She looked up and screamed. The boy was leaning over the railing, studying her. He was about her age with short dark brown hair, and dark sunglasses. He was thin, wearing a white and red t-shirt, blue jeans and had a smug smile on his face that just made her angry.
"Who are you?"
"Lochan."
Mina turned and pulled herself out of the pool. Lochan whistled, and Mina's eyes widened. She didn't like him. She turned to him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Looking at you. Nice body."
That was the last straw. She screamed again, before coming at him. She didn't know whom he was, but he was going to pay. She pulled herself up the railing, happy she had continued her combat training after she got there, and kicked after the boy. He ducked and quickly took a step back. She was balancing on the rail.
"Careful so you don't slip."
"I can take care of my self."
He took of his sunglasses and she was taken a bit back. One of his eyes was ice blue, the other orange-red. Something shot out of his blue eye, and the railing was suddenly covered in ice.
She jumped of just in time to see it brake because of the weight. She looked at the ice and metal that fell down into the pool one floor down, and back at Lochan who had put his glasses back on. She was impressed.
"Cool gift." He shrugged. But Mina hadn't forgiven him quite yet. She jumped on him again, and again he ducked, but Mina was prepared. As he ducked she jumped over him and kicked his feet form under him. He fell to the floor, and Mina quickly moved to his chest. Pinning him down with her legs and arms.
"You know, your body is even nicer up close and personal."
"What are you doing here?" The boy looked weird at her.
"I live here." Mina sat up and let her entire bodyweight crush on his chest. It wasn't that much, but he still let out a groan.
"Wrong answer. I live here."
"He is right Mina." Mina looked surprised up as Speedy came towards them. "What do you mean?"
"He moved in last night when you were sleeping." Mina looked from Speedy, to the boy under her and back to Speedy again.
"A little heads up would have been nice."
"Well you didn't exactly give me a shot, Mina."
Mina glared at the boy under her before she again raised a bit and letting herself drop on him. A part of her liking the grunt sound he made. Then she rose to her feet. Lochan rose as well, a big wet spot were Mina had been sitting.
"He is the son of See-More and Angel."
"See-More? Jinx's friend?" Speedy nodded. Mina suddenly felt bad over attacking someone who so recently lost both his parents.
"I'm sorry for attacking you."
"Don't be. It was fun."
Mina shot him a small smile, and he started to relax even more.
"Nice fighting by the way. What are your powers?" Mina's smile faded.
"I'm learning archery from, Arsenal. I'm also a bit empathic."
The boy leaned against the banister, and even thou his eyes where hidden, could she feel him studying her.
"Excuse me. I need to change before I get cold." She turned her back to the two men and left. After she left the common room, she ran as fast as she could back to her own room.
Everything had been so nice just half an hour ago. Now everything was ruined. She fell on to her bed. Powers? She still hadn't powers. She never gave herself false flattery, so she knew she would never be as good as Speedy.
The only time she had ever been on a mission, she had been taken hostage and shot. Why was she wasting his time, asking him to teach her when she would never be anything?
Angry tears slowly made their way down her cheeks. This only made her angrier, trigging more tears. She bet Lochan didn't even put up a fight. He was just playing with her.
Crying and knocking pulled her out of the self-pitying loop she had dug herself into the last half hour.
"Mina? He won't stop crying. Why won't he stop crying?" Mina dried her eyes and opened the door. Jinx was standing on the other side, looking broken down, with a hysterical Felix in her arms.
"Is he feed?" Jinx nodded.
"Checked his diaper?" Jinx nodded again. She was on the verge of tears. Mina wasn't in the mood to help Jinx, but she couldn't turn her back when she was so lost.
"Pleas help me." Mina took the crying baby.
"Hi Felix, why are you crying?" The baby just continued to cry his heart out. Mina did a quick sweep over him, checking everything she could think of, but nothing. She laid him to her chest, and finally he was calmed by the sound of her heartbeat.
"His just homesick."
"Homesick? We are home."
"No. His home has been you for the last eight and a half months. All he knows is you. Here."
Quietly she moved the boy from her chest to his mothers. Letting him rest with his ear against her heart. Jinx looked down at her son, and then smiled warmly at Mina.
"You are a life savour." Mina smiled.
"You'll get a hang of it."
"Perhaps, but if it wasn't for you I would have gone crazy before I got a hang of it. By the way, it's breakfast." Mina sighed, went back to wash her face and quickly changed before following the new mother and her son.
"You look even better with clothes on Mina." Lochan pulled out a chair, indicating her to take a seat. Mina didn't know exactly what to do, but she didn't want to be rude, so she sat down. He sat down next to her.
"I want to apologise for our meeting this morning."
"Apology accepted, but it's me who should apologise. I was the one attacking you."
"Yes, but you didn't know who I was. For all you knew I could have been an attacker. I just showed up peeping at you. Not nice."
Mina was stunned. She didn't know what do say or do. She had never met anyone like him, in all senses. She felt some of the resentment against him fade away.
"And I should apologise for my question too. I didn't mean to upset you."
"You didn't upset me."
"So you always cry when you're not upset."
Her resentment flamed up again. The only way he could have known was if he had been spying on her, like he had done this morning when she was swimming.
"What are you talking about?"
Jinx, who was sitting on her other side, leaned in.
"Nothing Jinx. He was just talking about our meeting this morning. "
"Yeah she totally kicked my ass. She was really good considering she doesn't have any powers."
Mina grinded her teeth. Why did he always have to push that button?
"Gee thanks." She turned away from him, reaching for a plate of fresh fruit. "You have no idea how lucky you are. Getting lessons from Arsenal when you're powerless."
"I know."
Mina was getting angrier and angrier. She didn't know why. Probably because not only did he push her button, he also seemed so casual with his own power. Like he didn't know how lucky he was to have it.
"I mean if I didn't have my powers I wouldn't be sitting here. I would be in Mexico or something. Enjoying life." She snapped.
"Don't you know how lucky you are? You have the opportunity to change the world. Why would you want to give that up?"
"You wouldn't understand. You probably grew up in a normal family in a normal house with…" Mina rose. Her chair fell to the floor, and suddenly they had everyone's attention. She didn't care.
"Do you know who Raven and Beast Boy are?"
"Of the original Titans? Yeah, they've famous."
"I am their powerless oldest daughter. Don't you dear talk to me about being normal when I grew up normal the only place were I wasn't." She was upset, and of course this meant the children was upset.
"And for the record, the only reason I won was because you took it easy at me." She turned and ran out of the room.
She was upset, but she was angrier with herself than at him. She hated that she had screamed at him. She hated that she had told so much of herself. That she hade made a spectacle of it. But most of all she was upset that she had, for a moment, thought she was special. That she had been worth the titan title.
But of course, she was the powerless daughter of Raven and Beast Boy. She was useless. She went to the shooting rink. She grabbed her bow and arrows and started to shoot. She needed to let of some steam, and this was the only way she knew how to do that. She continued to shoot until her arms were aching, yet she pushed threw that. Every time she thought she couldn't lift the arrow another time, she did just that.
"You know, there's nothing worse than a swore winner." She didn't need to turn to know it was he.
"I can think of something." A new arrow flew threw the air, penetrating the target on the other side.
"You want something."
"You're bleeding."
Mina turned around.
"You want me bleeding?"
"No, you are bleeding."
She looked down, and indeed blood was running down her left arm. She pulled up her sleeve, and saw the bullet wound had opened, probably from the restraint from shooting so much.
"Here, let me." She rolled her eyes.
"So healing is one of your powers?"
"No, I just know first aid."
She followed him in to the bathroom, and let him place her on the toilet.
"Hold your sleeve up." She pulled the sweater of and pressed it against her chest. Lochan blushed slightly, but soon all his focus was on her wound. He worked very fast, and when he was done it was neither bleeding nor hurting so much. She looked down impressed.
"Thank you."
"Just don't overwork it again." Mina rose to her feet, and so did he.
"Well see you later, and again thanks." She went out of the bathroom, and he soon came running up nest to her. "
Hey, I was going to apologise for what I said to you this morning. That was over the line."
"Did you mean it?"
She didn't look at him, and she didn't slow down. Her bloody sweater still clinging to her chest so not to show more than he bargained for.
"Yes but…"
"Then you have nothing to apologise for. You were just saying your opinion, and that is not a crime." He stopped and grabbed her unarmed arm. Forcing her to stop and face him.
"But it was rude of me. I made an assumption and made you upset because of it."
"I wasn't upset."
"Are we playing that game again? Come on Mina, I know you've been crying. I can see it."
Mina bet her lower lip. She just wanted him to let her go so she could be alone.
"Pleas let go of me."
"Do you accept my apology?"
"You have nothing to apologise for, but if it makes you happy then fine. Apology accepted. Now let go of me."
He did as he was told, and Mina suddenly realised she was outside her bedroom.
"And again. Thank you for fixing my arm." She gave him a weak smile, and went into her room before he could say something else.
"My parents died because of their powers." Mina had taken a seat on her bed and pulled on a light blue t-shirt, looked at her closed door. She could hear how his voice was shaking. He needed to talk. She sighed, but rose and opened her door. He, since he had leaned against the door, fell backwards and looked up at her.
"I never have had a guy fall for me."
"Now that I don't believe." She gave him a small smile and stepped back so he could stand up.
"You need to talk?" He looked unsure at her.
"Are you sure that's wise? I mean, we've talked twice and both times ended with you being mad at me."
"You want to or not?"
Realising the offer would soon expire; he quickly took a step inside and let her close the door behind him. Mina sat down on the bed, legs crossed, and looked at him. He just looked around.
"You wanted to talk?" Lochan sat down next her on the bed. He looked at her, and saw that she was looking at him.
"I grew up in a normal house, surrounded by normal people, knowing I wasn't normal. My parents told me early and I grew up not letting people in because of it. As a kid I never let anyone look into my eyes, and a time I actually wore lenses, but I never liked it."
Mina could feel his pain, and thou she wanted to talk to him, him she kept her mouth shut.
"I never knew about my parents past until they where killed. It was a Friday night. I still remember my mother laughing in the kitchen. Dad was sitting in the living room, picking out what film we were going to see."
He had started to cry. To streams of water flooded down behind the sunglasses, and he took them of. He was looking out into the air, held by his own memory. Mina's legs were uncrossed and she scooted a bit closer to the boy.
"I was walking down the stairs when suddenly the whole side of my house, my home, exploded. I ran down the stairs and saw a middle-aged dwarf standing there and my parents caught in a sort of force field. He didn't see me, and to be honest, I hid. I was terrified."
Mina was sitting very close to him. She could feel his pain so clearly she was crying herself.
"It is perfectly natural to do what you did."
"I was a coward. I sat there watching him tell my parents they were betrayers and that all betrayers deserve to die. Then I watched him kill them. I could have helped them. I could have done something."
Mina couldn't help herself. She laid her hand around him and pulled him in to a hug. He didn't resist. Actually he laid his arms around her waist and pulled her even tighter to him. Crying against her chest.
"I should have done something. Anything."
"You would just have gotten yourself killed. You're parents would have wanted you safe."
"If we had been normal, then they wouldn't have died." Mina didn't know what to say, so she just rocked him back and forth.
"I'm really sorry for laying all of that on you."
Lochan was lying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Mina was sitting with her feet dangling of the bed.
"It's okay." She started to stroke his leg. She wanted to tell him something too. Give him the same respect as he had given her in telling about his parents.
"I always felt unworthy." She lied down next to him, and saw that he was paying attention. It felt good opening up to someone who was your equal. And then it hit here, she saw him as an equal.
"I grew up knowing what my parents did, and what they where capable of. They where idolized, and when I was a kid children only came home with me because they wanted to met their heroes the Titans. No one wanted to know me."
Her voice became thicker, and she started to cry again.
"But why would they. I didn't have any powers. Why would anyone care about me? Why was I the daughter of Raven and Beast Boy? I was powerless. Useless."
"You're not useless." She turned and rested her head in her hand. He turned his face to her.
"You have beautiful eyes. Anyone ever tell you that?"
"My dad, but I got them from him, so that doesn't really count."
"You really do. Have beautiful eyes."
He stuck some loose hair behind her ear.
"And for the record. I don't think you're useless."
He was very close. Mina felt how her heart started to race. It didn't make sense. She had just met him, why would her heart start beating so fast just because he was very, very close. He had lovely eyes too.
When she looked into the blue one, she saw winter. Rolling in the snow, ice cubes on a hot day and ice cream. The red one was summer. The sun warming her body, the intimacy of a roaring fire, and the light of a candle.
How could one boy, man, hold so much difference inside him?
"Can I kiss you?" She wanted to scream yes. She wanted to throw her arms around him pulling him close to her body. Kiss the daylight out of him. But this wasn't rational. Why did she want him so bad? Desired him so much. She bit her lower lip.
"As long as it's just that." He smiled.
"I would never do anything to you Mina." He laid his hand on her neck and pulled her face to his. Her lips towards his. She closed her eyes as their lips met.
It wasn't fireworks. There wasn't bells, or bands playing in the background. She didn't see stars, or tasted heaven. There wasn't anything, except him. His taste, popcorn and cotton candy. His smell, his cologne and fresh sweat. His touch, warm and gentle. She could feel his warmth as he pulled her closer.
She was now more or less lying on him. And that was okay, because there wasn't anything else. It was just he in the entire world. His taste, his smell, his touch and his warmth. She wanted him. Needed him. She could feel his hands on her back. Going under her shirt. Memorising her body. She let him. She wanted him. She desired him. Lusted for him. Lust.
This wasn't real. It was just her hormones going wild. With her last strength she pulled herself of him.
"I'm sorry Lochan."
"Don't be."
She had problems breathing calmly, and she saw that he had the same problem as he lied there.
"What time is it?"
"Ten." Suddenly Mina shirked and jumped of her bed.
"What?" "I'm late for practise. I'm sorry, but I have to go."
She just stood there, waiting for him to say something.
"Go." She flashed him a smile before running to the shooting range. Speedy was shooting. He didn't turn as she opened the door and entered.
"You're late."
"I know. I'm so sorry."
"It's your choice to be here Mina. But if you want to be here, you need to take this serious." Mina blushed and looked down. He was right.
"I know, and I want to do this. I won't be late again, I promise."
"Don't promise something you can't keep. Get a bow."
"Concentrate Mina. You're not concentrating." Mina was biting her teeth together. Trying hard to only focus on the target, but noticed it was impossible. She could still feel his lips. His taste, his smell, his touch and his warmth. He was all over her, and it was driving her crazy. Not because it was a bad thing, but because she wanted more. She wanted all of him.
"What's the matter?" Speedy had gone from teacher to leader. She didn't know what to tell him, but she needed to tell someone, and he was there. She needed someone to help her understand her feelings.
"I kissed Lochan." She looked at him.
"My hormones are going nuts, and I ended up kissing him."
"And that's a bad thing?"
"Yes. That kiss wasn't real. It was just my hormones telling me to reproduce for the sake of my race. It wasn't love, it was lust."
Speedy looked just like Robin as he was listening. Arms cross, face down, eyes closed. Like he was really listening, and thinking about what you were telling him.
"You know, lust isn't all bad."
"I know. But as the animal kings daughter, I just have a lot of it. And lust without love is a fatal combination."
She looked at him. He still had his eyes closed.
"I'm sorry for telling you all of this. I know it's a lot to take in." He opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Don't be. If something is troubling you, I need to know. We are a team now." "A team?" Mina couldn't help smiling.
"Yes, at least until you are ready to go back west permanently. You think you can concentrate now?" Mina nodded and raised her bow. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them everything else faded away. It was just she and the target.
"The what?"
"The Steel City annual charity ball."
"Big event. Huge. Have to go."
Mina was looking at the two models standing in the bathroom. Holding up dresses, they were using each other as a mirror.
"What are you talking about?"
"The Steel City annual charity ball."
Mina hated when they talked at the same time. She had a hard enough time separating the two as it was.
"Every year the mayor of Steel City holds a big charity ball where every big shot in Steel City is invited. Including the titans."
Mina turned as Tula came up behind her, and smiled gratefully.
"You are coming right. It's tomorrow night."
"Why haven't anyone told me before?"
"Roy was supposed to tell you."
The two women were standing in the hall as the three titan men came towards them. Tula turned and looked angry at them.
"Who?" Her husband looked scared a moment.
"Roy." The two other men made a sigh of relief, patted Roy on the back and got the hell out of there.
"I thought you were going to tell her about the ball Roy."
"I didn't?"
Mina shook her head, and felt bad for selling out her teacher like that.
"I must have forgotten. You're in thou Mina."
"It's not that. She has to get a dress, and decide makeup, planning for a ball takes time Roy. I thought she was on top of it. Men."
Tula sent Speedy a mean look, and Mina felt like he had suffered enough.
"It's okay Tula. Of course I'm coming. Roy, come help me pick out a dress." She grabbed her trainer, flashed Tula a smile, and dragged him down the hall.
"Thank you."
"You're not of the hook yet. You forgot to warn me, now I have to go, so you have to help me pick out a dress."
"Just pick one Roy. Which one do you like?" Mina had showed him her three dresses, and was annoyed about his inability to just pick one.
"I don't know Mina, it's quite formal."
"So the black one."
"Don't you want to buy a new dress?"
She rolled her eyes. She hated buying new clothes, since she always felt ugly, but she didn't want to put her teacher to shame.
"If you think I need it."
She was biting her lower lip as she, and everyone from the tower, with the exception of Su and Felix who was with a sitter, was sitting in the limo. Mina was and touching her white cloak which was covering her new dress. Even Roy hadn't seen it, even thou he had paid for it. A repayment for not telling her about the ball.
"Relax Mina. It's just a ball." Lochan was sitting next to her in a tux and sunglasses. He grabbed her hands so they wouldn't fidget so much.
"I hate balls." It was just a whisper, but he heard it clearly. Mostly because he had put his head very close to hers.
"We are here." The door opened and Speddy stepped out. Mina was about to follow him, but froze when she saw the familiar gleam of flashlights.
"Mina?" Speedy turned and reached out for her hand, and since Lochan was pushing from behind she stepped out of the limo and in to the lights.
"Arsenal. Arsenal. Who is that beauty on your arm?"
"My apprentice, Mina." Speedy went over to the reporter
"Oh is there new romance blossoming in the titan tower."
"His old enough to be my father." Mina knew that was a mistake the second the words popped out of her mouth.
The reporter turned to Mina, and her eyes widened as she recognised her.
"So your new apprentice is Mina, the oldest daughter of Raven and Changeling of the Titans west. Interesting. Mina, why haven't you joined the ranks of titans? Is it because you have none of your parents powers?"
Mina wanted to just disappear. She looked calmly at the reporter, as she knew was the best way, and just gave her a weak smile. On the inside she was praying to get away.
"Mina is in training right now, and have actually been on a fights, and she was good. And being a titan is more than the powers. It is about protecting the ones who need protecting. Now if you will excuse us."
"I'm sorry Mina."
"It's okay. I'm used to it."
Mina didn't let go of his arm all the way down threw the doors. Someone gave her a glass of campaign, and Mina concentrated on drinking it.
"Your cloak madam."
Mina looked at the servant wanting to help her of with the cloak. She breathed deeply in and out as she let him take it. Revealing the dress underneath.