DISCLAIMER: For those of you too dumb to figure it out ahem, lawyers, ahem, I don't own the Teen Titans or any of that other copyrighted/trademarked material. The original characters Pale Face, Trudy, and Tylan are mine, as is the story itself.
Raven watched Tylan's chest rise and fall slowly as the heart monitor beeped steadily in the background. They were in Titans Tower's medbay, with Cyborg occasionally popping in to check his vitals, then leave the two alone again. Raven had spent all night without sleep, never leaving Tylan's side for a moment. Cyborg had felt many an impulse to tease his "little sister" about her new crush, but he saw how serious she was, and felt it would be better to wait until her boyfriend was out of danger.
Sure enough, later that afternoon, he woke up, attempting to sit up before grabbing his broken ribs. "Ow!" he exclaimed. Raven looked up as he winced and slowly laid himself back on the cot.
"Easy there, cowboy." She smiled at him. "You've had it pretty rough. Being robbed by Slade, swarmed by reporters, then attacked by a psychotic psionic. I don't know which of them was the worst."
"Definitely the reporters." He grinned back at her, his sense of humor returning. "So how are you? Are you alright?"
"Thanks to you, yes." Tears began to fill her eyes, though her smile remained. "You didn't have to do that. I'm pretty sure I could have blocked it."
"Yeah, well, the revelation that you were a superhero hadn't fully dawned on me yet, and so I guess my over-protectiveness just kicked in." He looked down at his bandaged abdomen sheepishly. "I guess if I'd have been mentally quicker on my feet, I'd not be in this predicament." He looked up at her again. "So… where am I?"
"Titans Tower. This is where I live… not that old run-down place you kept dropping me off at." She hung her head. "I'm sorry I lied to you. You didn't deserve that. And really, I don't deserve you."
Tylan shook his head emphatically before saying, "No, no, no. I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. I mean, you were amazing even before I knew you were a superhero, and now that I know that, I realize I barely scratched the surface! You are my dream girl, Raven. I knew it from the moment I first really talked to you. I'll admit, I was attracted by your physical appearance, but what that was merely the bait, to use a rather indelicate metaphor. The hook was your mind, and your heart. You are smart, witty, and sarcastic. Yeah, I know, it seems weird, but I admire that in a girl. You have confidence, but most importantly, you have a kind heart." She blushed, but he continued. "No, really, I mean it. I mean, what other girl would have kept the fact that she was a superhero from her crush to protect him? Certainly none of the other ones I know. They'd be flaunting it just to catch the guy's attention." He looked deep into her eyes, and that tingle came through her again. "You're different, Rae. And that's why you're perfect for me."
Raven was stunned. Perfect? Her? Can he really mean that? she wondered. Yes, she was different, but nowhere near perfect. Oh, if he only knew what she was like inside.
Robin chose this moment to walk in, saving Raven from any further comments. "So, you're awake," he said. "I've been meaning to ask you a few questions, but you were unconscious. First, however, I'd like to thank you." He extended his hand to Tylan, who took it, though with a confused expression.
"What for?" he asked.
"For helping save Raven, even though I'm pretty sure she could have done it herself." Robin looked over at Raven, who gave him a glare. "Anyway, your willingness to sacrifice yourself for her is exactly the stuff we're looking for. I know you don't have any superpowers, but please, I'd like you to accept a position as honorary Titan." He handed Tylan a T-communicator to Tylan, who looked pleased… and then began to examine it extremely closely.
"Hmm… interesting. Seems to be a telecommunication device that not only picks up and transmits television signals, but also serves as a location tracker," he muttered, while turning it over in his hands. He looked at Robin. "I think I could help you make it better," he said.
"Better?" This was Cyborg, who had entered a moment before, closely followed by Starfire and Beast Boy. "How you gonna make my technology better?"
"As soon as I get better, I'll not only tell you, but show you." He looked at the trio who had just entered. "I take it you guys are Raven's friends, too. And members of the famous Teen Titans, to boot."
"Dude! He's like psychic!" Beast Boy exclaimed. Cyborg whacked him upside the head, knocking him on his face. "Hey! What was that for?" Beast Boy complained while rubbing his sore head.
"Dummy! Everyone in the city knows who we are!" Cyborg gestured at the bedridden man. "Including him!"
"Oh… I knew that!" Beast Boy said cheerfully. Raven rolled her eyes at her clueless green friend.
Starfire squealed in excitement. "We have a new friend! And Raven has the friend which is a boy!" She zoomed in to give Tylan a bone-crushing hug, but Raven and Robin both stepped in front of her.
"Uh… Starfire?" Raven said. "Perhaps it's better that he not get a hug right now. He's got some broken ribs, and a hug certainly wouldn't help them. Especially a hug from you."
"Does our new friend not like the hugs?" Starfire asked in disappointment. She really liked this new friend and wanted to give him the hug that would make them friends forever.
"No… Starfire… that's not it." Tylan spoke up. "I do like hugs, but a hug would just hurt me more right now. And I'm guessing you give very strong hugs."
"Dude! I told you he was psychic!" Beast Boy punched Cyborg lightly in the arm. "See?"
Cyborg simply rolled his one human eye.
A/N: Sorry, no action in this chapter, but as any good reader knows, one chapter leads to the next. So hopefully the next chapter will be more action-packed and full of mystery. I attempted a little bit of humor.
Please, please ,PLEASE rate and review! The next chapter doesn't go up until someone reviews this one!