Chapter title is meant to be 'Maybe Christmas Doesn't Come from a Store' but apparently that was one letter too long, so I've had to use Xmas instead (which was painful for me to write but there we go - means the same thing)
"Maybe we should just let the police deal with this one," Beast Boy suggested as the T-car skidded onto the pavement outside the electronics store.
"They have enough on their hands dealing with the mess at the opera house," Robin replied. "Let's go."
Red lights flashed through the shop windows, accompanied by a high-pitched trilling of the burglar alarm. The Titans pushed through the front door – unlocked with no signs of forced entry – and hurtled into the cold building.
The front of the store looked untouched. The long shelves of computers and printers were still full and neatly packed. The floors were clean, everything was in place. If it hadn't been for the throbbing scarlet light and the screaming alarm flooding the room every few seconds, they wouldn't have believed anyone had broken in at all.
The Titans moved quietly through, peering down each aisle, bodies tense, ready to attack. Nothing down the first five aisles. However, at the back, by a large, flashy display, two figures lurked in the shadows. The red lights didn't quite reach them.
"The jig's up," Robin growled, taking out his trusty staff as he approached.
The figures seemed to look at each other then back at the Titans. "Aw, crud!" one of them whined. "It's those snot-munching do-gooders!" A deep, gorilla-like grunt followed.
Starfire lit her hand with green energy and stepped forward, casting an emerald glow over the figures.
"Gizmo and Mammoth," Cyborg said. "Should've guessed.
"Another crook left their Christmas shopping a little late." Robin twirled his staff, taking another step forward.
However, neither villain appeared to be in the mood for witty banter. Helicopter blades sprung out of Gizmo's backpack, lifting him into the air, high above their reach. Mammoth snarled and rushed forward, his meaty hands raised above his head, ready to strike.
Beast Boy was too quick. He changed into a tiger and leapt, clamping his jaws on Mammoth's arms. There was a short struggle, but Mammoth succeeded in flinging the green tiger from his arm. Beast Boy slammed one of the display cases. Glass cracked; spider silvery lines crept across the pane. He tried to stand but, dazed, promptly fell over again.
"Starfire, Cyborg, stop Gizmo," ordered Robin as he and Raven stirred into action.
Gizmo was near the ceiling, above the flashy display, fiddling with the control pad on his arm. Cyborg took the opportunity whilst he was distracted to fire off a few blasts of his sonic cannon.
Gizmo gave a cry alarm when they narrowly missed him by inches, scorching the ceiling instead. "Barf-sneezing, butt-chewing crud monkeys," he muttered angrily, swinging this way and that to avoid the rain of starbolts from Starfire's fists. However, one managed to hit the helicopter blades and he tumbled out of the air, catching himself on one of the shelving units.
Growling, Gizmo reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of tiny bombs which he proceeded to lob at the Titans.
Raven, meanwhile, had torn off pieces of the ceiling and was in the process of wrapping them around a wriggling Mammoth when one of Gizmo's bombs exploded at her feet. She was promptly knocked off her feet and fell heavily into a shelf of cameras.
Beast Boy, seeing Mammoth beginning to wriggle from his bindings, picked himself up and lunged towards him. He changed into a large python and wound himself around the giant, squeezing tightly.
The last of Gizmo's bombs hit the display at the back, shattering the glass. Dodging more starbolts and sonic cannon blasts, Gizmo rushed towards it and jumped down, clambering inside where four flashy phones were held in fine, metal claws. Gizmo grabbed the phones, but didn't get any further than that as Cyborg swooped in and scooped him up by the back of his jumpsuit.
"Lemme go, lemme go!" Gizmo whined, kicking and swiping the air furiously. Cyborg laughed half-heartedly at the sight and held him higher.
"We'll take those," Robin said, snatching the phones from the squirming boy. "All this trouble for a new phone?"
"Aww, come on!" Gizmo pouted, still wriggling in Cyborg's grasp but with less gusto. "No fair!"
Robin smirked. "Looks like you're getting coal again this year, and a nice seasonal holiday in prison."
They marched him down to where Raven had successfully encased Mammoth in plaster and metal. She was fashioning similar restraints for Gizmo when the tell-tale wail of a police siren sounded from outside.
Sgt. Miller and another officer rushed in, handcuffs at the ready. "We'll take it from here," said Miller.
"Less damage than usual," the other officer remarked as she repressed a yawn. "That's a relief – the paperwork is ridiculous. They try to steal much?"
"Actually, no," Robin replied. "It looked like they were only after a few phones." He held up the four decices Gizmo had tried to steal. At first glance they looked like normal smart phones: sleek, rounded rectangles with large screens curving around the edges, nestled in leather cases. However, each case was a different colour: red; green; purple; and black.
There was a large gasp. Beast Boy appeared at Robin's shoulder, eyes glittering with awe. "Not just any phone!" Beast Boy sighed. "They're brand new, top of the range, Avian line phones!"
"Avian line?"
"Hey, I've heard of these," the officer said, tilting her head. "There was an advert the other day. Called 'Birds' or something. Fancy new phones. My daughter wants one for Christmas. They've only just been released so she'll have to make do with the newest iPhone…"
"iPhones are good, but nothing compared to these babies," Beast Boy said before launching into a rant about the new features the Avian Line of phones had to offer.
Robin, not listening, looked at the phones more closely, now that they were properly illuminated by the street lamps outside. They were more square than most phones, and the cases flipped out from the back as well, creating what looked like wings either side of the screen, with golden poppers to keep them shut. They were also different sizes.
"They've all got different names, and have different apps already downloaded depending. Obviously you can customise when you've bought it… black's call the Eagle. The green is the Hawk. The purple is the Falcon and the red…ha! The red's the Robin. Maybe we should get you one?" Beast Boy nudged Robin playfully.
Robin scowled and marched back into the shop to put the phones back in their display case.
The female police officer returned then, lips pursed. "That's those two loaded," she said. "Holding cells are filling up fast. Miller and I are in for a long night of filling out forms."
"Yeah, lots of crime tonight, eh guys?" said Sgt. Miller. "You lot must be getting tired – I know I am. And Christmas eve of all nights!"
"Tell me about it," Beast Boy moaned.
He gave them a sympathetic look before whisking his partner back into the cars to escort Gizmo and Mammoth to prison.
"I swear, if we get one more call…" Cyborg began, leading the way to the T-Car. They clambered in, and had barely shut the doors when the alarm began ringing once again.
"The observatory," Robin said, and they were off.
Chapter title is, as I'm sure you've guessed, from 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!' (1957) by Dr. Seuss.