Disclaimer: I do not own them. That Sam-I-Am! I do not like them, Sam-I-Am! I do not like Green Eggs and Ham. Nor do I like eating mass quantities of tofu and soymilk. So blame Beast Boy for the mass outbreak of diarrhea.

Chapter Eleven: Showering Threats

She pulled on the knob until a faint "click!" met her alert ears. (A.N.: Yes, I know that none of the doors in Titans' Tower have knobs, but just use your imagination for now.) A bundle securely fastened inside of a towel, she softly padded her way down the hall, her bare feet making hardly a sound on the carpeted floors. Discreetly, she managed to pass by a forbidden door undetected…or so she thought. There came a tumultuous "THUD!" from within, and she scampered away from the deafening noise to a safe haven, a refuge, a place where only one may enter and only one may exit…

Marie had just come from her room on the way to the bathroom. After witnessing Terra and Raven's struggle in the living room, she had returned upstairs to find Terra making large scars and graffiti marks on the concrete walls of her cell—er—room.

They bore the message: "I WILL KILL THAT BITCH!" It only took a fraction of cerebral tissue to discern just exactly who that "BITCH" was.

Marie had sat on the edge of Terra's old bed by the window, her original sleeping quarters having already been occupied by one incensed girl.

The choleric blonde had turned to the cautious brunette and asked in an irate voice, "Who the hell does that bitch think she is, anyway!? Knocking Beastie around like that!"

"You know that we're not supposed to curse…" came the muttered reply.

"To HELL with Robin and his fucking little virtues! What do you think?! Was I right in kicking Raven's ass, or what?!"

"Umm, I think Raven won that bout, Terra—" the petulant prep was starting to redden in the face, "—but that's not to say that you suck at whipping other people's—er—butts or anything!" Marie grinned neurotically and watched as Terra gave her a look-over.

God, that's the fourth time today…She thought, remembering her first encounters with the Titans, Twista, Mr. Bromble, and now Terra with the look-overs.

She leaned against the wall, and her back nudged the windowsill. Terra saw the apprehension in her motions and sprang off the bed and stared the girl in the eye.

I left home to be cornered by a homicidal blonde? Marie thought.

"I don't give a damn about all that fake praise for ass-kicking! Just tell me this: Who do you think was in the right? That bitch—or ME?!"

Marie started slipping her head out of the window inch by inch until she could turn her head enough to stare at the 50 ft drop onto solid pavement below. She gulped, If only I could raise the tide to meet the sill…

Yeah, and flood the floors below you while you make your getaway out the waterlogged window! Spoke her conscience's first voice.

Don't be a fucking idiot! No one will care! All you'd have to do is slip out and step into the water…taunted the second voice.

Yeah, and I'm SURE Cyborg won't worry if he gets rusted over! And Beast Boy won't give a damn if his fur gets soaked before he can turn into a marine animal! And Starfire won't care if all her pudding goes to waste!

Hey, that stuff is like slushed mercury! Or shit that's been mixed with radioactive toxic waste!

Shut-up, it's the damned thought that counts…And Robin won't worry about all the lawsuits and property damage and the bitchy reporters shoving their asses in his face! And Raven won't mind if she nearly drowns in that reservoir while she's meditating! And then Terra…

Oh yeah, Terra…

Terra at the moment had been watching the thoughts of this girl whirl about in her head while waiting impatiently for an answer.

"WELL?!" her eyes were gleaming devilishly.

"I think that BOTH of you were in the wrong!" and Marie had flung herself off the bed beside her drawer where she swiftly gathered a few toiletries, encased in a plain, white towel, and quietly slipped out before Terra could give chase.

And she had made her little voyage to the lavatory, (A.N.: As described in the first part of this chapter), and now she found herself before a reinforced steel door with a little sign attached to it. Marie leaned in closer and squinted to read the Crayola scribbled on a piece of loose-leaf paper:

Welcome to the toilet/can/commode/crapper/pot/potty/stool/throne/lavatory/lav/facility/john/privy/ bathroom/head/shitter.

Marie laughed softly and placed her hand on the keypad. Beast Boy must have stuck it on there when he went up to take his nap. The door slid open and she stepped on the black-and-white tiles on the floor, reminding her of Raven's narration of Mad Mod's escapade and his creepy hypnotism.

Marie unraveled her towel filled with general showering items: A bar of Dove soap, Pantene Pro V shampoo, a toothbrush, Crest Toothpaste, (A.N.: Get the Crest thingy? Crest of the wave? Nevermind…), her change of clothes, and a hand towel.

She stepped in front of the mirror and opened it to find the cabinet teeming with the Titans' things. Terra had recently crammed her own stuff into the tiny cabinet.

Hmm. Time to do a little investigating…Marie thought mischievously.

She started going over the labels of a few assorted bottles. Carefully taking them down from the shelves, she wrapped them in her towel and read in a whisper to herself…

"Arnold's Best Buff After Shave?!" Marie looked at a small, turquoise bottle and uncorked it. She took a whiff and quickly drew the bottle away, making a face. "Yep, that's the governor of California, for you…right after his workout...Ugh, I wouldn't wonder that Cyborg would use this stuff. After all those Terminator movies…"

She carefully placed the glass bottle back in its place and glanced at the assortment of Cyborg's hi-tech razors. "Good Lord! Those things look like butcher's knives! Cyborg wouldn't even need his freakin' cannon with all this stuff!"

Robin had several shaving apparatuses himself, but then there was the deodorant…"Odorlessly Hunky: Reduces B.O. and Leaves you Feeling Energized…huh, more like testosteronized…I wonder if BO Staff stands for…Body Odor?…Nah…"

Marie moved on down the line and saw Beast Boy's hairball medicine, "Mike Myers' Hairball Regurgitating Serum…Mike Myers? As in, The Cat in The Hat Myers?…Take once daily, by way of the nasal passage…once serum has been inhaled, take one dose through oral passage, esophagus, etc., making sure that serum exits through anus by ingesting tofu-based…EW!!! No wonder Beast Boy is such a jerk, he gets high all the time on this crap…" she laughed and set the plastic bottle back. There was flea powder also and heart worm vitamins. Marie shuddered, "Beast Boy has fleas?! Maybe not, maybe that's just in case…hopefully…"

Next, there was a row of fuschia, pink, and rose-colored bottles. It was obvious these belonged to Starfire. Marie giggled as she read the labels, "Wrinkle refiner?! Since when does Star need that?!…Bubble-gum Shampoo…Watermelon liquid soap…Breast Enhancer Gel!!!???!!! Oooo-kay, I think I've seen enough of Starfire's stuff…what if she uses it on her eyes?! Maybe that's why they're so big…Naw, can't be…after all, she's not stupid…"

Browsing over the assorted toothbrushes, she found each of the Titans' names written in magic marker on the handles. Robin's was red, Starfire's a combination of pink and orange stripes, Cyborg's was electric blue, Terra's was yellow—the handle, not the bristles, and Beast Boy's was green.

Terra's belongings were normal, nothing unique. But there was a grey box in the corner…

Marie slung it in her towel, careful not to spread fingerprints on the paraphernalia of the critical Titans. The metal container had about eight different latches on it and had black painted designs like little enigmas or cryptic spells. Marie knew it belonged to Raven, and that all the locks were extra precautions to prevent an ace lock-picker like Robin, Cyborg, or herself from getting to her things. "Whatever's in there must be pretty spooky. I wonder if the carvings are some kind of curse?" Marie laid this box back in its original location with extreme caution, handling it as if it were a nuclear bomb.

She silently closed the cabinet door and stepped on the furry white rug beside the tub. Slipping off her chiffon garments, Marie turned the hot water knob on and pulled the shower curtain—covered in gigantic T's—back, revealing the T-shaped non-slip stickers at the bottom.

The hot water stung, and was immediately sucked into Marie's skin. "Augh! That's hot!" she started rubbing her skin in pain and pointed a finger at the drain. She watched as the warm water poured from her hand.

"I have gotta get control of these damned powers…Man, what do I need to turn the water on for? With me around, we could cut back on the water bill!" she thought about it as the water oozed out of the spout. "Hours and hours of juicing the sinks, toilets, sewers…Maybe I should just save the rough stuff for the crooks…" and with her mind made up, she started reflecting back on Terra and Raven's fight.

"Raven's cool, and I've only just met Terra. I shouldn't judge her right away…I don't know the whole story…and then there was my room…argh…then she starts plastering crap on the walls about killing Raven…and she gets real violent whenever people try to pull something on Beast Boy…Benefit of the doubt?…Sure…I dunno…I guess I still have to live with her more before I can decide what my opinion of her is…"

Marie lathered up and washed the gyrating foam off. "Geez, that vinegar stuff still there?!" She soaped up again and scrubbed. Then she leaned over to grab the shampoo and noticed something on the cold water knob…what was it? It looked like…a LENS?! "ARGH!!!" Marie snatched at the planted camera and started flushing it with her powerful water assaults. "Ugh…duh…camera…in the shower…waterproof…" She took it up in her hand and stared at it… "Those assholes better not be watching this live…" Came her deathly grave whisper. Marie slammed the piece of Cyborg-manufactured machinery against the tiled walls and watched with satisfaction as it smashed into a million pieces and got washed down the drainage.

She went back to her shampooing, massaging her scalp, still sore from the knockout blow given to her previously by Raven. Running her fingers through her hair, then rinsing the strands of chestnut tresses free of the suds, and finally just standing under the showerhead idly, letting the liquid flow around her and relaxing in its steady stream. "This is my kinda meditation…"

Marie closed her eyes and imagined the gigantic swell she had conjured at the beach; thought of how difficult it was to summon the concentration and confidence to stop it; thought of the mussels; thought of Starfire and her fish eye find; but most of all; thought of the wave itself. Its hand-shape, grasping in the air, trying to reach for something. Oddly enough, its menacing presence could not be removed from her mind. No matter how hard she tried to stomp it out, the mere image lingered in the back of her introspection, pressing at her like an augury of something sinister…

And then came a raspy, pernicious voice out of no where:

I know your anguish. Let me talk to you. Let me help you. I can help to ease the pain…

Marie shook her head and slapped herself, abruptly switching off the knobs and flinging the curtain open.

What was that fucking voice? It better not be some perverted trick from Cy and Beast Boy again. What if there was a microphone planted there, too?

She then dried off hurriedly in the towel, dressed in her spare clothes, and ran outside…

I can see you running. Stop avoiding your problems. Stop running away. You'll never get anywhere without my help. I can help to ease the pain…

"You psycho! Whoever the hell you are, just get the fuck outta my head!" She dashed down the hall.

Somehow, the distracting, devious comments of Terra seemed comfortingly appealing to her just then.

*******

A.N.: Augh! Yes, I know that last chapter I said I was going to tell you guys about that special "Thing" Marie would have to do now that she's a Titan, but I can't write anymore…I have to go to sleep…--_-- Look at me!!! I'm so very tired…Okay, I promise to tell about Robin's "Thing" tomorrow afternoon. I'll try and write some at school, if I have the time, and you'll all be happy. And so will my Panamanian Cocoa beans.

And I know that it seems like the Titans haven't been fighting any villains for a while, but this sort of lazy crooks thingy will be explained next chapter, as well as the JCPD "hierarchy," my own compilation of villains in Robin's database, including the originals, and several other things…You must understand that the time lapse thing will be explained NEXT chapter, okay?

And just what the hell was the camera doing in the shower? Was it Cyborg and Beast Boy? And what the fuck is the voice? And why does it keep saying Marie has problems? And just WHAT the hell is in Raven's grey little box, and why is it covered in markings?

Okay, the only thing I have left to say is: REVIEW MY STORY!!! Oh geez, u have no idea how many OTHER ideas I have for fanfics. I'm just itching to get them posted, except I don't want to start for fear that I'll lose track of updating!!! Weeeeelllllll, I'm trusting in you to review, so PLEASE do! Thanks for reading! *Blows little kisses to audience, beans are thrown at her*

OWWWW!!!! Good Lord, I go and post another chapter, and people try to stone me to death with beans?! What kind of gratitude is that?!

*Reviewers dash onto stage and clean off beans*

That's more like it! Thank you for respecting the beans and me! Well, I can guarantee you another chapter tomorrow! Good Night!!!

Peace out ppl.