Chapter Two: Training Day
Titan's Tower. The day after the battle with the robot.
"Yo Gem, wake up, will ya?"
Go away...
"Gem? GEM!"
Must sleep...
"Okay, then. You leave me no choice."
...hmmm?
SPLASH!
"Yaaaaaaaahhhhh!"
Gemini bolted upright, all traces of sleep gone. Someone had upended a bucket of water on her head.
That someone was about to have several body parts removed.
"What the HELL are you doing?" she yelled at Cyborg, the person responsible for her abrupt awakening.
"Just waking you up, Gem." The cyborg responded, "Robin asked me to."
"Why did Robin - wait," she said, pausing in mid-sentence and eyeing Cyborg, "WHAT did you just call me?"
"Gem." responded a nervous-sounding Cyborg, "You know, short for Gemini?"
Gemini thought that over for a second.
"Fine." She replied, "Just don't spread it around."
"Oookkaayyy..."
"Now." letting go of her frustration, she turned to the business at hand. "Why did Robin want you to wake me up?"
"Oh, right." Cyborg seemed to have temporarily forgotten about that. "Robin wanted to know if you wanted to train with us."
"Train with you?"
"Yeah. You know, combat training?"
"Oh. Sure, just let me get something to eat first."
"Alright. I'll come get you in half an hour?"
"Sounds fine."
Cyborg left the room, and Gemini got up from the couch where she'd been sleeping.
She went into the kitchen and sighed as she remembered a voice from the past.
"I'll be with you always, my precious little gem..."
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Titan's Tower. The Training room.
"Yo, everyone, we're here!" Cyborg yelled as he walked in with Gemini.
At Cyborg's call, the Titans all stopped their training and gathered around Gemini and Cyborg.
"Gemini. Glad you could join us." Robin said as he walked up.
"No problem." Gemini responded, "After yesterday, I kind of wanted to get a better look at some of your powers, anyway."
Robin chuckled. "That can be arranged."
"Alright, Titans," Robin yelled, switching into 'Leader Mode', "Let's show Gemini what we can do."
All of the Titans ran to the center of the room, and group exercises began.
A number of metal balls shot from the ceiling, screaming at the Titans with enough force to shatter bone.
SMASH! CRASH! SLAM!
They never even got close.
At the last second, Raven put up an obsidian shield around the Titans, protecting them from harm.
"Haaaaa!" ZAPZAPZAPZAP! Before the ball launchers could fire again, Starfire flew up and destroyed them with a flurry of Starbolts.
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
A bank of lasers folded out of the wall and begun firing on the Titans.
Raven raised another shield to block the lasers, which Robin jumped over, a fan of Birdarangs in each hand.
"Erraaggh!" With a battlecry, Robin hurled all his Birdarangs, each one hitting a laser, destroying them all in a flurry of explosions.
RUMBLE, RUMBLE!
A giant metal ball was rolling towards Robin, which he jumped over, leaving it heading straight for Beast Boy.
Beast Boy morphed into an elephant, caught the ball on his tusks, and threw it into the air.
Cyborg caught the ball, which he threw back at the machine that had launched it, destroying the machine with a spectacular explosion.
BOOOM!
When the smoke cleared, each of the Titans was standing, posing, in the middle of the room.
Gemini emerged from the smoke on one side of the room coughing and clapping.
"That was impressive," Said Gemini. "Now I want to spar against you even more."
"You want to spar against us?" asked Robin "Who?"
"One of you, all of you, doesn't matter to me."
"Well, ok." replied Robin, who had a bit of a smirk on his face. "How about you spar against Beast Boy for now."
"Alright."
"Huh!" Beast Boy practically shrieked, "Why me!"
"Because, I think that you're best." answered Robin.
"What! Why!"
"I want to get a good measure of her skills. Your multiple forms are best for that."
"Fine..." Beast Boy grumbled, heading for the center arena.
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Both Beast Boy and Gemini stood in the center of the Gym, each on opposite sides of the large circle that was the "center arena".
"Alright!" called Robin, "Remember, this is just a practice match, so nothing TO extreme."
Beast Boy and Gemini nodded.
"Good. Now..." Robin raised his hand in the air, then dropped it as he yelled, "Fight!"
Beast Boy morphed into a green bull, and charged at Gemini.
Gemini didn't try to dodge. She just clasped her hands in the same manner she had against the robot.
FLASH! A white aura briefly surrounded Gemini, and the tattoos on her face glowed white.
"Haaaaa!" As Beast Boy neared, Gemini shouted a battlecry and grabbed him by his horns.
With a firm grip on Beast Boy, Gemini twisted, and kicked one of his front legs out from under him.
His balance lost, Beast Boy tumbled, giving Gemini a chance to use all the momentum he had built up. Using his horns as handles, Gemini flipped him up into the air, and then threw him. CRASH! He landed backside-down on the floor, creating a small crater.
Not wanting to lose the advantage, Gemini jumped up into the air, then slammed the ground where Beast Boy was lying with a massive two-handed smash.
SLAM!
"Beast Boy!" Starfire yelled, and she began to float over to his aid, but Robin stopped her with a raised arm.
"Robin, friend Beast Boy needs help! We must..." she started, but Robin cut her off.
"Look."
Surveying the battle more closely, with the dust from Gemini's attack clearing, Starfire saw only the form of Gemini, still crouched from her attack.
"Hmmm?"
Starfire looked puzzled, but her face brightened when she spotted a green... mouse?
In a rare display of tactical thinking, Beast Boy had changed into a mouse to avoid the brunt of the attack. He was still hit by the shockwave, which had been strong enough to cover the floor with cracks, but he was mostly unharmed.
Something Gemini apparently hadn't counted on.
POW!
Changing into a gorilla, Beast Boy delivered a powerful uppercut to Gemini's chin, sending her flying. Before she landed, Gemini flipped in the air, landing solidly on her feet.
WHAM!
Just in time to take another punch for Beast Boy.
CRACK! CRUNCH! POW!
Beast Boy delivered three more punches to Gemini's midsection before she could react. Sensing victory, he drew back his fist, and launched his knockout punch.
Gemini caught it.
Beast Boy's gorilla-face scowled. He swung with his other fist, determined to end the match there.
She caught that one to.
Beast Boy scowled again. Using all of his gorilla strength, he pushed as hard as he could.
Gemini didn't budge. Grinning, she began to push back.
Beast Boy's eyes widened in surprise. What's going on! You're not supposed to be able to win a grappling match with a gorilla!
Well, he thought, If a gorilla won't do it, maybe THIS will!
With that thought, Beast Boy again changed forms, this time into a green elephant, with Gemini's hands gripping his tusks.
Using all of his impressive elephant strength and bulk, he started to push again. This time, Gemini began to slide backwards.
Her eyes narrowed.
"That's how you want to play, huh?" Gemini growled, her teeth clenched, "Then I'll play that way to!"
Suddenly, she pushed herself off Beast Boy, falling to the ground and letting go of Beast Boy's tusks. The obstacle gone, Beast Boy charged forward uncontrollably, unable to stop himself, over the prone form of Gemini.
However, Gemini had apparently calculated that, as his legs went on either side of her, keeping her from being crushed.
With Beast Boy distracted, Gemini jumped up and turned to face Beast Boy, who had managed to stop and was turning to face her.
Gemini clasped her hands, and began channeling again.
The white aura returned, and her tattoos glowed even brighter then before. As she finished, a small shockwave rolled off of her, further agitating the already unstable floor.
Trumpeting, Beast Boy charged again, confidant in his elephant form's strength.
Gemini braced herself, ready to receive the changeling's charge.
WHAM!
Beast Boy had slammed into Gemini, going full tilt, and Gemini was once again being pushed back while gripping his tusks.
This time, however, the two of them slowed down. Even putting all of his strength into the charge, Beast Boy couldn't push Gemini back.
Then Gemini grinned.
Beast Boy's eyes bulged as Gemini lifted Beast Boy off the ground, and, using his tusks for handles, held him over her head.
Still holding Beast Boy, Gemini jumped high into the air, and started spinning. Whirling faster and faster, when Gemini reached the apex of her jump, she threw Beast Boy down as hard as she could.
CRASH!
The abused gum floor couldn't take it.
SMASH!
Rather then landing ON the floor, Beast Boy instead went THROUGH the floor, crashing into the floor below.
BOOM!
A huge cloud of dust filled the gym, sending all the Titans into fit of coughing.
"Beast Boy!" Starfire yelled, flying into the hole to retrieve him.
"Sorry..." A sheepish looking Gemini walked out of the dust cloud, grinning nervously and rubbing the back of her head. "I didn't mean for him to go through the floor, just land on it. I guess I had done more damage to it then I thought..."
At that moment, Starfire flew out of the hole, carrying a slightly battered and rather disoriented Beast Boy.
"Oohhhh... anyone get the number of that semi truck?" Beast Boy quipped dazedly.
"Sorry about that," Gemini said, still embarrassed, "You ok?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine once my head stops spinning..."
The dust settled, giving the Titans a look at their gym. Almost half the floor had collapsed , and a good portion of the equipment had fallen into the room below.
"Well... I guess we can't use this room for a while..." Robin mused, looking thoughtful.
"Alright!" Beast Boy perked up at once. "No more training!"
"...so we'll have to train on the outside obstacle course instead."
Beast Boy perked down. "No... not more training!"
"Yes more training. Titans, meet at the obstacle course."
As the Titans (and Gemini) were leaving, Robin pulled Raven aside.
"Raven," whispered Robin, glancing at Gemini's departing back, "What did you sense from Gemini during her fight with Beast Boy?"
"You mean 'did I sense hostile intent'?" Raven replied, droning as always. "No, nothing like that. It appears to be nothing more then an accident. However..."
"However what?"
"During the times when she did that power-boost, I sensed something... strange."
"What was it?"
"I'm not sure how to describe it... it was like... just for a second, something... massive... superceded her consciousness. Whatever it was, I couldn't read anything from it."
"Hmmm..." Robin, put his hand on his chin, thinking. "It could just be a part of her powers... but keep a close eye on her anyway."
"That was my intention."
Robin nodded, and they both walked out the door, hurrying to catch up to the other Titans.
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Titan's Island. The Obstacle Course.
"Alright, let's get started."
Robin was currently standing at a control panel on a small rise which overlooked the deceptively empty-looking ground which was the Titan's obstacle course.
Surrounding him were Gemini and all of the Titans, sans-Cyborg.
"Cyborg, you'll be the first to do a run-through. On my mark, begin. You're shooting for a time less then three minutes." Robin said to the android Titan.
"You got it!" Cyborg replied eagerly.
"Alright. Ready... mark!"
"Rrraaggghhh!" With a battlecry, Cyborg charged forward, right into the proverbial lion's den.
SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!
An intricate pattern of whirling blades popped up from the ground in front of Cyborg. The android jumped over the first one, ducked the second, and blocked the third and fourth on his forearms before running past them.
The timer read: 0:29. One obstacle down, four to go.
Still running at full tilt, Cyborg almost missed the circular pit that opened up in front of him.
With a shout of surprise, Cyborg jumped the pit and kept running. He hadn't gone two steps before another pit opened.
Half-expecting this one, Cyborg easily leaped over the pit.
ZAP! ZAP!
However, he had neglected to notice the lasers on either side.
Although the lasers had knocked him off-balance, he still managed to land on the other side of the pit. Spinning, he changed his arm into a sonic cannon and fired two quick blasts at the lasers.
SHOOM! SHOOM!
With the lasers destroyed, Cyborg turned away and kept running.
Timer: 1:05. Three obstacles left.
SHOOP! SHOOP! SHOOP!
Three cylinders with a pair of electrically crackling prongs on top of them came out of the ground, as well as a metal ball that floated up about thirty feet, then stopped.
Running at them, Cyborg armed his sonic cannon, aimed, and–
CLICK!
The ground under his left foot sank slightly. Bearly enough to make him stumble. However, as soon as he stepped on that patch of ground, one of the cylinders shot a bolt of lightning at the metal ball, which redirected it towards Cyborg.
ZAP!
"Aw man-" was all Cyborg had time to say before the lightning blasted him off his feet. He landed twenty feet away, and was getting up when...
CLICK! ZAP!
Another lightning bolt, this one Cyborg bearly managed to dodge.
CLICK! ZAP!
Dodge.
CLICK! ZAP!
Dodge.
By this time, Cyborg was getting fed up, so, while dodging lightning bolts, he armed his sonic cannon, and fired at the metal ball.
BOOM!
His sonic cannon blast hit it at the same time as one of the lightning bolts. This caused the bolt to rebound, destroying the lightning generators.
1: 38. Two more obstacles.
BUZZ!
Cyborg looked behind him. Following him was a swarm of what looked like metal bees.
Cyborg growled, and pointed his sonic cannon over his shoulder.
SHOOM!
The blast scattered the insects, but they quickly got back in formation, still following Cyborg.
Cyborg sweatdropped. Fortunetly for him, the insects weren't very fast.
SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!
Unfortunetly, he had just reached the last obstacle.
"Crrruuuud!" the android yelled.
The last obstacle was a trio of spear-tipped tentacles.
Cyborg grit his teeth and charged forward.
SLAM! CRASH!
The first two tentacles slammed into the ground, and would have skewered Cyborg if he hadn't jumped.
SWOOSH!
The third tentacle struck while he was in midair.
Thinking quickly, Cyborg shifted his weight and lifted his arm, causing the tentacle to miss by a fraction of an inch. Cyborg then closed his uplifted arm, grabbing onto the tentacle.
The tentacle lifted the android Titian up into the air and tried to shake him off.
Cyborg growled and armed his sonic cannon. SHOOM! He fired at the base of the tentacle, effectively severing it, sending it, and by proxy him, flying.
"AHHHHHH-oof!" Cyborg landed on his back, still gripping the tentacle.
BUZZZZZ!
And the metal insects were still following him.
"Rraaagggghhh!" With a roar, Cyborg hefted the tentacle and swung it like a baseball bat, smashing through the cloud of insects.
SHINK! SHINK!
The other two tentacles, attracted by the movement, had attacked the one Cyborg was holding, and, based on the way it was sparking, had ruptured something critical.
Cyborg's eye bulged. He started to run away, but–
BOOOOM!
The tentacle exploded first.
The explosion catapulted across the finish line, where he landed with a pronounced THUD!
Dazedly, Cyborg got up and looked at Robin. "What was my time?" He asked breathily.
Robin looked at the blinking timer.
"Two minutes, Thirty-Eight seconds."
"Booyah!"
"Alright then," Robin said, turning his attention back to the console, "Starfire, you're up next."
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Titan's Tower. The Main Room. That Evening.
"Duuudddeee, I hurt all over."
That was the third complaint voiced by Beast Boy in as many minutes. After their extensive training regimen was complete, the Titans all returned to the Main Room, mostly content to lounge until their bodies told them it was time to sleep.
Mostly. Robin, was, as almost always, doing some sort of work or another. And Beast Boy was being, well... Beast Boy.
"Duuudddeee..."
"Beast Boy, be QUIET."
Beast Boy's fourth complaint was cut off by Raven, who was currently engrossed in whatever ancient book had caught her fancy.
"But I–" Beast Boy started, but was again cut off by Raven.
"Hurt, I know. Now either hurt in here in silence, or hurt and complain somewhere else."
"She's got a point, BB," Said Cyborg, who was busily beating Beast Boy's record on Mega Monkeys 4. "I wouldn't have felt a thing."
"You're body's metal!"
Cyborg shrugged and returned to his game.
"Come on!" Beast Boy pleaded to everyone in the room, "How about some sympathy! I got zapped, beaten and crushed on an obstacle course, slammed through a floor–"
"I said I was sorry for the floor thing." Gemini interjected, writing in a small white book with a black stripe running through the center.
"Beast Boy, the solution is simple." said Robin, not looking up from his typing, "If you train more, you'll get better. If you get better, you'll get hurt less. So just train more."
"But training hurts!"
"But It'll be better for you in the long run."
"So, you're saying that if I hurt more, then I'll hurt less?"
"Exactly."
By that point in the conversation, Beast Boy was throughly confused, so he decided to just drop it.
"Friend Beast Boy!" A jubilant Starfire floated into the room, carrying a large bowl. "This will ease your pain, try some!" Starfire showed him the bowlful of unidentifiable blue gelatin.
Beast Boy turned even greener.
"Uh... no thanks, Star. I think I'll pass."
"But it will truly make you feel much–"
"I'll have some."
All of the Titans turned to the speaker with horrified looks on their faces. Except, of course, for Starfire, who's face lit up like the sun.
"Friend Gemini, would you truly like to have some of my Mor'thul Habbar?"
"Sure." responded Gemini, who was indeed the speaker. "I'm a little hungry after all that training." She glanced at the other Titans, her eyebrow raised curiously. "What?"
Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy immediately returned to whatever they were doing, making a point not to look at Gemini. Raven just shook her head slightly and returned to her book.
Gemini shrugged, took the bowl Starfire offered her, and ate a spoonful. She chewed it thoughtfully for a second, and then swallowed. "What is this?" She asked, still trying to place the flavor.
"Oh!" Starfire responded, delighted that someone was curious about the ingredients of her cooking. "The Mor'thul Habbar, or 'Feast of Warriors' is the extract of a fungus that grows on my home planet of Tamaran. However, in the absence of this fungus, I instead used the blue fuzz in our refrigerator!"
All of the Titans turned back to her looking both shocked and disgusted. Robin, perhaps in memory of the previous day's Glorg fiasco, turned green and ran off in the direction of the bathroom.
"Robin!" Yelled Starfire, flying after the retreating Boy Wonder, "What is wrong!"
"Hmmm..." Gemini took another bite of the Mor'thul Habbar. "You guys have any salt?"
The Titans still in the room facevaulted.
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Dual! Were are you?
I'm here!
Oh, thank ... You're alright.
Of course I'm alright, ya big moron!
Ow! Do you really have to punch my arm like that...
Titan's Tower. The Main Room. Early the next morning.
Gemini woke up in a cold sweat.
One of those dreams again... She thought, Damn. I thought that I'd stopped having them a while ago.
Gemini pulled off her blanket and sat up on the couch.
"I need some air..."
She walked off towards the elevator. As she reached the doors, she glanced back at the couch, where her coat and boots lay.
She waved her hand dismissively. "Eh, I'm not goin' far."
She hit the button for up, and, when the doors opened, she walked into the elevator.
The Roof.
With a 'Ding' the elevator stopped, and the doors opened.
Gemini walked out. A cold wind blew across the Tower's roof. She shivered slightly.
She was cold in just her cargos and tank-top."Maybe I should've worn my coat..."
The sun was just rising over the waters of the Bay. Gemini walked to the edge of the roof and sat down, her legs dangling over the edge.
"You're up early."
Gemini looked behind her, searching for the source of the voice. Levitating lotus-style on top of the elevator housing was Raven.
"Any reason I shouldn't be?"
"No, not really." replied the dark Titan.
With that, Raven returned to her meditation, and Gemini turned back to the sunrise.
Neither spoke for several minutes.
"Why are you up here, anyway?"
Gemini turned, a little surprised at the question.
"I needed some air. Why, am I bothering you?"
"Somewhat."
"Hmmm..." "
More silence.
You're an empath, aren't you?"
"What makes you say that?"
"The way you talk, mostly. I've met other empaths before, and they all have a similar way of speaking."
"Really..."
"They speak with an... unusual amount of insight."
"..."
"Raven?"
"Why are you here?"
"I thought I answered that already."
"Not 'here' on the roof, 'here' in this Tower, in this City."
"Oh. Well, I'm in this Tower because Robin invited me. As for the City... well... why not?"
"Why not?"
"I'm a drifter. I drift. I just happened to drift into this City."
"Where did you 'drift' before you were here?"
"..."
"Well?"
"No place that you've heard of."
Gemini turned back to the sunrise.
"Sunrises are beautiful, aren't they?"
Raven merely stared at the back of her head, as if she were trying to dissect Gemini with her gaze.
"I'm goin' back inside. I'll see you later."
With that, Gemini walked back to the elevator, and went back inside.
Raven stared at the sunrise for a long time after she left.
"What do you really want here, Gemini...?" She said to nobody. With that, she walked back to the elevator and went back inside.