Teen Titans: If I never knew you
Chapter Six
Previously:
"May I have this dance?" Robin asked, holding out his hand.
Starfire's surprise was little compared to Courtney's. But that was nothing compared to Robin's surprise when Courtney gave him her hand. She didn't want to humiliate him nor have people talk. She followed him onto the dance floor with her eyes looking down. Her hands were shaking as much as her breaths. Robin let out a small chuckle, earning a quick glance from Courtney.
"What's so funny?" she hissed.
Robin was a little taken back by the viciousness in her voice. He thought this would be a good time to cone clean.
"Courtney, I'm sorry," he started.
"About what? The bet?" she sighed sadly.
She gave him a look that broke his heart.
"True, it started with a bet but it didn't go as well as I thought it would. I never planned on hurting you, Courtney, after getting to you know and spending all that time with you…What I'm trying to say is…Courtney, when I asked you to prom—"
She pushed him away, jerking her hand out of his. The people around him paused to watch. She bit her lip and then ran out onto the terrace. Robin followed her out, not ready to give up. He found her sitting by the fountain with her hand dipped in. Her dress seemed to flow in the night's dark. She stared at her reflection in the rippling water for a few seconds then got up to the balcony.
She rested her head in her hands which rested on the rail. Her head swayed to the music that was playing outside. Her hair, which he had done nothing fancy with, and her dress rustled in the light wind. Tears fell down her cheeks and dripped onto the stone rail. A hand fell upon her shoulders.
"Courtney, can we talk?"
She turned around, tear staining her face. Her eyebrows came together in anger and in sadness. She shrugged away from his touch and said, "There's nothing to talk about."
He raised a hand to wipe away her tears but she swatted it. She shook her head and walked by him. His hand reached out with a mind of his own and grabbed Courtney's. She tried to pry away but he held on tight. He looked her in the eye and declared, "I wasn't thinking about the bet when I asked you to the prom, I—"
She jerked her hand out of his violently and ran towards the ballroom. Robin chased after her, calling her name. Despite the fact that she was wearing pumps, she ran very fast. He caught her by the elbow as they reached the curtains leading inside. She gasped, but not because Robin got her, but because of the sight she saw inside.
"What happened?" Courtney whispered, afraid to raise her voice.
"I don't know…But it's not good," murmured Robin.
"Justin!" Courtney ran over to her fallen friend. He was knocked out like the rest of them.
"Courtney…I'm feeling kinda woozy…" mumbled Robin who had taken a seat on the ground. "It's something in the air…"
She went over to support Robin. A thought crossed her mind, why wasn't what was affecting everyone else affecting her? Robin swayed in her arms; he was losing consciousness. A shadow cast itself over the two of them. Robin pointed and Courtney turned around.
Floated just a few feed above the air was yet another blue-eyed blonde. She had her bangs swept to the right and long wavy blonde hair. Around her neck was a golden chocker that matched with her bracelets. She wore a short, white halter dress with a red sash. She wasn't wearing leather sandal but golden heels instead.
"I've finally found you Alerissa," she smirked.
"Aler…issa?" said Robin, squinting to see.
"What do you want?" Courtney asked.
"Your death."
Robin was more alert now. He could sense the tension and how uncomfortable Courtney was. She picked him up rather easily and propped him up against the wall. He grabbed the hem of her dress having missed her hand. She knelt down and gently pulled her dress out of his grip.
"What did you do to them?" asked Courtney, gesturing to the sea of people on the floor.
"It's just your average knock-out gas, nothing more. But it only affects mortals."
"Very smart." Courtney nodded.
"Enough of this, it's time to end your pathetic life." The girl's hand lighted up with fire. "My…followers, for lack of better words, failed miserably. So I decided I'd do it myself."
Fireballs began to rain down upon Courtney. Robin watched helplessly but didn't feel all that worried when Courtney dodged skillfully. His jaw dropped to the floor. She glanced at Robin and declared, "My life is anything but pathetic. Allow me to show you, Celosia."
Courtney jumped onto a table and propelled herself up towards the blonde. They were fast but Robin, having gone through the training, saw their every move clearly. It was as if they were suspended in the air as they threw punches and kicks at one another. Suddenly, Courtney's body was flung onto the ground and her dress was severely burned. She stood up and her body erupted in blue fire. It became so bright that her body was no longer visible. When the flames died away, standing in Courtney's place was Lady Fan. She pulled out her fans and pointed them at the blonde.
"I'm not planning on dying tonight so something's gotta give."
The girl laughed and more fire blared. Courtney used her fans to swat away the fire. The fire touched Courtney's skin but she showed no signs of pain. Courtney tore a curtain down and wrapped it around the girl. The curtained burned to ashes and the girl rose to face Courtney. An energy disk blew up in the girl's face.
"Courtney…You're Lady Fan?" said Robin, who had gotten up and left the wall. "I don't understand."
"No, not Lady Fan; Alerissa. Lady Fan was just an alias. Alerissa was my ancestor. Have you ever heard of the Greek gods? Well, Zeus was her father and her mother was just another one of his mortal women affairs. And Alerissa was just another one of Zeus' bastard children."
"Then who's she?" he pointed weakly at the other girl.
"She is Celosia; a pure child of Zeus. She couldn't take it that Zeus watched over Alerissa more than her. She was just as jealous as her mother Hera; she killed Alerissa's mother but Zeus protected their daughter. Alerissa was only half a god so she did eventually die but her essence was reincarnated on and on. Now Celosia has finally found it."
"Yes I have, and now, I'm going to eliminate it for good!"
The gas began to wear off and everyone was starting to wake up. They were greeted by Courtney and Celosia's battle to the death. The ones who could feel their legs ran up against the walls. The ones that couldn't just pulled themselves along the floor with their arms. Cyborg, who was only half human, was the first of the Titans to recover.
"Yo! What's up with all these crazy blondes!" shouted Cyborg.
Celosia shot a stream of fire at Cyborg, making him bring his knees up to his chest. A fan whizzed by Celosia, tearing a piece off her dress.
"Don't you dare hurt my friends," growled Courtney. Robin was seeing a differently side of Courtney, the real side. No one else knew that Courtney was Lady Fan at this point. Another fan flew at Celosia but she was ready and avoided it; Courtney had no more fans to utilitize.
"Your friends?" parroted Celosia. She flew over and picked up Beast Boy. "Is he one of your friends, Alerissa?"
"Let him go."
Celosia tightened her grip on Beast Boy's throat. Suddenly, Bird-A-Rangs and energy disks soared into the air. A Bird-A-Rang cut across Celosia's cheek and she dropped the green changeling in search of the source of her wound. Her eyes found Robin who was still holding a Bird-A-Rang. Celosia slitted her eyes and pursed her lips at the Boy Wonder. An enormous ball of red fire charged at Robin.
Next thing Robin knew, Courtney was in front of him. She had her hands outstretched like she was going to catch the fireball and that was exactly what she did. She caught the fireball and it seemed to evaporate. Celosia was genuinely shocked and now it was Courtney's turn to fire back.
Author's Note: Celosia is the Greek name meaning burning or ablaze. This chapter may be a little short because originally, it would've been like four pages—typed that is.
