Talk About Your Good Mornings...
The common room door opened with a swish. "It is a glorious day, is it not?" Starfire exclaimed, floatinng through the doorway. The Titans in the room acknowledged her presence with smiles or nods - it was far too early in the morning for real conversation.
Starfire buzzed over to Raven, who was comfortably seated on the couch, a book floating in front of her. "Good morning, friend Raven!"
"Morning," Raven said, turning a page telekinetically while taking a sip of her tea. Starfire had lived with Raven long enough to realize that was all she would say, so she moved on.
"Hello, friends Cyborg and Beast Boy!" she said.
"Hey Star, you're more cheerful than usual today," Beast Boy replied. "Hey, is Robin awake yet? Or did you keep him up all night? Eh? Eh?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
Starfire smiled innocently. "Indeed, Robin and I were awake until a very late hour." She sighed, and her smile widened. "Very late."
"Ah ha!" Beast Boy said, pointing at Cyborg. "I knew it would happen! Did I call it or what?"
Cyborg shuddered as the mental image began to form. "I don't need to know any more."
But Starfire kept talking. "He lasted much longer than I did. His endurance is amazing."
Raven nearly did a spit take, coughing loudly. "Excuse me?" she said, immediately regaining her composure.
"Eeeeww, TMI!" Beast Boy's victory pose faltered.
Cyborg was busy shutting off his memory banks. "I don't need to hear this, I don't need to hear this..." he repeated.
Raven addressed the ecstatic alien teen. "Starfire? It's more sensible to keep this information private."
Star put a finger to her lips. "Oh? But it was the most... what is the word... stimulating-"
"La la la la-la la la la-laaaaa!" Even Beast Boy had had enough. He plugged his ears and started singing their theme song - anything to drown out Starfire's voice.
"And he spoke so sweetly to me-"
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," Raven began to chant, attempting to clear her mind. Her cheeks flushed.
"Robin knew exactly what I needed, and he-"
"Shut down faster, for the love of God!" Cyborg willed his brain.
"If I had not fallen asleep, we would still be in the room having the conversation!" Starfire stopped, smiling her little smile.
The room fell silent. "Oh," Cyborg said. "That was what you did? You talked all night?"
"Yes," she replied, confused. "What else does one do at that hour?"
"Note to self," Raven sighed, preening her ruffled feathers, "Teach Starfire the nuances of the English language. For my own sanity."
Robin entered the room to see Starfire smiling happily and the others cringing. Beast Boy still had his fingers in his ears, and was going on the second verse. "Uh, is everything alright?" He rubbed the back of his spiky head.
Suddenly, a siren went off. Robin leapt over to the computer, bringing up a map of the county. "Titans! A distress signal. Someone's in trouble just outside of Gotham City!"
"Let's go," Cyborg said, reaching for the keys to the T-Car.
"I'll take the motorcycle and meet you there," Robin said, grabbing a red helmet and the keys for his R-Cycle. "Titans, move out!"
Back in Gotham, Red X was hiding in an alleyway. "Shit," he said, "the girl never told me how to use this. Did I press the right button?" He pressed every button, trying to make heads or tails of the thing. Suddenly, with a click, the communicator played the Titans' theme on its tinny speakers. "Shit!" he hissed, silencing the thing as best he could.
But Shiro was nearby, and heard the tone. "This way," he signaled to Zachi. The warrior drew his sword again.
"Robin here," a voice came from the speakers. "What's your position?"
X stayed quiet, trying to avoid being noticed.
"This is Robin! We're getting close. Please respond!" X continued to bide his time in the shadow behind the dumpster. Shiro turned the corner, hearing the voice, and headed towards him.
"I've got him," Zachi intoned. He jumped from the roof, landing gracefully on the floor next to X. "There will be no escape."
"You wish," X taunted, crouching down and performing a backflip on top of the dumpster. From there, he jumped up the walls, kicking off of them until he reached the roof.
Robin was the first Titan on the scene. He saw X running across rooftops, followed by men in white and black suits. "X," Robin spat. He opened the communicator. "I found X. I'm taking him out!"
"Robin wai-" Starfire's voice came from the comm just as he closed it. He didn't notice it and scrambled up the fire escape after Red X.
Red X jumped to the rooftop of another building, landing with a roll. He looked ahead of him and saw none other than the Boy Wonder. "Robin! Thank god!" he said, forgetting all preconcieved notions of composure.
"I've got you now, Red X," Robin replied. He withdrew two Birdarangs from his utility belt.
"I'm not the bad guy!" X pleaded with him.
"Bull," he spat. "Don't move."
"Robin of the Teen Titans," a voice said. "Thank you for helping us to capture this errant." The voice came from a man suited in black carrying a katana.
"We will deal with him from here," his white-suited companion replied. He drove home his point with a swift kick to X's stomach. The once proud thief collapsed almost instantly.
"What?" Robin's eyes widened in shock. "What are you doing?"
"This man stole from us," Zachi replied, slashing X's arm, leaving a red gash on it.
"So he'll be coming with us to see our boss," Shiro finished. He picked up X from the floor and reeled back to throw a bone-shattering punch.
Suddenly, bolts of green light cascaded down onto the two henchmen, knocking X out of their grasp. All present turned their eyes skyward. Starfire hovered in the air, ready to deliver another brilliant salvo of star bolts. Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were in the air with her, Cyborg standing on a platform of Raven's magic.
Robin was a little surprised that Starfire immediately knew who to attack. But he shrugged it off. "Titans, go!" He pointed at the two mysterious attackers. "Raven," he added with strain in his voice, "heal Red X."
If Raven had been a little more expressive, she would have screamed. "Are you sure, Robin?" she asked instead.
"Just do it. But keep him restrained," Robin continued, rushing off to help his other teammates take out Shiro and Zachi.
By this time X had blacked out due to his injuries. His vision returned slowly, revealing a blue cloak standing over him, and a cool sensation rushing through his body. He watched the gash on his arm knit together. "Thanks for the assist," Red X said, once the magic was finished. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a score to settle."
"You're not going anywhere," Raven replied, still wary of the teen thief.
"Please," X argued. "For once, we're on the same side." With a smile and a wink, Red X was already joining Robin and the others. Raven quickly followed him.
"Grab and Go!" Robin said, signaling for Star to do a technique in combination with him. Starfire whisked him into the sky, swung him around, and launched him at Zachi. He turned two of his Birdarangs into a short sword, and began to duel with him.
Cyborg and Beast Boy were struggling against Shiro. "Cy!" Beast Boy said. "Get him now!" He transformed into a snake and coiled around his feet. Cyborg tried to get him with another blast from his sonic cannon, but Shiro had amazing strength, and pulled away Beast Boy from his legs. With his mobility regained, it was easy to dodge the cannon.
"This guy's good," Cyborg said, "but let's see how he does man-to-man!" He abandoned his cannon and jumped at Shiro.
Swords clashed as Robin fought Zachi. Starfire launched star bolt after star bolt, but Zachi was excellent at multitasking. He managed to disarm Robin, who stood back in surprise.
Apparently Shiro does really well man-to-man. Soon Cyborg was flying across the rooftop, landing a few feet away. Beast Boy gulped. "New plan," he said, transforming into a spitting cobra. He released a stream of venom from his fangs. Shiro dodged the stream, and grabbed Beast Boy, with the intent to crush him to death.
"Leave the green guy alone," X said. He weaved underneath Shiro's line of sight, and launched an uppercut to his jaw. Shiro released his grip on Beast Boy, who reverted to his human form, gasping for air.
Raven caught Shiro in a black energy beam and began to swing him through the air. After launching him skyward, she grabbed him and threw him down, where he stayed down.
Red X then intervened with Zachi and Robin's fight. A quick sweep of his legs disarmed Zachi. Starfire immediately cut through the blade with her eye beams. "Wanna finish him?" X asked Robin. He nodded curtly. The pair executed an identical combination of strikes. With a final double-uppercut, Zachi landed on top of Shiro, unconscious.
The team came together again, recovering from the difficult battle. "Now... do you... believe me?" X managed to say between breaths. Why do I feel so faint? he thought, before remembering. Shit, Zachi cut me with that sword. He recalled Zachi's code name within the syndicate - Snake Fang.
"How did you get a hold of a communicator?" Robin snapped, grabbing X by the cowl of his cloak.
"Can't... say..." X replied, his strength fading. He blacked out once again.
"What?"
"He's been poisoned," Raven replied. "I couldn't remove it, only delay its effects. When X started to fight and get his blood pumping, the poison continued to course through his bloodstream."
"We'll get him to med bay," Robin said. "Starfire, you're with me on the R-Cycle. BB, turn into something small and ride with Raven in the front seat of the T-Car."
Beast Boy and Raven flushed.
"Lay X in the back, where Raven can keep an eye on his vitals," Robin finished explaining. Everyone went where they were supposed to go, and soon everyone was back at Titans Tower.