I am so sorry about making you wait so long for such a not-much-action
chapter. It's pretty much a Beast Boy*Raven chapter and it also thickens
the plot with another villain coming into play. (Mind the title.) Anyway
enjoy the chapter and review.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. (Must I keep on saying this, I mean it's obvious I don't own them.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Robin's Rival
He was sitting with his arms crossed looking at the object on the table with a pout on his face.
There they were. A bouquet of sunflowers and daisies. The same exact flowers he had wanted to give Starfire a while ago. The ones he wanted to hand to her and had wanted to look at her lit up face at the sight. He had wanted that satisfaction, but no, he hadn't had gotten it.
Robin was eyeing the flowers as if he was going to shred them apart in the next three seconds. He was immediately set off whenever his eyes looked at the tag.
' To: Starfire
From: Deathfire
Dearest Sympathies for the arrest of your sister'
In all his frustration he didn't notice the dark look on her face when she got them in the mail. He was just angry he couldn't have had handed them to her personally with his name on that tag.
While Robin was thinking of gruesome ways to dispose of the flowers, Cyborg had happened to walk into the living room with his head up high and humming a tune.
"Yo Robin. Still steaming over those flowers. Oh come on dawg! You sure aren't gonna let him steal your girl away with flowers now are you?" Cyborg plopped himself down next to Robin and made Robin bounce a little.
"I know but... that was the perfect gift I could had given her and along came those attacks and ruined it." Robin had whined and Cyborg who had never seen the leader of his team whine, started to laugh.
"Aww. So did wittle Wobin let wittle Deathwhire beat him to his wittle girlfwiend?" Cyborg talked in his baby talk.
"NO! He didn't and she's not my girlfriend!" Robin snapped back at Cyborg.
"My point exactly. If you would have made your move by now she would be your girlfriend and Deathfire would have realized that she's taken and wouldn't be your rival." Cyborg said with an exasperated tone.
"Whatever. But if he sends just one more present I will cut off our mail system!" Robin heading for the door.
"Say what! That's how I get some of my fan mail and magazines! Wait just a minute!" Cyborg followed him out and Robin just sighed and gave him a lopsided smile.
~*~
She was sitting on her bed, staring at her feet with a distant look on her face. 'Why me? Why could he not have gone after all those other girls? After all, they were the ones who were swooning over him.' She sighed deeply and turned to look at the picture on her bed stand.
It was a picture of her and the team on the day after they defeated Slade. Cyborg was in the background giving a peace sign. Beast Boy was trying to put bunny ears on Cyborg but couldn't reach. Raven was just standing there as if she was forced to stand there. She was there hugging Raven tightly. There's Robin standing with one of his arms to his side and the other on Beast Boy's shoulder trying to secretly stop Beast Boy from embarrassing Cyborg. He was smiling. The first smile she had seen on him since before the whole Slade madness. She put a meek smile on her face and reached for her picture.
She held it in front of her face and then hugged it tight. 'I do not care whether he stays or not. No one, not even a clorbag like him could ruin the great times I have with my friends.' She sighed deeply and drifted off to sleep in her soft pink bed.
~*~
The next day...
It was three in the afternoon and as usual, Starfire went to go get the mail while the Titans just sat in the living room.
Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were playing Game Station. Raven was reading her usual depressing book.
Starfire came in with some envelopes and a box of chocolates. Humming a cheerful tune she sat next the titans, reading the names of whose the mail belonged to.
"Let's see, Electronic Weekly for Cyborg, fan mail for Beast Boy, bills for Robin, and chocolates for... that's strange, there's no name visible." Starfire searched the cover of the box.
The Titans who were only half-listening turned immediately when she said the word 'chocolates'.
"Candy! Where's the candy? Oh come on! Please give me the candy!" Beast Boy was jumping on the couch.
"Wondering when they were going to get here..." Cyborg said to himself and continued to play the game.
Raven just turned to look at them, sighed, and went back to reading her book.
"Chocolates! You have got to be kidding me! That's it! Take a good look at those pieces of mail cuz from now on we're only getting email!" Robin had made such an outburst that Beast Boy stopped jumping, Cyborg stopped playing, Raven stopped reading, and Starfire looked puzzled at how Robin could have become so angry at a box of sweets.
While Robin was stomping over to the phone with all eyes on him, Starfire opened the box to find a note inside. Her eyes were full of surprise.
"Um Robin. Before you call up the mailmen and tell them to stop delivering our messages, maybe it would help to know that the package is for Raven and not me." Starfire said while blushing and looking at Raven with a content face.
Robin froze in his spot and dropped the phone but didn't move. Beast Boy stood still with his mouth open and started to blush. Cyborg just continued playing but tried to stifle his laughter. Raven... stayed the same.
"Excuse me?" Raven raised one eyebrow and set down her book.
"The box is for you Raven. It's from 'Your Secret Admirer'" Starfire read from the tag she found in the box and handed them both to Raven.
"What secret admirer is she talking about!" Beast Boy cried out blushing violently.
"It means that someone likes Raven!" Cyborg started to dance.
"What! Let me see that tag!" Without waiting for a response from Raven, Beast Boy seized the tag from her and read it over about 10 times.
"This must be a joke! I mean it's not that I don't think there isn't somebody in the world who could admire Raven, it's just that well... I just think you shouldn't take this guy seriously. You could get your feelings hurt." Beast Boy was stuttering and blushing crimson red.
"Don't worry your little head off. First of all, this is a joke. Second, I am flattered you care about my feelings but I am not going to take this guy seriously. In fact, knock yourself out with these sweets because I don't like dark chocolate." Raven calmed Beast Boy down and pushed the box into his hands.
She headed for the door and right before she left, she turned to look at Cyborg and sighed. She whispered something that sounded like 'what an immature pinhead.'
All heads turned to Cyborg after Raven left. Cyborg sweat dropped and smiled with his wisdom teeth showing.
"Why are all you looking at me for?" He asked nervously.
Everyone stopped looking at him and them turned to Robin who was still near the phone.
"Fine. I won't cut off the mail." Robin put the phone back and went back to the couch and picked up his video game control.
"Dude? Why would you want to cut off the mail anyway?" Beast Boy formed a sly smile as he too went back to the game.
"The same reason you just pulled a nervous breakdown over a note from a secret admirer." Robin muttered back to him out of the corner of his mouth.
"Ok then friends. I shall resume to doing the 'hanging out' in my room." Starfire said in a cheerful voice and left.
"I still think I should investigate who sent the box of chocolates." Beast Boy said to himself.
"Yea. You actually might find who YOUR rival is. I mean, now that I think about it, it's mind racking to have a rival. All that pressure and competition.... Oh there's also those times when you feel you're going to go insane and then you feel like." Robin was cut off with Beast Boy's scared expression and the fact that his mouth was hanging open.
"I'll just try to find my rival without your foretaste of doom ok." Beast Boy chuckled and failed to notice Cyborg's stifled laughter.
~*~
It was noon the next day. The sun was at its midway point and there was no cloud in sight. The city was peaceful and had the regular midday rush hour. Not far away from the city was the outline of the crowded bridge and the Titans Tower on the sparkling blue sea. The Titans were inside relaxing on Saturday, except for the titans that was on all fours in front of the tower entrance with a magnifying glass in one hand.
"Oh come on! It always looks so much promising in the movies. The guy just looks at the ground for like two seconds and then knows who the culprit is!" Beast Boy complained after searching the doormat for 2 hours.
"Ugh! What kind of sicko would leave gum underneath the doormat!" He yelled as he tried to scrape purple gum off his pants.
As he continued to scrape the last piece off, he felt someone approach him. He looked up to see a man in a mailman suit with a distressed look on his face.
"Ah! Just the man I wanted to talk to." Beast Boy said in a pleasant voice, ignoring the constant trembling knees of the stranger.
"You've got to help me! There's a ship right there underneath the bridge that needs help." The man stuttered as he shook Beast Boy by the shoulders.
"Yo dude! Chill for a minute! Can you at least tell me what happened?" Beast Boy wriggled himself from the man's grasp.
"Very well. I was sailing from the city to deliver your mail when I saw that military ship seeping in water. Not far away, I found its crew on a lifeboat rowing to shore. They told me they were attacked by who knows what and had to evacuate. They said the enemy is still on the ship and told me to get help from you people." The mailman was now tugging on the Beast Boy.
"Then you came to right person. For I am Beast Boy! Star fighter of the Teen Titans!" Beast Boy put himself in a fighting pose and the mailman just sweat dropped.
"Aren't the others home?" The guy simply scratched his head.
"Um no. They're in the city and I'm um... looking for the keys I dropped cuz you see I was um... locked out?" Beast Boy mentioned uncertainly and put a hand to his head.
"Well I'll alert them and you get a head start." The mailman pushed Beast Boy toward the direction of the bridge.
"Fine I'll go already! Sheesh!" Beast Boy transformed into a seagull and flew away while the mailman ran back into his small boat and set a course for shore.
In the sky, Beast Boy could already see the ship in the distance. 'I wonder who would think of attacking a military ship in broad daylight and still almost get away with it? Seems like they must seem pretty confident of themselves. Maybe I could use this opportunity to impress a certain someone and teach another not to think themselves worthy of competing with me' Beast Boy thought to himself as he landing on the deserted deck of a 100 ft. long ship.
"Ooh creepy." Beast Boy tried to find a way into the lower levels and found a door. He opened it to find stairs leading down to a metal hallway. On the wall he saw a map outlining every part of the ship.
"Let's see, if I was an evil dude then what would I steal from a government ship?" Beast Boy scratched his chin.
"Duh! The 'Weaponry Cargo' looks pretty tempting to me." Beast Boy headed down the hallways and passed many doors. He went down flights of stairs and kept on getting a feeling the he was being watched.
"Well here we are. Hello! If anybody is in here with any kind of evil intentions please come out cuz I don't feel like looking for you people in the dark and the fact that I have a lot of investigating to do at home!" Beast Boy yelled when he opened the door to a large room full of crates in rows.
He awaited some sign of movement in the darkness. Suddenly he felt something move behind him but saw nothing. Again he felt something move but this time to his side.
"Didn't you hear me? I said come out already cuz you are freaking me out!" Beast Boy was now sweating.
Out of the shadows came five figures and then other five behind them and others soon followed. He saw one was carrying a laser. He was outnumbered and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a familiar emblem on their armor.
"It can't be. It's Slade." Beast Boy muttered as he ran out yelling and slammed the door closed and locked it.
He sat down and took a minute to breathe. From right above him a fist broke threw the wooden door and tried to grab his throat. He rolled out of its reach and ran up the flights of stairs.
"What was I thinking! HELP!" Beast Boy yelled as he ran into the maze of hallways and tried to find an unlocked room to hide.
"If I can't hide then I'd better find a way out of here." Beast Boy turned a corner to see a door with an 'EXIT' sign on it but failed to see the 'watch your step' statement underneath it. He pushed it open and tripped which cause him to land on his face.
He picked himself up and ran into the middle of the deck and resting his palms on his knees and panted.
"I hope the team gets here soon." He said quietly. From behind him he heard a crash and saw 20 robots come out from a hole in the deck. 30 others came out from the door he had come from. He spotted the one carrying the laser was the one closest.
"Ok, if anyone of you survives then tell Slade he picked the wrong time to mess with an annoyed Beast Boy!" Beast Boy commented before turning into a tiger and charging at 10 of the robots.
He managed to make a direct hit and all of them didn't get back up. He then turned into a rhino to take down 10 others and succeeded as well.
He was about to attack another group when he was blasted from behind. He transformed back to his normal self and watched from the ground a blurry shadow with a shiny object coming closer.
Just when he thought it was over, he heard the most wonderful words he had ever heard in his life
"AZARATH! METREON! ZINTHOS!" He turned to look at another figure running towards him calling his name. It was right above him.
"What were you thinking in the brainless head of yours?" He thought it would be an angry voice but instead it sounded full of fright and concern.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." He then let everything go and blacked out.
~*~
Beast Boy awoke to see the sun setting over the horizon. He was still on the ship but it was now covered with police officers and he could see Robin talking to one of them. When the officer's mouth stopped moving and he walked away, he saw Robin's head bow down and he could even see his fists tightening. He saw Starfire's slender figure hover next to him and she rested one arm on his shoulder. He knew he had just been assured that Slade had returned.
Right next to him was Cyborg who seemed as if he was deep in thought. He turned to look for Raven and found her staring into the sunset. She turned her head he saw her face. For a minute he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him because the one thing he couldn't imagine on Raven's face was a tear running down on her cheek. She turned back after a minute and all he could see now was the back of her purple hair.
"Hey man. You all right?" Cyborg's booming voice brought him back to this world.
"Yea I guess. What happened?" Beast Boy asked with a clueless look on his face.
"We ended up getting this distress message saying there was something fishy going on here. On our way here we found out you were already here and when we arrived we saw you fighting these robots. We managed to beat them up right after you fell unconscious. Then poor Robin had to accept the truth, Slade's back. Not very happy about it is he?" Cyborg pointed to the figure of their leader who was still in the same spot Beast Boy had seen him. This time Starfire was gone and Robin was standing there alone.
"You guys aren't mad at me are you?" This was what Beast Boy worried about. Mostly whether Raven was mad at him.
"Nah! We knew you were just being your natural show-off self and we were surprised to see you defeated half of those punks. We were more worried than angry at the beginning.
Beast Boy still was uneasy about what he had seen on Raven's face and wondered why the emotionless Raven he knew was showing feelings now on one of his failures.
~*~
That night, the Titans spent 2 hours getting lectured by Robin about his theories of what Slade is capable of. Not even Starfire could calm him down. The Titans knew Robin wouldn't be smiling for a while.
Beast Boy and Cyborg were up late playing video games. They had popcorn spread out on the table and two bottles of soda. Cyborg was winning as usual but Beast Boy wasn't even paying attention. Instead he just broke into a wide smile.
"Ooh yea! Won again!" Cyborg laughed.
"Hey Cyborg. Can I ask you a question?" Beast Boy simply asked.
"Of course Mr. Second Place. What can I do for you?" Cyborg teased.
"Well, I asked that mailman a couple of questions and to my surprise I find the person who sent the box of chocolates someone I would have never expected." Beast Boy kept his smile on.
"Yea and who was it?" Cyborg was on the verge of exploding.
"You." Beast Boy ignored the thundering noise of Cyborg laughing in his face.
"Come on dawg. It took you that long to figure it out?" Cyborg was now sprawled on his back in a fit of laughter.
"Yes it did and don't you think you should be apologizing some time right about now!" Beast Boy now put on an angry face.
"Oh yea. Just tell me who is going to make me say sorry to a dwarf like you?" Cyborg now stood up and towered over Beast Boy.
"Oh of course I won't make you apologize but uh, I'm sure you'll change your mind sooner or later. I mean one of these things are hard to come around with." Beast Boy showed Cyborg a football and pasted another smile on his face.
"Oh come on now. You just talking crazy now. That's my football. The only football that hasn't been lost by you and is autographed by real football players!" Cyborg started to walk toward Beast Boy slowly as if he was holding a bomb that could blow any minute.
"Oh I just love the sweet smell of revenge!" Beast Boy yelled and ran out of the room.
"Come back here! When I catch that green butt of yours I'm gonna kick it so hard it's gonna be red permanently!" Cyborg ran after Beast Boy.
Beast Boy ran through the tower laughing like a psycho and it wasn't long before the other Titans were distracted or woken in their rooms.
"What are you two doing this late at night. I'm working on Slade stuff!" Robin stuck his head out just to miss the two figures that ran past his door.
"Oh! Are you playing some sort of traditional late at night party game?" Starfire walked out of her room and yawned. She had to jump back into her room to miss getting trampled by her friends.
"Can't you guys watch out where you're going for once. You almost ran Star over." Robin ran over to Starfire's room to check if she was ok.
Raven walked out and slid to the side of the hallway to miss getting hit by the rampaging Titans.
"You two had better not have ruined the kitchen because I need my tea badly in the morning." She yelled.
"Sorry guys but I need to teach this little midget that no one messes with Cy's football and lives!" Cyborg yelled.
"HAHAHA! REVENGE! HAHAHAHA! REVENGE!" Beast Boy continued to act like a maniac as he ran towards the elevator.
"Why do I get the feeling as if his drinks were slipped with something?" Raven muttered as she went back into her room.
"I'm just glad I don't have clean up duty this week." Robin sighed and returned to his room.
Starfire just looked taken back and yawned once more before returning to her dormitory.
Sounds of Cyborg's running and Beast Boy's laughs were heard all night. Whether Cyborg ever caught Beast Boy, they never did find out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Yes I finally rewrote this. I feel as if I left something out but I'm sure it wasn't anything important. I am so sorry it got erased but I'm just glad it made it. I made this just to announce the return of Slade and decided that I might as well throw in some Beast Boy*Raven fluff. The tension is thickening and the real plot of the story will begin. I want to thank all the people that have been reviewing and the people that have read my story. I finally made it to the triple digit numbers in reviews and you have no idea how that makes me feel. I can finally answer them.
Chapter 9 reviews
Ocdsugar: I am glad I have a fan and I apologize for taking long to write this chapter.
Mia: Thanks. Whenever I write about a battle scene, I try to make it sound so realistic that you can picture it and it seems as if you're watching it on TV. That's what I aim for.
BunnyKat: Thank you! Coriander's a nice name. Oh, and I have decided ask everyone to tell me a their own unique way of killing him. So many painful decisions and yet only once can I kill him.
Starfir966: Thanks. Awesome is like my favorite compliment.
Thalian: Thank you. I am trying to make it as suspenseful as possible.
Himiko yuy chang: Cyborg's girfriend is on the verge of creation.
Warprince: Will do.
ROBINROX: Natalie is a nice name. More coincidental that it's your name. About that thing of Deathire letting Robin die for Star, I'm thinking about it... *Cough*
Foenixfyre: Thanks for the compliments and I wanted to apologize for the grammer mistakes of the last chapter. It was late and all I did was spellcheck. Sorry.
Skyhooper: Happy I made you laugh. By the way, Cyborg's girlfriend will be human. No half-robot, no all-robot, just human.
Brie: More rivalry to come. Will try to update. Another vote for Crystal.
Kokuryu: He will die. He will die.
ASKTR4: Glad you liked the story but my name is not Laura. You are the second person to call me that I think.
Holly: Love the name Anata. Thank you for all the nice words.
Honey: I am sorry it took long to update. Glad you enjoyed the chapters.
Wendy: Another vote for Natalie. Next chapter is under construction.
Jimbo Jones: Another vote for Crystal. I will add Jennifer to the list.
CrossSamurai: I hate my computer. Another vote for Coriander.
Brittney: Another vote for Natalie. I will add Wendy to the list.
Ya man: Will do.
Lyzz2nwn: I know, I am indignant at the fact that my computer failed me, but oh well getting a new one. I will add Hannah to the list.
The Samuri Butterfly: More Robin*Starfire fluff in next chapter.
Lady Relena: Thank you. I need luck with this old thing.
Golden emperor: Another vote for Anata. This story shouldn't be so hard now. Time to update is the problem.
Well those are all the reviews I got. About the Cyborg's girlfriend thing, I got enough names now and she will be revealed in the next chapter. So far the names are Natalie, Coriander, Crystal, Anata, Wendy, Jennifer, and Hannah. Please vote in your reviews for those. I won't be taking anymore. So far the top name is Natalie. Please tell me which one. By the way, has anyone heard about season 2 coming on January 10 because I happen to know a link leading to big info on what the episodes are going to be about.
Anyway there is someone new coming in season 2 that I think I might include in my story. I might have to stall a bit so I can shift her into the plot somehow so it might take time. Anyway, I will update soon. Till next time. -story dedicated to T.D.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. (Must I keep on saying this, I mean it's obvious I don't own them.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Robin's Rival
He was sitting with his arms crossed looking at the object on the table with a pout on his face.
There they were. A bouquet of sunflowers and daisies. The same exact flowers he had wanted to give Starfire a while ago. The ones he wanted to hand to her and had wanted to look at her lit up face at the sight. He had wanted that satisfaction, but no, he hadn't had gotten it.
Robin was eyeing the flowers as if he was going to shred them apart in the next three seconds. He was immediately set off whenever his eyes looked at the tag.
' To: Starfire
From: Deathfire
Dearest Sympathies for the arrest of your sister'
In all his frustration he didn't notice the dark look on her face when she got them in the mail. He was just angry he couldn't have had handed them to her personally with his name on that tag.
While Robin was thinking of gruesome ways to dispose of the flowers, Cyborg had happened to walk into the living room with his head up high and humming a tune.
"Yo Robin. Still steaming over those flowers. Oh come on dawg! You sure aren't gonna let him steal your girl away with flowers now are you?" Cyborg plopped himself down next to Robin and made Robin bounce a little.
"I know but... that was the perfect gift I could had given her and along came those attacks and ruined it." Robin had whined and Cyborg who had never seen the leader of his team whine, started to laugh.
"Aww. So did wittle Wobin let wittle Deathwhire beat him to his wittle girlfwiend?" Cyborg talked in his baby talk.
"NO! He didn't and she's not my girlfriend!" Robin snapped back at Cyborg.
"My point exactly. If you would have made your move by now she would be your girlfriend and Deathfire would have realized that she's taken and wouldn't be your rival." Cyborg said with an exasperated tone.
"Whatever. But if he sends just one more present I will cut off our mail system!" Robin heading for the door.
"Say what! That's how I get some of my fan mail and magazines! Wait just a minute!" Cyborg followed him out and Robin just sighed and gave him a lopsided smile.
~*~
She was sitting on her bed, staring at her feet with a distant look on her face. 'Why me? Why could he not have gone after all those other girls? After all, they were the ones who were swooning over him.' She sighed deeply and turned to look at the picture on her bed stand.
It was a picture of her and the team on the day after they defeated Slade. Cyborg was in the background giving a peace sign. Beast Boy was trying to put bunny ears on Cyborg but couldn't reach. Raven was just standing there as if she was forced to stand there. She was there hugging Raven tightly. There's Robin standing with one of his arms to his side and the other on Beast Boy's shoulder trying to secretly stop Beast Boy from embarrassing Cyborg. He was smiling. The first smile she had seen on him since before the whole Slade madness. She put a meek smile on her face and reached for her picture.
She held it in front of her face and then hugged it tight. 'I do not care whether he stays or not. No one, not even a clorbag like him could ruin the great times I have with my friends.' She sighed deeply and drifted off to sleep in her soft pink bed.
~*~
The next day...
It was three in the afternoon and as usual, Starfire went to go get the mail while the Titans just sat in the living room.
Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were playing Game Station. Raven was reading her usual depressing book.
Starfire came in with some envelopes and a box of chocolates. Humming a cheerful tune she sat next the titans, reading the names of whose the mail belonged to.
"Let's see, Electronic Weekly for Cyborg, fan mail for Beast Boy, bills for Robin, and chocolates for... that's strange, there's no name visible." Starfire searched the cover of the box.
The Titans who were only half-listening turned immediately when she said the word 'chocolates'.
"Candy! Where's the candy? Oh come on! Please give me the candy!" Beast Boy was jumping on the couch.
"Wondering when they were going to get here..." Cyborg said to himself and continued to play the game.
Raven just turned to look at them, sighed, and went back to reading her book.
"Chocolates! You have got to be kidding me! That's it! Take a good look at those pieces of mail cuz from now on we're only getting email!" Robin had made such an outburst that Beast Boy stopped jumping, Cyborg stopped playing, Raven stopped reading, and Starfire looked puzzled at how Robin could have become so angry at a box of sweets.
While Robin was stomping over to the phone with all eyes on him, Starfire opened the box to find a note inside. Her eyes were full of surprise.
"Um Robin. Before you call up the mailmen and tell them to stop delivering our messages, maybe it would help to know that the package is for Raven and not me." Starfire said while blushing and looking at Raven with a content face.
Robin froze in his spot and dropped the phone but didn't move. Beast Boy stood still with his mouth open and started to blush. Cyborg just continued playing but tried to stifle his laughter. Raven... stayed the same.
"Excuse me?" Raven raised one eyebrow and set down her book.
"The box is for you Raven. It's from 'Your Secret Admirer'" Starfire read from the tag she found in the box and handed them both to Raven.
"What secret admirer is she talking about!" Beast Boy cried out blushing violently.
"It means that someone likes Raven!" Cyborg started to dance.
"What! Let me see that tag!" Without waiting for a response from Raven, Beast Boy seized the tag from her and read it over about 10 times.
"This must be a joke! I mean it's not that I don't think there isn't somebody in the world who could admire Raven, it's just that well... I just think you shouldn't take this guy seriously. You could get your feelings hurt." Beast Boy was stuttering and blushing crimson red.
"Don't worry your little head off. First of all, this is a joke. Second, I am flattered you care about my feelings but I am not going to take this guy seriously. In fact, knock yourself out with these sweets because I don't like dark chocolate." Raven calmed Beast Boy down and pushed the box into his hands.
She headed for the door and right before she left, she turned to look at Cyborg and sighed. She whispered something that sounded like 'what an immature pinhead.'
All heads turned to Cyborg after Raven left. Cyborg sweat dropped and smiled with his wisdom teeth showing.
"Why are all you looking at me for?" He asked nervously.
Everyone stopped looking at him and them turned to Robin who was still near the phone.
"Fine. I won't cut off the mail." Robin put the phone back and went back to the couch and picked up his video game control.
"Dude? Why would you want to cut off the mail anyway?" Beast Boy formed a sly smile as he too went back to the game.
"The same reason you just pulled a nervous breakdown over a note from a secret admirer." Robin muttered back to him out of the corner of his mouth.
"Ok then friends. I shall resume to doing the 'hanging out' in my room." Starfire said in a cheerful voice and left.
"I still think I should investigate who sent the box of chocolates." Beast Boy said to himself.
"Yea. You actually might find who YOUR rival is. I mean, now that I think about it, it's mind racking to have a rival. All that pressure and competition.... Oh there's also those times when you feel you're going to go insane and then you feel like." Robin was cut off with Beast Boy's scared expression and the fact that his mouth was hanging open.
"I'll just try to find my rival without your foretaste of doom ok." Beast Boy chuckled and failed to notice Cyborg's stifled laughter.
~*~
It was noon the next day. The sun was at its midway point and there was no cloud in sight. The city was peaceful and had the regular midday rush hour. Not far away from the city was the outline of the crowded bridge and the Titans Tower on the sparkling blue sea. The Titans were inside relaxing on Saturday, except for the titans that was on all fours in front of the tower entrance with a magnifying glass in one hand.
"Oh come on! It always looks so much promising in the movies. The guy just looks at the ground for like two seconds and then knows who the culprit is!" Beast Boy complained after searching the doormat for 2 hours.
"Ugh! What kind of sicko would leave gum underneath the doormat!" He yelled as he tried to scrape purple gum off his pants.
As he continued to scrape the last piece off, he felt someone approach him. He looked up to see a man in a mailman suit with a distressed look on his face.
"Ah! Just the man I wanted to talk to." Beast Boy said in a pleasant voice, ignoring the constant trembling knees of the stranger.
"You've got to help me! There's a ship right there underneath the bridge that needs help." The man stuttered as he shook Beast Boy by the shoulders.
"Yo dude! Chill for a minute! Can you at least tell me what happened?" Beast Boy wriggled himself from the man's grasp.
"Very well. I was sailing from the city to deliver your mail when I saw that military ship seeping in water. Not far away, I found its crew on a lifeboat rowing to shore. They told me they were attacked by who knows what and had to evacuate. They said the enemy is still on the ship and told me to get help from you people." The mailman was now tugging on the Beast Boy.
"Then you came to right person. For I am Beast Boy! Star fighter of the Teen Titans!" Beast Boy put himself in a fighting pose and the mailman just sweat dropped.
"Aren't the others home?" The guy simply scratched his head.
"Um no. They're in the city and I'm um... looking for the keys I dropped cuz you see I was um... locked out?" Beast Boy mentioned uncertainly and put a hand to his head.
"Well I'll alert them and you get a head start." The mailman pushed Beast Boy toward the direction of the bridge.
"Fine I'll go already! Sheesh!" Beast Boy transformed into a seagull and flew away while the mailman ran back into his small boat and set a course for shore.
In the sky, Beast Boy could already see the ship in the distance. 'I wonder who would think of attacking a military ship in broad daylight and still almost get away with it? Seems like they must seem pretty confident of themselves. Maybe I could use this opportunity to impress a certain someone and teach another not to think themselves worthy of competing with me' Beast Boy thought to himself as he landing on the deserted deck of a 100 ft. long ship.
"Ooh creepy." Beast Boy tried to find a way into the lower levels and found a door. He opened it to find stairs leading down to a metal hallway. On the wall he saw a map outlining every part of the ship.
"Let's see, if I was an evil dude then what would I steal from a government ship?" Beast Boy scratched his chin.
"Duh! The 'Weaponry Cargo' looks pretty tempting to me." Beast Boy headed down the hallways and passed many doors. He went down flights of stairs and kept on getting a feeling the he was being watched.
"Well here we are. Hello! If anybody is in here with any kind of evil intentions please come out cuz I don't feel like looking for you people in the dark and the fact that I have a lot of investigating to do at home!" Beast Boy yelled when he opened the door to a large room full of crates in rows.
He awaited some sign of movement in the darkness. Suddenly he felt something move behind him but saw nothing. Again he felt something move but this time to his side.
"Didn't you hear me? I said come out already cuz you are freaking me out!" Beast Boy was now sweating.
Out of the shadows came five figures and then other five behind them and others soon followed. He saw one was carrying a laser. He was outnumbered and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a familiar emblem on their armor.
"It can't be. It's Slade." Beast Boy muttered as he ran out yelling and slammed the door closed and locked it.
He sat down and took a minute to breathe. From right above him a fist broke threw the wooden door and tried to grab his throat. He rolled out of its reach and ran up the flights of stairs.
"What was I thinking! HELP!" Beast Boy yelled as he ran into the maze of hallways and tried to find an unlocked room to hide.
"If I can't hide then I'd better find a way out of here." Beast Boy turned a corner to see a door with an 'EXIT' sign on it but failed to see the 'watch your step' statement underneath it. He pushed it open and tripped which cause him to land on his face.
He picked himself up and ran into the middle of the deck and resting his palms on his knees and panted.
"I hope the team gets here soon." He said quietly. From behind him he heard a crash and saw 20 robots come out from a hole in the deck. 30 others came out from the door he had come from. He spotted the one carrying the laser was the one closest.
"Ok, if anyone of you survives then tell Slade he picked the wrong time to mess with an annoyed Beast Boy!" Beast Boy commented before turning into a tiger and charging at 10 of the robots.
He managed to make a direct hit and all of them didn't get back up. He then turned into a rhino to take down 10 others and succeeded as well.
He was about to attack another group when he was blasted from behind. He transformed back to his normal self and watched from the ground a blurry shadow with a shiny object coming closer.
Just when he thought it was over, he heard the most wonderful words he had ever heard in his life
"AZARATH! METREON! ZINTHOS!" He turned to look at another figure running towards him calling his name. It was right above him.
"What were you thinking in the brainless head of yours?" He thought it would be an angry voice but instead it sounded full of fright and concern.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." He then let everything go and blacked out.
~*~
Beast Boy awoke to see the sun setting over the horizon. He was still on the ship but it was now covered with police officers and he could see Robin talking to one of them. When the officer's mouth stopped moving and he walked away, he saw Robin's head bow down and he could even see his fists tightening. He saw Starfire's slender figure hover next to him and she rested one arm on his shoulder. He knew he had just been assured that Slade had returned.
Right next to him was Cyborg who seemed as if he was deep in thought. He turned to look for Raven and found her staring into the sunset. She turned her head he saw her face. For a minute he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him because the one thing he couldn't imagine on Raven's face was a tear running down on her cheek. She turned back after a minute and all he could see now was the back of her purple hair.
"Hey man. You all right?" Cyborg's booming voice brought him back to this world.
"Yea I guess. What happened?" Beast Boy asked with a clueless look on his face.
"We ended up getting this distress message saying there was something fishy going on here. On our way here we found out you were already here and when we arrived we saw you fighting these robots. We managed to beat them up right after you fell unconscious. Then poor Robin had to accept the truth, Slade's back. Not very happy about it is he?" Cyborg pointed to the figure of their leader who was still in the same spot Beast Boy had seen him. This time Starfire was gone and Robin was standing there alone.
"You guys aren't mad at me are you?" This was what Beast Boy worried about. Mostly whether Raven was mad at him.
"Nah! We knew you were just being your natural show-off self and we were surprised to see you defeated half of those punks. We were more worried than angry at the beginning.
Beast Boy still was uneasy about what he had seen on Raven's face and wondered why the emotionless Raven he knew was showing feelings now on one of his failures.
~*~
That night, the Titans spent 2 hours getting lectured by Robin about his theories of what Slade is capable of. Not even Starfire could calm him down. The Titans knew Robin wouldn't be smiling for a while.
Beast Boy and Cyborg were up late playing video games. They had popcorn spread out on the table and two bottles of soda. Cyborg was winning as usual but Beast Boy wasn't even paying attention. Instead he just broke into a wide smile.
"Ooh yea! Won again!" Cyborg laughed.
"Hey Cyborg. Can I ask you a question?" Beast Boy simply asked.
"Of course Mr. Second Place. What can I do for you?" Cyborg teased.
"Well, I asked that mailman a couple of questions and to my surprise I find the person who sent the box of chocolates someone I would have never expected." Beast Boy kept his smile on.
"Yea and who was it?" Cyborg was on the verge of exploding.
"You." Beast Boy ignored the thundering noise of Cyborg laughing in his face.
"Come on dawg. It took you that long to figure it out?" Cyborg was now sprawled on his back in a fit of laughter.
"Yes it did and don't you think you should be apologizing some time right about now!" Beast Boy now put on an angry face.
"Oh yea. Just tell me who is going to make me say sorry to a dwarf like you?" Cyborg now stood up and towered over Beast Boy.
"Oh of course I won't make you apologize but uh, I'm sure you'll change your mind sooner or later. I mean one of these things are hard to come around with." Beast Boy showed Cyborg a football and pasted another smile on his face.
"Oh come on now. You just talking crazy now. That's my football. The only football that hasn't been lost by you and is autographed by real football players!" Cyborg started to walk toward Beast Boy slowly as if he was holding a bomb that could blow any minute.
"Oh I just love the sweet smell of revenge!" Beast Boy yelled and ran out of the room.
"Come back here! When I catch that green butt of yours I'm gonna kick it so hard it's gonna be red permanently!" Cyborg ran after Beast Boy.
Beast Boy ran through the tower laughing like a psycho and it wasn't long before the other Titans were distracted or woken in their rooms.
"What are you two doing this late at night. I'm working on Slade stuff!" Robin stuck his head out just to miss the two figures that ran past his door.
"Oh! Are you playing some sort of traditional late at night party game?" Starfire walked out of her room and yawned. She had to jump back into her room to miss getting trampled by her friends.
"Can't you guys watch out where you're going for once. You almost ran Star over." Robin ran over to Starfire's room to check if she was ok.
Raven walked out and slid to the side of the hallway to miss getting hit by the rampaging Titans.
"You two had better not have ruined the kitchen because I need my tea badly in the morning." She yelled.
"Sorry guys but I need to teach this little midget that no one messes with Cy's football and lives!" Cyborg yelled.
"HAHAHA! REVENGE! HAHAHAHA! REVENGE!" Beast Boy continued to act like a maniac as he ran towards the elevator.
"Why do I get the feeling as if his drinks were slipped with something?" Raven muttered as she went back into her room.
"I'm just glad I don't have clean up duty this week." Robin sighed and returned to his room.
Starfire just looked taken back and yawned once more before returning to her dormitory.
Sounds of Cyborg's running and Beast Boy's laughs were heard all night. Whether Cyborg ever caught Beast Boy, they never did find out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Yes I finally rewrote this. I feel as if I left something out but I'm sure it wasn't anything important. I am so sorry it got erased but I'm just glad it made it. I made this just to announce the return of Slade and decided that I might as well throw in some Beast Boy*Raven fluff. The tension is thickening and the real plot of the story will begin. I want to thank all the people that have been reviewing and the people that have read my story. I finally made it to the triple digit numbers in reviews and you have no idea how that makes me feel. I can finally answer them.
Chapter 9 reviews
Ocdsugar: I am glad I have a fan and I apologize for taking long to write this chapter.
Mia: Thanks. Whenever I write about a battle scene, I try to make it sound so realistic that you can picture it and it seems as if you're watching it on TV. That's what I aim for.
BunnyKat: Thank you! Coriander's a nice name. Oh, and I have decided ask everyone to tell me a their own unique way of killing him. So many painful decisions and yet only once can I kill him.
Starfir966: Thanks. Awesome is like my favorite compliment.
Thalian: Thank you. I am trying to make it as suspenseful as possible.
Himiko yuy chang: Cyborg's girfriend is on the verge of creation.
Warprince: Will do.
ROBINROX: Natalie is a nice name. More coincidental that it's your name. About that thing of Deathire letting Robin die for Star, I'm thinking about it... *Cough*
Foenixfyre: Thanks for the compliments and I wanted to apologize for the grammer mistakes of the last chapter. It was late and all I did was spellcheck. Sorry.
Skyhooper: Happy I made you laugh. By the way, Cyborg's girlfriend will be human. No half-robot, no all-robot, just human.
Brie: More rivalry to come. Will try to update. Another vote for Crystal.
Kokuryu: He will die. He will die.
ASKTR4: Glad you liked the story but my name is not Laura. You are the second person to call me that I think.
Holly: Love the name Anata. Thank you for all the nice words.
Honey: I am sorry it took long to update. Glad you enjoyed the chapters.
Wendy: Another vote for Natalie. Next chapter is under construction.
Jimbo Jones: Another vote for Crystal. I will add Jennifer to the list.
CrossSamurai: I hate my computer. Another vote for Coriander.
Brittney: Another vote for Natalie. I will add Wendy to the list.
Ya man: Will do.
Lyzz2nwn: I know, I am indignant at the fact that my computer failed me, but oh well getting a new one. I will add Hannah to the list.
The Samuri Butterfly: More Robin*Starfire fluff in next chapter.
Lady Relena: Thank you. I need luck with this old thing.
Golden emperor: Another vote for Anata. This story shouldn't be so hard now. Time to update is the problem.
Well those are all the reviews I got. About the Cyborg's girlfriend thing, I got enough names now and she will be revealed in the next chapter. So far the names are Natalie, Coriander, Crystal, Anata, Wendy, Jennifer, and Hannah. Please vote in your reviews for those. I won't be taking anymore. So far the top name is Natalie. Please tell me which one. By the way, has anyone heard about season 2 coming on January 10 because I happen to know a link leading to big info on what the episodes are going to be about.
Anyway there is someone new coming in season 2 that I think I might include in my story. I might have to stall a bit so I can shift her into the plot somehow so it might take time. Anyway, I will update soon. Till next time. -story dedicated to T.D.