Chapter 5: Hide and Go Seek
Toby and Olivia didn't seem to be too bothered by all the noise that was going on in the hallway. They simply looked up at the door as they sat at the kitchen table and colored. Hearing the shouting of their parents and the other Titans, they simply shook their heads and went back to their coloring books. All of this ruckus could only mean one thing: combat practice.
"Whoo-hoo! Let's go, Titans!" Robin cried, gathering the team a few at a time.
"Boys versus girls!" shouted Torque.
"No way! Husband-wife tag teams!" Beast Boy countered.
"No fair! You two always cream everybody else that way!" Terra argued.
"And your point is?" Raven quipped.
"Onslaught!" suggested Cyborg and Mammoth.
"Capture the flag!" yelled Speedy.
By the time the Titans reached the practice arena, Robin had declared Capture the Flag, boys versus girls, no power limitations. Beast Boy nearly had to sit down.
"We're screwed!" he shrieked. "The girls are gonna decimate us!"
"Just because they have their powers doesn't mean we don't have enough of our own," Robin replied with a mischievous grin. Minutes into his elaborate explanation of a battle plan, Robin felt a tug on his cape.
"We wanna play too!" said Toby.
"Yeah!" said Olivia.
"It's too dangerous," Beast Boy replied.
"You guys are just still too little," said Cyborg. As the disappointed twins stood before them, a smile slid across Robin's face.
"What do you say we turn up the heat on this?" Robin said.
"What are you talking about?" Speedy asked.
"How much more of a challenge do you think it would be if the targets could think for themselves?" Robin suggested.
"You wanna make the kids the flags?" Beast Boy squeaked.
"Cool!" laughed Speedy.
"They'll be the power limitations. Typically, we've had to go looking for new flags by the time we're done. This time, we can't damage the flags. Besides, if you lose this flag, it runs!" Robin explained, sending Toby to their flag point and Olivia to the other side of the arena.
"Ingenious!"
"Awesome!"
"Absolutely not!"
"Aw, come on, Raven," said Torque. "It's only practice. Besides, you heard her: Robin's using it as a power limiter."
"I refuse to lose another child!" Raven growled.
"Look at it this way, the kids can start learning self-defense and escape strategies," Terra added. Raven grudgingly conceded and Robin started the automated system that transformed the plain arena into a fully loaded obstacle course filled with everything the Titans would need for a realistic combat practice.
The plan went exceedingly well, the twins providing the much needed unpredictability that they didn't usually get with the simulations or each other. The only time the twins actually became really afraid and cowered behind the rest of the team, was the time their parents went head-to-head towards the end of practice. The other members of their respective teams literally backed away as Raven's telekinetic powers crackled in the air and she cackled madly. Beast Boy transformed into a massive T-Rex and charged against his wife. She fought valiantly, but Beast Boy thrashed his head and threw Raven across the room, slamming her against the opposite wall. Raven screamed as she hit it and slid down, catching herself with her powers. Being dizzy didn't help, but she fought back all the same.
Several times, the rest of the team tried to intervene, but Robin and Torque kept them at bay. This was one lover's quarrel none of them were willing to give their lives to break up. Raven uprooted a large column in the room and swung it like a bat, catching Beast Boy by surprise in the side of the head. Roaring in shock, he shrank rapidly. Raven swept down to charge him and he morphed into a tiger, baring his sharp teeth and swinging his tail to warn her that he was serious. Raven charged anyway, slamming him against the stanchions that held down the climbing ropes on the obstacle course. Beast Boy roared and opened his massive jaws. He reared up on his hind legs, morphed into a gorilla and shoved his wife to the floor. He lunged over her and held her arms down. Effectively pinned, she could no longer move.
"Let…me…GO!" Raven growled through gritted teeth. Beast Boy continued to roar, lurching forward to attack her further. Raven gasped, squeezed her eyes closed and melted through the floor and out of her husband's reach. She reappeared a dozen feet away and seconds later there was an elephant bearing down on her. Beast Boy had her again within several more seconds. This time, she wouldn't be able to escape. She grunted in exertion as she fought to get away. Beast Boy used his trunk to hold Raven down and lifted his massive foot to crush her.
"DADDY!"
"Beast Boy! Stop!"
"C'mon, man, it's just a game!"
Beast Boy shook his head, his trunk lashing from side to side. Slowly, his form melted and Beast Boy was on his hands and knees, fighting to catch his breath. He crawled over to where Raven still lay on the floor, catching her own breath and collapsed, rolling onto his back to lay beside her.
"That was close, Raven," Beast Boy said, turning his head toward her.
"I could have beaten you whenever I wanted," Raven replied, her eyes closed against the blinding fluorescent lights.
"I beg your pardon?" Beast Boy squeaked. They could hear the other Titans come running. Beast Boy rolled over and helped Raven up onto her knees, at which time she promptly kissed him.
"I love you, Gar," she whispered.
"I love you, Rachel," he replied, stealing two or three more light, teasing kisses as they stood and left the arena with the twins in their arms and their teammates around them.
"Can we do it again, Uncle Robin?" Toby cried.
"That was fun!" giggle Olivia. The bruised, exhausted Titans exchanged weakened looks. Robin smiled wearily back at the kids.
"Sure, guys. Anytime,"
Months later
A sunny, mid-May Sunday afternoon brought the Titans, young and old, to the park. As the children ran to play with their peers, their parents sat nearby and chatted with other guardians present that day. It was more difficult for some than others to keep from going to play with the kids. It didn't take long for the sunshine and action to wear Raven out.
"There are enough of us here, Rae, if you and Beast Boy want to go back to the Tower," Terra offered, giggling as Beast Boy finally succumbed to the temptation to transform into a monkey and swing across the monkey bars with Toby. Minutes later, Beast Boy and Raven kissed their children and reminded them to behave themselves before they departed for the Tower.
As mid afternoon approached, the Titans' alarms went off. Killer Moth was baring down on the city again with a fresh swarm of his brainwashed larvae moths. The Titans looked helplessly at the kids.
"We'll watch them for you! Go!" one parent cried. Grateful, the Titans rushed to save the city. As the swarm approached, one extraordinary larva dropped down out of the sky and shook the ground as he landed in the open field of the park. On the playground, Olivia shouted for Toby to grab Aidan. She herself carried Reese and Jason and Emily ran after them as Olivia found them a place to hide.
"I want mommy!" whimpered Emily.
"I know, Emmy," Toby replied, "I want momma, too."
"Just stay quiet. That thing won't find us if we're quiet," Olivia said softly. She was having a hard time keeping Reese from screeching out. Jason buried his face in Olivia's shoulder and tried hard not to cry. The moth suddenly turned and focused directly on the hidden children. It roared and screamed, charging toward them. The young Titans braced themselves for the impact when there was a sudden explosion and then it was quiet. The park was empty now—the parents and other children had fled, and everywhere the kids looked, there were chunks of dead moth.
"Come," said a man in a mask. "You have nothing to fear anymore." The kids remained where they were, unsure that this stranger, though he had saved them, was trustworthy.
"Olivia, come. Bring your siblings with you," the man invited with his hand extended.
"How did you know my name? We're not supposed to talk to strangers," Olivia challenged.
"You are very clever, Olivia, just like your mother. I am no stranger. I know your parents quite well," the man said. His voice was warm and calm.
"What do you mean?" Toby asked. His eyes still betrayed criticism of this suddenly appearing savior.
"Toby, don't!" Olivia insisted, making Reese fuss and cry out.
"Prove it. If you know our parents, prove it," Toby demanded. The man knelt before the recess in the playground equipment where the children hid and pulled something from his pocket: it was a lock of violet hair tied with a dark blue ribbon.
"Livie, that's momma's hair," Toby murmured. Olivia and Toby carefully crept out of their hiding place and the little ones nimbly followed them. They inched closer and looked at the lock of hair.
"It could be fake. I don't believe you," Olivia spat.
"Auntie Starfire told you a secret this morning, didn't she kids?" the man said. Olivia took a protective step back. A smile seemed to form behind the mask.
"Young Jason's going to be a big brother, isn't he?" the man added.
"How did you know that?" Toby stammered. "She hasn't even told Uncle Robin yet!"
"I told you, I am well acquainted with your parents," the man repeated. "Come with me. Killer Moth cannot get you if you are with me."
"Thank you, sir," Olivia said politely. "But could you please just take us home? It's not far from here."
"You will be far safer with me. Your mother is not able to fight, and your father's first duty is to her," the man said.
"No it's not!" Emily cried. "Daddy loves us!" The man knelt and gently stroked Emily's hair.
"Of course he does, child, but he is the only thing protecting your mother and her unborn baby right now. The other Titans are fighting Killer Moth. I can protect you now. You don't want to have to fight one of those moths by yourselves, do you? Is that what you want?" the man said. Olivia looked at the still steaming chunks of moth and shuddered.
"Where are you taking us?" Olivia demanded.
"You will be perfectly safe. We'll just play a game with Killer Moth. We'll play hide and go seek—somewhere he'll never find us,"
With this the tall, masked man disappeared with all seven of the young Titans, vanishing in a puff of smoke.