Part 6: Cyborg Dream Spell
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans
CyxJinx Cyborg can't dream, so he's realized, and it kind of bothers him. But all those thoughts leave when he gets a visit from the girl he would've been dreaming of if he could. Some things are better than the sweetest dreams in the world.
23:09 on October 12, 2005. It comes in a stream of endless ones and zeros, leaping between cybernetics and a human mind, twisting from code to thought in an instant.
A lot of people think it's really fascinating… that something like me can still be human. Or mostly human. Or at least human at heart. It's really strange then, to realize that I've come to take my existence for granted. I'd like to think that I'm still harboring a human soul and that I'm not just under some strange illusion provided by a digitized brain.
I'd like to think that my human half is still the part that does all the living, not the robot part. But then I get these reminders, once in a while, that scream at me like sirens. Laughing and jeering at everything I've lost…
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"Urg, come on man… just admit defeat. I'm ready to hit the sack and I really don't feel like another round." I sighed and tossed down my game-station controller, staring lethargically over at the wide-eyed changeling occupying the seat beside me. I yawned as Beast Boy began to protest.
"B-but dude! That's not fair! If I win this next round I'll totally be able to say I kicked your butt! C'mon ya rust bucket, you don't need sleep! Who needs sleep! Sleep is overrated!" he chattered with emphatic flinging of his arms as accompaniment. I blinked dully and rolled my one human eye.
"How much caffeine did you have?" I asked, frowning slightly. Or was he always this hyper? It was kind of hard to remember at the moment. I was beat and I just wanted to go hook up for the evening and get a nice… long… quiet… recharging.
"Cy! C'MON! Please! Just one morrre!" he whined, clinging madly to his controller. I snorted.
"Have you even looked at the score? I've got ya beaten five games to one. Even If you win the next round you can't beat me. You're being delusional, dawg," I pointed out. He pouted, looking ready to throw a tantrum. Yep, that's Beast Boy… can never take a loss like a civilized elf wanna-be. …He's still my best bro, though.
"Cy, you're so… so… just… grrr. I could totally whoop you. If we just played one more round, of course," he gazed longingly at the TV screen. I wasn't usually one to turn down another chance at kicking BB's butt but I was friggin' tired, half-robot or not. So I did the reasonable thing. I stood up and grabbed my controller, chucked it at this head and wandered out of the main room.
"Knock yourself out, little-man," I called over my shoulder. I couldn't help but smirk a little. And then Beast Boy plowed me down with one of the convenient little reminders…
"Yeah, yeah ya spoil-sport. Sweet dreams to you too, buddy," he snapped sarcastically. I paused in the doorway, thinking for a moment. Dreams…
It hadn't really occurred to me that I didn't dream. I guess it's just one of those things I lost when over half of me got replaced by titanium and circuitry. I don't know. I just know I don't dream anymore. I guess I could program myself to have "dreams" but… it's not quite the same, when I think about it. So it was sort of novel to me, as I stood there, to realize that I really couldn't dream anymore. And it bothered me. I frowned. Had I lost other things and was unaware? Dreaming was never a very important thing, but to realize I was incapable of it was, in a way, unsettling.
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah, sweet dreams for me…" I muttered. And then I wandered off to my room. As I entered my simple haven, my mind was wandering. The zeroes and ones were flying madly into thought as I rolled over and over my discovery in my head.
Why was it that I was perfectly happy and content when ignorant to my lack of dreams, but now that the thought had been slipped into my mind it festered and gnawed away at my restfulness? I furrowed my brow and stared down at the floor, observing my titanium feet as they shuffled me over to my "bed." It was really nothing more than a large steel slab… but it sufficed. It wasn't like I was aware of anything when I was recharging.
Perhaps I was more unsettled by my unwanted finding than I had thought, because I was still viciously pondering when I lay down on my 'bed' and failed to notice the petite figure standing in the corner of my room. I sighed. I was overreacting.
I had lived for a long time now, without dreams, and yet a simple… off-hand comment by Beast Boy of all people had me upset. Or at least a little unhappy…
My mental running in circles was cut off by a soft chuckle weaving its way to my ears from that unnoticed being occupying the shadows of my room. My red eye pulsed as I sat forward, glaring out. Who…? What the hell?
"You're preoccupied tonight, Cyborg…" a feminine voice. I felt something in me jump with confusion. What was she… was it even her? "You're so different when you're a Titan. And yet you're the same. A paradox. That intrigues me. But please, what's got you preoccupied tonight?" her voice was low and mellow. Just as it had been ingrained into my memories for those brief weeks in which my feelings, my human feelings, were not taboo.
"Erm… this is a dream… isn't it… You're not really in my room…" it was rather ironic. More laughter. And she stepped into the light. Gothic-pretty attire and swept up rose hair. Brilliant fuchsia, feline eyes and pale but blushing skin. Slender… over-all petite with a look suited to the villainous vixen she was. Jinx smirked slightly.
"Cyborg… have you already forgotten that you can't dream?" she asked… purred… Her little gold coin, hung from a velvet blue ribbon about her delicate throat, glittered beneath the fluorescent light that was mounted singularly in the center of my room. I was blinking my one normal eye rapidly, trying to understand what the impish sorceress was doing in Titans' Tower of all places.
"…Jinx?" I finally cackled forth. She rolled her luminous pink optics.
"Nuh-uh, I'm Mammoth," she slurred sarcastically. I stood and moved over to her, frowning slightly but unable to hide the fact I was pleased to see her again. "Jinx, what in the world are you doing here? Don't you know how dangerous this is for you? Girl… if Robin sees you…" I shook my head furiously at the notion. "Besides… don't you hate me? Don't I hate you?" I asked stupidly.
Jinx exhaled a peel of laughter and she cocked her head to the side. "I don't know, Cyborg. I really don't know. You and the titans have been busy as of late. I have had a lot of time to think about what you did to me. It was really horrible of you… to take advantage of a lady like you did," she murmured, staring intently at me.
I frowned. "I was under cover, Jinx. It's not like I intended to start anything between us. We're from very, very different worlds…" I huffed and folded my arms, towering over the pretty pink witch.
"Mhm… of course. But still, you took advantage of me and you did start something. I think it's quite interesting, actually. I can't help but be impressed…" she examined her nails critically for a moment. She was really quite lucky that I still had a soft spot for her. If I had been in a completely right set of mind at the time, Jinx would probably be behind bars now.
"…Impressed? Why the heck would you be impressed by my tricking you like that? It wasn't really to your benefit, if I recall." I countered, confused by her skewed analysis of the past events.
"You must remember… we're from very, very different worlds," she mimicked my words. I shook my head. I guess for a villain… whatever. Different people are attracted by different things… "Now I know you're really a very noble person and all that jazz, but you managed to pull the wool over my eyes for a time. And that's unusual. I find it intriguing, and yes, Cyborg… I am still… infatuated, if you will. Assuming you weren't twisting your personality too much when you were Stone." She narrowed her predatory eyes.
"…Jinx… this is beyond wrong." I said, bluntly. At that, she gave me a wide grin. A crescent moon smiling on her face. Ah, right… 'wrong' was this little fate-bender's profession. How could I forget?
Jinx curtsied, knowing I understood. I sighed. It wasn't like I was going to deny the fact that the "infatuation" was still mutual. Despite the fact she would guiltlessly try to kill my friends and I on any given day, she was really a very likable being. She had… spunk. I think she must have put some sort of virus in my systems, because any way I looked at our relationship… was illogical.
I rubbed the back of my neck. Well…
Defeated, I opened my arms with a soft sigh. Her devilish look softened to something much more sweetly feminine and she lithely danced herself into my arms. Perhaps the titans were unaware that Jinx and I had actually dipped out toes into the idea of a deeper relationship sometime during my stay at the HIVE.
As utterly contraband as the hug should have been, we were both quite pleased to be holding one another again, and we did so for a while. No words were said. Finally, she spoke. "Guess you already know I'm not too mad at ya anymore," she said. I squeezed her delicate waist a little tighter in response.
Somewhere along the line, Jinx and I picked up a soft murmur of conversation. It was wonderful to speak with my villainess again, for that was what she was. My villainess. And that was plenty of an explanation for me. We must have talked for a long time, but I wasn't really keeping track. Evidently, she was, though. She told me she had to go. I understood. I wasn't going to let her meet her fate in jail purely because she came to see me.
Her time to face justice would come eventually, but not by my hand. I hoped. None the less, she parted from me to leave and stood on the tips of her toes to place a kiss on my cheek. I grinned. "G'night, Jinx," I murmured, almost reluctant to see her go after having been apart for so long. I had assumed our relationship had ended with the crumble of the HIVE. I had assumed wrong.
I slept soundly for the remainder of that night, recharged fully even in the short amount of time I had in 'bed.' When I woke that morning, I was startled for a moment. I smelled perfume. Jinx's perfume. It still lingered from last evening's talks. I grinned.
I guess I was unusually happy that morning at breakfast, because Beast Boy took notice. He lifted a green eyebrow. "Guess you dreamt well last night," he commented. I paused in my inhalation of scrambled eggs. I swallowed carefully and then flashed him a familiar looking crescent moon smile.
"Nope. I don't dream, Bud," I chuckled. Because I don't dream. And she did visit me. And I know it was real and that in a twisted way she's forgiven me. I also know that seeing her will be better than dreaming. I left the breakfast table and returned briefly to my room.
I inhaled the faint scent of her perfume again. My grin widened. My little sorceress was real and she was back.
My little dream spell.
Author's Note: Okay... dunno what to say about this one --' I found it easier to write than I would've thought but I'm not sure it makes total sense. oO Hopefully it does. Heh. Now for much more important news... only one more episode of TT until Revved Up and Go are shown on Cartoon Network! WOOT! Hehe... I really hope that TT gets to sign for another season... I REALLY, REALLY hope... Then again, I'd also like to see Robin in his apprentice uniform again . Either way, I hope this chapter was at least somewhat enjoyable. Your reviews are all greatly appreciated... we're only a few away from hitting 300! Hehe, thank you all for your support... next week should bring you a CyxBee fic so stay tuned, lol. Somehow I think I'm becoming a BeexAqualad fan, though. I'm also much more partial to this CyxJinx pairing too, for some reason. Hmmm...
Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran
P.s.- me thinks I want pudding... :runs off to find instant chocolate pudding: mmm...