Fashion Crisis
Chapter 10
Jump City Mall
3.48 pm
"I can't believe it! I really can't!"
"Well, believe it then, cos we are new and improved," Raven grinned, tossing back her dark hair.
"Raven, this is so not you," Argent cried as she walked down the aisles of the large mall with Raven and Starfire, shopping bags in hand.
Under Starfire's instructions, she had put on a white graphic long shirt that went down to mid-thigh with black ankle leggings and red heels, matching her bangs. In her free hand was her favorite black leather Juicy Couture bag with a charm keychain hanging from one of the handles. On her left wrist were two multi-colored thick bangles, adding more weight to the two bags she was already carrying.
Who knew she was a fashionista herself? No, wait. Her dad is a millionaire after all.
"I know, that's what everybody's been telling me," the psychic in the Banana Republic black one-piece- collared, sleeveless, a belt in the middle and shorts that ended mid-thigh- and brown knee-high boots said. "I just can't help it. Before Victoria came, I didn't know shopping was this… enjoyable!"
"I told you so," Starfire muttered between sips of her Starbucks.
She wasn't carrying any bags- yet- but on her arm was a Nine West maroon handbag and she was wearing wedges of the same brand. She had expertly matched it with a dark brown Mango shirt and denim ripped hot pants by Levis.
"Victoria seems like a pretty… interesting person," Argent commented.
"Mmm. She is, she really is,"
A soft beeping interrupted their conversation and Raven pulled out her T-Comm. "Raven here," she greeted, flipping it open.
Bumblebee's bronzed face appeared on the screen. "Hey, hi! What's buzzing?"
"Oh, I'm at the mall with Argent and Star. You coming?"
Bumblebee raised an eyebrow. "You? At the mall?" She burst into laughter. "Oh, please, who're you trying to kid?"
Raven simply stared at her with an annoyed expression.
"Okay, maybe not," Bee muttered. "And yeah, of course I'm in. Just give me a little time to fly over and everything,"
"Remember to get dressed,"
"Dressed? Yeah, I'm already dressed,"
Raven scoffed. "No, I mean, in better clothes,"
Bumblebee had the reaction as Argent's. "Excuse me?"
"We're all outta our uniforms. You'd better too cos you don't wanna stand out,"
"Um, yeah, sure," Bumblebee shrugged. "Can the others come along?"
"Whatever. Just make sure they're outta uniform," Raven told her and flipped her T-Comm shut without waiting for a reply.
"Trés harsh," Argent said in her unique accent. "They're all coming?"
"Including Aqualad?" Starfire asked eagerly.
Raven simply replied with a nod and a lovesick grin.
"Oh my God! Do I look okay?" the alien squealed, checking her reflection in a nearby wall mirror.
Raven joined her at the full-length mirror and started touching up her mascara. "I think we all look great, don't we, Argent?"
The punk titan simply stood flabbergasted behind them. "Um, yeah… I guess. You could use a little more touching up though,"
Starfire suddenly turned back to her, an excited look on her face. "I have an idea!"
Grabbing both Argent's and Raven's arms, she pulled them off towards the elevator.
Bumblebee's black stiletto boots clicked noisily on the floor of the mall as she paced back and forth in front of Jump City Mall's most expensive and prestigious salon, waiting impatiently for her friends.
Speedy and Aqualad were at a nearby bench playing some stupid game they made up when they got tired of waiting, which involved a lipstick borrowed from their leader and a piece of paper. How the game is played, I'm sure we all don't wanna know.
Mas and Menos had disappeared somewhere into the electronics store next to the salon and occasionally you would see streaks of white and red zipping through the shelves.
"It's been two whole hours since we got here, not to mention the one hour we took looking for this stupid salon and the two whole hours we spent waiting for them!" Bumblebee complained, waving her arms dramatically in the air as she did so.
"Hey, it might help if you would stop whining," Speedy remarked, adjusting the studded belt around the waist of his jeans. He wore an orange sweater for his top.
"I am not whining!" Bee yelled furiously, pulling out her communicator. "I'm just sick of waiting for them. This is Bee calling Starfire, Raven or Argent!"
"Argent's here?" Aqualad looked up. "I've always thought she was cute,"
Speedy raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Sorry? What was that?"
His long-haired buddy shook his head dismissively. "Nothing,"
"It's Raven here," Bee's communicator crackled to life. "What's up, Bee?"
"What's up?? We've been waiting for you for a lifetime and you ask me what's up?!"
"What? You're already here?" Raven gasped, turning over to somebody next to her. "They're here,"
There was a muffled reply; Argent or Starfire, Bumblebee wasn't sure for their voices sounded so alike.
Raven turned back to the screen and pressed her lips together for a bit. Bumblebee noticed she was wearing… lip gloss. "Yeah, Star's almost done. Argent's coming out now to pay the bill. Give us a minute or two, 'kay?" She leaned into the screen, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Don't rush perfection,"
With that, she broke off connection, leaving Bumblebee staring at the blank screen, utterly shocked. "What the… What the hell did she say?!"
"That was the exact reaction I gave,"
Bee turned to the direction the voice was coming from.
Argent was leaning against the glass doors of the Redken Salon, smiling warmly. She looked exactly the same since the last time Bee saw her during the battle against the Brotherhood. Okay, so maybe not all the same…
Her hair was slightly longer and if you paid close attention, there were one or two thin braids down both sides of her silky black hair that were dyed the same bright red as her bangs- except her bangs were now not that thick and had been pulled to the back of her head, clipped up by a silver butterfly clip. The ends of her hair were a dark shade of maroon and had glitter sprinkled over it. Dark eyeliner, glittery silver eye shadow and a thick amount of black mascara complimented her silver-grayish skin tone perfectly and there was a light but noticeable amount of red lip gloss on her full lips. Her outfit was the same as when she had arrived, meaning Star probably hadn't gotten her look completely done over- yet.
"Holy shit," Speedy's jaw dropped- not to mention Aqualad's.
A sultry smile played across Argent's lips. "What do you think?"
There was a flash of red and white and Mas and Menos appeared next to Bee. "Ooooh," they mused.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Argent lifted her bag and pulled out her American Express Platinum- her dad is loaded, remember?! "I'm gonna go pay up. Raven and Star will be coming out soon,"
She went back into the salon and leaned against the counter, passing her credit card to the cashier. As she chatted with the friendly girl at the counter, she leaned forward a little more; hence her butt stuck out a little and her shirt started riding up the back of her thighs, higher, higher…
"STOP STARING, YOU SICKASSES!"
Aqualad and Speedy snapped out of their trance to find a very frustrated- not to mention disgusted- Bumblebee blocking their 'view'.
"Like, what?" Aqualad asked.
"Jesus, move, Bee," Speedy snapped, rudely shoving her aside.
Much to their disappointment, Argent had stood up straight and was already slipping her credit card into her purse.
"Have a nice day, honey!" the cashier waved sweetly as Argent walked out of the salon with a model's strut Bumblebee never knew she had.
"So I haven't seen you guys since you-know-when," she waved her hand in the air and sipped on her already-warm Starbucks. "How's everyone?" She sat down next to Speedy- as far as she could away from him, of course- and pulled her shirt further down her thighs, crossing her legs for extra protection.
"We're, uh, great," Bee shrugged. "What… happened to you?"
Argent raised her eyebrows. "Nothing. Oh, you mean my hair? Star forced me into it. She said something about a new image and dragged me for a facial, spa and makeover package and then made me pay for it. Cost me more than five hundred for all of us. Oh, well,"
Mas and Menos sped off and came back in a second with a tray of fresh cookies from some bakery in the mall.
Aqualad snatched the tray from them and grabbed one himself before offering the tray to Argent. Before she could take one though, he stopped her. "Oh, be careful, you're hot,"
She looked up at him, a 'what-the-hell' look on her face.
"I-I mean," he quickly corrected himself. "They're hot. Cookies. Yeah, cookies are hot,"
Speedy snorted.
Argent forced a smile and withdrew her hand. "No, thank you,"
Ignoring her two dazed teammates, Bumblebee turned to Argent quizzically. "What the hell is a person like Raven doing in a salon anyway?"
"I don't know! I just found out today, too. Star called me on a phone instead of the T-Comm early this morning and got me to fly all the way over here to shop with them and she specifically asked me to wear casual clothes,"
"Yeah, that's what Raven told us too. What's the big deal, anyway?"
"Beats me. And I sure do not want to find out," Argent sighed as she text-messaged on her customized mobile phone. It was black with red swirls and glitter, a kind of special mobile skin service which costs quite a bomb.
"You busy or something?" Speedy asked, munching on a chocolate chip cookie.
"Um, well, kinda. I've been working with Wonder Girl on my modeling career in New York recently. She wants me back for an urgent shoot by tomorrow morning," she frowned.
"You're a model?!" Bumblebee gasped.
"I've always wanted to be one since I was young," Argent grinned. "So since Wonder Girl was working in photography, I grabbed the chance,"
"Wonder Girl?" Speedy raised an eyebrow. "Since when have you guys been in touch?"
"I got bored one day, so I randomly called a titan," Argent admitted.
"I heard she was cute too," Aqualad said.
See, he's not all that gay.
Argent gave him a look. "Sure. Whatever," She turned to the salon entrance. "Oh, look! They're done!"
Time seemed to stop all around them as Starfire and Raven made their big entrance.
Starfire flipped back her previously pure auburn hair over her shoulders. Now her hair was cut shorter- instead of her waist, it only went down to her upper back. The most shocking thing was her highlights- bright orange and hints of yellow, so her hair actually resembled of fire. To enhance the look, the ends of her hair had been lightly curled to create an elegant look and like Argent, her bangs had been brought around to the back of her head, clipped up by a star-shaped clip and curled. Her fringe was gone. Now her hair was just parted to both sides to expose her perfect, tanned face, which was now covered by a light brown shade of eye shadow and nude-colored lip gloss.
Raven was darker- her makeup, I mean. She had on the same style as Argent- thick mascara and eyeliner and the same shade of eye shadow, but she was wearing a large amount of Vaseline, creating a pout. Her hair had been cleverly styled so the ends stood out like a fan. Like the others, her ends had been dyed too, but hers was a shade of purple. Raven had opted for the simpler look, so all she had for an accessory was hair glitter and extremely thin rubber bands with tiny shimmering balls on them tied onto different areas of her hair, creating a very unique look.
Nobody spoke for a moment.
"Is it… horrible?" Starfire asked, touching her hair self-consciously and looking over at Aqualad.
Raven was looking in the same direction as her, and they both very well knew that.
"What do you think of my hair?" they both asked, and then immediately turned to each other with a death glare.
Speedy turned to Aqualad, a 'since-when-were-you-the-ladies-man' look on his perplexed face.
"What?" Aqualad asked, looking at him and turning back to the two girls, unsure of whom to compliment first. "Um, both of you look great,"
Raven and Starfire glanced at each other, or to be precise, glared.
"I'm sure Starfire's look surpasses mine in every aspect," Raven put on a fake smile. "But I do think my highlights match much better… right?"
Aqualad was about to answer when Starfire quickly interrupted.
"Of course your highlights are better, but they just can't beat my fire imitation," she grinned, playing with her curls.
Raven gave her a look. "However you phrase it, your point is that my highlights suck,"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Raven's mouth fell open.
"Girls," Argent interrupted. "There's no point fighting over your hair,"
"Uh, yeah," Bumblebee nodded. "What she said,"
"Well, what do you know?" Raven scoffed. "You don't have highlights. Your hair's so boring…" she stopped suddenly. "I mean--!"
Oops.
"I heard that, you… you… skank!" Bumblebee lashed out, taking large angry steps towards her, eyes wide. "So what if you've got a new image? You've just become a complete plastic!"
"Well, at least I look good!" Raven yelled, drawing in some crowds. "Unlike some people,"
Starfire gasped and grasped Raven's shoulder, pulling her around to face her. "You're talking about me, aren't you?!"
"Hey, this is between me and Bee! Don't be a bitch and stay out of--!"
Slap!
Raven held a hand to the side of her face and turned to Bumblebee in shock and fury.
"Nobody calls my friend a bitch, bitch!" Bee shouted.
Slap!
Bee turned to glare at Star. "I just defended you! What the hell is your problem?!"
Starfire glared back. "Well, she's my friend too! And only a bitch calls my friend a bitch!"
Slap!
"God, stay out of this, Star!" Raven snapped, before she was shoved out of the way by Bumblebee. "Stop it!!"
"Well, you started it!"
"No, you slapped her first!" Starfire objected.
"So you two are ganging against me now?" Bumblebee shoved her.
"More like you're ganging against us!" Star returned, and then paused. "No, wait…"
"She can't gang against us, there're one of her and two of us," Raven reasoned. "You're so stupid,"
Now it was Starfire's turn to shove her. "Don't you dare call me that!"
"Hey, she didn't mean it!" Bee cried.
"So you're on her side now!" Star's eyes glowed bright green but instead of powering up, she pushed Bee back and slammed her hard against the wall of the salon.
Raven powered up and pulled her off Bee telekinetically. "Get off of her! She's on my side!"
Slap!
"No, she's not!" Starfire yelled. "She's on mine!"
"Since when?" Bumblebee huffed.
Star's eyes glowed brighter and she grabbed her arm. "Since now!"
"I said, get off of her!!" Raven ordered and surrounded both of them with black auras, separating both of them.
Bee was slammed against the wall of the salon again and Star was thrown against the railing.
Both Bee and Starfire got up quickly and flew at Raven furiously.
Argent quickly got up and took action before they tore each other's hair out. "Girls! Stop it! You guys are friends!" She shoved her way into the middle of the chaos and tried pushing them away from each other without actually using her powers, which would just hurt them and make matters worse. "Please!!"
Meanwhile, the boys sat there dumbly, looking on in horror.
Bee finally managed to push Argent out of the way with much effort. "What the hell is your problem? Trying to be a bitch too?"
Starfire stuck an accusing finger into Bee's face. "Stop calling my friends that!!"
"I'm so sorry, but I can't stand bitches!" Bee shot back.
Slap!
"Nobody calls me a bitch and gets away with it!" Argent growled.
Bee took awhile to take the shock of it all in before she took action, kicking Argent in the gut, throwing her to the floor. "Well, since you want a bitch-fight, let's have a bitch-fight!"
Starfire gasped and pushed Bumblebee away. "Stop it, will you?!"
"Dang, whose side are you on?"
"What? My own side, of course," a bewildered alien replied, powering down.
A gasp from the side caught their attention. Raven was still standing there, her hands glowing with black energy. "I thought you were on my side!"
A huge hand made of glowing red plasma energy smacked her clear across the corridor.
"She's on my side, witch!" Argent yelled, getting to her feet.
"No, I'm not!" Star cried.
Bee grabbed her arm. "She's with me,"
The furious alien snatched her arm back. "No!!"
Raven suddenly came flying in between both of them and straight at Argent, her hands and eyes glowing with energy. "How dare you!!"
Argent quickly lifted herself into the air and dodged quickly to the side before Raven shattered her like the glass railing she had just crashed into.
"That must have hurt," Argent winced.
Raven recovered herself and headed for her again. "It did!!"
This time, she plowed straight into Argent and the force of it sent both of them through the glass windows of the electronics store, sending throngs of people screaming and running off for dear life.
"Bitch!!" Argent yelled, repeatedly punching Raven in the face with her huge plasma energy hand.
Raven used her powers to throw Argent off her and across the store, smashing her through hundreds of radios, TVs and MP3 players before she hit the wall with a groan.
Argent got up, her hands glowing more brightly than before, and stepped away from the wall she had just crushed in. "You are such a--!"
"Slut!!" Raven interrupted before Argent could call her anything displeasing. "Yes, so what if you haven't slept around? You have the looks of one!"
Argent looked really, really, really insulted. "Well, if I'm a slut then you must be a whore!!" And then she sent giant blocks of plasma concrete at her, attempting to knock her through the same number of back-breaking electronics she went through just now, or better yet, knock her out.
"Oh, please! I don't even sleep around!!" Raven cried as she dodged the very intimidating flying blocks of concrete.
"But you have the looks of one!" Argent mocked her, finally getting a hit.
Raven didn't crash through the electronics, but she got sandwiched between the wall and the concrete.
Using her powers, Raven went right through the concrete block and immediately had a wave of black energy close up around Argent in midair before she could make anymore moves.
There was a bloodcurdling scream from somewhere in the store, which was quickly echoed by another scream from outside, and then Raven quickly summoned back her energy and fell to the ground weakly.
But then she looked up and found Argent in the same position… except she wasn't moving.
Bumblebee and Starfire had only paused for a moment to watch Argent get slammed into the wall, and then they were at it again.
"It's your entire fault! You started this whole thing!!" Starfire yelled.
"I did not!!" Bee protested. "Stop being such an accuser, would you?!"
"Well, then stop being such a bitch!"
Bee shoved her. Hard.
"Stop calling me that!!" she yelled.
Star shoved her back.
"Stop shoving me!!" she returned.
"Okay, fine!" And Bumblebee reached out and slapped her with all her strength. "How was that?"
Starfire held her left cheek, bruised from all the slaps, but most of all from the one she just had. "That was the last straw!!!"
In a flash, she had Bee pinned against the wall with one hand and the other hand, a starbolt fully powered up, was brought down onto her.
There was a bright green flash and an ear-piercing scream, which was accompanied by another one from somewhere in the store.
When the bright light dissolved, all that was left was Starfire holding up Bumblebee's now limp body against the wall.
She gasped as she realized what she had just done and quickly dropped Bee to the floor.
She looked at her hands and then at her ruined clothes in horror before looking around her.
Speedy, Aqualad, Mas, Menos and not to mention the huge horrified crowd were staring straight at her.
But wait.
She switched her gaze to inside the wrecked electronics store.
There was Raven, more battered and bruised than she was, crouched down on all fours on the ground, staring straight ahead at the unconscious body of Argent, lying amongst the wreckage. Then she turned to meet Starfire's equally terrified and teary eyes.
A sudden screech of tires interrupted the deathly silence and everybody turned to see the R-Cycle come to a stop by the scene.
Robin got off the bike and removed his helmet.
The look on his face was far from the look Starfire wanted to see.
so so so so so sorry for the very late update. exams and everything. and i haven't visited fanfiction in a matter of time anyways.
first of all, my lovely reviewers. i love you guys and i forever will. thank you for supporting and putting up with my annoying personality for so long. hahahahahaha.
the aceman, nightstar grayson, blueyedgirl, sailormarsfire93, samuraigurl1213, death jester, animalgurl55, luna's blades
the outfit Star is wearing at the beginning of this chappie, i based it on a similar outfit i have. yup. i know Raven just went through a very sudden character change. i'm sorry for that too. i promise she'll definitely come to her senses, just a little, after she gets her punishment from Robin. heehee.
i'm sure those of you who have watched JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE will surely recognise the part where Aqualad says to Argent, "Oh, be careful, you're hot." HAHA. gawd, i love that scene.
so yup. that's all. enjoy! and then review.
XOXO
duskecho.