Chapter 1: Yay Team

A newly showered Starfire entered the main ops room, finding the main living room overhanging a massive pool that stretched to the window that overlooked the ocean. While the saltwater pool resided at the base of the Tower, this pool was about the same size and depth but full of chlorine and more fit for training exercises. Pool party friendly as well.

Cyborg had upgraded by merging the two smaller previous pools on the bottom deck and expanded the upper deck to not only be larger but include only the most basic party essentials: the most up to date sound systems, a laser light show, a disco ball (of course), and … pyrotechnics? Ok, so Bee hadn't allowed that, but the East Tower did get basically everything Cyborg dreamed of that Robin wouldn't allow at Jump.

The result? Titan East Tower was THE place for parties and get-togethers. Every month people came like clockwork, whether they were invited or not, on that last Saturday. Karaoke flowed freely, Titans danced with no inhibition, and alcohol was occasionally slipped into the punch, much to the disapproval of the teams' leaders. Sometimes, there were even themes that accompanied the event.

Starfire smiled as she saw the hidden disco ball hidden in the rafters above and then went to look over the edge of the overhang. She spotted Speedy in yellow shorts and Aqualad still in his uniform on the ledge by the deep end. He must have used the vertical water chamber that connected the saltwater and chlorine pools. The science on how the two types of water did not mix, she was not sure.

Aqualad now swam alongside Speedy and the small wave he had created, spotting him as Speedy prepared to transition from his stomach to his feet. He did so with ease, the wave being just a warmup. He took his shortboard and started turning tricks, little dips done with flare against the white crest of the wave and then an attempt at a 360. While getting great height, the landing suffered. He biffed it, a less than gracefully tumble into the water but still under some control.

Aqualad rolled his eyes and let the wave continue to the shallow end, him swimming back in the opposite direction as to be in a position to start again. Speedy resurfaced in a huff, his board bobbing next to him.

"Nice one, dingus," Aqualad taunted, already back at the start. "A little rusty, eh?"

"Hey, you should be talking! All your good for is making waves!" He swiftly remounted his board, paddling his way back to the deep end.

She watched on as they bantered, their relationship reminding her of a certain half-robot and green shapeshifter. An ache in her chest as she wondered what video game, food product, or other subjects they were arguing about today.

A splash in Aqualad's direction and a threat to stop the surf session that reverberated throughout the room brought Starfire back to the present.

"Fine, fine. Let's just go again," Speedy conceded, already pushing off the wall and his cupped hands pulling water to propel him forward.

Aqualad followed suit, this time casting a wave about five times the size of the previous. As the wave started to gain momentum, Aqualad disappeared to be part of the wave itself, being able to get a better view from within.

Speedy, wide-eyed, now looked behind him, picking up speed in his paddling and adjusted on the approach. Frantic arm movements came from Speedy as the wave lifted the back of his board and started to roll underneath at its very height. Speedy let at a 'whoop' as he dropped down, having to pop up onto his board and letting nature's roller coaster take control for a moment. The water began to curl above him as he fell, seeming to chase him as the wave now fulling connected at the bottom, forming a tunnel that threatened to engulf him.

He seemed to love the chase, an ecstatic grin a permanent fixture on his face as he glided through the crystal blue passageway, a hand extended to skim the surface. Aqualad swam in parallel, still within the solid wall of blue on Speedy's left, trying to keep up as Speedy raced through the passageway. Tightening and tightening, his opening was slipping away but with a last push and a bit of steering Speedy barely made in through the opening as the water collapsed in on itself.

Starfire released a breath she did not realize she had been holding.

Speedy maneuvered to the shallow end, tail whipping on his way. Giving a thumbs up to Aqualad and letting out another 'whoop', he flopped backwards into the remaining surf.

She watched as they went a few more times, the waves never getting as big as that second time. Speedy tried again to do more of the flips and spins, successfully landing two full spins in a row on a smaller set of swells.

Then it was Aqualad's turn. When he surfed, it was a spectacle. Using his powers to manipulate the water, he could not only form liquid into whatever shape he wished, but he could also make it so it propelled him forward, never losing momentum. Loop-the-loops that stretched towards the ceiling. Zigzags up and around the walls. Twists and turns that resembled a real roller coaster as he soared up and then under the water and back again. Some would be hard-pressed to call it surfing at all.

Speedy sat off to the side on his board, arms folded across his bare chest and his mask narrowed in mild irritation. "Show off," he mumbled.

Aqualad zoomed past him, tongue sticking out, and then arched the water up and over the platform above.

"Hey, Star!" he yelled and waved, having just spotted her, and then dipped out of sight again. His watery path slinked and sloped until he created a tunnel underwater and Starfire tracked with her eyes as he moved rapidly under surface.

"Don't you just love the way he moves?"

Starfire jumped as she turned to see a sighing Bumblebee leaning over the railing, her head positioned in one of her hands.

"Perhaps but… are you not attached to Cyborg?" Starfire questioned, not disagreeing as he now created a whirlpool, spinning gracefully around its vortex.

"Star, nothing wrong with looking. Just don't touch," she winked at her. "In a team full of boys, it's hard not to ogle occasionally. Besides, they're like brothers to me."

Starfire gave a heavy sigh, nodding. "I understand completely."

Bee gave her a sad smile, placing her hand on Starfire's shoulder. "Hey, I'm here if you need anything. I want to make this transition as easy as possible. Take your time."

"And I thank you, Bee. Everyone has been so accommodating," Starfire said sincerely, giving her a small smile.

"Some of us too accommodating," Bee said as she raised her eyebrows, remembering how Mas y Menos had lavished Starfire with kisses to her hand and barely left her side the first day, two lovesick puppies she called them.

Starfire giggled. "I'm just grateful to get some time to myself today."

"Yeah, well they have to recharge sometime. A daily siesta is just what they needed," Bee said as she turned her face to watch as Aqualad got swallowed up by the current of the whirlpool.

They watched as, eventually, Aqualad resurfaced next to a scowling Speedy, laying flat on his board.

"I should just use one of my ice arrows and see how good you are then gill face," Speedy remarked as he paddled his way to get out.

"Aww, don't be like that, man," Aqualad yelled after him. He then suddenly turned to look up at them both, rolling his eyes as if to say, 'look at this guy'. "Star and Bee, want to join? Water is fine."

Speedy turned then, expecting their answer as if noticing their appearance for the first time. His one hand toweled dried his hair to the ninth degree and the other hit his head to get the water out of his ear.

Starfire smiled down on both of them. "Perhaps another time! I have just refreshed. It does look like the amusing though!" she yelled back.

"Yeah, and we got training in ten!" Bee barked out. She flew up, hands on her hips. "On time please!"

"You got it, Mom!" Speedy shouted, giving a two-finger salute as he headed to the showers.

Bee fake scowled, yelling as he left the room, "That's Mother to you!"

A 'yes, mother' could be faintly heard as Bee just rolled her eyes and shook her head while Starfire giggled behind her hand.


Hot steam wafted around Starfire as another spray of water met her starbolt shield. Water, she had decided, was not her friend when it came to battle.

While she had been paired up with Bee and the twins, the team was assigned different tasks to complete in a 5-minute period. While Starfire was tasked with collecting rings attached to drones and the boys were to disable the controllers for them on the ground, both were thwarted by the nuisances of Aqualad and Speedy. Bumblebee was having slightly better luck with reaching the finish line; however, she was currently blocked by a crashing tsunami-sized wave.

"¡Necesitamos ayuda! ¡No podemos correr!" yelled Mas y Menos up to her as they slid away on a thick sheet of ice created by a combo of a blasting arrow and flooding of the room. She watched as they ping-ponged down the sides of the training room back to the start.

Starting to fly in their direction, she was stopped as a barrage of soft tip arrows and waterspouts got in her way. Dodging to barely miss them, the two boys snickered on the ground, having too much fun in their game. Where with the original Titans she could rely a lot on her strength, she was soon finding out that agility and quick thinking were much needed with the Titans East.

"You are so dead," Speedy taunted from below. He pulled back on his bow, aiming at her dead center.

An 'eep' escaped her and she, wide-eyed, dropped her flight as soon as he released. She held her breath as she heard the arrow hum barely past her head.

"Damn," Speedy barely said to himself. "She's a slippery one." Pulling his arm back to find another arrow, he barely had time to react as she hurled a fury of starbolts on him. Spinning the bow above him, he lessened their blows as the smoke from their blast lingered.

Coughing, Speedy emerged from the cloud only to be met with eye beams to the feet. Literally trying to dance out of the way, he barely got an arrow off in her general direction before falling backward, which made the barrage stop momentarily.

"Dance, monkey, dance!" Aqualad laughed out at him, running by on the sidelines as he continued to chase Bee with a wave.

"Oh, shut up would you!" Speedy shouted, still on his back. "Stupid, worthless, piece of—" he muttered as he regained his stance, now thoroughly pissed off. He eyed the sky for Starfire until he landed on her cutting a path for Mas y Menos through the ice with her eye beams, them close to disabling a controller. Instead of taking aim right there, he ran then edged around the wall to where her back was turned.

Starfire, deeply concentrated in her work, relaxed as the young speedsters unlocked their third and almost final controller.

And then, an arrow hit Starfire squarely in the back of the head.

"Dead," the sharpshooter deadpanned and sang. "Dead, dead, dead." He stood there with a hand on his hip, a decidedly stupid half-smile on his face while the alien turned around to face him, seething.

She looked over as a time penalty was added to their timer, 20 seconds taken off for her mistake, and now less than a minute left to go. "Enough of this," Starfire stated calmly but deadly. She landed on the training room's floor with a thud, leaving a crack that split through the ice as she eyed him with malice. "Let us end this."

It was then that Speedy knew he made a mistake.

"Um… dude? Can I get some help over here?" he called over to Aqualad frantically as he steadied his bow and immediately reached for more firepower.

Aqualad took his eyes off Bee momentarily to only have them widened at Starfire's expression. "Sorry, bud. You're on your own."

As Aqualad skated off to ward off Mas y Menos from their final controller and Bee from the finish line, Speedy didn't have time to make a snarky remark as he barely ducked a green bolt aimed for his head.

Standing up from his knees, he barely recovered as Starfire was now in striking distance, slamming both her arms over him. Bow shaking over his head, he puffed out air in relief seeing that it had held while Starfire reached back to swing again. Saving his poor arms from another beating, Speedy quickly stuck his leg out, connecting to hers as she let out a yelp and he swept to knock both of them down. Hitting the ground, it was a wrestling match as one claimed a spot on top of the other and vice versa, both hands woven in each other's as they battled for possession. Once gaining the upper hand from above, Speedy smirked, pinning both her hands above her.

"See, if you just wanted to get under me you just had to—"

Righteous fury and an eye beam directly in the face, Speedy was launched as Starfire threw him directly over her, not before snatching a particular arrow from his quiver and rolling as to land on her knees.

Speedy landed as well but not as gracefully as his face slid across the ice, backside up in the air. Starfire ignored his remark about his 'money maker' being ruined as he cradled his face and flew straight up. Seeing Bee running towards her with Aqualad swimming within it, she gripped the arrow and threw it forward. It flew true as it connected with the wave, freezing poor Aqualad inside.

Bee winked at Starfire, making a tight turn to the finish while Starfire beelined for the twins, scorching their final path. As the controllers fell, so did the drones, making it easy for her sonic speed to pick out the rings as the final alarm sounded.

"Victory!" Starfire called as Mas y Menos launched themselves at her while Bee flew to them, grinning and shaking her head.

"Way to go, Star. Way to put these boys in their place," Bee said, high-fiving her through the hugs she was receiving.

"Si, muy buena mi amor," the twins said, hearts appearing in their eyes.

A disgruntled Speedy then appeared, hands folded across his chest and a singe mark around his mask. He had with him a sulking Aqualad in tow, freed with a heat arrow. "Hey! That's not fair! A shot to the face, Bee? Since when is that allowed?"

"A head shot for a head shot, or do you not remember who started it?" Starfire said as she eyed him carefully, mirroring his demeanor and stance.

He reared his head, ready for an argument when Bee interjected.

"Aww, don't get your hair in a fluff, Speedy. You're just mad because Star kicked your butt," she retorted, giving her a sly smile and offering another high five.

Speedy huffed, stalking past the group to the locker room. Aqualad, giving a shrug and meek wave, followed behind him. "Good job, you guys!" he yelled, turning back around to console his butt-hurt friend.

Starfire looked after him, wondering just what the problem was.

"Don't worry about him, Star. He's… just Speedy. It's not you."

But it did worry her. As she watched the door slam after him and she entered the elevator to reach her floor, she thought about how she had never had someone that did not like her, especially on the Titans network. What if she had messed up having only been here one week? What if his comments, while rude, were just a way to deal with her inclusion to the team? And if they were not a team, what were they?