Jen: Hello and welcome to…CHAPTER NINE…of A Little Too Personal. Like, ohmigod, I'm so, like, excited, like! (Sry, I'm being a retard.) Anyway, you all know the dreadful thing that comes next:
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. I do, however, own their assistants. So BACK OFF! Ahem.
Of Birds and Bo-Staffs
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Alyssa shot Mike a deadly look, but as soon as she was gone, his hands were back in the cage again, feeling around.
Raven sighed yet again.
This plan of Robin's had better work because it was going to be a looong seven days.
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"Launch in T-minus five…"
"Ahhhh!"
"…four…"
"Ahhhh!"
"…three…"
"Ahhhh!"
"…two…"
"Ahhhh!
"…one…"
"Ahhhh!"
"…liftoff."
FOOOOOM!
"Ahhhh!"
"Shut-up Beast Boy!"
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"They have successfully launched." Emily said, gripping the oversized headphones covering her head, "They'll be going through the ozone layer in just under fifteen minutes."
"Good." Raven said, staring at the machine that was directly linked to Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, "Alert me as soon as they reach space."
Emily nodded and returned her attention back to the machine.
Raven walked out of the room. She needed to meditate, but couldn't. She was way too stressed out for something that required no thought. What she really needed was something to steady her nerves, relax her. She needed herbal tea. And lots of it.
Raven stepped into the main room, headed to the kitchen. Blackfire was still unconscious in the cage, Mike was closing his eyes and guessing which body part he was feeling, and Bambi was bustling about the kitchen, searching high and low for bananas for when Blackfire woke up.
Raven glowered at Mike, "Hey, Mr. Touchy-Feely, go help Emily."
Mike opened his eyes for a moment, "No."
There was a crackle of black energy at his feet and it took no time at all for Mike to realize that she wasn't going to ask again.
He got up, "Fine. Whatever."
Raven glared at him until he left. She took a seat at the breakfast table and rubbed her temples. Azar, she felt lousy. Not even Blackfire deserved to be treated like this.
"Do you, like, want anything, Raven?"
Raven looked up to see Bambi's face, "Herbal tea."
"Like, comin' up."
Raven sighed. She needed something besides herbal tea. A good book? No, all of her books were entirely too depressing. Meditation? Nope, she had gone over that one already. Chocolate? Not really Raven's thing, though she heard that it made most girls feel better. Oh, wait, Raven wasn't like most girls. What the heck did she need?
Bambi set the mug down in front of Raven, "You, like, look like you need a friend."
Raven blinked. Then blinked again. Could that be it?
Not likely, and even if a friend was the solution, she wouldn't want to talk to Bambi. Raven took a sip of her tea, "I don't."
"Like, yes you do. You've, like, been acting all, like, annoyed at anyone who, like, gets near Blackfire." Bambi said in her overly-perky voice.
Raven was about to say something when:
"Raven, the T-ship has left the atmosphere. Robin wants to speak with you."
Raven got up and dragged herself into the computer room, leaving Bambi to her unanswered question.
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Raven entered the computer room to see Robin's serious face on the giant screen. She sat down next to Emily and put some headphones around her head.
"This is Raven." She said, "You left the atmosphere successfully."
"Affirmative." Robin said while pushing some buttons.
The screen cut in half and Cyborg's face appeared, "Systems check complete. Everything's in working order."
"Confirming." Raven said. She ran another systems check with the mainframe, as was standard procedure. A light flashed green, "Confirmed."
The screen split again and Beast Boy appeared, "Dudes, are we there yet?"
Alyssa's voice was heard off screen, "No, we're not Beast Boy and for the umpteenth time we will not be there for another three days. Stop asking!"
"Bummer." He muttered before his slot disappeared.
"Cyborg," Robin said, "Set the coordinates for the destination."
Cyborg nodded and vanished.
"Raven."
"Yes, Robin?"
"I…I wanted to thank you." He said.
This certainly caught her off guard, "Oh…for what?"
"I know that…you don't like to mess with other people's minds." Robin looked down, "But you did. For Starfire."
Raven was surprised he had noticed this, "Starfire…like you said, she doesn't deserve this." Raven raised her chin high and graced him with smallest of smiles, "So go get her."
Robin gave her a slight nod before pushing another button. The screen went blank.
Raven removed the headphones, "Emily, stay in here at all times. Make sure if Robin needs to contact us again, he's able. Mike," She turned to the corner where he was standing, "Stay here too. Run a systems check every half-hour. Understand? Every half-hour. We can't take any chances."
"Got it."
Raven headed towards the kitchen. She was going to need way more than one cup of herbal tea.
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Robin paced around the interior of the T-ship. They were nearing their destination. It was only a matter of hours before they reached the Swamp Moons of Drenthax Four. And Robin was way too anxious to sit down.
They had been in space for just under three days and hadn't contacted the Tower since they had left. There was no need to. It wouldn't be a good idea call now anyway, since it was nearly 2:00 am on Earth. Everyone in the T-ship followed the same sleeping schedule and was catching some Z's.
Everyone except Robin of course.
There was no way he could sleep, not with Starfire so close. Not with him mere hours away of getting her back. That is, if the plan worked.
The plan, Alyssa had finally explained, had to be executed in under one hour. Cyborg was to fly them a few hundred miles above the Sklerch Hotel. Robin, Beast Boy, and Alyssa were going to fly one of the escape pods down while Cyborg and Boris remained in the T-ship, hovering. Once the trio reached the Sklerch Hotel, they would have to get past a few guards.
That, Alyssa had said, was going to be the hard part. It was Beast Boy's job to distract them because Robin wanted to see Starfire and Alyssa was the only one who could hack into the advanced computer system. In order to distract the guards in a quiet, not alarming way, Beast Boy had to dress up as a female of the alien race called the Ugl-yans.
Robin sat down.
The Ugl-yans were a species that was considered one of the ugliest in all of the galaxy. Though, for some reason, sklerches found them intensely attractive.
Beast Boy had to pretend to be a female of the race and simply flash a little bit of skin to the guards. They would chase after him and he would run. Alyssa and Robin would sneak past into the hotel. Beast Boy was not happy about his assignment, but said he would do it for Starfire.
After they snuck in, Robin and Alyssa would go to one of the sign in machines (the idea of using actual sklerches to sign beings in was discarded when Anana, Queen of the Glass Planet Gretha, vomited after being touched by the sklerch who gave her the piece of paper which had her room number on it) and Alyssa would hack into some files. They would find out which room Star was in and go there.
Robin slouched in his seat.
Once they reached her room, Alyssa would pick the electronic lock. They hoped Karras wasn't going to be there, but if he was, Robin was going to fight. Once he brought Karras down, they would get Starfire.
They would move through the hotel to the entrance where the guards would probably have Beast Boy in custody. Robin would kick some more alien butt and they would run like hell to the escape pod. If all went well, they would reach the T-ship and Cyborg would cloak it, making them invisible.
Robin felt his eyelids begin to droop.
Then, once they checked her for injuries, Starfire would throw her arms around Robin. The others would leave. Robin would hug her back and out of the blue she would kiss him. Yeah, that's right. He would kiss her back and they wouldn't realize they had moved until he had her pressed gently against the wall. She would break away for only a moment to say:
"Oh, Robin! I missed you so much! I love you!"
They would kiss again, "I love you, too." He would mutter against her mouth.
She would push him back, her eyes full of want, "Robin…show me how much you love me."
He would happily oblige. And she would yelp out his name when he did something that particularly pleasured her.
"Robin!" She would moan, "Yes, Robin! Robin…"
"Robin! Robin! ROBIN WAKE UP!"
Robin's head shot up to see Alyssa's slightly blushing face. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep.
"Uh…Robin," She wouldn't look him in the mask, "I think you might want a towel."
"What?" He said, rubbing his eyes.
"A towel, Robin." She handed him one that was conveniently located next to his seat.
He looked at it in confusion for a few moments. Something caught the corner of his eye. He looked down, past the towel.
Oh, Jeez.
The seat was wet. His pants were wet. And it wasn't urine.
He grabbed the towel quickly.
Alyssa cleared her throat, "Would you like a different pair of pants?"
Robin reddened, "Yes."
She left for a few moments and returned with some clean tights. She turned around and he began to put them on.
"I came through here to get a glass of water." Alyssa explained, "You were, ah, sort of moaning and saying Starfire's name. Then, well…your pants, and I thought I should probably wake you up."
Robin took a deep breath after zipping his pants, "How far away are we from the Swamp Moons?"
"Approximately three hours." Alyssa looked at the watch she never seemed to remove, "On Earth it's five-oh-seven AM."
"Wake the team up in fifteen." Robin said.
"Right." Alyssa paused before she left, "Uh, Robin…not to pry but, the dream you had…it was about Starfire, wasn't it?"
"I'm not discussing this with you." Robin crossed his arms, "You're dismissed."
"Dismissed? Robin…"
"You're dismissed." He repeated, only much louder.
"Yes sir." Alyssa spoke quietly, "Pardon me for talking back." The door slid shut behind her.
Robin took another deep breath. Where in the world did that dream come from? He was thinking about the plan then…he was thinking about Starfire. Starfire…he had imagined her…and him…doing…oh, man. He should have come to his senses early on. He should have known it was a dream and he should have stopped it. Somehow.
Robin pondered something else: Did he want it to stop? Yes, Robin thought reflexively, of course he wanted it stopped. Not only was it unwise to get involved with a teammate, but it was unwise to get involved with anyone at all. It would end in them leaving you no matter what. Everyone had to die sometime, even if you loved them more than life.
Then something stirred in Robin. Something, dare he say it, human. Something natural. Something normal. Richard Grayson had been awakened. Richard Grayson wanted more than a dream. He wanted something like that to really happen. He wanted Starfire.
Robin, however, knew that was a bad idea. Still, Richard was powerful and Robin would probably have to fight for control. As long as he wore the mask, Robin reminded himself, he was Robin. Not Richard.
Alyssa's voice boomed over the intercom, "Attention all organisms on this ship, please awaken and report to the main room. I repeat wake up and report to the main room. That is all."
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"…That is all."
Beast Boy groaned. What time was it?
He had to blink a few times to get his eyes to focus before he swung his feet over the side of his bed. He stretched and got off the bed. He walked to his closet and threw on his new uniform. He really did hate those red pants.
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Robin waited for everyone in the main room. Cyborg stepped through the door followed by Boris and Alyssa. Beast Boy was still nowhere to be found.
Robin sighed.
"I'll get him." Alyssa said.
She walked out of the room.
"BEAST BOY, IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE MAIN ROOM IN THIRTY SECONDS I WILL PERSONALLY MAKE SURE CYBORG KNOWS THAT YOU TAPED RAVEN…" There was a loud "NOOOOOO!" heard as BB sprinted into the room.
Alyssa's voice stopped momentarily, then: "You are thanked for your cooperation."
Beast Boy glared at the girl when she, too, entered.
Robin went into the center of everyone, "Titans, assistants," He said, "We will be reaching the Swamp Moons in two hours and thirty-eight minutes. Before we get there, lets go over the plan one more time…"
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Cyborg gave Robin the thumbs up sign as the escape pod lowered. The claw that was holding it to the T-ship opened and the pod was released. Robin took a deep breath and began to steer towards the small moons that were below him.
"Come out, Beast Boy." Alyssa ordered.
"No way." The changeling said slowly from behind a curtain, "There is no way I'm going out in this."
"Honestly, Beast Boy," Alyssa placed her hands on her hips, "Swallow your pride, be a man."
"That's the problem." He said, stepping out into view, "I'm not a man." Alyssa had forced him into a puke green frock, complete with house slippers, a bonnet, and a chest stuffed with toilet paper.
Alyssa kept a straight face, "You look fine. The sklerch guards won't be able to resist you. Trust me."
Beast Boy mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "prude."
"Beg your pardon?"
"Nothing."
Robin looked back for a moment, too focused on the fact that Starfire was mere miles away to even smirk at Beast Boy, "We're going to reach the Sklerch Hotel in nine minutes. Be ready."
Beast Boy sighed. Red pants were better than a puke green frock.
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Robin eased the pod to the ground in front of the grand building that was the Sklerch Hotel. If front of the enormous doors stood two large…Tameranians. What?
"Alyssa…" Robin said, "Those don't look like Sklerches."
She glanced out the window. Her eyes widened for a moment, "…Cripes."
"Alyssa!" Robin said dangerously, "What happened?"
She looked at him. Her face held confusion, "I-I…" Alyssa took a deep breath and prepared to say a phrase she very rarely spoke out loud, "I don't know."
"What?" Robin was speaking very loudly, "What do we do? Starfire's still in that hotel!"
Alyssa knew if she didn't keep calm, no one would, "Settle down, Robin. There must have been some inaccurate information published when I researched this hotel. I suppose it's possible that the Encyclopedia Galactica I read was out of date or…"
"It doesn't matter what you did wrong." Robin got up, "We're going to get Starfire back. Now."
"Robin, if we just barge in…"
"I don't care what happens." He looked down.
Alyssa opened her mouth to say something but suddenly decided against it. Instead, she let out a breath, "I have a plan."
Robin listened hopefully.
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The Tameranian guard known as Bulrow stood quietly, spear in hand, in front of the doors leading to the famous Sklerch hotel. Three figures came into view and he instantly stiffened.
As they drew closer, Bulrow could begin to make out the figure leading them. She was an Earthling who had ebony hair and sharp eyes. She took proud strides and he could tell already that she thought herself important.
The being on the right of her was an Ugl-yan. What's worse, it was a female. She was wearing a frumpy looking dress with a polka dotted bonnet. She was green, like all Ugl-Yans, but had oddly shaped ears. Bulrow wondered briefly if that was why she wore such a hideous bonnet, to attract attention to it instead of her ears.
The lad on the right of her was human, as she was, and seemed as though his hair had gotten into a fight with a norken and it's gooey teeth. He was wearing skin tight blue fabric and by the look of his beyond angry face, the fabric was probably riding up in places it should not.
The girl approached him with a sort of confidence he found in few Earthlings and, to his surprise, spoke some words in his language:
"Hesbad dorfn'r c-canshilt."
She could work on pronunciation and she stuttered a bit, but Bulrow understood her all the same, "Dosk bahee norkfel eln'r?"
She paused a few moments before answering, "Seldor morkdel bessoner krel."
Bulrow raised an eyebrow at this. In response to his question of "What is your business here?" she replied, "We come seeking obsessive pins."
"Rolk blor?" He asked, which meant, "Please repeat that."
"Bessoner krel." She said, "Shellep Komand'r releem."
Bulrow's eyebrow arched further at this. She had said "obsessive pins" again, then followed it up by saying, "Blackfire sent us."
When he said nothing she repeated herself.
"Bessoner krel. Bessoner krel, forlal kenda Tameran!"
That one translated to: "Obsessive pins. Obsessive pins, she was royalty of Tameran!"
Bulrow tried to piece together what she really meant. The only royalty they had at the hotel currently was Starfire…Blackfire's sister. Oh.
"Ah, bessanor kreel." He said out loud, speaking the proper word for "princess" to her. "Komand'r releem selk?"
"Kel." She said, relief painted painfully obvious on her facial expression.
She claimed Blackfire had sent them to check on Princess Starfire and Karras. He knew that the privacy the Sklerch Hotel promised was one of the highest ranking reasons organisms elected to stay there. This girl would not know of Starfire unless she was speaking the truth.
"Lefd'r tuh." He said, stepping aside. That had meant "Please proceed."
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Alyssa let out a breath after they had successfully made it inside the hotel. In all honesty, she wasn't completely sure her plan was going to work. In even more honesty, she hadn't really had that much of a plan. Starfire had taught her a bit of the Tameranian language and, with Alyssa's photographic memory, she had remembered nearly all of it.
The inside of the hotel was much like the halls Robin had seen on his last visit there. They were mostly white with swirls of pink and sometimes purple. The ceiling was very high up and several slot-machine looking things were positioned in the center of the floor.
A stick with at least ten arms looked up at them from one of the machines. It had one huge eye and made a screeching sound before scooting away towards a pair of doors on the opposite end of the room. An eerie silence followed once it was gone.
Alyssa broke the quiet without a thought, "Those are the sign in machines. Come."
Robin and Beast Boy followed her.
They reached the machine and Alyssa pulled a small cube out of her pocket. She placed it by a button on the machine and three small wires came out of it, poking at various buttons.
"What is that thing?" Beast Boy whispered.
"It's called a H.A.C." Alyssa said, "Hyper-active computer. Its primary function is, well, hacking. Most people will tell you it was developed by NASA, but what they don't know is that several very profound scientists actually brought it over from Russia to…"
"Alyssa," Robin said sternly, "Stay on task."
She looked like she was trying with extreme difficulty to keep from rolling her eyes. The wires from the HAC abruptly stopped moving and shot back into one of the faces of the cube. It blinked blue a few times, then beeped.
Alyssa smiled while looking at the small object in her hand, "How convenient." She said, "The sign in machines also provide a digital map for their guests."
Robin frowned, "So?"
"So, this is going to take much less than an hour."
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The trio was silent as they walked down one of the many empty halls in the hotel. There must have been forty doors in that hall.
Alyssa stared intently at the HAC, "The one at the end. I'm sure of it."
"Starfire's in there?" Robin asked.
There was little hesitation, "Yes."
Robin sprinted down the hall.
"Wait, Robin!" Alyssa tried to keep up, "Something might be…"
Robin broke down the door with one powerful sidekick. What he saw in that suite enraged him more than anything else ever had…
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Jen: Bwahahaha! I'm evil! Review please! See ya!