"So, what do you think?"
Raven arched her eyebrows towards Nightwalker.
"I mean, the offer from Robin."
"Of all people, you should know why being in a team is never a good idea for someone like me."
"And of all people, you should know that you don't have to worry about that sort of thing any longer," Nightwalker replied, a note of exasperation in his voice. "You've already gained complete control over your powers."
Raven shook her head. "That may be so, but I'm still not entirely comfortable with that idea," she replied.
"Well, neither am I entirely comfortable with working with so many others," Nightwalker replied, truthfully. "But sometimes, it's necessary to step out of our comfort zone to do what we have to. Working in a team is so much safer and more effective than just the two of us."
"And yet, you worked alone for quite a long time before going to Azarath, I believe," Raven pointed out.
"That was different. Back then, I knew no-one, and there was no opportunity for me to work in a team."
"And you honestly think that joining Robin and Starfire and the rest is a good idea?"
"Certainly. Seven people can accomplish much more than just two, after all."
Raven sighed, blowing a strand of hair away from her face, taking her time to think through it. "I suppose," she finally answered, "that we can give it a try. But if things go wrong, we leave. Satisfied?"
"Definitely. Let's just hope it won't ever come to that, though."
"Indeed," Raven returned, as a shadowy expression passed her eyes.
Even as she said that, the communicator that Robin had given everyone buzzed almost deafeningly, startling both of them considerably. Raven grabbed it and flipped it open at once, looking down at the image of Robin's face. "What's wrong?" she demanded.
"Twister's on the loose!" Robin said sharply. "He's terrorizing Peppermint Road! Can you back us up?"
"Sure. We'll be there." Raven cast a single glance at Nightwalker, and without a word, the duo flew out the door.
It was not the first time Peppermint Road had been terrorized. Everyone knew that it was a place frequented all too often by criminals who had nothing better to do than terrorize the citizens. But this time, it was no mere criminal at work. Looking at the shambles in the street, anyone would have thought that a typhoon had just struck the area. Metal, glass, plastic and rubbish lay strewn all over, making it almost impossible to walk down that way.
The man known as Twister stepped back from his work and pursed up his lips in a cheerful whistle, hands in his pockets. Alternately humming and whistling as if the mess was nothing to be concerned about, he turned and was about to walk away when two shadows loomed over him.
"So, you're the famous Twister, I'm guessing?"
Twister stopped his whistling and calmly gazed back at the person who had addressed him. He recognized Robin at once, with Starfire next to him. Only this time, they were not alone, as they should have been. Five others flanked them, two of them standing out in their odd black and dark blue clothes.
"And you've brought new…friends, I see," Twister replied lightly.
"Take him down!"
All seven of them immediately split up, heading towards Twister from different directions. Twisters made a comical little gasp as if everything was just a joke, and begin to twirl. Round and round he spun, until he resembled a red and yellow tornado. Cackling, he angled towards Robin, threatening to send him spinning through the air.
Raven immediately reacted, flinging up a shield in front of Robin seconds before Twister collided into it with full force, making her grimace at the impact of it. The shield remained unbroken, but it wouldn't stay so for long. Twister had already retreated, and was preparing for another blow.
Starfire promptly swooped downwards and grabbed Robin by the shoulders, lifting him up while Raven flew upwards to avoid Twister. Despite the remarkable speed at which he was spinning at, he still seemed capable of seeing what was around him. With a startling amount of skill, he angled sharply to the left and spun himself towards Beast Boy.
"Beast Boy! Move now!" Terra bellowed.
If Beast Boy heard her, her words probably didn't quite register with him. Instead, he morphed into a rhinoceros and stood his ground, scraping the ground with his massive paws. As Twister got closer and closer, Beast Boy charged, lowering his head. Terra yelled out a warning, but there was already too much momentum forward to be stopped.
Grunting with effort, Terra threw her arms upwards, desperately forcing up the ground between Beast Boy and Twister. A massive earth wall rose up immediately, seconds before what would have been a horrific impact. Beast Boy struck the wall with full force and recoiled with a grunt, resuming his human form, while Twister deftly angled himself away again.
"He's fast!" Cyborg exclaimed.
"Ahhh…" Beast Boy groaned aloud with pain and grasped his spinning, aching head between his hands. Terra was calling out an apology even as she tried to slow Twister's movements by boxing him in with earth walls. But no matter how fast she was, Twister was even faster, and kept dodging everything.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Teeth gritted with concentration, Raven levitated a huge bundle of objects upwards and sent them flying towards Twister as he ceased his spinning momentarily.
"That's not a good…" Robin began, but it was too late. Twister cackled with glee, and moved his arm in a circular motion, transforming the objects into a spinning mass.
Having noticed that many of those objects were made of metal, Nightwalker hurriedly drew them away from Twister, keeping a firm energy grasp on all metal there. Twister's eyes flickered towards him for the briefest of moments, then he looked away and sent a powerful blast of twisting energy spiralling towards the glass windows. There was a sharp cracking sound, then bits of glass fragments exploded over everyone. Someone would certainly have been cut if Raven hadn't flung up a shield at the right moment.
"This is getting extremely irritating!" Robin growled.
"And what exactly are his powers?" Raven asked.
"He can release some sort of twisting energy that turns everything, including himself, into an airless tornado," Robin replied. "Anything solid that might make contact with him is automatically spun off. That's his power."
"Anything solid," Nightwalker mused. "What about lightning, then? Can he spin that off too?"
"I'm not sure, but I doubt it," Robin replied.
"Sounds like a plan already," Cyborg remarked.
"Indeed," Terra mused.
"I'll need your help, though," Nightwalker said quickly. "I need him to be boxed in before I can zap him with my lightning."
"I think that can be done," Cyborg said enthusiastically.
"If we work together…" Starfire agreed.
"Let's do this!" Beast Boy cheered.
"Alright. Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, box him in from the sky," Robin said. "Me, Terra and Cyborg will box him in from the ground. Nightwalker, hit him hard as you can once you have a clear hit. Let's go!"
Raven dispelled the shield and all seven of them leaped into position, careful not to stay too close to each other. Starfire and Raven took off into the air, along with Beast Boy who morphed into a crow, while Robin, Terra and Cyborg positioned themselves several meters away from Twister. Nightwalker concealed himself behind a nearby building, keeping a close eye on all the proceedings.
Starfire immediately begin a barrage of starbolts, pelting Twister with them mercilessly until the whole area seemed to glow green. Twister turned into a self-tornado again, twisting and spinning out of the way deftly. But Raven managed to anticipate his movement, and flung up a shield in front of him, trying to block his way. Twister moved again, but Raven again predicted his intentions, and produced several more shields in strategic locations, ensuring that Twister couldn't move about freely. Twister already seemed more hesitant now, his movements a little more laboured. Taking advantage of it, Raven withdrew one of the shields to give Starfire the change to blast him with a monumental starbolt. It did not have quite the intended effect, for Twister managed to move again, but at least it struck him heavily in the arm, giving him a huge shock.
In complete silence, Beast Boy flew forward smoothly, smashing straight into the stunned Twister. The blow caught him head-on and sent Twister spiralling downwards. As he fell, Cyborg activated his sonic cannon and gave Twister a good blast, while Terra hurled a rock towards him. As Twister tried to regain his balance, Robin delivered a flying kick to him, pinning him down to the ground as best as he could. Still stunned by the earlier attacks, Twister could barely respond.
Nightwalker, zap him now! Raven ordered. Robin, move out of the way.
Already ready for it, Nightwalker flew out and aimed a lightning blast right at Twister, zapping him effectively in the arm. Twister gave some sort of yell as his body lit up with an eerie blue light, then blacked out as smoke wafted from him. His body was black and charred, as if he had just been burned. With extreme caution nevertheless, Robin and his comrades edge towards him, until Raven descended and calmly informed them that Twister was no more danger to anyone.
"Good work, everyone," Robin said, in his usual business-like tone.
"We kicked the butt again!" Starfire beamed.
"Time to get him to jail," Cyborg commented.
"He'd simply twist his way out of there," Terra reminded him.
"He's been to jail before," Robin replied. "And they kept him there, until someone helped him escape. I think there'll be more secure facilities for him there this time."
"And I'll numb his mind as an extra precaution," Raven said, kneeling down by him. Hand on his forehead, she murmured her usual chant of Azarath Metrion Zinthos and deftly number all his emotions completely, making sure his mind was blank.
"What did you just do?" Beast Boy asked curiously.
"Numbed his mind."
"Oooh."
"The SWAT team will be here any moment now," Robin said, putting his communicator away. "We can leave at any time, once we see them."
"Thank you all for helping us!" Starfire smiled, hands clasped. "Shall we get some pizza and mustard to celebrate this joyous occasion?"
"Vegetarian pizza," Beast Boy piped up.
"You and your vegetarian," Terra chuckled.
"Bull yeah!" Cyborg cheered. "Pizza sounds goood! Mmmm!"
With so much enthusiasm about the pizza, saying 'no' was decidedly impossible. "Well then, let's head to Pizza House," Robin said. "And while we're there, I think we should have a meeting about this team too."
So, here we go! Teen Titans are almost official!