Teen Titans: Children of a Dynamic God
ch. 3
Raven was on the edge of her seat. Her cloak rustled slightly as dark energy churned beneath. Her narrow gaze burned towards the still-silent object on the table.
"Uhhh, is anything happening?" Beast Boy asked.
Only ten seconds had passed since Cyborg switched on the battery, and while the screen of the laptop sitting next to the head was suddenly abuzz with all manner of beeps, moving lines and graphs the head itself remained still. It's ruby red eyes remained vacant and unblinking.
"Shhhh, can't you hear that?" Cyborg said.
The others went silent and craned their heads back and forth.
"Is it the whining sound of which you speak?" Starfire asked.
Cyborg tapped the tip of his nose. "That's the sound of her internal hard drive. All that data running on the screen represents what's going on inside her head."
"Dude… she's thinking." Beast Boy whispered in awe.
Almost as if on cue the screen froze. The Titans blinked in unison.
"Uh, did she just break?" Robin asked. Starfire squeaked.
"No, I was expecting that," Cyborg said. "It couldn't keep up with her. The tower mainframe itself couldn't have kept up with her."
The seconds became minutes. Still nothing happened. The Titans all fixed Cyborg with puzzled looks. He shrugged and walked back over to the table. They watched as he leveled one exotic-looking instrument after another at the head. He shined a light into her eyes and snapped his fingers next to her ears. Cyborg looked back at the others a little uncertainly.
"Umm, hello." Cyborg spoke to the head.
The others almost fell out of their chairs. Raven snorted.
"You're in Titans Tower in Jump City." Cyborg continued. "My name is Cyborg and we're the Teen Titans. Can you understand me?"
Cyborg's greeting was met with zero response. The eyes stared ahead, dead and shining. The Metal teen rubbed his chin and sighed, then turned and walked back to the group.
"She's sandbaggin', I know it." Cyborg said. "I saw her pupils dilate, just for a second when her hard drive got up to speed. Her brain's been processing ever since then." Cyborg's voice was low, conspiratorial.
"I saw it too, or thought I did." Robin said. "I wasn't certain until you said the same."
"Why are we whispering?" Raven asked.
"Because I think she can hear us," Cyborg said, "and I think she might be… scared?"
The Titans turned and looked to the table as one.
"Okay Titans," Robin sighed, "let's have some options."
They all stared at him with wide eyes.
"Don't look at me, I'm stumped." Robin said. "Shy robot heads aren't my area of expertise."
"There's plenty of space in the trophy room still…" Raven said. The others ignored her.
"Can't you speak robot to her or something Cy?" Beast Boy asked. "Like R2-D2?"
"God you're an idiot." Cyborg muttered. "But trying to communicate with her through binary does seem like the best option. Only problem is that I'd have to connect with her directly and…"
"Out of the question." Robin said. "Come up with something else."
Cyborg sighed. Beast Boy cried out dramatically and rubbed his temples.
"This is hurting my brain! What about you Star? Got any good… Star?"
They turned to see Starfire kneeling in front of the head, whispering into it's ear. Raven gasped and would have sprung forward if Robin hadn't grabbed her arm at that second. She turned to him in disbelief but he merely shook his head at her. The four of them watched in silence.
"Cy," Robin whispered, "What's she saying?"
"About what you'd imagine." Cy whispered back. "'We won't hurt you', 'you're safe with us', 'it's our job to help people". I saw it's eyes move just now. I think it understands her."
Robin's face flushed a little as he smiled. Again, Starfire's straightforwardness had proven to be the best approach.
A few more moments went by, silent except for Star's whisperings. And then abruptly, she stopped. Robin watched as Cyborg's eyes went wide, apparently at something only the cybernetically enhanced teen could hear. Before he could fill Robin in he was cut off by Starfire's gentle voice.
"Robin," Starfire said, barely above a whisper, "could you join me please?"
Robin exchanged quick glances with his three teammates and then walked over to kneel by Star. He looked back and forth between the still-inanimate head and Starfire's flushed, hopeful face. She nodded at him excitedly and turned her attention back to the head.
"This is Robin, our leader. Robin, tell her that there is nothing to be afraid of… that we want to help her."
Robin suddenly felt very self-conscious. He cleared his throat and chewed his lip for a moment.
"Uh… yeah. There's nothing to be afraid of." Robin silently cursed himself as his voice cracked. "We want to help you if you'll let us."
One second of silence. Two seconds of silence. The unearthly red eyes flickered in Robin's direction and then back. Only years of intense training kept him from jumping.
Slowly, the eyes trained back over to focus on Robin's. The delicate silver brows knit in fear and dismay. Robin tried to swallow.
"Please." The voice was light and beautiful, barely above a whisper. Her mouth didn't move at all as she spoke. "How did I get here?"
"Well… you kind of arrived in the mail." Robin drew in his breath. "You mean you didn't know?"
Her brow knit further. Robin could barely hear the sound of servos working as she slowly blinked. To his amazement, her eyes started to tear up.
"You're safe here, I promise." Robin said.
"Yes, we won't let anything happen to you." Starfire jumped in, her voice choked with emotion.
The girl's eyes looked back and forth between them.
"Thank you." She said.
Robin smiled at her. "What's your name?"
The beautiful red eyes looked away for a second before slowly returning to meet Robin's.
"I don't know." She whispered, her voice quivering. "I can't remember anything."
----------
"So you can change into any animal you can think of?"
"Uh huh!" Beast Boy beamed. "Pick an animal, any animal!"
"Hmm,.. how about an ostrich?"
Beast Boy flashed a toothy grin and morphed into an ostrich. He turned a complete circle and craned his neck comically around the silver-haired head on the table.
She laughed heartily, only her eyes showing any emotion as they wrinkled in delight. "That's amazing! Except for the green I would swear you were a real ostrich."
Beast Boy morphed back and rubbed his head. "Yeah, I'm kinda stuck with this color." His face fell.
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that." The girl added quickly. "Green is a very handsome color on you."
Beast Boy's cheeks flushed a little. He chuckled weakly and turned to Cyborg. "Didja' hear that? Handsome."
Cyborg was busy typing away at the computer. "Uh huh, yeah…" He mumbled absently before turning back to the girl. "I'm trying to access your basic systems. Think you can, umm… drop your firewall?"
There was a hint of a blush on Cyborg's cheeks.
"Hmm? Oh sure." The girl said. She blinked once then looked back to Cyborg. "That should do it, just… don't go too deep, okay?"
Now she was the one blushing. Cyborg cleared his throat and nodded, then went back to typing away.
The doors hissed open. Robin and Starfire walked in. Giggling, Starfire bounded over to the table. Robin set down the large box he was carrying next to Cyborg.
"I guess this is what you were looking for." He said. "We really need to have a garage sale or something."
Cyborg didn't even acknowledge the Boy Wonder. His fingers were flying on the keyboard, his eyes glued to the screen.
"Beast Boy, you have been behaving yourself, yes?" Starfire arched an eyebrow at the elfish teen. "You did not try to get her to pull your finger or anything like that, did you?"
"How could she… I mean, even if I asked her to…" Beast Boy scratched the top of his head. "Don't ask me stuff like that Star! I know how to behave around people!"
Even Cyborg stopped what he was doing to roll his eyes. The Titans' newest visitor giggled. Starfire plopped down in a chair next to her, grinning as wide as she could.
"Are you comfortable enough new friend?" Starfire said, her eyes sparkling. "Do you require a hot towel? Or a pillow? Or maybe some freshly baked cookies? Oh wait, you are a robot... I can get you some yummy oil instead!"
"Thanks Star, but I'm fine." The girl chuckled. "Where did Raven go?"
Starfire looked away. "She is… busy monitoring transmissions. The police and fire department radios and the like."
Starfire's face fell. "I have just realized, we do not have a name for you new friend. We must call you something!"
Her 'new friend' winced. "It… it's so close, on the tip of my tongue. I… I think my name starts with an… 'N'?"
"Ummm, Nancy?" Beast Boy said.
"No, I don't think so."
"Nyarlophangey?" Starfire asked.
"Uh, I'm pretty sure that's not it."
"Natalie?"
"Nuotwoq?
"Nooo…"
"Nicole?"
"Ninbinsunfonpoog?"
Ninbinsunfonpoog winced. "No, that's not it either."
"How about Nike?" Cyborg said.
The girl's eyes went wide. "Yes! Yes that it! That's my name!"
"Specifically, Nike 1.0, Olympus systems."
"What else did you find?" Her voice was trembling.
"There's not much else here." Cyborg sighed. "I think I found your version of an 'about' file. The only other thing it says is that you're built around something called an 'Ambrosia engine'."
"… That's it?" Nike whispered.
"I'm sorry." Cyborg said. "I… I don't think there's anything else to find. It looks like if I go any deeper I'll just run into your encrypted code. This… it's amazing. It's nothing like anything I've ever seen. There's no OS, no directory…"
Cyborg turned around quickly. Nike's eyes were closed, holding back tears. Starfire was stroking the girl's hair, trying to show her sympathy.
"I'm sorry." Cyborg said again. "I…"
Nike sniffed and blinked, her brows arching in irritation. "No, it's okay… Crying's not going to do me any good."
"Are you sure that you even had a memory?" Cyborg asked. "I mean… maybe this is the first time you've been activated."
"No, I'm sure of it." Nike said, her voice unwavering. "I can feel it… like this big emptiness inside me. It used to be full of memories of places, and other people. I had… a family."
The room was silent. Starfire was sniffing and wiping at the corners of her eyes.
"Ohhhh, do not worry! We will take care of you 'Neekay'! You can stay with us as long as you wish!" Starfire's voice was cracking with emotion. She enveloped Nike's prone head in a smothering embrace and looked over to Robin with desperate eyes.
"Well, it's not as if she takes up much space." Robin smirked. Nike's laugh echoed from somewhere in Starfire's bosom. Giggling, Starfire sat her back on the table.
"Yeah, just set me on top of the fridge or something." Nike said. "But seriously… thank you. I know this situation is beyond strange…"
Robin cut her off. "Beyond strange is where we spend most of our time. I think I speak for all the Titans when I invite you to stay as our guest. We'll try to find out more about this 'Olympus Systems' in the meantime."
"Yes, and you do not have to live on top of the refrigerator! She can stay in my room, can she not Robin?" Starfire squealed.
"Nike, what's this?" Cyborg said, his eyes fixed to the screen. Nike's eyes went blank for just a moment.
"It looks like a zipped file." Nike said. "Pretty big too. Think you can decompress it?"
"Already done… oh wow." Cyborg's voice trailed off.
"Well, what is it?" Beast Boy cried out, realizing he hadn't said anything in a while.
"… blueprints." Cyborg said. "Unless I'm mistaken these are blueprints for what looks like a truly stunning mechanical body."
"… Really?" Robin said.
"Dude! That's awesome!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "You're gonna build it, right Cy?"
"Oh how wonderful!" Starfire jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "Our new friend will have arms and legs and a ribcage and a private area and everything!"
Nike's hopeful eyes were fixed on Cyborg. "Is that really what it is?.. my body?"
Cyborg grinned at her. "That's what it looks like."
He hit a few keys, filling the screens with one page after another of intimidating-looking schematics. There was a collective awed gasp.
"… are those wings?" Nike asked.
"They are beautiful," Starfire whispered.
"'Winged Victory'," Cyborg smiled. "I'll get in touch with Waynetech and S.T.A.R. Labs tomorrow and start ordering parts."
Nike was still gazing at Cyborg, her eyes gleaming. "You… you mean it? You'd do that for me?"
Cyborg blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh heh, aw c'mon… it'll be a snap! Can't just leave you like this can we?"
Nike couldn't hold back the tears now. She laughed, trying to blink them away. "Thanks Cyborg. All of you… thanks so much. I'll make it up to you, I promise."
"Heh, don't sweat it Nike," Beast Boy grinned. "Cyborg can whip this up over the weekend."
"Hey, I never said I could…"
"Yes, it is our pleasure!" Starfire beamed. "And then you can walk and run and jump and twirl and thrust and…"
"Okay Titans, let's wrap it up." Robin said. "It's getting late and I'm sure Nike would appreciate it if we gave her some privacy."
Despite Nike's protestations Robin herded Beast Boy and Starfire out of the room. Cyborg spent the next half-hour doing his best to make Nike as comfortable as possible.
"Well, I'm gonna hit the sack." Cyborg said. ""Umm, should I shut you down for the night or…"
"No!" Nike cried out, her eyes wide with terror. "I-I mean… I'd rather… I'm fine like this, don't worry about me."
Cyborg smiled at her. "Okay, but if Star sneaks back in here you might want to pretend you're off. She WILL talk your ear off. I hooked you into a tower terminal so you can watch TV. I had to shut down net access though, at least until I update the mainframe against that sick new virus going around. If you need anything, just beep me."
"Thanks Cyborg." Nike said. "Everyone's been so kind… you especially."
"Heh, don't mention it." Cyborg grinned. "This is the least we can do after letting you sit on the counter for three months."
"Wait… what?"
"OH WOW! TIME FOR BED!" Cyborg yawned loudly, stretching his arms out. "WELL, SEE YOU TOMORROW NIKE!"
Cyborg was almost out the door before Nike called out to him.
"Yes?" He said.
"So… you think my body's stunning huh?" Nike's ruby eyes sparkled mischievously. Cyborg flushed red and cleared his throat. Nike laughed.
"Night-night Cy."
----------
The Titans, except for Cyborg, sat around a table. Raven shot them all a nasty glance, one after the other.
"There's nothing to add." Raven muttered. "Just try not to let your perverse new toy distract you from the fact that we have a city to protect."
Beast Boy and Starfire both jumped to their feet and started yelling at Raven, drowning each other out. Cyborg walked in.
"I thought you'd all be in here." He said. "Any problems?"
"No, other than Raven being a total bitch!" Beast Boy spat.
"What did you call me!" Raven jumped to her feet, the air around her crackling with dark energy. Beast Boy stood there, growling softly.
"TITANS, STAND DOWN!" Robin screamed. Raven and Beast Boy stared daggers at each other, trembling. Starfire whimpered and buried her head in her hands.
"Beast Boy, if I ever hear you talk to one of your teammates that way again there will be repercussions, you got me?" Robin's voice was cold and gravelly.
Beast Boy didn't even try to stare down the Boy Wonder. He snapped Robin a quick nod and fell back in his chair with all the attitude he could muster. Robin turned his gaze on Raven.
"The same goes for you Raven. You've made your concerns clear, over and over. I'm tired of hearing them." Robin said. "You will treat our guest with civility and respect and you will keep your bigotry to yourself."
Raven's eyes went wide. Everyone's eyes went wide. Raven opened her mouth to speak but Robin cut her off.
"What else do you want me to call it Raven?" Robin snapped. "As far as the Teen Titans is concerned Nike is a living, breathing human being. She is certainly NOT a toy."
"Then the Teen Titans need to get their heads checked. Okay, so it wasn't a trap, so far." Raven's voice was level and calm but none of the titans believed for a second that she wasn't holding back a frightening anger. "Now we're going to waste time and resources building a body for it? Why not just pack it up and send it to S.T.A.R. Labs?"
"Because Nike showed up on our doorstep, not theirs." Robin said. "Not only are we going to build her a new body and offer her a place to stay for as long as she needs it, we're going to exhaust every resource we have to find out where she came from and what happened to her. And this is something we're going to do as a team, got it?"
Unlike Beast Boy, Raven didn't seem to have any problems standing up to Robin. The air in the room felt heavier and heavier as the seconds ticked by.
"And I guess what I think just doesn't matter huh? I may as well just sit back and keep my mouth shut?" Raven spat.
"You've had your say, and it's been duly considered. But this is not a democracy. I call the shots and you could not be more wrong about this situation. The Teen Titans don't discriminate." Robin's voice was eerily calm. "Not against robots. Not against aliens. Not even against half-demons."
Even Starfire stopped breathing. Raven stood there, her fists clenched, trembling. Beast Boy, Starfire and Cyborg probably wouldn't have been surprised to know they were all thinking about the quickest way out of the building. Robin was as unreadable as ever, matching her stare.
Raven's hands went slack. Her shoulders sank. Only Robin could see her face as she fixed him with a look so sorrowful, so betrayed that Robin rocked back on his feet. She spun on her heel and stalked out of the room. The three Titans simultaneously released their breath as Robin fell back in his chair. The Boy Wonder stared up at the ceiling and let out a long sigh. His hands trembled slightly.
"… I think…" Starfire began. Robin cut her off with one shaky, upraised hand. He slowly sat up and smiled gently at the delicate alien girl.
"No, I didn't handle that too well." Robin said. "I'm a little irritated at myself and I took it out on Raven. I'll apologize to her tomorrow, when she's less likely to telekinetically boil my bone marrow."
"Okaaaaay…" Cyborg whistled. "Now that I've officially walked into the middle of the scariest situation ever, you guys need to be brought up to speed on the 'rebuild Nike' project."
"Okay, let's hear it." Robin said.
"This is going to cost us around 3 million." Cyborg said quickly. Robin fell out of his chair.
"Dude," Beast Boy said softly. "That is like, 100,000 video games."
"That is a lot, right?" Starfire said. Robin shakily climbed back into his seat.
"It's… not that bad actually…" Cyborg rubbed the back of his head. "That's about an eighth of what my prosthesis costs. It's not as much as an M-1 Abrams tank and I guarantee she'll be more useful to us than a dozen of those!"
"Okay, okay…" Robin rubbed the bridge of his nose. "The city's lawyers aren't going to be happy about this but they'll get over it."
"Don't worry man, it's gonna be awesome." Cyborg grinned. "These blueprints are amazing. Nike'll be a powerhouse once I put her back together!"
"Dude, that is so cool!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "She's gonna be like that chick from Terminator 3! Will she be able to shoot laser beams out of her eyes or transform into a car or something?"
They all just looked at Beast Boy. He rubbed the back of his head and slunk down in his seat.
"So she can join our team?" Starfire asked, barely containing her enthusiasm. "She will be a Titan?"
"Well, it's a little early for that. If her new body is half as powerful as Cyborg says it is then it sounds like she'll be strong enough." Robin mused.
"Oh, she'll be strong enough." Cyborg snorted. "She'll be almost as strong as Star, have better reflexes than you, be at least as durable as me and be faster and more versatile than any of us. Not to mention all the cool gadgets built into her."
"And she will be able to fly as well!" Starfire said, her eyes sparkling. "You forgot to mention that!"
Cyborg winced. "The three million describes the… basic package." Cyborg said. "The wings themselves would cost another two million."
Starfire's face fell. Even Beast Boy seemed disappointed. "But… but they are a part of her." Starfire whispered. "Nike was meant to fly! The ancient Earth language from which her name was taken… is that not what it means?"
Robin went back to rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We'll talk about this later, there's a more pressing matter."
Starfire sank down in her seat, looking defeated. Robin rose to his feet slowly.
"Okay… someone has obviously spent a lot of time, effort and money constructing an artificial human." Robin said, his voice slow and deliberate. "They designed her to cry, to blush, to laugh… I want to know where Nike came from. And if she's right, if there is a family out there somewhere missing her I want to know why she isn't with them right now. I want to know why she can't remember anything and how she got here."
"Dude, she got here FedEx, question answered." Beast Boy said.
"Rob, you noticed her neck, right?" Cyborg asked.
"Yeah. It makes things more… complex doesn't it?" robin replied.
"What are you guys talking about?" Beast boy asked. Starfire spoke before Robin could answer.
"They are speaking of the way her head was removed from her body." Starfire said quietly. "It was not detached in the way that Cyborg can detach his arm. Her head was cut off. Am I right?"
"Yes Star, you are. It does seems as if her head was cut off." Robin said. "Not only that but as far as I can tell it was severed with one stroke."
"No human could produce that much force." Cyborg said.
"Any chance you're going to find more surprising files in her brain Cy?" Robin asked.
"None." Cyborg said. "After I found the blueprints I scoured as deep as Nike was willing to let me go."
A moment of silence fell over the table. The Titans looked back and forth to each other.
"She's… Nike is something really incredible guys." Cyborg said. "Her programming is more dense, more complex than I could have imagined. There are… billions and billions of lines of code running through her head at the speed of light, even when she's just relaxing. In my best judgment she's as alive as you or I. In fact… she may be a more advanced lifeform than any of us."
Another moment of silence as the gravity of Cyborg's words sank in.
"It is imperative that we find out where she came from." Robin said. "Write up an inventory for me Cy, I'll order the parts."
"Uh, sure Rob," Cyborg blinked. "Any reason you want to do it?"
"Yeah, I've got an inside line that can get us most if not all of what you need on the down low," The Boy Wonder said. "I don't want anyone, not even S.T.A.R. Labs knowing that we're building a mechanical body. Not yet."
"But I thought the scientists at S.T.A.R. were our friends?" Starfire said. "Did they not help to create Cyborg's mechanical parts?"
Robin waved his hand in the air. "The fewer people who know we're playing host to what may be the first true A.I. on the planet the better. S.T.A.R. are indeed our friends, but a bunch of curious scientists wanting to take her apart is the last thing Nike needs right now."
"They will do no such thing!" Starfire barked, banging her fists down on the table. Robin placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled.
"No one will Star," Robin said. "We're going to get Nike up and running as fast as humanly, or cybernetically possible."
The Titans stood, stretched and left the room. Beast Boy fell in step next to Cyborg.
"So… she's 'really incredible' huh?" The puckish teen grinned slyly. Cyborg arched an eyebrow at him.
"What? Nike's the most advanced computer I've ever seen." Cyborg said. "She's an amazing piece of hardware."
"Yeah, but I bet it's her software you're interested in." Beast Boy grinned
"Dude, that is so immature. I'm just helping her out." Cyborg sighed. "I mean, if you were just a head wouldn't you appreciate a little kindness?"
Beast Boy was about to reply when Cyborg swung around and leveled his gaze at the young man. "And if you embarrass me in front of her I'll rip those ridiculous ears right off your head!"
Beast Boy gulped and nodded quickly. Cyborg narrowed his eyes at the Elfish teen, turned on his heel and stalked away. Beast Boy let out his breath in one big gasp.
----------
Nike was skimming through the tower mainframe, amusing herself by reading the various mission reports, villain profiles and the like. Eyes closed, sensory receptors dialed down, she didn't hear Raven enter the room.
Mad Mod? Mumbo the magician? Killer Moth? Nike thought to herself. They certainly have a colorful rogue's gallery don't they? I hope I don't run into this "Gizmo" person anytime soon. Brrrrr!
Raven coughed. Nike's eyes shot open. Raven involuntarily took a step back.
"Oh, hello Raven!" Nike said. "I was hoping you'd come back."
"How do you do that?" Raven asked. "That talking without moving your mouth?"
Nike laughed. "Creepy isn't it? Well, my voice is artificial so I don't need breath. It comes from a little box at the base of skull and goes through speakers in my throat. And since I don't have any neck servos at the moment I can't really move my jaw. Otherwise they'd both match up and the illusion would be complete."
Raven didn't reply. She casually walked over to Nike and stood in front of her, arms crossed.
"Raven," Nike's voice was timid, "is there something you want?"
"What's it like?" Raven asked.
"What's what like?"
"Being a machine." Raven whispered.
"Oh… um, I… I really don't know how to answer that."
Raven continued. "You're programmed to laugh and cry right? What else can you do?"
Nike's eyebrows met in irritation. "I'm not programmed to 'do' anything. I just do what I feel like. And I'm not a machine, I'm a person just like you."
"So, you could just… turn your emotions off if you wanted to?" Raven's voice was distant.
"No, no more than you can!" Nike said. Her voice was becoming more aggressive. "This is who I am! I can feel everything you can feel!"
Raven knelt. Her face was inches from Nike's. She looked deep into the girl's eyes. They darted back and forth quickly.
"Raven?"
Raven slowly stood back up. She rubbed her eye with her palm. "I'm sorry if I offended you. To be frank I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this whole situation. It's a little beyond the pale you know?"
Nike looked up at Raven, her eyebrows slowly smoothing out. "I'd have to say that's an understatement…"
Raven smiled. Nike was reminded of a crocodile. "Point taken. It's just that I'm a psion with empathic vision and I'm not used to interacting with intelligences that I don't get some kind of reading from. I don't mean to come off as rude. I guess I've gotten a little too comfortable feeling people's emotions before they do."
Raven smiled again. Nike's eyes never left hers. The sound of servos accompanied every blink
"My consciousness is modeled after a theoretical superorganism." Nike said." It's the next step on the evolutionary ladder after human intelligence. It's like… being made out of ten to the two-hundred and thirtieth power of versions of yourself existing on the cellular level. Their activity expresses itself as me, the ego you're now talking to. They're always pestering me for feedback so I try to keep them busy by having them run as many tests and simulations as possible all the time. So in other words, I'm just like a human."
Raven crossed her arms and leaned against the cabinet, smirking at Nike. "That's pretty interesting actually."
"I can speed up my perception to the point where I could experience the full works of the combined authors of all history in the time it would take you to blink. I'm currently processing information on numerous phenomena happening in and around this very room that your nervous system isn't equipped to register, with theoretical RAM to spare. I'm also running probabilities on what your next action might be, to about the twenty-third power at the moment. And I've got the theme song from some cartoon I was watching earlier stuck in my head. That's what it's like to be me."
Raven, arms crossed, looked down at her feet. She sighed deeply. "Okay, making a good first impression is obviously not my strong point. Think we can just forget about me coming in here and saying all the wrong things and just start over tomorrow?"
Nike looked into Raven's eyes. It almost seemed like the overbearing girl was finally being sincere. All the biological readings she was getting off of Raven's body indicated the same.
"If you think that's a bad first impression, try having your severed head roll out onto someone's carpet." Nike said.
Raven smirked. "I hope that means we're cool. I really can't afford to piss anyone else off tonight."
"Hey, if you can't cut someone a little slack when they're on their period then when can you?" Nike said. The goth girl's eyes went wide. Raven blushed a little.
"Okay, that's a useful talent…" Raven said. "Anything else I should know about?"
"Actually, I'm glad you brought it up," Nike said, averting her ruby red eyes. "I can kinda' tell when someone's lying to me. Their pulse rate changes, their pupils constrict, they release certain pheromones… it's not really something I can turn off so you should probably warn the others."
Raven's sharp gaze flicked up and down Nike's head. She chewed her lower lip. "Yeah, I can do that too. Sucks doesn't it?"
"Well, now that I think about it… yeah, it kinda does. So the others are going to be cool with having two people in the house they can't lie to?"
"How should I know?" Raven said as she walked toward the door. "I never told them. See you tomorrow."
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Took a while to post a new chapter huh? Well, maybe if I got some reviews I could be persuaded to put the next one up sooner. Huh? HUH?
Coming up next: Starfire and Nike bond. Nike gets her new body. Maybe some romance for the one Titan who never seems to get any love? Maybe some action? I dunno. I'll put in some action if you guys ask for it.