Jump City Cantata
A Teen Titans Fanfiction by Jacob McDonald
Opening notes: Sorry for the HUGE delay folks. Class is kicking my ass this semester. Spring break is here though, so hopefully I'll be able to get some serious writing in. Hopefully. This chapter took so long for several reasons. First of course, was my class schedule coupled with my work hours. Second, it's one of those difficult transitional chapters that brings a lot of story lines together, and really seems to drag at points. The drag is necessary, but hard to write, and sometimes hard to read. Thirdly, this is a MONSTER of a chapter. Some 12,000 words long, it should keep you occupied for a little while at least while I write the next chapter.
Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans and don't plan to any time soon.
Chapter Eight
Cyborg tossedTrident aside, then turned and slugged Trident in the face. Nearby, Beast Boy swatted Trident down as a bear, then morphed into a stegosaurs and spun about, smashing several Trident's back into the Jump City Bay.
Turning back into himself and throwing a vicious spin kick into a Trident's jaw that would have done Robin proud, Beast Boy shouted to his friend, "Dude! This is pointless! We can't beat these guys in a straight fight!"
"We just have to hold out until Speedy and Jinx get here!" Cyborg yelled back as he plucked a Trident from his back and threw him into several other clones, "Keep it up! We're doing fine!"
Just then, there was the roar of a motor and Robin's R-Cycle came hurling out onto the docks, plowing Trident's aside as it went. Skidding to a halt and dropping the bike on several more of the clones, the lone rider jumped from the seat and landed near Beast Boy.
Jinx ripped off her helmet and slammed one of the Tridents across the face with it, "Miss me, BB?"
"You have no idea. And call me Gar."
"Where's Speedy?" Cyborg asked as he slugged a Trident out of his way to reach his friends.
"He uh... decided to stop off at the park and help Raven."
"Dude, he's got it bad." Beast Boy backed up until his back was against Jinx's.
"No doubt. You should have seen his face when we heard Raven get slammed by Fang. I thought he was going to take off running right then."
"Well, how about we finish up here so that we can get over there and catch the two of them making out or something." Cyborg pointed at the docks ahead of them, "Wanna' dump that hundred or so of 'em back into the ocean Jinx?"
"Not a problem." Jinx replied as she waved her hand at the wooden planks. They buckled in on themselves, sending dozens of Tridents howling down into the murky water below.
Raven dodged to the side as Fang's razor sharp claws slammed into the pavement next to her, sending bits of rock flying in all directions. She threw up a black shield of energy a moment latter to block his next strike.
"Give it up, Girly. I'll get past you one of these times." Fang laughed as he spit a wad of paralyzing goop at her.
Raven ducked the spittle and threw a punch directly into the spider headed man's chest, knocking him back several feet. She followed the punch with a wave of black force, blowing him back into a tree.
"I can keep this up all day, Fang." she replied in a monotone, "You're going down one way or another, so why don't you just give up peacefully."
"Over my dead body." was Fang's retort as he grabbed a nearby ice cream stand with his human hands and used his spider legs to help him hurl it at her.
The cart slammed into Raven with enough force to knock her for a loop, giving Fang all the time he needed to be on top of her. As she tried to regain focus, he pinned her arms down and stood his human legs on her knees.
"Got you right were I want you now, baby." Fang laughed as the claw at the tip of one of his spider legs hooked on the neck line of her leotard and tore a line down to the middle of her breasts, revealing ample amounts of cleavage.
Raven glared up at the mutant, "Now now, Fang. What would Kitty say?"
"I think she'd understand if it was a Titan I was nailing." He clicked his mandibles together as he used his human hands to start unbuttoning his pants. Raven's eyes grew wide, and she prepared to used her powers.
As Fang started on his zipper, an arrow slammed into his shoulder, sending him reeling back with a howl of pain. Raven sat up and kicked her feet along the ground until she managed to float up into the air and back away from the spider-mutant. She noted that the arrow hadn't exploded or frozen, just buried it's self in Fang's shoulder. It was a real arrow, not one of Speedy's special particle accelerated ones.
Whirling around, she saw Speedy stringing another arrow, a look of anger and determination on his face. The fight with Cinderblock had left him looking a little worse for ware, but otherwise unharmed.
"No lethal force!" she shouted as he drew the arrow back to fire it. He held the arrow for several seconds before he lowered his bow and replaced the arrow in his quiver. As Fang flopped around on the ground trying to get the arrow out of his shoulder, Speedy walked over to Raven.
"You okay?" he asked as he reached out and touched her shoulder.
"I'm fine. You're hurt though... let me heal you-"
"After we're done here." Speedy glanced past her, then his eyes darted back to her breasts. He caught himself a second later and looked away with a slight blush, "Sorry."
Raven grinned, "Nothing you haven't seen before, right?" floating up off the ground, she turned back to Fang, "Let's take him down quick and clean."
"Right." Speedy pulled out an explosive arrow, "I'll blast him to the side, you knock him down."
Raven nodded and flew off to Fang's right side just as the monster ripped the arrow from his shoulder. Bulging spider eyes scanned around him quickly and landed on Speedy. "YOU!" he roared and jumped up off the ground.
Speedy fired at where Fang landed in a tree, but the spider-man was already jumping again, this time hurling right for the archer, claws extended like spears.
His limbs seemed to move in slow motion, and Fang seemed to move incredibly fast as Speedy reached for another arrow. He was going to die. Those claws were going to tear his chest open any second now, and he was going to die...
A flash of black energy lanced in front of him just as Fang's claws were about to reach his chest. Time sped up again and he had an arrow strung in a flash. His eyes grew wide as he saw Fang rearing back on six of his spider legs, waving the two that had just been severed at the half way point in the air, spraying black blood all over the park.
With a grim look, Speedy let the arrow fly at point blank range, blowing Fang away from him. The spider mutant landed in a heap of legs several yards away, out cold.
"Damn, Raven." the archer gasped as he stumbled back, "Thanks."
Raven floated over to Fang and checked his vitals. Standing she looked back at Speedy, "He'll live. Call in a medical team and the cops. They can take him from here."
"Right." as Speedy put in the call, Raven pulled her own T-Comp out.
"Raven to Cyborg. Report."
"Almost done here. Not much left of the docks, but the Tridents are retreating."
"Good job. We'll-" she was cut off by a bleeping from her T-Comp, "Hold on Cy." she switched screens and checked the report. "Shit." she quickly switched back to the com screen, "Now don't freak out here Cyborg, but we just got a report of a small army of Slade drones attacking the upper East Side."
There was a click as Cyborg signed off, then another click as Beast Boy's voice came through the com link, "Dude, Cy just took off! What the hell?"
"Sarah's apartment is in the upper East side." Raven replied, "I'm taking Speedy back to the Tower to patch him up. You two go with Cyborg and help him out. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, okay Beast Boy?"
"Call me Gar. And I'll do my best, but you know Cyborg."
"Yeah." Raven frowned, "Raven out... Gar."
Starfire stood outside of a door in Wayne Manor that was bound in crime scene tape, and sported a sign that looked like it had been printed off of a home computer that read, "Dick's Room! Keep Out!" It was so un-Robin like that she had to frown. Normally the boy wonder was neat and organized, and he had insisted that they not decorate the doors of their rooms back at Titan's Tower for the sake of professionalism. His work spaces and living spaces were always immaculate, hardly ever having a spot of dust or a crumb of food.
This door was a ruse to fool anyone that would happen by; Robin the Boy Wonder didn't live in Wayne Manor after all.
Raising her hand, she knocked lightly, "Richard? It is Kori... may I enter?" There was silence from the other side of the door, but Alfred had assured her that Robin was inside, "Richard, I know that you are in there, Alfred told me as much. You can open the door or I can open it for you."
A moment later, the door opened and she was staring into Robin's eyes, looking bluer than she had ever seen anything in her life, "What?" he demanded.
Star's eyes flashed green as her temper snapped, "Do not presume that you can treat me in this manor simply because you are upset with Batman." she said in a scathingly dangerous tone. Robin's eyes grew wide and he backed away from the door, "Taking out your frustration on your friends is a bad habit of yours Richard, but if you are to be MY boyfriend, you will learn to control your temper." Robin stared at her with his mouth open, "Are we clear?" He nodded, his mouth still hanging open, "Good. Now, let us start over." Star reached out and pulled the door shut, then knocked.
"Yes?" Robin's voice came through the wood.
"It is Kori, Richard, I wish to speak with you."
The door opened a second later, and Robin smiled at her sadly, "Come in."
Smiling as she walked in past him, she pecked him on the cheek, "There, that was not so painful, was it?"
"No... and thanks Kori... for keeping me in line. I'm just... really upset." he crossed the room and sat down next to her on his bed.
"Understandable, but not acceptable. I'm sure Bruce did what he did for a reason."
"He did it because he was getting his petty revenge. I left to lead the Titan's and when he found out that Slade was after me, he left me alone to take care of it, not even giving me any information, because he wanted to show me that I wasn't ready to be out on my own."
"But you were ready. You rose to the occasion and met the challenge. We defeated Slade."
"Apparently, we didn't."
Star reached out and touched Robin's face, "We did not kill Slade, but we did defeat him. It has been years since we heard from him."
"Still, I wish I could be back in Jump right now. As soon as we finish up with the Joker, we're heading back."
"Richard..." Star leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "You can not leave Bruce like this. You must go to him and talk about this."
"You don't know him like I do, Star. The man wont talk about anything he doesn't want to."
"Perhaps he does want to talk about this."
"No. That's final. If he wants to talk this out, he can come to me."
"You are both very stubborn people." Star squeezed him, "Let us get some rest before we are to meet Miss Quinn tonight."
"Right. Hey, I love you, you know that right?"
"Of course I do, just as you know that I love you. I am sure we will argue in the future, Richard. Do not think that it means I feel any less strongly for you."
"Okay... I guess we'll just have to feel out this whole relationship thing as we go, huh?" he smiled.
"That is part of the fun of it." Star wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to the mattress with her, "Now kiss me so that I may have pleasant dreams."
The Slade drones had always been a major nuisance for the Titans during the year long time period they spent fighting Slade. They were tough, armed with all sorts of nasty weapons, and, being robots, worked as a hive mind. It had taken everything the team had to fight off the small army that had invaded the tower when Terra had sprung her trap on them.
That was then.
It had been three years since the Titans had faced off against the Slade drones, and as they had grown, so had their power. As Cyborg blasted a swath through the horde that infested the street in front of his girlfriend's apartment, he noted with pleasure that the upgrades to his sonic cannon had finally come in handy. The beam could blow apart a building with one blast on full power now; far too much force for any living opponent.
Robots were a different story.
He turned with a battle cry as he slammed a fist into the head of the drone coming up behind him, smashing it's mettle cranium into little bits. He then flung the body at two other nearby robots, following the toss with another blast of his cannon.
A short ways away, pink energy flashed around the black-clad Jinx and she threw a low spin kick, knocking all of the drones surrounding her to the ground. With their circuits fried from her curse, they simply twitched on the ground as she walked around and stomped their heads in.
Beast Boy was built for mass combat in his stegosaurus form, swinging his tail around, and blasting drones all over the street. He paused for a moment to shake the sparking body of one of the robots off his tail spikes before continuing to stomp about and send the drones flying.
Cyborg had fought his way to the building at that point and unceremoniously kicked the door in. What he found inside almost made his oil freeze and his microprocessors stop.
Drones were in the building, dragging people out of their apartments and executing them in the hall ways. Four bodies already lay on the ground at his feet, the backs of their heads blown open by close range laser blasts.
"Sarah!" he screamed, and let loose with a blast down the hall way, blowing the drones there apart. As he charged to the stairs at the end of the hall, another drone stepped out of an apartment and into his path.
Cy didn't even slow down as he took it's head off with one punch.
Out on the street, Jinx was franticly trying to pick up the slack left by Cyborg when he'd run into the building. The street collapsed around her, cars exploded where they were parked, taking out several drones each, and she even went so far as to start blowing windows out of the surrounding buildings, sending the shards flying into the drones with deadly force.
On top of using her powers to aid her, Jinx was still using every fighting move she knew to hold off the drones that made it up to her, "GAR!" she shouted, "HELP!"
Beast Boy looked over at her and quickly morphed into a rhino, plowing a swath through the drones to meet her. As he reached her he became a raptor, slashing away with his toe claws and biting heads off drones left and right.
Jinx used the moment of rest to rupture the gas main below the bulk of the drones and blow them sky high, along with most of the street.
The resulting shockwave blasted both super hero's off of their feet and sent them tumbling into Sarah's building. They landed in a heap of arms and legs, Beast Boy having resumed his natural form.
As the ringing started in their ears, Beast Boy said, "Dude, I think we need to go through that training program again."
"Heh." Jinx finally got to her feet and pulled him up as well, "Let's go check on Cy."
Cyborg tossed yet another drone down the steps, as he finally made it to the third floor. A sudden quiet descended as he scanned the hall for signs of trouble. His eyes paused for an infinite moment as they came to rest on the still form of a blonde girl laying on the floor outside of Sarah's open door.
"No..." he stumbled forward a few steps, then found his balance and dashed the remaining few yards to kneel next to the body lying on the ground. Reaching out with a trembling hand, he grasped the girls shoulder and rolled her over.
"Cy?" Beast Boy's voice came from behind him, and he heard the changeling step closer. There was a sharp intake of breath, then, "Holy... oh shit dude... that's not... is it... it can't be-"
Cyborg held his arm out and a small medical kit popped out of it, "It's not Sarah, but she's not breathing either. We need to start CPR."
"Fuck... dude... I can't remember-"
"Then go in there and check to see if Sarah's alright." Cyborg pointed at the open door of his girlfriend's apartment, "Jinx, can you help me here?"
"Yeah. Go on Gar." Jinx shoved him through the door and knelt next to Cyborg, "Begin compression." she ordered, and lowered her mouth to that of the blonde girl.
Beast Boy took one last glance at his team mates working then stepped farther into the apartment. He walked slowly, checking every corner and shadow as he moved. "Sarah!" he called, "It's BB! We're here to-"
The closet next to the small kitchen area flew open and a blonde blur slammed into Beast Boy as he turned to meet the threat. It took him a moment to process that he was holding a sobbing Sarah in his arms.
"Don't worry Sarah," he said with a smile, "we're here now."
"I was so scared!" she whispered, her face still buried in his chest.
"It's all good now. Jinx blew apart half the street to do it, but we got rid of the drones." he pushed her up off of him and held her at arms length, "Now come on. Cy's right outside the door there and I don't want him getting the wrong idea about this."
Sarah giggled and glanced at the door. Her eyes grew wide at what she saw, "Oh my God... Tina..."
"They'll save her. Don't be-" Beast Boy caught movement out of the corner of his eye and his head snapped around to look even as he interposed his own body between whatever was coming out of the bedroom and Sarah.
Three quick laser blasts later, Beast Boy was staggering back into Sarah, gasping in pain. He couldn't yell, couldn't warn Cyborg-
A blue beam of energy ripped through the drone that had stepped out of the bedroom, blasting it through the wall and out into the street. Beast Boy smiled a bit, and looked around at Sarah, "You okay?" he rasped out.
"Oh shit... BB..." Sarah was lowering him to the ground, "I'm fine, but you're hit-"
"I'm okay..." he closed his eyes, "I'm a tough little green guy..."
And the world went black.
"Ow." Speedy smiled as Raven rolled her eyes.
"If you say that one more time, I'm going to make you do this yourself." They were sitting in the medical lab of Titan Tower, Speedy sitting up straight on a stool, and Raven crouching next to him. She had discarded her cloak so she could work easier, and her white leotard was now stained with little splotches of blood, both her own, and Speedy's. She was currently wrapping his ribs in a stiff bandage.
"Why don't you just use your healing powers anyway?" he asked.
"I don't want sore ribs."
"No, really. I mean, yeah it sucks for you, but you don't really get hurt, and I'd be up to fighting fit and able to get back out there-"
"I'm going to use my powers in a moment, Speedy. Just let me make sure all the bones are in the right spots so it'll work right." Raven tightened the bandage down and Speedy gasped.
"Ow..."
Raven smiled a little, "We'll just let those set into place for a minute. Here..." she reached out and peeled his mask off, "Let me do something about this cut above your eye."
He nodded as she began dabbing at it with a bit of gauze. They sat in silence for a few minutes while she worked, and applied the bandage. As she smoothed the adhesive edges down and pulled her hands away, Speedy reached up and caught her sleeve. Raven gave him a curious look, but didn't move to pull away from him.
"You have a cut..." he mumbled as he turned her hand palm up and inspected the thin laceration that ran along her palm.
"I broke a glass the other night. Nothing big."
Speedy nodded but grabbed the antiseptic anyway. Raven let him clean the dirt of the battle off of her hand, then apply liquid band-aid to it to seal it shut. With a small smile he turned her hand over in his and looked down at the two.
"You have small hands." he noted.
"Maybe you just have big hands."
"I do, but that's not all of it. Yours are small, too."
"Yeah."
They sat holding hands for several minutes, both lost in their own thoughts.
"Well!" Raven sat up suddenly, "I can heal your ribs now."
"Okay." Speedy sat up straighter and she held her hands out. A whitish glow surrounded his midsection briefly, and Raven winced. After a moment, she was done, and rubbing her ribs.
"Bet that sucked." Speedy arched his back and rotated his trunk. "Yep, good as new. Thanks a ton, Rae."
"Don't mention it." Raven started packing up the medical supplies.
"Hey..." Speedy reached out again and caught her wrist. She looked back at him and smiled.
"What?"
He smiled back and pulled her over to him. She stumbled a bit and he caught her as she fell into his arms. A blush colored her cheeks as she stared up into his blue eyes, "Speedy, I-"
"Shush. We can think about the consequences of our actions later." and he kissed her.
Raven melted into him. If kissing Robin had been mind blowing, this kiss was going to lobotomize her. As Speedy's tongue started to work against hers, she knew in a sudden moment of clarity that they would never just be friends again.
Cyborg rushed down the hall of the medical level of the tower with a small green form in his arms. Beast Boy moaned as he jostled against the robotic Titan's titanium arm.
"Almost there Gar. Hold on man..."
He almost punched the open button next to the medical room door, but held himself back from breaking anything. As the doors wooshed open, he stepped in and called out, "Raven! You in here?"
Cyborg stopped short and his mouth fell open. The sudden cessation of motion caused Beast Boy to lift his head weakly. His eyes grew wide as well. "Dude..." he breathed, "They're really going at it..."
Raven had her arms wrapped up under Speedy's shoulders, her hands gripping at his hair. Speedy, who was shirtless, had his hands on her hips pulling her into him even as they crushed their mouths together.
They didn't seem to notice anyone had just walked in.
"Uh... Raven? Speedy?" Cyborg arched an eyebrow. "HEY!" he shouted, and they jumped apart.
"What? Cy? Oh... shit." Raven covered her face to hide her blush, then looked back up a moment later, "What happened to Beast Boy?"
"Took a few shots protecting Sarah. She's here by the way, down in the rec-room."
"Alright, get him on a table. Where's Jinx?" Raven started hooking up scanners as Cy set the changeling down on one of the tables.
"Sitting with Sarah. They're getting acquainted."
"I'm going to go put on a new uniform." Speedy said as he stood up.
"Don't bother." Raven checked a pulse readout, "We're not going out again tonight."
"Okay. civies then."
"See you soon." Raven waved.
Speedy walked over to her, leaned in and pecked her on the cheek, "Yeah. We can talk later."
Raven looked up at him with a smile, "I'd like that."
"Hello?" Beast Boy's weak voice wafted up from where he lay, "Dying here, remember?"
"You're not dying." Raven said with a smile as she turned back to the readouts.
Cyborg watched with an arched eyebrow and an amused look as Speedy left.
"So!" he said, "You and Speedy are-"
"Don't ruin it for me, Cy." Raven said happily as she probed at Beast Boy's wounds, "These look nasty."
"You should feel 'em..." Beast Boy replied.
"Hmmm..." Raven reached out and healed one of the blast marks. She inhaled sharply and stepped back, "Yeah..." she gripped a point on her chest, "They hurt..."
"Christ, Raven!" Cyborg stepped forward, "Let's just clean and dress the wounds. You don't need to kill yourself again."
"Literally." Beast Boy put in.
"You're pretty chatty for someone who's been shot up." Raven poked his shoulder.
"Ow."
"Cy, get that green stuff over there. Yeah that one..." Raven took the jar of antiseptic that Cyborg handed her and began cleaning Beast Boy's wounds. "If Jinx or Sarah are hurt, you might as well send them up too..."
"Naw, they're fine. Big girls you know. They can look after themselves. And you need to have a chat with Speedy, remember?"
"You just keep giving me grief over this and we'll see if you like the pits of Azer."
"You'd send me to a different dimension just because I'm making fun of you?"
Raven looked up and gave him an evil little grin, "Why, Cyborg! When did I ever give you the impression I was the nice one?"
Robin smoothed his mask down over his eyes and stared at himself in the mirror of the changing room in the Batcave for several minutes. The green and red didn't seem to feel right anymore. Not now that he was his own hero.
Bruce had turned a blind eye on him when Slade had been trying to convert him, and had left him to sink without giving him any information after that. It hurt that Batman hadn't helped him... the man who had taught him everything he knew about being good and noble. It hurt that he'd been thrown out just because he had wanted to go out on his own.
More than anything though, it hurt to think about what might have been. If he'd had information on who Slade was, and what he did, they might have been able to stop him sooner. They might have been able to save Jump City so much grief and turmoil...
... Terra might not have had to giver her life for them...
Robin's fist slammed into the mirror, shattering it into the sink below, "Damn you Bruce." he whispered, "She might still be alive if it wasn't for you..."
"Robin?" Starfire's voice came from the door, "Are you well? I heard a crash..."
"I'm fine Star. I'll be right out." Robin composed himself once again. He didn't need the excess anger and rage when he was going out to go Joker hunting. Harley wasn't the best fighter in the world, but she knew a lot of tricks to keep herself out of trouble. They'd have to be on their toes, and with any kind of anger clouding his mind, he was sure he'd miss something.
As he walked to the door, Robin tossed his Bat Communicator in the sink with the broken glass. He wouldn't be needing Bruce's help tonight.
"...so then he's all like, 'Hey! You get that frog off of third, or I'll toss you out for amphibious misconduct.'" Jinx burst out laughing as Sarah relayed one of her many stories about her boyfriend, "So Tommy," Sarah giggled, "Tommy tells him that it's not a frog, it's their third baseman!"
The two of them burst out laughing and took several minutes to compose themselves. When they had finally calmed down, Sarah, sitting on the couch with her legs curled under her across from where Jinx was lounging in a comfy chair, spoke, "So, what can I call you other than Jinx?"
"Hmm? Why would you call me anything else?" the pink haired girl arched an eyebrow.
"Well, it's kind of a tradition with the Titan girls. I call Starfire Kori, Raven's been cursed with Rae Rae," Jinx giggled, "and when she was still around, I called Terra Ra."
"I don't really have any knick names," the sorceress shrugged, "I mean, it's kind of hard to shorten down Jinx..."
"Well, what's your real name? I call Star by her given name, or at least a shortened version of it."
"Oh... well... I don't really like to think about that part of my life..." Jinx looked at the gentle smile on Sarah's face and smiled back, "But to hell with it. Call me Jen. No one's called me that since my father."
"Are your parents still around?"
"Not really. I ran away when I was young and joined the HIVE. Mom died a few years before that and my Dad... well, he went a little crazy after we lost her. I actually... um... sorta' knocked him out and had him taken to the state mental hospital the other day."
Sarah stared at her, "Oh." she said, and blinked. "Well, Jen, why don't you and I start cooking up some diner for the team. I'm sure they'll all be down here in a while looking for food."
"Oh no... you do NOT want to see me in the kitchen. Besides, I'm still all banged up from the battle. I need a shower and a trip to the med bay to wrap up my wrist." she held up her left hand and showed Sarah her wrist to emphasize her point. It was swollen and bruised, and looked like it was sitting at a funny angle, "I think it's sprained."
"Sprained?" Sarah got up and rushed over to her, "Jen, this is broken! How can you just sit there and act like this doesn't hurt?"
"Oh, it hurts. Hurts like hell actually, but Cy told me to stay with you, so here I am... Gar needed the treatment more than I did."
"Right... well, march straight to the medical bay then young lady, and I'll start dinner."
"Young lady?" Jinx stood up and started for the elevator with a laugh.
"I'm a year older than you at least." Sarah waved her off, "Shoo! Go get that wrist fixed."
"I'm going!" Jinx smiled, "I'll send Cy down to help you with dinner."
"Oh God no... we'll be eating nothing but meat..."
Jinx laughed out loud as she stepped on to the elevator and the doors slid shut.
Starfire gripped Robin about the waist tightly as they sped through the streets of Gotham on the Batcycle. She hoped fervently that Quinn wouldn't put up too much of a fight, and that they could conclude their business in Gotham as soon as possible. The team back home needed them, and the sooner she could get Robin away from Batman, the sooner she could start to work on getting him to forgive his mentor.
"We'll be going in through the front door." Robin told her through the com link in the helmets.
"On the bike?" she asked as a joke.
"On the bike." he replied.
Star blinked, "Oh."
"Once we're in, I need you to single out Harley and pin her. She's a tricky girl, so be careful, and don't spare the starbolts if she fights back."
"What is it you are planning on doing?"
Robin's voice came through clear and confident, "I'm going to take care of everyone else."
Beast Boy walked slowly out of the med bay as Jinx came down the hall, "Hey Babe." she said as she came up next to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "How're you feeling?"
"Not bad considering. Raven healed up one wound, but we decided to just patch up the rest. I'll live, but I'll be on the mend for a few days." he shrugged.
"No fighting for you then. You should change, then go see Sarah. She's cooking tonight."
"She knows to make a vegetarian dish for me. She's a great cook too, you'll love whatever she makes."
"I'm sure of it. I have to have the doctor look at my wrist now, so I'll see you down in the rec-room in a bit, okay?" Jinx winked at him.
"Okay." Beast Boy smiled back and walked gingerly down the hall as she stepped into the medical lab.
"Hey! Raven! You got any wrist braces?"
Raven turned around from where she was putting some supplies away and glanced at Jinx's wrist, "Christ Jinx." she shook her head, "Get over here and let me heal that."
"You've suffered enough of our pain tonight, Rae." Jinx walked over, "Just brace it and give me an ice pack for the swelling."
"I'll heal it. That's an order." Raven held out her hand and Jinx sighed and placed her broken wrist in it, "We need everyone in good shape now that Beast Boy is out of action for a little while."
"Just don't over-do it." Jinx watched as Raven closed her eyes and winced as she used her powers to heal the bones.
"There." Raven pulled her hand back, "I mended the bones, but left the bruising. You can heal that on your own, or come find me tomorrow and I'll finish it. For right now, I want you to take some Codeine and get a cold compress on it."
"Will do. Hey, where's Cy? I told Sarah I'd send him down."
"He went to his room. His body armor took a few shots and he was going to repair it really quick." Raven grabbed her cape and smiled at Jinx, "Did I hear you say Sarah is cooking?"
"Why are you so smiley?" Jinx reached out and flipped Raven's hair away from her ear, "You don't smile this much."
"I can feel a wider range of emotions now, remember?"
"Yeah, but..." Jinx's eyes widened, "You have a crush!"
"What?" Raven was slightly taken aback.
"We have a link... from when you talked to me when you were dead. I can... tell what you're thinking and feeling sometimes. More like I just know."
Raven glanced out the door, then hit the button to shut it. She turned back to Jinx and grabbed her good hand, "Oh my God... Speedy... cute, funny, romantic, and holy shit is he a good kisser." she melted into her friends arms, "We're going to talk tonight, and I think I'm considering asking him if he wants to start dating."
"Holy... you've only had a crush on him for like, a day Raven! You sure you want to jump right into this?"
"Yeah. It's... special with him. I mean, don't get me wrong, you and Beast Boy were great, but-"
"We don't make you feel like he makes you feel."
"Right." Raven blushed, "I think I might be falling in love."
"Oh... Rae..." Jinx hugged her, "Good for you. I told you things would work out."
"You did... thanks."
"Don't mention it. Oh, and by the way," Jinx stepped back and opened the door as she called over her shoulder, "Good job at finally being a girl!"
She took off with a giggle as Raven tried to grab her.
The Black Devil biker gang had never seen a broad quite like Harley Quinn. She was smart if not a little wacky, and she had a killer body. She could swear with the worst of them, drink with the best of them, and on top of all that, she was crazy.
One hundred percent, head screwed on wrong, manically laughing, chopping off some dude's fingers 'cause he called her a tramp, crazy.
She was currently hanging on the arm of the leader of the gang, a man who went by the name Big Ron. Big Ron liked having her around to make him look good (she was wearing tight cutoff shorts and a little white top that left little to the imagination), and he knew it drove the rest of the gang crazy thinking that he'd been fucking her every night for the past two weeks.
Truth was though, he respected the fact that she said she had a boyfriend. She never called him anything except 'Mr. J.' but he guessed that was normal for someone so crazy. She had also been known to walk around on her hands while trying to gargle the national anthem with a mouthful of beer.
The pool hall they crashed in when they were in Gotham was packed full of them tonight. They'd picked up seven new members in Blödhaven, bringing their total membership up to twenty four guys. Add to that the nine or so girls that were milling about and the small room was feeling even smaller.
"You're shot puddin." Harley nodded at the pool table and nudged Big Ron forward, "Drop a ball for me, kay?"
"You got it babe." As he stepped up to the table to line up his shot, Big Ron heard a noise that sounded like a motorcycle drawing closer from outside. He straightened up and looked out the window that was directly in his line of sight. A headlight was growing closer from down the ally across from the bar.
"Hey boys!" he called to the gang at large, "We got another bike comin' down our way! Why don't we step out and greet the guy!"
"Greet him with a bat!" one of the gang members shouted back as he hefted a baseball bat above his head. The rest of the gang cheered as they started to surge towards the door.
The door blew in and the bike plowed through the crowd of thugs like a ship plowing through ice in the arctic.
As the black bike came to a stop, a girl with glowing green eyes flew from the back of it and straight at Big Ron. He jumped to the side, but figured out too late that the girl wasn't going for him; she was tackling Harley.
"Hey!" Harley shouted as they tumbled away from Big Ron, "Get off! I'll tell Mr. J!"
"We would be delighted if you'd take us to him personally!" the girl with the glowing eyes said as she lifted Harley bodily off the ground and slammed her into a wall.
Big Ron watched as Harley's eyes grew wide and looked past the girl and out at the bar. Following her gaze, Big Ron stumbled back and his mouth dropped open.
Robin the Boy Wonder was taking his gang apart. As he slugged one thug and ducked another one's clumsy swing with a crowbar, he reached into his belt and pulled out a small disk, which exploded when he hurled it at the ground in front of him, blasting several more gang members back from him. A twirl and a low spin kick and two more went down. Robin straightened up and grabbed a thug who'd escaped the worst of the explosion and hurled him bodily over the bar and into the wall of liquor.
Big Ron bent down and picked up his pool cue, but by the time he'd stood again and turned to attack the fight was over. Robin slammed his fist into the last gang members face and let him drop, even as he turned to glare at Big Ron.
Ron dropped his cue and held his hands up.
"I don't like you," Robin growled out as he stalked forward, "but that doesn't mean Quinn's misfortune has to extend to you. I'll let you leave here unharmed if you just keep your mouth shut and don't try to interfere while we question her."
"What'da ya want with a broad like Harley?" Big Ron asked.
"Harley Quinn is the side kick and consort to the Joker, Ron. Did you know that?" Robin stared the bigger man down.
"N-no..."
"I bet she didn't tell you that she has two doctorates in psychology and psychiatry either did she?"
"No..."
"I bet she didn't tell you much at all, did she?" Robin smiled half a smile.
"No, nothing."
"Then why don't you just run along and we can avoid any violence, okay?"
Okay..." Big Ron nodded and quickly ran for the door, stepping over the unconscious forms of his gang as he did.
As soon as he was out the door, Robin turned to Harley and Starfire and smiled, "Alone at last, eh Harley?"
"Yeah..." Quinn laughed nervously, "So why's the Boy Wonder gunning for little ol' me, huh? Lonely?" she winked.
Star tightened her grip on the blonde's throat.
"Guess not..." Quinn gasped. Robin nodded to Star and she dropped the other girl.
"Now Harley, why don't you tell us where we can find the Joker."
She laughed at them.
Until Robin punched her across the face.
"Where is he Quinn?" the raven haired vigilante grabbed her and tossed her onto one of the pool tables, "He shot and almost killed Batgirl! You tell me where he is, or I'll make you wish I was going to kill you."
Harley sat up and stuck her tongue out at Robin, "Not tellin' nothin' Minibats!"
Robin started forward but Starfire reached out and held him back, "Let me." she said, and he let her step forward.
"Miss Quinn, we are going to send you to prison, you know that, correct?"
"Yeah, so?" Harley sat up on the table and crossed her legs.
"If you tell us where to find the Joker, then we will be able to send him to prison as well." Robin arched an eyebrow, "The two of you could be together again."
Harley seemed to think about it for a moment, then snapped her fingers, "Well, they do put men and woman together in Arkham, so I guess we will see each other! Thanks, uh... what was your name?"
"Starfire."
"Thanks Starfire! You're a real pal, you know?"
"I endevor to do good where I can." Star nodded a thank you.
"Aw, that's sweet. You're lucky to have her around, Boy Blunder."
Robin smiled as he pulled out his hand cuffs, "Yes I am, Harley. Yes I am."
Speedy stepped into the hall way from Robin's room just as Jinx came out of hers a short ways away. He watched as she flipped some of her still wet hair out of her eyes and tied it back in a ponytail.
She glanced over at him and smiled, "You didn't bleach your hair after all, did you?"
Speedy laughed, "No, I actually used a blonde hair dye. It's been about three weeks now and it's starting to wash out." he waited for her to come up next to him before continuing, "I've never seen your hair down before. It makes your features softer."
"Which is why I wear it up in combat." Jinx replied as they started down the hall, "You threw some pretty intense moves out there today."
"I'm no where near as good as Robin, or even you. I rely on my bow more than I really should." he frowned, "That's how Robin beat me when we fought. He broke my bow."
"Well, I'm up for going a few rounds in the morning if you want some practice." Jinx shrugged, "I think we could all used a few new moves to diversify our combat techniques."
"That sounds good. I'll ask Raven about it when we talk later." they stepped into the elevator and Speedy hit the button for the rec-room.
"Oh yeah... the talk." Jinx reached out and hit the hold button, making the elevator stop. She looked him right in the eye, "Don't toy with her, Speedy, or I'll turn you into a newt." he arched an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something but Jinx cut him off, "Don't think I can't."
Speedy shut his mouth and smiled, "I'm not toying with her. I feel pretty strongly that she might be the girl to stop chasing skirts over."
Jinx hit the resume button and smiled back, "Good. She feels strongly about you too."
"I'm starved," Speedy said as the doors opened, "Hope someone's cooking."
"Sarah is." they stepped out to see a small party. Sarah was cooking up a storm in the kitchen, while Cyborg sat nearby and talked to her. Beast Boy, now changed into loose fitting black wind pants and a white t-shirt, was lounging on the couch playing video games. Raven sat next to him reading a book.
Both Speedy and Jinx felt their jaws drop when they saw Raven. The psion glanced up at them and arched an eyebrow, "What?" she asked.
"You're... wearing a dress." Speedy said.
"A sky blue dress. That only drops to your knees. And has spaghetti straps." Jinx clarified.
"I've owned this for years and never worn it. Figured today was as good a day as any." Raven shrugged, then called out, "You need any help in there Sarah?"
"I could use someone who's not adverse to vegetables!" Sarah called back as she stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend.
Tim Drake snuck quietly down the hall past his dad's room. Jake Drake had fallen asleep an hour ago, and Tim had started his preparations then. A backpack full of useful things (it wasn't a utility belt, but he had to make due) and dark clothes to stay out of sight in, and he was ready to go.
If Robin was going to use him as a contact, then he was going to make himself useful. No one really bothered with kids running around at night, and he might be able to scope some things out that the Boy Wonder would never see.
It never hurt to have another pair of eyes did it?
As he quietly shut the door of their apartment, Tim wondered not for the first time how exactly he was going to be able to get any information he acquired to Robin. Info wasn't any use if you never got it.
He frowned as he left the building. This might be harder than he thought.
"This food," Speedy declared, "is the best food I've ever eaten here at the Tower."
"Hell. Yes." Jinx nodded before taking another bite of mash potatoes.
Sarah beamed at the Titans as they wolfed down her cooking. She'd put together quiet a spread, knowing how much the teen super hero's could eat, and was pleased with the results. Baked ham (thank God for flash cookers) with mashed potatoes and a vegetable stir fry, gravy on the side, and tray full of deviled eggs. Not bad for an hour and a half of cooking.
"So," Jinx said after she swallowed her bite, "how did you and Cy meet, Sarah?"
"I volunteer at the Jump City Children's Hospital, chaperoning a baseball game in the park every Sunday for kids with cybernetic prosthetics. Cy happened by one week and the kids just fell in love with him." she smiled sadly and placed a hand on her boyfriend's arm, "He's the Titan they all look up to the most. The one most like them."
"I was feeling really down." Cyborg shook his head, "It seemed that everywhere I went in town that day people were running away from me. Scared." he looked over at Sarah and anyone could see that he loved her, "Sarah wasn't scared. I helped umpire the game that week, and I've been doing it ever since."
"We were attacked by Cinderblock halfway through the game." Sarah put in, and Jinx gasped, "Don't worry, Cy kept any of the kids from getting hurt, and then he and the rest of the Titans took the brute down." she winked at the pink haired sorceress, "I'm not ashamed to admit that he looks hot when he's in action. I gave him my number as soon as I could."
"Cyborg! You ladies man!" Jinx reached across the table and knuckled his jaw.
"I'm a one-lady man, thank you." Cyborg reached out and hugged Sarah. She kissed his jaw.
"Blarg." Beast Boy chomped on some more green pepper, "None of that while we're eating please."
"Shut up, BB." Cyborg cut another huge chunk of ham.
"Gar." Beast Boy corrected him.
"Right. Gar." Cyborg rolled his eye.
"Why Gar all of a sudden?" Raven asked from where she was already done eating, "I mean, we don't usually use our given names."
"Well, Beast Boy just sounds too... kiddy I guess. I'm almost seventeen." Beast Boy grinned, "Time to grow up I guess.
"
"Why don't we just use everybody's given names when we're not in combat then?" Jinx asked, "I mean, we're all friends, right?"
"Sure." Speedy nodded, "Though responding to Jason is going to take some getting used to."
"Jason?" Beast Boy arched an eyebrow.
"I know you knew that." Speedy smiled at him, "Garfield."
"Gar." Beast Boy narrowed his eyes.
Jinx raised her hand, "Jennifer. Call me Jen."
"Victor." Cyborg said, "But ya'll already knew that."
"Your name really is Victor?" Jinx asked, "I thought that was an assumed name you took for the HIVE infiltration."
"Naw, that's my real name."
"You can call me Sarah!" Sarah waved her hand at them with a giggle.
All eyes turned to Raven.
Raven glared back.
"So?" Beast Boy grinned, "What's your real name, Raven?"
Raven sighed and sagged in her seat, "Just another way I'm different from you guys I guess." she straightened up and took on an almost regal air, "Raven of Azur, Imperial City of Azarath, Daughter of Trigon, Dark Lord and Master of All Creation." her eyes took on a brief red glow, "Harbinger of destruction, and forerunner of conquest."
Everyone gaped at her.
Raven smiled, "Or at least that's the name I was given at birth. If we were on Azarath, you could call me Imperial Princess Raven, or Heir Apparent Raven, but since we're in this dimension," her eyes became normal again, "why don't you just call me Raven."
There was silence for a moment, then Beast Boy broke it with a gulp and a weak smile, "Yeah. Raven it is then."
Tim crouched in the shadows of an ally way, watching a drug deal go down. If he could follow the dealer back to where he kept his stash, he'd have something useful. Until then, one drug deal wasn't enough to alert Robin about.
The headphone bud in his ear squawked to life again. It was hooked to the receiver in his back pack, tuned to the police frequency, "Dispatch, this is Robin. Come in Dispatch."
There was a brief, unbelieving pause, then a female voice replied, "It's been awhile Robin. Go ahead."
"I've captured and detained Harley Quinn at the Ruffian's Row. I'll be standing guard until a unit comes to pick her up."
"Dispatch to 336. You're in that area, aren't you?"
"Sure am Dispatch. I'll be there in ten minutes."
"Good. Robin out."
Tim quickly moved down the ally and out on the opposite side from where the drug deal was going on. He wanted to talk with Robin to see about getting a way to contact him. Looking up at the nearest street sign, he quickly calculated the fastest way to Ruffian's Row. Not fast enough.
Looking around for other options, his eyes stopped on the lights of the Sprang Bridge, visible from five blocks away. Looking back to his right, he spotted the railroad tracks.
Checking his watch, he saw that the three A.M. freight from Sullivan would be coming through the upper East side any minute. If he could hitch a ride on that across the bridge, and jump off near Crime Ally, it would be a quick six block jog to Ruffian's Row.
"Why am I doing this?" he mumbled to himself as he jogged off to where the lights were already starting to flash at the railroad crossing.
The Titans broke up at about eight. Sarah was carried bodily out of the kitchen by Cyborg, and Speedy and Jinx took up the duty of dishwashing. Raven checked Beast Boy's wounds, and then sat down with Sarah to do a card reading. Cyborg and Beast Boy picked up Street Fighter again.
Things were quiet and peaceful in the Tower. Raven smiled as she lay the Lovers card down for Sarah, electing a squeal of delight from the blonde. That card always came up when she was reading for Sarah. The girl had a bigger heart than anyone she'd ever met. She was the Earth's version of Starfire.
As Sarah attempted to figure out what the reading meant (she liked to do it on her own, and Raven was more then happy to loan her a book or two to help) Raven looked about at her other friends. Beast Boy was happy for once. Jinx brought out compassion and maturity in him that few people could. He was a good guy, and he could guide her away from her dark past and fully into the light of good.
Cyborg was the same rock he always was. Anchoring the Titans with his ever present, never changing force of personality. Out going, confident, and strong of will, the robotic Titan was always there for them.
Jinx was washing while Speedy was drying. Not a bad idea considering Speedy's affinity for dropping plates. The pink haired girl had whirlwinded into their lives less than a week ago, and already she seemed like she'd been with the team her whole life. She had really grown up since the last time they'd fought, turning into a good, decent person. Her respect for life still needed some work, but she was trying her best, and she'd learn eventually.
Speedy... was complicated. Yesterday, she would have rather chucked him in the ocean rather then let him on a team she was leading, but since she'd died, she'd come to see him in a different light. He wasn't such a jerk when she wasn't such a bore. He'd always just wanted her to loosen up, and she had to admit, since she'd loosened up, she was having more fun.
Still, she hadn't planned on falling in love with him so quickly.
"Hey." Sarah poked her in the arm and spoke quietly, "I know he has a nice butt, but you've been staring at Jason for a while now."
Raven smiled over at the blonde girl and spoke to her in the same quiet tone, "I know. I'm falling hard, Sarah. I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing."
"It's a good thing. You need some love in your life, Rae Rae. You've been denied that for so long... even if it's just for a little while and it doesn't work out, you owe it to yourself to go for it. He's a good guy, and he'll treat you right."
"Thanks." Raven hugged her, "Tell him to meet me in my room for me will you? I... want to make this perfect."
"Welcome to feeling nervous." Sarah smiled at her.
"Yeah, real great new emotion there..." Raven rolled her eyes and smiled. "See you in the morning."
"Yeah, see you." Sarah watched as Raven walked quietly across the room and stepped into the elevator. She smiled then and looked back at Speedy. He was going to be blown away by this.
Tim stood not five feet from the train as it hurled past. All he had to do was reach out and jump. Just jump and grab one of those box car handles. Just jump and grab.
He jumped, grabbed, and felt his arm almost tear out of the socket.
"Ow." he muttered as he found footing. Switching hands so that his hurt shoulder wouldn't be taking the weight of his body, he pulled himself closer to the car.
The bridge was long, and he had several blocks to ride before and after it. This was going to be painful and tiring.
"Hey, Jason." Sarah poked Speedy in the ribs and he turned from where he was leaning on the back of the couch watching Jinx pummel the crap out of Cyborg in Tekken.
"What's up?"
"Raven told me to have you meet her in her room."
"Hey, yeah. When did she take off? I haven't seen her in awhile." Speedy scratched his head.
"About fifteen minutes ago."
"Took you long enough to tell me..." he smirked at her.
"A woman needs time to prepare for these things, even if she's a super hero. Go have your little talk, and play nice. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Uh... what would you do?"
Sarah grinned the most evil grin he'd ever seen on such a pretty face, "I can't say exactly, but they'd involve whips and lot's of leather."
"Stop talking about our sex life please." Cyborg said without looking away from the screen, "Damnit, Jen! You think you could let me win once?"
"Not on your life, Tin Man. After the Street Fighter humiliation the other night, I owe you."
"'Night every one." Speedy waved over his shoulder as he left.
"'Night!" they all chorused back.
Sarah and Beast Boy watched Cyborg and Jinx play for a few more minutes before Jinx spoke up, "So, leather and whips, 'eh Sarah?"
"Mmm hmm." she nodded without looking away from the screen, "You want to borrow some?"
Beast Boy looked frightened.
Robin watched from the roof top of a nearby building while the police put Harley in the back of a cruiser. Starfire sat behind him, consulting a map on her T-Comp.
"Do you think she gave us the right information?" she asked
"Quinn is insane. If your logic made sense to her, then she'd tell us the truth." Robin replied as he turned to look at his girlfriend, "You did well tonight, Star."
"I except the fact that in Gotham you need to be a bit... rougher with the criminals, but I do not condone excessive violence. Such has never been the way of my people, and we are warrior race." she looked sad, "Please Robin, do just enough to capture them, no more."
Robin's heart softened. She had a way of doing that to him, "I promise."
There was silence between them for a moment, then Star stood up, "Well! We know where the Joker is. Do you wish to capture him as well this night?"
"No." Robin shook his head, "Harley wasn't prepared for us because she's been lying low off the radar." his eyes narrowed, "The Joker is always prepared for a visit from Batman. If he's heard that I'm in town, he'll be expecting me as well."
"He is always prepared?" Starfire looked disbelieving.
"He isn't Batman's greatest enemy for nothing. The Joker lives for his encounters with Batman. We don't just interrupt his plans. He lays plans expecting us to show up, then does his best to kill us." he turned back to the street, "It's all a big joke to him."
"He sounds truly mad. So we retreat back to the cave and plan for tomorrow then?" When Robin didn't reply she stepped up next to him, "What is it?"
"Drake." was his only reply as he stared across the street at the form of Tim Drake, limping out of the shadows.
"He looks injured. I will-" Star floated up off the roof top.
"No." Robin cut her off, "He's looking for me. You head back to the cave, and I'll meet you there once I've sorted this out."
Starfire looked worried for a moment, but nodded anyway, "I will see you soon then."
Robin smiled up at her, reached out, and grabbed her wrist. Pulling her back down, he kissed her gently, "Soon." he promised.
Smiling, Star flew off.
Tim limped down Ruffian's Row, trying to ignore the pain in his leg. As he walked, he saw a flash of green light, and Starfire took off from one of the buildings. A police cruiser drove past, and he caught a glimpse of a blonde woman in the back seat.
"Damn." he shook his head, "Missed him."
"Missed who?" Tim whirled around to see two white points of light in the shadows, and the vague spiky headed outline of the Boy Wonder.
He breathed out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "You. I'm looking for you."
"Why?" Robin stepped out of the shadows and looked down at Tim.
"I need a way to contact you. What use am I as a resource if I can't tell you what I see?"
Robin frowned. He'd done a brief background check on Tim, and had found out that he was a good kid who stayed out of trouble. A natural athlete, but given more to academic pursuits.
"You're not involved with any crime, Tim. Why would you think I would use you as eyes on the street?"
"Wha..." Tim looked baffled, "What else would you use me for?"
"You're good with computers, so I was thinking more of a cyberspace source." Robin arched a corner of his mask up, "How did you get hurt?"
"Oh..." Tim looked down at himself with a grin, "Got a bit banged up when I jumped off the train-"
"Wait..." Robin looked at him in disbelief, "You jumped a train to get here?"
"Yeah. I heard you on the police scanner, and needed a fast way to get here, so I jumped on the fright coming up from-"
"I know which train you took..." Robin was quickly reevaluating his opinion of Tim Drake, "Look, let me get you to a doctor I know, and then we can talk about-"
He didn't get the rest of his sentence out because a biker with a hunk of rebar chose that moment to jump from the shadows and clobber him over the head with it.
"Robin!" Tim back peddled away from the biker, who raised the bar over his head for another swing; one that would probably end the life of Batman's sidekick.
"No choice." Tim grit his teeth as he said it and charged, knocking the man back with his shoulder.
The biker was stunned for a second, then back handed the much smaller boy out of his way. "Fuckin' punk. I'll kill you just as soon as I'm done with this-" as he turned back to Robin, he saw that the young hero was gone, "What the-"
Robin's staff slammed across his jaw, sending him reeling, "Didn't you get enough earlier?" Robin asked as he jumped forward, slamming a steel rimmed boot into the man's face, knocking him to the ground, out cold.
Tim rolled over and spit a little blood from his mouth, "Ow." he said as he stood up, "You okay?"
"I've been hit harder." Robin rubbed the back of his head and saw that his hand came away with blood on it, "Looks like we both need a doctor now though, so let's get moving."
"Right. The bike again, right?"
"You don't like motorcycles?" Robin grinned at him.
"I don't like going faster than a fighter jet through the streets of Gotham." Tim replied.
"You're gonna hate this ride then." Robin walked down two ally's and wheeled the bike out, "Grab a helmet and get on. I need to call Starfire."
Speedy looked down at his clothes as he stood outside Raven's room. Light gray long sleeve t-shirt, torn up jeans, and bare feet. His half red, half blonde hair was ruffled.
"Talk about feeling underdressed..." he reached out and knocked.
"Come in." Raven said from the other side. He opened the doors and stepped in, shutting them behind him. Looking around, he had to admit, Raven knew how to make her room look cool.
The normal gothic decorating scheme was still in place, but candles had been placed all over and lit, giving the room a softer, more welcoming feel. Raven herself was standing next to a large candle to the side of her bed, just finishing lighting it. She wore black silk pants and a simple white tank top. Her hair was tied back away from her face, and her feet were bare.
"And here I thought I was underdressed." he smiled as he walked further into the room, "Didn't know this was a pajama party."
Raven smiled back at him, "You could just strip down to your boxers if that's what you sleep in."
"I'll think about it." Speedy sat on the edge of her bed, "What'd you want to see me about?"
"Us." Raven sat next to him and took his hand. They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Raven leaned over and put her head on his shoulder.
"Feels... right... doesn't it?" Speedy snaked an arm around her shoulder and hugged her.
"Yeah. It's like... I feel secure when you hold me like this. Like... everything is right. You're comfortable."
"You make me feel... I don't know... more like myself?" Speedy shook his head, "I can't think of the words."
"Whole?" Raven supplied.
"Yeah." Speedy nodded and kissed her forehead, "Whole."
"Strange that it just kind of happened all of a sudden." Raven nuzzled his neck, "We fought all the time until today."
"You're different. It's like... you blossomed."
"Don't compare me to a flower. Please." Raven sat up and smiled at him.
"Face it Rae," Speedy poked her in the shoulder, "you're a girl, and you're going to get compared to a flower sometimes."
"Any you're a boy, so you'll get compared to a pig sometimes, but that's just what relationships are like, huh?"
"Yeah. That's the other thing... you make me feel like settling down."
"No more cruising for chicks?" Raven grinned, "Wow. You must have it almost as bad as I do."
"So this is love then?" Speedy arched an eyebrow at her.
"I don't know." she closed her eyes and shook her head, "Why don't we find out."
Speedy smiled wider as she ran her hands up under his shirt and pushed him down on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her down to him.
"Thanks for seeing us so late like this, Leslie." Robin grinned as the gray haired woman finished cleaning up the gash in Tim's leg.
"I've put you and Batman back together more times than I care to count, Young Robin." Dr. Thompkins sighed, "I'd like to make it known however that I don't approve of you bringing kids like Tim into your fight."
"Please Dr. Thompkins, I did this on my own. Robin doesn't even want me on the streets." Tim smiled sheepishly, "Though he could have told me that before I had to jump off a train..."
"Well, just take care of yourself from now on. That should do it." she stood up and walked to a sink to wash her hands, "Just change the bandages every day and try to put as little stain on it as possible for a few days."
"Right." Tim jumped down from the table he was sitting on in the dim office of Leslie Thompkins' free medical clinic.
"I'll just get Tim home then and be on my way home myself." Robin started for the door, "Come on Tim."
"Robin... could you give Batman a message for me?" he paused at the door and his shoulders went ridged, "Tell him to stop by sometime for dinner... without the mask."
"Bruce and I aren't exactly... on speaking terms right now. I'll leave a note or something."
Leslie's eyes darted over to Tim, who shook his head with a frown, "I already know." he said.
"Oh. Well... why are you and Bruce-"
"He did something... unforgivable. I'll see you around, Leslie. And thanks again." and Robin walked out of the office.
"Thanks Doc. I'll... try to talk to him. Maybe he'll open up to someone closer to his age." Tim walked for the door, "I'll drop by later this week and we can talk... I volunteer sometimes anyway, and you could probably use the help, right?"
Dr. Thompkins smiled, "I can always use some more help around the clinic. Thank you, Tim. I'll see you soon."
"See ya." and Tim was gone as well.
Leslie leaned back against the sink and stared at the floor, "Oh Bruce..." she whispered, "What have you done now?"
Raven's fingers traced lightly down Speedy's chest, "That," she said with a smile, "was wonderful."
"Best I've ever had." Speedy grinned back and kissed her neck, "So what? Are we like... official now?"
"Sure." Raven stretched and leaned away from him so they could see each other while they talked. She started an imaginary conversation with herself, "Hey, Raven! That's a cute boy you got there on your arm! Yeah, isn't he hot?" Speedy rolled his eyes, "Well, who is he? Oh, well, you know. He's my boyfriend, Jason." she smiled wider, "Yep, that sounds right. Boyfriend." shaking her head, she giggled, "I have a boyfriend."
"And I have the worlds most wonderful woman as my girlfriend." Speedy reached out and brushed a the back of his hand across her cheek, "Beautiful too."
"Pretty maybe." Raven corrected him.
"No way. Don't sell yourself short, Rae. You're a knockout."
Raven rolled her eyes, "Uh huh."
"Every guy is entitled to their own opinion."
"Yours is slightly bias."
"I reserve that right. I think you're gorgeous." he nodded.
"In that case, I except your compliment and return it with this; you're sexy as hell, and great in the sack. Not to mention handsome."
"Glad handsome ranks right up there on your list of my positive traits..." it was Speedy's turn to roll his eyes.
Raven giggled again as she crawled back on top of him, "Well, good sex is important, right?"
"We might have to have good sex again if you're going to be lying on top of me naked like this."
"I don't really see a problem with that." Raven smiled a wicked smile and lowered her mouth to his.
Robin rolled back into the Batcave at almost five in the morning. He was sore, tiered, and cranky. Tim wouldn't stop bugging him about what he and Bruce were fighting about the whole way back to his apartment. Now he just wanted to curl up next to Starfire and sleep until next week.
"Robin!" Starfire floated over to him as he placed the helmet on the back of the bike, "How is your head?"
"The doctor patched me right up. Didn't even need stitches." he smiled at her, "Let's get to bed. We've got to devise a plan for taking out the Joker tomarrow night."
"YOU will have to devise the plan." she corrected him as they walked to the changing rooms.
"Why me alone?" he asked, "I know you don't know Gotham that well yet, but you could still help me-"
"I will not be here." she shook her head with a smile, "I am going to visit Barbara tomorrow."
As his mouth fell open and he spluttered trying to find words, she winked at him and giggled as she walked into the girls changing room.
"Oh boy..." he muttered, and turned to go through his own door. His old girlfriend and his new one? "This can't turn out well..."
Closing Notes: It was long, but worth it, right? I hope so... I don't like writing crap.
Reviews from Chapter Seven!
Stolen Valkyrie- What can I say? You're reviews are always awsome, but this past one really stands out as something special. Thank you for your kind words and encoragment!
Samurai Star X- Nightwing will be making his appearence in the next story. :) One of my favorite DC hero's!
Jaina 12- I wanted to do something unique with my couples, so Jinx/BB and Raven/Speedy seemed like the way to go. I mean, come one, where else do you see those pairings? Red-X will be making a return to action soon, so watch for him!
losernerd- Everybody's been so down on my Cy/Sarah pairing. 'Special since Bummble Bee came into the TV show. Glad you like the pair, and I hope this chapter helped to educate everyone further about the origins of their relationship.
chickiidoo- So I didn't kill Robin. Yet. Look for more Speedy/Raven hotness in coming chapters.
StarryRavenFire-I perosnally think my Raven personality is the best one out there. Notmany people write her well as a more mature, funny kind of girl. Maybe it seems like I'm just tooting my own horn here, but I do a damn fine job of it. :) Glad you're loving the story, and I hope to have more up soon!
Bonekhan313- I know the lack of update wasmost likely more painful for you than anyoneelse (with the arguable exception of HyperChick, who seems... hyper.) so this must come as a breath of fresh air to you. I'll really, REALLY try to get the next one up faster.
Fallen Angel X- As I've stated before, nothing that happens in this story happens on a whim. The plan was never a straight Rae/BB pairing, but just a romantic interlude before sheended up with Speedy. She'll prolly stay there for the rest of the story. Right?
tryna-Make you a deal;I'll keep writing if you keep reading. Kay?
BeautyOfTheRose- Your biscut has sustained me over these long weeks of writing. Thank you, and I hope there was enough combat in this chapter to sate your bloodthirst for a while. :)If not, look to future chapters to be almost entierly combat.
Brogramn- As far as I can piece it together without doing any actual in depth research (hey, I'vealready got four term papers to wirte this semester...) that's the real history of Slade from the comics, modifiedslightly for this story. I'm feeling much better now (had to nurse my GF back from the brink of death, butshe's all better now too) and hope to write tons overspring break. KPAAF. Bro.
Greg867- I have no idea what the heck is wrong withthe site not letting you register.I know they were doing repairs and upgrades awhile back,so that might have been it, or you could be mis-spelling your e-mail adress. Hmm. Hope it all worked out for you, and hope your stories are coming along well. Give me a link and I'll try to find time to read what you've got!
Arezal- Kill off Cyborg? Are you nuts? Who would yell Booya! Who would callRobin a spiky haired midgit? Who wouldmake for good comic relief when BB isn't around? And trust me... interesting doesn't begin to describe what's coming up...
Kokuryu- I'm a big Birds Of Prey fan, so Canary is one of my favoirts too. Imade her younger in this story, because she hasn't hooked up with Babs yet. Hint, hint. :)
ChaosChampion-Things starting to make sense yet? No? Well, wait for the next chapter, or, for the Sarah thing to really make sense, you might have to wait for the next sequal... and on the contrary,Robin (Dick Grayson) ismy favorit DCU hero. That's whyI abuse him so much... I only hit him, because I love him.
skweeks50- The grand majority of what I bring in from the comics is reserch (my TeenTitans collection is VERYsmall) but I do collect Batman,Nightwing, and Birds Of Prey comics religiously. I'm a little behind right now (eating is still more important to me than comics) but hope to catch up soon.
robinstar- Everyone keeps saying that the chapters get better and better, but isn't that the point? You build action in a story unitl the climax, then have a gental downward slope to lead into the next story, or to finish off loose ends. That's just how fiction should be writen. Climax in T-Minus threechapters, by the way. I think. Unless I write too much, or decide to cut some out.
GodoLento- As youcan prolly tell, I have more important things to do than write this as well, which is why ittakes so long to do. :) So, no offence taken.
Hyper Chick- You rock. Keepup the hyper, and don't stop the reviews!
Melody Rasnake- Morefor you. Don't hurl me into a different dimension please.
Heaven's Angel- Stephie... I miss her so. Hope times has been better to you and stuffs.More Timmy goodness in upcoming chapters.
robin and star fan-The best way to learn to write like me is to just get out there and write a whole crap load of REALLYBAD fanfiction that you get flamed for constently, then actually listen to the sugestions people make, and improve your style based on them. I seem to have it down pretty good now. :)
Hutchy- Cyborgdeserves love. I mean, the guy got blown up, rebuilt, and now he's getting his butt kicked daily bybad guys.What a life.
Kazeangel- Did you read on? 'Cause that would answer all of your questions. :) Review again! I like to hear from you guys lots!
Quiggibub- Glad you like it. The OOCness islargely considered to be the best part of this fic (by my reviewers and myself). It gives depth where there wasn't any before, andreally delves into what the Titan'sCOULD be. Or at least I like to think so. :)
seattleitegirl-There's your BLOODY UPDATE! And Raven's not bi, and Star is working to get Robin and Bats back together. See? I dideverything you asked. :)
That's it for now! Later all!
Next Chapter: Star visits Babs in the hospital and they have a long chat. Robin devises a way to capture the Joker with Tim's help while dodging Bruce all day. Raven and Speedy have their first date... just before all Hell breaks loose in Jump City.Slademakes his returnknownwith a vengence.