A hand waved frantically in front of my face, which was turned toward the window.
"Yooo!" I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to Beast Boy, who stood behind me and shook my shoulders. "Welcome back to Earth. Where the heck did you go?"
"Sorry, I have a lot on my mind." I said, shifting my position on the edge of the couch to face my friends. I certainly wasn't lying. My mother and I didn't speak a word to each other today. The unusual silent treatment was making me anxious, as if I did something seriously wrong. I mean, there was the whole spat the day before, but it seems as if most people have completely forgotten about it. I didn't hear anything about it from the boys in English. I felt like I should be off the hook, but the tension between me and my mom says otherwise.
"Anything you want to talk about?" Robin said.
I shook my head and smiled. "I don't want to worry you guys on a day like this."
The giant TV was split up into several smaller screens, each displaying images of the excitement going on in the city. A triplet of airplanes rushed across the sky, puffing out red, white, and blue smoke in a perfect three-way parallel. A girl grasped her father's hand, holding up a spinning pinwheel to the sky and watching the colors blend together. A huge banner read, "HAPPY 4TH OF JULY".
"I wish it was summer in my world." I said. "I've still got about a month to go."
"Bah! Who needs school?" Beast Boy jumped over the back of the couch and squished himself between Robin and Raven. He kicked his feet up on the coffee table.
Raven side-glared at Beast Boy and used her astral magic to lift him up and throw him over the couch. Cyborg stepped around him, holding up a large plate of hamburgers and hotdogs stacked in a pyramid.
"Ladies and dudes, I present to you my 4th of July masterpiece!" Cyborg set the plate down. "I expect there to be at least eight of each left for me."
"Tell me, to which are we celebrating- the month of July or the number four?" Starfire said.
"Neither. Today is Independence Day, which is kind of like America's birthday." Robin said.
"This day is the most important thing to happen to this country! It all started back in-" Beast Boy said.
"We're not getting a history lesson from a boy who can't even count to one hundred." Raven said. Beast Boy snorted angrily.
The TV screamed with static. We turned to the screen and watched the black and white pixels fly across it.
"This is the weirdest fireworks show I've ever seen." Cyborg said.
The static disappeared, revealing an old man with a balding head standing in a dark room.
"'Ello, my li'l duckies!" Mad Mod grinned. We all jumped to our feet. "Sorry to 'ave to cut your celebration short, but I've come with a special gift straight from grand ol' England! Hope you enjoy!"
The screen filled with a spinning, black and white hypnoscreen.
"Look away!" Robin said. We turned and shielded our eyes.
"As of this merry li'l 4th of July, I'm reclaiming this land and givin' it back to the country who deserves it! You lot now bow to me- King Moddy I!"
I lifted my eyes above my arm and looked outside. The night sky was hidden behind the British flag, and the buildings looked like picture cut-outs from the 1900's. My friends and I glanced at each other, wary to not look at the hypnoscreen.
"Titans, let's go." Robin said.
I clutched Starfire's hand as we flew through the subway. Our insane speeds whipped my braid behind my back. Beast Boy flew on one side as a pterodactyl, gripping Cyborg in his talons, and Raven carried Robin on a platform of her magic. We rounded a corner and saw the backlights of a train come into view.
"There. He's up in the front." I said, but I doubted I could be heard above the roaring echo of the train's horn and the air beating against us.
We landed on top of the second-to-last cart. I looked down the conga line of carts behind me and the giant gaps in between them. My friends, fearless as ever, leaped across the gap ahead. The thought of flying off and being trampled by this million-pound train fastened me in my place. Starfire squeezed my hand and led me to the edge. I looked down and watched the tracks fly by in a steel blur.
"You will be all right." Starfire said. I looked up at her smile. "I will not let harm come to you."
I gulped and nodded. I took a deep breath.
"One... two..." I said. "Three!"
We bent our knees, gathering momentum, and leaped across the gap. My feet slapped against the top of the next train. Robin pulled out an explosive disk from his belt and attached it to the cart. We distanced ourselves before setting it off. The disk blasted a hole into the top of the cart, and my friends jumped inside.
I crouched down and pulled out my pistols. I connected them together into my sword. The cart shifted beneath my feet. I looked and saw it beginning to split into two. I jumped forward and stabbed the blade into the metal. The small, isolated cart jerked to the right and down another path. A pair of rockets appeared on the back, and the cart zoomed down the tunnels. I glanced behind me and saw the rest of the train, my friends still inside, travel down the other way. My hands grew sweaty as I continued to clutch my sword's handle. It traveled down the dark path for several minutes before the rockets turned off and the train began to slow down. It came to a screeching halt. I relaxed my fingers and shook them out to give feeling back.
I stood and used all my strength to yank the blade out of the metal. I holstered my pistols and scooted across the roof. I slid down the side and planted my feet on the side of the tracks. I heard the backdoor slide open.
"Now, don't you go anywhere, my li'l snot." I heard Mad Mod say. "Good King Moddy's got to make a quick stop in town and prepare a nice trap for your friends."
I tiptoed to the back of the cart, peering down the tunnel as Mad Mod's silhouette disappeared in the darkness. The backdoor began to close, and I hurried inside the cart.
At the very front, several screens displayed citizens strolling through town, their voices thick with British accents and sayings. Hot air balloons with the British flag across their surfaces floated in the sky. The guards, which were giant toy soldiers, were posted three per block. Seated in front of the screens was Robin. I circled around and stood in front of the screens. Mad Mod did some freaky voodoo magic that switched his and Robin's vitality, forcing each to either grow older or younger by decades.
Robin lifted his head, a small trail of drool dribbling down the side of his mouth. His hair was snow white, but it still maintained its spikiness. He gripped the armrests and tried to push himself to his feet, but his frail arms trembled.
"Don't strain yourself." I rested a hand on his shoulder and sat him back in his seat. "You won't be like this for long. I'll help you get out of here. Uh..."
I bit my lip. And how exactly am I going to do that?
The grinding gears of the backdoor started up again. I gasped as the stale subway air began circulating in the room. I frantically scanned the room and settled on a space between some electric pipes. I unclipped Robin's cape and scurried over. The backdoor was halfway up now, and I could see Mad Mod's legs. I shoved the corners of the cape in-between the pipes and slid to the ground. I pulled my legs to my chest and forced myself to breath quietly.
"Did ya miss me?" Mad Mod said. I heard his footsteps travel across the floor and stop. Robin winced silently, his aging body prohibiting him from speaking. "I bet you're all jolly inside thinking about what other tricks I have up my sleeve. Well, how's about I give you a li'l sneak peek?"
The screens changed, and all I could hear was gunfire and explosions. With each big bang, I flinched and drew a breath to calm myself. I pulled the cape aside by a half-inch and peeked at Mad Mod, who grinned as the screen filled with soldiers and tanks. Slowly, I pulled out a pistol. I sucked in another deep breath and aimed at the screen. I pulled the trigger, and the laser cut through and destroyed the images, leaving a black screen.
"Oi! Who turned off my cable?!" Mad Mod said.
I hurried to my feet and pulled the cape free. I cleared my throat. Mad Mod faced me with a nasty scowl.
"Lookie, lookie. A li'l ladybug found her way into 'ere." Mad Mod said. "I'm afraid you've stumbled upon the wrong place, dearie."
"Let my friend go." I said, gripping my pistol. The barrel was aimed at his face. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
Mad Mod twirled his black cane, the source of all his magic trickery, and snickered. "I choose the hard way."
He snapped his fingers. A pair of robotic arms wrapped around my torso and lifted me into the air. I thrashed around, pounding my feet against the legs of the toy soldier.
"I'll be taking these." Mad Mod strolled over and snatched away my pistols. They powered down immediately. "We can't have trouble on a momentous day like this. We're getting ready for the parade- in celebration of King Moddy I! At least my partner here won't be alone." Mad Mod patted Robin's shoulder. "Tie her up."
Mad Mod's hovering parade float glided through the streets of the city. Dozens of toy soldiers were lined up, marching in perfect time. Mad Mod stood at the front of his parade float, a red cape with white feathers around the edges draped across his back. I sat on the floor next to Robin, my torso wrapped up in rope. My fingers brushed against my gun holster, but my pistols were in Mad Mod's possession. I tried to wriggle out of the ropes, but to no avail.
"That's right, my duckies! King Moddy is your new ruler now!" Mad Mod cried to the hypnotized citizens.
Something small and green climbed onto the parade float and scurried towards me. Beast Boy, as a little mouse, ran over to me and climbed up my arm. I heard the rope begin to snap as he gnawed through. As I watched him, I heard Mad Mod shout demands. I looked forward and saw my friends fighting the toy soldiers. However, one by one, they were defeated and brought before Mad Mod. Beast Boy ran off as Mad Mod hopped off the float and approached the other Titans.
The ropes fell off me. I pushed them off to the side and quietly climbed to my feet. Robin struggled with trying to stand, so I helped him. He grunted his thanks, too weak to speak.
"'Ey! Whadd'you think you're doin'?!" I looked up and saw Mad Mod facing us. "Seize them!"
"Beast Boy, go!" I cried.
Beast Boy, now a flying squirrel, dropped from the sky and landed on Mad Mod's shoulder. He climbed into his coat.
"He-ey! Get outta there!" Mad Mod cried, flailing around and beating his jacket with one hand.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cyborg's hand fly through the air and grab Mad Mod's cane.
"Don't just stand there; fire!" Mad Mod cried.
Several soldiers lifted their guns and fired missiles at Cyborg's arm. They made impact, and it released the cane.
The cane started to fall directly above us. Mad Mod made a dash for the float. Robin reached up and caught the cane.
Mad Mod chuckled, a drop of sweat trickling down the side of his forehead. "Now, now, gov'ner. Why don't we think rationally? You don't want to use that all willy-nilly-"
Robin touched the base of the red diamond at the tip of the cane. There was a flash of light, and I watched his vitality flow back into him. Mad Mod collapsed to his knees, reverted to his old, crotchety self again. Robin snapped the cane in half. As Mad Mod screamed in agony, the British flag background lifted and the old buildings fell.
A mass rammed into me, along with an arm and wrapped around my shoulders.
"I am so glad to see you both!" Starfire said, the other arm around Robin. She pulled back and smiled.
"It's good to be back... although I have a craving for prunes." Robin said.
"Yo!" Cyborg cried, waving a small, American flag in each hand. "Have we all seriously forgotten what day it is?!"
"I'll make the tofu burgers!" Beast Boy said, to which Cyborg hastily disagreed.
Above us, a barrage of fireworks exploded across the sky, shining brighter than any of the city lights. The citizens gaped at the dazzling show. As the sparkles of red, white, and blue danced, I couldn't help but think of my mom. I gripped my arms, suddenly cold.
What's going to happen to us?
I thought back to yesterday's episode and meeting Jinx in the park.
"Clear the air between each other."
A chill rushed down my spine. Could she have inadvertently meant what I think?
