Story Description: I am writing this as a collection of interconnected, self-contained stories detailing an alternate timeline/origin of the Titans East. It features re-imagined members of the team and cameos from other TT favs. Each chapter, or "track," is named after a song inspired by a different Titans East member. See if you can guess which chapter is who ;)
Genre: teen dramedy, action
Rating: T
Mixtape
[PLAYING: TRACK 1]
Sure, they were Teen Titans, but contrary to trashy online tabloids, they were not "cheap knock-offs of the originals." On top of the fact that they all clearly had different appearances and powers, several key traits set Titans East apart from their west coast counterparts.
They had game nights, not movie nights, called their squad vehicle the "The Wasp," not the "T-Car," and went out for Mexican, not pizza. When they did, everyone abstained from getting fish tacos, lest they draw the wrath of their prissy Atlantean teammate, who could bench press a thousand pounds with one arm.
Also, their car flew - really, really fast. While Bumblebee's naming skills could have been better, her engineering skills were unparalleled. The twins weren't typically wowed by automobiles - why would you be when you could run at the speed of sound, right? - but even they thought an armored electric car capable of flight, among many other things, was "muy, muy calidó." "I'm assuming that means 'sick as hell'," Speedy had said on the first test ride. It was an unpleasant memory, more for him than them. Turns out that back then, flying made the thirteen year-old speedsters nauseous. They shook it off eventually, but not before Speedy spent days scrubbing barf off his uniform. Fortunately he didn't stay too mad. Getting to pilot the Wasp on missions easily helped him get over the cheesy name of the vehicle, as well as any vomit stains he incurred while inside it.
Sadly, Steel City was a no-fly zone. Heavily enforced laws, specifically targeting their team, prevented Titans East from using airborne vehicles within Steel City limits. Unlike the Titans out west, Titans East didn't have a stellar relationship with their city's police department. Quite the opposite, actually. Speedy personally hated cops. That was one of the few things on which he and Bumblebee could find common ground.
Speaking of whom - they didn't have a spiky-haired leader who smelled of cheap styling gel; their leader sported Afro puffs and impeccably laid baby hairs. Like the Boy Wonder, she took things way too seriously and could be a perfectionist to a fault. However, their perfectionism - at its very worst - did take slightly different forms. For Robin it was a habit of being overly-competitive. With Bumblebee it was a tendency to micromanage. Some members of her team put up with it better than others.
The Boss Lady's a genius and all, thought Speedy. But she's also pretty. Pretty annoying.
"You are UNbelievable," ranted Bumblebee, yet again giving him crap over...what was it exactly? Speedy tended to tune her out when they were off-duty. Then again, Bumblebee was never really "off duty." When she wasn't fighting crime, she mostly spent her time holed up in the Tower's tech lab. He could swear the few moments she didn't spend there were spent buzzing angrily in his ear. No feet on the table, Speedy. Quit shooting spitballs at Aqualad, Speedy. That's an atomic particle adapter component, not a frisbee, Speedy.
Okay, so her reprimands might have been justified more times than he'd like to admit.
"I can't believe I have to keep telling you not to do this," she continued, hands on her hips.
She was totally harshing his vibe. His very, very chill vibe. He stared as she pushed her sleek goggles up onto her forehead. They had gold frames and lenses the color of honey. Mmm, honey, he thought. Man, I'm getting hungry.
Seriously, what was she complaining about now? All he had been doing was sitting at the kitchen counter, minding his own business, wiping his boots clean of caked mud.
He paused. Oh, wait.
"Hell-o," she said, tapping her foot. "Are you hearing a word I'm saying?"
"Unfortunately I am," he grumbled, sure that if it were possible, jets of steam would have been shooting out of her ears.
"Go. Clean your boots. Somewhere else," Bumblebee ordered through gritted teeth. "But not before you clean up the mess you've made here!"
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah mom. Just give me like ten minutes."
"No," she said, tone iron-clad. "I'm telling you to do it now."
"Ever heard of 'asking nicely'?" he replied. "You know, maybe using the word 'please'?"
"I don't have to say please," snapped Bumblebee. "I'm your leader."
Speedy's jaw tightened. He put down his left boot and the dirty cloth he had been holding. Stepping off the stool, he addressed his fuming teammate.
"I'm not finished yet," he said, trying to maintain his cool. "I'll clean up and leave when I'm ready."
Bumblebee stared up at him, crossing her arms over her black sports bra. Its dark color hid many grease spots. She had tied the sleeves of a yellow cargo jumpsuit at the base of her bare midriff, the garment's baggy legs clothing her bottom half. That, plus matching yellow gloves and a headband to hold back her tight curls, was what she usually wore when working with machinery. Speedy had to admit she looked cute in the outfit, but he found it hard to focus on its cuteness when he was this pissed.
"No," she said, uncompromising in her authority. "You'll do it now."
"You can't make me," he said.
"It's an order."
"I don't take orders from cheerleaders."
White hot energy sparked at her fingertips, a reflexive manifestation of her building anger. But as much as he could get under her skin, she wouldn't ever consider stinging him on purpose with her powers. That had only ever happened once, and she had promised to never do it again. Besides, she was already doing plenty of proverbial stinging with her eyes. Speedy remained unintimidated. He met her glare with an intense one of his own.
She seethed. "You-"
The sound of the Tower's siren cut Bumblebee off before she could give him a more detailed piece of her mind.
"GUYS," came Aqualad's exasperated voice. The tall, handsome boy emerged from his pool, having overheard his teammates' spat while underwater. He was wearing his usual costume - a sleeveless unitard composed of dark navy-blue scales; it gloved his long legs and had a deep V-neckline that sloped down into a silver belt at his waist.
This was not the first time the Atlantean had interjected in the middle of one of their stand-offs. As both their stony gazes shifted to him, he went from exasperated to sheepish.
"Ahem, uh," he said, clearing his throat. "Duty calls?"
"Yeah, we can hear the sirens too, fish boy," muttered Speedy.
Not one to mince words, Bumblebee jogged to the main computer at the front of the room. Más and Menos appeared in a flash beside Speedy, making him flinch. White and crimson aerodynamic tracksuits clung to their wiry frames. The yellow visors in their cowls were pushed up, revealing eager brown eyes.
"Cuál es la situación?" asked Más.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," answered Bumblebee, swiftly typing on the keyboard. "Hmm, okay. There's a robbery in progress at fifth and Hazelwood. Andre Leblanc. Natural History Museum."
"Eso es todo?" said Menos.
"Cake," said Speedy, pulling his hood up. "And here I thought this day might actually be interesting."
"Enough talk," said Bumblebee. "Let's get down to business."
Aqualad lightly nudged Speedy's shoulder. "I'm driving."
The Wasp was technologically out of this world, with badass switchblade doors to boot. When zooming around Steel City, the car looked like a bright gold blur against gray concrete. At least it looked like that when Speedy was behind the wheel.
"Geez, fish boy," he said. "You drive like an old lady."
"Yeah, and you drive with no regard for traffic regulations," said Aqualad.
"Riiight, why care about the laws the bad guy is breaking when we should make sure to come to a complete stop at all stop signs?" Speedy retorted. "At this rate, the dude'll have gotten away with the goods by the time you find us a space in visitor parking."
"Podemos correr más rápido que esto!" the twins complained in unison.
"What they said," Speedy chimed in, having in fact not actually understood what they said. "Mas ra-PEE-do, Al!"
"Be quiet," said Aqualad. "I'm trying to focus on driving."
"Don't tell me what to do."
"Oh yeah," he said. "We're all aware that you can't stand being told to not be obnoxious. Bumblebee especially. You know, our team leader?"
"You're always on her side," Speedy grumbled. "Look, Cyborg may have made Bee the boss of this team but she is not the boss of me."
"Uh, hello? You're part of the team. So she literally is."
"No way man," he said. "She lets the whole 'leader' thing go to her head! The girl's always on a major power trip."
Aqualad sighed. "She should probably be less harsh about enforcing rules. But you could definitely afford to follow a rule once in a while. Maybe start with remembering something as simple as not polishing your boots in the kitchen?"
"It's not my fault I don't have a whole freakin' lab to myself," said Speedy. "Or a personal pool that takes up a fourth of the tower."
"That's an exaggeration," replied Aqualad. "And you have your own room. You could clean your dirty boots in there. Or basically anywhere else in the tower that isn't where we eat?"
Speedy passive-aggressively yanked his hood over his baseball cap. "I like to snack while I polish."
"Eso no significa que nos guste," said Menos.
"Haragán," added his brother, snickering.
"What is this?" groaned Speedy. "Harass Speedy day?"
Aqualad sighed, again. He tended to do that a lot when conversing with Speedy. "You done?"
"No, I'm not," said the other teen, getting testier by the second. "Like, why did Cyborg even pick her to be leader? What real qualifications does she have that we don't? High school pep squad captain? Robotics club president? Honor roll, fun-sucker-goodie-goodie? Gimme a break...I bet he only made her boss 'cus they dated a million years ago and he still has a thing for her."
"I don't think he's the only one."
Speedy blinked.
"Oh, HELL no fish boy," he shot back vehemently. "She is so not my type. She's the opposite of my type. She's, like, a popular girl. A prep. A square. She's just...just lame, ya know? She's-"
The audio system beeped loudly. Aqualad hit the speaker button and Bumblebee's voice filled the car. Speak of the cherry lip gloss-wearing devil, thought Speedy.
"I can see the museum up ahead, as well as Leblanc," she said. "Evidently he's making a run for it right out the front doors."
"Dumbass," was Speedy's only remark.
"He won't get away," said Aqualad as the car approached the destination. "Do we know what he's stealing?"
"My money's on Daxamite jewels," replied Bumblebee. "The museum received a rare shipment of them earlier this week for research purposes. They fetch a hefty price on the black market."
"Well, they won't be going on the black market."
Aqualad hit the breaks and swerved to a stop in a manner that was way cooler than Speedy had thought the pretty-boy capable.
"Nice," commented the archer, loading his bow before the automatic doors opened and they all leapt out onto the street. "All right, let's hurry up and bag this stinky cheese, snail-eating chump."
"How eloquently put," said Bumblebee as she made a line straight for said chump. The mustachioed jewel thief, clad in all white, only smirked. Bumblebee wondered what was so amusing, until she flew right through him as if he was made of nothing.
"What the—a hologram?" she said, halting mid-air and whipping back around.
"They're everywhere!" yelled Aqualad, punching through one with Herculean strength only to split a park bench on the other side. Sure enough, they were now surrounded by thirty Andre Leblanc's, all snickering in unison.
"I hope you all can appreciate the little modification I've made to my suit. It is capable of much, much more now," said the villain(s). "This truly makes me zee world's greatest jewel thief!"
"Whatever, dude," said Speedy, firing a barrage of energy arrows at a row of Leblanc's. "Last time we fought you said the same thing about your suction-cup galoshes, and we still kicked your ass."
Coincidentally, that time had also been when Speedy learned that "galoshes" were a type of shoe and not a French brand of underwear.
"Ellos siguen multiplicándose!" said Más as the twins darted through several holographic clones.
"Cómo encontramos el real?" asked Menos.
"The flesh-and-blood version has gotta be here somewhere," said Bumblebee, zapping more fakes with her stingers. "We just have to get rid of the holographic ones all at once!"
Her eyes surveyed the immediate area, trying to think of a solution. When her gaze settled on the large fountain in front of the museum, she immediately called to Aqualad.
"Al, the fountain!" she ordered. "Flush 'em all out!"
He didn't need to be told twice. Raising his arms, Aqualad summoned the water out of the structure and flooded the space around them. The holograms all tried to flee, but the waves rushed towards them too quickly to outrun. The dozens of fake Leblanc's fizzled out, leaving behind a single, waterlogged original. He quickly got back on his feet and tried to escape, brandishing some sort of laser gun in one hand. Más y Menos sprinted at him, stopping Leblanc in his tracks. They raced around him in a dizzying circle, confiscating the weapon and leaving him too dazed to walk straight. He couldn't manage even three steps before Speedy shot two consecutive arrows at him. One hit the sack off his back and pinned it to a nearby wall, and the other broke into a net, which promptly captured him like a wild beast.
"Like I said," declared Speedy as the five of them approached the criminal. "cake."
"You'd think the world's greatest jewel thief wouldn't get caught so often," said Aqualad, earning a nasty glare from the apprehended Leblanc.
"Sí," agreed Más.
"Esto es patético," added Menos, shaking his head.
"Nice work, Titans," said Bumblebee, who had retrieved the sack. "Now we can return these to...hey, where—where are the jewels?!"
She had opened the cloth bag and dumped out its contents, finding that they were just a bunch of crumpled paper balls.
"Hon, hon," chuckled Leblanc from within the net. "I suppose you Titans are not that smart!"
Bumblebee glowered at him. "I thought you were here to steal the Daxamite jewels, Leblanc."
"Oh, well I was..." he said mischievously. Just then, a loud explosion caught them all off guard. The Titans' heads all snapped towards the source of the deafening sound.
"It came from the museum," said Aqualad.
Speedy's brow creased. "Duh. I have a feeling frog-legs here was only supposed to be a distraction."
Bumblebee stiffened. "Más y Menos, make sure Leblanc stays put until the police get here. Speedy, Aqualad, come with me."
The three of them waded through the shadows of the lowest, dingiest level of the museum. The basement not only held hundreds of dusty boxes and strangely-shaped, triple-bubble-wrapped objects, but it was also where the institution's laboratory was located. The white doors that made up the lab entrance were wide open. Inside, they discovered a metal safe that constituted an entire wall. At its center was a smoking hole. While they spotted numerous fossils and cryogenically-frozen mutant animals on the other side of the hole, the sophisticated containing unit labeled "Daxamite Jewels" was empty.
"You think they got away?" asked Speedy as the lights flickered. He and his teammates walked back into the main area of the basement.
Aqualad ran a hair through his silken black hair. "I-ugh!"
"Al!" yelled Bumblebee.
Her teammate flew backwards into a stack of boxes. A blood-red X was wrapped around his arms. The lights shorted out.
"I could've made my exit earlier," said a distorted voice. "But I just couldn't help sticking around to play. I had to see what you 'Titans East' are all about, you know?"
"Who the heck are you?" demanded Speedy, shooting a series of arrows in the voice's direction. Meanwhile, Bumblebee activated the night vision in her goggles and Aqualad broke free of his restraints.
"Are you working for Andre Leblanc?" asked Bumblebee.
"Name's Red X," came the reply. "And ha, no. Don't insult me, babe. Just so happened that me and that French monkey were after the same prize this evening. But it was clear that he didn't stand a chance against me, so he gave up real quick. Then I offered to pay the guy as much as he could get for these jewels to distract you kiddies. Even threw in my hologram patch to sweeten the deal."
Speedy jerked to the right, feeling a blade nick the side of his neck and narrowly miss an artery. Bumblebee spotted a slender, tall black shadow whoosh out from a corner. She aimed her stingers at him, delivering an assault of bright yellow energy blasts. He dodged them all and glided up the stairs to the ground floor.
"Come on, titans," his voice echoed mockingly. "That all you got?"
Bumblebee made a frustrated noise. "Titans, after hi-aye, watch it!"
"You watch it!" Speedy barked, having accidentally barreled into her.
"Guys!" said Aqualad desperately. "He's getting away!"
She gnashed her teeth together. "No, he's not."
Flying swiftly out of the basement with the other two following behind, Bumblebee scanned the area for any sign of Red X. Moonlight poured through the huge windows, washing over the assembled bones of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures barricaded by velvet rope. The movement of clouds in the night sky made the shadows on the floor shift ominously.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a splash of sticky red paint plastered her goggles.
"Hey!" she cried in anguish, pushing the eyewear up onto her forehead. She heard the sound of a device being fired. A rope spiraled around her, constricting her wings. She plummeted onto marble tile and was yanked to the right of the Stegosaurus exhibit. Bumblebee slid to the feet of a figure clad in a skin-tight black outfit and tattered cape. On his face he wore a smooth, white, minimalist skull mask. Keeping to his title, it had a crimson X branded in the middle of its forehead that stretched through the right eyehole.
"Anyone ever told you that you got a face like an angel?" he asked, bending down to cup her chin as she writhed on the floor.
That was a mistake.
"Agh!" the rogue said as he fell backwards from the force of Bumblebee's head-butt. He then found himself avoiding another onslaught of Speedy's arrows. Red X darted along the wall, the rapid-fire projectiles lodging into the stucco after each step he took.
"You okay?" asked Aqualad, appearing at Bumblebee's side.
"Yeah, I'm good," she said, starting to burn through the rope with the hot end of one of her stingers. "Just get Red X!"
Aqualad nodded and went to Speedy's aid, beckoning the water from a decorative, artificial pond to his service. He used it like a giant whip against the villain, who leapt and flipped like a trained acrobat to avoid each lash effortlessly.
"All right, that's enough," snarled Speedy, fed up with how the thief was toying with them. He pulled two heat-seeking arrows out of his quiver and leveled them at Red X.
"Careful," he remarked. "If those are what I think they are, you should reconsider using 'em. Might hit your buddy here."
Aqualad eyed the arrows and registered what was being said. He smirked. "Atlanteans are cold-blooded," he boasted. "heat-seekers don't work on us, idiot."
"Oh?" said Red X. "Silly me, I must have misread the situation."
"Read this, jerk." With that, Speedy fired the arrows at his target. They pursued a smooth line of flight right at Red X, who sprinted away. Aqualad aimed more tendrils of water at him, whipping them at his feet and nearly tripping him.
"That's getting really annoying, kid," commented Red X. With lightning speed, he pounced on Aqualad and tackled the boy to the floor, water falling all around them. The two struggled briefly, with Red X quickly realizing that the "kid" was much stronger than him. However, he wasn't trying to win a contest of strength. The arrows were fast approaching. At the critical moment, Red X allowed Aqualad to roll them over into a position where the Titan was on top of him, and he was subdued with his back against the floor.
"Al, watch out!" Speedy shouted.
"What?"
The heat-seekers sailed right into Aqualad's back. The boy cried out in pain and fell over. Red X pushed him off and saluted.
"Thanks for being my body shield, Mr. Cold-blooded Atlantean."
"You'll pay for that," came Bumblebee, raining her fury down onto him. She dove towards Red X, shooting energy blasts at the thief, who hid behind his resistant cape.
"Was wondering when you'd rejoin us, babe," he said.
"Don't call me babe," she replied, confronting the tall rogue with fierce hand-to-hand skills.
"Damn, you can fight, can't you?" he said between blocking her punches and kicks. He backed away and began shooting red laser bolts out of his gloves. She shrunk down to the size of a bee, running up the side of his arm to land a blow right across his masked face.
"Got that right," said Bumblebee, buzzing down to the front of his belt. She shot her stingers at the many buttons, attempting to short-circuit as much of the technology as she could. He batted at her with his hand, but she evaded and landed on his shoulder. Growing irritated, he engaged a tiny switch at the side of the belt, which sent a red jolt of electricity through his entire suit, effectively zapping the minuscule super-heroine off his body.
She was on the floor once more. Enlarging to normal size, she rubbed her head, finding that her edges were in disarray. Her thoughts turned murderous. Oh, that is it.
Bumblebee floated to her feet, stingers blazing at her sides.
Speedy called over to her. "Hey, maybe we should try—"
She interrupted him. "Titans, tri-formation!"
Speedy frowned, but nevertheless he and Aqualad appeared behind her in a second. The three of them proceeded to carry out an elaborate attack pattern that they had practiced hundreds of times. Red X only seemed further entertained. A few minutes later, he had successfully avoided the combined force of bio-electric stings, a tidal wave, and all manner of explosive energy arrows. Was this actually getting easier for him?
The three Titans panted before the villain, hands on their knees.
"Tri-formation, huh?" Red X joked, hanging from a large light fixture. "Cute. You guys on a cheerleading squad or something?"
A vein throbbed in Speedy's head. "Eat a dick."
Red X laughed. "What, tough guy can't take a joke? Lighten up, bud."
"How...does he still have so much energy?" bemoaned Aqualad. "None of what we do is working."
"Oh…" said Bumblebee between pants. "I...think...some of it...is…"
She held up a small bag that had previously been attached to Red X's belt. He looked back in surprise, and then his eyes went straight to his hip. So, she had managed to nab the goods back from him?
"Impressive," he remarked, studying her self-satisfied expression. "You're a little different than these two Einstein's here, aren't you? Still, I'm gonna ask you nicely to give those back. I gotta head out soon."
"Are you kidding?" she wheezed. "No way! The only place you're heading is JAIL."
"I don't think so," goaded Red X, thinking on his feet while also landing on them. "Man, this feels like high school. Really brings me back. We got all the main stereotypes right here..."
He pointed to Speedy - "...edgy burnout."
-then to Bumblebee - "...prom queen..."
-and finally to Aqualad - "...and theater kid."
Their sea-born teammate seemed particularly offended.
"What the heck is a 'theater kid'?" Aqualad inquired haggardly.
Speedy would have laughed. He would have, if he didn't hate Red X's guts so BLEEPing much right now.
"You're going down," said the archer, turning towards the other Titans. "Come on, hit 'em with everything you've got!"
He stared Red X down and began firing more arrows, tailing the villain as he ran. Aqualad and Bumblebee raced after Speedy. Red X drew the archer's fire towards various dinosaur exhibits. When a pair of arrows tumbled the triceratops, concern flashed across Bumblebee's face.
She started to caution him: "Speedy, be care—"
"Gee, burnout," sneered Red X. "I don't think you could hit the broad side of a barn."
A flurry of curses cut through the air, though they became muffled by the sound of falling bones.
"My, my, what a potty mouth."
He leapt in front of the T-Rex, another arrow coming his way. He eluded it as he had done all the others. The T-Rex, however, did not. It came crashing down, with a startled and hovering Bumblebee caught in its way.
Aqualad punched away a giant femur. "Bumblebee!"
"Crap," said Speedy, running towards her. "Come on Bee, fly away!"
She was frozen like a deer in headlights. As the dinosaur collapsed, she closed her eyes, half willing herself to make a bee line to safety and half already accepting the sensation of being squashed like a bug.
Neither happened.
Instead, she felt herself being swept to the side by strong arms. When she opened her eyes, she was gazing up into the X-branded mask the enemy, who was holding her while kneeling close to the bone-littered floor.
"What...why…?" she stammered in confusion. Comforting warmth emanated from him.
"Watch your step there, prom queen," he replied.
"Get away from her."
They looked over to see a furious Aqualad and an even more furious Speedy beside him.
"Oh sure, theater kid," said Red X. "I bet your teammate wants to try clobbering her again, right?"
Speedy clenched his fists until the knuckles turned white. She had never seen him so angry.
"Hands off, creep," commanded Bumblebee, refocusing her attention on Red X with dangerously narrowed eyes.
"Why?" he replied suavely. "Don't you think this is kind of roman—"
Aqualad winced as the villain hit a far wall with a loud smack.
"Ow," he said in monotone, getting back up. "Helluva way to thank a guy."
"I didn't need you to rescue me!" snapped Bumblebee.
He tsk'ed at her. "So ungrateful. Don't worry, this is thanks enough."
Her eyes widened. He held up the bag containing the jewels, displaying it to her smugly.
"Oh no," she said, breathless. He must have snatched it back when he was holding me, she thought, a wave of shame spreading over her. And I was being too much of a starstruck idiot to notice!
"Oh yes," he said, tucking the bag away. "These babies will serve as a great new power source for my suit. Can't wait to see the fun I'll have when I get their energy flowing through its system." His words were spoken with all the confidence of someone who knew he could get away with the worst. He grabbed a trash can from the corner and hurled it at a window.
"Bee, get him before he escapes!" yelled Speedy. Bumblebee wielded her stingers and began to shoot, but to no avail. X's cape provided him cover, yet again.
"Look, guys, it's been real," said X. "But I think it's time for me to dip. Prom queen: when you get tired of guys who can't, ahem, shoot straight, call me."
He made the phone gesture with his hands before jumping out the shattered window. The three of them scrambled over to it in his wake. Predictably, they found upon peering outside that Red X had completely vanished.
"Well," said Aqualad awkwardly, his two fellow Titans teeming with rage. "That could have gone...better."
Bumblebee's wings were whirring intensely behind her as she fished out her communicator and contacted the twins.
"Encontraste al verdadero ladrón? Lo atrapaste?" they asked over the speaker.
"We found him," she said grimly. "But he got away."
Ten cop cars were waiting for them by the time they made it back outside.
Just great, thought Bumblebee, pasting on her best smile and whizzing towards the burly, square-shouldered police chief looming over Más and Menos. Under the cold-looking helmet she imagined an even colder face with steely eyes.
"Your teammates aren't cooperating," the man groused, tilting his chin at the twins. Más crossed his arms, wearing an insolent look on his face while his brother stuck his tongue out at the officer.
"Él está mintiendo," muttered Más.
"Ya te lo explicamos todo!" added Menos.
"What exactly do you mean, mister officer, sir?" asked Bumblebee, floating down to the ground with grace. She assumed her most diplomatic tone. It was one her team knew very well, as she had to use it quite frequently with cops who were always getting on their case.
Like this one.
"I mean they refuse to tell me what happened in English," he said.
"Spanish is their first language," explained Bumblebee. "They said they already explained the situation. Now that I'm here, I can just transl—"
"Let me speak to your boss," he said.
She tried not to look taken aback. Suppressing her annoyance, she replied in a firm voice, "I am the boss."
"Enough playing around, little girl," the officer ordered. "If you won't get your boss on the phone, then let me speak to one of these young gentlemen here. I'm assuming they know English too."
As he motioned to Aqualad and Speedy, Bumblebee was momentarily at a loss for words. Aqualad's eyes narrowed. "You're the one who's playing around. Everyone knows that Bumblebee is the leader of Titans East. She's a really good leader, too."
She blushed. Speedy rolled his eyes and held down vomit. Suck up, he thought.
The man snorted. "Everyone? You guys really think you're big time celebrities, don't you?"
"We're superheroes who live in a giant 'T.' I think it's safe to say we have a bigger reputation around here than you do," the archer remarked, digging his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket. He thought busying them that way would prevent them from strangling the man.
"Speedy," hissed Bumblebee. "Um, please, officer...we just want to report back on what happened. As you can see, we captured one of the thieves…"
She motioned towards the disgruntled Andre Leblanc still wrapped up in Speedy's net.
"One of the thieves?" the officer repeated.
Bumblebee summoned all her inner strength to push forward with the whole explanation.
"Yes," she said, sounding apologetic but also unashamed. "We fought and apprehended Leblanc, thinking that he had the stolen Daxamite jewels in his possession. It turned out that he had just been paid off by the actual thief to distract us."
"And who is this actual thief?"
"His name is Red X," she said, looking straight into the opaque, shiny blue screen shielding the officer's eyes. "He got away."
"Really," he replied. "I'm assuming 'Red X' is also responsible for all the damage that I'm going to see when I walk into that museum?"
"Well," she said, carefully choosing her words. "It is true that he damaged a lot of—"
"I wrecked some stuff by accident too," Speedy cut in, unable to stand her mentally debating how to cover for him. "A couple dino exhibits. I'm sorry."
The officer sighed. "And the Diximate jewels?"
Bumblebee felt like her lungs were tied in a knot. She took a shaky breath and responded in an even tone: "Red X got away with them. Don't worry. The Titans East are going to track him down and get them back."
To her immense chagrin, he started laughing.
"Ha...hahaha," said the officer, his chuckles fading dryly. "ha...yeah. That story could be probable. But you know what's more probable? That you brats made the whole thing up and nabbed the jewels yourself."
The Titans were incredulous.
"Estas loco?" asked Menos indignantly.
"I'm sorry, officer," reasoned Bumblebee as calmly as she could. "but that's just ridiculous."
"I bet you're the little ring leader of this merry band of thieves, too," he told her.
"Excuse me?" she said. "I've never stolen a thing in my life!"
Bumblebee's mind swarmed with outrage. I guess I'm only the boss when we're being accused of a crime.
"Then why are you so nervous?" he challenged.
Her shoulders stiffened as she felt electricity barely prick at her fingertips. "I'm not."
"You are. We're going to have to search all of you and take you downtown for further questioning."
"What? No! We're not criminals!" pleaded Bumblebee. "You have to believe us!"
"I'm going to have to ask you to control your anger, ma'am," he replied. "And lower your voice. Your hostility isn't making you look less suspicious."
"Back off," Speedy warned, stepping between Bumblebee and the officer.
Aqualad also came to her defense. "She's not being hostile. She's telling you the truth. Red X got away with the jewels. The ones whose name you can't even pronounce correctly. We're the ones who fought him. We know why he wants them. And we'll know the best way to track him."
The officer remained unconvinced.
"You know, you Titans are some real characters," he said. "You take the law into your own hands and destroy massive amounts of public property doing it. You say that you're helping people, but in the end you just use heroics as a cover to help yourselves. And you think we rightful upholders of the law were born yesterday. As if I'd believe some cockamamie story like the one you just fed me! Hand over the Doximute jewels, now."
"No hemos robado nada!" argued Más. "Y ellos se llaman 'Daxamite' jewels!"
"Speak English, kid," said the man.
"Don't order him around," interjected Speedy. "You can't force someone to talk the way you want them to."
"I can if they're obstructing justice, and he is. All of you are," the man shot back.
"You're a joke," scoffed Speedy. "We're not obstructing squat."
"This badge is no joke," the officer said, pointing to the gleaming hexagonal plate emblazoned on the breast of his armored uniform.
"Yeah, I'm real scared."
"Watch your mouth, son, before I arrest you for antagonizing an agent of law enforcement."
The man reached out to place a stern hand on Speedy's shoulder, something the Titan did not appreciate in the least.
"I'm notyour son," he said darkly, tearing the cop's hand off of him.
The officer got in Speedy's face, and Speedy did not look like he was going to back down any time soon. Bumblebee quickly inserted herself between the two, lightly holding them apart.
"Please, let's not fight," she said gently.
"Don't touch me," growled the cop, aggressively pushing the girl to the side.
"You dirtbag."
Bumblebee and Aqualad latched onto Speedy's arms to restrain their livid teammate. Más and Menos looked on with bewildered expressions. At that moment, a taller man in a more prestigious-looking police uniform walked up to the scene. He made an austere, throat-clearing noise at the other officer. The shorter man turned his head sharply, only to shrink when he saw who was standing next to him.
"Commissioner!" the officer said in attention.
"What's going on here, officer?" the other man asked.
"Uh-um, these kids stole the Duximote jewels from the museum!"
"No they didn't," he replied. "Red X did. And it's pronounced 'Daxamite.'"
The cop was speechless. The Titans also stared wordlessly at the commissioner, with Speedy having regained a little of his composure.
"We just got some reports of a figure in black cutting through the east side," the senior officer explained. "He was coming from the direction of the museum. Has some kind of souped-up belt that keeps short-circuiting. Is also wearing a white mask with a red 'X' on it."
Bumblebee nodded. "That's him."
The commissioner addressed her specifically. "We also got word that he stole another set of Daxamite jewels from a research facility in Gotham. Any idea why he's collecting these jewels in particular?"
"Their geologic composition makes them a powerful energy source for his suit," she explained. "I did some research a few minutes ago, and it turns out that the jewels can be compressed into a fuel ten times stronger than the Xenothium that originally powered it. I also suspect his belt is on the fritz because I managed to damage it in battle."
"I see," he said. "So you've fought him before?"
"Not us, specifically," she replied. "But he's listed in our records as a general adversary of the Teen Titans. He's a very dangerous criminal."
"Hmm," noted the commissioner. "I guess you all should get to the east side so you can help my boys catch this guy. I sent a squad of cars after the perp a little while ago. But I don't think they know what they're up against."
Bumblebee was puzzled by his tone. He certainly sounded more level-headed than the lower-ranking cop, but she still didn't think her team had the commissioner's trust. She didn't trust him either. But she did want this conversation to end ASAP so the Titans could get back to business.
"Yes," she replied. "We'll do that."
"Good. I trust you'll have no problem tuning into the police transmission."
"What about all the stuff you guys destroyed in there?" asked the other officer, pointing to the museum.
"We'll pay for it," said Bumblebee.
The man snorted again. "Really?" he asked jokingly. "How? You kids gonna pool your trust funds together? Or are you gonna ask for a handout from the Wayne Foundation?"
Speedy's eye twitched.
"Enough," said the commissioner. "We'll figure that out later. Let's get going. All of us."
His subordinate grumbled nasty things under his breath as the cops dispersed, dragging Leblanc with them. Once the men were out of hearing distance, Aqualad turned to his teammates.
"Okay, so that was rude," he said, crossing his arms. "The commissioner didn't even make that guy apologize for accusing us of theft."
"That's because he doesn't actually care," snapped Speedy. "He doesn't respect us. He's no better than his lackey - just more of an opportunist. He wants us to help them out now, but he won't hesitate to throw us under the freakin' bus when we stop being useful."
Bumblebee touched Speedy's arm. "While that may be true, it doesn't matter. Fighting crime is what we do. We have to help them catch Red X."
Speedy jerked away from her and glared. "You mean your boyfriend?"
She returned his expression. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, don't give me that," he said. "You know, if you weren't so busy getting saved by that jerk he wouldn't have had a chance to get the jewels back."
Bumblebee's face contorted between anger and embarrassment. "Well, maybe if you hadn't been so trigger happy with those arrows the T-Rex wouldn't have nearly crushed me, and Red X wouldn't have had to save me! Oh, and we also wouldn't owe the museum, like, a million dollars!"
"I thought you said you didn't need him to save you," Speedy countered. "When do you need anyone to save you, period? You're always bragging about how much of an amazing flier you are, on top of being SO amazing at everything else. Why didn't you just evade it?"
She chewed on her lip. "I...I was going to! I just froze for a second, okay?"
"You froze?" he repeated, laughing humorlessly. "Imagine that. The confident, perfect leader of Titans East froze. Guess you're not as good as you think, huh?"
"Speedy," Aqualad said his name in warning.
"What, fish boy?" he said. "You weren't any better, getting hit with those heat-seekers like a total amateur."
"Well," Aqualad replied caustically. "maybe if you could shoot straight—"
"It doesn't matter if I shoot those straight!" Speedy said, voice raising. "They're heat-seekers! They seek the heat in the target, and they're not even supposed to work on you! Yet you managed to somehow get hit anyway!"
"Para de discutir!" begged Menos.
"Nosotros tenemos que ir tras Red X!" his brother said.
"Yeah, come on," said Bumblebee. "This is what Red X wants: for us to fight among ourselves and be divided."
"Well, happy birthday to him," Speedy muttered.
"Ugh," she groaned. "Why do you always have to be so difficult?"
"Me?" he asked agitatedly. "Why do you always have to be so bossy?"
She stomped her foot against the asphalt. "Because I'm the boss! If you're on my team, you follow my orders!"
"Okay," he said, the eyes of his mask turning into slits. "Then I won't be on this team. I quit!"
Aqualad, Más, and Menos jolted in place. Bumblebee didn't look fazed.
"Fine with me," she said, turning her back to him, wings vibrating with resent.
"Have fun finding your boyfriend without me," Speedy sneered. "Maybe if you catch the guy you can ask him to join Titans East as my replacement."
With that, he stormed off. The twins looked heartbroken. Also distraught, Aqualad gazed at Bumblebee, who avoided his eyes so that he wouldn't see the tears welling up in hers.
The four of them turned the east side of the city upside down looking for Red X. They searched until not a single cop car trailed after them.
They didn't find him. Despite all Bumblebee's high-tech know-how and analytical skill, Speedy was definitely the better tracker on the team.
She did, however, lead the other three in disarming several X-marked "presents" the thief had left behind around town. In the process they saved many clueless, but still largely ungrateful, police officers. They did receive many more thanks from civilians: microscopic victories amidst a massive sense of defeat. At dawn, they finally headed home, having to accept failure in their search for the time being.
So much for being the "best" ones to track him, Bumblebee thought miserably.
Speedy was still nowhere to be found.
The day after their late night troubles was a rare one; it was 5 PM and the tower alert system hadn't sounded once. Perhaps the other super-villains had all collectively decided to take a sick leave. None of the Titans East were complaining about the unexpected down time, though.
Still, Bumblebee had gotten up at 7 AM for her morning work-out, running on worryingly little sleep. Afterwards, she had showered, did her hair, and dressed in her suit as usual. When several uneventful hours - full of nothing but doing household chores - passed, she decided to give in and change into normal clothes. She had then busied herself with several made-up chores. She washed and buffed the Wasp, recalibrated the tower security system, alphabetized all their cookbooks (none of which had ever been used), color-coded their CD collection, and performed many other unnecessary tasks. She was now in her room, Waynetube open on her phone, trying to follow a hair tutorial playing on the screen. Más and Menos were still sleeping. Aqualad was scrubbing dead algae from the bottom of his pool. He could tell she didn't feel much like talking today and was giving her space.
"Ugh, why won't you stay put, hair," she said as if her type-4 curls were sentient.
As the chipper beauty guru prattled on about how "fun" and "simple" the hairstyle currently being attempted was, Bumblebee found herself wondering how desperate she was to get her mind off the events of last night.
"Make sure you have a toothbrush handy!" sang the girl in a way that was so happy, it was creepy. "Oh, I just LOVE this look for spring. It's so—"
Miss kinky-haired sunshine was interrupted by the shrill sound of Bumblebee's ringtone. It nearly made her drop her "handy" toothbrush. She looked down to see who was calling, then answered and put the phone on speaker.
"Hey Sparky," she greeted Cyborg gloomily.
"Bee?" he said. "You sound like you just got done attending a funeral."
"I didn't attend any funeral," she replied. "but I do want to die."
"Uhhh?"
"We let Red X get away with some Daxamite jewels last night," she said. "Also, Speedy quit the team."
"Okaaay," Cyborg said. "One of those things sounds way worse than the other."
Bumblebee sighed. "Yeah."
"Well...this is probably a bad time to let you know I'll be heading over to Steel next week to help y'all install some new security tech," he said.
She stared at the phone. "Also yeah."
There was a pregnant pause.
"You're still mad at him, aren't you?" Cyborg finally asked.
"You just keep hitting the nail on the head, don't you?" she said, trying to sound lighthearted, but her tone soon reverted back to morose. "...we got into a pretty bad argument."
"Seems like you two are always getting into arguments."
She pouted. "Yeah, well, I suppose that should be a sign that we're not meant to work on the same team. Some people are just incompatible, right?"
"I guess," mused Cyborg. "Or it should be a sign that both of you have huge, unchecked egos that aren't worth maintaining if it means losing a friend."
"I have an ego?" she asked, half-piqued, half-amused. "You don't even know what happened."
"I said both of you," answered Cyborg. "And I don't need to know what happened to know that when those egos clash...yikes. I mean I still remember the first time y'all met…"
She cringed at the memory.
"You got a point to make, Sparky?"
"I'm just saying that you're supposed to fight the bad guys, not your teammates."
Bumblebee bristled. "Tell that to him. He's the one who started it. He always starts it. I mean, if he could just shut up and do what I say, we wouldn't have anything to fight about."
"Bee," said Cyborg. "You're the leader of Titans East. Not its supreme overlord."
"You don't understand!" Bumblebee said, face reddening. "He put me in danger. Put us all in danger. He barely ever listens to me, is always rude and disrespectful...he can't even remember not to wipe his dirty boots over our kitchen counter!"
"Yeah, he can be a thoughtless jerk," said Cyborg. "But I know that you still care about him. And that he cares about you."
"He sure has a funny way of showing it."
"Listen," he continued. "It's hard enough learning to work together as a team, but to live with the people you work with? Y'all are bound to butt heads. A lot. I can tell you firsthand that Robin and I had our fair share of shouting matches during our first year as a team. Sometimes we still have them. But usually, a big part of the animosity stems from personal anxieties and insecurities, not an actual dislike of the other person."
She squeezed the handle of the toothbrush. "Are you saying this is all in my head?"
"No," Cyborg said steadily. "Another big part of it stems from how much we all care about what we do. And I know you care a truck-load, Bee. You got a lot on your shoulders as leader. I know you have to put up with types of judgment and responsibility that Robin doesn't."
"Yes," Bumblebee said, her voice shaky. "I wish some people could understand that instead of just calling me a bossy cheerleader all the time."
"Guys get called authoritative and girls get called bossy," he confirmed. "It's messed up - no argument there. Speedy should definitely stop being such a pig and respect your leadership more. But to be fair, you do call yourself bossy."
"No, I call myself the boss," she said. "'Cus it's what I am. You made me the boss, didn't you? It's my rightful position."
Cyborg sighed. "I think y'all misunderstood me in the beginning. Bee, I didn't make you anything. You didn't need me too. You already had a vision and a work ethic that made you go for the role of leader when no one else would step up. I just recognized that and put forth my good word. I think any fuss over who got made 'the boss' has made you forget that. 'Sides, there's a difference between being seen as the boss and being seen as a leader. Though I know you still a Boss B, girl."
The way his tone crescendoed in that playful, cheesy manner of his made her smile. She hadn't done that all day.
"Thanks, Sparky," she said appreciatively, thinking over what he had said. "I wish Speedy could be as reasonable."
"He's probably a lot more reasonable than you think," offered Cyborg. "The guy's got as bad of a temper and pride as any of us. But as much as he can grind your gears, it's always good to see where the other person's coming from."
"Again, tell that to him," she said.
"You should tell each other. One of you has got to communicate. After a certain point, it shouldn't matter who does it first."
Bumblebee bitterly fixed her hair in the mirror. She despised when he was right.
"It's pointless," she said. "He quit already. He's gone."
"Yeah," chuckled Cyborg. "Back in the day I 'quit' a couple times, too. He'll be back."
Her eyes became misty.
"I just…" Bumblebee uttered softly. "I just hate being the one to teach people all the time. I always have to be the strong one. I always have to be the bigger person. But what about my feelings? I feel hurt and doubt myself just like every other human being. I'm not...invincible. If I show a single weakness, or mess up, or make a bad judgment or two, does that mean my entire credibility as a team leader should be put into question?"
"Of course not, Bee," Cyborg replied, thoughtful as ever. "Acknowledging your mistakes, your poor judgments - that's what makes you an even better leader. Better person, too. Also, resolving problems doesn't have to be about one person instructing the other. It can be about two people doing an equal amount of work to learn together. And an essential part of learning is allowing yourself to be vulnerable."
"But," she said. "I'm their leader. I can't be—"
"You can be and you are," he said. "You said it yourself. You're not invincible. And you're not just the leader of the Titans East. You're their friend too. No team member, or friend, is above or below another. If you feel all these things, why don't you let them know? They shouldn't hold it against you."
"Speedy already did."
"And he probably has spent the last - what? - eight hours knowing that he was wrong for it."
There was a pause on her end. She exhaled slowly and heavily.
"Ugggghhhhhhh…"
"Sounds like you know I'm right."
"Yeah, yeah, Sparky," she said with a grin. "Now, why do you have to install new tech in our tower again? You know I keep our systems more advanced and updated than you ever could."
"Uh huh," he replied. "And you really had to ask if you had an ego."
"Look, I'm just sayin'—oh, shoot. I'm getting a text from Aqualad to come downstairs, ASAP. Could be an emergency. This city's been suspiciously quiet all day."
"No worries," he said. "Go kick butt."
"I always do," she said, and then reconsidered her words. "We always do. Thanks for the advice. Talk to you later!"
"No problem. And aite, peace."
They hung up and Bumblebee quickly finished doing her hair, shoved her phone in her shorts pocket and headed out the door.
When did Sparky become such a sage? Bumblebee wondered as she ran through the hallway. She looked down at her phone. Aqualad's message was bright across the screen: "Need you down here. Now."
She was so focused on the text that she didn't see who was also walking around the corner when she turned it.
"OUCH!"
"AYE!"
Both individuals recoiled after having collided painfully. They then met each other's startled eyes, momentarily speechless.
Speedy? she thought, dumbfounded at the sight of him.
The boy in question smoothed out his plaid red shirt. Though it was loose-fitting, she could still faintly make out the definition of muscled arms under its long sleeves. The shirt was unbuttoned over a worn white band tee tucked messily into straight-legged black jeans, which were cuffed over large, black work boots covered with scuff marks. A long chain hung from his pocket, and the camo cap he normally sported on his ginger head was turned backwards. Weirdly, seeing him like this made her want to smile. She didn't see him in "casual" attire often, even though his hero outfit definitely mixed elements of casual and battle-ready. Regardless of what he wore, his style was always the same: something between a punk and an outdoorsman.
He smelled like pine aftershave.
"Hey," Speedy said finally.
"Hey," she said back.
"I like your hair."
"Huh?"
Reflexively, her hand went to the pair of mini double buns on which she had worked painstakingly for the past hour.
"Oh, umm," she replied awkwardly, flouncing the rest of her hair - which was in the form of twist-out curls splayed around her face. "Thanks."
From behind his dark red mask he watched her shift uncomfortably from one leg to the other. It was strange to see her so nervous.
"So…" said Bumblebee. "When did you get back?"
"A couple hours ago," he answered. "Just got done showering and stuff. You guys been having a slow day?"
She nodded and shrugged. "Guess even super-villain scum need a day off once in a while."
"Ha, yeah," Speedy said, attempting a smile. It quickly faded.
"Look, Bee..." he began.
"I'm sorry," she said suddenly.
He made a confused face.
"You're sorry?" he asked. "Why the heck are you sorry? I'm the one who should be sorry. I acted like a jackass last night."
Her mouth fell open slightly. Someone get me a coat, she thought. Hell has truly frozen over. He took her amazed silence as cue to continue speaking.
"I should...be a lot more careful when we're out in the field," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Making sure your teammates...your friends are safe is more important than bagging the baddie. There's no excuse for what I did at the museum. I lost my cool and put you in danger when I shouldn't have...even if it was to take down that colossal dickhead."
Bumblebee's expression turned gentle.
"I appreciate your apology," she said, hazel eyes twinkling.
"Good, 'cus I got more."
She folded her arms. "Oh?"
"I'm also…" he said, now sounding like each word spoken was like a tooth pulled. "Sorry for blaming you about Red X getting away."
Bumblebee's gaze dropped down to the floor. "Well, you were right about that. I should have been more mindful. I shouldn't have let him steal the jewels back."
"You wouldn't have been in that position if it weren't for me," reasoned Speedy. "And who cares, honestly? So the dude nabbed the jewels from you and got away. Big deal."
"If you haven't noticed, Speedy," she said. "We're superheroes. We're not supposed to let the bad guys get away."
"True, but it's going to happen once in a while," he replied. "The good guys don't always win. That's just life. No use beating ourselves up about it."
She looked pensive for a little bit. He stared at her wordlessly, and she could feel his white cloth eyes boring a hole through the top of her head.
"I guess you think that I'm pretty uptight," she said finally. "That I like to order people around a lot."
"Well, yeah," said Speedy. "But I should listen to you more. You're...our leader. I should show you the respect you deserve."
"No, but," her face snapped back up at him. "I shouldn't treat you guys like you're lesser than me. Like you have to do things just because I say so. That's not how a good leader should act...a good leader treats everyone like their equal, and takes into account everyone's perspective."
Now it was Speedy's turn to look stunned.
"Uh, yeah..." he said tentatively. "You do tend to always be on, umm—"
"A power trip?" she finished for him, smirking.
He frowned. "Fish boy's mouth is as big as his feet."
She hummed lightly. "You have to admit, Al is a good mediator."
"Whatever," Speedy said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Listen, there's one more thing I want to apologize for."
Bumblebee cocked her head to the side and prepared herself. Judging from the haughty look on his face, this last apology was the most torturous one.
"I'm…" he said slowly. "...sorry for cleaning my boots on the kitchen counter. I...won't do it again. I mean it this time."
She blinked.
Then, she burst out laughing.
If he had been confused by Bumblebee a mere seconds ago, now Speedy was just straight-up concerned for her mental health.
"Umm?" he asked, sounding a little frightened as she keeled over to hold her stomach. "You good?"
"Oh, oh man…" she said, wiping a tear away. "Bruh, I'm weak. I...really...really needed to laugh."
"You also obviously need bed rest."
"So do you, I'm sure," she replied, straightening her posture. "Anyway, thanks for that. But since you're giving me so many apologies, let me give you an offer."
Speedy raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."
She took a deep breath.
"Aqualad has mentioned that we should probably distribute the space better around here," she said, chewing on the inside of her mouth. "And I know my lab takes up a pretty big portion of the garage. I, uh, really don't need all that room to work. And I know that you need a place to work on your arrows and other equipment, so I—I thought maybe we could repurpose half of the garage into a space for you to do that...and you could eat in there too, but definitely NOTHING too messy—not that I'm trying to tell you what to do—or give you charity—I mean, if you don't think it's a good idea, I totally understand—"
Speedy placed his left hand on her shoulder. "Chill, boss lady."
At his touch, she felt goosebumps erupt all along her skin.
"I think that's a great idea," he said comfortingly. "Now quit acting all jittery. It's not like you. Creeps me out."
Bumblebee sighed. "I just don't want you to keep seeing me as someone who thinks she's always right. Like—like that cop last night. I mean, what if someone looks at me and thinks I'm just as bad? I mean, I bet you—"
"Woah, what?" Speedy exclaimed, shocked. "No way, dude. I don't think that at all. Anyone who does is an idiot."
She didn't say anything. Speedy placed his right hand on her other shoulder and looked deep into her eyes.
"Look, I don't like the cops in this city," he said. "Neither do you. In fact, you've got way more reason to not like 'em than I do. So don't make messed-up false comparisons like that, okay? You can be bossy sometimes. You don't try to screw over innocent people. If you ask me, it's pretty easy to tell the difference. Right?"
Her breathing had become shallow. Bumblebee didn't think they'd ever been that physically close to one another, outside of getting violently flung at each other by some giant tentacle monster or something. She was so close that she could count every freckle sprinkled across his nose.
Bumblebee was only able to muster a wide-eyed nod. The awkwardness of the moment catching up to him, Speedy abruptly rescinded his hands.
"Good," he said curtly. "Unfortunately, as long as we're Teen Titans we'll still have to work with those assholes to a degree. But you already know that."
"Yup," she said in a resigned tone. "Though we can mull over that later. Right now, we should get downstairs."
"Why?" he asked.
"Don't know, exactly," she replied. "Al has some sort of emergency."
"Of course he does."
Bumblebee laughed - this time in a way that didn't make Speedy think she was a lunatic - and put her hands on her hips. He noticed how well they filled out her light-washed mom shorts. The denim bottoms provided an effective contrast to the baggy black t-shirt she had tucked into them, along with the white, slightly too-long-sleeved turtleneck she wore under it. A diminutive row of daisies was embroidered in the center of her tee. Pink nails, hoop earrings, yellow socks, and chunky white sneakers helped christen the outfit as undeniably her: simultaneously feminine and tomboyish. Street but sweet.
"Come on," said Bumblebee. "We gotta help a friend in need, don't we?"
He gave her a lopsided grin. "Sure."
"Took you long enough," said Aqualad when he heard the sound of the common room doors open. He turned around to see Bumblebee and Speedy standing side by side, the latter looking like his typical, relaxed self.
"Speedy," he stated, surprised. "Where—what—uh, did you just get back?"
"Been here for a few hours," his ex-ex-teammate said listlessly.
"I didn't hear you come in."
"It's called stealth, fish boy."
"Speedy!" Más and Menos yelled in unison. The two racing space-ships visible on the tower's jumbo, ultra-wide panoramic TV instantly crashed into each other. Very few things could pull the twins away from their game station, and seeing their teammate after the lousy night they all had had was one of them. In the blink of an eye, the two had sprinted up to their much-missed friend.
"Ugh, HEY," he struggled as they zipped around him, hugging and giving noogies and affectionately messing with his hat. "Would you just—I can't—don't make me—QUIT IT."
"Parece que ha vuelto a la normalidad," Más commented cheekily.
"Sabía que realmente no te irías! Nos extrañarías demasiado!" said Menos, plucking the hat from Speedy's head.
"I don't know what any of that means," threatened Speedy, yanking Más off his back and flinging Menos to the side. "But I know you're gonna get ya lil asses beat if you don't GIVE ME THAT HAT BACK."
"Ooooh, estamos temblando," Mas said.
"Intenta atraparnos primero, tough guy," Menos added with a smirk. He and his brother effortlessly sidestepped the older boy when he lunged at them.
"That's it," Speedy grumbled. "I'm quitting the team again."
Aqualad and Bumblebee both chuckled. As Speedy wrestled with the twins, Aqualad turned to their team leader, looking thoughtful.
"I take it you guys are...cool?" he asked, brows furrowed.
Despite herself, she beamed. "Frosty."
He nodded, features smoothing out with relief. "I'm glad."
"So," she asked. "What's the big emergency?"
Aqualad held his hands behind his back innocently and swayed from side-to-side; it made her think a halo would appear over his head at any second. His blue kimono-style jacket billowed gracefully with each movement.
"I didn't know what to order for dinner," he said.
She feigned annoyance. "Really?"
"Mhm," he replied with a serene smile. "I thought helping me decide between our favorite pizza and Chinese places might lift your spirits a little. But it seems you're in a better mood already."
"I might be getting there."
"Screw ordering in," said Speedy, tossing Más across the room while Menos rode the archer like a bull. "We're going out."
He grabbed his cap from the negative-named brother and slammed him down onto the floor. Aqualad cast Speedy a peeved look.
"And where exactly are we going?" the Atlantean asked.
"Mijo's," answered Speedy, placing his cap back on his head.
"Why?" said Aqualad, befuddled by his teammate's choice. "We only go there when there's something to celebrate."
"There's plenty to celebrate," he said. "We beat Red X, after all."
Now all of them, except for Speedy, looked befuddled.
"I think the lack of sleep is getting to you, Speedy," said Aqualad. "Or don't you remember we got our butts handed to us by that guy? We didn't even get close to catching him afterwards, either."
"We didn't need to catch him to beat him," Speedy replied, reaching into one of his jeans pockets. "We just needed to catch this."
When he held out the item he had retrieved, they all gasped.
"The jewels!" Bumblebee rejoiced, marveling at the bag in his hand.
"Hell yeah," he tossed it over to her. "Consider them part of my apology for bailing last night."
Aqualad was astounded. "But how?" he asked.
"Turns out Red X ditched the east side for the south side. I was chilling by the docks when I ran into him. We fought for a little bit and I took a pounding, but I still managed to swipe the goods back. Then he jacked a boat and got away. His suit was busted up real bad, and he seemed pretty pissed. I figure we'll see him a gain."
"Wow," said Aqualad, actually seeming impressed with him for once. "Good job."
"Thanks, Al," replied Speedy. "Sorry I gave you such a hard time last night."
The other teen regained his serene smile. "It's okay. I don't think it was as bad as being called 'a theater kid.' Whatever that is."
"Yeah," said Speedy. "You're way more of a prom queen type, anyway."
Aqualad turned his nose up and flipped his hair over his shoulder. "I don't know what a prom queen is either, but I completely agree."
"Tu puedes ser su prom king," said Más, pointing at Speedy, which spurred a giggle from his brother.
"Yeah, you can be my king, Speedy," said Aqualad flirtatiously, draping his arm over the freckled boy, who promptly pushed him away.
"You wish, kelp-breath," he said. "I'm outta your league."
"Excuse me? I think you have that reversed."
Watching their antics, Bumblebee felt like she might burst with joy. Warmth seemed to spread throughout the entire room.
"Hell-o," she said, calling the four boys' attention. "Are we getting tacos or what?"
Más and Menos jumped up and down excitedly, chanting "Sí, sí!"
Aqualad raised his pointer finger. "As long as everyone remembers—"
"No fish tacos," said Speedy, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, you've told us a billion times. And we never get them."
"Well you can always do with a reminder," he said, and then caught sight of Bumblebee, who looked a little dazed. "Are you feeling alright, Bee?"
His voice pulled her out of her reverie. "Yeah...I was just thinking…"
"About?" inquired Aqualad.
"I was just thinking that our team is..." she reflected aloud. "a lot different from Sparky's."
"If by different, you mean better," he replied, much to everyone's surprise.
"Well, they're technically the originals—"
"Oh come on, Bee," said Speedy. "Original doesn't always mean the best. And different doesn't always mean bad. I mean, who wants to be the same as those clean-cut, G-rated beaver scouts anyway?"
She laughed. "I know different doesn't mean bad. I only like pointing out how different we are because these garbage magazines are always saying that we're just cheap imitation Titans."
"Nunca saben de qué están hablando," said Menos.
"Yeah," Aqualad agreed. "For one, we're clearly better dressed."
"Claro está," Más chimed in. "Mira este drip!"
He gestured to Menos's sweatsuit and bucket hat combo while his brother gestured to Más's floral patterned button-up, accessorized with a cross-body belt bag.
"Es fresh, no?" Menos said, waggling his eyebrows.
That elicited another laugh from their leader.
"Very," she said.
"All right," Speedy interjected. "If we're all done with the warm fuzzies, I'd like to get some tacos before my adrenaline runs out and I crash on the spot. I have been up for over twenty-four hours, y'know."
"I'm with him," said Aqualad. "Let's get these tacos."
"I'll drive."
"No way, Speedy."
"Fish boy, we won't get there until tomorrow if you drive."
"You're way too tired to drive!"
"I'm good for a few more hours."
"It's not safe!"
"Why don't you try living life on the edge once in a while?"
"You're insane. I'm driving and that's final."
Bumblebee tucked the bag of jewels away, glad that they were going out since she could drop the items off at the police station on the way to Mijo's. She couldn't wait for that giant plate of nachos they usually shared. It felt like a particularly bizarre revelation, but she realized that at her current stage in life, these four boys could actually become some of the best friends she'd ever had. Now how'd that happen so fast?
Speedy continued to bicker with Aqualad as the five of them walked to the garage, the twins thoroughly entertained by the two older boys.
Despite the many squabbles - past, present, and future - there was one thing on which they could all agree: quite a few traits set Titans East apart from Titans West, and, in the former's opinion, a cut above as well.
Two Months Ago
Cyborg dolefully examined the charred hole in his sweatshirt.
"Bee!" he lamented. "This is brand new!"
"Oops, sorry," Bumblebee apologized, quickly lowering her smoking, B-shaped inventions. He glared at the sheepish girl standing in front of a tall, clear glass case. Inside it was a mannequin wearing a high-necked, sleeveless black cat-suit connected to shiny black boots of moderate heel height. The costume had an armored gold bodice, and holsters for the weapons in her hands were strapped around each thigh. Attached to the mannequin's back were mechanical, gossamer wings that gleamed with a soft rainbow of colors under the lab's bright lights.
"Look," Cyborg said in a hardened tone. "Those are some cool new toys, but you might wanna work on your aim."
"If you need help with aim, then I'm your guy."
The two of them glanced over to see a slim, masked boy in the doorway of the garage. He looked smug in a black and red bodysuit accented with knee-pads and durable black boots. A red hood, connected to the suit, was pulled over his head. He wore a loose denim jacket over the tight ensemble. It exhibited a few patches that looked quite worn, as well as what looked like more sophisticated bead, stitch, and feather work trailing down over the front of its shoulders and lapel.
The bill of a faded camo cap stuck out from his hood.
"Speedy!" exclaimed Cyborg happily. "So Rob gave you the right coordinates after all, huh?"
He walked up to the other boy and they bumped fists. Bumblebee didn't seem quite as ecstatic.
"Hey," joked Speedy. "What would pigeon say if he heard that you were doubting his sense of navigation?"
"Probably an over-serious earful," Cyborg quipped in return. "Anyway, it's good to see you."
Speedy put on a cocky grin. "Well, when you said this new team of yours could use a master archer on it, I had to come to the rescue."
Cyborg crossed his arms and smirked. "That ain't exactly what I said, but yeah, great to have you here."
Bumblebee appeared suddenly beside Cyborg and held her hand out to the stranger, having placed her "toys" on the work table behind them.
"Hi, I'm Bumblebee," she said, straightforward and confident.
Speedy took a moment to look the girl up and down. She was fit, had rich brown skin and was wearing a long-sleeved black and yellow, midriff-bearing, mini-skirted get-up. Her hair was done in two sizable afro-puffs and her delicate, dainty edges were laid perfectly.
She had bold hazel eyes and full red lips.
Speedy raised an eyebrow under his mask and didn't make any motion to take her hand. "Uh, hi. Where's the pep squad?"
Bumblebee frowned.
"Uh-hum," Cyborg promptly intervened. "Bumblebee's on the new team too! She's an engineering prodigy who's helping me program y'all's Tower system, among other things."
"Well, tell her to re-program the thermostat in this place," said Speedy dismissively. "'cus I'm melting."
He swaggered over to the table and took off his jacket, placing it around one of the chairs. She saw the inside of the jacket was lined with some kind of diamond serape pattern. She also made out a green tattoo inked into the side of his exposed, tanned and freckled right shoulder.
Bumblebee pouted in annoyance. Who is this guy?
"Sparky doesn't tell me what to do," she corrected, eyes narrowed. "No one does. So let's get that straight, Speedo."
"It's Speedy," he replied, now completely humorless.
"Whatever."
"Uh, Speedy," said Cyborg awkwardly. "How was your trip?"
"Fine," said Speedy, undeterred by the other teen's attempt to change the subject. "So, Bumblebee. You got any powers besides being a tech nerd?"
She put her hands on her hips. "Not that I gotta answer to you, but I happen to have a natural, bio-electric current constantly running through my body. It helps power the suit in the case back there, which can fly at hyper speeds and shrink down to the size of a bee. I made it from scratch. And, I also-"
Bumblebee grabbed the gilded devices she had previously placed on the table. "-can use these as conduits to focus my inner current into super-powered energy blasts. I call them stingers. Just invented them."
"Right," he said. She might have beauty and brains, Speedy contemplated. But this girl really thinks she's hot sh-
"It isn't my style to pry," he continued. "But do you usually wear a cheerleading uniform when you're inventing all this stuff?"
She looked down at her clothing, then back up at him in defiance. "First of all, it's a majorette uniform. And second, no, I don't usually wear it when I'm in the lab. It's just that my jumpsuit is in the laundry right now and I came straight from practice. I happen to be captain of my school's majorette squad. And president of its robotics club, yearbook committee, on the honor roll, track team, and-"
"OHkay, Bee," said Cyborg, cutting her off. "We know you're amazing. You both are."
"Heh, sure," sneered Speedy. "But look, babe, you might be captain of the robot yearbook at your little school or whatever, but I'm a big time hero who's been in the real trenches, get it?"
"Oh, right, you shoot arrows," she said, shrugging and wearing an insufferable smile. "I bet that'll be real useful when the sky tears open and an army of alien warriors starts falling from it."
"Bee!" yelped Cyborg. Speedy's face was flushed with anger.
"Like your little stingers would be any better," he retorted. "Bet they're about as useful as you prancing around throwing batons and pom-poms."
"Hey, that prancing helps keep me in peak physical condition!"
"Well, in my opinion, cheerleading is a lame waste of time that isn't even a real sport."
"I told you, I'm a majorette, not a cheerleader!"
"ENOUGH!"
Their stomachs both lurched at Cyborg's booming voice, and their heads swiftly turned to their aggravated friend.
"Look, guys," he said, resuming a marginally kinder demeanor. "Y'all are supposed to be teammates. It'd be nice if y'all could be, y'know, a little more friendly with each other? And respectful."
Both stood with their backs to each other, saying nothing. Cyborg sighed.
"Okay, why don't you guys just start over?" he suggested. "Starting with this: hold out your hands and shake."
"No," said Bumblebee.
"I'd rather skewer myself with my own arrows," added Speedy.
"I'd rather you do that too."
"You know what-"
"SHAKE," commanded Cyborg. "Now."
They each flinched, then looked over their shoulders at each other. Bumblebee was the first to turn around; she took a deep breath and held out her hand.
"Oh okayyy," she said. "Truce?"
Speedy then spun slowly on his heel, facing Bumblebee. He looked at her hand warily but nonetheless took it, much to Cyborg's relief.
"Fine, little girl," replied Speedy. "Truce."
"Well all right!" said Cyborg cheerfully. "Now let's-"
"YOWCH!"
The archer flew backwards against the wall, his hand singed. Cyborg threw Bumblebee a bewildered look. "Bee, did you just…?"
"She ZAPPED me!" Speedy said, furiously getting to his feet. "Crap, that really stings!"
"Hmph," Bumblebee said, turning her head to the side. "You deserved it. Sparky, you talk about respect, well, he's the one that needs to respect me. I am the leader of this team after all."
"What?"
Speedy's expression was one of total disbelief. Bumblebee simpered at him.
"That's right, arrow-boy. I'm the boss around here," she said primly, gesturing at herself with her thumb. "So you have to report to me!"
"Cyborg," he growled. "Please tell me she's joking. I thought you were the leader of this team?"
Cyborg twiddled his thumbs. "I mean, only temporarily. I'm just here to help y'all set this place up and run some battle simulations. I'm gonna be heading back to Jump in a few weeks, and then-"
"I'll be in charge," Bumblebee finished.
"This-this is ridiculous!" complained Speedy. "I'm not taking any orders from you!"
"Tough, 'cus you have to!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do not!" he barked. "That's it, I'm calling Robin."
"What good is that gonna do? He's not your leader, I am."
"Are not."
"Are too."
Cyborg sank down into a chair, holding his head.
Okay, he thought. So Titans East isn't off to the best start...
Come as you are, as you were
As I want you to be
As a friend, as a friend
As an old enemy
-Nirvana, "Come As You Are"
[END: TRACK 1]
A/N: Phew, so the first one's up. I'm not sure how regularly I can update, but reviews certainly are welcome encouragement. Overall, I'm super excited about these stories and hope you'll enjoy reading them. This first part was super long, but I'm planning on having the rest be shorter, so hopefully I'll be faster getting them out. Also, I may edit these if I spot typos I somehow missed before, and correct/revise the twins' Spanish dialogue as needed.
I've been wanting to write a more developed fanfic about the Titans East for a long, long time. Their re-imaginings are based on my own original ideas as well as various iterations of certain characters in other DC continuities. For instance, Bumblebee's costume is meant to draw from her look in Teen Titans: the Judas Contract animated movie. She also has a cheerleader look in DC Bombshells, so that was the inspo for that. Speedy/Arsenal's look is kind of a mix between his Outlaws incarnation and DC rebirth style, punked up a little of course lol
I also really love Gabriel Picolo's art and re-designs of the main TT. I kind of wanted to invoke that fun teen fashion & pop culture vibe with this project, especially when it comes to envisioning their personal styles when not in uniform.
Anyway, I could go on and on, but I will end here. Stay tuned for the next installment of Mixtape!
xoxo
-pb