I'm really sorry, guys, but I'm not going to be able to get that bonus chapter to you this week like I wanted to...too much stuff happening at once. But, on the bright side, I will definitely be able to put it up next week...you know, unless something weird happens...
At any rate, another chapter, with some mild surprises and some plot-changing ones. Well, one plot-changing one...not even really a...oh, let's just start!
Beast Boy woke up. Through the curtains, he could see sunshine gleaming in...best way to wake up in the morning, in his opinion. He sighed. -Why couldn't my room have gotten windows?- He dozed for a couple seconds in the sun before realizing that if his room had no windows, this couldn't be his room. Then he remembered:-Oh yeah, the couch...I fell asleep in the common room!- and he started dozing again. He sat bolt upright.-The common room doesn't have curtains!- He felt a pressure next to him, and looked down.
Raven.
Beast Boy almost screamed, but caught himself at the last split-second. He slowly started to get out of the bed, trying his best not to wake Raven up...he'd already stirred her by sitting bolt upright in bed, especially considering he'd had to move his arms-
His arms had been around her!
-Awkward...- he thought, gently rising out of the bed. He spared a glance down...his uniform. Much better than underwear...apparently the only thing that had been changed was his location. He sat down on a nearby chair, giving a small sigh of relief that Raven hadn't woken up.
He looked over to the watch. -6:52?- he thought. -Wow...guess all that sleep was good for me...- He looked back to Raven, and remembered something.
"But I still want to talk to you later...privately...about the argument."
-That's right,- thought Beast Boy. -I had forgotten about that...- and he thought for a bit. -I should probably stick around until she wakes up, so the opportunity doesn't slip by us...-
And that's exactly what he proceeded to do.
0 0 0
Meanwhile, in the common room, Nightwing had just come in and was yawning, still tired. He smacked his lips a few times, scratched his belly, and looked out the window. The sun hadn't risen yet, but it was starting to. Nightwing smiled in spite of himself.
He heard the familiar 'whoosh' of the common room doors behind him, and turned to see who it was. "Starfire," he said. She smiled. "You're up early."
"I wished to know how you were feeling..." she said, smile faltering a bit. "You...are feeling better, yes?"
Starfire was referring to the fact that Nightwing was unable to take Starfire out on their date because he was busy running tests on Beast Boy. He wasn't exactly mad at his green teammate for fainting, but he did feel bad about disappointing Starfire...then again, she would have been disappointed by the movies they were showing, too, so meh.
"Yeah...a little bit..." responded Nightwing.
There was a short silence.
"Perhaps, if it is so important to you, you would wish to make up the date some other time?" suggested Starfire.
Nightwing coughed. "Well...um...how about right now?"
Starfire's eyes shone at this. "Truly?" she asked.
"Of course. In fact..." And Nightwing coughed again, this time to clear his throat. He got down on one knee. "My dear Starfire, she who is a mile above all other females..." he said in his best upper-class British accent...which wasn't very good. "Would you watch the sunrise with me?"
Starfire giggled, then returned (with a much better British accent), "Why, yes, I would be most delighted!" And she outstretched her hand. Nightwing took it and kissed it, Starfire giggling again. He rose off the ground, drawing her nearer to him. She blushed slightly, but didn't hesitate to lie her head on his shoulder. He returned the blush.
And they watched the sunrise together.
0 0 0
Back at Raven and Beast Boy's shared room, Beast Boy was growing bored. So he made up a new verse for the "I'm Very Bored" song.
"Bored, bored, I am so bored, just call me pumpkin as I move like a gourd..." he sang softly. Raven stirred slightly, and Beast Boy. slapped his hand over his mouth. -Light sleeper...if this marriage thing is going to last as long as that one note said, I'd better remember that...-
He tried to imagine what it would be like to be married to Raven. His thoughts came as bite sized pieces of life instead of like Raven's scenarios. You'll see the difference as it happens...
0 0 0
Inside Beast Boy's Head, the imagination sector
0 0 0
Poetry readings.
Meditating.
Herbal tea.
More Meditating.
Yelling.
Herbal tea again.
Depressing cafe.
Depressing bookstore.
Depressing grocery shopping.
More yelling.
Lots of yelling.
More meditating...again.
Forgotten anniversaries.
Yelling because of the forgotten anniversaries.
And worst of all...
HURT EMOTIONS.
0 0 0
-Not just normal hurt emotions either, but like...hurting emotions' emotions!- thought Beast Boy. -That's like, three times as worse!-
And as Beast Boy mentally panicked, life chose that time when he was most panicked to wake up Raven.
-Raven!- he thought. -What do I do? What do I say? How do I keep her from killing me? Is she in her underwear? I'm not sure whether to hope so or hope not...I can't survive being married to...-
"YAH!"
Thump.
"...Raven?" asked Beast Boy, now snapped out of it. He looked around. "Raven?" he repeated, slightly louder.
"Down here..." came a muffled voice.
Beast Boy jumped onto the bed and looked over the side, Raven was there, having fallen off and now being tangled up in a bunch of sheets. "Oh. Um...good morning, Rae!"
"Help me get out out of here, and don't call me Rae," Raven responded.
"Not a morning person, huh?" Beast Boy asked. In response, the blankets were covered in dark energy and shot straight up, giving Beast Boy a soft-but-firm uppercut. Raven stood up and looked at Beast Boy, who was lying in a tangled mess on the bed.
"What are you doing in here?" Raven asked. Beast Boy, in response, began to struggle with the sheets.
After a few seconds, he responded. "I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count..." he said. Raven looked at him funny. A couple seconds later, Beast Boy looked startled. He paused in his sheetwork and looked up to Raven, eyes still wide. "T-the rings!" he said. "I...I meant the rings!"
"I figured you did," said Raven, "But the mental images you have just given me will unfortunately not be going away for a long time."
Beast Boy chuckled nervously, blushing slightly. After a few seconds more, he managed to get himself untangled from the sheets, and stood up. You could practically hear the trumpets play and see the background change to a bright light as Beast Boy stood there, triumphant over his enemy, the bedsheets. Raven, in turn, took advantage of these few seconds to levitate over a bar of soap and an extra change of clothes. She walked past Beast Boy on her way to the exit.
"Where are you going?" asked Beast Boy, imaginary fanfare fading.
Raven stopped and turned around. "Normally, I'd look at you funny and walk away, hoping that you might get the hint...but, this morning, I've had more than my fair share of awkwardness, so I'll tell you straight up: I'm going to the shower. Do not, under any circumstances, try and enter the bathroom until I leave, or I will simply kill you and deal with the consequences. In fact, jail might not be as bad as being married to you..."
"So you really don't know?" asked Beast Boy, ignoring the last part of that comment in hopes that Raven wasn't serious. Raven, in response to Beast Boy's question, looked blank. Beast Boy explained: "There's a bathroom built in with our room," and he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Apparently Cy finally caved and paid for a bathroom for everyone...or maybe it's just us?"
"I have my own bathroom?" Raven said in astonishment, eyebrows rising. She ran over to where Beast Boy was pointing and opened the door she hadn't noticed was there before.
"You mean, we have our own bathroom!" said Beast Boy.
Yep. That was a bathroom, alright. Sink, toilet, shower, hot tub...
-Hot tub?- thought Raven. -Yeah, as if waking up in the same room as Beast Boy two days in a row wasn't awkward enough, let's let Affection fantasize about that, too...- Then something occurred to Raven, who turned to Beast Boy. "How come you knew this was here?" she asked.
"Oh, well, I got bored waiting for you to wake up," said Beast Boy, "So I decided to poke around a bit and see what I could find...and I found a bathroom! Don't worry, it's all yours...I've already taken a shower."
"Why were you waiting for me to wake up?" Raven asked, now a little confused.
"Oh yeah!" said Beast Boy, remembering once more. "We were supposed to talk once we could do it privately! You remember, right?"
Raven started. -Uh oh,- she thought, -I don't want to talk to Beast Boy...I know something might happen, but...I'd really rather we just forgot the whole thing, and...-
As you could see, time and nervousness had caused Raven's attitude towards talking to Beast Boy to spin around 180 degrees, to where she no longer wanted to talk to him. Although it was hard to tell from her panicked thought processes, her basic logic in justifying this feeling was that Beast Boy's near-death experience yesterday was a once-in-a-million thing...he'd never come close to being in danger of death before, and she had done a good job of convincing herself that that meant Beast Boy would not be experiencing that again anytime soon.
"Um, so do you still want to talk?" Beast Boy asked.
All of Raven's logic disintegrated against this simple question, leaving her with the simple thought that she had to get out of there...FAST. She quickly ran inside the bathroom and shut the door, Beast Boy being left behind without an answer...not a verbal one, at least. "Oh..." Beast Boy continued, his ears dropping and his face downcast. "I see...that's okay."
And he sat down on the bed, moping to himself.
0 0 0
The sun had just come up. Nightwing and Starfire spent a few moments together before he laid a gentle kiss on her forehead and they separated.
"So, um..." he started, "Would you..."
"Yes Nightwing?" Starfire asked.
-Go out on another date tonight!- Nightwing screamed at himself inside his head. -Come on...say it, you moron!-
"Would you like..." he began. Starfire stared at him...with those big eyes... and that hopeful smile..."...s-some coffee?" he finally finished.
"Oh! Yes, please!" responded Starfire, oblivious to the fact that Nightwing had just tried to ask her out and failed.
Nightwing forced a smile, said "Okay," and turned to get the coffee. -Stupid, stupid, stupid...what the?- "Um, Starfire?"
"Yes, Nightwing?" she responded.
He looked to her. "Where's Beast Boy?"
0 0 0
Raven, in the meantime, had taken her shower, gotten dried off, and had her clothes on quickly as always, but was hesitant to leave. If she left, she lost her excuse to not talk to Beast Boy.
She sighed, and sat down on a clothes hamper...not exactly comfortable, but better than the toilet. She took a few deep breaths, crossed her legs, and began meditating.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos..." she chanted.
Thus began another mental conversation with her emotions.
-I still say we just drop the whole thing and ignore the little moron,- suggested Rude as Raven came in. Apparently, they had been already talking before she got there.
-Ignore him? Just yesterday, you were...-
-I changed my mind,- said Rude, interrupting Anger. Anger steamed, but obeyed Raven's rule about causing no physical harm to any other emotion.
-It's nonsensical not to want to talk to him!- interjected Knowledge. -It would be better for all involved if we do so!-
-But...but what if he doesn't understand?- Timid asked hesitatingly.
-We know Beast Boy better than that,- said Wisdom. Before she could continue, Timid did.
-Or what if...we don't understand him? What if we get mad again? Or what if someone says something the wrong way? What if...-
-Shut up!- shouted Anger.-I'm sick of hearing your voice!- Timid started crying. -But I don't want to talk to him either, I'll admit it. After all, it WAS totally his fault.-
-That's not true, and you know it!- said Brave, who was trying to comfort Timid.-We were the ones who got angry that night, we started that argument, and we said those horrible things!-
-He deserved it!- shouted Anger.
-I think maybe we should talk to Beast Boy,- mused Happy, -When he's in a good mood!-
-Happy makes an excellent point,- said Wisdom. -If Beast Boy is feeling happy, the chances of him becoming angry are much slimmer. Even when we exploded at him, when he was feeling angry, he barely got angry at all. Well, comparatively, anyway. At any rate, if he were in a good mood...-
Timid sniffled, now calmed down. -He's never in a good mood when he's around us...he hates us...-
-No he doesn't!- shouted Affection. -If he hated us, why on Earth would...-
-Don't. Start. Again.- said Anger. -He does hate us, despite your stupid delusions otherwise.-
-They aren't delusions!- said Affection. She took a deep breath. -But...whether they are or not...and whether this argument you're saying happened really happened...Beast Boy is, at the very least, our friend. We need to fix things between us.-
-No!- said Timid. -I'm afraid to...-
-I'm...sorry, Timid,- said Brave, -But...it looks like we have to.-
Anger saw she wasn't going to win this argument, no matter how hard she tried, so she tried for a subtler approach. -Fine...but we are NOT talking to him first thing after getting out of the bathroom...we need a strategy...- The others looked at her oddly. -If we're going to do something I don't want to, I at LEAST want it done right...- Anger explained.
-I suppose we do need a strategy for talking to Beast Boy...- agreed Wisdom a little reluctantly. -It would probably be for the best...-
-Alright!- said Brave, eager to go into this metaphorical battle. -Who's got an idea?-
0 0 0
"I have no idea where Beast Boy could be..." murmured Cyborg, who was too sleepy to be too concerned...not that he wasn't at least a little concerned, mind you.
"You've checked his communicator?" Nightwing asked,
"For the hundredth time, YES." said Cyborg, still grouchy.
"Hmm..." murmured Nightwing. Starfire flew back into the common room.
"He was not in the basement, nor upon the roof..." said Starfire. "Though I do not see how he could have gotten there anyway, with his injuries..." and she shivered a little at the thought of the injuries.
"So where could he be?" thought Nightwing, stroking his chin. His eyebrows suddenly shot up, and then he slapped his forehead. "DUH! His room!"
"Oh, of course!" said Starfire. "Hmm...it is truly odd how we sometimes forget the most obvious of things when we are slightly panicked..."
"Tell me about it..." said Cyborg, slightly angry at being woken up for nothing, more than likely.
"Alright, I'll go check his room." said Nightwing. "If he's in there, I'll contact you on the communicators. Just in case, you two keep looking. Got it?"
"Got it!" said Starfire. Cyborg simply grunted. Nightwing nodded and headed out.
0 0 0
Beast Boy was still a little sad, but had mostly gotten over the fact that he and Raven weren't going to be talking about what happened after all. Mainly, he was bored again. Not quite bored enough to start singing, but still pretty bored. He got up off the bed and began to poke around again.
He started at the bookshelf. -Neat,- he thought, -This reality's Raven lets me keep my comics on the bottom shelf...- He smiled for a bit, then took notice of the other books on the shelf.-What do we got here?- he thought to himself, taking one out. It was...something...written in Latin. He flipped through the pages.
-Don't know too much Latin...- he thought. -Just some Genus and Species names...comes with the territory...- and he moved on.
After a bit more poking around, he noticed an unusually blank space on the wall in front of his and Raven's (and here he shook his head to clear away certain thoughts) bed. He walked over to the wall and tapped it.
Thunk, thunk, thunk...
-Bingo...- said Beast Boy. -Now...if I had a secret compartment...which I apparently do...what would my password be?- He thought for a couple seconds, then took a breath. "Open Sesame!"
There were a couple boops and beeps. "Password accepted," said a computerized voice.
"Sweet..." mumbled Beast Boy as the wall rolled back to reveal...
...a flatscreen, plasma TV. Two speakers popped up from the sides.
"SWEET!" shouted Beast Boy. He grinned with glee as another, smaller compartment opened up to reveal a remote control. "Why do I ever leave here?" he mumbled, everything else forgotten as he picked up the remote. He suddenly frowned. "Oh, yeah, food...well, at any rate!" and he moved to push the power button-
Knock knock knock.
Beast Boy sighed, putting the remote control back. "Close Sesame..." he mumbled. As the machine let off its "Password Accepted" and closed the door, Beast Boy turned towards the room's door. "Come in!"
The door opened, and in stepped Nightwing. "Beast Boy!" he said, a little angrily.
"What? What did I do?" Beast Boy asked, now worried for his own safety.
"You were NOT supposed to leave that couch!" said Nightwing. "Raven told me she had told you!"
"When did she-"
"Last night. I was getting a drink, I met Raven in the hallway and saw you asleep on the couch." Nightwing explained. "But that isn't what we're talking about here!" Then he seemed to remember something, and pulled out his communicator. "I've found him, team. Cease the search."
"Glorious!" said Starfire's voice. "Beast Boy is feeling...alright, yes?"
"He'd better be alright," Cyborg shouted, "'Cause I am NOT happy about getting out of bed, let me tell you! When I get my hands on that little-"
"He's alright," said Nightwing. "And he's getting a firm talking-to, don't worry." Cyborg grumbled again. Nightwing cut off communications, then turned back to Beast Boy. "What are you doing in here?" Nightwing asked, hoping for Beast Boy's sake that he had a good reason.
Beast Boy sweatdropped, panicking slightly. "Well, um...I-I just got up early, and I wanted to talk to Raven, you know? So I figured I'd stop by her room, and when I did she was taking a shower, so now I'm just...waiting for her to get out!"
"Beast Boy," said Nightwing, his tone now softened. "I know you care for Raven deeply, but you're hurt. You shouldn't have been up and walking around."
"Ah, come on!" said Beast Boy, grabbing his right shoulder and swinging his right arm around. "I feel great! You guys don't need to worry about me!"
Crack.
Beast Boy grimaced, and his arm dropped. Nightwing's "angry eyes" came back. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. You need bed rest, Beast Boy. Lie down. That's an order."
Beast Boy sighed, rubbing his sore arm. "Alright..."
Suddenly, an alarm was heard throughout the tower.
0 0 0
While Beast Boy and Nightwing were talking, Raven's emotions were going up against each other...and giving Raven a headache.
-Let's make him some cookies!- said Happy. -Everyone loves cookies!-
-What is it with you and cookies, Acid Trip?- asked Rude. Raven heard a burp.
-Maybe if we get him a gift, he'll forget about it...?- asked Timid hopefully.
-I doubt it,- said Knowledge.-Beast Boy isn't exactly book smart, but his memory is keen. A good gift would undoubtedly distract him for a little bit, at least, but the gift's high would wear off sooner or later.-
-Perhaps if we wrote him a note asking us to meet him somewhere for the talk,- suggested Affection, -He shall come there with a more-open mind...?-
-That isn't a bad idea!- said Knowledge.
-Yes it is,- said Wisdom. -Do you know how put off he would be at our writing a note to him asking for him to come meet us for a talk? He would be freaked out, at the very least.-
-Sweet! Let's do it!- said Rude.
-Why would he be freaked out?- asked Knowledge, ignoring Rude. -There's no logical reason for him to be.-
-This isn't about logic!- said Anger. -This is about emotion...Beast Boy's unpredictably annoyingly childish emotions!-
-So why don't we do what he likes to do?- suggested Affection.
-I would rather die...- said Anger simply.
-I say yeah!- said Brave.-That one fighting game he's always playin' looks awesome!-
Rude made a sound like she was throwing up.
-Well, then let's just talk to him already!- said Brave, growing impatient. -He managed to get along fine without a plan, so can we!-
-And as a result of that ill-formed anti-plan,- said Knowledge, -He is now very badly injured...I'm surprised he can even stand up.-
Timid whimpered slightly. -I wish we'd helped him more...-
-And I wish he'd been finished off in that blast...- Anger said bitterly. -I hate him, I hate this whole mess...-
-You hate everything, we get it, Chicago...- said Rude.
-I never did get that nickname,- murmured Knowledge.
-Maybe we should all think about this and come back to it later...- Wisdom suggested. Unseen to everyone, Anger smirked slightly at the word 'later'. -Who agrees?- Everyone said something to the affirmatory. -Then it is settled. We shall adjourn for now...if it is alright with Raven?-
-It is alright...- Raven thought to her emotions. They went silent, and she stopped meditating.
Just in time for the alarm tower to go off.
0 0 0
It wasn't the usual alarm, either...it was a constant alarm that increased constantly in pitch. A blue light flashed occasionally.
Raven opened the shower door."What's going on?" she asked...then she saw Nightwing. "What are you doing in here?" she asked, but it was lost above the whine of the alarm.
"No time to explain!" shouted Nightwing over the ringing in their ears. "Let's go!"
Nightwing and Raven ran off, and Beast Boy followed, a bit slower than usual than the pain in his legs. Still, he did his best to ignore it, and no one blamed him for following the other two to the common room.
After all, the 'blue alarm' meant that Titans Tower was under attack.
0 0 0
Nightwing and Raven arrived in the common room about four seconds before Beast Boy, who was now walking and winced with each step. Cyborg, seeing the gang was all there, shut off the alarm and displayed the crisis on the monitor. An overhead map of the city, blueprint style, appeared on the screen. Strangely enough, spaced at random intervals in random places were little dots of light. The Titans' computer showed little bits of info on the light. It looked like a bunch of gibberish, but Cyborg understood it well enough. After he read the screen for a few seconds, his non-mechanical eye widened...greatly. He turned to the rest of the team.
"Alright, guys, we're in serious trouble...those little lights you see are ion scatterings, located all over the city. There's nothing big enough to hurt anybody, but add 'em all up and we've got one massive charge. Now, judging by their energy signature, I'm gonna have to say that new governmental satellite is somehow involved in all of this."
"What new governmental satellite?" asked Beast Boy.
Cyborg sighed, turned to the computer, and pressed a few buttons. A second or two later, a large satellite appeared on the screen. It rotated against the blue background. "This new governmental satellite. It's the latest in solar-powered fuel cells, combined with a system of anti-grav propulsion that allows it to rotate anywhere it wants to around Earth, freely. But what I'm worried about..." and here he pointed to the screen while simultaneously pressing a button. The satellite stopped in its rotation. "Is the fact that its entire bottom half is one big ion laser!"
"WOAH!" shouted Beast Boy.
"Eep!" squeaked Starfire.
"That can't be good," said Raven.
"Let me guess," said Nightwing, "The ion energy signatures..."
"...connect right at Titans' Tower," finished Cyborg as the city's blueprint came back on screen. This time, the scatterings were drawn into lines, intersecting at approximately the middle of Titan Island. "And this laser is tough stuff, man. Whoever commandeered the satellite can wipe any square mile off the face of the earth that they want. That means that not only will Titans' Tower be wiped out..."
"...but so will a good chunk of Jump City," finished Raven.
"But...you've got, like...a shield, right? Cyborg, old buddy? Heh heh?" Beast Boy said, giving a thumbs up and a nervous smile.
Cyborg coughed. "Well..." he began hesitantly.
"YOU DON'T HAVE A SHIELD?" Nightwing shouted as the others gasped.
"Yes and no..." said Cyborg. "You see, I built a shield a while back, but I haven't tested it out yet...I've just finished running diagnostics on everything, in fact."
"Then this will be the test run," said Nightwing.
"'Cause that worked so well when you guys tried out that one move..." Raven said, indicating Beast Boy, who was absentmindedly rubbing his sore shoulder.
"Good point," said Nightwing. "Evacuate the city, just in case."
Cyborg nodded, and pressed the big red button clearly marked EVACUATE THE CITY.
0 0 0
As soon as Cyborg pressed that button, a signal was sent by underground wire to the main communications hub of the city. From there, a signal was sent up through the tower and out to every TV, radio, phone, and every other electronic device there was within city limits...and a little bit outside.
"Evacuate the city immediately!" said the preprogrammed instruction. People took notice. "This is not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill!"
Panic, but not abject panic, ensued as the whine of the evacuation alarm sounded over the repeated warnings to clear the city. people rushed for their cars, for the subways...for anything. People ran out of buildings frantically, not knowing which direction to head. Various villains were escorted out of jail and into police vans, orange jumpsuits and handcuffs obviously showing their status.
And directly above the city, a massive governmental satellite floated, fully charged and ready to fire.
0 0 0
"Alright," said Cyborg, "Just like everything else I've installed recently, the shield needs our passwords in order to work."
"Why would you password-proof a shield?" Raven asked.
"Because of how easily it could be modified into a weapon if somebody wanted," he answered, raising several Titans' eyebrows. He then stepped to the windowpane to the right of the computer. The others followed, lining up next to him. Beast Boy and Raven stood to his left, and Starfire and Nightwing stood to his right. Everyone besides Cyborg removed their gloves, or rolled up their sleeves in Raven's case, and pressed their hands onto the glass.
A fingerprint scanner went to work as soon as this happened, reading everybody's hand in order to make sure that everything matched up. The retina scanner/brainwave scanner went to work next, as a red beam of light shot straight into everyone's eye. After this, a computerized voice said, "Please state your name for voice and identity final recognition."
"Garfield Logan, alias Beast Boy."
"Raven Roth, alias Raven."
"Victor Stone, alias Cyborg."
"Koriand'r, alias Starfire."
"DehGron, alias Nightwing..."
"The computer will never catch you if you mumble, Night-" began Cyborg.
"Access granted," said the computer. Nightwing gave a small smile as Cyborg sulked.
"Now what?" asked Starfire.
Cyborg ran over to the computer, flipped open a small hatch on the side, and pressed a button located within.
The whole Tower started to shake because of what happened next.
0 0 0
Outside the Tower, three black poles with large laser weapons on top slowly slowly rose out of the water. Upon the roof, a similarly colored pole extended until it was level with the other three. It, however, had a small black metallic diamond on it. The diamond opened to reveal two smaller poles, which also extended slightly in the air. Three walkways, which put together as they were would create the shape of a T, extended to the black poles outside Titans' Tower.
It was quite an impressive sight.
0 0 0
"Alright!" said Cyborg, quicker than the others could get their bearings because they hadn't known the shaking was coming. "I'm inputting the shield coordinates now. Starfire, Raven, you two are with me, because we're the only ones who can fire energy. Each of you head out to the black towers outside. There will be two holes in each tower at approximately waist level. Stick your hands into them, and don't stop pumping energy until I tell you!"
"What can we do?" asked Nightwing.
"You guys need to aim the shield," said Cyborg, as two consoles popped up from hatches in the floor in front of the couch.
"How did you install those without us noticing?" Beast Boy asked.
Cyborg ignored him. "I've got the shield coordinates set properly, but the blast might knock it off center...and that would be bad. I need you guys to tilt the joystick retaining to your balancing pole in the opposite direction the shield needs to go...the computer will do some of it for you, but it can't handle all the stress of maintaining the force field AND keeping it from going off center."
"Um, no offense, dude..." pointed out Beast Boy, "But that has got to be one of the lamest ways to keep a force field up, ever..."
Cyborg slowly turned his head and looked at Beast Boy...hard. "It saves energy..." said Cyborg. "Or would you prefer we drain power from the WHOLE CITY?!"
"Sorry..." said Beast Boy. The Titans' computer started beeping again.
"Two minutes until blast zone..." said Cyborg. "Here's hoping this works..." and he ran off, Raven and Starfire following behind.
The doors opened.
The doors closed.
Nightwing and Beast Boy settled themselves in the consoles' seats, taking a look at the viewscreens.
Just outside of the tower, the Titans went their separate ways. Raven went the the left tower, Starfire to the right, and Cyborg to the bottom tower. They walked across the twenty-or-so foot-long walkways. When they finally reached the poles, a hatch opened up, revealing two holes for their hands and a viewscreen. The other four Titans appeared on each Titan's screen.
Cyborg turned both his arms into sonic cannons.
Starfire surrounded her hands with her Starbolts.
Raven surrounded hers with dark energy.
"On three, you guys!" said Cyborg. "We've got to do this simultaneously!"
"Got it!" said Raven.
"Got it!" said Starfire.
"Okay, then, guys...one...two..."
0 0 0
The satellite fired.
0 0 0
"THREE!"
They each jammed both their arms into their respective places. Cyborg's sonic cannon's energy shot up and around the pole like electronic circuitry. Starfire's energy rose like liquid. And Raven's energy rose like she was trying to move the whole tower.
Finally, the energies reached their maximum point, and were expelled forcefully from the gun. They met at the center, and were combined into one white-hot ball of energy.
"Alright, Nightwing! Beast Boy!" Cyborg shouted. "Extend the balance poles!"
Nightwing and Beast Boy each pressed the button on their respective joystick. The poles extended into the energy ball.
Three agonizing seconds passed.
Suddenly, the entirety of the ball was spread out into a large, golden-colored force field that spread over the entirety of the island, and then some. The three Titans below continued to pump energy, as it was needed to power the force field. Three of the Titans let out a cheer, and Cyborg smirked. Once the cheer subsided, he spoke.
"Made it," he said. "And with plenty of time to spa-"
The laser impacted.
0 0 0
The impact and the shockwave it made were visible for over six miles away. Most of the people who saw the bright light didn't know what it meant, but those brave enough to stay it what might be a dying city knew all to well what it was.
It was their doom in refracted form.
And as the hundred-or-so people looked upon this display of power with a mixture of shock, awe, and fear, one little boy, about the age of twelve, was sitting and looking as well. He was a pale boy, with dark glasses and spiked-yellow hair. He was wearing a white t-shirt, a red and blue racing jacket, blue jeans, and the male answer to go-go boots, colored black and a very light purple. But the most noticeable thing of all about this boy was that he was in a wheelchair.
He looked upon that death laser with peace in his heart and utter belief in his heroes that they would not let that blast hit. And so he stared, able to say one thing, and one thing only.
"Cool..."
0 0 0
"Estimate was a little off, huh, Cyborg?" Beast Boy asked angrily over the roar of what was going on.
"Shut up and steer!" Cyborg shouted back.
Beast Boy looked to the computer, which was already showing some alteration in the ballasts. Beast Boy tilted the joystick in the opposite direction of where he wanted the shield to go. The shield reclaimed its rightful place.
"Huh. Easy enough..." said Beast Boy.
"The shield should hold as long as you keep doing that," said Cyborg, and as he said it Nightwing made an adjustment with the joystick as well, a small one. "But I've gotta warn you: the longer the blast goes on, the more you're gonna need to balance things out!"
"Alright," said Beast Boy. "I can do this...I RULE at video games!"
And as if in response to this, the computer showed that the pole needed to be adjusted three times over.
"You were saying?" said Nightwing, as Beast Boy panicked slightly in getting everything where it needed to be.
"Hey, we're alive, aren't we?" Beast Boy said, and then adjusted the balance once more.
"That's it...keep it up..." said Cyborg. "Starfire, Raven! How are you two doing?"
"I am...feeling...tired!" said Starfire, straining to speak.
"How long is this laser blast supposed to go on, anyway?" said Raven, also feeling the burn.
"A minute or so," said Cyborg. "At least."
"At least?" said Beast Boy, incredulously. "What happened to fuel-efficient?"
Beast Boy's question went unanswered, as there were more important things to worry about.
0 0 0
"Woah..." said Johnny Rancid, looking out the back window of the police van as it drove a good distance from the city. "That is some serious stuff, right there..."
"Must be that new governmental satellite everybody's been talking about," said Professor Chang, who was seated next to Johnny...or, rather, where Johnny would be if he was sitting down.
"Very impressive," said Killer Moth, stealing a peek out the window as well. "I wouldn't mind having one of those lasers in my lab..."
"Yeah, but could you actually use it?" the good Professor asked.
"Better than you could," said Killer Moth. And before Professor Chang could retort...
"Hmph!" said a commanding, bratty, feminine voice. Everyone turned to it...yes, it was Kitten. "I don't see WHY you would want one of those when you could have one of those new mind control chips they've got out..." and she rubbed her manicured, handcuffed hands together with glee. "I've already got a few ideas on how to use them, too...hee, hee, hee...revenge will be mine, oh dearest Robbie-poo..."
There were a few moments of silence. "Okay..." said Professor Chang. "Did I miss something?"
Kitten looked up, now angry. She stood up and pointed at the Professor, leaning over towards him and utterly dominating him through a combination of reverse feminine wiles and incredibly powerful lungs. "YOU are a moron!" she said. "I don't know WHY I had to be stuck in HERE with two GOONS like you and Mr. Punk Wannabe over there!"
"Ha!" said Johnny, now sitting down, to Killer Moth. "She called you a punk wannabe!" Killer Moth sighed in response.
"I was calling YOU a punk wannabe, you MORON!" Kitten yelled again. "Not to MENTION that your name REALLY IS ACCURATE, Mr. Johnny RANCID! When was the last time you had a shower, you PATHETIC excuse for a human being?"
Johnny, unlike Professor Chang (and Killer Moth, for that matter), was not swayed by the bratty girl's yelling. In fact, he actually stuck up his chin slightly, as if to look down his nose at her, while she yelled at him. Once he was done, he pushed her face slightly, turning his in the opposite direction towards Killer Moth.
"Sweet girl you got here," he said, sarcasm dripping nicely off the tounge.
SMACK.
The side of Johnny Rancid's face was bulging. Scratch marks showed across it. Kitten blew on her nails. "Mess with the Kitten, and you get the claws."
"Am...am I bleeding?" asked Johnny.
"Yes," said Killer Moth, simply.
"At any rate," said Professor Chang, "It looks like things are going down way beyond us back there in Jump City."
"Yeah," said Johnny, "But there's just one thing I don't get."
"What's that?" asked Killer Moth.
"Why is the government firing on the Teen Titans?" Johnny mused. Everyone in the van sighed. "What?"
"Obviously, some hacker took over the shiny new satellite they have up there," said Professor. "Some hacker with, how do the kids say, a 'beef' with the Teen Titans."
"Not like something like this doesn't happen every once month or so..." Killer Moth mumbled.
"Whoever took over that satellite is stupid," said Kitten. "It's way too obvious. Anyone could have seen it coming a mile away! No, when I have my revenge, NO ONE will see it coming!" And she cackled with glee.
"Oh boy," said Professor Chang. "Here we go..."
"Princess," appeased Killer Moth, "Don't you think that maybe it's about time that you forgot about when your, um...'Robbie-Poo' dumped you, and focus on bigger and more villainous goals in life?"
"NO WAY!" screeched Kitten, much to the dismay of everyone else in the van. "No one dumps KITTEN and gets away with it! Oh, Robbie-Poo will RUE the DAY he dared to do so!"
It was Johnny's turn to sigh, now, as he put his handcuffed hand onto his cheek, leaning against the side of the van.
The van hit a bump.
Johnny's hands slipped onto the hard metal seat below him.
SNAP.
The sound gained everyone's attention, and they all looked over, astonished, as Johnny raised his left hand...
...without raising his right.
Apparently, the handcuffs had not been completely tightened onto Johnny's arm in the police's hurry to evacuate, and that bang from the bump had been enough to knock the right cuff right off. Johnny slowly, evilly smirked as what had just happened sunk in, and the others did as well.
0 0 0
Two minutes later...
0 0 0
The police van was now in a ditch, its wheels spinning. The back door burst open.
"OH YEAH!" shouted Johnny Rancid, arms spread wide. "Johnny Rancid is BACK, baby!"
And as he spoke, Kitten and Professor Chang, now also out of their handcuffs, exited the van. Johnny followed them, and a handcuffless Killer Moth followed him, but not before throwing out the two guards, whose hands and feet had been cuffed together, on the dust below as well.
"I sincerely hope you do not mind, fellahs," said Professor Chang, "But we're taking your van for a little joy ride..."
And a minute or so after that, they were headed off towards freedom, leaving the poor security guards behind.
0 0 0
Back at Titans' Tower, and a few minutes in the past, a tense thirty seconds with no major catastrophes went by. Nightwing spoke over the increasing roar. "Beast Boy, pay attention! I don't want to have to clean up your messes when I've got my own to take care of." Silence. "Beast Boy, do you copy?"
"I...I copy you..." said a muffled voice. Nightwing looked back to see...
...Beast Boy, shivering in a ball on the floor. "BEAST BOY!" Nightwing shouted, getting up and running over. He turned Beast Boy on his back, checking the changeling's pulse as he did so.
"S-stop..." said Beast Boy, struggling to stay conscious. "You've gotta...gotta protect the Tower, or else...everyone...everyone d-dies..."
As if on a cue, a massive backdraft of energy flew off the shield above the tower and into the bay.
"Beast Boy...okay," said Nightwing. "You're right. I'm sorry." And he returned to his seat to hear Cyborg's voice.
"Nightwing! Beast Boy! I repeat, what's going on?"
"Beast Boy's been incapacitated," said Nightwing, re-balancing the poles. "But I think I can handle working the shield on my own. You guys just worry about your energy output."
"Got it," said Cyborg. "But I gotta warn you...it ain't gonna be easy."
"All the more reason for us to stop talking and focus on our respective tasks, right, Cyborg?" Nightwing said, driving his point home.
"Heh...exactly right," said Cyborg.
And so the rest of the mission looked to be prospective silence and worry.
0 0 0
Meanwhile, high above the Earth's atmosphere, the satellite gave one last massive push and fired the remnant of its power as one massive ball at the end of the laser beam. It had finally stopped firing...but the crisis was nowhere near over.
0 0 0
Left.
Right.
Left-right-left.
Circle.
-Beast Boy was right,- Nightwing thought. -This is like a video game...-
Circle-left-circle-right-right-mildpress-quartercicrcle-left-right-up.
-And this is the part where I regret never playing fighting games...- he continued to think, wiping sweat off his brow. -This would be so much easier if Beast Boy hadn't been injured...- The beam had increased in intensity the longer it had gone on, and Nightwing felt that if it increased anymore, he would never survive. Literally.
Another backdraft of energy was deflected off, grazing the shore of Titans' Island as it fell. Nightwing gulped, tension rising. And when tension rises, people start making mistakes. And Nightwing was making mistakes.
Another backdraft of energy was shot off, and it headed...
...straight for the city.
"NO!" shouted Nightwing, watching from the console. The other Titans gasped as the beam shot towards shore at an extremely high speed, and then...
suddenly dissipated.
Nightwing breathed a sigh of relief and started moving the joystick again.
Left-right-right.
Right-left.
Left-left-right.
Circle.
Left-right-left...wait, that wasn't right...
Left, no right...
Right-left...
Quarter circle...
Wrong again!
Backdraft!
-Too much...- thought Nightwing. Backdrafts were shooting off left and right...it was miraculous that no one got hurt. Nightwing noticed something on his viewscreen...
A massive ball of energy was going to impact in approximately one minute.
"Cyborg!" he shouted. "The computer doesn't know what to do!"
"Bring up...grr...the main processing display...gyah...and mark the area of 3.98 to 4.58 as green! GAH!" Cyborg panted a few times. "When the blast in the green area...oh, man...hit both buttons simultaneously!"
"WHAT!" said Nightwing, struggling to keep up the balance of both poles. "I can't do that! I can barely handle this-"
Both the poles were suddenly in balance.
Nightwing gaped until he heard a voice behind him. "Quartercircle-left..." Nightwing turned. Beast Boy still couldn't be called "standing", but he was kneeling, slouched over the console. "In Fightermania 3000...the finishers always start with...quartercircle-left..."
Nightwing smiled and turned back to his console. "Beast Boy is back!" he said, now finding the difficulty of his task halved. "I repeat, Beast Boy is back!"
"Guh...Glorious!" said Starfire. "I am sure that his...oomph...skills in the area of gaming shall prove...hurmph...quite useful!"
"Okay, guys!" said Cyborg, keeping a watchful eye on everything, "When I say...'now'...gasp...stop pumping energy!"
"Okay!" said Starfire.
"Gotcha..." said Raven, before giving off a grunt.
"Alrighty then..." said Cyborg. "Three...two...one...NOW!"
Together and with a simultaneous "Aaah..." they took their arms out of the machine. The last of the energy slowly flowed into the gun.
"Okay, guys!" said Cyborg, as Beast Boy and Nightwing managed to stave off the last of the main attack. "Wait for it to get all the way in the green area and press the buttons simultaneously...you've got a .2 second window of opportunity!"
"What were you thinking when you designed this system?" asked Raven angrily.
"I was thinking that something like THIS was never gonna happen!" said Cyborg.
Back in the common room, Beast Boy and Nightwing prepared to hit the button together. "Alright...dude..." said Beast Boy. Nightwing looked back to him, final blast going to impact in fifteen seconds according to the computer. "When I say the 'i' in One-Mississipp'i'...you press that button...got it?" Nightwing nodded. "Great...and if something goes wrong...it was nice...to know you, pal..." Nightwing nodded again, then turned towards the viewscreen. He let out a breath of air.
Five seconds.
-Alright, Nightwing...- he thought, closing his eyes so that his judgement might not impair Beast Boy's. -Don't mess this one up...-
Beast Boy, still slouched but standing up straighter, watched the viewscreen. He breathed in sharply, trying to ignore the newest wave of pain to hit him. He carefully watched the rate of falling...carefully...he couldn't mess this one up...his eyes widened.
"ONE-MISSISSIPPI!" he shouted, which might have been humorous had it not been so tense.
He and Nightwing pressed the button.
The blast hit as the diamond closed.
MASSIVE energy backdraft, but this time straight up into space. It let off a shockwave as it went that toppled the three gun towers and sent several ears ringing...
...but no one had been hurt.
A collective cheer went up from everyone in Jump City, including the Titans. Raven even spared herself a "Whoo-hoo..." Which, you know, was a lot for her.
And inside the tower, the only one not cheering was Beast Boy. He smiled, though it might have been an attempt at a smirk. He waited for the cheer to die down, and then spoke up. "Heh...and Raven says video games are bad for you..." the Titans heard him say.
The next thing they heard was the sound of Beast Boy's head hitting the floor.
0 0 0
"Oh, man..." said Cyborg. "My arms feel like they've been attached to twenty-eight magnets...give or take, anyway..."
The Titans were back in the common room, the commandeered satellite was back in the hands of the government, and the day had been saved.
But they still had no idea who pulled it off.
"Consider yourself lucky," said Nightwing. "Me and Beast Boy had to do the least work...but the least work was the most work with his injuries."
"Yeah, you're right..." admitted Cyborg. "But, man...that was some close, right there...I'm definitely gonna need to modify those shields a little bit..."
"A little bit?" said Raven, raising an eyebrow.
"Okay, a lot!" said Cyborg. "But I'm still working on the same basic principles! It'll just, you know...take less than five people to operate, just in case."
The Titans sighed collectively. There were a few moments of silence before Nightwing walked over to Beast Boy.
"How is he?" asked Raven. Nightwing bent over, checking his friend's pulse and listening to his friend's heartbeat.
"He seems to be doing better..." said Nightwing. "Even so, I think he should be moved to the sick bay...and stay there this time..." And with that he turned, walked to the computer, and pressed a button. Another visual of the satellite appeared, this time with some modifications.
"I don't get it," spoke up Cyborg, finally. "Nobody entered that satellite. Nobody was sending any signals to it. None of its defenses were breached...so what happened?"
"That's what we have to find out," said Nightwing. "Unfortunately..."
"You do not think that the Psykinesis might have escaped, do you?" Starfire asked, worrying deeply that her words might be true.
"No," said Nightwing simply. "Police say Psykinesis was under guard all day..." suddenly, the alarm went off. This was the bad-guy-has-escaped-from-prison alarm. Nightwing checked the computer ,and the alarm went off. He scrunched his face up slightly. "Just great..." he mumbled. "Looks like Psykinesis hasn't broken out...but someone has...several someones," and he turned. "Johnny Rancid, Killer Moth, Kitten, and Professor Chang have ALL managed to escape from prison!"
"WHAT?" shouted every Titan conscious at the time.
"Apparently, during the evacuation, they were all loaded into the same van..." said Nightwing. "And then someone didn't tighten Johnny's handcuffs all the way because they were panicked, and..."
"...the rest, as they, say, is history," Raven finished for him.
"This is awful!" said Starfire. "Truly awful!"
"Today is going to be a loooong day..." mumbled Cyborg.
"Tell me about it..." murmured Nightwing. "Raven. Take Beast Boy to the sick bay."
Raven nodded, and then picked up Beast Boy with her powers. She began the trek to the medical ward, slowly walking so that she wouldn't accidentally hurt Beast Boy or anything.
And inside her mind, a great confrontation was taking place.
0 0 0
Raven's Mind
Timid's Place
0 0 0
Timid sighed, picking up her book. It was a children's book, though I don't feel compelled to tell you its name. All I will tell you is that it inspired her. And that's what is important.
-My place...- thought Timid.-The one place I can feel safe...at least...- and she looked around. -The safest I can ever feel...-
This was Timid's Place. It was a domain of unbudding flowers who were too afraid to let people see them bloom...and then there were the flowers who never poked their heads out of the ground at all. It was a realm of night, for darkness was one of the few things Timid wasn't scared of...Raven did have darkness for a power, after all. Plus, when it was dark, it was easier to hide. But, most of all, it was a gray realm. Everything in Timid's Place was some shade of gray or another...including Timid.
She sighed again. -I don't know...I've been feeling even more awkward than usual lately...yet I wish this whole thing was true. I think it's true...at least, I think I think I do...- She bowed her head in her usual sadness. "Why doesn't anyone understand that we should just...leave the past behind?"
"I understand."
Timid turned, dropping her book. She was more startled than she had ever been in her life before, and that is saying something. The reason for her being startled was...
"Anger?" she asked. "W...what are you..."
"I understand perfectly what needs to be done," said Anger. "We should never talk to Beast Boy about...you know what."
"W...why are you...?"
"Because I don't want to talk to him any more than you do," said Anger, anticipating the question Timid was about to ask. "I'm here to help you, Timid..."
"But...but..." she started. Anger waited patiently...a new for her. "But...you're Anger...you never help anybody...even when it would help you to help somebody else."
"I'm...turning over anew leaf..." said Anger, trying not to grow impatient.
Timid was quiet for a while (what else is new?). Finally, she mumbled "Idobelveyoo..."
"What?" said Anger.
"I don't believe you!" Timid yelled...somehow managing to yell timidly. Putting her arms above her head probably helped.
"I see..." said Anger.
There was a long silence. Timid eventually put her arms down.
Anger suddenly darted forward.
Thwack!
Timid fell to the ground. "You...hit me!" she said, now terribly frightened...and I do mean terribly... "But that...but that's..."
"Against the rules? Do you think I care?" said Anger.
"You'll be locked up again!" said Timid, now trying to save herself.
Anger simply looked down on Timid. "No, I won't..." she said. "Because no one is ever going to find out about this meeting..." and she kneeled down on one knee, leaning in close to Timid...menacingly. "Because you are going to tell nobody..."
"W...why would I...?" Timid stuttered. Anger was just soscary...she began to cry.
"Quit your whining," said Anger, standing up. "I told you I was here to help, didn't I?"
"W-what?" Timid asked tearfully.
"If you hadn't been so stubborn and whiny about it I wouldn't have had to hit you," said Anger, walking away from Timid a little bit. "I knew there was no way of getting through to you otherwise." Timid was silent, so Anger continued turning back towards Timid. "I figure that together we can keep the others from ever talking to Beast Boy...without them ever realizing it..."
"H...how would we do that?" asked Timid as she stood up, interested in spite of herself.
Anger gave off a small smile. "Easy. We manipulate them."
Timid gasped. "But...but that's...that's wrong!"
Anger's face suddenly went from smiling to frowning, and her eyes grew wide. It was like she was suddenly conflicted about something...but she literally shook it off. "No...it isn't wrong..." she said, the soft smile suddenly coming back. "It's for our own good. You think so...and I think so, too. And if we think it's for our own good, then how could it possibly be wrong."
Timid thought it over. "Y-yes...I...I guess that sounds right...?" And yet, in the back of her head, there was some small nagging doubt...
"Then it's settled!" said Anger, putting on an act of cheeriness. "We'll work together for the better of everyone!"
"O...okay..." said Timid, a little uneagerly.
"Excellent," said Anger. "Now, today, I manged to trick the others into talking with Beast Boy later...and since 'later' never comes when you don't want it to...well, they'll be discussing strategies for a while, let's put it that way..."
"I...I see..." said Timid, still feeling nervous about the whole thing.
"Still feeling nervous about the whole thing?" Anger asked.
"A little..."
"Don't worry..." Anger reassured, "That'll pass...at least, as much as it can pass for you..."
Timid gulped. "I'm...I'm sorry, it's just that...no matter what you say, something inside me keeps telling me that this is all wrong..."
Anger gave off what she wanted to be a "Oh, how sweet...so naive!" smile, but seemed like more of a "Such a fool!" smile you see on people who are trying to tolerate others...which is exactly what Anger was trying to do. "Oh, come now!" she said, "That's just you being you...you are, after all, Timid..."
"Really?" asked Timid.
"Of course!" said Anger. "Why, I can assure you that if any of the others realized this was the right thing to do, they would have no doubts about working with me!"
"If you say so..." said Timid.
Anger gave off another creepy smile. "Good...now, the next time Wisdom or Raven or whoever calls the next meeting calls the next meeting, you suggest that we not talk to Beast Boy, like usual...I'll bring up something that he's done recently, and say that we should talk to him...harshly..." Timid gasped. "Someone will say that that would be wrong, and I'll fight back...and hopefully, the whole thing will become one huge argument and no one will get anywhere."
Timid was silent.
"What's wrong?" Anger asked, her own anger seeping back in as she glared at Timid.
"I'm sorry!" said Timid, eager to apologize. "I...I just don't like arguing!"
Anger smiled again. "Oh, it's okay. You don't have to argue...just get started. One sentence...that's all it'll take for now!"
Timid gulped, then licked her lips. "One sentence? That's all? Y...you're sure?"
"Positive," said Anger.
There was a long silence.
"O...okay," said Timid. "I'll do it."
"Good," said Anger. "Very good...Now, I'll leave you alone to do...whatever it is you do here. Goodbye!"
"G...good...bye..." said Timid, starting to shake. And as Anger exited, she slowly bent down and picked up the children's storybook she had been holding. She slowly started to read, her tears staining the words and making it difficult to read.
This was one of the days when a picture book would not inspire her.
Meanwhile, Anger exited Timid's place. Once she was out, she threw back her head and laughed a truly evil laugh. "Fool!" she finished. "I can't believe it was so easy to do!" She chuckled once more. "Now I can finally get my revenge on Raven for locking me up all those years..."
She stared at her fingernails as if there was something particularly interesting about them. "She will be miserable...yes, truly miserable..." and she clenched her fist, looking up slightly and smirking in a stereotypically evil manner. She began walking forward.
"And I know Raven..." Anger continued speaking. "I know what happens when she is miserable...when she is miserable, she relies on Timid for existence...she withdraws from the world..." She stopped walking and giggled with delight...evilly, of course. "And that means that she withdraws from her friends...and when she withdraws from her friends..."
She giggled again. "She falls deeper into darkness..."
Anger stood, looking up as if talking directly to Raven. "You'll be miserable...you'll become everything you never wanted to be...you'll be a source of destruction...and I will NEVER be locked up again!" And she chuckled again, closing her eyes. "You may have gotten rid of Trigon, Raven..."
She opened her eyes, and though there were not four of them ,that familiar shade of redness was back. And her voice had an otherworldy tone: "But that doesn't mean he was the only demon you ever had..."
And so, chuckling, she called upon Raven's powers and slowly sank into the ground...something that none of Raven's emotions should have been able to do.
Wow. Creepy. At any rate, more author's notes! Well, less author's notes...not much to elaborate on in this chapter...
"Bored, bored, I am so bored, just call me pumpkin as I move like a gourd..."
Another verse of the "I'm Very Bored" song, bringing the total up to...two verses! Yay! Just a reminder: feel free to sing this whenever you're bored.
"There's a bathroom built in with our room,"
Okay, why does Titans' Tower have only one bathroom (see episode: Transformation)? You would think whoever built it would put in more...not just for the Titans, but for everyone else who gets invited to their massive parties. At any rate, I figured I'd better give Rae and BB their own private bathroom.
"She ran over to where Beast Boy was pointing and opened the door she hadn't noticed was there before. "
How did she not notice the bathroom? Well, she never needed to use it and really didn't bother looking around the room too much. Or, at least, that's my excuse...
"He looked to her. "Where's Beast Boy?"
Originally, I was going to have some massive crazy look-for-Beast Boy thing go on here...but then I got lazy. Don't worry, though, I promise I will make some massive crazy thing go on later in the story.
"-You hate everything, we get it, Chicago...- said Rude."
Why Chicago? Well, what's the first element you associate Anger (or anger in general) with? Fire, right? Well, think about some of the most deadly fires in history...you get it now?
"...those little lights you see are ion scatterings, located all over the city."
I'm okay at science, but forget most of it once the tests are over...that said, I have no idea whether a bunch of ions would make a good laser...or if you could predict that laser was coming by measuring and energy-signaturing ion scatterings...or if ion scatterings even exist. Please forgive me for any inaccuracy.
"Now, judging by their energy signature, I'm gonna have to say that new governmental satellite is somehow involved in all of this."
Ah, the good old "commandeer a government satellite' plot...why do I say 'good old'? Because it's been used before at least twice, both times on the French television series Code Lyoko. In both cases, a super-powerful artificial intelligence managed to take over the satellites and use their lasers against the bunch of schoolkids that always managed to foil his evil plots. The first time, he fired directly at the kids...and specific kids, too. Very accurate laser. The second time, he shot at a passing meteor, making sure that one of its fragments would fall onto the factory he needed to destroy in order to obtain total world domination. I took from the first example.
And, no, the AI is not going to be a character in this fic. No crossovers here, remember?
"Cyborg nodded, and pressed the big red button clearly marked EVACUATE THE CITY."
You know, the one right next to the one that reads GET SOME WAFFLES. Yeah, that one.
"Woah..." said Johnny Rancid, looking out the back window of the police van as it drove a good distance from the city. "That is some serious stuff, right there..."
Originally I wasn't going to put this segment in at all, but then, rereading the story, I felt that the action needed a bit of a break, so I reflected on what Nightwing reported near the end of the chapter and thought, why not tell the story of how they escaped? And I'm really glad I did, now, too, because reading it without the little break makes the escape seem like a deus ex machina...
...wait, so does the break. They escaped because someone didn't tighten Johnny's handcuffs, and because the van hit a bump. Ah, well, at least this way it's funny.
"I understand."
I felt creepy and guilty writing this part here...creepy, because...you know, and guilty because...Timid got hurt. Anyone who would enjoy hurting Timid is an absolute sadist.
"But that doesn't mean he was the only demon you ever had..."
And this is the massive plot twist I was telling you about...well, perhaps not massive, but you get the picture. At any rate, it appears Raven still has her own personal demons to deal with besides her father. Hopefully I surprised a lot of people with this. Not that you'll be surprised by this...
DISCLAIMER: Teen Titans does not belong to me. It belongs to Glen Murakami and DC Comics. Code Lyoko also does not belong to me. It belongs to Taffy, a division of Moonscoop, and somewhat to Cartoon Network.
And thusly I say in closing:
God bless you all!