Disclaimer: Me no own Teen Titans(second time around)
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To all of myreaders: oops! I didn't know that replacing a chapter doesn't mean an "update" well, i reposted the revised version, enjoy
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If there's one thing Beast Boy had taught me is to always rely on underground servers in eastern Zambia, as always, the changeling was correct and I was able to revise this episode into its complete version, enjoy
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Chapter Fourteen: Trouble's At the Horizon (Revised)
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"Don't go in there! No! Don't" cried a petrified Beast Boy, but as foreseen, the on-screen character did not listen, opening the small cabinet door, she faced a horrible looking corpse and gave out a blood-chilling scream. Beast Boy joined her and shrieked with horror
"Relax B, it's just a movie" said Raven, padding him on the shoulder. The changeling yelped and jumped high into the air, turning into a bird. He came down moments later and changed back, giving her an angry look while padding his chest
"Don't. Do. That. Ever. Again" he said
"Jeez…and I thought you liked horror movies" replied Raven sarcastically
"Not anymore, from this day forth, I, Beast Boy, will watch only documentary movies"
"Whatever" came Raven's short comeback
"But what will happen to the people we show it to" asked an on-screen child. An older woman gave him a meaningful stare and the screen went static
"Is it over" asked Beast Boy
"Yeah, you can open your eyes now" replied the Goth and walked out of the small hall. Following her, Beast Boy looked at his watch
"Twelve thirty…too early…think Beast Boy, Think!" he screamed mentally. Looking around, he found his salvation; a Mario's Pizza place stood in front of the cinema
"Um…Wonna get a slice" he shot blindly. Raven looked at him oddly
"Why not" she finally said "I need to go to the bathroom so I'll meet you there"
"Great" he replied and left towards the pizza place. Raven headed for the bathroom; she looked at herself in the glass mirror
"They did a great job, I really look beautiful" she thought and gave herself another look. She definitely looked different; her leotard and cloak replaced with dark blue tight jeans, with a black belt decorating the upper portion of the jeans, a tight black long sleeved shirt, embedded with false diamonds that created a woman leaning forward with a cigarette, over it, a brown jacket, black high heels, nails painted silver. (A/N: Sorry if the clothes I dressed Raven in were ugly, fashion and I just don't click, please forgive me). They left her face like it always is, and her hair to
"You can have fun" she said to herself and walked out of the room, and towards the pizza place, where she found Beast Boy waiting for her
"Hope you didn't wait too long" she said while sitting down on a chair next to him
"For you, I'll wait forever" he replied dreamily, making the half demon blush and giggle uncomfortably. Beast Boy caught that tone and quickly motioned a waitress to come and take their orders. A teen about sixteen who looked like she wanted to do anything else in her life rather than work, she scooted along to their table and tried her best to smile
"Good eve" she let out a loud yawn "Ah scratch that, what can I get you"
"The Mario special and two colas" said Raven. Beast Boy who was still looking at the menu raised his eyes
"And one Big Bowl O' Spaghetti" he finally said. The waitress nodded in agreement and walked to the kitchen
"Not the nicest girl in the mall isn't she" asked Beast Boy, trying to start a conversation
"I think that given the circumstances, it's okay for her to act this way, I mean, she has been working here for six hours straight and I know the boss of this place is a pig; a friend of mine used to work here" replied Raven, tapping her fingers on the surface of the table nervously, waiting for him to say something, anything. After a few minutes of silence, the girl finally came back and handed them their orders. They both looked at the large pizza in front of them; Beast Boy took a slice and handed it to Raven who in response, raised an eyebrow
"Ladies first" he said, regaining his British accent
"Since when did you become a gentleman" she asked as she took the slice from his hand and took a small bite of it
"Since I've been with a real lady" he replied and took a sip of cola
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"This line will take forever to end" growled an irritated Red-X and looked up to see the line of people standing to get on "The Raptor" rollercoaster, from the place he and Starfire were standing, the line seemed to stretch on for miles
"True, this line seems as long as a Glorft's tail" she replied. Looking to her right, she saw two teens, a boy and a girl, they were both snuggled together, and the boy handed the girl a stick with cotton candy. The girl smiled and snuggled even closer to her companion and they both trailed off
"Red-X, I wish you to buy me some cotton candy" she said. Red-X, who seemed to be a little out of focus stared at her with one eyebrow razed
"Huh"
"The candy of cotton, I wish you to but me some" she repeated
"But the line…"
"Do not worry, I will, save your place" X nodded and teleported, coming back a few seconds later, holding a stick with a huge amount of cotton candy. Starfire was about to take a bite when she raised her eyes towards the vigilante and looked at him suspiciously
"You stole this, correct" she asked
"What if I did" he replied, putting his hands on his waist
"Then you must return this and purchase one with money" Red-X pretended to search his imaginary pockets
"Sorry, probably left my wallet in my other suit" his voice gained a mocking edge, but quickly returned to its normal level. Starfire handed him a handful of dollars
"Can you purchase it now" she asked. X looked at her with confused eyes that remained hidden under his mask
"I don't get you" he said "Being a thief has taught me one thing, that nothing comes for free, and if you actually get an opportunity to have something for free, you should grab hold of it, and then, I see you, giving up on it, why" Starfire seemed confused by Red-X's logic. She tried to formulate a sentence, but failed. After a few attempts, she finally managed to make sense
"But stealing is wrong! And now that you have turned to the side of good, you cannot do it anymore" X was about to say something, but lowered his clutched fists in surrender
"I'll do it your way, but I wonder if you'll still think the same after our little date is over" he pressed the buckle of his belt and vanished into his all so familiar black shimmer, right into the front of the line
"Hey bub, me and my hubbie were in front of you, get back on the line" screamed an oversized woman, spitting bits of popcorn all over his cape. X was ready to draw one of many witty comebacks but turned silent as soon as he felt Starfire's stare on him. Looking to his right, he spotted her; her emerald eyes locked on him from her far away location at the rollercoaster line. Suppressing his nature, he walked out of the line and headed for its end, on his way, he heard the woman's voice
"What's with the kids today Harold? Did you see the way he dressed? It's like Halloween came early" she didn't even notice the small, nearly transparent red X that he flanged into the cotton candy making machine. The woman and her husband, a skinny balding man walked out of the line and headed for a ride at the merry-go-round. Again, the woman was so preoccupied with herself that she didn't hear Red-X who clearly stated
"Five…four…three…two" he raised his cape over his face "one" the treat exploded in the woman's hand, sending cotton candy flying all over the place. X teleported back and handed Starfire a paper bag
"I figured you're a hot-dog person anyway" she took a bite out of the hot-dog and purred in pleasure
"This has the beverage of flavor in it, correct" she asked, Red-X seemed puzzled. It was then when the young Tamaranian remembered he wasn't a Teen Titan when she stated her love for the yellow condiment
"Mustard" she corrected herself, making the vigilante's eyes wide with realization
"Umm…yeah, I guess" he replied. Looking forward, he saw that they were next in line, standing behind a group of teenagers that got onto the rollercoaster as a single person, taking their seats. X grabbed Starfire's hand and they both squeezed between the teenagers, catching a place on one of the rows. The cart started rising upwards, getting more and more away from the ground. Starfire was busy looking down when a voice of one of the teenagers caught her attention
"This is the fastest coaster in the world" he said to the girl strapped next to him "No one ever rode it without blowing chunks afterwards"
"Red-X, what is this blowing of chunks that this boy was talking about" she asked. X turned his head towards her
"Don't worry yourself about it, just sit back and enjoy the–" his words were swallowed by the unified scream that was given out by the rollercoaster's travelers. The ride took about half a minute to end, leaving the platform, Starfire seemed ill. X looked at her, half concerned and half amused. She suddenly placed her hand over her face, leaned towards a nearby garbage can, and vomited. X started laughing; a mechanical screech that seemed to never end, until he suddenly grabbed hold of his stomach and dived into a bush, his eyes wide, sonly enough, gagging sounds could be heard and a couple of moments later, he came out, fixing his mask into it's proper place, and right into Starfire's awaiting glare. Fear crept into his mind, he didn't mean to offend her, searching his brain, he was able to manage an apology
"Don't take it personal cutie, it was just funny because…well…" Starfire's response came as a complete shock to him; she pointed at him and broke into hysterics. Her laughter sounded like bells ringing, an angelic sound that took an affect on the vigilante, at first he tried to resist it, but seconds later, he joined her in laughter. People who were at on the same ride joined them; pointing at each other and laughing and soon, a crowd of fifty people could barely stand, but was still laughing. Walking away from the strange scene, Starfire turned towards Red-X
"Should we proceed with the action that is known as snuggling" an eye slit grew wide
"What do you mean 'should we'? It's your call" he replied, obviously confused
"Forgive me, Red-X, I am not familiar with the courting manners of"
"Hold that thought, you're telling me that this is your first date on Earth" Starfire lowered her head
"Hey, cutie, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just got a little surprised, that's all" something cracked inside him, he couldn't put his finger on it, but seeing that little ball of silver trickle down on her cheek made him feel something, something he had never felt before, compassion
"It is my first date ever" she said and sniffled
"Great idea pointing out she's lonely, you idiot!" screamed X's mind, he was mentally kicking himself, but when he heard Starfire's words, it was like he had been hit by a train
"BUT…! I mean, why? You're beautiful, and smart and"
"On Tamaran the males do not court the females for their looks or smarts, but for their passion in battle, and I am what you call, a pacifist" she tried to stop the tears, but instead, more and more just came down, trickling down her face and onto the ground. The feeling of a hand, placed over her shoulder made her look up to Red-X. She rose up and embraced him, a painful squeeze that is equivalent to that of an Anaconda, but he said nothing, just stood there, her head over his shoulder, the tears running down his cape, leaving darkened stains in the black fabric. She slowly loosened her lock on his body and walked back. X collapsed to the ground and gasped for air, that embrace could have killed him. A minute later he got up and took Starfire's hand into his own
"I think we've had enough amusement for one night, time to move on" he said and walked with her towards the exit
"But where will we go now" she asked, not knowing whether to feel afraid or not. Red-X's reply didn't ease that feeling
"My place"
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"This spaghetti is great" exclaimed Beast Boy while driving a fork load of the strings into his mouth. Raven looked at him with amusement and put the fork wrapped with spaghetti into her mouth as well. Soon, the bowl was empty
"Man, that was one good meal" he exclaimed again, padding his stomach. Raven raised her eyes towards him and giggled
"What" he asked, unsure of what he had done
"You got a little…" she moved her finger across her face, to her right cheek
"Oh" said the changeling and wiped his face, but in no avail, the stain of orange sauce remained
"Did I get it" he asked, Raven shook her head no. He tried again, and failed
"Hold on a sec" she said and leaned towards him, wiping the stain off with a napkin. Realization kicked in and she noticed how close hers and Beast Boy's faces got. He leaned towards her and their lips locked for a few seconds, then suddenly, pulled back, both staring at each other with utter shock
"That was a mistake" said Raven
"A big one" continued Beast Boy
"And it'll never happen again"
"Never" Both looked at each other again, and leaned for the kiss. Again, lips locked together, arms extending towards each other, wrapped around the waist, pulling the two bodies towards each other. Minutes seemed like hours, but in a good way, the way you want time to slow down, so you'll be able to enjoy each and every split-second of the event. They broke off, both looking dazed, even after several minutes, the look hadn't faded away from their faces
"Raven...that was…"
"Amazing" she completed. The unplanned staring contest was still underway, both Raven and Beast Boy looking deeply into each other's eyes; Beast Boy's crystal white eyes reflected Raven's violet pupils. That moment lasted days in Beast Boy's perception, until a sudden "Hey guys" shot them both back to reality. Raven nearly jumped out of her skin, but managed to keep it together and sent a look to her left, where her stare met Cyborg and Lisa, both unaware of the moment their two teammates just shared. A quick glance over Beast Boy and Raven told Lisa what was going on
"Um…Vic, I think you and Beast Boy need to look at the new Mega Monkeys game that came out last week" Lisa's attempt to isolate herself and Raven from the boys was in no avail, because Cyborg, like the changeling, just couldn't take a hint
"Lisa, there was no Mega Monkeys game release last" the sharp elbow that connected with his metallic stomach cleared the point for him. Grabbing Beast Boy by the ear, Cyborg dragged him towards a nearby video game store, leaving the two females alone
"But there was no Mega" started a still dazed Beast Boy
"Wake up and smell the napalm man, Lisa wants to get Raven alone so they can talk about your date, and so do I, so spill" the android gestured his hands forwards, rushing Beast Boy to talk
"Dude, no way, it's private" Cyborg scratched his head
"I'll…let you mess around with my computer" he tried. The changeling shook his head no
"…And get you past advanced marksmanship training" Beast Boy again shook his head no
"…And always be your teammate" Beast Boy razed an eyebrow
"Even when I'll get stuck with a loser team"
"Even when you'll get stuck with a loser team" replied Cyborg. The shape shifter shook his hand
"It was…"
"Great" said Raven enthusiastically, eyes filled with a not so familiar sparkle and an even more unfamiliar smile on her lips; in front of her sat an interested Lisa, sipping cola with a straw "I mean, I never knew Beast Boy could be so…so…"
"Not-Beast Boy" completed Lisa
"Exactly" said Raven and nodded
"So…did you kiss" the question hit the half-demon like a brick in the face, and had about the same affect. Raven's face turned red and every sentence she tried to formulate started with a weak "Well…"
"I'll take it that you did, and by the look on your face, it was on of your first kisses"
"The first" corrected Raven. Lisa stared at her with partial shock
"Really? Well, tell me all about it. They boys won't be back soon" the female android leaned against her elbows and raised two large brown eyes towards Raven
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Robin looked at the computer screen with disbelief; after he finished his talk with Cyborg he went to the training room to blow off some steam, but discovered he was tiring too quickly "A simple blood test should clear this matter" he thought as he used his teeth to tighten the rubber band on his left arm while driving the silver needle through the arm, towards the vein. He looked down on the long list of substances found in his blood, to his relief, the test revealed no remains of Curare, but while scrolling down, he found out his blood contained microscopic traces of an unknown neuro-toxin. The Boy Wonder knew what the material was, he knew its molecular structure by heart; it was the chemical reagent, the one Slade used, and he had traces of it in his blood. He sprinted in an inhuman speed towards the med-lab and straight to the coolant-storage unit; a huge refrigerator looking object, he opened it; a cold wave went through his body and the room was flushed with white fog that dropped to floor level, giving the room an eerie look. Robin searched the numerous shelves until he found it, a small white box with the words Counter Agent written on it in back bold letters. He took out one syringe and held it with fumbling hands, that's when he heard it; just like Slade told him, in the dark corners of his mind, chuckling, Slade's chuckling. This was a battle Robin could fight, during his last encounter with the reagent the images were vivid, too vivid, painfully vivid, but now, it was just a shadowy voice and he knew how to deal with shadows, fighting along Batman had taught him a thing or two about mind alteration and scare tactics. Without second thoughts, he jabbed the steel needle through his neck and into his main artery. The voice began fading, or so Robin felt, but the next time he heard it, was all to real
"She's with him now Robin, not you, you know what that means don't you? She loves him" whispered an echo. Robin's eyes widened
"That's bull! Starfire loves me, not him!"
"Oh really? Than why is she not here? Tell me Robin, why?"
"Shut up!"
"I won't Robin, I never will, you know I'm right and that's what driving you crazy"
"You're wrong! I made a mistake, that's all, she'll be back to me, she will! She LOVES ME!" The Boy Wonder jerked around wildly, screaming at the walls, throwing all sorts of medical supplies around the room
"That won't do you any good Robin, I'm still here, and I won't leave until you lose every bit of sanity and turn to what I always knew you were: Evil"
"I'm not evil you lunatic, I'm good, I've stopped you!"
"But you did not destroy me Robin"
"I will this time!"
"Oh really? Take your best shot, I dare you"
"Maybe I will" Robin took out a fire extinguisher and slammed it with all of his strength against his own head, knocking himself unconscious, lying on the med-lab's floor with a small gash in his forehead, blood slowly trickling down from the wound to the floor
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"Here we are, don't mind the mess, I haven't got a chance to clean up this place lately" said Red-X and led Starfire into his apartment; a three roomed studio apartment, the place looked like a tornado of crime went through it; with priceless art pieces scattered around the place, piles of jewelry located at random places, the kitchen was piled up with pizza trays and bottles of cola and cheap beer. Starfire stepped into the apartment and tried to avoid colliding with the numerous objects that lay on the floor until she bumped into a pillar covered with a red piece of fabric. Stepping back, she pulled the cover back, revealing a life-size model of Samara Morgan, she jumped back in shock and caught Red-X's attention
"Hey, I was looking for that" he said and nudged the model, making in move back and forth in an awkward manner
"Look cutie, she's dancing" giving out a chuckle, Starfire raised her eyes towards the gruesome doll. X got back to burrowing through the piles of junk around the living room
"What is that that you are looking for" questioned the young Tamaranian
"Your gear" he replied. Starfire seemed puzzled
"What do you mean by 'my gear'"
"Well, if you want to be a thief, you need to be dressed like a thief" he pulled out a silver suitcase and opened it; inside it was a folded suit, a pair of night vision goggles with red lenses and a pair of back boots. He took out the suit and boots and handed them to Starfire
"Put these on" he said calmly.
"Why do you wish to rob that place Red-X? I thought you have turned to our side" replied Starfire as she grabbed the suit and boots
"I already told you; ever since I became a thief, I dreamt of robbing that place, but I couldn't, this would be my grand finale', the last act of fun"
"And by making me wear this suit, what will you achieve"
"Ok, there are two things you need to know; one, by putting on this suit, you'll be wearing twenty million dollars of cutting edge stealth technology; that suit is covered with the same materials used to cover stealth fighters, so you'll be able to slip through motion and heat sensors my cloaking tech doesn't fool, that's the only way we'll be able to get in there"
"And the second thing"
"I just thought you'll look really hot wearing that" Starfire blushed and walked to another room, changing her outfit to the skin tight black suit. She stepped out and her eyes met a surprising sight; it was Red-X, put he was only partially dressed, the pants part of the suit still on him, the belt dangling over a chair and the black head piece with the skull mask over his head. The red crept onto her cheeks and she couldn't do anything about it
"What's the matter cutie? Never seen someone's abs before" he asked and turned towards another room
"I…I…I most certainly have, but"
"If you want to see more, you just have to ask, you know" he turned his head towards her and his right eye slit narrowed down to two thin lines; a wink. He resumed his walk and shut the door behind him, not before flinging has pants out of the room, making them land with a 'Thwap' on the floor. Starfire looked at the large golden clock mounted on the northern wall, the hands showed 12:45, trying to explain the situation at hand to herself, she remembered a line from an old black and white movie she saw once
"Hang on Star; this is going to be a bumpy ride"
Author Notes
Yay I'm done! This is the fully revised chapter fourteen, I hope you liked it, if you don't mind reviewing it again, I'd really appreciate it. Didn't have time to write the Titans' replies because…ern…well… my folks are working a 24/7 surveillance on me. I promise that the first thing I'll do with chapter fifteen is the replies.
So please review!