Chapter Two: Getting Ready
"Dude, I can't believe it!" screamed Gar at the top of his voice. No depression was heard in the cry. He raised his hands over his head, making V signs to the people that walked on the pavement. Inside Vic's convertible car, a custom painted Mazda RX-8, sat three people. In the driver's seat, was Vic, he was wearing a large sweaty red shirt with a white Teen Titans written on it and a pair of blue jeans. Gar, who was dressed the same as Vic, and Tara, were in the back seat. Tara was a petite blonde, about Gar's height and with a very distinctive figure. Her face was perfectly curved, like her body, with two huge deep blue eyes, a tiny nose and a laughing expression. She was wearing a black midriff shirt with a golden T surrounded by a circle in the middle and some plain brown pants. In her tanned hands, a check for five thousand dollars. Gar once again thrust his fist into the air and exclaimed
"Teen Titans rule!"
After a few minutes of celebration on the road, a voice unlike a cheer came from the left side of the car
"Guys, I think I better head off, it's a little late for me" Gar and Tara twisted their heads towards Dick, who was riding his bike. A red Harley-Davidson
"Aw, come on Dick" protested Vic "Don't be such a…well…dick!" he sent the entire gang laughing, including the red-head on the back seat of Dick's bike
"Yeah dude" joined Tara "You guys just scored five grand! I think it calls for a celebration. Forget that old bat and come on!" Dick sighed
"I wish I could, but I promised Mr. Wayne I'll help him"
"Whoa, hold it dude, I thought Tuesday was your day off" snapped Gar
"It is, but Alfred, the guy who replaces me at Tuesdays is sick and I have to fill in for him" he replied. The girl behind him sighed
"Then we might as well 'high tail' home, yes?" Dick turned to face his girlfriend
Kory Anders was one of the- if not the most beautiful girls in the country; she was pretty tall, with a slender body and long, waist long silky red hair. Her face, always wearing an expression of kindness, could make Dick smile even at the worst of his days. She had her flaws though, like all girls, only hers were a bit more eccentric; she was born in a lab, due to her parents' inability to bring children to the world after their first child. But something went wrong, some chromosome mixed up or something, neither Dick nor her knew what it was, only it's affects. Kory's skin was colored light orange, and the more tanned she got, the more orange it went, her eyes were colored emerald green, not just the pupil, but the entire eye. Kory's parents didn't want the world to know of their 'failure' so they kept Kory locked up in their huge mansion until the age of fifteen, when she had to go to the ninth grade. She was taught by Tudors, and that's why her English was so prefect. She did not know any slang words, and friends were strange to her. But sonly after meeting Gar, Vic and Dick, she blended in perfectly.
"You don't have to go. Just because I have to go it doesn't mean you can't have any more fun" he told her and brushed his hand against her exposed orange arm
"But I will not be able to have 'the blast' whereas you will be slaving for that tyrant" she protested. He smiled
"Mr. Wayne isn't that bad. Please, if you got back now, it would make me feel bad, it was you who earned us those five grand, you deserve to party" she pondered for a few seconds
"Very well, I shall stay. But, can you 'drop me off' at my house? I require an exchange of clothes" Dick nodded.
"We'll be waiting for you at the Dive Bomber, it's just a minute walk from your house" told her Vic. She nodded
"Then I will, 'see you later', yes?"
"Yup" replied all three. Dick pulled on his bike's throttle and rocketed off, leaving the three alone.
(S)
The "Dive Bomber" was one of the most infamous places in Jump City. For years, the small coffee house was used as a meeting point for teenagers even from the furthest places in the large city, some even from the nearby Steel City. But since last year, when the old manager, Erin May-Eye, was fired and replaced by someone from City hall, business went down fast; the guy didn't know anything about drinks, good music or good taste. The place was on the verge of bankruptcy, if it wasn't for the regular costumers who kept showing up anyway.
"Didn't I tell you it'll be fun going to that show?" asked a girl. The other girl across the tall metal table looked at her 'to-go' cup and nodded. It was Raven, the girl from the police station
"I suppose it was fun seeing teen morons make fools of themselves" she replied. The girl in front of her, who looked a lot like her laughed
"Oh come on, not all of them sucked that badly" she said, twirling a lock of her long pink hair. Raven was about to reply when a sudden "Hey ya'll" nearly made her jump out of her skin. Tara and Gar jumped them, fetching chairs from nearby tables and sitting next to them, Vic joined a couple of seconds later, after finishing activating all the security devices on 'his baby' as he liked to call it, when he sat down, he and the girl sitting in front of Raven exchanged a peck on the cheek. Raven shifted back in her seat; letting out a silent "Hi" she didn't feel too comfortable
"Don't worry, we don't bite" teased Tara. Raven smiled a little
"And even if I will, I already had my rabies shots!" Gar raised his sleeve to show a newly made puncture mark in his upper arm "See?" she and Tara chuckled
"Who are you guys anyway?" she inquired. The three were about to open their mouths, but the only voice that was heard, was the girl's voice
"This is Vic, that's Gar and she's Tara" she said. The three frowned.
"Oh, and she's Raven you guys, she just moved here from Metropolis, I'm showing her around"
"Jinx, we have mouths, you know" shot Gar. She punched him on the shoulder
"Don't call me that! I'm Jenny!" she protested, and then smacked her forehead
"Where're Dick and Kory?" she asked. Raven seemed confused; who were all these people?
"Dick couldn't come, and Kory will be joining us soon, we're waiting for he- Why don't you come with us too?" proposed Vic
"It's Raven's call, what do you say, wonna hang out with the winners of tonight's battle of the band?" asked Jinx. Raven seemed shocked
"Those were you guys?" she asked in disbelief. Gar and Vic nodded
"The ones and only, Teen Titans" they said.
"Um, sure, why not?" she finally said
"We'll just wait for Kory to come by and head out downtown, trust me, you'll love it" assured Gar and added "Hey, are you gonna drink that?" she looked at her 'to-go' cup
"Knock yourself out" she told him. He took a sip from the cup, spitting it a second later all over the floor
"Man!" he exclaimed "This tastes like blended Tofu-Dogs and bleach!"
"I have doubts if it really isn't" said Vic. Tara just sat there, giggling.
(S)
"Well, here we are" said Dick, killing the engine. Kory turned his head to face hers
"Must you go?" she pleaded "It would be delightful if you-"
"I can't" he cut her off "I got work to do" she saddened. He sat the look in her eyes, and used two of his right hand fingers to bring her face to his
"Tell you what" he said "I'll work twice as hard, so I can be done early and see you sooner, deal?" she smiled
"Agreed" she said and pecked him on the cheek. As she backed away, he pulled her and swiftly kissed her on the lips
"The perfect way to finish a perfect day" he said, took her off the bike and road off. She skipped into the huge mansion that was her house. The lights were out, but she knew someone was home, she could tell by the smell inside the living room; her sister perfume
"Katie, I am home, but I will leave in a while" she exclaimed. Her parents were out of the city, buy oil or something. Kory never really understood what her parents' jobs were.
As she walked into the darkened living room, she saw her sister trying hopelessly to make herself comfortable. Her attempts were futile because of her current condition.
Katie's parents upheld beauty as a supreme value, so they trained Katie from a young age to do the same. And so she did; visiting tanning salons from a young age, undergoing cosmetic procedures from the age of ten and using any brand new products that go out on the market. When she was about eleven, a horrible thing happened to her; a product she used did not carry a warning of causing an allergic reaction to people with a certain skin type; Katie's type. Her parents filed in a multi million dollar lawsuit, and won, but that didn't suffice for the little girl, Katie Anders, whose entire life had been ruined because of the stupid mistake. And each year, the reaction had a kind of a relapse; the red spots again appearing on her skin, the itching all over her body and the tearing eyes. They went to a lot of doctors, trying to solve that situation; all they got each and every time was a shake of the head and the false assuring that "It'll pass in a year or two". Her predicament turned Katie's character upside down; she became mean, nasty, a wild child that showed no resemblance to the girl she once was. Her true personality, the one Kory loved so much was only unveiled when she was home with her family, where she felt comfortable with herself.
"Oh, hi little Shooting Star" her sister welcomed her "Did you rocked the place out like you told me you will?" her sister was about the same figure as she was, except her hair was black, and her eyes were normal colored; plain black. She was wearing her black bathing suit and lying on the couch, an ice bag on her tummy and a Game Station controller in her hands
"We indeed have!" beamed Kory "And, we won first place!"
"No way!" Katie shot up, forgetting her itches and aches "The Teen Titans beat Kitten's Kitty Cats?" Kory seemed puzzled, but then snorted
"Please, get in touch with reality, sister. They did not even make it into the final three" Katie rolled off the sofa, laughing like crazy
"Serves them right for dissing my baby sister's band" she said and threw her right hand into the air, giving out a V sign. She relaxed
"Now that that's out of my system" she said "feeling like a round of Starfire Extreme? One on one?" Kory seemed puzzled
"Since when do you play the game?" she asked "I thought you do not like it"
"Well things change when you have to stay alone all day" she replied. Kory lowered her head
"I would love to, but I have made pervious arrangements" Katie smiled
"Going out with Dick huh? He's a real hottie. Can't believe I missed out on him"
"No!" she stated and blushed "I am just 'hanging out' with my friends. We are celebrating our victory" she smiled. Katie nodded
"Just be back in time for breakfast, I wouldn't want to eat here all alone" Kory rocketed to her room and, once replacing her Teen Titans T-shirt to a strapless cream colored shirt, she left.
The moment she did, the phone rang. Katie picked it up
"Hello? Oh, hi Kitten" she frowned; the last thing she needed now was her friend's annoying squeaky voice "how're you? Who- He's- Are you sure?" she nearly jumped off the couch
"But I thought he's in-"
"So did I!" screamed her friend at the top of her voice. Kitten Moth was standing in the middle of the street, holding to her cell phone with both hands, she looked terrified
"Look, relax, go home and lock the doors and windows, it'll be-"Katie tried to calm her down, but was cut off by her friend's screams
"I don't wonna go home!" she exclaimed, there were tears in her eyes "Daddy's out on one of his bug conventions, I don't wonna be alone, he said he'll kill me!" she started crying.
"Kitten, KITTEN! Relax!" screamed Katie. The crying stopped "I'll call Nathan and Jimmy and tell them to drive you to your house, get your stuff, and drop you off at my place. You'll stay with me and Kory until this whole thing cools down for a bit" while doing that, she grabbed her mobile and called one of her friends; Nathan "Mammoth" Mazinsky
"They're asking where to pick you up from" she told her
"I'm at Jino's" she replied "Are you sure they'll be enough? I mean, Atlas told me Fang knows people. He…" she started weeping again "He said Fang knows Red X" Katie's eyes widened
"No way he does" she calmed her friend down "And even if he does, X is at Gothem, locked up in the juvenile institute. Atlas's just trying to scare you"
"I...I guess he does" Kitten chuckled "Stupid meathead" the two girls kept talking until Kitten spotted Nathan's huge yellow pick up and hopped in. Once hanging up, Katie started walking around the house, locking the windows one by one. Just in case Atlas was serious.
I'm here to thank all those who didn't review last time. What, would it hurt you to type something? Jeez!
Anyway, ideas for Tales of the Closet just struck me while writing these very lines, better get to work eh? See ya!
