A/N: Hiya, I'm actually on time for once! Osco is back in the game!!! I gotta say this first, I'm really touched by how much y'all reviewed for my last chapter! I personally didn't think it was my best, but I needed to get it out, so I kinda rushed it. Oh, and I have to respond to a couple of reviewers first as well:
First, shadow929: Well thanx, I liked her too. And already trying to guess my plotline are we? Well, I can't tell you anything because if I did, Gecko would kill me. She likes the plots to stay underwraps.
Next, Gubba-Gubba: Be just a little patient w/ me…I think you'll like this chapter;)
Finally, JulesFire: Wow! You just won the best reviewer reward! Yes, I did make up Viper, pretty much off the top of my head. I needed a new villain, my sister was complaining about how she's afraid of snakes, it just clicked. I'm happy you liked the background…seriously took me 5 minutes to come up with it. Oh, and yes I though that Spidey moment fit perfectly…as Cap. Jack Sparrow would say, " I just couldn't resist mate."
Okey dokey people, here we go!
88888888888888888
Chapter 7: A Good IdeaIt's amazing isn't it, how when faced with a horrendous situation, the mind can't seem to come up with a single idea. It is like a permanent brain freeze, which lasts only a second. You think, and think, and just for a change in pace you think some more, and come up with nada.
Ahren thinks I'm being silly, when I freak out over not having a plan; he says it is always better to improvise because in a plan, something will always go wrong. Which, I suppose is correct. But, isn't it fantastic when an idea, a simple but flawless idea, is borne from those very same frustrations that plagued the mind before? That only seems to happen with a formulated plan, not some all-or-nothing, last minute strategy. And, if you notice, it is always the ones you least expect to come up with the idea that actuallypull it alltogether.
………………………..sigh…………………………….
I really am getting sick of these stupid recordings. Maybe it's time we aid the Titans, for they surely need it right now……….
888888888888888888888
It had been three days since Jinx's arrival at the Tower, and our heroes were no closer to coming up with a solution than the possibility of pigs flying out of Beastboy's butt. Each one of them had poured their efforts into some kind of plan or formation, but none were shown to work if actually put up to the test. It was discouraging to say the least, and it resulted in Robin secluding himself in his room so he could 'brainstorm'. The only thing that lessened the mood in the Tower was Cyborg and Jinx's new romance. But, even that proved to be vexing to the others, particularly Starfire.
She and Robin were still on rough terms, and it was starting to chip away at the alien's optimistic attitude. And seeing Cyborg and Jinx together, just proved to be a dose of reality that she couldn't handle at the moment. It showed her what she wanted more than anything in the universe, but would never seem to have with Robin.
Gosh, the drama of the teenage superhero!
However, the two lovebirds did not just affect Starfire, they also started to affect the other female member of the team. And at the present time, all the distractions her feelings were taking her through, were making it awfully hard to meditate. That is where we start off now…
8888888888888888
Raven was up on the roof again, which had become a vacant area due to the rift between Starfire and Robin, trying to meditate but was having no such luck. Her darn emotions kept getting in the way!
' It's just because Cyborg and Jinx are kissing and hugging at every possible moment lately,' Raven thought to herself. ' That's the only reason. Nothing more.'
" Uh, Hiya Raven," a voice interrupted, startling the gothic girl and causing her to send a bolt of energy whizzing out towards the sea. It wouldn't have been so embarassing if it wasn't who Raven knew it was.
" I just kinda wanted to talk ya know?" a timid looking Beastboy said as he walked over towards her. " I mean, everyone else in the Tower is being weird. Robin is turning into a hermit, Star isn't even trying to cook her nasty food, and Cyborg can't seem to get a breath to play video games because he's trying to suck the face off his new girlfriend."
The last comment made Raven start to laugh, not because it was terribly funny, but because it was what she had been thinking for the last three days. Beastboy, looking utterly bewildered by the fact that Raven was actually laughing at his comment, gave her a questioning look to express his confusion.
" It's nothing Beastboy," Raven said once she was able to get in a breath. " I just really agreed with that last statement."
Beastboy gave her his trademark smile and said, " So, you think I'm funny now uh? Well let me dazzle you with my wittiness and-"
" Don't push it BB," Raven replied, back to her monotone self. Beastboy shrugged and sat next to Raven on the roof. The two just sat there for a while, both just enjoying the calming breeze that blew across their faces, like a butterfly's wings brushing them so gently, that it eased away the anxieties of the previous weeks. Eventually, Beastboy stole a glance at Raven and asked, " So, do you think that Star and Robin are gonna make up?"
" Couldn't tell you," Raven answered as she stared across the sea. Then, turning her face towards Beastboy she continued with, " But if I know one thing, Robin is the most stubborn guy I've ever met. I hope he realizes that before he causes more damage to Star than he already has."
" It's because of that stupid Viper chick," Beastboy answered angrily, his voice sounding more mature as he continued. " She's making all of us bug out, but Rob most of all. Its like, she knows more about him than we do, and that freaks him out."
Raven stared at Beastboy for a moment, amazed at the clarity of his observation. She thought she was the only to spot that little detail.
" Well," she answered with a sigh. " She does have a connection with him that we don't. And I'm pretty sure she's attracted to him, as gross as that is. It isn't like how Star is attracted to him though," she added hastily as she saw a disgustedlook spread over the changeling's face. " It's more animalistic, carnal I suppose. I guess that proves Jinx's theory on her being half animal."
" Yeah," Beastboy said heavily. He wasn't comfortable at all knowing that their foe was more like him than anything else. It made him feel dirty, like they was a spot on his skin that he couldn't quite clean off, no matter how much he scrubbed. It also didn't help that he had an episode that caused him to become more animal than human, and had hurt his friends because that was what the instincts flowing through his head told him to do. So, all in all, he didn't feel so hot at the present.
Raven sensed this, and wrapped a comforting hand around the boy's, offering any strength she had to the person who occupied most of her thoughts. She forced him to make eye contact and said, " Don't ever think you are like that creature Beastboy. Because you're not! You are one of the kindest people I know, you have your moments as do we all, but don't let that even suggest to you that Viper is more akin to you than one of us. You showed compassion to me when the whole Malchior incident happened. You demonstrated strength with your decision about how to deal with Terra. You proved your goodness when you forgave her in the end. Don't ever think you aren't human Beastboy because you are! You are…" She hadn't even notice as she began to cry, startling Beastboy so much that he gasped. He had never seen Raven show this much emotion before, not even after the battle with the dragon that had deceived her. Before he knew what he was doing, he enveloped the purple-haired girl into a hug, and was amazed at how small she actually was. She never seemed that small to him before, when she was fighting off villain and such; she always displayed such intensity when she fought, that she seemed larger than life to him.
He saw now that she was still just a sixteen-year old girl who had insecurities and weaknesses just like everybody else. She was human, and so was he.
They simply stayed like that, taking comfort in each other's embrace before they both blushed a little bit, and pulled away slightly, but just enough to see their counterpart's face. The changeling was amazed that Raven had trusted him enough to open up to him so much, it was like she had turned a full circle and...
Beastboy finally broke the silence between them saying with a strange look on his face, " I think I just came up with an idea." The very air around him seemed to be cackling with anticipation. " It just hit me, it's so easy,and I think it's called an epiphany? What if, what if we attacked Slade's compound with a different type of assault plan. One that never stopped moving, one that was continuous in providing a distraction for two people to get inside the base and shut down or turn off or whatever the virus thingy?"
" What?" Raven asked confusedly. " Nothing moves continuous Beastboy, everything finds an ending point somewhere."
" What about a circuit plan?" Beastboy asked giddily, that mischievous spark back in his eye.
" I don't see how tha-" Raven began when she suddenly realized what the green teen was talking about. But, it was so simple, yet so ingenious, she wondered why they hadn't thought of it sooner. A smile began to spread over her features when she suddenly kissed an unsuspecting Beastboy in her emotional rampage happening inside her. It is needless to say the green boy was surprised, but it didn't take him long before he was ardently responding to the gothic girl. It was like a huge tidal wave of emotions came crashing down all at once, for both had wanted to feel the other's touch in this way for quite a while now. Beastboy pulled her closer to him, and the two "made-out" passionately for a whopping twenty minutes (00)before they both broke away, to tired to carry on. There was that awkward moment between them before the both smiled sheepishly. And then suddenly, Raven started to giggle.
" I've been wanting to do that for a while now," she said happily for once. " I always felt something there with us, but never wanted to explore it." She suddenly reverted back to her calm self. " I don't know how this will affect my powers though, and I can't endanger you or the team if they get out of control."
" Then how are you supposed to live Rae?" Beastboy asked, feigning a cross tone. " Life is full of risks and choices. I'll help you with your powers if they get wacko, but I can't go back to being how we were. Not after that." He gave her a look that spilled his heart out to her and continued, " I'm not going to say 'I love you' because I don't think I do. But, maybe if we give this thing a shot, that word will just happen to both of us."
Raven entwined her hand with Beastboy's and asked, " When did you get so smart BB?"
" I don't know," he said with a laugh. " I've been fighting against it for years, but I guess I finally lost in the end!"
They both were silent for a minute when Raven leaned in to kiss again, causing Beastboy to whisper, " Should we go tell the others aboutthe plan?"
" Let them wait," she answered in a husky voice before they both lost themselves in their caresses and kisses as the Sun began to rise.
888888888888888888
While the two on the roof exposed their feelings to each other, Starfire was sitting quietly be herself in the kitchen when Jinx came in to get a soda. She saw the alien looking miserable and decided to try to play the big sister role and cheer up the sad redhead. She walked over to the table, sat herself down, opened and took a sip of her soda, and cast a glance towards Starfire.
" So Star," Jinx began, already grasping that she was in way over her head here. " How you been? Haven't seen you too much since I've been here. Is it because I'm, you know, me?"
Star shook her head slowly, heaved a sigh, and answered quietly, " It has nothing pertaining to you friend Jinx. I simply have a plate filled with a large amount excess."
" Uh, do you mean you have 'too much on your plate'?"
Star laid her head on the cool, kitchen table and mumbled a yes to Jinx, fighting back the tears that wanted to break free. It seemed that everything she did lately, was cause for distress, as if she didn't think she was good enough for something or someone. Jinx rubbed the back of her neck in nervousness, not having any idea on how to console the desolate girl.
" Umm," she began as she awkwardly patted Starfire on the head, after all, she was new to the camaraderie thing the Titans had already established. " There, there. It'll be all right, I'll teach you some slang terms."
" Arg no!" the alien princess shouted out so unexpectedly it made Jinx jump and fall off her seat. Starfire, now quiteembarrassed of her outburst immediately helped Jinx up off the floor and glided out into the front room. Jinx, who was now rubbing her butt instead of her neck, followed her out into the room determined to find out what was causing the erratic behavior.
" Okay, Star," Jinx began with a littleedge to her voice. " You have to tell me what's wrong because if you don't, I'm afraid it's going to drive you nuts! It can't be so bad that you can't tell me."
Starfire was silent before she answered, and even when she did, she continued to stare out the huge window over the sea, much like another Titan up on the roof. " How do you humans comprehend love?" Starfire asked softly.
Now, Jinx may have been expecting a lot of responses to her question, however, that was not one of them.
" What?" she asked, her voice cracking with an uneasy timbre.
" You are human yes? How do you comprehend love?"
" Well," the sorceress began slowly. " I've never been in love before, so I don't really know. But, I guess you can tell when you start to notice little tidbits and details that you didn't notice about a person before."
" An illustration please," Starfire mandated.
" I don't know," Jinx said tiredly. " I guess…okay like when you start seeing that a person makes little noises when they've eaten something they like. And, then you realize, that little noise means more to you than, I don't know, food or whatever.
" I guess it's starting to love everything about that person, their strengths, their faults, their little idiosyncrasies, in addition to their physical qualities. It's by no means absolute, but it is pretty intense."
" I do not understand," Starfire said vulnerably. " That is not the way of my people. Why would you love someone in secret, it makes more sense to just speak your thoughts out loud for all to hear."
" Why do people lie?" Jinx countered immediately. " Why do people start battles where it is known that people will die? Why do people smoke even? I'll tell you why they do Starfire, it's because it's just human instinct. We are threatened by our insecurities and we combat them with what we believe to be the smart choice. Is it right? Sometimes it is, but other times it isn't. It's a defense mechanism, us humans aren't as strong emotionally as you tamaraneans. I don't think it's in our nature to be."
The two girls sat in silence for a while when Jinx asked, " All this is over Robin isn't it?"
Starfire nodded her head mutely, unable to muster the energy to reply.
" I could tell. It was all over your face the night I came here, and it was all over his face when I approached him in the park. Well, Star if you are in love with bird-boy," Starfire shot a repugnant look towards Jinx after that comment. Jinx just let it slide, happy that she finally got some emotion out of the alien. " Then I suggest you tell him how you feel. But, don't be surprised if he lies."
Starfire then looked very confused asking, " What do you mean?"
" You'll know soon enough," Jinx answered, starting to leave the room and find Cyborg. " Just don't give up on that kid okay? I think everything will work itself out in the end." And, with that, she left the room, leaving Starfire alone to deal with the maelstrom of thoughts whirling around in her psyche.
8888888888888888
" Oh my lord will it ever end!?" Viper muttered to herself as she made her way down to the lab in Slade's underground 'secret' base. " Well, not so secret anymore is it Slade?" She yelled down the hall, socompletely tired of the bickering between the Hive headmaster and her own master. She really didn't see the rational behind their arguing.
It had been discovered two days prior to this morning that the sorceress, Jinx, had been discovered as missing, and then later as someone who had betrayed them, and gone off to join the Titans. It was a pretty devastating blow to the 'bad-guys' side, mainly because she had been into the base, and knew how to get there. While Slade and the headmaster discussed what kind of person Jinx was in despicable language I won't repeat for you here, Viper was mildly impressed with the impish girl. She had managed to one-up them, and had done it right under their noses.
As she entered the lab and put on her white coat, Viper grumbled to herself, " And now are you going to tell them all about little old me Jinx? All about how I'm some kind of animal freak, and all about my history? Fat lot of good it'll do. I wonder if she even knew I planted that information in her for the sole reason in case she did decide to join up with the Titans. Now, they'll feel as if it is their duty to try and 'make my good' while I pummel the living shit out of them," she ended the last part with a cold cackle that sent goose-bumps down the spine of anyone who was listening down the hall.
She started to work on her, 'child' as she liked to call it, or better known as an updated version of the deadly Ebola virus. It had the same effects as the original, bleeding eyes, high fevers, boils, and death, but it worked much quicker, and more painfully, due to her own added venom. She studied the almost clear liquid and shuddered at the thought of how many people would die horrific deaths at the hand of Slade, but then only to live by his mercy; he had created an antidote, again, based on Viper's venom, but also on her DNA.
She didn't necessarily dislike the plan, but she thought it was a little to dirty for her liking. She always liked to give her opponents a chance to live, not kill them with their backs' turned. But, she would go along with Slade's plan, which had been bumped ahead of schedule owing to the fact that Jinx had deceived them, and try to execute it as best she could. Although, secretly, she knew it wouldn't work. The Teen Titans would come up with some sort of configuration that would be powerful enough to overcome the Hive security placed all around the outside of the base.
But, she really didn't give a damn about any of that, Slade could go screw himself for all she cared, all Viper wanted was one little fight, one fight to repay the legendary Batman for taking away the only father she ever knew.
She chuckled to herself as she began running diagnostic tests on her different vials of the enhanced Ebola and said, " Get ready Bat, the snake is about to eat your little birdy."
888888888888888
A/N: And I'm done w/ this chapter! Yes!!! It's really amazing I could get this written when I had to write my screenplay for drama. I am the queen of multi-tasking right now! One more chapter of the introspective stuff, and then BAM! The action is going to be so incredible it'll be awesome! That'll be a really long chapter too, so it may take me a little bit more time to write it. And I thought I'd add the Viper scene so you all don't think I've forgotten her.
Oh, I forgot to mention up there to JulesFire, I LOVE THAT SONG TOO!!!!! I can listen to it over, and over, and over!!! Plus, it fit absolutely perfect in my mind; that is actually my favorite chapter of this fic so far.
And one last note, if any of you are confused as to what the Ebola virus is, It's the virus in the movie Outbreak, the one with Dustin Hoffman, and the monkey who bites people and makes them sick. The disease is pretty bad, and it is an extremely painful 3-day death. If you want more info, look it up or watch the movie, because I don't think you want a research report as your next update!;)
Well, I gotta go to my friends wrestling meet, it's her senior night tonight and I made her a sign! Bye!
Osco
