Chap. 27

Aftershocks

"Jesus." Eddie muttered, as he looked over the door. After examining the hole left by Martin's untimely exit, Terra and Sara had decided that it could be fixed, but it would be easier work with more power then the two of them could muster on their own. So they had called Eddie to add the final piece to the puzzle. "I knew giving that kid a car was a bad idea." "It was Cy's decision and you know that he's a good judge of character." Terra said. "Maybe, but he's apparently not a good judge of what will keep a building together." The dog replied. "Well, let's fix this thing." He said, as he stepped back from the wall. Nodding, Terra came to the front and raised her hands towards the pile of rubble. As her eyes began to glow, the concrete wreckage began to move. Moving her arms around, Terra guided the pieces of the door back into their proper places in the hole. The young girl held them in place, and then turned back to her father. Nodding, Eddie held out his own hand towards the wreckage. His own power took over then, doing what Terra's could not. Under his guidance, the pieces reached out and found each other, merging back into one solid piece. Finally, Sara added the final piece. Holding out her index finger, the fox shot out a beam of light and ran it over the final cracks, fusing the huge piece back into the wall.

But as the three Elementals looked over their work, they failed to notice the black portal that had opened on the ground behind them. They also failed to see the angry girl rising out of it. However, they did not fail to hear the voice behind them yell, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" In fact, the Elementals did not fail to hear that voice so well, that they almost leapt through the ceiling. When they did return to earth, Eddie turned around, and clutching his chest asked with panting breath, "Is something wrong?" "What do you think!" Katie snapped. "How could you do that? What made you think you had any kind of right to talk about that?" "Katie calm down." Terra said, in an effort to try to grasp what was going on. "I don't know what Eddie did, but it can't be that bad." "Yes it is." Katie replied, her eyes smoldering. "Well maybe if you tell us what's going on, we can try to fix it." Sara offered. "No, I can't tell you. But I'm sure that he will if he wants to." Katie answered back. Sighing, Sara turned to Eddie and asked, "What did you do this time?" "Your guess is as good as mine." Was the dog's reply. "I didn't do anything to her." "Come on Eddie, think. This isn't the first time you've insulted someone because you didn't think. Remember the tribal incident?" "How was I supposed to know that they considered cheese to be demon-sent?" Eddie shot back. "Because their devil was a cow? "Whatever. I haven't said anything that was related to Katie all day…. Oh wait is this about him?"

"You bet it is." Katie growled. Taking one look at her granddaughter's face, Sara asked (feigning ignorance), "Did he say something about Rivers?" At that, Katie's face went from anger to shock in less than a second. "Yeah, he kinda did." Terra said, as she looked at Sara apologetically. "Well to be truthful, I said something to Rivers." Eddie added sheepishly. "Oh my God, you told him didn't you?" Sara asked in amazement. "What in God's name would make you do that?" "Well it's not like he would've found out on his own." Eddie argued. "And I didn't want to see Katie keep throwing herself at him for nothing." He would have said more, but then Katie suddenly leapt back into the conversation. "You told them about it?" she yelled at Eddie. "No he didn't." Terra said. "We knew." "What?" "I hate to tell you this, but everybody knows Katie. I think the only one who doesn't know is Rivers." "B-But how?" "You're not very good at hiding it honey." Sara answered. "You always spend time with him, you always try to help him when he gets hurt, you stare at him when he trains…. That one pretty much did it for us." For a second, Katie stood in shock, but then came but, "But if Bart knew…" "I told him that if he so much as breathed a word to you or anyone that Brett would bring his worst nightmares to life, and you know your grandfather can do it."

Katie's only response was to stare at them and ask, "Why didn't you tell him before?" "Because it wasn't our place to tell him." Sara said, with a look over at Eddie. "Look I have my own reason ok?" Eddie said. "Everyone hear knows that Rivers is a good kid, but he's got his head in books. He doesn't notice anything that can't be analyzed or read about. And he always takes the logical approach to everything. I wasn't even sure if he noticed girls. Hell, when I told him about this, he thought I was crazy because he couldn't see any kind of logical reason behind it. And after today, I thought that it would save future drama if you two could start discussing this." "Even so, I have a feeling you could've handled it better." Sara said. "But he has a point Katie." The fox said, turning the young girl. "Rivers isn't going to notice anything about this on his own. If you ever want him to even figure out if he has feelings towards you, you have to make the first move yourself."

Katie opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get anything out, the wall the Elementals had just fixed exploded once again, as the T-Car shot back in. The Elementals ducked to dodge the rubble, but Katie had already created an energy shield to protect them. "Goddamit, that thing has a garage door opener! And we have a garage door!" Eddie swore, as the dust and rubble settled. However, as the field came down, Eddie saw his words were useless as Martin hopped out of the car with the enthusiasm of a five year old with a new toy. "So awesome!" he said over and over as he leapt around in joy. "I wonder what Cy thinks of his decision now?" Sara wondered, as she waited for her old friend to emerge. But strangely, the passenger side door remained shut. "Cy?" Sara wondered aloud, as she moved over to the door.

Pulling the handle, she opened the door, only to see Cyborg literally fall out of the car. The former Titan's face was milky white and contorted into a mask of pure fear. His body was apparently locked in its sitting position, as his hand clung to the inner door handle with a death grip. "Oh my God, he's dead." Eddie said, as he came over to investigate. "No, he's just terrified." Sara said. "C'mon, we need to get him out of this. See if you can pry his hand loose." "Right." The dog agreed, as he placed his fingers around the door handle. Straining with all his might, the dog attempted to break Cy's grip. "This is gonna be interesting huh?" Terra said, as she looked over the mess of the room, Martin's six-year-old style exuberance, and Cyborg's paralyzed state. "Right." Katie answered half-heatedly, her mind on other things.

Later that night….

"Mom, I'm home!" Rivers called out, as he closed the door behind him. The house was fairly quiet, but the smells of food cooking more then made up for the lack of conversation. Good thing that Dad showed Mom how to cook. After seeing that old alien food in the Tower…… ehhh. Rivers thought, as he deposited his backpack on the floor. Walking into the kitchen, Rivers saw his mom working over about three different pots. "Busy tonight?" he asked. "I thought I heard something." Starfire said, turning to smile at her son. "I saw you kids on the TV tonight. I'm really proud of you." "It was nothing Mom. Besides, you don't want me to get a swelled head." Rivers said, as he moved to get some plates on the table. "I doubt it. Your father would never let you get that cocky." Star replied. "Is Dad coming home tonight?" Rivers asked. "He should be home soon. He just has to get back from Gotham with Lisa and Brett." "Oh yeah, her training. I wish you guys would've told me what it was." "You never would've believed it."

Suddenly, bright light flooded the room, and the sound of a car engine could be heard. "Sounds like Brett and your father are home." Star said, as she moved to greet them. Rivers followed, but he was more interested in seeing what had happened to his sister. Robin hadn't told his son a lot about where he and Brett were taking Lisa, only that it was in Gotham. Rivers couldn't imagine what there was in Gotham that would help his sister control her temper, but he trusted Brett and Robin's judgment. That of course, did not mean he wasn't curious about it. After all, any force that could keep Lisa under control had to be impressive indeed. Whoever it is must be six feet tall and able to bend steel just by looking at it. Rivers thought as his mother opened the door to let them in.

But one look at his sister made him wonder if such a person hadn't simply fought her for the last eight hours straight. Lisa reeked of sweat and lines of exhaustion ran all over her face. Her hair was stringy and dead looking, clinging to her face. She didn't have too many bruises, but Robin and Brett still had to support her as she walked in. And she's had all that rest on the ride back. Rivers thought. Leading her to a chair, the two heroes gently lowered her into it. "Jesus, what happened out there?" Rivers asked, as he looked at his sister in disbelief. Slowly, the girl's lips began to move, muttering a few words in a hushed voice. Rivers came in close, straining his ears to hear the words, but he only caught a few. "Dad, what happened?" he asked in confusion, looking up at Robin. "She's talking about a bat and a big cave in Gotham. Does Brett have a summer home there or something?" "I wish." Brett replied. "But Gotham already has a bat." "Wha…. He's real?" Rivers said in disbelief. "Mm-hmm." Robin said. "He spent the whole day with her, putting her through all the paces." "And I see that Bruce has not forgotten how to train." Starfire said, as she brought her daughter a glass of water. Lisa eagerly drank it down, as Rivers made the connection that his mother had let out. "Bruce Wayne is Batman?" the New Titan cried out. "Good job with the secret-keeping, honey." Robin said, though there was still warmth in his voice. "Sorry. You know I can't keep a secret unless lives are at stake." Star replied. "Or if it involves a hidden stash of mustard." Brett added.

"Why didn't you guys just tell me?" Rivers asked, returning to the topic at hand. "For one thing, you weren't involved." Robin said. "Second, Batman doesn't like most people to know he exists, much less that he's a respected billionaire." "But you still might get a chance to see him." Brett added. "What do you mean?" Rivers asked warily. "We talked to him before we left. Batman's agreed that if any of you start acting up, then we'll send you to Gotham for a full day of training." Looking at his sister, Rivers mentally swore to be the most obedient Titan he could possibly be. "Now then, I'm afraid I've gotta head out. Bart and the others are gonna want the car back." "Speaking of that, did Cyborg get the T-Car up and running today?" Robin asked his son. "Pretty much." Rivers answered. "He gave Martin the keys too. Of course, Martin then drove it through the wall. Twice. Oh, and he put Cyborg into system lockdown for about three hours from the ride." Brett stared at the boy, then shook his head and laughed. "I told him I should drive that thing. Or at least wait until Martin was legal. Ah well. See you guys tomorrow." With that, the bat walked out the door. A few seconds later, the sound of ignition filled the house, followed by the sound of burning rubber. "Does he always drive like that?" Rivers asked. "Pretty much." Robin answered, as he moved over to Lisa. Picking up the girl in his arms, he turned to the stairs. "I'm gonna put her to bed. She's earned it." He said. "Sounds like a good idea." Starfire said. "I'll finish up dinner. Rivers, finish setting the table." " All right." Was the reply, as the newly obedient Titan moved to finish the task.

Usually, what happened next was Rivers eating dinner, doing his homework, and falling into bed exhausted. But six hours after all that, Rivers lay on his bed wide-awake. It was 2 AM, and by now Rivers was near unconscious. But every time he closed his eyes, he could see…. Dammit, why can't I get rid of this? He thought angrily, as he turned around and around. I shouldn't be thinking of it anyway. But nothing he could do would erase the image. Please God, I need sleep. He thought desperately, as he closed his eyes one last time. But again he was foiled. Katie's image from earlier in the day once again filled his waking mind. "I'm never gonna sleep."He muttered, as he turned his face into the pillow. Of course, there could be worse things to look at, he thought for a moment. Underneath his eyelids, his eyes moved all over the image. From her legs, smooth and wonderfully long, up past her slim yet curvy body, to her tiny but still beautiful breasts. And don't forget the view from beh…..WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING? Rivers thought in shock, as his eyes popped open. "For God's sake, I shouldn't be thinking about her like that. It's not right." Rivers said, as he ran his hands through his hair. But as he did, he realized that his hands were covered in sweat. "Blast it." He muttered. "What is wrong with me? I've never thought about anyone like this before."

Well, she is a girl you know. Said a voice in his head. "She's my friend." That's how it always starts. "That's stupid. You're just thinking abut this because of what Eddie said." Technically, you're thinking it. But why would Eddie make something like that up? "He didn't make it up, he was just mistaken. Besides, even if Katie does like me that way, I don't feel it back." Riiiiiiight. That's why you can't get her picture out of your head. Sighing, Rivers turned back to trying to fall asleep. But he did so not only because he was tired; he did it because he had no retort.