Chapter 6
"May we please journey to the mall of shopping now Raven? I wish to purchase a small feline companion from the "kitty store" which Melissa has told me about. Please, please, please!" Starfire jumped up and down in front of Raven in hope and anticipation. "I told you, no. I need to meditate and that's it. Besides, after what happened last time, didn't I say I'd never go to the mall with you again?" "Yes, but please! I promise I will not have the decorations put onto your hair this time, nor the pink coloring. I juts wish to journey with someone to get a small feline companion at the kitty store!" "No." Raven answered simply, ignoring Starfire and teleporting up to her room where she could meditate in quiet.
"Hey Starfire...I'll go with you." Melissa said, coming down the stairs for breakfast. "I need to get a few things at the mall too, and I need help picking them out. I figure you'll be good at that- if it's okay with you- and if I have enough money." "Yes! Of course it is fine! Let us journey then to the kitty store you have told me so much about!" Starfire grabbed Melissa's arm and yanked her out the door. She held on to Melissa the entire time, flying to the mall with her in tow. When they got there, Starfire immediately ran in to find the "kitty store". A few minutes later, she came back to the entrance where she'd left Melissa, who was now reading the mal directory intently. "I am unable to locate the kitty store. Might you perhaps know where it is?" "Um...just a second Starfire...yeah, okay I found it. It's on the upper level, on the other side of the mall. We'll go there first, then I'm going to go into Bloomingdale's cause it's right there. Okay?" "Yes, but let us please hurry. I wish to find a cute cuddly friend to bring home with me." They headed off for the Hello Kitty store, Starfire running ahead, and Melissa trying to keep up, but quickly becoming exhausted. When they arrived at the "kitty store", Melissa called out for Star to stop. She turned, and just as Melissa caught up to her, let out a huge scream of delight. She then ran into the store and began picking up every single stuffed animal in there, completely unable to decide which one's she wanted. "Oh, friend Melissa! When you had told me about the kitty store, I did not realize how wonderful a place it actually was, nor the amount of cuddly friends which one could buy here! Thank you so much!I do not believe I ever wish to leave!" Starfire cried, wrapping Melissa in a bone-crushing hug. "Uh...yeah..you're welcome. Could you let go?" Starfire immediately let her go. "Um...well, I guess you'll be here a while, so I'm gonna go to Bloomingdale's okay? Call me on the communicator thingy if you're gonna leave this store." "Yes I will- though I do not believe I shall leave for a very long time."Starfire replied, hugging more cuddly animals to her.
Melissa smiled, then turned and walked out of the store and into Bloomingdale's which was only about 5 stores away. She thought she had a pretty good idea of what she wanted, and what would look good, although she would've liked somebody's help and guidance. She wandered around for about 20 minutes, then, after a salesperson came over and offered to help her, she found a few skirts and shirts to try on. Only one skirt and two of the shirts actually fit, and she didn't like the way they looked together, so she left the store and headed off to Nordstrom's. She wasn't exactly happy about the priceyness of the stores in the mall, but there was nothing she could do about it. She figured if she really needed to, she could ask Star to borrow some money. After about half an hour in the store, Melissa finally found something she liked that fit. She settled on a light blue pleated skirt that reached her knees, with a small ruffle along the bottom, and a matching shirt, with ruffles on the sleeves, waist, and neckline. Both were completely plain, which worked out perfectly for what she had envisioned. She had just enough money to purchase them, since it came to $78 dollars. "Oh well, I guess I won't be getting the accessories today.." Melissa sighed to herself. She walked back to the Hello Kitty store, where Starfire had just finished purchasing half of the store's merchandise. Starfire smiled giddily as she commenced showing Melissa every item she had purchased. "...And this one I shall put by my window, for I believe this lovable chicken will gain great pleasure there,... and this furry black feline I shall give to Silkie, for I believe he would very much like to have the 'cuddle' with it- or perhaps eat it...and" "Um...I'm kinda tired...could you show me the rest back at the Tower?" Melissa interrupted. "Yes, very well. I am also feeling the tired, so let us journey home."
They arrived back at the Tower about 15 minutes later, and Starfire immediately commenced showing off her purchases to Melissa again. "Hey, um...Starfire?..." "Yes?" "Do you know where Robin is?" "I do not.." "Oh well. I'm gonna go look for him then, okay?" Melissa walked away. After about half an hour of wandering the maze they called hallways, she found him in the gym, lifting weights. "Uh...hey, I don't want to disturb you, but I wanted to ask you something...That okay?..Wow, those are some heavy weights..."She stared at them, impressed. "Sure Melissa. What do you need ?" Robin said, getting up from the weight machine, and grabbing a water bottle from atop a stack of weights nearby, then walking over to talk with her. "Um...well, I'm sorry to disturb you...and, and you really didn't have to get up. I just wanted to know where you got all the stuff for your costume...cause I'm trying to make one of my own." "Oh..is that all? I'd be happy to help. I'll give you some peoples' numbers, they can get you all the stuff you'll need, like utility belt, weapons, etc. But I don't have them with me right now-" "Yeah...I..I understand, and I'm sooooo sorry to have interrupted you. But thanks for your help." Melissa turned and left, going back to her room to work on her new costume. Just as she sat on the bed, the alarm rang throughout the Tower, and she heard Robin cry "Titans! Trouble!" She heaved a sigh and headed downstairs. The costume would have to wait.
"Who's it this time?" Robin asked upon arrival in the living room, still wiping sweat off his face with a towel. "It's Blood", Cyborg answered him, staring at the computer screen. "Seems he's got just 'bout every kid in town under his mind control, and now he's got them doin' his dirty work." "Okay, Titans g-". "Wait! B..Blood!", asked Melissa incredulously, cutting Robin off in mid-sentence. "Yeah. He's this way bad dude who wants to be like Cy's clone or something." Beast Boy answered her. "And he's got these way cool powers, like taking over people's brains and melting them." Melissa's eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of their sockets, and she looked as though she was about to be sick. "I think what Beast Boy means is that if you aren't careful, Brother Blood can control your mind and force you to do his bidding. Anyway, this is pointless. We're wasting time." "Raven's right. Let's go. And be careful guys- especially you Melissa, this is your first time fighting him." The Titans ran towards the door.
"But...but...", Melissa started quietly, then, beginning to gain courage from her fear of the impending battle yelled out to them, "Wait! Should I even come! Look what's happened every other time I've tried to do anything to help you guys!" The Titans all stopped. Finally Robin went over to her and took her hand. "I know you've had some problems with controlling your powers, and with your disability, but we could really use your help. Besides, I think you've gradually been getting a little better at your control. I'm sure you'll do fine, and this could be the chance you need to prove to yourself that you can do it. So what do you say?" For a moment, everyone looked at Melissa, and she back at them. Finally, she put her head down and said, "Fine. But then, if I screw up again, I'm done with all this. It'll prove I'm a total failure at everything I do, and I'm totally worthless... But if you need me, I'll help." At that, the Titans hurried to the city to stop Brother Blood.
Upon arrival in the city, the Titans found over two hundred kids and teens ransacking stores, breaking windows, stealing cars or money- heck, if you could name the felony, you could bet they were committing it. "Wow, and I thought I had anger issues", Raven commented, staring at one boy who was beating a bank teller to death with a chair. "Titans go! Take 'em down, but try not to hurt them!" So with that, the Titans ran off, all in separate directions, to control the crowds of crazed kids. It didn't take long though- true, Robin had to tie a few up or stun them with explosives, and Starfire and Cyborg hit them with a couple of low-energy starbolts and ion cannon bursts- but within a few minutes Raven had the entire thing under control. First, she had tried wrapping them in dark energy and then putting them in bubbles of it to contain them, like she'd done to those kids who'd once stolen Cyborg's car. But when that wasn't working fast enough, and the crazed kids started closing in for the kill, she quickly levitated up to a roof and started meditating. After all, Brother Blood wasn't the only one with mind control powers. It took a bit longer than usual, since there were so many kids, and since they were already under the control of another, but finally Raven broke Blood's control over them. They immediately stopped their violence, looking around in confusion, and finally a good number of them that hadn't been incapacitated by the battle turned and left for their homes. Raven meanwhile, had passed out from the strain, just as she broke Blood's control on the children.
After the kids left, Robin got on his communicator and ordered everyone to regroup, which they quickly did. "Where's Raven?", he asked. "I don't know man, wasn't she with you?" "She wasn't with anyone, remember? We all split up. Well, anyway, we've gotta hurry if we're gonna stop Blood. So everyone fan out and find her." They did as they were told, and finally Beast Boy, flying over the area as a pterodactyl saw Raven lying on a rooftop. He landed near her, changed back into human form and called everyone to let them now to stop the search, and changed back into a pterodactyl, grabbing her and bringing her to the ground. She came to almost immediately, and sat, then stood up, embarrassed about what had happened, but trying her best to hide it. Soon everyone else arrived on the scene. "What happened Beast Boy?" "Uh...", he just stared at Robin, truthfully not knowing what had happened. "I'm fine", Raven interjected. "All that happened was that when I broke Blood's control on those kids, the strain was to much on my mind, okay." "Fine, whateva. But we gonna go after Blood or what?" "Yeah, we will. But Raven, I think you should go back to the Tower infirmary and get some rest. The rest of us will take care of Blood." "I'm fine, really." "No, you need to rest. Go back to the Tower, and that's final. Cyborg, maybe you should go with her and make sure she's alright. "Oh man..." "No, really, it's okay. I'll go if I have to, but I don't need an escort. I'm not 4." With that, Raven flew off, back to the Tower, extremely irritated. The remaining Titans went to go find Brother Blood.
It didn't take long to find him- in fact, Brother Blood found them as they walked past a large bank. Just as they passed it by, he came out, hooded H.I.V.E. workers in tow. He immediately began provoking Cyborg, capturing his attention. "Why Cyborg. So nice to see you again. And I see you brought along your comical little friends too." Cyborg immediately turned at the sound of his voice, enraged. "Oh yeah? Well these 'little friends' are gonna kick your-" "Cyborg! Enough talk. Titans, go!" And so the Titans began their attack on Brother Blood and the H.I.V.E. workers protecting him. Robin and Cyborg ran towards Blood, Cyborg shooting his sonic cannon continuously, and Robin throwing birdarangs and disk explosives at the workers guarding Blood. Soon everyone was caught up in the melee- Beast Boy had transformed into a velociraptor and was biting the cloaked figures(not eating them mind you), while Starfire was shooting a steady stream of starbolts in all directions as she turned to punch one, then another of Blood's workers- only Melissa wasn't involved- she was standing behind a large blue mailbox on the corner next to the bank, watching the battle in sheer terror.
Blood quickly reacted to Robin and Cyborg's attacks, throwing off his cloak and revealing yet again his robotic body which he had had modeled after Cyborg. He fired ion blasts right back at Robin and Cyborg, too quickly for them to have time to react. Robin was shot back against a building from the blast but he quickly got back on his feet, while the blast aimed at Cyborg missed him by inches. Cyborg turned quickly to see if Robin was okay, and by the time he looked back Blood was standing right in front of him. He punched Cyborg in the face, then the chest, before Cyborg could react. Soon they were both punching and kicking each other, their fight moving back and forth in the fray, with no end in sight. Robin headed back towards Cyborg, ready to help him fight Blood again, but then heard Starfire cry out. One of the cloaked figures had grabbed her from behind, and was crushing her tighter and tighter around the stomach while she kicked at him, as two others repeatedly punched her in the face, chest, and stomach, while she attempted to fire starbolts at them from her eyes. Robin pulled out his staff and rushed to help her, forgetting for the moment about Cyborg. He ran over, spinning his staff, hitting the two that had been punching her square in the face. Relieved, she quickly kicked the one holding her extremely hard, forcing him to drop her. She turned and shot him with a huge starbolt that took two hands to hold, sending him flying into a steel wall. "I am most grateful to you Robin for my safe retrieval.", she smiled at him. "Don't thank me just yet...", he said, as at least 10 more H.I.V.E. workers surrounded the two. They immediately got to work taking them down, Robin with his staff, and Star with her starbolts. As this was happening, Beast Boy was also having some problems. He too was surrounded, and was growing very tired. After having been a velociraptor, he had changed into a whale, a stegosaurus to try to stab them with his tail, a jaguar, and was now finally a gorilla, punching and beating them as they jumped on him, violently hitting him. He'd gotten a good number knocked out already, but was tired from transforming so much, as well as it being rather late, and him not having had any dinner yet- or much of any sleep the night before. His stomach groaned and he pounded them faster, in hopes of getting food, but he was pretty sure he couldn't beat them all up in his current fatigued state.
Meanwhile, Melissa now sat behind her mailbox, frozen in horror as she peered around the edge and prayed not to be seen. "After all", she thought, "these guys do this all the time. They don't need my help. And anyway, the freaks they're fighting look like dementors out of harry Potter or something. I'll wind up dead!" Suddenly though, Melissa saw Brother Blood hit Cyborg in the chest, after which he fell to the ground instantly. She screamed, thinking he was dead, and forgetting that she'd been trying to hide herself, and then ran out into the street to see if she could try and save him. (Since she hadn't been around the last time he'd fought Blood, and didn't know that Cyborg had had this happen before and would be fine). Just before reaching Cyborg, Blood fired an ion blast at her, which she barely dodged, and only because she tripped on a fallen H.I.V.E. worker. She quickly crawled over to Cyborg, as Blood came at her, and put up her hands in self-defense, to cover her head in case he tried to shoot again as she saw him coming, since she now had no other defense. Suddenly he was wrapped in her electro-magnetic energy 'ropes'.
She looked up, wondering at why she hadn't been shot yet, and saw that she had inadvertently trapped Blood. She immediately began squeezing tighter, almost to the point of crushing him, and kept him there until Robin and the others had beaten all of Blood's workers, and were loading them into police cars to be sent to jail. Robin then came over. "Okay, you can let him go now. I'll take care of it from here.", and as she let Blood go and Robin led him to a cop car, he said, "You did a pretty good job tonight." After Blood had been taken away, Robin repaired Cyborg, and they all headed back to the Tower, exhausted. When they got there, they ordered a pizza, since they'd been too tired to eat at the Pizza place that night.
Finally the pizza arrived, and they were all sitting down to dinner, starving and exhausted after the long battle. Just as they started digging into the pizzas, the 'doorbell' rang. Nobody wanted to leave their food, but after it rang again, and after receiving a look from Robin, Cyborg got up muttering, "Yeah fine, I'll get it jerk. What am I, the doorman, just cause I don't have to eat?" He walked down the living room stairs and the front door, as the bell rang twice more, making him even more ticked. "Yeah, I got it already. I'm comin'. You can stop with the damn bell!", he yelled. He angrily threw open the door, and was about to tell the person standing there off, but then stopped and froze in shock. The girl standing there didn't waste any time and said, "Hey how've ya been? Long time no see, huh? Look, I just wanted to come and apologize for everything if you'll let me- and most of all, to see Beast Boy." She looked at him, and realizing she probably wouldn't get a response from him the way he was acting, she started edging past him and through the doorway. He moved aside a bit, automatically, and let her pass. "He's here, right?" Cyborg only nodded slowly in reply, as if lost in a daydream and unable to break free. Finally, after she was halfway up the stairs, he managed to close the front door, then turned and muttered a barely audible "whoa".
As the door to the living room opened, Robin looked up disinterestedly from his food and said, "So, Cyborg, who was it?" The last word barely made it out of his mouth, as he saw that the person emerging from the stairwell was indeed not Cyborg. Robin's sudden silence made everyone else glance up, confused at his behavior. Raven and Beast Boy dropped their pizza, halfway to their mouths, Beast Boy's piece falling unnoticed onto his lap. Starfire immediately jumped up, squealed, and ran for the doorway, grabbing the girl and hugging her. Beast Boy stood as well, though much more slowly, and looking dazed and ready to faint. He tried to say something, but no sound would come out, and he just stood there in frozen shock until Starfire dragged the girl by the arm back from the doorway to the kitchen table. Finally, Beast Boy spoke, a strange lopsided grin on his face. "I...but...how?...Terra?..." And with that, he passed out.
Okay, so I know that I took a longggggggggg time to update- and now that I did, the new chapter wasn't the greatest. But I'm gonna try to update more often now- God willing- so you hopefully won't have to wait so long to see what happens from now on. Anyway, I'd really like some feedback on how I'm doing, so I can make improvements on my writing style if this story totally sucks. You may have also noticed that I CANNOT write a battle scene- I imagine them just fine, but once I try to put 'em to paper, they suck. If anyone's got any helpful hints on how I can improve that, I'd be soooo grateful! Anyway, hope you enjoyed the new chapter! I'll be updating soon! (after I get a chance to write the rest of Chapter 7, and get my computer working normally again- so figure roughly 3 weeks...) Bye for now!