Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own, any part of Teen Titans.

Cold Times In The Hot Springs—Part One

"Well, what do you think? Ringing any bells thus far?" Robin asked in half jesting, half weary sort of voice.

Ghost's angular eyes darted smoothly, but rapidly at all angles, taking in the immediate surroundings, the small, somewhat rustic lounge they stood in. "Um…. Well, not really. Sh-should it have…?"

Robin smirked just slightly. "I was only joking. And you know, if we're going to be here, we might as well try to enjoy it. You look a little nervous."

"Nervous?" Smoke scoffed from behind them as he entered a narrow, bamboo-framed door with an armful of suitcases of all colors. "He looks like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs." His boots clicked like clockwork in a marching tempo as he stepped onto the smooth stone floor below.

"Well, I just don't know if all this is a good idea. I really think it's a bit ill-advised, you know? I mean, what with the heat, and the water, and the, the... well…" He shook his head and adjusted his monocle. "I just don't know that it's such a smart thing."

Smoke sat the suitcases down with a clatter, and wiped his brow with a broad arm motion. "Well, don't much matter if it's a good idea or a bad one. They wanted to do it; I reckon we'll do it, then." He named no names, but all three knew who 'they' were.

"Raven wanted nothing to do with it." Ghost said evenly, but somewhat sullenly.

Smoke only eyed him sharply with a frown. "Sub-Zero wanted nothing to do with it, but that ain't what Jinx wanted to hear, so he's fine and dandy. I still think this is all a crock, myself, but you won't hear that outta my mouth. Blackfire'd hurt me."

"Starfire and Blackfire wanted to come, all right? And Jinx and Cyborg thought it might be a fun idea, as well." Robin said simply. "And I don't see what's so terrible about it; we're only going to be out one day."

"Have you honestly thought this through?" Smoke chuckled raspily. "I mean, Sub-Zero, for starters. Here we got a fella that takes cold showers, drinks his coffee refrigerated, and has been known to faint on Summer days. This can't be good for his health. Now, I'm not tryin' to veto this here vacation ;I'm just saying we're gone have to do something about—"

Thump! "Ow! Hell's Bells…" Sub-Zero had just entered, or attempted to, but had hit his head on the doorframe.

Robin looked at Smoke and sighed quietly, "Speak of the devil, eh?"

"Who designed this building, a dwarf?" Zero grumpled huskily, rubbing his forehead and glaring somewhat uncharacteristically from a scarred eye. "And don't they have air conditioning around here? It's a might warm…"

Ghost turned and smiled somewhat sheepishly while he was sorting out the baggage from earlier. "You'd better get used to it, I'm afraid. It's only normal this place would be warm, considering what it's built on; besides, it's not all that bad." A pause. "… Are you going to be ok? You look a little red in the face."

Sub-Zero looked at the other three and sat down on a wooden bench just inside the door. He took a long swig of the bottle in his hand and said calmly, "I'll be fine. Are the others already up?"

"Should be." Robin said. "We're the last ones in, so far as I know."

"Splendid." Zero sighed dryly, massaging his temples with his gloved hands. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but…" He glanced around furtively to make certain there was no staff present, "… the sooner we get here, the sooner we can leave. I've not been here an hour and already I'd sooner see the back of it m'self."

"Oh come on, Zero, where's your sense of adventure?" Smoke guffawed, clapping the knight on the back, resulting in a hollow thump. "I ain't really looking forward to this myself, but it can't be all bad, right Pal?" Seeing Zero continue to stare glumly into his bottle of drink, he knelt and whispered, with one hand up to the opposite side of his mouth rather confidentially, "And besides, I think I got an idea of what'll cheer you up soon enough…!"

Zero turned his neck and stared at him quizzically, not quite catching his proverbial drift.

Smoke smirked. "Oh, you'll see… Old Smoke's got everything worked out just fine. It'll be a little surprise for later."

"What are you saying, exactly…?" Said Robin in a low voice. He had not really been paying attention as he'd been making sure all the contents of his luggage was intact; he had, besides, been just out of earshot.

"Oh, just trying to cheer Zero up a bit." Smoke responded in a deliberately vague manner, still with an almost Cheshire-cat like grin stretched across his normally hard face.

Robin kept a somewhat skeptical look, but said nothing else.

"You know, it's almost funny looking to see you without a mask on." Smoke said after a moment of silence.

Robin turned to him, indeed, with bare eyes: storm-gray with a slight, slight blue tint; they were pale and somewhat misty. He had, also, abandoned his uniform in favor of a long, tropical-flower printed button-up splotched with reds and oranges, with a pair of baggy brown wind pants and plain leather sandals. He scowled a bit. "It's no stranger than you walking around in that." He said huffily, pointing to Smoke's current ensemble.

The construct smiled sheepishly and chuckled, glancing down at the faded blue-jeans, snakeskin cowboy boots, and the white t-shirt he was wearing, the sleeves of which he'd torn off in a huff after getting one caught on a corner one day. The result was a pseudo-muscle-shirt garment with a v-neck. A long gold chain with a crosshair on the end—a present from Blackfire—dangled from his neck. "Oh, come on now… I know I'm no movie star or nothing, but at least I…" He paused for relish here a moment, glancing at Ghost and Sub-Zero "… had the sense to dress for warmth."

Ghost shuffled awkwardly in his gray hoodie and black leather pants that were probably two sizes too big, but held on by a thin belt. His feet shuffled doubly in the black sneakers that seemed slightly too big for his them, as well. "I, well… I'm… quite comfortable, really; I'll be fine, I…. I'm more worried about Zero, to be honest, as he's—"

"I'm fine." Zero said flatly. He wore a white dress shirt made of silk with a matching powder blue bow tie. He wore a corduroy sport coat of the same color and loose linen pants, again, of a pale powder blue; he tapped his foot impatiently in a navy-blue square-toed dress shoe. White felt carriage gloves completed his outfit.

"Yeah, you look fine, Buddy Boy. Especially in that adorable little hair thing." Smoke snorted, having to struggly to contain his throaty laughter.

Sub-Zero growled deep in his throat and huffed, tossing his head to the side and swishing the big red cloth bow he wore over his ponytail in the fashion of 17th century men in powdered wigs. "Jinx likes this bow. That's all that matters to me."

"Well that's lucky. Because it looks a might feminine for a big guy like you. Or Hell, for a little guy like him." He said, pointing to Ghost, who promptly looked away as though not wanting to get involved at all.

"That's enough, Smoke." Robin sighed in the manner of a grown man breaking up squabbling children. "We're here to enjoy ourselves, not poke fun at each other."

"Oh, it's all in fun, I promise." Smoke said. Reaching over and putting an arm around Ghost's shoulders and the other around Sub-Zero's and pulling them to either side of him. "Right, fellas? All the same…" He abruptly shoved them back away. "… I reckon we ought to find the broad in charge of this place so we can get on up to our rooms and start…" A beat. "… Relaxing."

"Oh good. I see the other guests are here."

All four of them turned in unison, Sub-Zero choking on his drink and Ghost nearly jumping out of his skin.

On the opposite side of the hall from the entrance, a papery-looking, almost parchment like area—which Sub-Zero and Smoke had taken for just another segment of the wall, but Robin and Ghost had known was a door of sorts—slid open. Inside was a room with pale green mats covering the floor like tiles, what looked like a small fireplace with a mantle on one side, and a bedroll with a pillow on the other. In the doorway itself stood a small, elderly woman with a glowing smile and an elegance that belied her tiny stature. Her iron gray hair done up in a bun with two thick, wooden needles—almost like chopsticks—crossed through it. She shuffled out into the lobby on a cane, her violet robes rustling softly. She got to the desk, flicked open a small notebook, and, removing a pen from a drawer, began to scribble something down within. "Why, you young boys must be with the others that came in just earlier, yes?"

They all looked at one another somewhat unsurely, as Sub-Zero stood to full height and slid his bottle, after capping it, into his pocket. Ghost stepped subtly behind Smoke, who shifted awkwardly. Finally, Robin took a small step forward and nodded deeply. "Right, yes ma'am… we're with the same party that phoned yesterday…? The rest are already here."

"Oh, well of course!" Crooned the old lady, still writing furiously and gazing at them with thin, almost shut-eyes. There was a beat in which there was only the scribbling sound of a pen on yellowed paper. After a moment, she sat it down, reached into the same drawer again, and sat something down on the desktop with a metallic clatter.

"There now. Here are four keys… I gave one to each of your friends, and the rooms—" she pointed left with a grand sweep of her hand, letting the arm of her robe unfold, down a dim corridor with wood-panel walls. "—are just that way. Each key is identical and will work with any lock, but please be careful not to lose them all the same. I let your friends divide the rooms as they saw fit." She lowered her arm and pointed again in the opposite direction. "… The onsen themselves are that way, at the end of the hall, ladies on the left, gentleman on the right. Just before them are two doors, one to the living room, and the other to the workout room. My office—" She pointed demurely behind herself to the small room from which she'd just emerged, "—is just there, and bathrooms, as I'm sure you noticed, were on either side of the entrance." She bowed deeply, at an angle that was a bit impressive for a woman her age. "Please enjoy your stay."

Robin and Zero looked at each other and shrugged. They halved the luggage between themselves and each took a key as they began towards the rooms. Smoke snickered softly at Ghost and gave him a bit of a tug combined with a jerk of his head, as if to say "Come on." Ghost nodded and set off behind them, bringing up the rear.

"That's it, then. I'm going to have to kill myself." Raven said dully, staring with a frazzled expression at the papyrus-thin waste cloth towels hanging on the wall of the room. They probably reached from chest level to just above the knees, at best, and each was pink with a floral pattern along the white end-linings.

Jinx, the room's sole other occupant, snorted as she tossed various garments over her shoulder into the opened dresser drawer behind her from a large bag. "Just don't let Starfire hear that; you'll get her upset." She turned and grinned, her catty eyes glimmering. "Even if you are joking."

"I don't know how you talked me into this. I mean, look at this! I may as well be traipsing out there wearing a pretzel." Raven hissed with a frown.

"Well, if it's that degrading, you don't HAVE to wear it." Jinx teased with a somewhat wicked smile.

Raven's left eyebrow jerked twice in rapid succession and she went back to hanging her cloak on the coat-hook on the door. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

There were a few moments of a quiet, followed by another attempt on Jinx's part to cheer Raven up.

"Oh come on, it's not as though there are going to be paying spectators. And it'll be good for you, I promise." She insisted, holding up her forefinger sagely. "These things have all sorts of minerals that'll help with your skin."

Raven glared. "I've never had much of a problem with mine, personally." A beat. "I don't see why we couldn't have just invested in a Jacuzzi if you and Blackfire had your hearts so set on this sort of thing."

"Because, it's not just the water that's the important part, it's the experience!" Jinx reasoned, setting a few small incense burners on the end table next to the window. "I mean, how many chances to do this does someone get?"

"Mercifully few." Raven muttered quietly to herself. "… At least it will be quiet."

"There, you see?" Jinx said consolingly. "That's at least something to look forward to. But I promise it won't be nearly as bad as you think if you just enjoy it."

"Well, excuse me." Raven said with, for the first time, something of a wry smirk. "I just never saw the appeal in sitting in a tub of scalding hot water, like a duck roasting in a soup, with nothing to cover your shame except what amounts to a soggy dishrag."

"At least you've enough shame to cover." Jinx muttered rather self-consciously to herself. "But then again…" She began, loudly enough this time for Raven to hear, "you really should wear it, if for no other reason than for Ghost to see it. I'm sure it would… leave quite an impression. Not that you don't already."

Even the stoic Raven went a bit pink at this and shook her head silently. As far as she was concerned, the clothes she was wearing under her cloak—a pair of black and gray checkered flannel pants, and a dark blue camisole with ruffles around the bottom, complemented by simple blue clogs—were probably a bit showier than she would have liked, but were at least comfortable. She sniffed rather disapprovingly at Jinx's outfit.

The somewhat more flamboyant witch was, to say the least, out to leave an impression in any occasion. Thusly, she had opted for a black button-up blouse with white-lace cuffs, complemented by a pink-and-black plaid miniskirt and black fishnet stockings, complete with lacy garters. The hot-pink stilettos on her feet clicked slightly as she walked, adding even more height to her already somewhat gangly form.

Raven's cross musings were suddenly interrupted when a soft, almost hesitant knocking echoed on the door. It knocked three times, slowly, and then fell silent. Her wide blue eyes turned, puzzled, to Jinx, who looked equally surprised.

Finally, Raven called out, "… Who is it?"

"… R-Raven? Is that you, Love?" A wispy voice from the opposite side.

Jinx positively glowed with mirth at the use of the word love, and Raven smacked her forehead in a half-embarrassed, half-flattered sort of way. "You can come in, Ghost; we're decent." She glanced at Jinx. "… Well, mostly."

Ghost, without bothering to open the door, slid through the solid surface, true to his namesake, with a sound like hot air hissing slowly out of a balloon. He caught sight of Jinx, smiled sheepishly for a moment, fiddling almost painfully with his thumbs, then turned sharply on his heels and bowed to Raven. "I'm glad to see you. I'm sorry it took me a while; I was with Robin, and Sub-Zero, and Smoke, and well, Robin didn't realize that the hostess was already here, and we were waiting, yes, and so you see… well, Smoke was taunting Sub-Zero a little..." He caught sight of Jinx's scowl. "… Oh, but it was all in good fun, you see, and so really there was nothing to—"

Raven smiled softly and put a forefinger over his lips. "I understand."

Jinx sat on the windowsill—which protruded out and was lined with padding like a bench, with the walls on either side—and put her chin on her hands. "So where'd Sub-Zero go?"

"Ah, yes." Ghost cleared his throat and adjusted his monocle slightly. "I believe he went with Robin to check in on everyone before doing anything else."

"He would be." She sighed. "He's going to burn himself out one day, always on the move like he is." She looked at Raven. "I honestly believe I wouldn't have to brush my own teeth if I told him I didn't want to."

Raven shrugged. "That's what he does. You ought to be thankful. If you two do wind up together—you know… in the long run… I'm sure that will help."

"I guess. I just worry about him that's all." Jinx sighed half-crossly, but with a touch of affection.

Ghost cleared his throat and began, once he saw that they had nothing more to say at the moment. "If I may interject…. Sub-Zero only does what he does because he takes upon himself the responsibilities of his friends' well-being. If there is something he believes he can do to help, within reason, it is only natural to him that he does it."

"Well, it's a little big, but I guess it'll do just fine." Terra said, whipping one of the sheets on the bed to get a thin layer of dust off. She coughed for a moment, then waved it off and began fixing it in a half-made, half folded back sort of way. "You know, I really think Blackfire and Jinx were onto something here. This may be just what we needed."

"I'm happy if you're happy." Beast Boy said simply, lying on the second bed bouncing a paddle ball rapidly. He was dressed casually, blue jeans and brown sneakers with a green t-shirt with a brown peace sign. A pair of brown leather gloves covered his hands, and a plain black baseball cap adorned his head, though it didn't quite cover the tufts of curly, jungle-green hair that came out from beneath it at points.

She smiled. "The sentiment's appreciated, but I hope you aren't just saying that." But she was either too modest or too naïve to realize that, at the moment, Beast Boy had little reason to complain. She was wearing black slip-ons that covered the toes and upper bit of her foot fully, but left the heel exposed, and her lower legs and ankles, all as tan as her face, were left bare by a pair of brown denim Capri pants. A yellow, backless tank top, kept on by some well placed string ties, covered the modest bits of her chest, but left most of the back and midriff exposed. Instead of her favorite goggles, she'd opted for a simple flower shaped hair broach. Her hair, having not been trimmed in a while, easily rivaled Star and Blackfire's for length, though she kept half of it combed neatly so as to shade a little over a quarter of her face.

"No, really." He yawned, tossing the paddle ball back into and sitting up. "I'm great. A little tired, but great. That was a long car ride…"

Terra shrugged while observing a vase of flowers on the dresser. "I don't know why we didn't just fly. Would have been a lot easier, and it's not as though we don't have the means…"

"You know Cyborg." Beast Boy grinned toothily. "He's going to drive that car every chance he gets."

A sudden knock at the door, twice in rapid succession, the second more forceful than the first.

"It's unlocked." Terra said without looking.

A very slight pause, and the knob turned and the door swung slowly open. Smoke stepped in, arms crossed and a half-defeated smirk on his face

"Well, looks like Blackfire ain't in here, huh?" He asked, stepping over to Beast Boy and high-fiving him carelessly in greeting. "I just took a wild guess."

The blonde shook her head and pointed to the right. "I think she's a couple doors down, with Star. Robin and Sub-Zero have already been in here, so I guess that's probably where Robin, at least, is now."

"All righty, then… In that case…" He stretched a bit, his collarbones crackling audibly before he took a step towards the door. "… That's where I'm headed. I'll see you guys later."

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out." Beast Boy snickered playfully.

"Robin, this is wonderful! I cannot even begin to describe my elation!" Starfire bubbled, positively gleaming with glee. Robin, currently in the midst of a both a bone-bending caress and an uncomfortably close proximity with her bare midriff, could only smile in a somewhat strained way and reply, "Y-yeah… it's great, isn't it? Although, you could lighten up with the hugs a bit…"

Starfire looked startled for a moment, and then smiled sheepishly as someone who recognized that they had just done something a bit dim. She loosened her hold on Robin, hovered back down to the floor, and sat him down.

"I am sorry if I caused you any discomfort, Robin." She cooed. "Only, I am so excited that we have been afforded an opportunity to enjoy ourselves here! Blackfire was most happy, were you not, Sister?"

Blackfire, crouched on the bed with her head on her knees and her back to the pillows—she had been watching the television up until this point—looked over with a grin. "Of course."

"Well, it was a good idea, you had." Robin admitted. "Everyone thinks so." This was a blatant lie, and he knew it, but he didn't want to cause dissention among the proverbial ranks. "Just relax and enjoy yourselves, because you know we have to be back soon. We don't get checks from the government for hanging out at vacation resorts, you know."

"Oh, they'll be fine; The Red Tornado was nice enough to keep watch while we were gone." Blackfire said dismissively, waving her hand.

Starfire bit her lower lip in thought. "I pity him, having to stay in our Tower all alone. Will he not become lonely?"

"He's a robot. He'll be fine, as well." Blackfire said flatly. Her mood abruptly brightened as she smiled toothily. "I'm more excited about having a chance to get out and do something, for a change! Something that doesn't involve fighting crime!" She lowered her voice and spoke mostly to herself as Robin was busy stretching his back where Starfire had rather gratuitously squeezed him: "Something a little more… fun."

"What is more 'fun', Blackfire?" Star asked curiously.

In response, Blackfire hissed "Shh!" and roughly elbowed Star, jerking her thumb towards The Boy Wonder. "I'll tell you later. It'll just be our little secret."

"Right, I'm going to go double-check the lock on the T-Car." Robin said, stepping over to Star. In a rare display of affection, he actually leaned over and gave Star a peck on the cheek, causing her to flush immensely and smile. "Take it easy, Star. And have a good time while we're here." With that, he left, closing the door quietly behind him.

Star sighed contentedly and rubbed the cheek he had kissed. Then, she turned to her sister and sat down on the bed next to her. "Sister… Are you very sure that these clothes are attractive on Earth?"

Blackfire looked bemusedly at the clothes she'd bought for Star: A pair of purple, wool shorts and a tube top of the same color imitated, along with the tall high-heeled boots she wore, her superhero costume, only in a more casual dress fashion. "It's fine," Blackfire insisted. "Why would I be wearing it if it wasn't?"

Indeed, the older sibling was dressed much the same way except the shorts were black and made of vinyl material instead of purple-dyed wool, and were decorated with thin, silvery chains, and the tube top was black.

"I believe you!" Starfire reassured her hastily. "Only I just… I wish to look… pretty." She blushed slightly. "For Robin."

Blackfire frowned. "Well, he kissed you, didn't he? What more do you want?" A beat. "Actually, don't answer that. Because I know you don't know any better."

Starfire, oblivious, shrugged. "I only wished to confirm that I was satisfactorily dressed… that is all."

A bit later, only a few minutes after Robin had left, another knock at their door...

"Yeah?" Blackfire said simply, starting to doze off.

Without a word, the door opened and Smoke smirked at her, waving a metal hand. "Well howdy, Sugar."

Instantaneously, there was a squeal of delight as Blackfire bolted, through mid-air, and hugged him almost violently around the waist. "SMOKE!"

Smoke stood, rather stunned, and grinned, slightly flushed. He put his hand affectionately on her head. "Yep. It's me." As he attempted to remove it, her hair clung to the metal with a crackle of static. "Whoops!" He yanked it away, causing the hair to fall comically on her face. "Sorry sweetie; I haven't let off any electricity in a while."

She smirked. "Well maybe we ought to fix that…"

"Now, now…" He pointed with a smile. "Not around your Sister."

Rolling her eyes, Blackfire hovered into the air so that she was about a head higher than Smoke, then bent down and kissed him on the lips, hands on his cheeks. At the lip contact, there was a small arch of visible electricity between their noses and a loud popping sound. Blackfire's left leg popped up at the knee rather delightedly and she drew back, swooning. "What a rush!"

Starfire only giggled demurely and looked away, smiling.

Smoke continued nonchalantly. "So, do you think you're gonna enjoy yourself a'ight here?" He asked.

She replied, "Of course! We all are. Well…" She blanched a bit. "I do feel kind of bad about dragging Sub-Zero here. That honestly never occurred to me."

"He'll live." Smoke chuckled flatly. "Just don't tell Jinx I said that."

"Would you stop fiddling with that thing, you nincompoop, you're gonna break it!" Gizmo snapped from the couch he was sitting on, watching television.

"What? It's like a wee toothpick." Mammoth retorted, continuing to finagle curiously with the bamboo dagger that had been mounted on a rack on the wall. "It's funny looking. What, they actually think this'll hurt somebody?"

"It's probably for practice. Now put it down before we have to pay for it!"

At the opposite end of the room, Cyborg sighed heavily, contemplating: 'Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.'

MUCH LATER THAT EVENING……

Sub-Zero sat in a large wooden washtub, his knees drawn to his chest, in cold tap water with a block of dry ice, scrubbing his back rather sullenly with a scrub brush, his white skin positively glowing in the dim light and a look of misery on his face, half concealed by a mop of wet hair as he sweated like a pig. "I hate this, I hate this, I hate this so much I derive life force itself from my own hatred…"

"You could always, you know, chill with the rest of us." Smoke said in a half-sneer, taking deliberate relish in the ironic use of the word chill.

"In that liquid Hellfire? I'd sooner pluck my own eyes out." He scowled, brushing soaked tresses from his face, red eyes gleaming. "This is the only way to keep cool in this infernal oven!"

"You know, the steam is meant to be half the point." Robin said from across the room, dozing against a wall in a chair. "Supposed to, I dunno… calm you down and help your skin and stuff."

"Help my skin? It's cooking my skin! I feel like a wolf pup in a kettle!"

"… I do think it opened up my sinuses." Mammoth grunted simply. "Though it's still a bit weird sitting half naked in here like this." He snarled, baring his gleaming canines and shifting his enormous, chiseled bulk awkwardly, causing a noisy splash.

Smoke was reclined on his back in the deeper parts of the spring, floating rather gracefully. "Oh come on. I know those H.I.V.E. locker rooms were bound to have been cramped." He turned with a gleeful grin, hazel eyes piercing. "And besides, you're probably in the best shape of any of us here."

"Speak for yourself." Sub-Zero muttered almost silently to himself, fanning his face frantically with a paper fan he'd scrounged up.

"Well, I don't know what you're complaining about. It's just like a Jacuzzi, only bigger." Beast Boy said, soaking under an artificial waterfall and grinning.

"You have to remember guys… " Robin sighed bemusedly, "… that Sub-Zero's nerves can't take very warm temperatures well."

"Very warm?" Zero repeated, somewhat more calmly but still with a tone of surprise. "Look, it burns to me. It's like boiling water. And this steam is stifling."

"You could always hang with Cyborg and Gizmo…" Robin suggested, sitting up.

"I would…" Sub-Zero mused, "But Jinx begged me to at least try this. So try it, I shall."

"Psht. You'd jump off a damned cliff if she told you to." Smoke laughed.

Mammoth looked over with a shudder. "Wouldn't you?"

Raven sat submerged in water up to her nose, glaring rather glumly outwards like an alligator, her silence speaking volumes. Most of which said things like, "They're all going to die, I'm going to kill them all, I'm tired, I'm nearly naked, I have water in places no one should have water, they're all going to die."

Jinx, much more relaxed with her hair down and reclined on a natural slope along the wall of the bath, stared rather bemusedly at her. "And what's wrong with you?"

Raven lifted herself just far enough out of the water to speak, revealing a dark flush across her face and a look of flustered embarrassment. "What's wrong with me? Are you serious? I feel naked!"

"Well, for the most part, you are naked." Jinx said coolly, grinning as Raven huffed in response. "The one exception being about an inch of clingy wet cloth."

"I hate you so much." Raven groaned, sinking back down again.

"Oh, come on." Jinx said sultrily. "You just want to be miserable, that's all."

"… It's not so bad, I suppose." Raven sighed wearily. "It's nice and warm and all, but that doesn't change the fact that… that…" She faltered, unsure of herself. Finally, she continued, "… the fact that I feel so awkward."

"You wouldn't feel nearly as awkward if you took that thing o—"

"NO!" Raven yelped with a stubborn splash before Jinx could even finish her sentence.

"Whatever you say."

Jinx was, at this point, the sole other occupant in the large misty chamber. She had, after all, been the one to drag Raven out of their room after much coaxing. She seemed to have loosened up somewhat, but was still, understandably, having issues with her own modesty.

After the flush had faded from her face and she'd caught her breath, she shifted somewhat and tried, in some measure, to get comfortable. After a bit of squirming, she managed to find a reasonably cozy spot and reclined resignedly, though keeping her pale arms crossed firmly over her submerged chest as though to ward off prying eyes.

"One thing I don't understand…" Jinx yawned, taking a quick sip of tea from a cup sitting nearby on dry ground. "Blackfire was so eager to come; it was practically her idea. But I've not seen her in here yet."

"There's no telling with her." Raven said simply, cocking one eyebrow. "She's probably harassing Smoke. That's one of her favorite pastimes."

"No, Smoke's with the rest of the guys; I saw them going in a little while ago."

"Oh…" A subtle, but still visible expression of realization dawned across Raven's face. "That explains it."

Jinx stared. "What explains what?"

"I could have sworn I was picking up startling amounts of hatred somewhere around here, but up until I realized Zero was nearby, I thought it was just me." She said with a wry smile.

"Where's Ghost anyway?" Zero groaned. "Out of the lot of you, at least he might have been good conversation. Well, Robin not withstanding…" He added, seeing the somewhat struck look from the Boy Wonder.

"Probably got cold feet, the stiff." Mammoth said with a slight chuckle. "You know he was terrified earlier."

"He's always terrified; I think he was born terrified." Smoke clarified with a shrug. "It's never stopped him before." A sudden, sharp inhale. "He's here."

Robin sat up from his lying position and yawned. "What?" He looked around impatiently. "Come off it. He hasn't even come in, yet."

Smoke sniffed several times shallowly and rapidly, as though trying to clear his sinuses. He grinned with recognition and turned to Robin with an air of mock bafflement. "Oh dear, oh dear. Now how on Earth would that rascal have gotten in without using the door?" Without waiting for an answer, he picked up a small, bamboo bathing pail with a washcloth and a brush in it from the dry floor nearby and chucked it, full force, at a small inlet of water surrounded by shrubbery in the corner of the bath.

It flew through the air at high speed until suddenly, it bounced violently in midair, as though it had ricocheted off of a wall, and spilled hot water everywhere. Bizarrely, there was an airy yelp and a spectral, glistening silhouette revealed as the water droplets slid down the air itself in a thin, manlike shape. Soon after, Ghost hissed into visible existence, rubbing his forehead. "You brute, what was that all about!?"

"Oh, sorry there, Pal. You was just so quiet, I had no idea you were there." Smoke snickered.

"Very funny; real rapier wit, you've got there." Ghost muttered darkly.

Beast Boy, along with the others, stared. He was the first one to speak up amongst as to why Ghost had, apparently, snuck in invisible and through the walls. "Why the stealth, Dude?"

Ghost, his tanned, butterscotch-toned skin glimmering with water, shook his head slightly, waving his black, bowl-cut mop to wave. He had left his monocle in the room, as it only would have fogged up uselessly in the bath chamber anyway. He shrugged and stammered softly, "Why, I only didn't want to disturb any of you, that's all…" He insisted, "So, I … I just let myself in."

"Any word from Raven since earlier?" Robin asked the newcomer with a slight laugh. "Last I heard, she wasn't too keen on this whole thing."

"And she always was one of the few of us with sense." Zero added his two cents.

Ignoring him, Robin continued, "I just wonder if she's managed to acclimate herself better than Zero here."

"Acclimate my pale—"

Smoke cut him off. "Oh, well you can't blame Raven. She ain't… what's the word… as brassy as Blackfire, y'know? Ain't got that shake, I guess you could say. It's only normal this might not be her type of thing."

"No, I don't quite understand." Ghost said bluntly, at an utter loss.

"Oh, you know. Blackfire don't give a monkey's about anything, hardly, especially not other parties' opinions of her." A beat. "Ol' Raven, on the other hand, she's not quite as hard as she pretends to be, I don't think. Gets embarrassed very easily."

Ghost nodded thoughtfully. "I'd say you're right about that. Blackfire's certainly the more brazen. But I still don't understand quite what you mean by 'shake'…", he finished curiously.

"Heheheh. You wouldn't." Mammoth laughed flatly.

Smoke screwed up his face in thought for a moment, trying to think of the best way to put it. "Oh, come on now, you know what I mean. Like when a girl walks… you know, that…" He made a few awkard hand motions that spoke volumes. "… That shake!"

Ghost flushed just slightly. "….. Oh. Well, I mean, I've not…. That is I've never paid much attention to…"

"Ignore him, Ghost." Zero huffed, almost indignantly. "Even I can't begin to respond to that."

"Oh, like you fellas are more in charge of your own eyes than any of the rest of us, huh?" Smoke teased. "Well, I can't speak for the two of y'all, but I'd just have to say that there are some things that make a guy's eyes go crazy like a sprayed roach. You can't even control 'em any more, and by the time you realize just what you're looking at, you've done looked at it. So there ain't really no harm in continuing to look." He gazed almost pityingly at Ghost. "I'm no genius, but even I know that Raven's only slightly more comfortable with this whole thing than Sub-Zero here."

TO BE CONTINUED...