april4rmH-town-- Yeah, they don't like each other. But that'll change a little in this chapter... ;)
KorrianderX'hal-- Haha, yeah. They glare a lot. And Slade's going to appear in the storyline somewhere around here...
samanthe2121-- Thanks, I'll try!
blackfphoenix-- Yeah, I'm sometimes not good with the long chapters... sorry about that. -sweatdrop-
starangel4eva-- You didn't? How? Just tell me, and I'll try to make it easier to understand. ;)
princesslali2148-- Wow, thanks! I'm continuing, I'm continuing!
smilynae1-- Welp, thanks! I appreciate all of these reviews, you know-- it's really awesome of you guys. -gives out cookies-
Disclaimer:
(To the tune of the stingray's song about zones in Finding Nemo) Oooooh, what does Aine own, she owns, she owns, what does she own in the er-- eeeee? Not Teen Titans, unfortunately.
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Chapter Three-- Choking On Your Alibi
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Richard grumbled angrily to himself as he paced around the bench. Around and around. Circle after circle. Pace. Pace. One way, then another.
"Dude, you're making an imprint on the grass!" Gar said, putting a hand to his spinning head.
Dick glared at him. "They're late!" he exclaimed angrily, as a way of explanation. He tapped his watch, emphasizing his statement.
Gar rolled his eyes. "They're girls, aren't they?"
"That we are."
Dick turned around, fuming. "Finally!" he burst out. "We've been waiting for twenty minutes."
"Chill," Rachel growled. "We were busy." She was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, a hemp choker with blue beads around her neck.
"With what? Heading off World War Three? Making a computer?" Richard glared at them from behind his sunglasses.
Kori sighed. "We were on the telephone with an insurance company. There were really very interested about the hole in our doorway." She glared right back at Richard, her eyes challenging. Kori was wearing a pair of white capris and a light green polo. There was a pale yellow tie belt around her waist, and her newly-died brown hair was in a loose bun, strands of hair falling into her face.
Dick scowled and tugged at his red shirt. "Whatever. Let's just go."
The four walked towards the town, not talking, just glancing/glaring at one another. "Let's go into that drugstore," Gar said, breaking the tension. "They might have something on the X pills." He pointed at a small shop that said 'Slade's Pharmacy' in bold black letters. They entered the store. A middle-aged man with a hard face and an eyepatch over one eye looked up from the counter. There was a decidedly sinister air about him.
"This is Slade's Pharmacy," the man said. "I am Slade. Can I help you?" The tone of his voice told them that he didn't want to help them at all, but Dick spoke up anyway.
"Yeah," he said. "My friend says that he bought those 'X' pills here. What do they help with?"
"Anything," Slade said smoothly, his hard voice sending chills up the group's spines. "Headache, stomachache, cold. It helps them all."
"Sounds great," Rachel said. "How does it work? Any special chemicals or anything?"
Slade eyed them coolly. "Yes. It's called Yonumixv."
"Yonumixv?" Kori questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I do not think I have heard of that before."
"It's new," Slade said shortly. "Man-made."
Gar blinked. "How much for a bottle?" he asked casually.
"Fifty."
"Fifty dollars?" Kori asked, a small frown on her face.
"No, fifty doorknobs," Dick scoffed, handing Slade some money.
Slade took the bills and grabbed a bottle from the counter, putting it into Richard's hand. "Come again." It wasn't a request; it was an order.
Gar nodded. "Oh, we will!" he said hastily, ushering the others out of the store before Kori decapitated his friend.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "That guy was... interesting."
Gar shivered. "He gave me the creeps."
"What about you, little Carey?" Dick taunted the girl. "Were you scared?"
Kori forced a smile. "No, I was just going to ask you the very same thing. You seemed most frightened, Dick."
Richard laughed. "Whatever, Carey. You know you were scared... I mean, you practically jumped out of a window when the guy said 'fifty dollars'."
"Why, you jumped-up, arrogant--"
Gar cleared his throat. "Can we move on?"
Dick and Kori glared at each other for a full ten seconds before marching straight back to their companions. "Let us walk on," Kori said stiffly.
"It'll be better if we split up," Gar said, a mischevious look in his eyes. "Carey, Dick, you guys go together... Raven and I'll take the east side, you guys take the west."
Rachel shot him a look that clearly said, What the hell are you doing? Gar only smiled innocently and pulled her after him, leaving Dick and Kori staring after them in disbelief.
"I'm going to kill him," Dick mumbled.
"Likewise," Kori said angrily. They looked at each other for a split second, then turned away, blushing slightly.
What's wrong with me? Dick raged inwardly. Aloud, he said: "We should get going. There's some more drugstores over that way."
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Rachel sighed irritably as Gar browsed the drugstore shelves. "What are you looking for?" she asked, leaning against the counter as the old man behind it watched this with interest.
"I'm looking for a giant bandaid for when Carey slaps Dick's head off."
"Ha. Ha." Rachel rolled her eyes. In truth, she was supressing a laugh. That was pretty funny... she immediately snapped out of her rare 'nice' mode and scowled. "Can we just get on with this?" She turned to the man behind the counter. "Do you have any of those 'X' pills?"
The man's face hardened. "No, I strongly dislike the drug."
Gar was instantly serious. "Why?"
"I don't like the chemical they used," the man said, shaking his head. "It was involved in some radioactive dealings a couple years ago, and I still don't trust it. Especially with a name like 'X'. Doesn't sound right."
Rachel and Gar shot each other a look. "Ah," Rachel said. "I see. Well, thank you. We'll be sure to stop by again sometime."
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Kori looked at the man behind the counter. "Excuse me, sir, but do you carry any of the 'X' pills?" she asked, her foreign accent coated with sugary-sweetness.
The man, middle-aged, smiled a little too brightly and looked Kori up and down. "I'm afraid not, miss. We ran out yesterday."
Dick came up and rested his arm on the counter. "Well, where do you get them from? We'd like some ourselves. Carey here has a bad headache."
The man made a point of staring at Kori's chest before looking up at Dick's disgusted face. "That's a trade secret, I'm afraid." He reached out and started stroking Kori's hand. "But, um, I'm sure we could arrange a deal..."
Kori growled low in her throat.
Dick immediately leapt over the counter and pinned the man to it by the throat. "You leave her alone," he said angrily. "Now, tell me... where do you get those pills?"
The man choked. "From... a man... called... Chang. Mr. Chang."
"Where do we find this Chang guy?" Dick asked roughly.
"He... has... a shop... in Chinatown... called Chang's Drugstore," the man spat out.
"Thanks." Richard leapt back over the counter to Kori, who was gazing at him with a grateful smile.
As they walked out, Kori cleared her throat. "Um... Dick?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did you... ah... stand up for me back there?"
Richard looked away. "Jerks like that make me sick. Perverted bastard."
Kori blushed. "Well... I thank you."
Dick grunted. "No problem."
And they walked on.
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Rachel and Gar were browsing the shelves of a drugstore, quite bored, when suddenly a loud ringing cut through the air. Rachel jumped. Her phone!
She quickly answered it. "Rach-- er, Raven here," she said, reminded of Gar's presence as he peered at her.
"Where have you been, girl? I haven't talked to you in forever!" Tara Markov's voice cut through Rachel's eardrum like a knife. "And since when are you called Raven? I like it... it's cool. But anyway. How ya doing? We haven't talked in ages!"
Rachel sighed. Tara Markov had been her best friend in high school... till she joined the popular crowd. Why was she calling now? "Look, Tara, this isn't exactly the right time."
"Whatevs. I'll call you later!"
Rachel mumbled something incomprehensible and promptly blocked Tara's number from her phone. "Who was that?" Gar asked. "She sounded cute." He waggled his eyebrows.
Rachel immediately rolled her eyes, but inside, there was a prickling of jealousy. Shoving it away, she snapped her phone shut. "Annoying old enemy. Don't know why she called. Can we move on?"
Garfield grinned. "Sure, Rae. But if I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."
Rachel glared at him. "Jealous of that retarded dumb blonde? I think not."
"Oooh, a blonde?" Gar winked. "Gee, Rae, I like blondes."
For once, Rachel wished she had different hair. Snapping out of it with immense force, she turned on Garfield. "Do not call me Rae," she spat, stalking ahead.
"Hey, wait, Rae-- I mean Raven! Raven! Wait up!"
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Just so you know, I'm not a Terra basher-- I just thought that was what Raven would say about her. XD So, how was that chapter? Hope you liked it.
P.S.-- I heard about the hurricane. Man... I'm going to donate anything old that I own to all of those poor people.