A/N - I've decided to add Continuity notes to each of the ficlets from now on. I probably should have done it before, but I didn't think to. But this batch jump around quite a bit, so it made sense to start with 'em. Again, reviews welcomed with open arms and mugs of hot cocoa.


FRACTURE TWO


Reasoning

(Continuity – Around any episode with Slade in it)

There was always in-fighting. It was part of being a team. You joked, you talked, you bickered, and you did all the things in between.

When Robin got too uptight, it was up to one of the others to pull him out of it. He couldn't do it on his own, though he never accepted there was anything he couldn't do. Not until forced.

He tore one corner of his mask when he scraped across the floor, and lay instead of getting up.

"If you can't beat me," Cyborg said, "how can you beat him?"

"It's different," he replied. "You're supposed to win."


Onion Layers

(Continuity – Anytime)

He really didn't get her. Not even just get her; he really, really didn't get her. Like, she'd started the conversation in English, then gone into fluent Gebrovian.

"What?"

"I said, may I try it out?"

Beast Boy stared for a second. Then, wordlessly, he held out the game controller. Raven took it, also wordlessly, sat three cushions away and hit 'start'.

She mashed sixteen monsters, grabbed all thirty bags of gold, found the hidden level and aced it. Then she quietly tapped her name into the topmost spot of the High Score Table.

"There." She got up and left without crowing.

He watched her go, blinking a lot. Only when the doors were shut did he shake his head, frown and mutter, "Stupid, smart aleck, know-it-all … girl."


To Weep, Perchance to Heal

(Continuity – Post-Birthmark)

There are different kinds of crying. There's happy crying, and sad crying, and frustrated crying. And beyond those, there's that sort of raw, desperate sobbing that bursts out when all the despair inside can't be held back anymore, and something in the soul finally breaks.

He'd seen it in victims he'd saved when they didnh't want to be. He'd seen it in children whose shoes were stained with their parents' blood. He'd seen it more times than anyone should.

Robin never wanted to see that sort of crying again.

Except that he did.

Raven glared at him, then schooled her features back to neutral. He could almost see the emotions being tucked back into place.

And he futilely willed her tears to fall.


Hypothetically Speaking…

(Continuity – Anytime)

"Cy, can I ask you a question?"

Cyborg looked up from his newspaper. LexCorp.'s stock was down, his batteries were full, and he was in a particularly good mood. "Sure, BB."

"If you could morph like me, would you do the kitten thing? Hypothetically speaking."

"Yo mean that ootsy cutesy horror? Maybe. Not really my bag, though. Why?"

Beast Boy went on like he hadn't heard him. "Also hypothetically, if some bozo kicked kitten-you, it'd be okay to bite his leg, right?"

"Random acts of violence and revenge are different than fighting crime, B."

He paused. "Um, another hypothetical question. What if you already did?"


Progress

(Continuity – Anytime)

Robin's not entirely sure when he started depending on her.

Bruce always taught him to be self-sufficient. Batman trained him to work alone. He knows as many tricks and techniques as the most hardened crime-fighter, could potentially survive for a week on six biscuits and rainwater, and he never, ever does anything without calculating the risks first. Even in a fight, he's working three moves ahead.

But recently, he's noticed how he orchestrates his moves to accommodate her. He uses her strength, her flight, her agility – which isn't a patch on his own, really. He looks for her in a fight, keeps tabs on her more than the others – bad form for a leader.

And though he knows what his training demands, he makes no move to return to old habits.


Beyond the Pale

(Continuity – Between 'Titan Rising' and 'Betrayal')

There was no getting away from it. Terra was a heel.

She'd come to the conclusion quite some time ago, when she accepted Slade's offer of help. Everything had a price tag. Everybody wanted paying, eventually.

Even the Titans wanted something in return. They offered her a room. She fought on their team. They presented their friendship. They wanted it reciprocated. It was damn rude of them, really.

Actually, no. No, it wasn't. That was just her trying to validate her own actions. Badly.

What she was doing was unforgivable.

Betrayal was one of those too-melodramatic words, clichéd and corny.

She wondered how long it would take God to process the retribution paperwork.

If there was such a thing as reincarnation, she thought, she was probably coming back as athlete's foot.


End Fracture Two