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'Dance All Night' is performed by the Dirty Heads.
A dark scowl had settled across Rose's features, calling to mind the dark cloud on the horizon that promised a tempest to tear down trees and flood the streets. Even in the flattering blue dress, which showed off her toned leg with a high cut and left her shoulder blades and a considerable portion of her back bared, none dared to approach her. There was a bubble about her formed by the crowd of onlookers too scared or otherwise uninterested in joining in the dances. The gymnasium was decorated with twisting streamers hung in the rafters and silvery balloons bobbing alongside them, occasionally drifting towards the floor. Music filled the room, pulsing from the strategically positioned speaker while the deejay prepared the next tracks and students filled the floor, swaying to the infectious rhythm.
The disguised heroine's glare was focused upon a particular pair on the dance floor, a blonde with perfectly smooth skin and attired in a fitting pink dress who smiled at the anxious red-headed boy she dragged out to dance with her. Eddie's movements were unsure and faltering but his partner took the opportunity to guide him, pulling him far closer than what Rose believed to be necessary. Left with the video camera outfitted by her fellow Titan, she had long since failed at the task of filming Styler tripping over his feet as Jess tried not to laugh at her date. For the most part, it lay forgotten in her hand aside from its awkwardness as she folded her arms over her chest and did not bother hiding her fury.
"You keep making that face, it's going to get stuck that way," Kat chided as she breached the circle created by her friend's apparent rage. Her dark hair was piled atop her head and threaded with silver lines like spider silk and a sequined, black dress clung to her hourglass figure. It left her shoulders bared and the view of her cleavage was tastefully generous, successfully distracting the majority of the boys she sashayed by.
"Shouldn't you be dancing with Zack?" she growled though less at the intrusion and more upon the pair who dared to draw her ire.
She shrugged, "He and Bam are raiding the food table. Better question: shouldn't you be out there on the dance floor, making the boys salivate? I mean, you've already got one watching you."
Following Kat's finger, Rose noticed a broad-shouldered boy with short, red hair studying her intently with a half-smirk on his face. She bared her teeth in something between a sneer and a snarl to discourage any interest and he slunk away, disappearing into the crowd despite being a head taller than most of them. Kat gave a belabored sigh, "Well, that was attractive."
"Keep pestering me, and you won't be for much longer."
"All right, all right. I'll let you be."
Before she could leave, Rose's free arm shot out, seized her shoulder, and hauled her back. Kat gave a yelp as her friend nodded her head towards the couple she had been vigilantly watching, "Who's that girl with Eddie?"
"Where?" she scanned the crowd for a minute before catching sight of the boy and girl and frowned as she studied the blonde. "Oh, I know her. She's on the cheerleading squad, but I just – I can't remember her name at all. She's pretty good, but kind of – I don't know – vicious."
"Hmm," Rose grunted, folding her arms over her chest once again.
"Feeling a bit protective there?" Kat smirked.
For a moment, Rose faded out, remembering several nights before when Eddie had taken her out of the base on a night upon the town where they had been without disguise, costume, or incident. They had grabbed donuts from a place that came highly recommended by Gar and Blackfire alike, between their trade of far-from-subtle innuendos, and with their fingers still sticky from the glaze, had then adjourned to the arcade. Rose had taken a moment to adapt to the imaginary mechanics of the shooting games, and then thoroughly thrashed Eddie's scores in any such game they played. He had achieved a semblance of vengeance in the dance games and other scattered instances. After growing weary of gaming, they had wandered the streets before Eddie had dragged her into Meta Wear, the store run by Neil Richards. It experienced meager traffic and none of their peers frequented the store, and he had her modeling different dresses for the dance, only managing to convince her to don the garments after he and the clerk had assured her of their capabilities.
"There are pockets sewn into the dress for everything from cards to pens to throwing stars," the three-armed employee had assured her as she showed off a white one that swept to the floor. Thin straps reached over her shoulders, connecting in the back. There was an oval missing beneath the connecting, leaving her skin bared to the small of her back. Slits ran up either side of her legs, allowing her an impressive range of movement, and ending high on her thighs. Eddie had been silent for several moments, too stunned to offer anything beyond an astounded stare, before compliments came gushing forth, like water through a chip in a dam. Keeping the red from her face, she had turned to the mirrors to admire the dress, observing how it accentuated her athletic frame.
"Is it fireproof?" she had asked, turning back to the clerk who had arched a brow and slid a sly glance towards Eddie that had Rose turning a hue to match him. "Not because of him! We live with a nutjob who could at any time decide that she's Glowbug, the daughter of Firefly. I just want to make sure it could survive that."
Eddie was unable to meet her eyes, scratching the back of his neck self-consciously as the employee smirked broadly and nodded, "Yes, miss, that particular dress is indeed fireproof."
"I think you should get it," the horned boy had managed. "You look beautiful in it. And it even matches your eyepatch and your hair."
She flushed again and fixed her gaze upon the floor as she muttered, "I, I, uh – I-I think I'd like to try on that black one."
After trying on several more dresses, she had ultimately opted for her current blue outfit, claiming its greater capacity for blade storage as the deciding factor. Eddie had also used the chance to pick up a tuxedo that could afford the presence of his tail before the two of them had returned to the base. Duela had resorted to her consistent persona by the time of their return and seemed strangely disappointed that she had not been present when they had went out on the town. Her complaints had made their way to Gar who had promised to take her to get her own dress. The shape-shifter still had trouble gaining access to what he believed to be the hidden portions of the facility, blocked by Fenton Pike in his attempts. In the few days between then and the dance, they had failed to gather any further information and Rose was too distracted to be searching during the dance.
Fortunately, the dance had required additional janitorial staff, leading to 'Mark Farr' wandering the halls, split between eyeing the entryway to the lower levels, where Fenton had disappeared several minutes before, and watching his younger wards. Back at the base, Blackfire chuckled at Rose's obvious irritation with Eddie's dance partner while Duela preened and admired the dress that Gar had bought for her.
With the colors and design chosen by her, it was a strange ensemble of acrid green, warning orange, and occasional stretches of somber purple. A tight orange bodice accentuated her slender frame and gave a slight boost to her bust, which it highlighted with frills of green, and she ran hands covered in purple gloves that left her fingers bared but reached to her shoulders along it. Her skirt was a bright orange and furiously ruffled, flaring out from her waist, and only descending midway down her thighs even with the layer of green beneath the first. Reaching to her knees, a rippled length of purple cloth protected her from any potential embarrassment. Her heeled boots reached past her knees, leaving a thin strip of pale flesh between them and her skirts. Superfluous belts and buckles covered her attire and a purple choker was wrapped about her slim. Completing the ensemble was a diminutive tophat perched jauntily upon her head that maintained its position only through the use of cleverly hidden clips in the hair she had dyed acidic green.
"This data is being stored, yes? I can gain access to it and watch it later?" Blackfire asked as Duela giggled and hugged the dress covering her.
"Of course it can. You don't just throw away potential evidence," Gar answered.
"Excellent," she purred, giving a smirk that looked as though it would have been better left in her days of villainy. Duela flounced forward, humming excitedly as she leaned into the microphone.
"Gargargargargargargargargargargar!" she bounced happily with each call of his name.
Her enthusiasm evident even through the earphone, Gar couldn't help but grin and chuckle, "What's up, DeeDee?"
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou for the dress! It. Is. Awesome!" she screamed the last word and while he winced, his smile didn't falter.
"Not a problem. I'm actually just happy that you're both wearing clothes."
Blackfire scoffed and crossed her arms, "I told you that that was a onetime incident. And I have certain memories that suggest you prefer me without any sort of attire beyond -"
"All right, time for a new conversation."
"Can I come to the dance?" Duela requested, curling her fingers in the purple cloth covering her backside and swaying from side to side, her arms loose as they tapped against her thighs.
"Not unless we suddenly stage an assault," he shrugged.
"But I want to show off my dress," she pouted plaintively.
"I'm sure you'll find an opportunity to do so. Or make one. But please don't do that second one. In fact, I promise the first one will happen, so there's absolutely no need to even consider that second one."
"Fine," she sighed as Blackfire leaned forward.
"I still do not understand the purpose behind this event. There was no battle, no slaying of any giant beasts, or really anything to justify such revelry," she pointed out.
"She-who-burns-hotter-than-a-hundred-suns, it's just a social interaction. There's no great big reason behind it. It's just kids unwinding after the stress of school and everything else," he explained before suddenly frowning. "Which really has absolutely nothing on what we put up with. Dee, take a note. We're organizing a Titans' dance. Ball. Whatever."
"Yes!" she rocketed off the couch she had been lounging on. Grabbing the startled Blackfire's hands, she took several twirls about the room, humming jumbled mix of melodies and tunes before whooping and charging out the door, moving with impressive speed given her footwear. Blackfire blinked after her, arms still in the air before she dropped them and approached the computer console.
"Are you certain that we shouldn't be turning her over to an asylum?"
"Someday, you and I are going on a visit to Gotham. We'll visit the local asylum, check how many people they've cured, check how many of the staff are now psychopathic mass murderers, and I'm willing to bet that you'll stop suggest sending DeeDee to any sort of asylum," he suggested, his tone serious. It lightened again as he shrugged, "Besides, she's not hurting anybody and she's actually happy. As much as somebody can be, at least."
"So I hate to break up any phone sex you two may be having, but I lost sight of Eddie," Rose's voice suddenly growled through the system. The girl stalked the halls, having already scoured the gymnasium, glaring as she peered into the nooks and crannies of the school.
"How did you manage that? Gh'noracks do not watch their young as vigilantly as you watched that boy," Blackfire teased as she brought the stream from Eddie's contacts to the forefront, having grown tired of the face framed by blonde hair and the periodic diversions of his gaze towards a lonely Rose. She frowned as she found the image darkened and she tapped several keys to wind back the video.
"He shouldn't be too hard to fine. He was with a girl, right? He starts to smell like brimstone when he gets nervous. I mean, to the point where you guys could smell it. To me, he always smells like brimstone," Gar advised.
"I've never noticed that," Rose frowned.
"I wonder what could have possibly distracted the super-ninja-pirate chick," he sighed.
"I was not distracted," she snapped before pausing as she passed a closet and heard a soft, feminine giggle from within. "Hold up."
She fired a side kick that connected slightly above the doorknob and sent the door flying inward, narrowly missing the brunette in a black dress who shrieked and dove into the arms of her blonde date. Regarding them with an annoyed gaze, she demanded, "I'm looking for a blonde girl in a pink dress with a red-haired boy. Seen them?"
Both shook their head as they cowered from her, the boy gaping after her as she growled and turned down the hall. After her disappearance, they shared a glance before quickly scampering from the closet, the boy fumbling with his belt buckle, and racing back to the dance.
Rose's storm through the school was cut short by Blackfire announcing, "His video cut off a little more than two minutes ago. It suddenly goes dark as that girl he was dancing with leads him into that stadium where you children throw around the oddly shaped ball."
"Ah, under the football stands. How stereotypical," Gar sighed. "But on a more serious note, what happened with his contacts? You said they just cut off?"
"They go dark as he passes through the gate," she confirmed.
"I'm going to check it out," Rose interjected.
Before she could carry out her proclamation, Styler appeared in the hallway in his ill-fitted tuxedo and called, "Hey, Rose, is something up?"
"Eddie's gone missing. I'm just looking for him," she attempted a smile to put him at ease.
"Ooh, we're going bust my boy's evening? Sounds fun. You need any help?"
"No, I should be able to handle it. Shouldn't you be dancing with Jess anyway?"
"See, I kind of got psyched out for the evening and couldn't settle so I chugged Mountain Dew and Twinkies. Jess is tuckered out, but I feel if I sit down I'm going to explode. And I've brought her so many cups of punch that she's started tossing them at my head," he confessed somewhat abashedly.
"For a so-called genius, you're kind of a dolt," she shook her head at his antics as she turned him back towards the dance hall and guided him back that way.
"So I'll admit I'm not quite certain how long Jess has had her little crush on you – much less why – but I have no doubt that you've been pretty much oblivious to all of it. And being the generous soul that I am, I'm going to give you a little bit of advice. Do not just ditch your date. She doesn't want to dance? You find something else to do. Not thirsty? See if she's hungry. That doesn't work? The both of you are supposed to be geniuses. Do some genius-talk or whatever. But spend your time with her, not looking for Eddie. Cause that sends a whole lot of messages that you aren't going to like."
He sighed, "Yeah. Thanks. Hey, do me a favor and tell Eddie thanks for that bit for the solid light projector. It's going to be a huge breakthrough."
"You got it. Now go get your girl, Romeo," she ordered as she propelled him back into the gymnasium before diverting towards the school's exit. She seethed towards the football stadium while Gar's voice sounded in her ear.
"Rose, wait up a sec. I got caught up here. I don't want you going dark without any sort of back-up," he warned.
"Relax. I'm just going to make sure that he's not having any fun while I'm actually doing work."
"I was unaware that staring at Eddie's butt was work," Blackfire mused.
"I was not staring at any part of him," she snarled.
"No? I've gotten fairly good at all this video manipulation. I can roll back and check again if you want. Even if you only have one camera, I'm certain I can find enough footage to prove my point."
"I can't help the fact that the superhero business builds nice bodies even through holograms," she defended grumpily as she strode along the sidewalks that cut through beautifully manicured lawns. The stands rose up in front of her, circled by stone walls with wrought iron spikes atop them. She followed the pathway to an arch that seemed more befitting renaissance architecture on some great cathedral or other feat or masonry. Striding through, she found the tediously maintained, so Gar liked to remind her, football field and its stands deserted. Frowning, she strode forward, intending to investigate beneath the bleachers when a voice, not from her ear, drew her up short.
"Did you lose something?"
She turned to see the lean blonde in the flattering pink dress who had been dancing with Eddie though she was now accompanied by a different redhead, a tall and powerfully built youth with a crude grin. The girl wore a smaller smirk, her green eyes veiling her intent as the faint moonlight caught the cluster of silvery circles dangling from her ears. Rose regarded them suspiciously and let a hand drift towards one of her hidden blades as she nodded, "Actually, yeah. I was kind of wondering what you did with my brother."
"Brother?" she tilted her head and pushed a finger to her lips as she considered before snapping her fingers and smiling. "Oh, you mean the silly, little boy playing pretend. Just like you."
"Like me?"
"You and your 'brother' don't belong here. Did you really think that we wouldn't notice you?" she sighed, giving a slight shake of her head.
She sent her knives hurtling through the air and the blonde girl yelped, jerking her head away but they managed to catch one of her earrings, tearing it away. She slapped a hand to her ear, clearly shocked by the sudden assault and Rose feared for a brief second that she had just attacked a civilian. Then the girl turned to her and yelled, "That was my favorite pair!"
The red-haired boy charged forth, his footsteps sending small tremors through the ground as Rose tensed, several more blades seeming to materialize in her hands. She sprang aside, allowing him to rush past her and launched one handful of blades at him and the other set towards the girl, managing to catch both of them. Her smile faltered when the knives did nothing more than bounce harmlessly off their skin, doing no more than putting cuts in their attire. As the red-haired boy turned, the blonde girl leapt forward, swinging a kick at Rose's head, which she managed to catch though the impact stung her hands and sent tremors through her forearms. Coiling her muscles, she threw the blonde at her comrade and readied another set of knives as the tall boy caught his companion. Sending the blades arcing through the air, she smirked as they detonated in the air, but she didn't waste her time making her escape.
"Thank you, Miss Horrific," she whispered as she dashed for the entryway, intent upon at least making contact with Gar and the others who had gone silent since her entrance. Before she could make it that far, she found herself being hoisted into the air, windmilling for a few seconds before her limbs were frozen. She struggled against the force that gripped her as it rotated her about so that she was now facing the stars and a floating figure in a blue hoodie.
He sighed, "Why is it that I have to do everything myself? Whatever. It's time to go to sleep, Miss Wilson. Enjoy it while you can."
At his words, she found her mind growing weary and sluggish and she fought to keep her heavy eyelids from dropping before finally succumbing to the swell of unconsciousness. The boy in blue dropped her gently and stared at her for a moment, almost reluctant, before squaring his shoulders and snapping at the other two, "Hurry up and get her to Dr. Caligan. We don't have much time before more of them show up."
"Rose!" Gar barked into his microphone as he burst from the school, having wormed his way through the crowd. "Blackfire, do you have any visuals for her?"
"They went dark when she entered the stadium."
"Crap," he muttered as he twisted off his ring, setting it on the low wall that contained a small garden as his skin returned to its natural hue. He took to the air, adopting the form of a peregrine falcon and shot over the stadium, scanning the field for any signs of Rose or Eddie. As he circled, he called back to base, "You still tracking me, hot stuff?"
"Your video and communications are still operational," she confirmed.
"But nothing from Rose or Eddie?" he pondered. "All right. You and Dee get here quick and quiet. We're not going in alone. I'll keep a lookout for either of them or anything else odd. But please hurry up."
"We're on the way," she assured him as she zoomed from the room. Veering off from the stadium, Gar returned to the sidewalk, dropping back onto the sidewalk in his human form and quickly slipping his ring back on before he turned to head inside. As he reached the second set of doors, he nearly collided with Norman Blank and nodded to the elder man in greeting as he tried to muster a smile.
"Getting a bit suffocated in there?" Gar asked.
"Just came out for a quick smoke break. The wife keeps trying to get me to quit, but it's a struggle," he shrugged as he pulled the pack from his pocket, smacking it against his palm.
Gar chuckled as he pulled the door open for his coworker, "Well, I can't pretend to understand that. I can't stand the smell of those things."
"Neither can she. This is one of the only places I can do so."
The shape shifter's smile disappeared as his elder eased by and his scent filled his nostrils. In his early years, there had been times when he nearly crumpled from sensory overload, finding the breadth of his senses far more difficult to accommodate to over the sudden ability to change shape. There were a number of animals with greater sensitivity than him, but all his senses were substantially superior to those of a baseline human. He had learned how to sort through the mess of signals he was perpetually bombarded with and amongst the brief scents of the people that Norman had mingled with throughout the night, there was a smell beneath all of it that made Gar's arm snap out, pushing the recent grandfather and rounding upon him as he stumbled outside.
His teeth sharpened and the pressure of his grip broke the holo-ring, sending the image it projected flickering out of existence. Muscles tore and bones snapped as pain seized him and his body began to swell, hair turning to thick fur as the Beast surged to the forefront of his being, his mind retaining a tenuous hold on the body. Norman gaped in fear, tremors seizing his limbs as he dropped his pack of cigarettes to the ground.
"Why do you smell like NOWHERE, Norman?" he snarled, struggling to contain himself. "And where are my kids?"
We are approaching the end of the 'Middle of NOWHERE' arc and we hope that you all have been enjoying it. Please review.
Guest: Glad you enjoyed that last chapter, and we hope you enjoyed the little bits of bonding in this one.