Baker X: Whooo! This one came pretty quickly eh? Well, I love my reviews! Thank you guys! You make this whole thing worth it! And just for kicks, here's another 2 parter! While this one may be all talk, the next one is gonna be what we've all been waiting for...but you'll have to wait till after this one!
The Legal Information: All characters present in the Teen Titans outside of Smoke, Clive, Sherri, and all others that are not seen in the show or comic book belong to me. All other characters, such as Starfire, Raven, and Slade, belong to their respective copyright holders. In other words, I do not own the Teen Titans, so anything that I say or have them do in this fanfiction does not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the creators of the Show/Comic or any of it's affiliates. I also don't own Soul Caliber and such.
I'm working really hard at trying to sound smart, aren't I.
Dark Patriot
Political Damage
The Titans sat down in a large office styled room, stretched out over 3 different seatings, since there was so many of them. Blackfire, Clive, Starfire, and Robin sat on the largest couch in that order, Terra and Beastboy sat on a second smaller couch, and Cyborg stood next to Raven, who was sitting in a chair. Terra and Beastboy joked a lot to each other, not really noticing the rather grim expressions on the faces of everyone else. Robin stared at the ground with a frown while resting his elbows on his knees, looking fairly worried. Blackfire was leaning on him, mimicing Starfire, who was also leaning against him. She was, however asleep, as she had gotten bored of waiting for their appointment. Clive sat back and stared up at the ceiling fan above him, not really sure of what to do about the two tameranians using him as a pillow.
Cyborg kept his eyes shut as he leaned against the wall and Raven took the time to do some light meditating. In all, the Titans were not amused to say the least. They had been in the room for over an hour, and finally, after another half hour had passed, Clive got up slowly, carefully pushing both Starfire and the now sleeping Blackfire to each side of him. He wandered around, pacing back and fouth quickly in the terrible silence. Finally, something inside him snapped. One thing you didn't want to do is to keep Clive waiting excessivly.
Clive: " THAT'S IT! Come on team, let's just get outta here. If these city big wigs wanna talk to us, they can come and wait at our place! Atleast there's something to do."
Robin: " Calm down Clive...they said it was important..."
Clive: " You know what's important? Crime. And while we're up here doing nothing but sleeping, twiddling our thumbs, and staring into space, someone somewhere could be in trouble! I mean, sure, we do spend a lot of time doing nothing outside of videogames, practicing and eating...but we do patrol once in a while to keep the city safe. THAT'S IT! I'M GOING IN THERE!"
Cyborg: " Clive...I don't..."
Clive was already ahead of him though. Clive grabbed a hold of the large wooden doors and started shaking them, trying to open them. He made enough noise to wake up the sleeping sisters and cause concern amoung the other Titans. That and his yelling didn't help either.
Clive: " COME ON YOU BIG SHOT CITY KNOW IT ALL! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"
Clive began to bang on the doors and pull them open, but to little avail. Cyborg and Starfire got up and did their best to restrain him, but with a slick use of his shadow transformation skills, he was able to slip out of their grasp. He then took his shadow from the ground and turned it into his guitar, and pulled it back, preparing to knock the doors down. Before he could smash the doors down, they opened up suddenly on him whilst in mid swing, sending him off balance and eventually crashing into the ground. The other Titans walked over him, while Starfire helped him up to his feet. Clive dusted the footprints off his back and sat down in one of the 8 prearranged chairs. There was a man sitting in the desk that the Titans were surrounding. He was a very large man with a portly mustache and faded grey hair. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, shuffling through papers on his desk.
Mayor Brenson: " Titans...do you know who I am?"
Robin: " You're the Mayor of the city...Mr. Brenson, am I correct?"
Mayor Brenson: " Indeed. Well then, as you know, I was newly elected this last year and since, I've been doing some changing of the way things are run around here."
Robin: " So...what did you want to speak with us about?"
Mayor Brenson: " I see you're very direct. Good, I can stop beating around the bush. Fact is, you guys are a menace to our city."
That line shocked all the Titans. Yes, all of them, including Raven.
Clive: " WHAT!"
Mayor Brenson: " Is there a problem? Which Titan are you again? Oh wait, you're that one that we sent over to reduce the damage to public property in exchange for the charges and crimes held against you to be dropped. What is your problem?"
Clive: " Well, I'd have to say that if it were not for us, the City would have been burned down, blown away, frozen over, and shot up! Not to mention anything else that could have happened before I got here!"
Mayor Brenson: " And were you not the cause of some property damage?"
Clive: " Not very much of it. When I was working for Slade, I pretty much just had to pester the Titans. Nothing really beyond that."
Mayor Brenson: " And the jail break?"
Clive: " Look, I didn't have a lot of choices."
Mayor Brenson: " There's always another choice."
Clive sat down grumbling, crossing his arms and looking away in disgust. He wasn't conceding, just stopping before he got any angrier and did something he would regret. The mayor got up and wandered about the room, making his way around each of the Titans, looking over each of them.
Mayor Brenson: " Robin, you're weapons are very useful and highly effective. However, in buildings all over the city, there are marks and chunks taken out of the exterior of those buildings from your grappling cable you use. There's also holes from your little batarang tools and your explosive disks and marbles. While you are an effective crime fighter, you leave your marks wherever you go."
He continued over to Cyborg.
Mayor Brenson: " Foot prints left in the pavement, large chunks of concrete torn from anything not re-enforced. Pot holes made from your jumping and running around...extreme bills being recieved for parts of gadgets that we've never even seen or heard. Why, all you do is put holes in things and shoot off a little sonic cannon that shakes down buildings."
Cyborg frowned and sulked a bit as the Mayor continued to Raven.
Mayor Brenson: " You'd think that I wouldn't have to yell at you for anything. You're powers aren't quite as destructive as you'd think...but then again, the fact that you've ripped the road right out of the ground in order to make a jump of sorts. How responsible is that? Someone could have been hurt! And the repair cost to fix that entire stretch of high way? Astronomical! Then all the minor damage from you throwing around anything that isn't nailed down...the carpenters of the town are getting rich!"
Raven sighed and looked away, deciding not to argue with him. He stopped at Beastboy and looked at him for a moment, then shook his head, moving on to Terra.
Mayor Brenson: " To control the ground itself...definitely not something to be left in the hands of a young punk rock and roller girl. Why...I've seen you tear the road to pieces, smash apart buildings and cave in mines just because you don't have a clue as to what you're doing! I mean, come on...you're just not thinking when you use your powers. The city doesn't sit on a fault line...so why don't we keep it that way."
Terra looked down in shame, feeling like she used to when she couldn't control her powers. Even after all the training and practice she had done since she first met the Titans, she still was being criticized. The Mayor stopped between the Tameranian sisters.
Mayor Brenson: " Ah yes...our Alien visitors. I hope Earth has been accomodating to the both of you. We don't get too many Extra Terrestreals around here. Are people treating you nicely? Has the food around here been to your liking? Are the buildings too weak to stand up against your HIGHLY destructive powers and terrible aim? Because if not, you're always welcome to leave. I'll just stop right there before I get any crying out of you."
Starfire looked around for a complement to make her feel a little better. Blackfire shrugged off the remark and stuck her nose up into the air. Finally, the Mayor came to Clive.
Mayor Brenson: " What do you think I have to say about you? You seem to be the loud mouth of the group...so why don't you enlighten us?"
Clive: " Sorry, but I won't give scumbag politicians like you the time of day, much less my opinion without the words go, to, and hell. Get my drift?"
The Titans gasped slightly at the way Clive spoke to the Mayor of the city, and their technical employer.
Mayor Brenson: " And here I thought Beastboy was supposed to be the comic. Am I guessing that you're taking over for him?"
Clive: " I'm shocked. Honestly, that you can see past that big arrogant nose you've got so far stuck up in the air to notice any one of our personalities. I suppose I ought to give you a high five or something, but instead, I'll just say that you're not as dumb as you seem to look. But then again, good looks obviously didn't get you into the office."
Mayor Brenson: " You little...you would talk to the Mayor like that?"
Clive: " Blow me. I'm outta here. Come on guys, I'm tired of hearing this old windbag play."
Clive got up and pushed his chair aside. Blackfire got up afterwards, standing next to Clive defiantly.
Blackfire: " Yeah...he's right! Who's he to push US around? Without us, this town wouldn't even be here. If anything, WE should be the Mayors."
Robin: " Calm down you two..."
Clive: " No. I won't sit here and let him talk like this to us. If he's gonna bitch and whine so much, then let's see what he plans to do about the crime and super villians if we decide to just up and quit!"
Mayor Brenson: " You would dare!"
Clive: " Of course I would! Put your money where your mouth is or shut up and give us an apology!"
Mayor Brenson: " You do realize if you quit the Titans now...you're going back to prison."
Clive: " I'd rather be a cellmate with a big black guy named Tyrone than be the abused lackey of a big dummy four eyes like you."
Mayor Brenson: " Fine. Then we'll take Sherri back tomorrow and stick her into the foster care system. I'm sure she'll work out well with our other troubled youth."
Clive: " I SWEAR! IF YOU DO ANYTHING THAT WOULD CAUSE HER HARM...I WILL SEE YOU REGRET IT!"
Mayor Brenson: " Then you calm down and say your sorry."
Clive: "...."
Mayor Brenson: " I can't hear you."
Clive: "....no..."
The Mayor pressed a small button on his intercom.
Mayor Brenson: " Excuse me Ms. Karis, can you get Children's Services on the phone please?"
He looked up to Clive to see his reaction. Clive tensed up with a worried look on his face. The Mayor smirked at this, and eventually saw Clive's walls of defiance crumble in his eyes.
Clive: " I....I'm sorry."
Clive turned and walked out the room afterwards, knocking the doors aside with a strong kick. He stormed out of the office and eventually out of the building, wandering the streets to blow off some steam. The Titans suffered through more of the Mayors scouldings, until he was tired of repremanding them. They all left with their heads hung low. They would stay that way even in the tower, while they were all eating.
Starfire: " Should we not find Clive?"
Robin: " I'm sure he's fine. He's just angry and wants some air."
Raven: " I know how he feels though. That was uncalled for after all."
Robin: " Yeah, but he's the Mayor...what can we do?"
Cyborg: " Man, it just makes my oil burn."
Blackfire: " Yeah, I know. That rude. Whatever happened to Diplomatic Immunity?"
Terra: " Atleast he didn't remind you guys of your past mistakes like he did me. I've worked so hard to get better with my powers...and now I feel like it's been a waste."
Beastboy: " Don't say that! I think you're doing just fine."
Terra: " Thanks Beastboy."
She gave him a hug and he melted in her arms. As for Cyborg he got up from their table.
Cyborg: " I'm gonna head out. Give me a call if I'm needed."
Robin: " Going to Sarah's?"
Cyborg: " Yeah. She's got the kids again, and I wouldn't mind blowing off some steam with a little baseball."
Beastboy: " Hey, can me and Terra go? Get some extra players!"
Terra: " Please Cyborg?"
Cyborg: " Yeah sure...I don't think they'd mind at all."
Beastboy: " Cool! I'm totally pitching!"
The three Titans ran off to the T-Car, leaving the other 4 alone.
Raven: " Well, I'll be in my room."
Robin: " I'm gonna go train...you two wanna come with me?"
Blackfire: " I'll go with you Robin. How about it sister?"
Starfire: " No...I shall go and get some fresh air I think."
Blackfire: " Your loss."
Robin and Blackfire got up, heading in one direction, while Raven left for the stairs, leaving Starfire all alone. She sighed and watched some television for a short while, realizing that she was both bored and lonely. She also had a nagging worry of Clive, so she got up off the couch and left the tower. She opened up her communicator and searched for Clive's communicator frequency, then paged it. As for Clive, he had been at the arcade, playing many of the games that were there. There was a line for the player 2 spot at this certain arcade machine he was playing, as everyone was trying to beat him at Soul Caliber 2. Clive was most particular to Heihatchi, but Kilik and Sonya were some of his other favorites.
After a few more matches, it was commonly believed that he was unbeatable. Clive puffed out his chest in some triumph, realizing that he has beaten over 30 people straight. His communicator rang from a page, so he picked it up while taking a brief break, seeing Starfire on the other end.
Clive: " Oh, hey Star! What's up?"
Starfire: " Clive! It is good to see you! Are you alright?"
Clive: " Yeah, I'm doing better now. Just had to blow off some steam."
Starfire: " Where are you now?"
Clive: " At the arcade."
Starfire: " May I join you there?"
Clive: " I'd be honored!"
Starfire: " Then I shall be there faster than a Mortakre Blundark to a Kantata Seed!"
Clive: " Right...well, hope to see you soon!"
Clive returned to playing the game after his brief chat with Starfire. Since there was no one to play, he played the computer on the standard game. Clive fought magnificently, and though he almost had a perfect on each match, in the very end, he put his initials in for the second place slot. First place initials were as usual, JV. Clive smiled, seeing that his score had improved over the last time, as Clive also had the 3rd, 4th, and 5th slots. He frowned afterwards, seeing how far behind his brothers score he was.
Clive: " Johnny..."
Starfire: " Clive?"
Clive perked up and looked behind him, seeing the red haired alien girl standing a few yards from him. He waved her over and she approached.
Starfire: " I am relieved you are feeling better."
Clive: " Yeah, well I just had to do something before I hit that guy. So I thought I'd hit the arcade machines!"
Starfire: " A very wise choice. May I watch?"
Clive: " Oh sure...I just got done though."
Starfire: " You did well I imagine?"
Clive: " Yeah. I gave it my all, but still, I can't get first place. My brother holds that spot on most of the machines here. Only the new ones don't have his mark on them."
Starfire: " Was he really that good?"
Clive: " Yep. And not just video games either. In anything he's ever done, he's always been the best. Video games, martial arts, machines...he was good at anything."
Starfire: " He must have been truly interesting."
Clive: " Yep. He was my hero growing up. His was the Fonz."
Starfire: " It warms me to see such good relations between siblings. It is such a shame what happened to him."
Clive: " Yeah. He taught me everything I know. How to play guitar, how to play video games, how to ride a motorcycle, how to fight, how to live...everything."
Starfire: " I see..."
A man dressed in a dark grey coat walked up to the machine. He wore a large hat and kept his collar turned up. He inserted a quarter into the machine and selected a character. Clive turned around and picked one for himself.
Clive: " I warn you, you're wasting your quarter."
The man didn't say anything and picked Yoshimitsu. Clive and this man battled it out and they were very well matched. Clive would parry his attacks and he would just dodge around Clive without trouble. While this worked out well for both of them, Clive noticed that he was still taking little knicks of damage here and there. Over time, Clive realized that he was under half health, so he tried a little harder. But the harder Clive got, the harder the man got, until Clive found himself losing the first round.
Starfire: " Do not dispair! I believe in you Clive!"
Clive: " Thanks Star. Just gotta get my bearings. Alright dude, round 2!"
Again, the pair battled out. And as much as Clive would mash on the buttons and yank the control stick around, he just couldn't get around the mans estranged attack and defending patterns. Clive finally found himself beaten quickly after. The man turned and began to leave, but Clive grabbed him by the shoulder.
Clive: " Hey buddy, that was a good game. Wanna go another fight?"
The man still said nothing. Clive fumed a bit inside, but didn't let it be known.
Clive: " Come on buddy...it's not everyday some one beats me."
The man didn't say anything and tried to leave, but Clive would let him. Clive pulled him around so he could see him, and was almost floored, as the red scarf came untucked from within the coat and hung out for him to see. Smoke took a few steps back, letting Clive take in the fact that he was beaten by what seemed to be his new arch rival.
Clive: " SMOKE!"
Smoke: " Clive."
Clive: " What the hell are you doing here?"
Smoke: " Just spending my day off having some fun. And yourself?"
He looked and saw Starfire. He tipped down his sunglasses for her to see his eyes and he winked at her.
Smoke: " On a date eh? Strutting your stuff? Sorry, I didn't realize, else I'd have let you win. Well, it's been fun, but I gotta run."
Smoke took off running down the street, pushing people out of his way as he went. Clive chased after him and Starfire followed, helping people up as she came to them.
Clive: (Not this time...you're not getting away from me...)
The Legal Information: All characters present in the Teen Titans outside of Smoke, Clive, Sherri, and all others that are not seen in the show or comic book belong to me. All other characters, such as Starfire, Raven, and Slade, belong to their respective copyright holders. In other words, I do not own the Teen Titans, so anything that I say or have them do in this fanfiction does not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the creators of the Show/Comic or any of it's affiliates. I also don't own Soul Caliber and such.
I'm working really hard at trying to sound smart, aren't I.
Dark Patriot
Political Damage
The Titans sat down in a large office styled room, stretched out over 3 different seatings, since there was so many of them. Blackfire, Clive, Starfire, and Robin sat on the largest couch in that order, Terra and Beastboy sat on a second smaller couch, and Cyborg stood next to Raven, who was sitting in a chair. Terra and Beastboy joked a lot to each other, not really noticing the rather grim expressions on the faces of everyone else. Robin stared at the ground with a frown while resting his elbows on his knees, looking fairly worried. Blackfire was leaning on him, mimicing Starfire, who was also leaning against him. She was, however asleep, as she had gotten bored of waiting for their appointment. Clive sat back and stared up at the ceiling fan above him, not really sure of what to do about the two tameranians using him as a pillow.
Cyborg kept his eyes shut as he leaned against the wall and Raven took the time to do some light meditating. In all, the Titans were not amused to say the least. They had been in the room for over an hour, and finally, after another half hour had passed, Clive got up slowly, carefully pushing both Starfire and the now sleeping Blackfire to each side of him. He wandered around, pacing back and fouth quickly in the terrible silence. Finally, something inside him snapped. One thing you didn't want to do is to keep Clive waiting excessivly.
Clive: " THAT'S IT! Come on team, let's just get outta here. If these city big wigs wanna talk to us, they can come and wait at our place! Atleast there's something to do."
Robin: " Calm down Clive...they said it was important..."
Clive: " You know what's important? Crime. And while we're up here doing nothing but sleeping, twiddling our thumbs, and staring into space, someone somewhere could be in trouble! I mean, sure, we do spend a lot of time doing nothing outside of videogames, practicing and eating...but we do patrol once in a while to keep the city safe. THAT'S IT! I'M GOING IN THERE!"
Cyborg: " Clive...I don't..."
Clive was already ahead of him though. Clive grabbed a hold of the large wooden doors and started shaking them, trying to open them. He made enough noise to wake up the sleeping sisters and cause concern amoung the other Titans. That and his yelling didn't help either.
Clive: " COME ON YOU BIG SHOT CITY KNOW IT ALL! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"
Clive began to bang on the doors and pull them open, but to little avail. Cyborg and Starfire got up and did their best to restrain him, but with a slick use of his shadow transformation skills, he was able to slip out of their grasp. He then took his shadow from the ground and turned it into his guitar, and pulled it back, preparing to knock the doors down. Before he could smash the doors down, they opened up suddenly on him whilst in mid swing, sending him off balance and eventually crashing into the ground. The other Titans walked over him, while Starfire helped him up to his feet. Clive dusted the footprints off his back and sat down in one of the 8 prearranged chairs. There was a man sitting in the desk that the Titans were surrounding. He was a very large man with a portly mustache and faded grey hair. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, shuffling through papers on his desk.
Mayor Brenson: " Titans...do you know who I am?"
Robin: " You're the Mayor of the city...Mr. Brenson, am I correct?"
Mayor Brenson: " Indeed. Well then, as you know, I was newly elected this last year and since, I've been doing some changing of the way things are run around here."
Robin: " So...what did you want to speak with us about?"
Mayor Brenson: " I see you're very direct. Good, I can stop beating around the bush. Fact is, you guys are a menace to our city."
That line shocked all the Titans. Yes, all of them, including Raven.
Clive: " WHAT!"
Mayor Brenson: " Is there a problem? Which Titan are you again? Oh wait, you're that one that we sent over to reduce the damage to public property in exchange for the charges and crimes held against you to be dropped. What is your problem?"
Clive: " Well, I'd have to say that if it were not for us, the City would have been burned down, blown away, frozen over, and shot up! Not to mention anything else that could have happened before I got here!"
Mayor Brenson: " And were you not the cause of some property damage?"
Clive: " Not very much of it. When I was working for Slade, I pretty much just had to pester the Titans. Nothing really beyond that."
Mayor Brenson: " And the jail break?"
Clive: " Look, I didn't have a lot of choices."
Mayor Brenson: " There's always another choice."
Clive sat down grumbling, crossing his arms and looking away in disgust. He wasn't conceding, just stopping before he got any angrier and did something he would regret. The mayor got up and wandered about the room, making his way around each of the Titans, looking over each of them.
Mayor Brenson: " Robin, you're weapons are very useful and highly effective. However, in buildings all over the city, there are marks and chunks taken out of the exterior of those buildings from your grappling cable you use. There's also holes from your little batarang tools and your explosive disks and marbles. While you are an effective crime fighter, you leave your marks wherever you go."
He continued over to Cyborg.
Mayor Brenson: " Foot prints left in the pavement, large chunks of concrete torn from anything not re-enforced. Pot holes made from your jumping and running around...extreme bills being recieved for parts of gadgets that we've never even seen or heard. Why, all you do is put holes in things and shoot off a little sonic cannon that shakes down buildings."
Cyborg frowned and sulked a bit as the Mayor continued to Raven.
Mayor Brenson: " You'd think that I wouldn't have to yell at you for anything. You're powers aren't quite as destructive as you'd think...but then again, the fact that you've ripped the road right out of the ground in order to make a jump of sorts. How responsible is that? Someone could have been hurt! And the repair cost to fix that entire stretch of high way? Astronomical! Then all the minor damage from you throwing around anything that isn't nailed down...the carpenters of the town are getting rich!"
Raven sighed and looked away, deciding not to argue with him. He stopped at Beastboy and looked at him for a moment, then shook his head, moving on to Terra.
Mayor Brenson: " To control the ground itself...definitely not something to be left in the hands of a young punk rock and roller girl. Why...I've seen you tear the road to pieces, smash apart buildings and cave in mines just because you don't have a clue as to what you're doing! I mean, come on...you're just not thinking when you use your powers. The city doesn't sit on a fault line...so why don't we keep it that way."
Terra looked down in shame, feeling like she used to when she couldn't control her powers. Even after all the training and practice she had done since she first met the Titans, she still was being criticized. The Mayor stopped between the Tameranian sisters.
Mayor Brenson: " Ah yes...our Alien visitors. I hope Earth has been accomodating to the both of you. We don't get too many Extra Terrestreals around here. Are people treating you nicely? Has the food around here been to your liking? Are the buildings too weak to stand up against your HIGHLY destructive powers and terrible aim? Because if not, you're always welcome to leave. I'll just stop right there before I get any crying out of you."
Starfire looked around for a complement to make her feel a little better. Blackfire shrugged off the remark and stuck her nose up into the air. Finally, the Mayor came to Clive.
Mayor Brenson: " What do you think I have to say about you? You seem to be the loud mouth of the group...so why don't you enlighten us?"
Clive: " Sorry, but I won't give scumbag politicians like you the time of day, much less my opinion without the words go, to, and hell. Get my drift?"
The Titans gasped slightly at the way Clive spoke to the Mayor of the city, and their technical employer.
Mayor Brenson: " And here I thought Beastboy was supposed to be the comic. Am I guessing that you're taking over for him?"
Clive: " I'm shocked. Honestly, that you can see past that big arrogant nose you've got so far stuck up in the air to notice any one of our personalities. I suppose I ought to give you a high five or something, but instead, I'll just say that you're not as dumb as you seem to look. But then again, good looks obviously didn't get you into the office."
Mayor Brenson: " You little...you would talk to the Mayor like that?"
Clive: " Blow me. I'm outta here. Come on guys, I'm tired of hearing this old windbag play."
Clive got up and pushed his chair aside. Blackfire got up afterwards, standing next to Clive defiantly.
Blackfire: " Yeah...he's right! Who's he to push US around? Without us, this town wouldn't even be here. If anything, WE should be the Mayors."
Robin: " Calm down you two..."
Clive: " No. I won't sit here and let him talk like this to us. If he's gonna bitch and whine so much, then let's see what he plans to do about the crime and super villians if we decide to just up and quit!"
Mayor Brenson: " You would dare!"
Clive: " Of course I would! Put your money where your mouth is or shut up and give us an apology!"
Mayor Brenson: " You do realize if you quit the Titans now...you're going back to prison."
Clive: " I'd rather be a cellmate with a big black guy named Tyrone than be the abused lackey of a big dummy four eyes like you."
Mayor Brenson: " Fine. Then we'll take Sherri back tomorrow and stick her into the foster care system. I'm sure she'll work out well with our other troubled youth."
Clive: " I SWEAR! IF YOU DO ANYTHING THAT WOULD CAUSE HER HARM...I WILL SEE YOU REGRET IT!"
Mayor Brenson: " Then you calm down and say your sorry."
Clive: "...."
Mayor Brenson: " I can't hear you."
Clive: "....no..."
The Mayor pressed a small button on his intercom.
Mayor Brenson: " Excuse me Ms. Karis, can you get Children's Services on the phone please?"
He looked up to Clive to see his reaction. Clive tensed up with a worried look on his face. The Mayor smirked at this, and eventually saw Clive's walls of defiance crumble in his eyes.
Clive: " I....I'm sorry."
Clive turned and walked out the room afterwards, knocking the doors aside with a strong kick. He stormed out of the office and eventually out of the building, wandering the streets to blow off some steam. The Titans suffered through more of the Mayors scouldings, until he was tired of repremanding them. They all left with their heads hung low. They would stay that way even in the tower, while they were all eating.
Starfire: " Should we not find Clive?"
Robin: " I'm sure he's fine. He's just angry and wants some air."
Raven: " I know how he feels though. That was uncalled for after all."
Robin: " Yeah, but he's the Mayor...what can we do?"
Cyborg: " Man, it just makes my oil burn."
Blackfire: " Yeah, I know. That rude. Whatever happened to Diplomatic Immunity?"
Terra: " Atleast he didn't remind you guys of your past mistakes like he did me. I've worked so hard to get better with my powers...and now I feel like it's been a waste."
Beastboy: " Don't say that! I think you're doing just fine."
Terra: " Thanks Beastboy."
She gave him a hug and he melted in her arms. As for Cyborg he got up from their table.
Cyborg: " I'm gonna head out. Give me a call if I'm needed."
Robin: " Going to Sarah's?"
Cyborg: " Yeah. She's got the kids again, and I wouldn't mind blowing off some steam with a little baseball."
Beastboy: " Hey, can me and Terra go? Get some extra players!"
Terra: " Please Cyborg?"
Cyborg: " Yeah sure...I don't think they'd mind at all."
Beastboy: " Cool! I'm totally pitching!"
The three Titans ran off to the T-Car, leaving the other 4 alone.
Raven: " Well, I'll be in my room."
Robin: " I'm gonna go train...you two wanna come with me?"
Blackfire: " I'll go with you Robin. How about it sister?"
Starfire: " No...I shall go and get some fresh air I think."
Blackfire: " Your loss."
Robin and Blackfire got up, heading in one direction, while Raven left for the stairs, leaving Starfire all alone. She sighed and watched some television for a short while, realizing that she was both bored and lonely. She also had a nagging worry of Clive, so she got up off the couch and left the tower. She opened up her communicator and searched for Clive's communicator frequency, then paged it. As for Clive, he had been at the arcade, playing many of the games that were there. There was a line for the player 2 spot at this certain arcade machine he was playing, as everyone was trying to beat him at Soul Caliber 2. Clive was most particular to Heihatchi, but Kilik and Sonya were some of his other favorites.
After a few more matches, it was commonly believed that he was unbeatable. Clive puffed out his chest in some triumph, realizing that he has beaten over 30 people straight. His communicator rang from a page, so he picked it up while taking a brief break, seeing Starfire on the other end.
Clive: " Oh, hey Star! What's up?"
Starfire: " Clive! It is good to see you! Are you alright?"
Clive: " Yeah, I'm doing better now. Just had to blow off some steam."
Starfire: " Where are you now?"
Clive: " At the arcade."
Starfire: " May I join you there?"
Clive: " I'd be honored!"
Starfire: " Then I shall be there faster than a Mortakre Blundark to a Kantata Seed!"
Clive: " Right...well, hope to see you soon!"
Clive returned to playing the game after his brief chat with Starfire. Since there was no one to play, he played the computer on the standard game. Clive fought magnificently, and though he almost had a perfect on each match, in the very end, he put his initials in for the second place slot. First place initials were as usual, JV. Clive smiled, seeing that his score had improved over the last time, as Clive also had the 3rd, 4th, and 5th slots. He frowned afterwards, seeing how far behind his brothers score he was.
Clive: " Johnny..."
Starfire: " Clive?"
Clive perked up and looked behind him, seeing the red haired alien girl standing a few yards from him. He waved her over and she approached.
Starfire: " I am relieved you are feeling better."
Clive: " Yeah, well I just had to do something before I hit that guy. So I thought I'd hit the arcade machines!"
Starfire: " A very wise choice. May I watch?"
Clive: " Oh sure...I just got done though."
Starfire: " You did well I imagine?"
Clive: " Yeah. I gave it my all, but still, I can't get first place. My brother holds that spot on most of the machines here. Only the new ones don't have his mark on them."
Starfire: " Was he really that good?"
Clive: " Yep. And not just video games either. In anything he's ever done, he's always been the best. Video games, martial arts, machines...he was good at anything."
Starfire: " He must have been truly interesting."
Clive: " Yep. He was my hero growing up. His was the Fonz."
Starfire: " It warms me to see such good relations between siblings. It is such a shame what happened to him."
Clive: " Yeah. He taught me everything I know. How to play guitar, how to play video games, how to ride a motorcycle, how to fight, how to live...everything."
Starfire: " I see..."
A man dressed in a dark grey coat walked up to the machine. He wore a large hat and kept his collar turned up. He inserted a quarter into the machine and selected a character. Clive turned around and picked one for himself.
Clive: " I warn you, you're wasting your quarter."
The man didn't say anything and picked Yoshimitsu. Clive and this man battled it out and they were very well matched. Clive would parry his attacks and he would just dodge around Clive without trouble. While this worked out well for both of them, Clive noticed that he was still taking little knicks of damage here and there. Over time, Clive realized that he was under half health, so he tried a little harder. But the harder Clive got, the harder the man got, until Clive found himself losing the first round.
Starfire: " Do not dispair! I believe in you Clive!"
Clive: " Thanks Star. Just gotta get my bearings. Alright dude, round 2!"
Again, the pair battled out. And as much as Clive would mash on the buttons and yank the control stick around, he just couldn't get around the mans estranged attack and defending patterns. Clive finally found himself beaten quickly after. The man turned and began to leave, but Clive grabbed him by the shoulder.
Clive: " Hey buddy, that was a good game. Wanna go another fight?"
The man still said nothing. Clive fumed a bit inside, but didn't let it be known.
Clive: " Come on buddy...it's not everyday some one beats me."
The man didn't say anything and tried to leave, but Clive would let him. Clive pulled him around so he could see him, and was almost floored, as the red scarf came untucked from within the coat and hung out for him to see. Smoke took a few steps back, letting Clive take in the fact that he was beaten by what seemed to be his new arch rival.
Clive: " SMOKE!"
Smoke: " Clive."
Clive: " What the hell are you doing here?"
Smoke: " Just spending my day off having some fun. And yourself?"
He looked and saw Starfire. He tipped down his sunglasses for her to see his eyes and he winked at her.
Smoke: " On a date eh? Strutting your stuff? Sorry, I didn't realize, else I'd have let you win. Well, it's been fun, but I gotta run."
Smoke took off running down the street, pushing people out of his way as he went. Clive chased after him and Starfire followed, helping people up as she came to them.
Clive: (Not this time...you're not getting away from me...)