Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.
"Good morning Lisa."
"Good Morning Captain Horsley, if you can call it that."
The uniformed pilot chuckled.
"Getting up early never hurt anyone Lisa."
"4 AM is not 'early' Brian. Where are we going at this ungodly hour? And who are our passengers?"
"We're going to Metropolis and we'll be back around noon with our passenger."
"So just one? Who?"
"I don't know, we'll find out soon enough. I already completed the preflight check."
"I'll get the cabin ready." She replied with a sigh.
"Oh cheer up Lisa. We're getting the rest of the day off…"
Lisa hurried to the back of the executive jet to make preparations for their dignitary. As she got the coffee maker going she heard the captain greet their passenger, but didn't catch his name. She dashed out of the galley to attend to the passenger before the jet took off.
"Can I get you anything …"
The passenger swiveled his seat around to face her.
"… Mr. Wayne?"
Bruce looked up at her name tag.
"I wouldn't mind some coffee Miss … Ashmore."
Lisa stared in surprise at her unexpected passenger.
"Are you alright Miss Ashmore?"
Lisa shook her head, snapping out of her trance.
"I'm fine Mr. Wayne. I'll get your coffee right away. How do you take it?"
"Black please."
Lisa hurried back to the galley and poured a cup of coffee for the company's CEO.
"Here you go Mr. Wayne. I need to go buckle in, we're ready for takeoff." She said as she headed back to her seat in the galley.
"Please Miss Ashmore, have a seat in the cabin. I'd like to chat with you. I have some questions I'd like to ask."
Without saying a word she sat down next to him. Her heart was pounding in anticipation of what he might ask her. Would it be about the Batman? Had he heard about her near disaster with Harley Quinn?
"How long have you been with us Miss Ashmore?" He asked while sipping his coffee. The jet's engines began to rev up and the Gulfstream began its sprint down the runway.
"It's been three years now Mr. Wayne."
"I see." He replied as the jet became airborne. "Do you like working for Wayne Enterprises? And please, feel free to be candid with me; I reassure you that you can speak freely without any fear of retribution."
"Well." She replied. "The pay can't be beat. And it's a lot easier than working for a commercial airline. What's there not to like?"
Bruce chuckled. "Well, I'm glad to see you're happy. So tell me Lisa, what do you do for fun, you know, on your own time."
She sighed. "Not much Mr. Wayne, at least not these days."
"I'm sorry to hear that. There's nothing worse than being bored."
Lisa chuckled. "Oh, I haven't been bored lately."
"Really?"
"Really, you're not gonna believe this, but I met the Batman face to face just two days ago."
"Well isn't it a small world. I've met him as well, more than once in fact. How did you meet him?"
"It gets even stranger Mr. Wayne, you see Harley Quinn, the Joker's henchwoman, she was after me."
"That sounds awful! Why was she after you?"
"She thought I knew Batman's secret identity."
Bruce nodded. "I see. That is a valuable piece of knowledge, if it's genuine."
She laughed. "Well, it wasn't. But you know what's really weird? It wasn't the Bat who caught Harley. The cops told me that it was that strange witch from Jump City, Raven. I wonder what she was doing in Gotham."
"That's a very good question Miss Ashmore."
Lisa smiled. "Well, who cares? Harley Quinn is in jail and I can sleep at night again."
Bruce nodded. "You can't put a price on peace of mind, can you Miss Ashmore?"
She giggled. "No you can't Mr. Wayne, you really can't. Would you like some more coffee?"
Raven slowly rolled over and rubbed her eyes. The room slowly came into focus. She groaned as she sat up in the bed. Beast Boy was next to her, lying face down and not moving. Raven's shoulder felt sore and as she hopped out of bed it felt worse. She walked over to the mirror over the chest of drawers and examined herself. She had a nasty looking bite mark on her right shoulder and could clearly see where his fangs had left their mark. She raised her left hand to her shoulder and the blue light made its appearance.
I guess we really did bring the house down.
As she healed herself she noticed that her arms and legs had bruises on them, but there were none on her torso. Once she finished healing her shoulder she walked back to the bed, noticing that the sheets and blanket were torn and ripped. She pulled them back and saw that her stud looked even worse than she did, as he was covered all over in bruises. It was then that she noticed the crack in the wall opposite the bed. The Manor was old and instead of sheetrock the walls were made out of strips of wood covered in plaster. Some of the plaster had fallen away, revealing the ancient wood strips underneath.
I remember now. I threw him against the wall the one time he bit me too hard. He came back immediately. Was that for thirds or fourths? Oh Azar, he was good last night. Damn good.
Raven grinned. Sometimes it wasn't all that bad being a half demoness. Who else could be the perfect mate for a half beast?
As she examined his sleeping, naked body she cringed. She hit him a few times with her dark tentacles, and from the number of bruises on his body she had hit him perhaps a few times too many. She laid her hands on him and began to heal his bruises. He stirred immediately and raised his head from the pillow.
"Don't move Gar, I'm healing you."
"Healing?" He replied sleepily as twisted his body to look at her. He groaned loudly in pain.
"I said don't move."
"Yeah Rae, whatever you say." He replied as dropped back onto his pillow.
"How do you feel?" She asked.
"Like a bus hit me."
"I'm sorry I threw you against the wall."
"It's OK, it's my fault. I got carried away biting you."
"That you did." She deadpanned.
He let out a deep, contented sigh.
"Rae, last night, that was incredible."
"It was. But let's NOT do that again." She deadpanned.
"Yeah." He replied. "I was lucky to survive."
"Me too."
He turned and got a good look at her.
"Rae, you're covered in bruises!"
"So are you."
"We can't let the others see us like this!"
"Why not? I'm sure everyone heard us last night."
He grinned. "Well, that was the goal, right?"
"Look at your face Gar; you look like you were in a boxing match. And lost." She moaned as she began to heal his face.
"Alfred's gonna be pissed about the wall."
Raven sighed. "Don't worry, I'll tell him it was my fault."
He chuckled. "He does seem to have a soft spot for you."
"We'll see if he still does after he sees the wall. OK, you're done; I got most of your bruises." She informed him as she sat down on the bed and began to heal her remaining wounds.
"Rae, why did we do this?"
She shook her head. "I'm not sure. I guess when all else fails, stupidity can be used to explain anything."
"I suppose you're right Rae, you always are." He said as he made his way to the bathroom. "I'm gonna shower."
"Wait for me; I'll be there in a minute." She called back to him.
"Ivy! Rupert! My good amigo Bane! I see Harley was able to round up the posse. I knew I could count on her! Say, where is the old girl?" The Joker greeted his fellow villains.
"She was captured Clown!" Ivy hissed at him. "She's probably already in Arkham as we speak!"
"Oh well." The Joker replied. "Looks like she gets to suckle off the taxpayer's teat once again."
"You mean you're gonna leave her there jerk face?" Livewire snarled at him.
"Oh, don't you worry my little human capacitor. We'll get her out when the time is right."
"And when will that be Joker?" Thorne grilled him.
"Hooow am I supposed to know?" The clown replied as he laughed.
"First things first Joker. If you want my organization to help you eliminate the Bat then I'm calling the shots!" Thorne thundered. "We're doing this professionally. No stupid mime faced henchmen, no idiotic traps. This is going to be precise and systematic."
"Oh Rupert! You can be suuuuch a bore! Mr. Organization man indeed! Next thing you'll be handing out org charts!"
"I'm not kidding Joker!"
The clown's demeanor changed instantly.
"Then take a hike you Al Capone wannabe! I don't need your muscle!"
Ivy stepped forward.
"You might have a change of heart once you hear who captured Harley."
"Oh really, let me guess. It was one of those prepubescent Teen Titans. Big whoop!"
"No." Ivy replied. "While Raven did capture Harl I was about to rescue her when I was body slammed by Batgirl. It was like a Mac truck hit me. That isn't Batgirl Joker!"
Livewire snorted. "I knew it."
"So who is she then? C'mon Ivy, spill the jumping beans."
"I don't know, but I have a hunch that she's the Tamaranian."
"The Tama-what?" The Joker replied.
"The alien Titan you idiot! She's almost as strong as Supergirl!"
The Joker yawned.
Ivy frowned at the Crime Clown's arrogant mug. But then she smiled.
"And someone else was there Joker, an old friend of yours!"
"And old friend you say? Was it Professor Crane? Edward Nigma? Cobblepot? Come on Ivy; don't keep me waiting in suspense! Who was it?"
Ivy's smile grew wider.
"The Creeper."
The warehouse became so silent that a pin drop would have been heard.
"No! Not him! Are you sure it was him Ivy? He disappeared over a year ago! Maybe it was an impostor or a copy cat?"
"He punched a hole in a brick wall with his bare hands. He knocked the witch out with a single kick. But Batgirl knocked him out with a single punch."
"What happened after that?" He asked.
"The cops showed up and hauled Harl away to Arkham, while I made my escape."
"So what I happened to the Creeper?"
"I don't know." Ivy replied.
Bane spoke up for the first time.
"It sounds to me like you need us more than we need you, wouldn't you agree Joker? Or perhaps we should leave you to face the Bat, The Creeper and the Titans by yourself?"
"I'm listening." The Joker replied.
Once the Logans had finished preparing themselves for the day they emerged from their room. It was a bit late, and as they closed their door behind them they saw Alfred at the end of the hallway, making his way to their room.
"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Logan. I'm glad to see that you are up. There is some breakfast waiting for you in the informal dining room. Her highness along with Masters Richard and Victor are already there."
"So Cyborg already arrived?" Raven asked.
"Indeed he did. Around 2 AM to be precise."
"Thank you Alfred." Beast Boy replied. "Raven and I better hurry before breakfast gets cold."
"A wise observation Mr. Logan. I will tidy up your room while you have your breakfast."
"Thank you Alfred." He replied as he took Raven's hand and they began to walk briskly down the hallway. Beast Boy heard Alfred open the door and enter their room.
"Run Raven, Run!" He shrieked as they took off running away as fast as their feet would carry them.
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Next update will be next Thursday or Friday. I also promise it will be longer that this one!