Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.
Rating: Maybe a little harsh language, certainly some violence, but nothing worse than on BtVS.
Spoilers: Up to Chosen for BtVS and Date With Destiny for Teen Titans.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: With Killer Moth holding the city hostage, there's only one way to buy the Titans enough time to stop him.
Author's Note: And payback... backfires.
"I bought you some time," Robin told the other Titans over the communicator, then transmitted the next image. "Killer Moth. He's controlling the mutant insects. Find him and stop him." He sent an image of Kitten. "Start your search with her."
"Who is she?" Raven asked.
"Name's Kitten," Robin replied. "She's got some kind of connection to Killer Moth. Find the connection, and I bet you'll find him. The others will join you to help with the search."
"Don't count on it," Xander murmured.
"Hey, what about you?" Beast Boy asked. "Aren't you gonna help us?"
"I can't," Robin said, his face falling. "I have a date."
"Xander?"
He turned, "Oh, hey, Kori."
"Should we not be making haste to assist the other Titans?"
"You go on ahead," he said. "Someone's gotta watch the Boy Wonder's back at that prom."
Strange, he thought. Shouldn't she already be making plans to follow him?
"What is this 'prom'?" she asked. "Is it some sort of duel?"
"Uh, no. It's a formal dance," he explained. "A date."
"Oh," she nodded in understanding. "Then... would it not be inappropriate for you to go alone?"
Completely ignoring the warning bells that should have woken the dead, he shrugged, "Generally, yeah, but how am I supposed to get a date on this short of a notice?"
There was a long pause as she considered that while he continued digging in his closet, looking for his tuxedo. "Would you... go with me to this prom?"
He looked up and blinked, "Um, sure."
"Oh, joyous! I shall get dressed immediately!" she announced, turning and flying out of his room.
He wondered where that odd sense of impending doom was coming from. It wasn't apocalypse season yet, so far as he knew.
Robin stopped the R-Cycle on the dock and got off. Adjusting his lapels with a sigh, he then tugged at his collar.
"Really hoping she doesn't show."
He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned reluctantly.
She wore a low-cut strapless gown that was split scandalously high on the sides, allowing her legs freedom of movement. It was black but shimmered in the light, and it hugged every curve of her body. A generous amount of cleavage was exposed, and as she turned to show it off, he saw that it was backless too. A pair of matching elbow-length gloves and high heels completed the outfit.
In short, it defied all laws of decency and gravity.
"Raptor?" he squeaked.
A light touch of make-up -- eyeshadow, a hint of blush -- and glittering earrings shaped like birds in flight accentuated her appearance.
"It's just Abbey now," she said. "No mask tonight." She smiled and held up a rose, "I think you just need one last thing to complete the picture here." She pinned it to his lapel.
"Ab, you're supposed to be helping the others track down Killer Moth."
"You'll need someone to watch your back, here," she retorted. "After all, she's hardly trustworthy. And maybe the Boss was wrong. Maybe she is a demon." She looked over his shoulder and frowned, "Oh, he did not..."
"Huh?" Robin turned and saw the black limousine that had pulled up. The driver was standing by the rear door, and Xander -- in a tux -- was offering his hand to... "Star?"
The two walked up, and Xander raised an eyebrow at Abbey, who merely shot back a defiant look.
Robin grabbed Xander's arm and led him away from the two girls and demanded, "What are you doing here?"
"Well," Xander replied, "first, investigating Kitten is a lot easier when we can see her."
"And second?"
Xander leaned in close and grinned, "I've been waiting for this for a long time. I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Robin growned, "This is for that whole 'you kissing Jinx' thing, isn't it?"
"Yup."
"Aren't you supposed to be older and more mature than this?" Robin asked.
"Older?" Xander nodded. "Yes. More mature?" He shook his head, "Never."
Robin shook his head, "How did you get the limo on such short notice, anyway?"
"You'd be amazed at the hoops some people will jump through if they even get a whiff that a superteam might be considering licensed merchandise."
Robin's eyes were as big as dinner plates, "You licensed out the Titans?"
"No," Xander said. "I merely suggested we might be considering it. The limo was a gift from someone who was trying to curry favor with us."
Robin shook his head again, "I can't believe this."
"You can't believe it? I'm just glad it worked," Xander said. "I mean, seriously, this is a prom. Arriving on a motorcycle's not exactly the way to go." He glanced at the R-Cycle, "Um, nevermind."
"No, you're right about that," Robin said, "but then again, I don't plan on leaving with my date." Robin turned to rejoin the girls, but then stopped, "Oh, yeah, before I forget, if you hurt Star..."
"This was her idea, Dick," Xander said as they walked back to join the others, "and we're just here to watch your back. Besides, I know the speech. I could give it in my sleep."
"You give it that often?" Robin asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah," Xander said, "but generally I'm holding the shovel I'm going to beat them to death with."
"That's what the shovel was for? I thought you just kept pulling grave-digging duty," Abbey said.
Xander rolled his eyes, "We didn't kill that many demons that leave corpses, Ab." A thoughtful look crossed his face, "Speaking of which, Robin, follow me."
He led him to the limousine and popped the trunk, then pointed inside, "Shovel." He pointed over Robin's shoulder, "Ab." He tapped Robin's chest, "You. Comprende?"
"Comprende."
Another limousine -- this one a tacky pink -- pulled up alongside the one Xander and Kori had arrived in. Letting herself out, Kitten waved, "Yoo-hoo! Robbie-poo! Your Kitten has arrived! Me-OW!"
"You know," Robin murmured, "maybe I will need backup."
"Figures," Xander shook his head in amusement. "The Bat has the Cat, and you have the Kitten."
Robin scowled.
Xander moved to rejoin the girls and offered his arm to Kori, who took it tentatively.
"So," Abbey said, "give him the shovel speech?"
"The short version."
"Ah. Good. Just remember: If it comes to that, I get first swing."
"'First swing'?" Xander repeated. "Wow. I guess you really do like him."
"Hey!" she snapped.
Xander merely grinned and started walking toward the ship, "C'mon, Kori. Let's dance the night away."
"Enjoying yourself, Kori?" Xander asked as they slow-danced. The song was nearing its end.
"Indeed, Xander," she smiled. "I am very much enjoying myself. I..."
"Mind if I cut in?" came another voice as the song ended. The voice's owner didn't wait for an answer, sliding quickly between them and displacing Kori's hands with hers.
Xander blinked.
"Jinx?"
The HIVE agent was -- in Xander's estimation -- quite stunning. Jade earrings shaped like pentagrams adorned her ears, and her hair was done up in a tastefully braided bun. She wore an ankle-length, gold-trimmed, red silk cheongsam with gold dragon embroidery that wrapped around her, but the cheongsam was slit to reveal a pair of legs that went all the way up...
Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts! Only the absence of any nearby walls prevented him from attempting to inflict multiple concussions on himself.
A small part of his mind, however, was almost... puzzled. He hadn't seen Jinx since she'd run off the night he'd killed Slade -- not that he believed for a moment that Slade was really dead; comic book bad guys never stayed dead -- and to be honest, he would've expected her to favor something closer to what Abbey was wearing.
"So... your name's Xander, hmm, cutie?"
"Um, yeah," he replied dumbly, then noticed the Tamaranian fury nearby.
You must think this is damned funny, don't ya? Xander sent the thought skyward. I swear, all I wanted was a little revenge, a chance to kick back and have some fun at Dick's expense for a change... but NOOOOO, can't have that, can we, God?
Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran was fuming -- literally, as her eyes were glowing and emitting starbolt energy that rose and wafted with the wind -- and miniature starbolts sparked at her fingertips, which in turn twitched with the desire to blast Jinx.
But no. She would not throw the first attack. Something Nightwing had told her when she was in the future warned her to stay her hand. No matter how much she might want to, she would not reduce the little witch to ashes.
At least, not until Jinx did something first.
"Manipulative, interfering grimplork," she muttered with... irritation was not the correct word. Nor was anger, not quite. Frustration will do for now.
Author's Postscript:
As a wise 'fic writer (from whom I borrowed this episode's title) once wrote, chaos needs no recipe. Ethan Rayne, eat your heart out.