Dark Titans – Arc 4 – Titan Rising!
Chapter 6
Enjoy if you will, Tolerate if you won't
Terra was nervous.
Now, to put this into perspective, one had to remember that Terra was a frightfully powerful geokinetic. Combine that with the fact that Terra also possessed no small amount of experience battling villains and heroes too terrible and wondrous to describe with disturbing frequency. And to top off this badass sundae, it was quite recently revealed to Terra that she was now more powerful than she could even imagine due to strange forces beyond her understanding.
And yet, Terra was nervous.
But then, being trussed up in a burlap sack and hung up from a twenty foot metal post while your (supposed) savior was busying himself with the activity of gathering a good sized pile of boulders while eying you appraisingly . . .
Terra was nervous.
She looked to the hand of her right arm - the other arm having been tied behind her back- or, more specifically, to the single finger which poked out of the cloth bandanna which he'd wrapped around her hand. She wiggled the digit experimentally, comparing the slender finger to the hefty stones piling up before her 'instructor'
"Ummmm . . . Ryouga?" she inquired nervously.
Ryouga looked up attentively, a wide smile on his face. "Don't you worry, Terra. I think I've got just about enough boulders. We should be able to start real soon!"
A nervous bead of sweat trickled down the frail girl's brow. The slow sway of her body in the wind only accentuated just how uncomfortable she was in her trussed-up state. Normally, she was pretty sure that any girl would have balked at the idea of letting a guy tie them up so thoroughly; the idea of leaving oneself open to unthinkably lewd acts being too disturbing to ignore . . .
But nooooo, she had trusted Ryouga's intentions. She knew he would never do anything lewd to her!
Another boulder dropped onto the pile with a sharp crack.
Oh, how she wished he was just planning something lewd now-
Wait, that didn't sound quite right . . .
"Ah, Ryouga?" she started again. "About this training. Don't you think it's a bit . . ." she struggled to find an appropriate term.
"Intense?" her trainer offered helpfully.
"Psychotic!"
Ryouga effortlessly lifted one of the two-foot spheres of roughly hewn rock and examined it critically. He then looked her way in confusion. "What? These are way smaller than the ones I used to learn the technique. Besides, with your power, you shouldn't have any trouble finding the breaking point."
She stared at him incredulously. "You do realize that you still haven't explained exactly how I'm supposed to do that, right?"
His head tilted to the side in puzzlement. "What? Sure I did. You just gotta see it with your mind's eye. That's how Cologne taught me to do it, and it only took me a week. I figure you should have it down way before that."
"It took you a week?"
Ryouga nodded amiably, before hefting the hefty boulder over his head. "Six days, actually, but time really flies when you black out. Now, let's get started!" With that, he reared back to throw-
Terra's shrill scream of terror rang in her own ears as she instantly panicked and hid behind her free arm in an act of futile desperation. The crushing impact would come any second now.
. . . um . . . any second now?
Gradually, the bound blonde's scream petered off and she slowly peeked out from behind her narrow arm.
Hey, when did that pillar get there?
And indeed there was a stone pillar before her, roughly eight feet high and four feet in diameter . . . and standing in close proximity to the large pile of rocks that Ryouga had gathered. She stared at the monolith for another moment, confusion replacing concentration . . .
As she did, the pillar suddenly seemed to lose cohesion, splitting in half straight down the middle. A moment later, each half of the large monument fell away, crashing to the ground with a pair of great, hollow 'Thuds' . . .
To reveal the crumpled figure of one Ryouga Hibiki standing in the center . . .
From her position on the roof, Raven winced in sympathy as she watched the bandanna clad warrior collapse to the ground in a crumpled heap. Slowly, she turned to look to her fellow Titans, also watching the spectacle from the (relative) safety of the tower's roof. One by one, she pierced each of them with a knowing glance.
"And that is why Ryouga is better suited to training Terra."
Oddly, no one argued her point.
For her part, Kasumi just sighed in resignation.
"I'll go warm up the crash cart."
Raven released a forlorn sigh as she ran the ornate brush through her hair yet again. Her hair had long since been reined into utter perfection by her efforts, falling to frame her face as perfectly as it ever had . . . And yet she continued to stare at her reflection in the long, full length mirror before her. She should already be in bed, she knew; was already wearing her nightgown for that matter, and yet there she was, brushing hair that rarely dared to fall out of place at the worst of times.
A small part of her still felt guilty for sacrificing Ryouga unto the altar of pain that was Terra. It had been a necessary sacrifice; while her tolerance for pain was leaps and bounds above Beast Boy's, the Lost Boy existed on an entirely different plane when it came the exquisite art of suffering . . . physically, anyway. And she had no doubt that the unavoidable clashes between her own personality and that of Terra's wild spirit would have yielded similar results.
Not that she had expected him to start off with such a boneheaded maneuver. Really? Training Terra in the Bakusai Tenketsu? Maybe she should call Ranma and have him remind Ryouga that he wasn't in Nerima anymore?
Unfortunately, that was hardly the only thing on her mind preventing her from falling into the clutches of sleep that night. Absently she turned to and fro, critically examining the young woman standing before her in the mirror. The nightgown she wore clung tightly to her frame, leaving little to the imagination beneath its midnight silk.
A single question had been occurring to her with increasing and disturbing frequency lately:
Am I attractive?
It was so hard for her to judge. She knew that Starfire was attractive, numerous people often told the exotic alien such. But she wasn't like Starfire, she wasn't as trim and athletic as her friend, nor as tall. Her hair was short and stark, not long and luxurious like her friend's. More telling was her inability to actually remember if anyone had actually ever told her that she was beautiful before.
Of course, Starfire told her that often enough, but considering that the Tamaranian thought Mustard was on par with a fine vintage of wine, it was difficult to take her opinion with less than a grain of salt. Besides, it would be nice to actually hear a male tell her she was attractive . . . if only for the novelty value.
She sighed again, forcing herself to place her brush on her nightstand with a thud of finality. It had been so much easier when she'd never had to bother with concerns over her physical appearance. Unfortunately, the focus of her guilt was the same focus of her very confusing self-analysis.
What did Ryouga see when he looked at her? She knew that there was . . . something between them. She wasn't sure what it was anymore; whatever it was, it was just a faint spark, the fragile remnants of what had come before, fiercely stamped upon by the violations of the Headmaster.
She allowed herself a small flight of fancy, wondering what the Lost Boy's reaction would be if she were to appear in his room right that moment. Instantly her cheeks flushed with color . . . only to fade back to their natural pale tone a second later.
Had Jinx ever had that very same thought . . . and if so, had she actually followed through with it? It was not a comfortable thought. Raven knew that Ryouga was still harboring strong feelings for the vindictive sorceress. Was it just Jinx's body that had spurred the Lost Boy's affection? Sadly, she knew the answer before she even thought the question. Whatever bond the martial artist and the villain shared, it went well beyond the base concept of lust . . .
With a weary sigh, Raven finally walked over to her bed and dropped down to the soft mattress with a dull thump. She almost felt bad for Terra. It was quite obvious to the empath that the geokinetic girl was forming a crush on the resident combat expert. If only the girl knew the quagmire of emotional baggage that she was so recklessly skirting.
Groaning now, Raven flopped back onto the bed and willed her bedside lamp to flare to life. Her current train of thought was painful and confusing and frustrating, but it was still preferable to the alternative of sleep.
As such, she was pleasantly surprised when her communicator began beeping. Considering she was currently in the tower and no alarm was ringing, it was obvious that there was no crisis in the hatching, which left only one real possibility of who it could be. In a flash of ebony telekinesis, her communicator floated to her hands and she opened it eagerly.
The familiar face of her pigtailed pen-pal flashed to life on the tiny screen, looking surprisingly sharp in his SNDF uniform and barrette.
. . . What? Just because she had doubts as to whether she was attractive or not didn't mean she was totally clueless on the subject.
"Hey there, Rae! I'm not calling too late for ya, am I?"
Raven looked to the digital readout on her communicator. Three A.M.? Is it actually that late?
"You don't usually call this late, Ranma, is something wrong?"
He shook his head, smiling in that dashing manner of his. "Nah, pretty much the opposite, actually. I just got finished talkin' to the Lie-ahem-Commander, and he wanted me to pass on his personal thanks to Robin. Bird Boy's idea to form a bridge of communication between Commissioner Gordon and Commander Daizo went over really well. The Commander was really happy to get information and insight from someone so seasoned in dealing with vigilantes and super villains. Heck, with just the dossiers he's gotten so far, he says it's gonna go a long way to help shape the direction the Super Normal Defense Forces are going to take."
A faint twist of her lip had the dark Titan smiling despite herself. "And you were so thrilled at the prospect of all the work that your superior is no doubt preparing to drop on your shoulders, that this heartfelt thank you couldn't wait until morning?"
The cheerful look on her companion's face dropped like a stone. "Don't remind me. Half of the stuff Daizo got from Gordon got dropped on my desk." Never one to be defeated for long, the pigtailed officer's smile returned in a flash. "Besides, I had an odd feeling that calling you now wouldn't be a bad idea, and it looks like I was right."
An odd thought struck her. "Remind me again, if the Commander asked you to give Robin his thanks, then why exactly are you bothering me?" Not that she minded the distraction, but she had a reputation to maintain after all.
Ranma's smile grew three sizes in that instant. "Uh, let me think about that. Should I chat with a scrawny kid who plays with boomerangs, or a cute girl that happens to be one of my best friends? Hmmm, tough choice there."
To her credit, Raven didn't blush at the unexpected compliment. No, she was far too busy rolling her eyes at the sheer irony. For the first time I can recall, I receive a compliment . . . and it is from the exact opposite of the person that I was hoping to receive said compliment from. It appeared that life was, indeed, just that unfair.
It still felt wonderful to hear, though.
Apparently she had taken too long to respond, as Ranma shot her a quizzical look through the tiny screen. "Y'know, you look pretty tired. Maybe I should let ya go, let you get to bed and all that."
The sudden threat of solitude spurred Raven's hurried response of, "W-wait! . . . Don't you have any homework that you need help with? I'm not really tired and I could use something to distract me."
Ranma shook his head helplessly. "I dunno, Rae. I mean, I'm kinda at work right now . . . "
". . . oh . . . I see. Well, I suppose I should let you get back to that, then-"
"Actually, y'know, now that I think about it..." Ranma's expression softened into something she couldn't quite identify. Fond amusement? "I do have a stack of metahuman dossiers that the Commander just happens to want analyzed for training purposes. Considering that more than a few of these files are from your neck of the woods, I bet you could be a real help!"
Raven felt her own smile return. Somehow, she had known that the pigtailed jock wouldn't let her down. Even better, the task at hand actually sounded like something she could really assist with. Feeling better by the moment, she quickly curled herself up in her blankets while Ranma started digging through his stack of criminal files.
The work went by easily. The first few files were criminals she didn't have any real knowledge of, but it was a pleasure to watch the pigtailed martial artist systematically break down the powers and weaknesses of each metahuman based solely on the information provided in the files. She did her best to help when and where she could, but she had to admit that her mind was not so finely tuned for the intricacies of combat as Ranma's was.
As a result, after only a half hour had passed, her mind was only half paying attention to the work at hand, and her morbid curiosity finally got the better of her. The question had been rolling around her head with growing frequency of late, and since she was completely incapable of going directly to the source for the answer, her pigtailed friend seemed like a perfect alternative.
"Ranma . . . you know Ryouga better than anyone else, right?"
Ranma groaned in reply. "I should'a known there'd be a catch to you wanting to help me!"
She didn't giggle at his antics; rather, she looked down, feeling the burning embarrassment from asking the question keenly.
Apparently her pigtailed companion saw this, as a weary sigh quickly filtered through the communicator. "Yeah, yeah, I know Pork Butt pretty much as well as anyone can know him. Why do ya ask?"
If anything, her embarrassment only magnified, burning her cheeks with crimson heat, but she forced herself to push forward. She'd come too far to turn back now, and at least she would get an honest answer in return for her humiliation.
"Do you . . . do you know why Ryouga likes Jinx so much more than me?"
It was a fortunate stroke of fate that Ranma hadn't been drinking anything at that moment, as the young man almost certainly would have painted his computer with his spit-take if he had. It was immediately followed by stuttering denials and anxious deflections of, "I-I dunno what yer talkin' 'bout!"
She waited patiently for him to calm down once more, carefully maintaining their shared eye contact. When he did finally reign in his shock, she offered him a pointed stare, reiterating her question without the need for verbal repetition.
Apparently he was learning her moods well, as he simply shook his head and released a beleaguered sigh. "Look, Rae, seriously, I know the kind of crazy, whacked out things that can pop into your head when you're all on your own in the dead of night. Trust me, I can relate . . . But – but why the heck are ya asking me about this?"
"Because no one knows Ryouga better than you. Because you're one of my closest friends, and the only person I feel comfortable talking to about this. And, because I know that you are tactless enough to tell me the truth, no matter how blunt it may be," she explained with a weak smile.
She allowed the pigtailed boy a moment to ruminate on that fact, an amusing array of emotions crossing his face as he did. She was fairly new to the entire emotional entrapment game, but she'd been learning quite quickly as of late. She might have even felt guilty, were it not for the fact that everything she had said was completely true.
Finally, after settling on a rueful smile, Ranma shook his head once more. "Well, I guess a blatant lack of common sense and good taste would be the first things that spring to mind."
"Ranma, please, I'm being serious, here," she implored her friend.
Ranma matched her gaze for a long moment, the smile slowly dropping from his lips as he did. "Fine, fine. Just remember that you seriously owe me one, now. If it were anyone but you, I wouldn't even be wastin' my breath on this romance crap."
Raven smiled ruefully. "I really appreciate this, Ranma."
Slowly, Ranma shook his head from side to side. "I doubt you'll think that for too much longer. You sure you wouldn't prefer the comforting lie routine over the whole brutal honesty thing?"
" . . ."
"Rae?"
"I'm thinking," she replied half-heartedly. "Is it really that bad?"
Her companion sighed loudly, obviously dreading what he had to say as much as she was. "Look, Rae, I really hate to say it, I really do, but . . . but yer askin' yerself the wrong question. It isn't: Why does Ryouga like Jinx so much more than you? The real question you need to ask yourself is:
"Why does Jinx like Ryouga so much more than you?"
Had Raven actually been standing, she would have been rocked back to her heels at the question. "Ex-excuse me?"
"Hey, now. You said you wanted the truth." Ranma met her indignant glare with steely resolve. "I don't know what happened 'tween you and Ryouga. I know even less about what happened between Jinx and Ryouga, and I know about as much about love as Akane knows about cooking, but I do know one thing for sure.
"I only got to talk to Jinx for a few minutes, but even in that short time she made a helluva impression on me." The Saotome heir rubbed his cheek at some distant memory. "Look, I dunno what happened, or why, or when, but I know that girl loved Ryouga. I mean, hell, no sane person woulda done what she did for hi-"
Suddenly, Ranma's jaw clicked shut, giving the very strong impression that the young man had just realized what he was saying, and that he probably shouldn't be saying it. Raven's eyes narrowed at his slip. She knew her memory of the entire Academy fiasco was spotty at best, but she couldn't remember Jinx doing anything overly memorable, and she had been with Ranma every step of the way.
"What exactly did she d-"
"That ain't important!" he cut her off quickly, a panicked look in his eyes. "Just think about it. Ryouga was willing to follow Akane to the ends of the earth; heck, the jackass woulda jumped on a sword if she'd wanted, and she didn't even realize it. Now tell me, if he had that kinda loyalty for someone that only thought of him as a friend, just what do ya think he would feel for a girl that actually did love him back?"
It took her a long moment to digest that question. "I . . . I don't even know what to say to that . . ."
Again, her friend shook his head, a look of guilt forming on his normally carefree features. "Look, Raven, I ain't sayin' you don't got a shot with him or nuthin'. I'm just saying that you shouldn't be thinking of this like a competition. What Ryouga thinks of you, and what he thinks of Jinx are two completely unrelated things; him likin' Jinx more don't mean he likes you less . . . just – I dunno – different . . ."
It was Raven's turn to sigh. She wasn't certain why, but her companion's incredibly strange logic had actually made some slight form of sense, for some unfathomable reason. It appeared that she did indeed owe him one; considering the pained look on his face, he didn't enjoy this conversation one bit. "Thank you, Ranma. As strange as it sounds, that actually made some sort of sense to me." She smiled weakly. "One would almost think you knew what you were talking about."
Immediately, Ranma rose to her playfully offered bait, a cocky smirk blooming on his lips. "Hey, I got three fiancée's and one certified loony chasin' after me, one of whom is my oldest childhood friend. D'you really think that I never think about this kinda stuff at all?"
Raven rolled her eyes fondly. "Yes, I do forget what a Playboy you are from time to time."
"Hey! You keep that up and the favor you now owe me is gonna be givin' me a good ol' Mousse style foot rub!"
Instantly, Raven's cheeks flushed red. "Who told you about that?"
Ranma cackled maniacally at her distress. "A not so little birdy might have mentioned it. Of course, I'm a lot more active than you, so you'll probably need to wash my feet pretty good firs-"
"Oh, shut up," she grumbled darkly. "Don't you have work you're supposed to be doing?"
-Meanwhile, three floors up-
Ryouga flopped over in his bed for the umpteenth time that night. The glaring red glow of his bedside alarm clock informed him that the hour was very nearly four in the A.M. and yet sleep had eluded him as thoroughly as the concept of North and West . . . or was it South? East?
Whatever.
Life just wasn't fair at times. Finally, after months of intense training and research, he had finally managed to free Terra from her stony prison. He was supposed to be free to live, to love, to laugh, to destroy massive tracts of personal property, just like in the good old days. And yet here he was, agonizing over the latest impossible problem to be so generously shoved in his lap.
The Wanderer instantly felt bad for thinking of the situation like that. Terra wasn't a burden; she was a friend, a friend in dire need of assistance to keep her from shaking the entire city to its foundations every time she sneezed.
But how could he, of all people, teach a geokinetic super hero how to control her powers? It didn't make any sense, there was practically no comparison, no point of reference between what he did, and what she did. He'd spent all of his life learning to do things, and now they wanted to teach her how to not do something?
Why wasn't Raven training Terra? The dark Titan always explained that her mediation was used as a method to limit her powers, to restrain her emotions to a controllable level. That seemed like a much more obvious comparison of ability. Terra was too powerful now and needed to figure out how to tone it down, and Raven was the master of toning it down.
If Ryouga weren't so fond of the Titan girls, it would have galled him; the fact that these two girls just were so powerful. He had trained his entire life – at least, that's what it felt like at times – pushed himself to ridiculous extremes and endured devastating training . . . and yet, compared to so many people in the world, he would barely even constitute a blip on the radar.
Even though it was an utterly impossible scenario with absolutely zero chance of happening in reality . . . would he be able to defeat Terra in a fight? How would one fight a girl that could literally move mountains with a thought? Sure, the Shishi Houkodan had been created with earth moving in mind, but that was hardly a viable option any longer. Besides, even at his best, would it really have been possible to overpower someone like Terra?
He knew that he certainly couldn't overpower Raven, and according to Beast Boy, Terra was supposed to be every bit as formidable. But, then again, Mousse very nearly took Raven out, easily could have if he hadn't held back at the beginning of their battle. The near-sighted warrior was no powerhouse, that was certain, but he was clever, skilled and utilized a very intricate and unpredictable style.
Hmmm . . .
The Lost Boy didn't like where his train of thought was leading him. The direct approach had always been his approach. Tricks and deceit, strategy and tactics, those had always been the hallmarks of another martial artist.
No, there was no need to start thinking like that anytime soon. After all, even though he'd lost his ultimate technique, he still had a pretty good repertoire of skills at his disposal. Maybe if he put as much thought into his Iron Cloth technique as he did to Terra's revival, he could start improving that as well. Then there was his rather dubious 'mastery' of the Hiryu Shoten Ha, but even Starfire had already surpassed his ability with that technique. Maybe it was time to put a little more thought into that as well, after all this time.
Of course, his most impressive leaps had been with the Bakusai Tenketsu. He chuckled evilly to himself. He sure would like to see the look on Cologne's face when he told her he actually restored Terra where she hadn't . . .
Ryouga's eyes snapped wide open and he slapped a hand to his forehead.
Cologne!
If anyone might have a few ideas on how to train Terra, it would be her. After all, hadn't Cologne helped Raven greatly in the control of her powers?
It sure beat the heck out of the alternative: trying to track down Happosai and getting his help. As if that wrinkled old freak would actually do anything worthwhile with his time.
Now that he thought about it, he was actually surprised that he hadn't already thought to call the ancient Amazon about his success in the first place. Not that he wanted to brag or anything (well, actually, he did . . .) but his research into the Bakusai Tenketsu had raised a number of questions in his mind that she might be able to answer for him.
He looked to his clock again. Well, if it was early morning here, it shouldn't be too unreasonable of a time in China; no time like the present and all that jazz. Tingling with excitement, now, he quickly retrieved his communicator and flipped the device open.
He briefly noted that Raven's communicator appeared to be active, but was too excited to pay it too much heed at the moment. Taking another moment to punch in the number for the ancient Matriarch, he could barely contain his smile as the device started beeping incessantly.
He was rewarded a little less than a minute later, as the tiny view screen flared to life, the familiar and withered face of his part time mentor filling the screen. The aged woman took a moment to finish chewing some unidentified foodstuff in her mouth, peering at the screen owlishly before finally speaking.
"What's this now? Who is that interrupting my breakfast?"
Oops! Realizing the problem quickly, Ryouga flipped on his table lamp. As soon as the light bathed his room –eliciting a pained wince from him – recognition quickly bloomed in the ancient warrior's eyes. The fanged boy immediately offered her a fanged grin.
"Breakfast? Don't you mean supper? They don't have you working the night shift in your village, do they, Granny?"
Cologne simply shook her head in amusement. "Child, you could not even begin to imagine the magnitude of the tasks laid out before me." Her large, owlish eyes pierced his with clinical intent. "But enough of that, you obviously have a reason for contacting me, so out with it, Hibiki."
Ryouga nodded eagerly, completely incapable of keeping his grin from blooming into a full-blown smile. "I sure do! I did it, Granny! I actually did it!"
One of the wizened warrior's eyebrows arched in curiosity. "Did what? I don't have all day to play guessing games with foolish children."
His smile only grew, baring his fangs for all the world to see. "Terra! I finally saved Terra."
She stared at him in confusion for a short moment, before realization suddenly lit her features. "Garfield's unfortunate friend? The girl in the stone? You've revived her?"
He nodded again, beaming with pride. "That's right! It was a hell of a job, but with everyone's help, we finally did it."
Amazingly, Cologne's eyes widened, just for a brief moment, in a rare display of respect. The old lady then let out a low whistle. "Really. To imagine that one such as yourself has progressed so far in such a short time. I imagine your mastery of the Bakusai Tenketsu has increased significantly as well. Should I, perhaps, send a message of warning to my Future Son-in-law?" she chided teasingly.
Ryouga shook his head dismissively. "I'd really like to, but unfortunately, I have even bigger fish to fry at the moment. In fact, that's part of the reason I called you."
He could tell he had perked the ancient warrior's interest, as her eyes narrowed, just so, as she continued to examine him. He almost wondered if she could read his Ki through the communicator, before dismissing it as a silly notion. Rather than ask a pointless question, though, Cologne just silently waited for him to continue.
"Well," he began his explanation, "We finally revived Terra, however, we've . . . we've run into a bit of a snag."
"A . . . snag?"
Another affirmative nod. "Yeah, nothing bad, or anything . . . well, sorta bad, but not really-"
"Cut to the chase, Hibiki," Cologne barked in exasperation.
"Well, Terra is fine and all, but, for some reason, her powers are a lot more . . . well, powerful than they were before. Raven thinks it has something to do with her Ki being trapped in the earth for so long, but whatever the reason, Terra can't really control them anymore."
Cologne 'Ahh'd' in understanding. "I see your conundrum now. If the girl was as powerful as young Garfield described, then the power she may feasibly possess now would be most impressive."
"Yeah. So, I was kind of hoping that you could come by and help me train her to control her powers."
"Ah – wait a moment -" She stared at him piercingly. "You are training her? For what possible reason could they have possibly chosen you to train the girl? Why, with the training I provided her myself, Raven should be suitably equipped to at least begin the girls instruction."
Ryouga shrugged helplessly. "I'm not exactly sure myself. Raven and Kori were trying to tell me that knowing the Bakusai Tenketsu meant I was the best person to train Terra, though it didn't really make a lot of sense to me."
Cologne seemed to consider his words for a moment, tilting her head in thought. "Well, the Bakusai Tenketsu does require remarkable amounts of control, so there is some merit in their thought. Still, the fact that you are calling me likely means that you've been unable to come up with any possible training regimens of your own, correct?"
He shrugged again. "Well, I was gonna try teaching her the Bakusai Tenketsu itself-"
"What?" Cologne cut him off with an angry squawk. "You simple-minded fool! Do you know how dangerous that training method is to someone that lacks the proper conditioning?"
Ryouga nodded nervously. "Certain . . . life threatening drawbacks to that specific method of training were made clear to me, yes."
The ancient Amazon rolled her eyes.
"But," he continued, "That's all the more reason to call you, right? Not only could you help Terra bring her powers back under control faster than anyone, but there are so many questions about my Bakusai Tenketsu training that I want to ask you. Heck, if you need, I could send Cyborg over to the village to pick you up tomorrow if you'd like."
His eager optimism died quickly, as Cologne shook her head from side to side. "Unfortunately, I am embroiled deeply within tribal business at the moment. I am very interested in meeting the young Terra, and learning just how you went about restoring her, but it will take me several days, at the least, to free up enough of my schedule to allow such a visit."
A loud sigh escaped Ryouga's lips.
"However, young Hibiki, I may be able to put you on the proper course to begin the girl's training yourself until I arrive. Perhaps if you explain more of the situation to me?" she added, a wizened smile blooming on her wrinkled lips.
The bandanna clad warrior's smile returned just as quickly. "That'd be great!" He quickly scratched his chin in thought. "Now, let's see . . . I think the biggest problem is that Terra's powers are so much like Raven's. They're all in her head, really. She just thinks about something happening, and then it happens. It's pretty much the complete opposite of our training; transforming our bodies into living weapons."
Cologne smirked at that. "Heh, not necessarily so different as you might imagine, boy, but I think I can understand your problem here. Normally, in a case such as this, I would likely suggest a regimen of meditation and introspection to allow the practitioner to put their mind at peace . . . however, considering who the girl's trainer is, we'll just skip past that idea as unworkable."
Ryouga scowled darkly at the teasing, likely proving the old woman's point perfectly.
On the tiny screen, Cologne tapped her chin in thought. "Now, what to do . . . what to do – oh, oh, that might be just the thing!"
Forgetting his anger instantly, Ryouga sat up sharply. "What? What might just be the thing, Granny?"
Cologne's cackling laughter sounded like the rustling of fallen leaves. "Just something which Shampoo has brought to my attention recently. The girl has grown quite fond of it, and I must admit that I've found it quite charming as well. Heh, I actually hadn't considered the parallels until this very moment, to my embarrassment, but I think it might be perfect for your situation."
"What?" he asked, unable to hide his frustration at her continuing obfuscation.
The Joketsuzoku shook her head in fond amusement for a moment before finally replying. "The way I see it, you have two options: either you can change your way of thinking to match Terra's, or you can change her way of thinking to match yours."
The look on his face must have demonstrated the confusion in his mind with one hundred percent efficiency, as the old woman smiled slyly. "Allow me to recommend a . . . visual training aide which may help you to understand my meaning more clearly."
Ryouga leaned in closer, his excitement coming back yet again on this roller coaster ride of an international phone call.
"I'm listening."
In a classic display of male brashness, Robert swept Julia into his arms, crushing her bountiful bosom to his chiselled, rock-hard chest with passionate abandon. Even as he leaned forward, closing the meager inches to Julia's warm, crimson lips, a delicious look of worried indecisiveness bloomed on her heart-shaped face.
"B-but, Robert, we mustn't. You're my brother-in-law!"
In reply, Robert donned a roguish smile, melting away her worries with sheer charisma alone, even as he continued to press his advance. "But, Julia, you know that laws are only made to be broken."
Then, he finally moved in, about to claim his just reward-
And then it cut to a commercial.
A plaintive whine to her side drew Terra's attention to the young woman sitting to her right on the large circular couch of the Titan's main room. Starfire was curled up in a ball, clutching a pillow to her chest and watching the massive television before them with eyes so large that the young blonde was worried they were going to pop out.
For her part, Terra did her best to internalize her groan of disgust.
Soap operas were sooo boring!
Unfortunately, she appeared to be in the minority on that subject. Sitting to Terra's left was Kasumi, studiously reading a medical text of some sort. Or that was the impression she was trying to give, anyway, she had been doing just a terrible job of hiding the fact that she had been sneaking peeks at the screen the entire time. Even more amusing was the fact that Raven was doing the exact same thing, only from the far end of the couch, and with a Gothic novel of some sort.
It just wasn't fair! She and Cyborg had just been about to watch a really cool documentary on Monster Trucks, too. At least they had, until Starfire and her posse showed up and commandeered the T.V. on her. All it had taken was a single glance from Kasumi, and her titanium teammate had fled the scene faster Raven could snap a snarky remark.
That wasn't even the biggest let down, either. Getting more annoyed by the moment, she flopped back into the couch and crossed her arms over her chest petulantly. "Man, I can't believe that Beast Boy and Ryouga went shopping and they didn't even think to invite any of us girls," she groused loudly.
She received an immediate response in the form of a hurried shush from Starfire, who was apparently enraptured by a commercial for that 'World of Fungus' show she loved so much.
"Yes, because asking the dangerously unstable girl that's been forbidden from leaving the tower by our leader to go to the Gap is the first thing I think to do when I hit the town." Raven followed her snarky remark with a pointed look. "You do realize that you haven't even begun training to control your power yet, right?"
Neither Raven, nor Terra paid Starfire's second 'shushing' any mind. The former likely due to apathy, the latter out of annoyance. Unfortunately, Terra didn't have any good comebacks for her oppressor's stark dose of reality, so she just settled for glaring at the violet haired girl and grumbling under her breath.
Regrettably, said grumbling prompted a small tremor which set the tower to shaking, which, in turn, prompted a knowing smile to form on Raven's lips. The 'I told you so' was so obvious it was almost palpable.
To her other side, Kasumi suddenly lowered her book, resting it gently in her lap, and turned to look at the cloaked Titan. "Really, Raven," started the serene woman in a reproachful tone, "There is no need to treat Terra so coldly, is there? One would think that you, of all people, would understand the problems she is going through."
Immediately, Raven's eyes fell, as she was unable to hold eye contact with the righteous Tendo. Internally, Terra cheered at the moral reinforcements from her brunette savior. The blonde bulldozer sat up straight and stuck her tongue out in the dark Titan's direction.
"Yeah, Raven! You don't gotta be such a jerk about it!"
Unfortunately, Terra realized her mistake just a second too late, as Raven's face snapped back up, frightfully cold fires igniting in her eyes.
"Excuse me?" asked Raven, her voice even colder than her gaze.
Terra scooted back quickly, almost crawling into Kasumi's lap, pulling nervously at her collar every second. She had forgotten that she lacked the elder Tendo woman's uncanny ability to mollify anger, and that Raven was not one to be cowed . . . by anyone.
"Um, er . . . eh heh heh . . ." she stammered helplessly.
"There's no need to get upset, Raven. I'm certain that she didn't mean it like it sounded," supplied the boundlessly helpful Kasumi.
Her words didn't have the desired effect, though, as Raven's eyes only narrowed. "Really, then I suppose she meant to insult me in the kindest possible manner, is that it?"
"If you would just give her the chance, Terra would be glad to apologize-" Kasumi turned her gaze in Terra's direction. "Isn't that right, Terra?"
Not exactly sure what to say, Terra tried to string together the first thing that came to mind . . . however a sudden emerald glow coming from in front of the couch quite suddenly demanded her attention.
With glacial slowness, all three couch-bound females turned to regard the stormy figure standing before them. Starfire floated in front of the television, eyes burning with green flame and her long, crimson locks blowing in some unseen wind.
Terra, Kasumi and Raven could only stare in silent shock as the towering Tamaranian glared down at them. It looked like they were about to receive the tongue lashing of a life time . . .
When, without warning, Starfire seemed to deflate before them, the righteous flames in her eyes burning away to reveal a profound sadness.
"Please," the alien girl's voice nearly cracked as she implored them, "It is true that we have only been united as team mates for a short time, but can we not all just get along as the 'friends'?"
Terra turned to share equally confused stares with both Raven and Kasumi, before turning back to Starfire. "Ummm, what are you talking about, Star?"
The Tamaranian actually pouted at her words. "I speak of the comments of sharpness and unfriendliness which are so readily exchanged between us when we are all gathered together."
The alien warrior then gestured to the elevator behind them. "The males who reside in our home, they have all formed joyous bonds of friendship and camaraderie. Why, was it not just last week that they created the league of the 'Stank Ball'?"
Raven stared at Starfire incredulously. "You actually want to play Stank Ball?"
Starfire's nose crinkled up cutely in disgust. "Not . . . as such, no. But that is not the meaning I am trying to purvey. I am simply envious of our friends' ability to share in each other's company and enjoy such activities of bonding with such ease."
"But, Starfire," rang Kasumi's lilting voice, "We were just watching television together. Isn't that a way to enjoy each other's company as well?"
The Tamaranian shook her head fiercely. "It is not when the three of you insist on commencing an argument during critical moments of the Robert's seduction of Julia!"
With that admission, Raven rolled her eyes dramatically. "Starfire, we weren't fighting, we were just . . . taking great personal stakes in our discussion."
"Besides," Terra added, actually in agreement with the dark Titan for once, "The guy's are always fighting."
It was Kasumi's turn to nod. "Indeed. I'm certain the four of us are just as close as our young men are; it's just that the relationships between men and women are different, is all."
It appeared that the Tamaranian was about to reply-
But was rudely interrupted when the side door of the main room opened with a loud whoosh. A fraction of a second later, barely even time for the doors to open half way, a green blur arrowed through the widening aperture and exploded into the room.
The green blur resolved itself into the form of an emerald cheetah; the great cat frantically scraped its claws against the hard floor, desperately trying to both stop its forward momentum and maintain its balance.
Finally –and some might say, miraculously- Beast Boy squealed to a wobbly stop roughly halfway across the room. The emerald cheetah matched the shocked looks of the four females present with a sheepish expression –no mean feat for a feline. However, before Terra could even begin to construct a suitable inquiry in her mind-
A second blur blasted into the room, this one of the yellow and black variety. Just like his emerald predecessor, Ryouga desperately tried to stop his own mad dash. Unfortunately, unlike his predecessor, the martial artist failed utterly, and ploughed directly into the transformed Beast Boy.
Both boy and cat tumbled helplessly in a tangled ball of fangs and claws and more fangs for a painful distance before the far wall was kind enough to stop their forward momentum.
Terra didn't even need to look to her companions to know that their eyes were just as wide with incredulous shock as her own. What the heck were they doing? Trying to kill each other? She was about to vocalize said questions, and so were Raven, Starfire and Kasumi with all likely hood-
When suddenly Beast Boy leapt up, transforming back into his elfin form.
"Ha! Dude, you just got owned! I totally beat you!" The changeling then added injury to his insult, locking the groaning martial artist in a headlock and mercilessly grinding his knuckles into the larger boy's hair.
"Damnit! I knew I shouldn't have taken that left through the boiler room!" Ryouga swatted ineffectually at the shape shifter, but it was obvious that he was resigned to the punishment.
Finished with his industrial strength noogie, Beast Boy leapt to his feet again. The smile on the green teen's face spoke volumes, all of them mischievous. "You know what that means, Ryo."
Ryouga rose to his feet as well, grumbling a dark string of curses under his breath before nodding. "Fine, you win the bet. Damn, I thought I had you for sure," he added the last in a growled mumble.
Hooting loudly, Beast Boy scrambled up Ryouga's back and promptly sat himself down on the Lost Boy's shoulders. After locking his legs securely to make sure he didn't fall off, the changeling then laughed ecstatically. "Hahahaha! That'll teach you to bet against Jump City's Beautiful Green Beast!"
Which was pretty much about the time that the two boys's finally remembered their slack jawed audience. Instantly, Beast Boy cheered and waved in their direction, while Ryouga's cheeks flared red and he looked to the side in a classic 'I'm humiliated, but have to deal with it' fashion.
Raven was the first to regain the ability to speak. The violet haired Titan just shook her head slowly from side to side. "This scene just raises . . . so many questions. I'm not even sure where to begin . . ."
Apparently Starfire was as she quickly asked, "Friend Beast Boy . . . for what reason are you currently riding upon Ryouga's shoulders?"
"Ummm, actually, that would be my fault," supplied Ryouga, looking even more embarrassed. "You see, we kind of made a bet that: if I won, I got to ride on T-Rex Beast Boy's back into the next fight."
Beast Boy pumped his arms in victory. "Ha! Little did Ryo know the doom he was calling down on himself! No one can beat the master of the animal kingdom in a foot race!"
Terra raised a finger. "Ummmm, do we even want to know how you guys even got on that topic?"
The martial artist and the changeling shared a brief, up-down, glance, before simultaneously shaking their heads. "Probably not," they answered in eerie synchronization.
"Oh, by the way," continued Ryouga, "Since we're changing topics anyway; Terra, me and Beast Boy got your new training equipment while we were up town, so we can get to work on that after you ladies are done . . . um, whatever it is you're going."
The blonde geokinetic was almost too scared to ask what he could possibly be talking about . . . so she was thankful when Beast Boy suddenly butted in once more. The changeling leaned forward so that his face was hanging almost right in front of Ryouga's.
"Dude, we got at least a half hour before this chick show is over! Let's head up to the roof. We can totally challenge Cyborg and Robin to a Horseback Battle Royale!"
Obviously the prospect of competing in utterly ridiculous forms of combat was a positive thing, judging by the way that the bandanna wearing martial artist perked up at the mere mention of it.
"That sounds like it could be fun! Remember, though, you promised to remind me about that call I have to make later, right? I don't want Bumble Bee getting on my case about it."
As soon as the Lost Boy received the Changeling's dismissive nod of agreement, Ryouga eagerly started towards the elevator, only for Beast Boy to bring them up short.
"Hey! I don't remember saying you could use the elevator!" The shapeshifter gestured dramatically to the wide bank of windows. "Let's take the scenic route!"
The emerald Titan's trusty steed grumbled darkly to himself, but two short leaps carried the pair across the room and out onto the ledge via the glass exit window set up to grant Starfire quick egress from the tower. From there, another leap carried the pair up and out of sight.
For a long, long moment, the four young women stared at each other. Eventually, it was Kasumi that finally broke the uncomfortable silence.
"You know, maybe we could go out to dinner tonight, just the four of us?"
"Perhaps we could also partake in the cutting and painting of our cuticles while in the city?" added an ecstatic Starfire.
Raven lifted the corner of her robe with a blasé expression. "I could use a new outfit if we're planning on going somewhere nice . . ."
Terra couldn't have contained her beaming smile if she had even cared to try.
"You know, it's been over a year since I've gotten my hair done."
Jinx hummed to herself as she idly bounced her heels off the face of the building that was her latest perch in a long, long string of rooftop perches. She was used to long stretches of boredom such as this one by now, but she still couldn't make up her mind whether her master's extended absences were a blessing or a curse. Certainly her bruised and fractured body was glad for any reprieve in the eternal torment that was her training.
On the other hand, she did possess a terribly short attention span, and it was easy to forget just how traumatic her training was when faced with the prospect of sitting idle for more than twenty minutes.
Absently, she ran her fingers through her lengthy pink locks, lifting some of the colorful follicles up for her inspection. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd had her hair cut. She had always been so meticulous with her hair, what with the unique style she usually kept it in, but she honestly hadn't had time to think about such mundane things in the past few months. Sure, her hair had grown well past her shoulders now, but the horrifying number of split ends prevented her from calling the pink mass luxurious by any stretch of the definition.
Maybe she was due for a trim? After all, they had only been in Gotham for a few hours. Even for them, that wasn't quite enough time to have numerous warrants out for their arrest yet. Of course, it was also the middle of the night, so she'd have to wait till morning. Considering the gleam that Happi had had in his eye before he had vanished more than an hour ago, she highly doubted that their dubious anonymity would last even that long.
With that thought in mind, she wasn't surprised in the slightest when she heard the barely audible sound of her master alighting on the ledge at her side. However, when she turned to question the diminutive warrior about his whereabouts, she nearly fell from the ledge in shock.
"Y-your sack! I-i-i-it's empty!"
Happosai chuckled in amusement, pulling his out his pipe as he did. He quickly pulled a match from the near-empty burlap sack at his side before mysteriously making the bag vanish entirely from sight. Jinx still wasn't sure how he did that, but after seeing some of the things Mousse could do, it hardly even fazed her anymore.
Striking the match, her master carefully lit his pipe, taking a long draw before taking a seat at her side. "Indeed, Disciple. It wasn't my usual treasure that I was hunting for this night, but rather something of . . . oh, roughly a third the value."
Jinx fired him a quizzical look. "What's that? Socks?"
Happi fired back an equally incredulous look. "What? No. I'm talking about information. Wherever would you get a bizarre notion like that from?"
The young sorceress rolled her eyes. "I couldn't possibly imagine . . ."
"Hmph!" grumped her master. "Whatever. We've no time for your eccentricities at the moment, Jinx. You see, the first portion of your test is at hand."
"Well it's about time," she muttered darkly, "It feels like I've been practically living on roof tops for the last couple months. I want to get this over with so I can crash in a real bed for a change."
Instinctually knowing what was coming, she held up a hand to stop her master's response. "And, no, Master, I don't mean that even remotely like you're hoping."
Happosai deflated at bit at that, a sad puppy look in his eyes, but in true Happi fashion, he rebounded almost instantly. "Heh, all in good time, my Disciple. Now on your feet, and be quick about it!"
She prepared to launch into her typical 'put-upon annoyance' spiel, but didn't get the chance as, without a second thought, Happosai suddenly launched himself to the west and onto the roof of the adjacent building. It was all she could do to sputter in shock before she clawed her way to her feet and took off in dogged pursuit of the ancient martial artist.
He led her on quite the merry chase, buildings zipping by in a blur as she effortlessly pranced from one roof to the next with all the grace of gazelle. It was something of an old game between them, this oddly appropriate game of feral cat and diminutive mouse, but even after all of these months she couldn't seem to get any closer to her prey than when she'd first begun.
Thankfully, this chase only lasted for a mere twenty minutes, as opposed to some of their all night marathons. Jinx wasn't even breathing hard by the time she caught up to her Master. She landed beside him, balancing precariously on the ledge of yet another building, this one overlooking the street several stories below.
She was about to ask him what was going on, when he gestured grandly to the rather large building that stood proudly on the far side of the street –
The notorious Iceberg Lounge.
Jinx offered her erstwhile mentor an odd look. "What, him? But isn't he, like, retired or something? How are we supposed to make a big splash doing that?"
Again, Happosai chuckled in amusement, taking another long draw from his pipe. "Jinx, Jinx, Jinx . . . You aren't forgetting the basic lessons you learned back in the Academy, are you? You need to gather information before you can plan your strike, my dear, and the people I've . . . spoken to tonight have said that this is the place to go for that."
She perked up quickly at that. "Hey, I get it! So, I just go ruffle some feathers and see who's up to something, right?"
Her master nodded happily. "Roughing up the barkeep for information is a time honored tradition in any culture. And if you're lucky, you'll even manage to land yourself a big fish while you're at it."
Hmm, yea – Wait a sec! Her head tilted in confusion as she addressed her master. "You'll? You're? You aren't coming in with me?"
He shook his head quickly, an amused look on his wrinkled features. "That wouldn't be much of a test, now would it? But make sure to be careful, Disciple. Just because a warrior is retired doesn't mean they've forgotten their skills."
Jinx scoffed loudly at his concerns. She then casually lifted her hand before her and five jets of intense pink flame ignited from the tips of her fingers, 'unsheathing her claws'. "Pfft! Whatever, he'll be lucky if he's smart enough to tell me what I want to know."
The unimpressed look on her master's face drew her up short.
"What?"
He shook his head slowly from side to side. "That was your witty one-liner? I thought you were going to go with a cat and bird analogy, what with your claws and all."
Jinx looked down to the tiny flames dancing at the tips of her fingers. "Well . . . I was going to, but then I thought about Shampoo and it really lost its appeal. Besides, the whole luck gig is really my thing, don't you think?"
Happosai shrugged in a non-committal manner. "I suppose, but you're going to have to work a lot harder if you don't want your lines to stink up the whole city."
Her lips pursed up into a tiny pout at that. "Was it really that bad?"
A quick nod was her reply. "Yes. Now, go get'em, Disciple. Make me proud!"
"Pfft. Like that would take much." She rolled her eyes as she crouched down for her impending leap.
"This is gonna be cake."
Mr. Cobblepot sighed loudly, one might say theatrically, as he slowly spun around in his chair. Said sigh was not due to any exhaustion on his part, but more for the benefit of the fledgling he was conversing with on the phone. To anyone that knew him better, or anyone that knew him by his more . . . avian themed moniker, that sigh would have been a keen warning that his patience was being tested and that it was a good time to leave.
Children these days, though, just seemed utterly intolerant to the idea of subtlety.
"Yes, yes, I readily admit that I found our conversation to be most entertaining, but that is hardly relevant to the present. How many times must I inform you that the gathering and redistribution of information is not a charitable industry?"
The entrepreneur waved his hand errantly as he listened to the boy's latest plebeian petitions. While his heart was in the right place, most ironically so in this particular case, his wallet was miles off the mark.
A sudden thought crossed Oswald's mind. Quickly, he stopped his spinning and sat up, a smile slowly growing beneath his sharp nose.
"Actually, boy, now that I think about it, there is a service which you could provide which might be suitable as payment for the information you seek."
He could actually hear the nervousness in the young man's voice as he inquired what that service could be. Oswald only smiled wider.
"I believe you already know where my . . . interests lie. It shouldn't be too hard for you to imagine what I want."
He savored the fellow's hesitant inquiry.
"Yes, that is exactly what I want from you."
He scowled darkly at the young man's reply.
"What? Of course I know I would never be able to lift the thing, but such a magnificent, hand crafted oriental umbrella would be an excellent addition to my collection."
The fledgling sighed forlornly before eventually agreeing to his terms.
"Oh, don't you worry about that, my boy. Your word that you'll begin constructing the umbrella is enough of a down payment for me. I'll begin my investigation immediately. However, I expect my payment to be completed before I divulge the results of said investigation."
He smiled once again, as the young man agreed with a marked lack of enthusiasm. He did so enjoy swin- ahem, working with young people. They haggled so poorly, and generally accepted whatever terms he set on the assumption that he was experienced enough to always know what was correct.
With that transaction completed to his satisfaction, he dropped the phone back into its cradle and rose to his feet. It was past time to make his usual round of the club; it was important that people remembered the face and the reputation that kept the establishment running.
He would have to make it quick, though, as he still had other work to do, as well. Foremost were the requests from that Benton woman. Whoever she was, she was a refreshing change of pace from his usual patrons; nearly as adept at the art of haggling and dealing as himself.
Unfortunately, he only made it around his desk before he realized, too late, that something was amiss. The door to his office, he noticed, was not quite closed, jutting out from the door frame just a quarter of an inch.
This was all he had time to realize, as a pair of dainty feet swung down at him from the roof. The darling little pumps adorning said feet slammed into his chest with enough force to lift him into the air to crash back onto his desk. Then, with the speed and grace of a feral predator, his assailant dropped down from her . . . inexplicable grasp on the ceiling, to land directly on him, straddling his chest and leaning down until her wide, Cheshire smile was only a scant few inches from his face.
The two held the tableau for a long moment, as Oswald attempted to take a measure of his situation. Despite all of his best precautions he was no stranger to unannounced visits like this one. However, normally he had a foreknowledge of his assailant's disposition.
Then, the young woman suddenly sat up, a positively amusing tinge of pink on her cheeks as she realized their mutual positions. She let out a weak laugh before speaking. "Um, heh, ah . . . sorry 'bout this. I've kinda been training with an ancient and perverted master of the martial arts for the past few months. I think my personal boundaries are a bit outta whack."
And, instantly, Oswald was put at ease. Whoever this youth was, she was just like the young man he had been speaking to. Quite probably powerful, but lacking the truly malicious streak to make them genuinely dangerous. That in mind, he decided to have a little fun with the slit-eyed beauty.
"Apparently," he agreed with a crooked smile. "However, if you are attempting to bait me into jail, as it were, then you should be warned that the feline motif is much more suited to snaring bats than birds."
The exotic girl's head tilted to the side, her pink, feline eyes twinkling with confusion. "Huh?" she asked in all eloquence.
He shook his head in amusement. "A newcomer to our fair city, I see. That one usually slays them at poker night."
His very companionable companion displayed her adorable confusion once again, before shaking her own head. "Wait a second! I do not have a cat motif! Now quit trying to distract me. I came her looking for information, and you're gonna give it to me."
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, and no doubt you used whatever tremendous power you possess to battle your way past all of my assorted guards and thugs and will do even worse to me if I don't comply. Does that about sum the situation up?"
The young woman tapped her chin in thought. ". . . Actually, the bouncer just took one look at me and let me in. Come to think of it, he didn't even ask me for I.D. or anything."
Oswald sighed. He'd forgotten that Blaine was on door duty tonight. That one had the habit of letting anything in a sufficiently short skirt through the door. Not that he begrudged Blaine that, since more than a few of his regular customers enjoyed that policy. Still, one would imagine that bright pink hair, deathly pale skin and curious, cat-like eyes would have set off an alarm or two . . .
Alarms started ringing in Oswald's head. 'Noooooo, surely fate could not be so fickle of a force.' To think that he had been taking that Hibiki's calls for nearly a week in the hopes of finding any information of the possible location of a pink haired, pale skinned, cat eyed girl roughly the boy's age . . .
Only to have her literally fall into his lap just as he'd finally bartered a suitable payment for her location. If life was unfair, then surely its full brunt was falling upon some other unfortunate soul that night.
Still, this was hardly a dignified position from which to do business. "My dear, as you obviously are aware, by merit of your very presence, I am indeed a font of valuable information. However, if you are truly keen on doing business, then I would kindly ask for you to remove yourself from my person."
The young woman eyed him warily for a moment, but he made no movement at all, let alone hasty ones. Hesitantly, she began to rise up. "Alright . . . but only because this is as embarrassing for me as it is for you. No funny business now, alright?"
Once the girl was finally off of him, he gingerly sat up, smoothing the wrinkles out of his suit carefully. He then gestured for her to take a seat even as he moved to retake his own favored chair. "Trust me, my dear, my business is always of the utmost seriousness," he lied smoothly. This situation was quickly becoming very amusing.
"Now," he continued, "You are, as you stated, here for some information. I can also divine, from your, let us say, less than subtle entrance, that you have no currency with which to pay for said information, and were intending to intimidate it out of me, correct?"
She shrugged helplessly, her pink locks bouncing around her shoulders as she did. "Maybe just a little . . ."
Despite his attempt at seriousness, Oswald couldn't refrain from chuckling. This girl was positively charming. He was glad of that, since he would have hated to be forced to kill her if she had pressed her intentions too hard. "Well, before you resort to that, perhaps we can come to an alternative agreement. You see, I am far more receptive to information than bludgeoning. Maybe if you can answer a simple question for me, then I will be able to help you."
She looked at him oddly for a moment. "That sounds strangely reasonable . . . what exactly do you want to know?"
"Just a yes or no question, really." He smiled charmingly as he gestured towards her with his hand. "Tell me, my dear, would your name happen to be Jinx?"
The widening of those exotic, pink eyes confirmed everything he needed to know. Immediately, the young woman began sputtering in shock. "H-how the heck did you know that?"
He considered the merits of playing the mysterious puppet master, compared to simply telling her the truth . . . the latter held much better prospects for entertainment, though. "Heh, Jinx, what a strangely appropriate name, for it is most certainly a strange quirk of fate that brings you into my lair. As it happens, there is a young man very interested in learning about your whereabouts. A . . . Mr. Hibiki, I believe?"
"R-Ryouga?" she whispered in shock. Suddenly she shook her head. "Wait just a second! Are you telling me that Ryouga resorted to dealing with a notorious super villain just to find information on my whereabouts?"
He nodded amiably. "Well, super villain is a bit pretentious, I think, but . . ."
Jinx's body nearly slid out of her chair and it took her no small effort to catch herself and pull herself up. She then quickly began to fan her face with her hand. "Whoo! I'm sorry about that. I think I nearly swooned there."
Oswald chuckled in amusement once again. "How Victorian of you. And I can take it, from that response, that you are not exactly disagreeable with the idea of Mr. Hibiki learning of your whereabouts?"
His exotic companion nearly leapt from her seat in excitement. "Of course I'm not!" Only for her excitement to die down a moment later, slowly lowering her back to her seat. "Well . . . not really, I mean, I wanna see him, it's just that there's something I have to do first, y'know?"
Obviously, Oswald did not, but he had his suspicious. "Tell me, does your impromptu visit to my fine establishment hold any correlation to said task you must perform?"
She nodded forlornly, a sad pout adorning her face now. The pink haired girl quickly shook her head, though, replacing her pout with a weak smile. "It does. My master set me a test and I need you to help me complete it."
Well, wasn't that interesting? "And what kind of test might that be, that this master of yours has set for you?"
Her smile grew, curving wickedly into a Cheshire grin. "I need to pick a fight. A big fight."
Oswald leaned back into his chair, steepling his fingers. "A big fight, is it? Am I to assume that you intend to challenge the bat to battle, then? That does seem to be what most new comers do in this town."
Surprisingly, the girl shook her head. "Going the opposite way, actually. I want to take on one of Gotham's worst. This city has the most notorious gallery of rogues on the planet. Taking down one of them would prove, beyond a doubt, that I'm not someone to trifle with anymore."
Oswald smirked. "While at the same time endearing yourself to your absentee beau, who has had the misfortune of falling in with a troupe of heroes. Hmmmm, very clever, girl, though I'm not overly fond of the term 'killing two birds with one stone', it does seem apropos."
Jinx smiled slyly herself. "So, can you help me out, then? I was thinking I should try taking out the Joker. That would be awesome! I'd be a legend after that!"
Instantly, Oswald's smile dropped from his face. "Absolutely not. No matter how powerful you believe yourself to be, you are not prepared for the kind of trouble that he embodies. Look, my dear, thanks to your timely appearance I have guaranteed the addition of a very unique item to my collection with virtually no effort on my part, so I will help you out. However, I will not set you on a path that crosses with that one."
The girl's pink eyes widened in curiosity. "What's the big deal? He's just some clown, isn't he? I mean, I'm a bad ass meta-human that's been trained in the ancient arts of kung fu. What the heck is a guy in face paint gonna against someone like me?"
Oswald shook his head sadly. "Oh, I've no doubt that you may be able to defeat him but that is what I'm afraid of. Tell me, child, have you ever killed a man?"
Jinx recoiled at his words visibly. "Ah – ummm . . . not that I know of. I mean, things can get kinda rough sometimes, but I don't think I have . . ."
He could tell that the possibility disturbed the young woman, which was a very bad sign for a so-called super villain. Especially for a villain that called Gotham their home. Certainly the girl was likely selfish and petty, possibly even cruel and vindictive, but he could also sense her naiveté, an almost childlike innocence when compared to the rest of the monsters that populated the streets of Gotham.
"So, when you stood above the Joker, his broken and defeated form before you, would you finish the job? Finish it permanently?"
"Wha- why the heck would I do that? I'm just here to prove myself, to make a name for myself, not kill everyone I run across."
A weak sigh was his reply. "Then that weakness would be your downfall. As I said, I've no doubt that you could defeat him . . . once. But what would you do when he came after you? Do you think the Joker became one of the most feared criminals in the world for his ability to fight? When he came after you-and don't you doubt that he would -his wrath would take on forms that you couldn't even conceive of. And don't deceive yourself into thinking that his vengeance would be aimed at you and you alone. Do you think your dear Mr. Hibiki would think twice about opening an oddly wrapped package which might, incidentally, contain a lungful of deadly poison?"
He could see Jinx visibly paling, an impressive sight for the already pale girl, and shrinking further into her seat. He nodded seriously. "There are other targets that may be more suitable for you. Targets that, though no less vindictive, would at least lack the malicious wit of the Joker."
She nodded, nearly frantically in response. "M-maybe that might be a good idea . . . I mean . . . there's no need to go right for the Number One off the bat, is there?"
Oswald frowned slightly, as the Penguin, he was slightly offended by the idea that the Joker would be considered the most notorious criminal in Gotham, but at the same time, he could hardly deny the claim either. Instead, he quickly tore a sheet of paper from the ledger on his desk and scrawled down a name, a date and a location before handing it to the girl.
"Rumors have been flitting through my roost for several days now, about an upcoming heist. If you happen to stroll through that neighborhood on that specific day, then maybe you'll get your wish. However, I would advise caution. Though not as wickedly intelligent as the Joker, this one is a much more formidable opponent physically."
Jinx's eyes widened with interest as she read what he had given her. The intrigue was palpable on her face, as she considered the possibilities of what he proposed. A moment later, she leapt to her feet and began to move towards the large window that overlooked the street below.
Halfway there, she stopped, turning back to face him. "Thanks for the help, Mr. Penguin. I was wondering, though, before I leave . . ."
"Could you do me a small favor?"
Happosai paced anxiously across the rooftop. His eyes never left the front of the building that his disciple had entered a seeming eternity ago. There had been no sign of a battle erupting . . . yet. In fact, the girl hadn't even had to fight her way in, the bouncer had let her in without so much as asking to see the same identification that he was asking every other patron for.
There weren't any signs of violence from inside the club, which was a good sign, but she had been in there for far too long. Had he made a mistake sending her in by herself?
Happi shook his head, dismissing the uncharacteristic worry. He had trained the girl well. At the very least, she would be good enough to get herself out of any situation she got herself into, just like Happosai himself. After all, she got past Shampoo and Mousse, didn't she?
On the other hand, though, maybe it wouldn't hurt too much if he went in . . . just to check up on her. Who knew, maybe there would be some pretty ladies in their to keep him company while Jinx finished up her busi-
Suddenly one of the massive second story windows of the nightclub swung open, clattering loudly but not quite hard enough to shatter all over the street. An instant later, the familiar form of his trusty Disciple came flying through the portal –
A raging gout of flame hot on her heels!
The girl succumbed to gravity just before the expanding inferno could consume her, landing gracefully on the hood of a ridiculously expensive car parked right before club. Instantly, she leapt forward, right into the heavy traffic of the road; first Jinx performed a picture perfect handspring from the roof of a speeding sedan, cartwheeled completely over a bright yellow cab, clearing an entire lane of traffic as she did, before landing nimbly on the roof of a passing panel van.
From there, the young sorceress then launched herself up to grab the outstretch arm of a hanging light post. Jinx quickly swung her legs forward and in a move that would make most Olympic gymnasts proud, flipped herself up onto the pole, crouching with perfect balance before she leapt again, this time landing as lightly as the snow on the ledge at his side.
Jinx smiled wildly at him, her chest heaving from the exertion of her gymnastic routine.
Happosai glanced at her askance for a moment. He then shook his head, clucking his tongue.
"Utterly embarrassing, Disciple. I actually shudder to think that this is as far as you've progressed after months of training. And what kind of escape was that? I've seen more acrobatic movements from a trained elephant!"
The crestfallen look on the young woman's face was perfectly priceless. He almost wished he had a camera.
"At least tell me that you accomplished your objective, after all of those foolish shenanigans that you just went through."
Jinx scowled at him petulantly, even stamping her foot for good measure, before suddenly pulling a complete mood switch on him. Instantly, she dropped her dainty fists on her hips and smiled at him triumphantly.
"Of course I did, Happi. What kind of girl do you think I am here?" She dug out a small sheet of paper from her pocket and looked it over, her smile widening all the more.
"Looks like the heist isn't going to take place for nearly a week, and it's gonna be down in the dock area, but that should give us some time to finally rest and relax while we wait! This is gonna be great!"
Happosai smiled wickedly as well, though not for the same reason. 'Yes, a nice relaxing week of rigorous training will do you good, Disciple,' he thought to himself evilly. "So," he vocalized a moment later, "Are you satisfied with the results of your search, then?"
Jinx nodded eagerly, hugging the paper to her bosom.
"Oh yeah! The target that I found is just killer!"
Terra sat on the edge of Ryouga's bed, a sense of uncertainty hanging over her for the second time in as many days. Normally, being in a boy's bedroom wouldn't have fazed her in the slightest, not even a cute guy like Ryouga. However, this was by no means a normal situation.
Supposedly, they were beginning her training this morning, so she couldn't figure out why they were in Ryouga's room to begin with. For that matter, she was even more confused by the fact that Beast Boy was there as well. The green teen had just finished wheeling in a T.V. and was vainly trying to hook said TV up to a DVD player.
Ryouga, on the other hand, had his head poking out the door, as if on the lookout for any eavesdroppers. In fact, the entire scenario held a very conspiratorial feel about it, what with the way the two guys were acting.
And what kind of training involved watching TV, anyway?
Finally, Beast Boy cheered in victory, and the television screen blinked to the loading screen for the DVD player. As soon as he did, Ryouga eagerly slid the door closed and locked it for good measure. A second later, Ryouga unlocked the door, opened it, only to hang up a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the outside, then closed it and locked it once more.
After double checking the lock, just to be sure, Ryouga then joined Beast Boy in front of the DVD player, and they pulled a disc out of Ryouga's desk and slipped it into the player. With that done, Beast Boy then skipped over to drop down beside Terra on the bed, while Ryouga moved to sit in a chair off to the side.
Beast Boy rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Ah, man! This is gonna be the most awesome training session, ever!"
Terra looked at the young man oddly for a moment, before shifting her attention to her 'instructor'. "Ummm, Ryouga? I don't want to call your methods into question . . . again . . . but, shouldn't we be outside if we want to train?"
Ryouga shook his head in a wannabe-sagely manner. "Tut, tut, my student. One must first learn the theory, before one attempts the practical. As such, I have acquired this teaching aid to help you understand the training that we're going to be doing."
With that, her instructor started fiddling with the remote, skipping through the various previews and such on the DVD, until he finally the menu. She was about to question his sanity again, as the program which the menu was showing did not appear to be any kind of training video at all. In fact . . . was that a cartoon?
Beast Boy hooted in joy, as Ryouga quickly navigated through the menu and selected a given episode on the disc. Then, for some odd reason, he began fast forwarding through said episode, everything skipping by too quickly for her to tell what was going on.
Finally, after a few minutes, the bandanna wearing boy hit the play button, resuming normal speed. The scene on the screen seemed to be depicting some kind of underground arena, or something like that . . .
Ryouga turned to Terra then, smiling widely himself. "Okay, Terra, I want you to pay very close attention. This is the part of the show where they introduce the girl who is going to be your very closest friend for the foreseeable future . . ."
His smile nearly doubled at that moment.
"Her name is Toph."