This day came by surprise. But I can only blame myself. I was looking for living goop in the fridge for a sign, but I had the bright idea months ago to hire cleaning maids. They were too good at their job; even Beast Boy's bed was lice-free under the mattress!
The morning started out like normal. Breakfast was prepared by myself this time; basic eggs and french toast. Since Robin was pushing our training harder after our recent grapple with Cinderblock, Beast Boy and Cyborg took to playing video games while eating, before practice started. The rest of us were having breakfast together.
When the meal was over, Robin stood up for an announcement. "Today, our training is suspended."
We may have been on the top floor, but I'm sure I heard a cricket from outside chirping. "SAY WHA!?" Cyborg shouted.
"Who are you and what did you do to Robin?" Beast Boy accused.
"This is irregular," Raven noted.
"To what do we owe this surprise?" Starfire asked.
"I looked at my calendar, and realized that this is our anniversary as a team," Robin revealed.
"You mean to say we've been together for a whole year?" Beast Boy wondered.
"It doesn't feel like it's been that long," Cyborg said, checking his forearm. "... Yep, it's a year."
"Today, we are taking a day off from training," Robin continued. "Be ready for battle, but relax and enjoy this day."
"It it has been the year-passing," Starfire thought, "why do we not celebrate?"
"Boo-yah!" Cyborg cheered. "A Titan party! We'll have presents, party poppers..."
"Tofu burgers, ice cream..." Beast Boy continued, the duo in sync, mostly.
"Woo hoo," Raven intoned.
"I have an idea!" I spoke up. "If it's been a year since we met, let's have dinner at the place we all met!"
"That would be glorious!" Starfire spoke up. "It has been too long since I had the chips and the guacamole!"
"Wait, what?" I was surprised. I was thinking of the pizza joint.
"You're right Star!" Robin said. "That's where we all got together to fight the Gordanians."
"Yeah!" Beast Boy remembered. "That's when we totally trashed them and shipped them back to... wherever they came from!"
"... I'll make the reservations," Raven offered, moving to the phone and using magic to open the phone book.
That really threw off my preparations for the encounter. The Casa Salsa was a nice place, and we all ordered various foods. Starfire got a salad bowl with hot sauce, which was love at first bite. Raven chose the tamale, which looked and smelled disgusting to me. Robin had a healthy portion of Tacos. Beast Boy and Cyborg shared a giant Nacho Supremo plate with various veggie toppings, although Cyborg insisted that his half have some ground beef. I had a fajita burrito.
After dinner, we started heading home. That's when we saw an accident about to happen. Thankfully, my interference with the Titans didn't yet extend to the HIVE. They had the same accident prepared; an empty bus rolling downhill, straight for a baby carriage.
"Titans, GO!" Robin shouted. "Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, stop that bus! Star, get the baby and anyone else out of the way!"
Like a well-oiled machine, the team sprung into action. Robin and I followed behind everyone else. Since we were uphill, Beast Boy went Pterodactyl to give Cyborg a lift, while Starfire and Raven flew. Starfire streaked ahead, pushing the stroller from behind to the sidewalk. Raven got beside the bus, then used her magic to turn the brakes on. Getting ahead of the bus, Beast Boy turned into a gorilla, and together with Cyborg, they safely stopped the bus.
"Dude, the bus is empty," Beast Boy called out. "There's no driver either..."
"And this baby carrier has no baby," Starfire let the rest know. She turned around, holding a green teddy bear.
"Anybody know the word trap?" I asked, recognizing what was going on..
"Starfire!" Robin caught on, yelling a warning, "Drop the..." It was too late; the teddy exploded, knocking Starfire a block away. While we watched her arc, the bus was picked up from the end away from the rest of our team. Since we were uphill, Robin and myself saw a teen I knew as Mammoth was behind it. "Raven, Cyborg! Beast..." Robin tried again, but the bus slammed down on them.
"Four down, two to go," a female voice behind us spoke up. Turning around, we saw a purple and black striped girl waved her hands towards something above us. Figuring what she was up to, I jumped away from her, while Robin looked up. Above him was a light pole, whose arm joints lost their screws. Robin was too startled to react in time, the metal bar landed square on top of him.
"Looks like you miscounted," I said.
The bus was blasted up by a sonic wave. "You may have surprised us..." Cyborg said, shaking rubble off him.
"... but we aren't down yet!" Beast Boy said.
Robin, with a little bit of pain, got the pole off his waist and stood up. "Titans! GO!"
"HIVE," the girl, who I knew was Jinx, commanded, "attack pattern alpha." With that announcement, a green-clad boy swooped down from above. With robotic wings, he glided over us, the wings firing energy blasts at Raven's group, scattering them. Cyborg went straight for Mammoth, leading to a wrestling match. They were about even, but Mammoth was only the diversion.
Gizmo swooped down, then clamped a rocket to Cyborg's back. Said rocket ignited, sending Cyborg on a wacky ride above the city. "Raven," Robin alerted her, "Help Cyborg out!" Quickly responding, Raven flew up, magic ready to free her comrade.
During this, I saw that Jinx was moving to the side, preparing to come in and strike. "Oh no you don't!" I called, charging in. I pulled out my Bow staff and held it out to the side, ready to swing.
"It's bad luck to choreograph your moves like that," Jinx taunted. Right before my swing, Jinx front flipped over me with a twist, planning to use my shoulders as a springboard while knocking me off balance.
Luckily, I noticed the move as she prepared to grab. In response, I used my bow staff, slamming it into the ground where Jinx used to stand. When she pushed me, the staff let me keep my balance. Then, using it as a base, I lifted myself up and mule kicked at Jinx's back. "And don't use such an obvious fighting style," I responded. Surprised at the move, she was hit in the shoulders and knocked off balance. She recovered by rolling the impact, then using her hands to propel herself into a flip to stand. However, I could tell her arms were a little sore. "You've got some style for a gymnast. I'm Kana. What's your name?" I asked, moving in for round two.
"Jinx," she kept her cool, even while evading my strikes. While there was some variance to it, I noticed she was dodging back towards the middle of the street.
"Let me guess, Jinx," I spoke up. "Attack pattern alpha is where two people engage an enemy each, and the third takes advantage of their opponent's blind spots."
"You're smart, for a fart-brain," Gizmo's voice came from above and behind me.
"Reflect!" I countered, not even bothering to look first. My timing was right; an energy gun made three shots for me. My shields held, however, and returned the damage. Jinx jumped back to avoid it. But I could tell that the return damage wouldn't reach Gizmo, so I turned around. To my luck, he was in spider-stilt mode. Using the Bow staff's reach, I aimed at the closest joint, dislocating it and knocking the frame to the ground, and Gizmo with it, screaming all the way.
"Gizmo!" Jinx was stunned at my move.
"I'm okay!" Gizmo responded, retracting his mechanical limbs before flying away.
"I guess I won't need this anymore," I folded up my staff and returned it to my side bag. One enemy down, I turned my attention back to Jinx. I rushed in again, focusing more on a boxing style of hit and weave.
"Won't need it?" Jinx echoed, blocking my attacks and kicking back.
"When I saw... Gizmo, right? When he used the jet pack, I figured I'd need my staff's length to hit him," I responded, getting a little frustrated that neither of our attacks have yet hit their mark. "I could tell that you were more graceful and swift than strong. A Bow staff isn't the ideal weapon against such a style." Me calling her graceful got a bit of a blush, but didn't give her any pause. While I was up close like this, I took the time to read Jinx's aura. To my surprise, she was a little light, but had some dark doubts. Her doubts made sense, but the light was a welcome surprise. I began to think that she could more easily change sides than waiting for Flash.
Getting into the rhythm of our fight, I took the time to look around at the rest of the battle. Mammoth was single-handedly beating Robin and Beast Boy. Gizmo was back in the air around him. "Is it just me, or are we getting are behinds whipped?" Beast Boy asked.
"It's just you," Robin and I responded. Robin continued, "I have a plan! Titans, regroup!"
Knowing what should come next, I turned from Jinx and made my way to him. "That was fun Jinx. Freeze," I left her a parting Blizzard gift, one that would knock her back and prevent her following me. Her response, however, was to use her own magic. I guess she was trying to melt the ice. But to our surprise, the ice was unaffected by her blast, hitting her square in the chest without freezing her.
Unfortunately, with my attention divided between Robin, Jinx, and Gizmo, I forgot about Mammoth. I wanted to be hit, but I would have preferred Gizmo to shoot. Mammoth, however, noticed me hit Jinx, and didn't like it. I was blindsided by a postal drop box, knocking me out of the fight. Beast Boy was taken out by Gizmo's blaster. "I hope you're plan involves getting fried," he taunted, aiming for Robin.
"Try me," Robin said with a smile, getting into a battle-ready stance. However, it didn't prepare him for what came next. Gizmo turned his gun down, and fired at the ground. While the sidewalk cracked, Jinx used her magic, growing and guiding the cracks to Robin. With a mighty leap, Mammoth finished the job, splitting the earth all around Robin. With a yell, Robin fell into an open water pipe, and was quickly carried under.
"Robin!" Starfire was back. She stared at the destruction, then turned on the HIVE. "You did this!" Her righteous fury was higher than I've seen before. With mighty star-blasts, Starfire pressed hard on the HIVE, forcing them to retreat.
"Way to go Star!" Beast Boy cheered, before wincing on his hurt leg. Noticing, I cast a Cure to help.
"Robin!" Starfire remembered, flying back to the crack. Seeing no sign of her close friend, Starfire sunk to the ground.
"Starfire, we'll try to find him," I reassured her. "But we can't do it from here. Let's go back to Titan Tower. We can try to locate him from there."
Somewhat comforted, Starfire got up. But she was so distressed, she couldn't fly. So we were forced to walk back to Titans Tower. Accessing our main computer allowed us to try to track our fallen comrade. However, the computer couldn't locate Robin. Starfire was crushed, and forced us to the doors.
However, the doors opened before we got there. In walked Raven and Cyborg. "You guys look better than I do," Cyborg said. It was true; it seemed like Cyborg had a crash or two before getting back. "So, how did we beat them?"
Starfire and Beast Boy went quiet. Hesitantly, I began. "Starfire... got mad enough to blast them away with her star bolts."
"Seriously?" Cyborg was surprised. "What made her that mad?"
"They opened the ground under Robin," Starfire spoke up, breaking down into tears, "and an underground river carried him away."
Cyborg let his shock show. "It can't be..."
"We'll find him," Raven spoke up.
"We tried tracking his communicator," Beast Boy responded, "but there was no signal."
"If he's in the lead pipes, that could mask the signal," Cyborg thought. "I'm sure he'll turn up soon."
Like magic, the doors knocked. With an excited gasp, Starfire flew to the doors. However, I noticed purple magic working on the door's hinges. "Everyone back!" I called.
Most of us barely got clear. With the hinges loose, it was easy for somebody to punch the door in. Starfire was a little slow to respond to my warning, and got hit.
"Not again!" Beast Boy gasped. Starfire got the door off her and turned to face our foes with us.
"Yes, again," Jinx confirmed, leading Gizmo and Mammoth into our base.
"Titans!" I rallied them, "They tag team; one distracts while the other prepares to fight."
"Then lets separate them!" Cyborg spoke up. "Titans, scatter!" That command made us split up. Raven and Starfire fled through the right wing, baiting Mammoth to follow. Cyborg took the left wing, and Gizmo chased him to mess with his circuitry.
That left Beast Boy and myself on the main floor with Jinx. I pulled out by staff and split it into two sections. "Beast Boy, lets get some terrain advantage!" I called out. He understood my idea. Together, we charged Jinx. As she cast a spell on the ground to protect herself, we ignored her. Beast Boy went Pterodactyl, grabbed one of my rods, and gave me a lift over her trap and out of the tower. As we passed her, I swung at her. Between her focus on floor magic and her surprise at our move, I easily landed a hit, knocking her out of the tower with us.
Once outside, we led her towards the small forest. She was wily, however, and messed with us along the way. She'd cast her magic at the ground, making rocks appear, holes gap below our feet, and even once made a patch of quicksand. Luckily, Beast Boy was able to wriggle his way out as a snake before flying on.
Once we reached the forest, we got to work. With basic shrubbery and tall trees, Beast Boy and I scattered. We used these hiding places to our advantage, confusing and goading her. When she thought she found one of us, another would attract her attention, either by charging for a glancing blow, or by rustling our own hiding place.
Our plan was working for awhile, but Jinx got annoyed. Acting rashly, she cast her magic all over. The bushes became thorny and brittle. Since I was hiding in one at the time, I can tell you that you don't want to be in the middle of it. I had to burn the bush to get out safely. Any trees hit by her spells began shedding limbs, and even falling over. Beast Boy, in monkey form, was forced to flee.
Jinx saw Beast Boy first, and began running after him, uprooting more trees along the way. I tried to follow, but was late and not quite as fast as her. On the defensive, Beast Boy had no choice but to run. Soon, they were out of the forest, and on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
As they stood there, we heard screams above us. Looking up, we saw our teammates get booted out of the tower, hard, and into the ocean a little ways beyond us. "Raven!" Beast Boy cried, before looking back at Jinx. They both then made their move. Jinx fired some magic at the ground around him, and Beast Boy went T-Rex in retaliation. However, that form had the disadvantage. Jinx had destabilized the cliff, and the additional weight of the dino helped it come loose faster. The cliff gave way, causing Beast Boy to fall.
However, the cliff was decaying faster than Jinx thought. The cracks began to spread fast, leading to her. Startled, she didn't react in time as the ground gave way under her. "Wind," I cast, aiming for Jinx. This Aero spell caused her to float on a small tornado of air. Acting quickly, I fastened by rods back into a proper staff, and used it to hook Jinx back onto stable land.
When she recovered, she looked at me. "Why did you do that?"
"I'm a hero," I answered. "We help people. I can also tell that a cute girl like you isn't doing this out of the blackness of her heart. You're not really that evil." I looked over the ocean. "Looks like you beat the rest of the team. Congratulations." These compliments surprised and confused her. "As surprising as it may seem, I don't think I can take your team on alone. I guess I should join mine. See you around." With that, I jumped off the cliff, using another Aero to insure I didn't descend too fast.
Down in the water, Beast Boy had become a whale. That form allowed the Titans to rest above water, and allowed me a dry landing platform. I looked over the team. Cyborg had lost his arm, Raven was a bit bruised but alright, and Starfire was decent. Above us, the HIVE was reforming. "Looks like we beat you pit-stains good," Gizmo laughed. "Jinx, send them packing."
"Huh?" Jinx was startled out of her stupor. "Right." With a wave of her hand, a real wave formed. Surprised at her level of power, Beast Boy didn't think to submerge and avoid it. We were caught in its undertow, and dragged far away.
Once the wave died down, we were closer to the mainland. Beast Boy acted as transportation, giving us a slow and long ride. Once there, we all went ashore, and quickly started squabbling about what happened that day. By that time, the Hive had almost finished turning Titan Tower into Hive Tower, another sore point for us. Beast Boy reverted to human form, and joined us ashore. "Dudes, did we just get booted out of our own digs?"
"That's not all," Cyborg turned to him. "I was used by a pint sized puppeteer, and became left-handed!"
"We need to calm down," Raven spoke up.
"I agree," I commented. "If we want to take back Titan Tower, we'll need to use teamwork."
"Robin would know what it is we should do," Starfire solemnly said.
"Then it's a good thing I'm back," a voice came from a nearby pipe. Robin had come out of the sewers. "Now, let's talk strategy. They win because they double-team on us. Let's do that to them."
"When Jinx's magic collided with mine, mine won," I revealed. "I'll be her bait."
"When she was frustrated, she went berserk with her powers," Beast Boy remembered.
"Then you'll be perfect to annoy her," Raven answered, making Beast Boy a little upset. "We need to get her to where her powers get her in trouble."
"Good plan. The scaffolding for the... renovation... looks like a good trap," Robin said. "Any other plans?"
"Gizmo knows how to mess with my circuitry," Cyborg reminded us. "I'll get that tyke's attention."
"He also wears that gadget pack," Robin recalled. "I can mess it up."
"And the Mammoth is strong," Starfire commented. "He may need more than one target of distraction."
"We'll work on him when the rest are beat," Robin decided. "But for now, we have to rattle them, take them by surprise."
"I can startle them," Cyborg offered. "I'm still connected to my arm. Lets see what mayhem I can start..." While Cyborg got to work, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy gave the rest of the team a quick ride back to the top of our tower. Soon, we heard alarms going off inside. "The party has begun!"
"Lets send them an invitation," Robin offered.
"I'll bring that punk kid here," Cyborg said, focusing on his missing arm.
"I got the girl," Raven offered, transforming into her astral form and descending through the roof.
"And I shall retrieve the Mammoth," Starfire affirmed, flying along the building.
Sure enough, each HIVE member was forcibly brought to the roof. Mammoth crashed through the roof, Stafire giving him an uppercut. Gizmo came through a vent, Cyborg's arm releasing him before returning to his owner. Jinx didn't respond well to Raven's transport; I figured Raven didn't fully protect her from her influence.
"Looks like your housewarming party is over," Robin told them.
"Attack Pattern Alpha," Jinx called out, lashing with her magic. The ground below us began to quake; we split up, ready to put our plan into action.
I cast Fire to get Jinx on the move. She smoothly flipped to the side, then engaged me. Going without weapons, I jumped and leaped with her, slowly guiding her flips and twirls towards the scaffolding. "So Jinx," I tried to talk to her, "why are you hanging out with this crowd?"
Jinx rolled under a flying round kick, then tried to attack my backside. "What's it to you?"
"I can tell we could be good friends, if you opened up to us," I answered, using my arm to block her kick, then tried to grab her leg.
She retracted quickly, then back flipped away. "Good luck with that."
She was now in position, below the scaffolding. "Then I'm sorry it has to be this way. BEAST BOY!" I called out, backing away from Jinx.
From up in the crossbars, a green chimp jumped. With its strong arms, Beast Boy rode Jinx's face. Its high-pitched voice, itchy fur, and tight grip startled Jinx and set her off. Waving her hands wildly, her magic flowed over the screws and bolts. The plan complete, Beast Boy leapt off, then reverted to his human form. "Your luck, just ran out," were his parting words before joining the rest of the Titans against Mammoth.
At first, Jinx was confused. But a groaning overhead caught her attention, as well as a screw to the forehead. When she looked up, she realized what her magic caused. All the joints were released, and the metal bars started coming down. One fell behind her, another closer and to her right. With the weight of what was happening dawning on her, she turned towards me. I expected anger, betrayal, or another emotion. But all I saw was fear. That look made up my mind. "Reflect," I cast, just as another beam was about to crash onto her head. The spell protected her, and pushed the falling beams off of her location.
When the dust settled, there was a dome of large bars encasing Jinx. There was an opening in the top, and Jinx crawled out of it. Turning to see me, she jumped off and stood face-to-face in front of me. "Why'd you do that?"
"Have you forgotten already?" I teased. "I think we can be friends, and I can't let anyone get hurt like that." A deep bellow sounded over us. We saw Mammoth get sent flying off the tower. "I guess its our turn to give you the boot. Sorry, and happy landings!" I grabbed her by the waist and gave her a good heave ho. We were close to the ledge, so it wasn't a difficult toss. As soon as she was airborne, I cast another Aero, to give her both distance and a soft landing.
The last HIVE member was Gizmo. His pack was fried, and no longer sparking. Calming down, he turned and looked at us with a bit of fear. "Mammoth? Jinx!" he called for help.
"We already sent them packing," Cyborg informed him.
"Crumb-buckets!" Gizmo swore. "I'm calling Deathstroke."
"Who is Deathstroke?" Robin gripped Gizmo's collar and lifted him to eye level.
"Oh! Wouldn't you like to know!" Gizmo's brash nature didn't suit Robin, who quickly threw him off the tower.
Without a word, Robin went inside, determined to find out about Deathstroke. Excited about their win, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg got to work restoring Titan Tower. Raven, however, walked over to me. "You went easy on that girl. You protected her. Why?"
"Because she reminded me of you," I answered. "Her powers are naturally dark, and she could hurt herself and those around her if she's not careful. I couldn't let anything backfire on her, because I'd do the same for you." My response was honest, my feelings sincere as a friend. Raven felt it, I'm sure, but left to help fix our home.
With Sage Mode and Magic done for now, I have more time to prepare chapters like these. How is my story going so far?
I'm putting my 'Guess the companion' pole up again. I already have an idea of who to bring, and an entire world planned for one character, but it'll be fun to see what you guys anticipate.
AnonymousGX