"What's in a Name?"
(William Shakespeare 1564 – 1616, "Romeo and Juliet", Act 2 scene 2)
Cyborg was crouched over the computer feverishly clicking the mouse. Starfire walked up behind him waving her story.
"I am ready to share my story!" Starfire paused. "Cyborg, are you alright?"
"Yeah, Star. I'm just looking through all the entries on this site. When I find a Cy/Gizmo, I'm gonna flame 'em!"
"You do not like the Cy/Gizmo concept?"
"NO!"
"Oh." Starfire looked at her story and started tapping her fingers nervously. "I ..see. Well, I ah…"
Cyborg turned around and looked at her. She couldn't look at him. Realization came over him.
"No. Starfire, you didn't!"
She slowly looked up. "Um, I wanted to write something unexpected. I did not know that it would make you so disgusting."
"Disgusted!" Corrected Cyborg. "Come on, Star, you gotta change it! Beast Boy will never let me hear the end of it!" By this time, he had grasped her shoulders.
"But we are to share in a few minutes. It took me many hours to write this. I do not know what else to write about."
"Look you don't have to change the story, just change his name."
"To what?"
"I don't know! Jinx, Bumblebee, Sara what's-her-face, anything!"
"I see. Very well, I will change Gizmo's identity to someone else's."
"Thank you," he said letting go of her. "Let's just keep this between us."
"Do not worry, Friend. I shall not cause you any embarrassment."
Starfire turned away and headed for the couch.
Cyborg mumbled to himself. "I've known Star long enough to know that just ain't gonna happen."
Later…
The Titans sat on the sofa and looked at their stories.
"Before we start," said Beast Boy, "We should have pen names."
"Pen names? And we need pen names WHY exactly?" Raven arched an eyebrow.
"So that we don't use our real names." Replied Beast Boy.
"Except for Raven, no one else ever uses their real names." Robin said with a shrug.
Beast Boy shot up. "Don't you think it's strange that we trust each other with our lives yet we don't even know each other's real names?"
"Not really." Robin replied.
"Yeah me neither." Said Beast Boy.
"I guess there's a thin line between suspending disbelief and kicking logic to the curve," mused Cyborg.
Long awkward silence
"So how about those pen names! The reviewers gave us several suggestions. " Beast Boy looked at the list.
"Reviewers? What reviewers! What are they reviewing and what made them think that we needed pen names?" Asked Cyborg.
"Dude, you ask too many questions! Okay, there were some interesting ones but here're the ones I picked. The contributors' names are in bold:
Robin: EveryTimDickandJason (DragonBlond)
Beast Boy: TofuROX (Rose)
Raven: DarkRavenofAzarath (Stargirl1066lkl)
Starfire: Blaknorg (nevermoretheraven)
Cyborg: ScrapMetal61 (Maraina85)"
"Yo! What's up with my pen name?" Said Cyborg.
"Sorry, Cy, they had a really hard time making one up for you."
"I'm not too comfortable with my pen name," said Robin.
"Well, I was thinking of Slade's Nightmare (MlzMissa), but it's too scary for our target audience. Besides, it's not like any of them is your real name. Lighten up!"
Starfire was twirling in midair. "I love Blaknorg! It is such a fitting name for me!"
Beast Boy turned to the other three. "Dudes, don't ask."
They responded, "We weren't."
Raven finally spoke up, "Okay, we put this off long enough. Who's going to go first?"
"Let's let the girls go." Said Beast Boy.
"Sure. Starfire?" Robin motioned for her to go.
"Yes! I am ready!"
Cyborg stood up abruptly. "NO!"
The other's looked at him perplexed.
"I mean…let Raven go first," he said in a sweet voice as he sat back down.
"Uh, sure. Okay Raven. You go first."
Raven got off the couch and stood in front of them.
"In my fanfic, Starfire is an only child." Raven took a deep breath and began.
WARNING: The following fics you are about to read in the next few chapters are…well…Ah the heck with it! Please don't flame them too harshly (especially Starfire). After all, it's their first time.
