For the next few days, Speedy left the tower at seven in the morning and took the T-car with him. He went to the Steel City Girl's Orphanage and picked up Rain, brought her to school, hung out back at the tower until three o'clock and then left to pick her up and bring her back to the orphanage. Or that's what he told the team. Bumblebee was still suspicious. How was it that all of a sudden he was spending all of his time away from the team and with some girl he just happened to meet? Mas y Menos even knew that something was up. Aqualad wasn't worried. The team had fought some Hive students at a bank robbery just the other day and Speedy was there to help. "If he's helping out and not skipping out on missions, why worry?"
Speedy entered the tower one afternoon after dropping Rain off at the orphanage. Bumblebee and Aqualad were tidying up the tower with Mas y Menos. Speedy came in whistling and spinning the keys around his index finger. Bumblebee glared at him. "What?" he asked.
"How many times do I have to tell you? The T-car isn't a limo!" she complained, "Not a bus or taxi either!" Speedy scoffed.
"I'm doing her a favor." He simply replied.
"You like this girl don't you?"
"What? No! I already told you, she's just a friend."
"She could be a villain in disguise!"
"Of course she isn't!" and then they just glared at each other.
"You'd better be at the party tonight!"
"Of course I'll be there!" Speedy reassured her.
"And you'd better be there on time!" and with that Speedy walked off. But he turned around and spoke again.
"Why do you hate her so much? You don't even know her! If you got to know her, you'd like her."
"I don't want to get to know her, Speedy. I just want all the members on my team to stay focused and not get distracted." Speedy just walked away out of frustration.
Later that night in Jump City, Titans West were having their party. All the titans from all over the world were there. The room was packed and music was blasting. There were refreshments and snacks on tables, huge speakers all over the room. The beat was pounding on everyone's chest as they all danced. Everyone was having a great time, but there was only one problem…Speedy wasn't there. Bumblebee was pacing back and forth as Aqualad stood next to her and munched on a piece of pizza. Mas y Menos were gobbling down all the junk food they could. Robin walked over to them. "Where's Speedy?" he asked.
"I don't know." Bumblebee replied. "He said he'd be here."
"He disappeared just a little while before we left, and he took the T-car with him."
"We had to walk!" Bumblebee complained. Mas y Menos began to laugh and say something in Spanish.
"It's not like him to miss a party." Robin said. "What could he be doing?" And just as he said that, the main doors opened. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up. Bumblebee saw that it was Speedy and she walked over to the doors.
"Where have you been?" she demanded.
"Out picking up a friend." He replied. And then Bumblebee noticed that there was a girl standing behind him.
The girl had tan skin, like she had been kissed by the sun ever so lightly and rosy cheeks. She had a very curvy figure, one that made Bumblebee a little bit jealous. Her legs were long and slender. Her hair was down past her shoulders, it was dark brown and wavy. She wore a pink and purple plaid skirt, black boots and a white chemise with short sleeves, and around her neck was a gold chain with a pink amulet that matched her skirt. She had a single clip in her hair with a butterfly in diamonds on it. But what really grabbed her attention were her eyes. The right eye was brown…while the left eye was blue! Bumblebee gasped when she saw this and the other titans must have noticed it too because they gathered around. The girl looked around and then tucked herself away behind Speedy. "Guys, this is Jen, aka Rain." Speedy did the introductions. "Rain, these are the teen titans." Rain walked out from behind Speedy and waved timidly.
"Hello." She spoke softly. She had a pretty voice. Bumblebee grew angry at Speedy again.
Speedy and Rain walked down the stairs and into the main room where the party was. But the party was no longer going on. Speedy looked around and saw all eyes on Rain. Rain's cheeks turned redder than they were usually. "So are we having a party or what?" he asked, and then the music turned back on and the titans began to dance again. Speedy smiled at Rain, who pulled some hair behind her ear. Bumblebee and Robin walked up to Speedy. "Hey guys." He said.
"Speedy can we talk to you?" Robin asked.
"Sure."
"Outside." Bumblebee said. Speedy just looked at them and nodded.
"Wait here, I'll be right back." Speedy said to the pretty girl next to him. She nodded and watched as the three of them walked away. And as they did, a flash of white and red flew up to her! She looked down, surprised to see twins staring up at her.
"Hola, Senorita Rain." They said. Rain smiled sheepishly and waved. Then Aqualad walked up to her.
"Hi, I'm Aqualad. It's nice to meet you, Speedy's told us so much about you." He said.
"Really?" Rain asked. Aqualad nodded.
"So…how long have you known Speedy?"
"A little over two months."
"Wow, you guys clicked pretty fast."
"Yeah, he's the best." She said with a smile.
"What is the matter with you?" Bumblebee asked Speedy as they walked out of the room, "Are you crazy?"
"What are you talking about?" Speedy asked.
"Speedy, bringing a civilian wasn't permitted." Robin said.
"She's not a civilian, she's a person!" Speedy said, Bumblebee looked at Robin and rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean!"
"But bringing Rain was a dumb idea, Speedy." Bumblebee said.
"Why?"
"She's not a teen titans, she's just a girl!" Bumblebee said as she folded her arms.
"She's not just a girl."
"Why did you bring her?" Robin asked. Speedy sighed.
"I wanted everyone to meet her, you know, get to know her."
"Why?" Robin asked.
"Because…because she's lonely. She needs friends. And I thought, you know, we could be her friends." Robin and Bumblebee looked at each other. "Look, just let her stay! Just give her a chance!"
"She needs to go." Bumblebee said.
"Fine, if she goes, than I go too." Speedy said and he went to walk off. Robin grabbed Speedy's shoulder.
"Listen, we just think it's dangerous. With all the titans here, it's a prime target to any villain. And having a civilian on board would put her in danger."
"I would never let anything happen to Rain." Speedy said. Bumblebee got an uncomfortable feeling.
"Fine," Robin said after a while. "She can stay."
"Yes! Thanks Robin."
"Just make sure to keep a look out for her."
"You're gonna love her, I know you will." And Speedy walked off. Robin and Bumblebee looked at each other before walking off as well. They walked back into the room and watched as Cyborg called people around the stage set up next to the refreshments.
"Okay ya'll, who's gonna serenade to us tonight?" he asked. The titans gathered around and looked at each other. "Oh c'mon! Someone has to sing for us tonight!" nobody moved. "It's just a little karaoke!" Speedy looked around and then at Rain who was standing to his side. He grabbed Rain's hand and pulled it into the air.
"She'll do it!" he called out.
"WHAT? No, no, I couldn't possibly…" Rain tried. Bumblebee watched from the back of the room.
"Come on, you can sing!" Speedy said as he pulled her up to the stage. She leaned back, making him practically drag her up there.
"Speedy, no. I can't do it." She said. He pulled her in close to him and whispered.
"This is your big chance to prove to everyone what you can really be." He whispered. She just looked at him, and he smiled and winked at her. "Get up there." He said. Rain took a deep breath and walked up to the stage and took the microphone.
Cyborg stepped off of the stage and started the music. Rain recognized the music as Avril Lavigne's "Nobody's Home." A song she could relate to. And she had sung the song many times before. She didn't even need the lyrics. She took a deep breath and shifted her feet until she stood comfortably. The microphone was held closely to her chest as she gulped and looked down at her friend Speedy, her hands trembling from nervousness. Speedy gave her a thumbs up. The cue came up and she closed her eyes and let the sound come out of her throat.
Well I couldn't tell you
Why she felt that way
She felt it everyday
I couldn't help her
I just watched her make
The same mistakes again
What's wrong, what's wrong now
Too many, too many problems
Dunno where she belongs
Where she belongs
She wants to go home
But nobody's home
It's where she lies
Broken inside
There's no place to go
No place to go
To dry her eyes
Broken inside
As she sang, she looked out at the crowd of titans below her. They were silent, all baffled. But not because she was bad, it was because she was outstanding! She looked around at the faces and then at Speedy who made his way to the corner of the room. He was leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. Rain just looked at him as she finished the song, not wanting to look at anyone else, being too afraid to guess what they were thinking.
Bumblebee was steamed. Who was this girl? She shows up out of nowhere, with Speedy, attends a titans only party and steals the show with simple karaoke! Bumblebee listened to Beast Boy talking to Hot Spot next to her. And she didn't like what she heard at all. "Who is this girl?" Beast Boy asked.
"She's Speedy's friend." Hot Spot replied.
"She's cute, isn't she?"
"You're telling me! And she has a killer voice! You think she and Speedy are…you know, going out?"
"I don't know."
"I hope not, because I wanna make a move." Hot Spot said with a laugh.
"Get in line." Beast Boy replied.
Bumblebee was ticked beyond belief now! Rain stopped singing at the end of the song and people began to cheer for her after in a frenzy of applause! Rain smiled and blushed. She handed the microphone back to Cyborg and walked down into the crowd. Mas y Menos raced up and kissed her hands, making her blush more. Aqualad went up and shook her hand. Soon the other titans gathered around her and began to chat. "That was great!" one said, "You have an awesome voice!" said another. And as much as Bumblebee hated to admit it, she really did have an amazing voice. Bumblebee refused to be a part of the madness and stayed back and watched from a distance.
Speedy walked up to them all and placed his arm around Rain, which made Bumblebee more upset. The titans continued to gush all over Rain, as she bashfully smiled and twiddled her fingers together. Speedy held her close and spoke to the other titans. "Easy everyone, don't crowd." He said. "Yeah, singing is Rain's specialty. Especially Avril Lavigne."
"She's my favorite." Rain said. Robin walked up to Bumblebee.
"She's pretty good, huh?" Robin offered.
"Yeah." Was all she said and crossed her arms and glared at Rain.
