DISCLAIMER: Don't own the Titans…not good!
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Chapter 9Connections (Part 1)
The scene in the living room of Titans Tower was no different from any other day. Cyborg and BB were arguing about who got to cook dinner, knowing that our robot friend –and pretty much everyone else- did not like tofu in everything he ate. Raven was sitting on the couch reading a book and drinking her herbal tea.
-"Tofu stinks!"-Cyborg said
-"Dude! Tofu doesn't stink, that funny smell is your feet that smell like that liquid is used to stop doors from squeaking!"-BB said
-"Ya don't even know what's called! W40!"-Crybog yelled
-"Whatever, man! You got the idea!"-BB said
Raven mumbled something and BB and Cyborg turned to see her and she noticed they had heard her.
-"What you saying?"-Cyborg asked
-"Nothing!"-Raven answered
-"Don't lie Raven, we heard you say something!"-BB said
-"I said that W40 isn't the name, it's the trademark, you idiots!"-Raven yelled
-"Oh! So ya think you're so smart? Bring it on! Tell us what that thingy's really called? Uhm?"-Cyborg asked
Raven looked at them with a face of pity, she looked calmed on the outside but inside she was regretting she opened her mouth at all. Cyborg and BB were waiting for Raven to answer with crossed arms and one of their feet tapping the floor.
-'I don't know either! What do I do? What do I do?'-Raven thought
-"We're waiting, Raven"-BB said
-'If I say that I don't know they would not rest my case for years!'-Raven thought
BB and Cyborg stretched themselves toward Raven, their eyebrows arched and their eyes got little. Raven finally decided what to do.
-"I can't believe our tough mechanic is asking me this. Aren't you supposed to know this?"-Raven said
Raven hoped that this comeback would save her the embarrassment and that they would let the issue go. Cyborg glazed at Raven with fire in his eyes and BB laughed and pointed at him.
-"Got you there, tin man!"-BB said
-"Grrrrr…Raven!"-Cyborg said
Raven's eyebrow tick appeared and she buried herself in her book again, avoiding Cyborg's killing glance.
-"So I guess we're having tofu!"-BB said
-"No, we ain't!"-Cyborg started to say
Raven relieved herself from not having to deal with the W40 conversation and for the first time she was happy that BB and Cyborg were arguing.
-'At least that will keep them away from asking me the name of W40 again!'-Raven thought
Starfire and Robin were at the roof watching the sunset. It did not matter how many times Starfire had seen the sunset, she could never get tired of it. Sunrises and sunsets never bored her, each one of them were always different for her. Robin was staring at her. He wanted to tell her truth. He could not find the words to begin the conversation…or the confession. Starfire had noticed he was looking at her for some time now. She enjoyed getting Robin's attention; actually, she loved it.
-"Is there something wrong, Robin? Did I leave mustard on my face?"-Starfire asked without looking at him
-'She saw me looking at her! She saw me looking at her! Calm down!'-Robin thought
-"Star, what do you think when you see the sunset?"-Robin asked trying to sound relaxed
-"I think of how beautiful it is. Earth has many beautiful things. I enjoy being here"-Starfire said
-"Earth does have beautiful things, but some of those things are not from Earth…some came from outer space"-Robin said, thinking how lame his answer had been
Starfire did not understand right away what Robin had meant, good thing for Robin that she was not from Earth or she would have told him that his line had been very cripple. Instead of thinking about this she stared at him with a questioning face and tilting her head, trying to read between the lines and understand what Robin had meant to tell her, and when she did she blushed completely. Robin's hand slightly moved towards her and grabbed her hand tightly.
-'Now is the time…I need to tell her now!'-Robin thought
-"Star, there is something I need to tell you"-Robin said
-"You know you can tell me anything, Robin. What is wrong?"-Starfire asked
-"Well, Star. I have been hiding something from you for a long time. Something very important…"-Robin started to say
-"I am sure you had a reason to, Robin. Do not be afraid or feel guilt"-Starfire said
-"I don't know how to say this, I don't want to loose you…your friendship"-Robin said
Starfire stared at Robin. She was afraid of what Robin could tell her but she did not show it. She knew that if Robin had a hard time talking to her, seeing fear on her face would not help him confess whatever he had inside.
-"Star, I…feel…I'm not…I had become…I…"-Robin said and stopped when the communicator beeped
-"Robin, Star…the HIVE strikes again…we need to go"-BB said
-"Let us depart Robin. We can continue this conversation when we get back"-Starfire said feeling relieved; she was very nervous of what Robin could have told her at any moment then.
Robin ran down the stairs on his way to the living room and Starfire flew behind him. They all met at the living room and made their way to the garage. BB, Raven and Cyborg got inside the T-car and Robin got on his R-cycle. Starfire looked at the T-car and then at the Robin. Robin waved at her, telling her to join him. Robin had been doing this for a while now. Every time they had an emergency he drove to the riot in his R-cycle and always asked Starfire to go with him. He could just have gone with Cyborg and Starfire could fly but he liked the feeling of being alone with Starfire and the fact that she had to hug him tight because of the way he drove the R-cycle. He did not have to drive like crazy but he knew that the worse he drove, the tighter and closer Starfire would get to him.
The Titans arrived at the crime scene, and the members and non-members of the HIVE were waiting for them. Again Jinx, Gizmo, Plasmus, Mammoth and Cinderblock were causing a disturbance in the city. This time they had attacked a grocery store.
-"Dude! Are they really robbing a grocery store? How lame is that?"-BB asked
-"Very lame"-Raven answered
-"Just when you think you have witnessed everything, life surprises you when you least expect"-Starfire said
-"Don't let your guard down, remember what happened last time"-Cyborg said
-"Cyborg's right. This time they won't put a fast one on us…Titans…GO!"-Robin yelled
The Titans distributed the bad guys the exact same way they had fought them the last time they did at the bank robbery. Raven was fighting with Jinx, they had some unfinished business between them. Plasmus and Starfire also had some unfinished business and immediately "paired up". Cyborg was had picked Gizmo again, this time he would not get so lucky. BB went straight towards Mammoth and Robin had chosen Cinderblock. Raven had been waiting for this moment, it was pay back time and she would not let anything get in her way to defeat Jinx this time. Jinx and Raven stood up facing each other. Jinx had her hand on her hip and was smiling at Raven. Raven was wearing her cloak, her entire face could not be seen but her eyes were full of anger, remembering that the person in front of her had defeated her last time. This time, things were going to be different, Raven was going to let go of her emotions and was truly looking forward to kick Jinx's butt for good.
-"Little physic looks mad"-Jinx said teasingly
-"You haven't seen anything yet"-Raven said
-"Bring it on, witch!"-Jinx said
Raven started to glow and a black aura surrounded her. Jinx stared at Raven without fear or any emotion, she thought she was showing off her "energy" with a trick.
-'She is only a witch, I can defeat again. This is only a trick'-Jinx thought
-'This is not a trick. You're about to get severely hurt and stop calling me witch!'-Raven answered back telepathically.
Jinx eyes widened as she heard Raven answer her in her head. Raven's aura grew bigger, her cloak seemed to be getting longer and her eyes were bright black. Now Jinx was scared and tried to run away from Raven who looked very upset and ready for anything.
-"I can't move!"-Jinx yelled
-"Of course you can't. You think my magic is just a trick? Try escaping from it!"-Raven said
Raven had used her magic to prevent Jinx from moving.
-'Nothing is going to stop me'-Raven thought
On another side of the battle BB was facing Mammoth. Mammoth was mad because of what happened last time, tiny BB had beaten him.
-"I am going to squash you!"-Mammoth said
-"Hello! Remember last time? You can't defeat the MASTER!"-BB said while pointing at himself with his thumb.
Mammoth ran towards BB and BB turned into an eagle and flew up, avoiding Mammoth's attack. BB thought he had escaped easily from Mammoth but he was completely wrong. BB was flying looking back at Mammoth and did not see what was in front of him: a wall. BB hit himself and fell on the ground. Mammoth smiled and walked toward BB who was still seeing stars and had transformed back into a human.
-"Ouch!"-BB said
When BB realized what had happened Mammoth was already in front of him with a grin on his face. BB crawled back until his back touched the wall.
-"Oh-Oh!"-BB said
Gizmo had already begun using his devices and inventions to stop Cyborg. Cyborg on, the other hand, was very confident about himself. He was planning to attack as he would normally do and allow Gizmo to think he was winning and then surprise him with his newly perfected cannon. Gizmo seemed to enjoy attacking Cyborg who only defended himself, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike back.
-"What's wrong, snot? Afraid of a little competition?"-Gizmo asked
-"Competition? Your tiny but is 'bout to get kicked!"-Cyborg said
Gizmo did not like the insult and took a laser out of his back. Gizmo started to shoot Cyborg who at first, dodged the laser attacks but then started to run. He needed to find the perfect place to use his cannon and do not leave Gizmo a chance to run away when he did.
-"Where ya going?"-Gizmo yelled
Cyborg did not answered, he just kept running and Gizmo kept following him. They passed next to Raven and Jinx and Cyborg saw Raven's face.
-"Wow, she's mad!"-Cyborg said and kept running
Starfire looked at Plasmus and her green eyes started glowing intensively. She clearly remembered the last time they had fought. She remembered that because of her fault and weakness Robin had gotten hurt and she was not allowing it to happen again. The more she remembered Robin getting hurt and his desperation to go help her, the more she got upset and the more her hands and eyes glowed. Plasmus did not care how angry she was, he knew that he could defeat her by just wrapping her and suffocating her. That is what he had planned before, when they fought for the last time and he regretted he had not done it before because now he could not. Slade had told him to hurt her badly but to not kill her or her death would cause their plans to collapse. Plasmus did not know how she could ruin their plans but he was not going to take any chances because that would mean he had to deal with Slade's reaction. Starfire began flying and started to shoot starbolts at Plasmus who did not even move back. Starfire saw this and her starbolts began getting faster and bigger and now Plasmus was feeling them. Plasmus stretched his hand, trying to grab Starfire but she moved away and he could not grab her. Starfire made two big starbolts and put her hands together. She gained speed and flew directly to Plasmus stomach and with her velocity and starbolts made a big whole on Plasmus stomach. Plasmus looked at it and took in some air and closed it, he turned back and stretch both his hands towards Starfire. Starfire was still trying to slow down when Plasmus grabbed her and pulled her down. Starfire hit the floor and when she tried to stand up Plasmus stepped on her and pressed his feet against her back and her head to scratch it on the floor. Starfire tried to shoot starbolts at him but she could not see where he was and all of the starbolts she shot flew to different directions from where Plasmus was.
Robin had been kicking Cinderblock for a while now. Robin could not understand why Cinderblock kept getting up everytime he hit him. It was like if Cinderblock did not want to loose. Robin thought that Cinderblock was probably pretty mad because of what happened last time.
-"Why don't just give up? I'm gonna beat you anyway"-Robin said
Robin started hitting Cinderblock's feet with his Bo staff several times in a fast and repetitive manner until he made him fall. Once in the floor, Robin threw a couple of his sonic disks to Cinderblock and they all exploded. Robin was waiting for the dust and smoke to disappear and see Cinderblock unconscious on the ground. When things cleared out he saw what he was not expecting: Cinderblock was gone.
Raven had made Jinx not been able to move and started to throw things at her. Jinx could not defend herself, she closed her eyes and her only choice was to receive the hits and deal with the pain she was feeling. Raven's cloak got so long that it was able to wrap Jinx and started to press against her so hard that Jinx could hardly breath.
-"She's gonna kill me! I'm gonna die here!"-Jinx weakly said
Raven smiled and pressed even harder on Jinx, but she had stopped throwing things. She decided Jinx was hurt enough to not try to use her powers against her to let herself loose and got really close to her.
-"This is what I felt when you kicked me on the stomach. Not a pretty feeling, right?"-Raven asked
Jinx stared at Raven and felt tremendously afraid of what Raven could do to her…anytime now. Mammoth had grabbed BB by his foot and started to drag him around to hit him with everything he found: walls, sidewalk, and cans. Each time BB got hit he screamed but his screams where getting weaker and weaker; he had started to get tired of being hit. Mammoth realized BB was not making any noised and picked him up from his foot as high as he could to see BB's face and saw that his eyes were closed. Mammoth started to twirl around to gain speed and threw BB to the center of the street. BB did not move at all. Mammoth was happy of seeing poor BB on the floor, his body was bruised, he had some scratches and parts of his uniform were torn. Mammoth took all the time in the world to walk towards BB, one step after the other, very slowly.
Cyborg had taken Gizmo to a back storage room of the grocery store and had hid on the shadows. Gizmo used his night vision to look for him but Cyborg was one step ahead of Gizmo and had use his own night vision to escape Gizmo's search. Cyborg started throwing little bombs towards Gizmo who was getting distracted by the shots.
-"Little more…little more"-Cyborg mumbled
Finally Gizmo was in the perfect position Cyborg wanted to be able to use his cannon. Cyborg got out of his hide out and pointed to Gizmo who did not react until it was too late.
-"You messed with the wrong robot!"-Cyborg yelled
Cyborg aimed at a helpless Gizmo and used his cannon against him. Jinx was crying, she was so scared of dying like she was about to die and actually was crying and sobbing. When Raven saw this she got out of the trance she was and realized that she if she was going to use her powers at maximum by letting her emotions free, she had to use them to help her friends and not kill anyone. She was not a murderer, she was a Teen Titan. Raven's eyes stopped glowing and she took a look around and saw BB on the center of the street and Mammoth who was calmly approaching him with a face that showed no concern of BB's fate. She then knew what to do. Cyborg shot Gizmo and Gizmo was thrown back and broke the walls behind him. Cyborg's cannon was very powerful, more powerful than last time, more powerful than ever. Gizmo went thru all the walls and since Cyborg's attack range in his cannon had been improved Gizmo was thrown until the center of the street. Cyborg then saw BB and Mammoth and saw he could not reach BB in time to save him so he made sure that Gizmo hit Mammoth to push him away from BB. At that same moment Raven threw Jinx towards Mammoth since she did not know that Cyborg was sending Mammoth a little present and both Jinx and Gizmo hit Mammoth. Raven used her powers to pick BB up and at the same time she flew towards him. Cyborg also ran towards Raven and she used her powers to cure BB. BB woke up and saw that Cyborg and Raven had saved him.
-"Thanks guys!"-BB said
-"Anytime friend, anytime"-Raven and Cyborg said
Now Raven, Cyborg and BB attacked Jinx, Mammoth and Gizmo with everything they got and all together as a team. Meanwhile, Starfire had managed to free herself from Plasmus. She had grabbed his foot and pushed her hands inside him. She threw starbolts while her hands where inside Plasmus' foot and had blown his foot from the inside out. Now she was fighting furiously and faster than before. Plasmus got really upset with Starfire blowing his foot that forgot Slade's orders and started to melt down. Starfire looked surprised of Plasmus decision of melting himself and thought he had surrender. Starfire flew back down and walked towards the big scattered "clay" that once had been Plasmus and stood next to him, her eyes and her hands still glowing.
-"I accept you have surrender. However, this does not mean I forgive you from hurting my friends"-Starfire said
Plasmus did not move; however, he was waiting for the right time to surprise Starfire. Robin had broken Cinderblock's feet but Cinderblock kept walking with his bare legs. Robin was getting tired of the same attitude.
-"Don't you ever learn?"-Robin asked
Cinderblock answered by running towards Robin who was now walking backwards to catch up with the other Titans who were fighting the rest of the villains on the middle of the street. When he was running towards the Titans he noticed Starfire was standing next to a big purple pile of what he thought was the remains of Plasmus, thinking that Starfire had defeated him. Starfire looked at Robin who was running back and blocking Cinderblock's attacks.
-"Starfire, we are regrouping, come back!"-Robin yelled
-"Yes, Robin I am on my…"-Starfire said and stopped
Plasmus had started to rebuild himself and in the process, he was wrapping Starfire. By the time Starfire reacted Plasmus had formed a big ball and Starfire was inside.
-"How could I have been so foolish. This was a trap"-Starfire said
-"Star!"-Robin yelled
Robin began running to save Starfire but Cinderblock pulled his cape and got him back to where he was.
-"Star, I gotta save her! She's gonna suffocate"-Robin said
Robin tried to reach Starfire but everytime he tried Cinderblock got in the way. Robin looked behind and saw the other Titans, they could not help Starfire either; they also had their hands full. Starfire was getting dizzy inside Plasmus and fell on her knees.
-"I will not allow this evil man to defeat me"-Starfire said
She closed her eyes and started to concentrate all her energy. She had stopped moving and Plasmus thought she had finally given up and that she was dying by now. He smiled and started laughing out loud. Robin heard Plasmus laugh and knew it only meant one thing: Starfire had died. Robin felt so angry and ran towards Plasmus. Cinderblock grabbed his feet and pulled him back to the fight but by now Robin did not care what happened to him anymore. He wanted to reach Starfire, maybe there was a way to still save her; she could not die just like that. Robin crawled his way to Plasmus and Cinderblock made him crawl back. Suddenly, Plasmus' smile vanished and his eyes widened. Robin looked at Plasmus and witnessed the horrible destiny of Plasmus. A green energy made Plasmus blew and scattered in thousands of pieces. The green light was so strong that illuminated the area where they were and forced everyone to stop fighting and look back at where Starfire was and where Plasmus once was standing. There was nothing left of him.
-"Star, are you all right?"-Robin asked
Starfire had not stopped glowing but when she heard Robin's voice she calmed down.
-"I am unharmed, Robin"-Starfire answered
When Robin saw this he remembered he had something to do: defeat Cinderblock. This time it was Starfire's turn to help him out.
-"Jinx, we need help! The giant clay is gone!"-Gizmo said
Jinx nodded and pressed a little button that was on her belt. Nothing had instantly happened but something would. Starfire threw starbolts at Cinderblock until he ran back to where the other evil guys were. Starfire helped Robin stand up and she meticulously checked Robin for any injuries. Robin blushed at Starfire's actions.
-"I'm fine, Star"-Robin said
Starfire's eyes began to have tears and she hugged Robin with all her strength.
-"I was so afraid of what could have happened"-Starfire said
-"Nothing did, don't worry. Let's go help the others"-Robin said
The Titans surrounded the HIVE (members and non-members). Raven was ready to use her powers, Cyborg had his cannon ready to shoot, BB was also ready to transform into any animal that was needed, Robin had his birdarangs and bo staff ready and Starfire was glowing more than before.
-"We got ya, big time!"-Cyborg said
-"That is what you think"-Jinx said
-"What? We have you outnumbered, HELLO!"-BB said
-"Count again"-Jinx said
When she said this she pointed behind the Titans. The Titans, who had surrounded the villains, turned back and saw something they did not expect: 100 of Slade's henchmen that were surrounding the Titans. They realized they did not have the HIVE surrounded, but the enemy had them surrounded instead. The Titans all looked at each other and then they looked at Robin.
-"This wont stop us…Titans GO!"-Robin ordered
Once Robin said this, the Titans moved in different directions and started attacking any of the enemies they found on the way. The more scattered they were, the easier it was to defeat all of the henchmen. Starfire flew and started to shoot starbolts at every bad guy she saw. Raven was using her magic to throw henchmen at each other and destroyed them. BB turned into a dinosaur and was using his mouth to break them. Cyborg was shooting his cannon and hitting at the same time. Robin was kicking, punching and using his laser discs to keep the henchmen away and eliminate them. Everyone was so busy that they did not realize that the other members of the HIVE had picked each one of the Titans (except BB who could have easily used his tail to send them to the other side of the city) and were getting ready to attack them behind their back. Jinx was going to hit Raven, Gizmo was going to zap Starfire, Cinderblock was going to get Cyborg, and Mammoth was going to hit Robin. Faster than the HIVE could react, Starfire hit Mammoth with a starbolt before he got Robin; Robin threw a sonic disc to Gizmo to prevent him from hurting Starfire, Cyborg used his cannon against Jinx to get her away from Raven and Raven used her magic to push Cinderblock out of Cyborg's way, and BB used his tail to send all four of the enemies to the other side of the side (as they had thought he would). All the Titans looked at each other and smiled. If that did not prove they were a team, they did not know what did. The Titans split once more and after some explosions were heard, the Titans came back to the front of the grocery store.
-"Was that great or what?"-BB asked
-"We totally kicked butt"-Cyborg said
-"It was very good"-Raven said
-"We are victorious!"-Starfire said
-"We all did great Titans, nice work!"-Robin said
-"Let's go back home! We need to celebrate with tofu!"-BB said
-"And video games!"-Cyborg said
-"And herbal tea!"-Raven said
-"And cooking!"-Starfire said
When Starfire said this they all turned and gave her a scared look.
-"Star, how about we order some pizza?"-Robin asked
-"Very well, friends. I will not cook for you tonight"-Starfire answered
They all relieved themselves from having to try Starfire's cooking and went back home.
They were all excited about the big fight they have just had and the environment at the tower was somewhat different. Now it was Raven's turn to learn how to play video games and she had voluntarily offered herself to learn and Cyborg and BB had happily agreed and were now teaching her how to play. Starfire and Robin were sitting on the steps that were before the exit door of the living room and Starfire had cured all of Robin's scratches. She was so happy they had made it out of the battle safe and sound. Raven, Cyborg and BB knew Starfire and Robin were on the back but they decided not to bother them and give them a little time alone. Those two had many things to talk about after had happened in the last days.
-"Star, there is something I want to tell you"-Robin said
-"I know, Robin. What is it?"-Starfire said
Robin stared at Starfire not knowing how to start telling her what he needed to say. He finally decided how to let her know what was going on.
-"Maybe I should not tell you, maybe I should show you"-Robin said
After saying this Robin's hands touched Starfire's face. She was surprised and did not expect what was coming. In fact, none of the Titans expected what was going to happen. Robin got his lips near Starfire's lips until he almost touch them…
Then a birdarang stopped them from kissing…
The Titans looked at the birdarang and then look to the place where the weapon had come…the main door…
-"Take your hands away from her…SHE IS MINE!"-The person at the door yelled
That person at the door was… Robin.
-"You're Robin…?"-Cyborg said to the Robin at the door
-"And you are Robin, too?"-Starfire said to the Robin next to her
-"He is not Robin!"-The Robin at the door said
-"He is right, I am not Robin"-The Robin next to Starfire said while changing his clothes into some other familiar costume…
-"I AM RED X!"-He finally said
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NOTE: Told u the wait was worth it…. think this is good?…well, I am just getting started!!!