"For the last time Garth, Jade and I didn't do anything!" the red hair archer grunted loudly at the Atlantean.
"Oh sure, and Rosie O' Donnell likes guys!" The black eyed tempest retorted.
"I really wish they wouldn't be so flaming about their homosexuality." Argent said to Pantha from across the rooftop from the quarrelling pair.
"Why, you some kinda homophobe? Y'know they say that means you're only in the closet yourself." Pantha joked.
"Are you hitting on me girl?" Argent twisted her friend's words.
"Shut up." Pantha smiled.
"Just tell me this Roy, which do you like better? Hotdogs or Tacos?"
Pantha and her pale friend proceeded to vomit over the edge of the roof and ran to the elevator.
H
A young couple laid on a blanket lying on a snowy knoll on Titan's island overlooking the sparkling morning day. Cool mist blew up from the sandy, golden shore up to the knoll and onto the pair of entwined youths. To the two it felt like a refreshing tickle rather than a chilling breeze due to the heat they were, quite passionately, creating.
Pink hair, pale skin, cat eyes and reddish brown locks, deep blue eyes, and a winning smile… though at the time the smile was busy dancing with another.
One dance of lips and tongue parted into two glowing smiles.
The eclectic euphonies of paradise in the sighs of the lovers.
"So, you still feeling last night's effects?" Jinx purred softly into Wally's neck.
"Yea, you know that aroma therapy you do turns me on," Jinx gave him a look that said, 'Quite being a smartass, smartass.' "Oh wait. You mean the fight? Nah, I'm cool." Wally jested easily as he held the pink sorceress close to his body in a warm hug.
And the pink girl curled up purring on his lithe muscles.
Two heroes lay on the snowy knoll in perfect harmony.
"So…. You wanna do something freaky?"
"Don't make me hurt you, Wally."
"Gotcha."
HCyborg walked down the hallways and corridors of Titans Tower with odd commonness for what was an elaborate maze of metal, mechanics, glass window, and doors.
He hummed a little song to himself as he navigated the labyrinth with ease only a person who memorized the blueprints could posses. Of course it helped that he had them stored in a memory file and that his systems were tied into the Tower's circuitry, but that's all besides the point.
Cyborg soon came to a stop in front of a door. It was a plain door. Just like any other door in the Tower. But there was something different about this door. This door was special.
Very special indeed.
Cyborg held this door in loving regard that no other being ever held for any other door in existence. Which despite being a completely absurd statement is one hundred percent true.
A warm glow and a goofy grin play across Victor's face as he pushed open the door, stepped inside the pitch-black room, reached over blindly and turned on the lights, and looked at his baby.
"Oh man, oh man. After that long day yesterday, I could really use some relaxation." Victor spoke obsessively to the car.
"…" the T-Car responded.
Victor opened the door and put in his 'Country Grammar' CD, as he hadn't listen to it for a while, and turned up the volume.
He went off around the garage for a moment to gather his buffering tools, as his baby had a few scuffmarks on it from yesterday.
He stopped in mid-step.
…
He turned around towards his baby.
…
He swept the distance between them and bear hugged the hood of his car.
"Baby, you are so… damn… kickass!" The six foot five, four hundred pound cybernetic black man cooed like a schoolgirl.
Then, from the doorway that had been left open by the hasty Titan, "HAH! Cyborg's in love with his car!" Beast Boy shouted.
Cyborg shot up, embarrassed, "Whu-what? What'ryou doin' you little grass stain?"
"What am I doing? What are you doing, man? If I hadn't spoke up you probably would have started dry humping your damn ride, Cy!" Beast Boy said with great pleasure.
Cyborg was now embarrassed and angry, "You belligerent little snot-wad, I simply have affection for something I created! Besides, I ain't like that!"
"Uh-huh, suuure."
"Well… at least I'm not the one got caught reading Vogue!"
"Whatever…. Carhumper."
"… You motherbitch, I'm gonna kick yo' scrawny green ass!"
"AAAAH! ROBIN! CYBORG'S TRYING TO KILL ME AGAIN!"
"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET SON! WHY YOU CRYING?"
"AAAAAHHH!"
"BOO-YAH!"
H"OOOoooooiiiiiiiiihHIYA! CUWOW! KIYAI!" Robin let out his battle cries as he sparred with a large mechanical training android. However, today Robin was more just having fun than training. This was apparent as Robin was in a simple white training gi… and he and the android were doing a move for move recreation of the fight between Bruce Lee and Kareem Abdul Jahbar.
Starfire giggled and cheered from the sidelines of the gym, as she understood what was happening. The alien angel was also quite pleased by the Boy Wonder's purposefully exaggerated theatrics and battle cries.
A few minutes later and the fight was over, and Robin had started to sweat.
And everything looked to be OK, but it wasn't.
"Glorious, Robin!" Starfire giggled innocently, "You have most precisely and satirically reenacted the fight! … Robin?"
Robin, who hadn't spoken since the fight's abrupt end, stood still staring at the ground. He started to swayed back and forth, and then fell to the gym mat with a thud.
"R-Robin?" Starfire said with a little more concern in her voice as she flew over to his fallen body and turn him over in her lap. He didn't move. He didn't even breathe.
And Starfire was freaking out, "Robin? Robin! Robin!" the Tamaranean began shaking the limp body with worried fervor as her heart skipped beats at a time.
And a mischievous grin placed itself on the edges of the Boy Wonder's lips.
Starfire instantly realized what the Boy Wonder was doing, and dropped Robin onto the floor and folded her arms. "That was not funny, Robin."
The currently uncapped crusader rolled over, laughing, and smiled to Starfire, "Ah, c'mon Kori, it was just a joke! I was just messing around."
Kori closed her eyes and turned up her nose with a 'hmph'.
A moment of silence…
…
Seeing as how Kori's eyes were closed the kiss was quite unexpected.
"Mmm!" the alien princess's eyes open with a start as the now unmasked Tim stole a kiss off her lips.
She pulled away with a start, "No, Tim! I am angry with you and your inappropriate behavior." She cutely pouted and turned her sitting position so that her back was to the blue-eyed Prince of Gotham.
Tim, on hands and knees, shirtless, maskless, and sweating from the exercise, looked dumbfounded for a moment and the pouting Kori.
Her long fiery hair, her partially exposed back of soft, tan flesh. The pleasing curves hidden under her skirt.
He gave a sly smirk to the back of Kori's head as he leaned forward, put his mouth by her ear and whispered, "If you're angry with me, why are you still sitting here?"
She huffed a little and fidgeted in annoyance, "Well, Timothy…"
…
She turned and tackled him playfully in the blink of an eye. She smiled her own sly smile with sparkling green eyes as she pressed her young and well proportioned body against him, "… I guess I want to teach you a lesson in behavior myself."
The Gotham Prince stared wide-eyed at the beautiful Tamaranean Princess atop him, "Uh… teach away? Heh."
She put her leg up against his crotch slowly and pushed her chest down further onto him as she put her lips a fraction of a centimeter away from his, "Oh… I shall." she whispered, green eyes half lidded.
Tim was now sweating for another reason altogether, and he went up for a kiss.
… To have his lips met with cold, unsatisfying air.
In confusion he opened his blue eyes to see Kori up off him, and slowly floating out of the gym, "You will take me out tonight for dinner and a movie to make up for your rude behavior, yes?" she asked innocently.
Tim was in absolutely shock and awe, all he could say was, "Y-yea."
"Glorious! I shall witness you then." She giggled sweetly as she floated out of the training room, more sugary than a lollipop.
And the Boy Wonder was left smelly as locker room, hormonally disappointed, tired, with a lot of preparation to do, and just generally stupefied.
HA handsome blonde headed young man walked down a long corridor in the tower. A slightly shaggy yet very well kept haircut bounced up and down as the young man stepped with the beat of the song blaring from his headphones.
Jericho mutely mouthed along with the lyrics.
'And if time's elimination Then we got nothing to lose Please repeat the message It's the music that we choose'He lowered his hand down to a faded scar on his throat and rubbed it lightly, making the small soreness in his throat ease.
The Titan clad in a white t-shirt and blue jeans came to stop in front of a door that opened with a soft whir.
Jericho entered the Main Room of Titans Tower.
He continued to mutely sing the chorus,
'Get the cool! Get the cool shoeshine! Get the cool! Get the cool shoeshine!'"Hey, Joey." Raven's sweet voice penetrated the blaring music of Gorillaz.
The tow-head turn off his CD player and set it down, the he ran over and jumped onto the couch right beside the mystic maiden, he then hand-signed, 'Hi Raven.'
The gaze from her striking eyes lifted from the pages of her novel and onto Joey's warm features.
Ever chivalrous, or so he liked to pretend from time to time, the hazel eyed Titan hand signed, 'So, feeling better? Or are you still feeling last night's effects?'
She blinked and replied evenly, "My head feels fine, Joseph. Though it is kind of you to ask." And her gaze returned to her book.
The air turned a little bit cooler around the area of the couch.
…
A moment of silence.
…
Joey made a bold move by putting his arm softly around Raven's shoulders.
The mystic girl tensed for just a moment and Joey thought he had made the biggest mistake of his life… but Raven soon relaxed and Joey let out a mute sigh.
Her small, pale hands delicately closed her book, much to Jericho's surprise.
And then, a defining moment in the history of the world; Raven turned her pretty head, exotic hair swishing, and she leaned up and planted a light kiss right on Joey's lips.
The air around the couch instantly turned noticeably warmer.
Joey and Raven both turned three different shades of red as their embarrassed but caring gazes met.
…
A moment of warm, flustered silence…
Raven was the first to speak, not that it really could have happened any other way, "Joey. I-I told you yesterday that, I talk with you more than I can talk to anyone else, in a way I've never talked to anyone else… and, after catering to me all day yesterday and taking care of me after we got attacked, I th-think you should know… I- I trust you Joey." Raven looked at him, a smile on her face. Eyes shining with emotion, happiness, and maybe something more.
Joey's eyes went wide, and even if blonde boy had the organs with which to speak, he wouldn't have had the ability.
Raven gave small giggle and rested her small head in the crook of his shoulder and stared out the window. The bay had it's misty frost, the bridge was covered in a light coat of fresh white snow. Some of the buildings in town already had their Christmas and Hanukah decorations up and lights dotted the city, despite it only being December twelfth.
Raven felt uncharacteristically safe, warm, and happy there in Jericho's arm, she closed her eyes and smiled, taking in the moment.
And Jericho felt sick to his stomach as the snow and cold mixed with the heat and trust of the girl leaning on him. Her words rang clearly in his head along with images of pictures hidden in his room and of meetings with his father the other night.
"I- I trust you Joey."
"First name basis? Heh, Raven… it appears Joey's old Wilson charm works even on half-demoness."
"Y'know, Joey, I only talk this long to the other four founding Titans."
"The main symbol in the summoning was the Mark of Scathe!"
"Sorry I called you annoying, Joey." She joked, and nuzzled her head into him.
'And, Slade as my dad? Come on, Raven. Do think that could even be a remote possibility?'
"Y-your right Joey. I don't know what I was- but it was so vivid." Raven sighed.
"I- I trust you Joey."
Joey's pulse was beating faster than was healthy as he began to sweat. His intestines tied themselves in a painful knot and did backflips, he felt like he was going to throw up with the fear of the truth and losing Raven's trust, and maybe more.
But after the way she reacted in the study…he didn't want her to have pain like that again if he could find another way to stop this.
"Mmmm…" Raven sighed from the crook in Joey's arm. Her breaths came soft and even, she was sleeping.
Joey closed his mind's eye and put his two hazel ones on the slumbering Raven, and for a moment he too was one with the city's holiday spirit. The joviality thru-out the tower, the warmth and safety that this poor abused girl who was so brave as to fight against her own destiny.
And his love settled over him for a time, comforting him.
But in the back of his mind, the picture of a summoning circle with the mark of Scathe appeared. He pushed it away with the scent of Raven's hair.
He put his head on hers and let his line of sight wander over the pleasant curves of the sleeping mystic, and soon the warmth swam over him and the two were fast asleep.
And a scene of warm, golden silence held reign over the Main Room, as it continued to snow on the peaceful city just outside the window.
Somewhere in the crisp, snowy mourning, silver bells rang…
And the sky itself seemed to smile…
H
Just outside a warehouse in Grimm City, about 60 miles away from the Titan's City, a group of thugs talked with themselves as they stood watch over a drug deal inside the warehouse.
"And so then she said, 'Bathroom? That way!'"
"Oh man! No she didn't!"
"That's hilarious!"
"HAHAHA! That's a riot!"
Atop the warehouse a figure stood in crimson silence. Tall, muscular, red skin in black robes from the waist down, a bald head with two pointed ears, and four red glowing eyes.
He snarled loudly and jumped down in a flash of claws, fire, smoke, and blood.
And soon only one of the guards wasn't strewn across the exterior of the warehouse in little, soggy pieces.
The survivor looked at the beast in horror, "Who-what- ARE YOU!"
The creature glared at the thug with four flashing eyes of red, "I am a vessel for Scathe's wrath, his avatar in this world, and a harvester of human souls, like your pathetic self."
The drug dealers from inside the warehouse busted out of the door, guns drawn, "'Eh, what's going on out he-OH MY GOD!"
The demon turned his head with a smile, "Not, exactly." and with a flash of his four red eyes the drug dealers were consumed in hellfire and fell to the snowy ground of Grimm City as ashes.
A small wet spot formed in the crotch of the still surviving thug's pants as the avatar of Trigon brought his gaze back on the criminal, "I have one question for you, mortal… which way to Titans' Tower?"
The now sobbing thug's shaky finger rose and pointed to the west.
Trigon-incarnate snarled and sneered, then he turned back to the thug, optics flashing red and flame, ashes pouring out of his eyes, "Thanks for the directions… and oh, before I send you to Hell, which is where you'll be going by the way, I want to tell you one thing."
"Y-y-y-eee-e-ss?" The thug whimpered.
"I saw that episode you were talking about earlier. 'Bathroom? That way!' HAH! Those guys are genius!"
"Uh, y-eah. They are."
"Ahaha… oh well. Have fun with eternal damnation!" and the thug was incinerated in an instant.
And the demon leapt into the air towards the Titans Tower…
Towards Raven… and towards him.
