32 Productions Presents…
A Teen Titan Fan Fiction The New Titans in…"Sibling Rivalry"
Chapter Four
Training Room
Beast Boy sweatdropped as he watched the two teens battle. Helios held up some popcorn which he declined.
Beast Boy: Um…have they been at this long?
Helios: Over an hour now.
Which is why I don't include time frames when I change scenes unless it's really important. Because I'd hate to explain why it took so damn long for something to happen…and I'm lazy. Finally M managed to pin her against the wall. Panting, Ebony struggled, but was unable to muster the power she needed to break free. And she had promised herself she wouldn't use her powers.
Ebony: Okay…okay, I give. I give…you win, big guy.
M: Phew! Thought you'd never give up.
M let her go. She smiled.
Ebony: I'll get you next time, M.
M: I do so doubt that, good madam, as my might is particularly mighty once you get to thinking about it.
Helios: So is your breath.
M: ZING! …hey, wait a minute…
Ebony let out a long sigh. What a fight…even fights against bad guys don't last that long without periods of rest in between. …do they? …whoa, if they do, she needed to work out more.
Beast Boy: Hey, Ebony.
Ebony: …oh, it's you. What do you want?
Beast Boy: Huh…? Oh, that…look, I talked to Ashley and she's forgiven me.
Ebony: Is that right? …hmph.
Beast Boy: Look, I wanted to see if you would help me get her out of the tower. She spends all her time cooped up to herself. She should get out more.
Ebony thought for a minute.
Ebony: Well…it's a good point, but she's not the type who likes to do…stuff. Unless we took her to a comic-con…
Beast Boy: Huh?
Ebony: Skeemat loves comic books, anime, and video games. She just doesn't like to admit it.
That explains the posters in her room. And the armor…and the ideas for her inventions. Helios and M departed leaving the two to talk.
Beast Boy: Well, we should think of something.
Ebony: Let me do it. She probably will be better off with you here and her…somewhere else. Whether she's forgiven you or not, she still needs to get her mind on something else. I'm gonna shower and then I'll take her somewhere.
Sighing, Beast Boy conceded to that. …oh well. He wondered what the guys were doing.
Rooftop
Conjure paused. She could feel her sister and Skeemat leaving the area, their emotions getting further away. The plan worked. ...but she would do nothing. It was a mistake to try something so…underhanded. …it was getting cold. Picking up the mat, she went back inside. Appa snorted.
Appa: Coward. Gutless wretch. This is your biggest chance to bag the boy and you're passing it up for the sake of principal?
Yes, that was exactly what she was doing. Her mother would be ashamed of her. Azar would be ashamed of her! There would be other, more appropriate chances to earn his affections. Trickery wasn't necessary. It was…
M: Wow…um…nice…shoes?
Nearly dropping the mat in surprise, Conjure turned to see M staring at her. What was so…? Oh…the spandex suit. Blushing, she carefully set the mat down.
Conjure: Hello, M. I…um…you caught me after my yoga session, you see.
M: Well great googily moogily, girl! THAT'S what you do yoga in?
Conjure: My costume is hardly appropriate for the bending and stretching required for yoga.
Appa giggled wickedly in her head. Her emotions were raging. Feeling playful, Appa slithered out slightly and slashed the mat.
M: Uh…Conjure…?
Conjure: Hmm? Oh!
Conjure pulled Appa back inside herself, desperately working to calm herself back down.
Conjure: I…I'm so sorry. It's just…I…I'm embarrassed to be seen like this. Especially by you.
Now M may act a little foolish at time, but he was by no means a fool. …well, maybe a little bit of a fool but not THAT big of a fool. So by now he figured out that Conjure and Ebony had the hots for him. While that was a supreme ego stroker, he was well aware of the problems this could cause. So what was he going to do? …feign ignorance! It was brilliant! How could it NOT work?! Besides, he had to pick one or none…well, logically he COULD try for both…but if they ever found out… Ooo…eeee….aaaah…yipe. Oh the broken bone related pain would be great. So, ignorance it was!
M: Well you shouldn't be. It's not like you're morbidly obese like some people.
Somewhere in the tower, Helios had the urge to strangle M and he didn't know why.
Conjure: …I don't understand you both.
M: Huh?
Conjure: You mock him, he mocks you, you try to put him in a headlock, he throws you around…yet you claim to be friends.
M: It's a guy thing. We beat each other up, make fun of each other, that sort of thing.
Conjure: I see…I still find that odd.
M: See, in order to get that, you'd probably need testicles.
Conjure sweatdropped.
Conjure: I'll pass.
M: Good, I'm all out of union cards. Anyway…why don't you just get some rest? You look stressed out.
Conjure: …would you forgive me if I did something odd and impulsive?
M: …are you going to bust into Riverdance? Because that would be really odd and very impulsive.
She approached him and gently pecked him on the lips. It was a brief move, but it startled him nonetheless. What startled him more was the sudden feeling of something pinching his butt. He caught sight of the dark thing from inside Conjure slithering back inside. Apparently she hadn't noticed it. Pulling back, her green cheeks flared red.
Conjure: I'm so sorry…I just…I've wanted to do that since you were kind enough to make me breakfast when I was busy in the morning.
M: Riiight…um…I'm just gonna…go now.
VOOM. He was gone. It was an odd sound, that. It happened when he teleported. Conjure shook a little. He had ran away. She kissed him and he ran away.
Appa: Aw, there, there…don't be sad my little Debra…I still care for you. Besides he's just confused right now. Only the blindest of the blind would be unable to see that they've currently got two people vying for their attention. He needs time to think…to choose.
Conjure: …Appa, why are you being so kind all of the sudden?
Appa: I told you. I like a challenge. I want to show you how useless this is. Acceptance…denial…it doesn't matter. I'll win and spill his blood all over just the same. In fact, if he DOES accept you, it'll be even more fun. Not only will a friend be backstabbing him, his GIRLFRIEND will be backstabbing him.
Silently, Conjure picked up the mat and resumed walking to her room.
Appa: Aw…why the silent treatment all the sudden? Did I touch a nerve? I'm SOOOO sorry.
Conjure said nothing. Appa had made a big mistake. Her resolve had just tripled. She wouldn't let Appa touch him.
Appa: Too late. Nice ass, really. You could ask him how he does it. You're getting a little flabby back there. Some guys like that, I guess…
Conjure: …it is not…
Appa: Ha! Got you to talk to me.
Main Room
M stood there, shocked.
M: Oh my god…it's acting HUMAN now!
Hood: …do you ever shut up?
M: Mostly when I sleep.
Hood was watching TV. Not the news either. It was the most normal thing M had ever seen the masked boy do. Finding the program mildly interesting, M sat down.
M: Didn't figure you for classic sit coms.
Hood: You don't know me at all.
M: That's true. …do you like show tunes?
Hood: Shut up. …I need to talk to you about something.
M: Shoot.
Hood: …there's something wrong with Conjure. She's getting really…odd.
Shrugging, M leaned back.
M: You're talking to a guy floating above the couch because he can't sit on it. You're surrounded by "odd".
Hood: M, for once in your life, be serious.
M: Tsk. Okay, so she's acting weird. Go on.
Hood: She also seems have the hots for you.
M: Yeah, I noticed that…not sure what to do about it though.
Sighing, Hood bit the bullet. He was pretty sure he knew what the response would be, but he had to try.
Hood: How about going along with it?
M: Huh? But…look, I'm not sure which one I like, her sister is…
Hood: You're not following. I want you to fake it if you have to.
It was a sound idea in theory. Poor Conjure really needed something to balance out her mind. Hood watched her in hiding as she whispered to herself, expressions ranging from anger to fear splashing across her face. It was obvious that she was fighting a losing battle. …but she also seemed to like it in the tower. She tried her best and quite frankly, was a voice of reason in that tower…even to him. When everyone was freaking out, she was calm and collected. Of course it was because she HAD to be…but it still helped. Unfortunately, M shook his head.
M: No. Nuh uh. No way, man. Not gonna happen. Not bloody likely.
Hood: Okay, I get it! Mind getting to WHY now?
M: Two reasons. A, it's not right. She deserves honesty and someone who truly cares. And B, if she finds out, she's going to go twice as ape feces.
…well, Hood had to agree to the logic in the second reason. …still…
Hood: "Ape feces"?
M: That's what I said, isn't it?
Hood rolled his eyes under his mask. M tried to be clean mouthed at all times, apparently. As a result, he could sound somewhat silly. Still he had made his point.
Hood: I didn't think you'd go for it, but it was worth a try. I don't want to have to boot her. I doubt she'd take that well either.
M: She's stronger then that and she'd understand your reason.
Hood: Even if we do boot her…the chance that we'll be dealing with her anyway is still high.
M: Eh, she'll be fine. She just needs our support and in the end, it'll all work out. Otherwise the series would just end.
Hood: What?
M: Nothing.
Arella: And we're
back!
Ashley: Ugh…right in my ear, Allie…
The pair had left in civvies, obviously. Much to M's chagrin, Arella's eyes lit up upon seeing him there. It's not that he didn't appreciate her looks. She was very attractive, as was her sister…but he was REALLY trying to be a nice guy here. He didn't want to hurt one while favoring the other. In a second, Arella was leaning over the couch, right next to him. Her grin was almost predatory.
Ashley: Well, I can see your busy now. I'll just go dip my face in a vat of acid.
Arella: No thanks, I'm not hungry.
Ashley: Figures…
Sighing, Ashley left. It was fun while it lasted…oh well. She expected as much from her determined friend. Ever since they were kids, Arella never did things half assed (when she actually wanted to do them. Cleaning her room was another story).
M: So…um…what'd you do?
Arella: We got tattoos.
The two boys stared at her. She shrugged.
Arella: I've always wanted one.
Hood: …I'm almost afraid to ask. What is it?
Arella: A wolf's head with its teeth bared and blood around its mouth.
M: Where?
Arella: I can't show you.
Arella smiled slyly.
Arella: At least not until the fourth or fifth date.
M: …ooookay…
Arella: I'm kidding! It's on my shoulder. Ashley got a line of gears going up her arm.
Hood: I thought she hated being reminded that she was a machine.
Arella: She does. She got that because she likes working with machines. Hers took the longest, obviously.
M: Does it hurt?
Arella: Nah…but then again, Dad taught me how to ignore pain, but also when to acknowledge it. Like, if I had a pain in my side that was unexplained, I'd acknowledge it. This tattoo? Nah. Here, take a look.
Turning around, she pulled on the back of her shirt so that her right shoulder was visible. There on the back was the tattoo she described. It was a white wolf, perhaps in reference to her own hair color.
Hood: Hnn. How pointless.
Arella: It is NOT pointless. It's an expression of myself through meaningful art. Plus it's not something I'll regret later when I'm old and gray.
Shaking his head, Hood snorted. M rolled his eyes.
M: I think it looks cool.
Arella: Thanks. At least SOMEONE around here appreciates art and self expression. Maybe you should get one.
M: You know, I've thought about it…
Hood sighed. It didn't look good for Conjure. He decided it was time to leave.
Arella: The place is still open. Let's go get it now!
M: I said I thought about it. I didn't say I decided on it.
Arella: Oh…oh well. Want to play "Final Silent Fighter on the Streets of Rage"?
M: Sure.
Yeah, just try and guess what kind of game that is. No, really. Guess. I'll even give you time to think by cutting to another scene.
Hallway
Ashley sighed, rubbing her arm. Stupid tattoo…oh well. At least it looked cool. And it would piss her dad off to see his precious favorite project defaced. As she rounded the corner, she bumped into Helios…quiet literally, actually. It caused her to fall on her butt.
Ashley: Hey! Watch it!
Helios: Sorry…um…actually I was looking for you. I wanted to say…I was sorry for what I said before.
Standing up, Ashley sighed. Ebony did make her promise to forgive him…so she would.
Ashley: It's okay. I need to be more understanding about your problems and more accepting of my own.
Helios: Yeah, well…um…here.
Ashley's eyebrow went up as he handed her a box of chocolates.
Ashley: What's this…?
Helios: Well, I bought them for myself…but I felt bad about upsetting you, so I'm giving them to you. Happy Valentine's Day.
She wasn't particularly found of chocolate, regardless of fillings. …well, unless it was chocolate covered strawberries. She loved strawberries. Still…it was sweet of him. Even if it was a half assed gift. Of course, it was the first real gift Ashley ever got for Valentine's Day.
Ashley: Thank you, Helios. …this actually means a lot.
To prove that, she pecked him on the cheek.
Helios: …wow…um…what would I have gotten for two boxes?
Ashley: A punch in the eye for trying to butter me up. And don't think I'm going to stop making fun of you. All I'm going to do is stop freaking out when YOU make fun of ME. Later, Helios. Happy Valentine's Day.
With a smile and a wave, Ashley continued to her room to put her suit back on. Helios rubbed the back of his neck. That was…unexpected. Though not exactly unpleasant. In fact…hmm…
Helios: …nah, she's too much of a bitch…
Ashley: I heard that, tubby! And to think I was feeling guilty that I didn't get you anything!
He winced. Damn her ears.
Hood's Room
Hood stared at the communicator in his hand. His mask was next to him. He wore it so much that there were times it felt…stifling. Like it was going to one day merge with his flesh and be impossible to remove. That, however, wasn't on his mind…though in the back of his head he reminded himself to shave his hair off again. Hair only made the mask feel worse at times. No, what he was thinking about right now was what to do about Conjure. While he did think she was a pretty strong willed girl, rejection could devastate anyone…and with someone wherein devastation can lead to destruction of all that was around them…well, it wasn't smart to allow it. …but did he have the right to do what he had planned? Though it wasn't official, he was pretty much considered the team's leader. As such, he had a responsibility to keep his team going. …but he just wasn't sure about this one. After debating it for a while longer, he tossed the communicator aside. Hood didn't have the right to mess with Conjure's life that much. He couldn't call her mother and tell her that her daughter was in danger of losing it. Especially when he wasn't certain of it. No, it was best to leave Conjure alone…and to keep the present he bought for her where it was in his closet. Right now, it didn't look like he had much of a chance with her anyway.
END