Absolute Genius
Part Two
Beast Boy was positive he had never seen anything so beautiful in his whole life. She was ample, slender, statuesque… and she was gorgeous. He forgot who he was, why he was standing where he was and why there was an extra twenty pounds holding down his frame. He stared at her, noticed her eyes, even though they didn't notice him. Her long, dark red hair swayed gently with the slight tightening of her fingers around a strap clutching tightly across her chest. She was tall, easily six feet even without her high-heeled, light-grey boots.
Beast Boy could tell from his position, roughly ten feet away, that her light brown skin was flawless and if she would have smiled at that moment he would have died. He stood helpless as she placed the case she was carrying in her left hand on the floor, freeing it so she could press her trim fingers against a beautifully slender hip.
"Excuse me," She's got the voice of an angel! Outside Beast Boy stood, struck dumb, inside his heart was jump kicking his rib cage. "I am looking for Robin, could you direct me to him?"
Beast Boy's face vaulted. Of course… "Yeah, he's in the common room. I can show you the way." Beast Boy dropped the piece of dry wall into the trash pile and turned to lead the beautiful guest to the common room.
The red head pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She looked obviously displeased. "Aren't you going to ask who I am? Is this how the security lapse occurred last week?"
Beast Boy felt a tremor run up his spine, turning back to look at her. It was then that he realized what that strap across her chest was attached to. A dark gray case, maybe six feet long, slanted at the same angle as the strap. A brief case and a huge duffle bag were on either side of her. Their color matched her dark gray skirt.
"Uh, right. I'm Beast Boy and you are?"
"I'm the agent from the AGU. I'm here to audit and evaluate your technological systems and networking infrastructure."
"Um, I have no idea what you just said, but I can still take you to Robin." Beast Boy ran to her side and lifted her duffle bag, surprised by how heavy it was. The beautiful older girl bent down and retrieved her brief case. "This way." Beast Boy directed the agent to the common room. When the door slid open and the pair walked in, Speedy and Aqualad froze in place, jaws dropped and hearts throbbing.
"Robin doesn't seem to be here." The red head noticed. Speedy and Aqualad sagged in defeat.
Of course she's here for Robin. The two thought in unison. They watched as the red head dropped her briefcase on the round table and opened it, pulling out a silver mini-computer and placing a red, glass like device over her right eye. Her fingers flew over the computer keys as she turned the device at different angles.
"What are you doing?" Beast Boy asked, unable to read the code that flew across the computer, to be honest, the yellow coding flying across the red glass over the agent's eyes worried him. He didn't know technology, but he knew what didn't look good.
"I'm doing a diagnostic scan on the condition of Titans' Tower. The AGU is very concerned about the safety of the Titans and the maintenance of your network."
"AGU?" Aqualad asked.
"Armed Guards Union."
The small group turned towards the new entrant. The red-haired agent smiled at the sight of Robin. Beast Boy fell over.
"Robin, it's good to see you again."
"You too, Celine. Titans, this is Celine Fletcher, she's a colonel in the Armed Guards Union, special division of defensive engineering and technology. Celine, this is Beast Boy, Aqualad and Speedy."
"Pleasure." Celine said softly.
"Yes, ma'am." The three Titans replied. Celine continued, trying her best to shake off their lustful gazes. She stood in front of them and with one finger repositioned their jaws to their upper lips. It did nothing to erase the look from their eyes. She ignored them and turned her eyes back to Robin.
"I'm sure you know why I am here Robin. The Justice League is rather concerned with this breach of security. And with you as an acting agent for the AGU, you can see why we are getting involved as well."
Robin rubbed the back of his head. "I figured you'd show up sooner or later. Can you brief me on the details of your assignment?"
Celine sat down on the table with the micro computer still in her hand. Her white vest rustled a little against the white and blue shirt she wore underneath. "The heads of the AGU and Justice League connection sent me here for two reasons: First, your defensive system is due for its mandatory update, it's been two years since we installed your systems. We want to install any new security features as well as networking upgrades. It just so happens that your recent attack fell within the range of your appointment. The attack brought to our attention how poor our correspondence has been. We apologize."
"It's just as much my fault as anyone's. I have an obligation to my team to keep everything up to standard."
"Hmm. I'm probably going to have to do a total overhaul, given the extent of the damage done." Celine removed the glass device from over her eye and laid it on the mini-computer. "I will remain here until the updates are beyond excellent."
"We'd greatly appreciate your assistance in any way Celine. Your specialization in strategy and engineering could help us inside the Tower and out."
"When I set up my system," Celine said, crossing her left ankle gently over the right, "I'll become invaluable.
"Celine, what's that?" Beast Boy asked, pointing to the grey case still attached to her back.
"Oh, that's my Fire Fly."
"Fire Fly?"
Celine leapt off the table and laid her case gently down before opening it. The grey case exposed a silver energy bazooka¹. There were blue sections and tube-like extensions running along the cylinder, a scoot was folded over, it looked heavy and Celine carried it with ease across her back.
"I'm an engineer by trade, my favorite specialization is ballistics. I built this sonic rifle for long range combat, though I usually sit behind a computer and give orders. If I help the Titans in battle, I will probably do if from my control post… But there is a reason why a brought the Fire Fly."
"Why is that?"
"Blood." Celine sneered.
"Blood? As in Brother Blood?" Beast Boy asked. Celine nodded, closing the Fire Fly case. It was the first time they had seen her confident shoulders sag.
"Brother Blood recently moved to the top of the AGU's list of most wanted criminals. He also remains our most elusive target."
"We've had our share of encounters with Blood." Robin stated.
"Oh? Our files seem to be out of date on your activities. We had heard Blood had been making his mark in Jump, we scouted out the HIVE academy, but again he slipped through our fingers. Blood is as dangerous a criminal as there is, its not just that he's doing such horrible crimes, but whom he's doing them to." Celine gritted. It had been the only mission she ever failed. Not now Celine… you'll get him… You have to… Celine retrieved her computer and continued her scan, ending the conversation where it was.
"You've done a good job with the cosmetic repairs." Celine stated to no one in particular.
"So Celine, if you fight crime and everything, how come you're in the Armed Union, not you know, a super hero for the Justice League?" Beast Boy asked.
"There's technically nothing super about me. But I'm pretty close. The reason the AGU was built was so that those who were exceptional, like Robin² and myself, could take a role in the defense of our world. The AGU works as a subunit of the Justice League, utilizing our skills for the better interest of the world. I'm really a strategist as far as battles go. I can defend myself in combat, but I'm best behind a computer giving orders. I'm the perfect circle, hence my handle OMICRON. I can see all within my circle of vision… Actually, my boyfriend gave the name to me…"
Three of the four Titans in the room sighed. "Oh course a beautiful girl like Celine has a boyfriend."
"You know," Speedy began, jerking a thumb in Celine's direction, "Celine and metal man have a lot in common. They should meet."
"You're right… He's probably still working on the network reconfiguration."
"Your technician? I would very much like to meet him."
The door to the common room slid open and Aqualad was the first to turn. "Oh, there he goes. Cyborg! We want you to meet…"
Celine turned to look at the new occupant of the common room. It's apparent from the look on her face that she's looking at the most beautiful thing she's ever seen.
Celine stood stupefied for a moment before a name escaped her lips in a whisper, "V… Victor?"³
Cyborg's blue eye widened in surprise. "Celine?"
Robin had never seen someone move as fast as Celine did. One moment she was by his side, the next she was in Cyborg's arms, her arms around his neck, pressing a deep kiss to his lips. He blushed and turned away as Cyborg's large hands wrapped themselves with love and care around her slender waist.
Beast Boy was the first to recover from his stun. "Whoa, Celine! Wait a second! I know you like technological things, but you said you have a boyfriend!"
Cyborg seemed to register Beast Boy's words before Celine did and pulled back from the girl. Her brown eyes took in his blue one as a hand was laid gently on his chest. Cyborg touched the shell clip in Celine's hair and the younger girl leaned into the caress.
"I had almost given up hope of finding you Vic… I…"
"Celine… no…" Without another word Cyborg let the girl go and turned to flee the room. Celine dropped to her knees where she was, doing her best not to cry.
"Um… What just happened?" Speedy asked, standing in a line of confused Titans.
Beast Boy left the line and stood beside Celine. "You okay?" Celine said nothing and the rest of the Titans didn't know what else to do. Beast Boy put a hand on her shoulder and wasn't surprised when she didn't move.
"Where do you think he went?" Celine asked in a weak voice.
"I don't know… I've never seen him act like that. Celine, maybe we should take you to your room… err, do we have a place she can stay?" Beast Boy asked.
"Most of the guest rooms are uninhabitable. Normally I suggest she stay with Star, but…" Robin frowned for a moment. "That only leaves one room left." Robin turned his eye to Beast Boy and Beast Boy knew exactly what room that was. He sucked in a breath and smiled weakly. "Come on Celine, I can show you to where you'll be staying."
Celine sighed and stood up, brushing herself off. She had hoped her reunion with Victor would have turned out better. I just hoped it would be good… I… I have to get him to understand… I will give this everything I've got…
…
Starfire helped Raven settle back into her room. Afterwards she flew into the common room and met Celine shortly after. At roughly dinner time, her favorite show came on and Robin gave up the remote to let her watch it. Robin would rather saw his foot off than watch World of Fungus, but for the day and any other days that followed; he'd ignore the out and out boringness of the program to make Starfire smile again.
When a commercial blared for something or other, Robin turned to the green-eyed Tameranian. He felt… he didn't exactly know what he felt. The last few weeks, since Slade was back, since the incident with Val-Yor, and even their last clash with Blood and the betrayal of Terra, the Titans had been changing. It made him sad, angry, happy, nervous and confused amongst all things. He knew he was silly for expecting things to stay the same forever, he knew better than anyone could have guessed how quickly the universe could tilt and throw you into a new world.
"Starfire, something is bothering you… are you still upset about your birthday?"
Starfire sunk into the chair, Robin's quick grab prevented her from falling through the couch.
"It is more than that… I… am sick for my home. I have not seen Tameran or even my sister in a very long time. My flochort reminded me just how very far away the planet Earth and my home are."
Robin wanted to pretend that Star had said "her planet" and not "her home". But she had, this was more than homesickness. This was… lost.
"Starfire, you are home. I can only image your feeling of homesickness, maybe we could take a trip soon."
Star shook her head. "That would be too selfish of me. The tower requires our attention." Starfire stood and made to walk out the room.⁴ Robin grabbed her wrist and pulled her to sit back down. He pushed a little hair from her face and smiled the smile that was just reserved for her. "The World of Fungus is on marathon today. You've done enough work for the rest of our lives. We'll start up work again when Celine gets settled."
Starfire's smile wasn't as dazzling as he had seen it before, but it was a smile and he would take it. Raven entered the common room during hour three of the World of Fungus marathon. She clinched her cloak together, seeing the two as they were. Robin turned his head after catching the dark energy wrap around a pillow at his side. He didn't move his arm, he didn't want to upset Starfire. He smiled to the other girl and returned to being painfully uninterested in the narrator describing the difference between true fungi and oomycetes. ⁵
Raven said nothing and thought nothing for a moment. There was nothing to say or think. Before coming into the room, she had cut her hair back. She needed to meditate and had come to the common room to do it. She knew it was silly, but she changed her mind. Raven walked out the room and headed for the roof.
…
The truth of the matter was Beast Boy had lied to Celine. He knew exactly where Cyborg had gone, and for that matter, so had the other Titans. They each had chosen to say nothing, realizing they were dealing with something that Cyborg had catalogued as his past, which meant they had no privileges to it. The day came and went without so much as a sighting of the mechanical Titan. The other Titans did their best not to mention, think of or in anyway act like Cyborg in Celine's general vicinity.
Speedy and Aqualad followed Celine's directions and unloaded her belongings from the back of her jeep. She had failed to mention there was a Timber wolf in the front seat. Their cries of shock didn't seem to phase the beast. A sharp whistle rolled through the air and the blue-haired beast leapt from the jeep and into the tower following his master's call. The blue dog knocked Beast Boy over in its hurried entrance to Ter.. to Celine's new room. Celine laughed behind her hand.
"I am sorry Beast Boy. Loberos⁶ is excitable. Loberos sit." The blue dog sat calmly in front of Beast Boy. Beast Boy stuck out a hand to pet the dog. "No! Don't! Loberos doesn't like other people!" Celine warned.
Beast Boy smirked. "I'm not other people." Beast Boy transformed into a Labrador and bumped Loberos affectionately. The blue wolf yipped in happiness. Beast Boy resumed form and petted the happy Loberos. Celine smiled, unsure of what to think of Beast Boy. She turned her back to the pair and continued to hang plaques along the desert sky background. Beast Boy gave one more pat to the handsome dog before taking a look at Celine's work. The black framed plaques didn't quite match the desert background, but that was really none of his concern…
"Wow, you're really smart. Masters in Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Biological Engineering…"
"You forgot Mechanical and Aerospace. I've got a Masters in every Engineering field and a Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering." Celine said triumphantly.
"Umm, how old are you?"
"Seventeen. Why?"
Beast Boy sunk to the floor in a green pile of goo. "I'm fifteen and I have tutoring at Jump U every Thursday night."
"Well, Engineering and Mathematics are my strong points. Yours are your abilities and using them to help the citizens of Jump stay safe. Not every fifteen year old can do that."
"I guess you're right… So Celine, I know that you're probably going to be really busy and have other things that you need to think about, but I was wondering if you could take some time to think about something."
"This sounds very serious coming from you Beast Boy… What is it?"
"You do biological engineering, which is life… Earlier this year, something happened to a very good friend of mine… The girl whose room this is…"
"Beast Boy… I can't bring people back from the dead. That's not how…"
"No, no, no. That's not it!" Beast Boy interrupted. "She isn't dead, Cyborg said so. She's in a suspended state and we've been looking for a way to reverse the effect. So far, we haven't found anything, but since you're here and you're smart, maybe after you help with the computers, you can try to help her."
Celine didn't say anything for a moment and Beast Boy didn't wait for her reply. Celine's brow clenched as she watched Beast Boy pet Loberos once before leaving. The door slid closed, Beast Boy collapsed against the wall and Celine sat down and rubbed Loberos under the chin.
"I've been here two days and I've witnessed more heartbreak than a cheap romance novel. What have these Titans woven here?" Celine asked, looking into Loberos' silver eyes. Loberos dropped his head in Celine's lap. Celine sighed and thought for a moment. What am I going to say to him, when I finally have him in my sights?
End of Part Two
A/N
¹I took the idea for the weapon from Star Ocean 2, Opera carries a huge rifle weapon called a Fire Fly. I modified it, but I really liked the name.
²I've had this argument a million times. Technically, Robin, Batman and Batgirl aren't superheroes. They aren't super, they're exceptional. But Batman is my favorite comic book hero, so while Robin will be a member of the AGU, Batman (if mentioned) will be a member of the Justice League.
³ Identity has always been a big thing with Cyborg. I'm going to keep playing with his insecurity without diving too much into his past, except where Celine is concerned.
⁴ My favorite thing about Starfire is that her feelings guide her powers.
⁵I study Plant Science, if you don't know what an oomycete is, you aren't the only one.
⁶Loberos: Lo-bear-oas