As the four Titans emerged from the hotel into the dazzling light of day, Starfire twirled to greet them.
"Friends! What a gorgeous, glorious day it is!" She was practically beside herself with delight, spreading her arms to encompass the gleaming field of white blanketing all they could see. "Look, see how everything sparkles!"
"Yeah, blindingly so, even," Raven muttered, raising her hood and attempting to shield her eyes from the glare.
Without further delay, they piled into the T-Car and set out for their destination. This time Starfire rode up front (affording her a better view of the snow-covered landscape), while Beast Boy, Robin and Raven occupied the rear seats.
"Okay…" Beast Boy croaked, still massaging his windpipe. "Even though you would've totally gotten Dark Side points for that, if this was KotOR... I think it's helped me to finally figure you out, Raven."
"Whatever." With her elbow propped against her door, she rested her chin in her palm and stared out the window.
Beast Boy was unfazed. "No, seriously. Your powers, your meditation… it all makes sense to me, now. I understand it. It's like… it's like… like The Force."
"Oh, please." Raven rolled her eyes while Robin and Cyborg tried, rather unsuccessfully, to keep from snickering.
"Hold on! Hold on!" Beast Boy waved a quieting hand at them, his expression serious. "Here. Check it out. It's like this." He began drawing invisible diagrams in the air, intent on proving his point. "In Episode I, Qui-Gon explains how it really works, that there are these tiny little creatures called… um, Midi-Chlorines, I think, living inside everyone's cells. They're the ones that have the real power, they're what makes The Force work. And the way the Jedi do their stuff, is by training themselves, meditating, to learn to mentally communicate with the little guys. That's what makes it all possible. That's what Obi-Wan means when he tells Luke that a Jedi can feel The Force 'flowing through him', because the power comes from the Midi-whatevers, and the Jedi are, like, channeling it through their body. And that's also why Yoda says you have to stay calm, and keep your mind at peace. 'Cause if you get angry or scared when you're using The Force, those bad emotions will, like, feed back into the Midi guys, and they'll, like, start to echo it to each other, and soon it'll be spreading through your body, and eventually you start to lose control of your emotions, and your mind, and that's what the Dark Side really is."
Having finished his speech, Beast Boy was quite surprised to find all four of the other Titans now staring at him with varying degrees of amazement.
"Wow, Beast Boy," Robin began, his eyes obviously wide even behind his mask. "That… almost makes sense."
"In an alarmingly obsessive and fanboyish way, of course," Raven added, then squinted at the green changeling, her manner suddenly one of suspicion. "Except… are you trying to compare me to a little green puppet?"
"No! Well – not directly, anyway," he hedged. "I'm saying – it's the same thing with your powers, isn't it? Star, help me out, here. Didn't you say it was like there's this energy that sorta flows through your body, and emotion releases it, so you have to concentrate and focus your thoughts to control it?"
"Hmmm… I suppose it was much as you've described, yes," she acknowledged, smiling apologetically as Raven glared at her.
"See! SEE!" Beast Boy pointed triumphantly at his shrouded teammate, nearly jabbing his finger into Robin's nose in the process. "I told you I have a brain!"
"Let's not jump to any conclusions," she retorted, turning her attention back to the window as the car slowed to a stop.
"Well, I hate to interrupt your moment o' revelation, B," Cyborg tossed over his shoulder, "But we're here."