thumbs-up.
"Yeah...overcompensating much?"
Garfield gave Rachel a halfhearted glare before releasing a melancholy sigh from his throat. "This is probably what I would have looked like if...I hadn't turned green. Just...tryin' to play the part, y'know?"
Kory frowned and placed a hand on Garfield's shoulder. "You are most handsome, both now and as yourself, do not ever allow yourself to think any differently."
"Kory's right," Rachel said quietly, which again got Garfield's attention. "I'm sorry for what I said, it was out of line...you really do look good, Gar, whether your hair is blond or green." Even Rachel was somewhat surprised by the amount of sincerity in her voice, but it did the job as she immediately felt an uplift in her friend's emotions, and the beaming smile he gave her actually got her heart racing a bit faster and she gave a small smile back...but it quickly disappeared when she realized what she was thinking, and she blushed under her hood. "Just don't get a big head about it, you're still not funny."
"Uh uh, you don't get to back out of it now, Rach." He leaned in and grinned at her, and she leaned away with an annoyed sneer. "You think I'm hot, don'tcha? It's okay to admit it, I won't tease you or anything."
"I'm pretty sure this qualifies as teasing."
The boy stopped for a moment and his expression softened. "Touché, you win this round." He shrugged and stepped over to stand next to her, but then he leaned in to whisper to her. "For the record, Rae...I think you look a lot prettier without the holo-ring."
It took everything in Raven's power not to let something explode from the jump her heart made from that. "I must be losing my mind, seeing him like this must have lowered my barriers, that's it. Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos..." It never even occurred to her that she hadn't actually denied Beast Boy's accusation.
Finally, the man of the hour, Dick Grayson appeared and started walking down the steps just before Rachel stuck her hands in her hoodie's pockets and discretely closed the "door" of the "plane." Gone was his signature Robin uniform and instead in its place was a dark denim shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his the end of his forearms, with shiny and smooth black trousers, showing off that he had a lean, muscular frame as he stood in at five foot nine.
His hair had been smoothed down and styled neatly while still maintaining some of his signature spiky style...and of course, his bright blue eyes were on display for all to see, and as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he took a moment to examine his teammates...his eyes lingering slightly longer on his girlfriend. "Lookin' good guys...now for the hard part." As they walked through the airport, Dick explained to his friends that there would be a limo waiting to pick them up, but in order to do so, they'd have to get through the security checkpoint, and it was quite possible that they'd run into some media members who would no doubt be itching for an interview. "It shouldn't be much farther."
"Dick Grayson!"
"Dick, yoo-hoo!"
Dick froze and fought not to slap his palm against his face. "Oh great..." Two of the most persistent members of Gotham's media - along with several other no-namers - were now running up to them, with cameras and microphones armed and at the ready. He briefly considered taking off running, but if the first picture the media got of Dick Grayson's return to Gotham City was running away with a bunch of strangers he'd never been associated with before, it would get back to Bruce, and neither of them needed to deal with the inevitable aftermath of that.
"Richard, who are those people?"
"That's the paparazzi I warned you about," Dick grumbled lowly. "Most of them won't be too much trouble, but watch out for-" He cut himself off and pasted on a large smile as cameras started flashing. "Vicki Vale and Summer Gleeson, my two favorite Gotham Insiders," He exclaimed in a peppy voice that left his friends stunned as he addressed the two redheaded reporters. "It's been a long time!"
"Too long I'd say!" Vicki grinned and put a small voice recorder in front of the young man's mouth. "So where have you been all this time?"
"Same place I've been for the past couple years, Vicki, away at boarding school and getting a taste of what life is like outside of Gotham. It's been quite an experience to say the least and I've met plenty of new friends that I never would've gotten to know had I stayed home."
"That's what I was actually about to ask you about," Summer spoke up as she shoved her microphone a bit closer to his face. "You've got yourself quite a colorful posse here, mind introducing us?"
"Not at all!" He turned slightly to the side to gesture to everyone in sequence. "These are some of my friends from school, Victor, Gar, Rachel, and Kory. They came with me to tour Gotham while I'm here meeting up with Bruce for a couple of days, and when you've got friends as good as these guys-" He grinned and wrapped his arms around the shoulders of Victor and Kory, resulting in a sudden flurry of camera flashes. "How could I say no to having the company?"
The next several questions that came, Dick continued to take and handle in stride. How long was he going to be in Gotham? What was he majoring in at school? What did he miss the most about Gotham? Was there any truth that he and Bruce had a falling out and that was the reason he left in the first place? All were answered with the dignity and vagueness of a professional interviewee, giving enough of an answer that it wouldn't seem like he was dodging a question, while still keeping from giving anything away that would lead him into a trap he couldn't escape from.
Then Vicki nailed him with a hardball. "So, Dick, have you got yourself a girlfriend yet? With a billionaire playboy for a guardian, you must have had some success with the opposite sex while you've been away."
Dick's heart raced in his chest as the image of Starfire appeared in his mind. If he said yes, Vicki would grab onto that and have him by the jugular, if he said no...he mentally scolded himself for not preparing Starfire for this level of questioning, he'd addressed just about everything regarding what they would need to be ready for their Gotham visit...except for the fact that their relationship would have to be kept a secret, not just their identities. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her feelings; she'd understand after he explained it to her later, he knew, but nothing pained him more than seeing that radiant smile of hers disappear from her face, especially when he was the reason. Finally he gathered his courage and opened his mouth to answer. If the choice was between Starfire's feelings or Bruce's public relations...well then there was no choice at all.
"As a matter of fact, I do!" His answer stunned his whole team again, especially Kory who looked positively bewildered as he moved to stand right next to her, their height difference now on full display as he grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers. "I've already introduced you to Kory as my friend, now meet her as my girlfriend." He punctuated his remark by leaning up to kiss her cheek, and the flustered girl immediately blushed red and giggled as she turned her face away and placed it in her palm. "Isn't she adorable?"
"She most certainly is!" Vicki's grin turned almost predatory as she zipped around to stick her recorder in front of Kory, and the girl's smile vanished instantly as all the attention was suddenly on her. "So when did this little love connection get started?"
"I-"
"You two are wearing rings! Are you actually engaged to be married?!"
"We-"
"Kory, tell us how you and Dick met!"
"I-I would rather-"
"Does Dick's relation to Bruce Wayne, a known playboy, make you concerned about Dick's level of commitment?!"
"Hey! That's out of line!" Dick shouted and suddenly the attention was back on him even as the cameras continued to roll. Now part of him regretted trying to spare Starfire's feelings, he'd opened a can of worms that he knew he wouldn't be able to close again and now she was taking the brunt of the assault. He had to stop this, now.
"Dudes, relax!" Garfield suddenly speaking up cut off Dick's next outburst. "There's nothin' weird goin' on here, we all met in class and we just hit it off!" He leaned in towards the media members and wiggled his eyebrows conspiratorially. "Some of us more than others, if ya get my drift." The media laughed at that, and Garfield took that as a prompt to continue. "If you're askin' about the rings, well we've all got 'em!" He held his ring up for everyone to see, and the cameras flashed faster once again. "Honestly they were my idea, I figured that since we were gonna be hangin' out, we should have like our own personal thing, they're like friendship bracelets only way cooler and way less kiddy, although it took some convincing to get Dick to go along with it, the party pooper."
"Does he do that a lot over there?"
Garfield gave an exaggerated dismissive wave at the man's question. "Pfft, nah. Most of the time he's pretty cool, it's only when it's time to get assignments done that he starts getting all serious on us. Guess I probably should've waited until after midterms to bring up the idea, but you know what they say about hindsight."
Dick had to fight back a grin as Garfield kept the media's attention on him rather than Kory, who was only just starting to relax after being bombarded by questions. But as quick on his feet as Garfield had been, he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep Vicki and Summer away from him and Kory for long, so he had to come up with a way to get out of this mess before it was too late. To do that, he was going to need help. "Raven..."
The pale girl's eyes widened a bit at the sudden voice in her head; ever since she had entered Dick's mind during the scare with Slade's chemical reagent that made him see, hear and feel Slade whenever the lights were off, they'd had this lingering bond that allowed her to be much more in tune with his thoughts and feelings than the others. It may have been accidental, but it was something she cherished all the same, since she now had a relationship with the young man that made her feel like she had a true big brother, a familial tie that she never felt before. "Robin, this is insane! Even the media in Jump City don't harangue us like this in our superhero personas!"
"I warned you guys it would be crazy." He thought back, and he sent her a mental apologetic smile. "Just be glad Beast Boy knows how to work the crowd."
"You know that picture of you and Starfire is gonna be in the news as soon as this is over, right?"
"Yeah, I know." He sighed and flexed his free hand a few times, the only nervous twitch that probably wouldn't be noticed at this point. "I'll have to deal with the consequences afterwards, but there was no way I was going to risk hurting Starfire."
Raven sent him a small, but approving mental smile. "You're a good man, Robin. She may not look like it right now, but I can sense that she was deeply moved by what you just did. You've earned yourself a lot of brownie points...or whatever the Tamaranean equivalent may be."
"Let's hope they'll be worth the hell I'll have to pay when Bruce gets his hands on me."
"If Batman gives you a hard time, we'll have your back."
Robin's eyes widened ever so slightly, and he had to stop himself from jerking his head in her direction. "You know?!"
"Robin, I've known ever since our bond was formed. I saw everything, even beyond what you showed us. Why do you think I told you that you didn't need to share what was in your briefcase? Some secrets really aren't meant to be shared, especially when it's not even your place to share it...believe me, no one knows more about keeping secrets than me."
"I suppose not...we'll discuss this more later. Right now, we've got to figure out a way to break this up before Beast Boy runs out of gas."
"Don't look now, Dick...but I think this situation is about to get better and worse at the same time."
"Huh?"
"Hey, what's all the commotion over here?"
Dick gulped and nearly broke out in a cold sweat at the suave and charming voice that immediately managed to silence the media mob.
There, standing tall in a smart business suit and tie and a disarming smile on his face, was none other than Bruce Wayne. "Welcome home, Dick, it's good to see you again."
A/N: And there you have it. Now then, as for that bonus material I mentioned...it hasn't actually been posted on Tumblr yet, but the amazing HollyLu drew up the civilian designs for both Raven and Starfire, with plans in the wings to draw up the boys as well. As soon as she posts them on Tumblr, I'll change the links to reflect that, but for now, here's something for you to check out. As usual, just copy and paste into the web browser and remove the spaces and line breaks. Only way to beat the fanfiction system.
Here is the first link, which is Raven and Starfire:
htt
ps:/
/hollylu
-ships-
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t.
tu
m
bl
r.
com/
post/18193272
2618/
raven-starfire-in-their-civilian-identities-for
And HERE is the one for Beast Boy.
htt
ps:/
/hollylu
-ships-
i
t.
tu
m
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r.
com/
post/18202329
9278/
garfield-loganbeast-boy-my-interpretation-for
Edited again to include the link for Dick Grayson.
htt
ps:/
/hollylu
-ships-it
.tu
mb
lr.c
om/
post/18544064
0058/
another-design-style-for-my-mans-dcau-fanfic
Sad that I have to do it this way, but such is life. Maybe one day this place will take a lesson from Ao3, they actually let me put the images IN the story. But in any case, I also have to give a HUGE thank you to Kryalla Orchid for letting me borrow her Tamaranean term of endearment, d'anthe l'ani. It's been so ingrained into me that I have to constantly remind myself it's technically NOT canon...but it should be, and DC should give Kry royalties for it doggone it.
So, hope you all enjoyed this next chapter, and the art as well...leave a review and tell me what you thought about it! Remember, reviews are an author's lifeblood, so even if you don't have something profound to say, just saying you liked it helps too! ^^ Until next time!