Part 2- Party Time! East Meets South!
(In the East Tower, everyone has just about finished loading everything they might need into their airship when Speedy calls Bumblebee back into the war room.)
Bumblebee: What? We forget to bring soda or something?
Speedy: That new team from the South is supposed to be there, right? I've been looking into the files on them. As the leader, I thought you might want to see this…
(Speedy types something into the computer. The scene only shows that he and Bumblebee are watching what is playing, not what it actually is. However, there is the sound of several screams and explosions coming from the computer.)
Bumblebee: Whoa… Are you sure of this?
(Speedy nods.)
Bumblebee: Make a copy of this. Robin needs to know.
(Meanwhile, at the South Tower, Echo is hurrying everyone on board his ship, "Neptune's Crescendo." He had flat-out refused to travel in any other way, so the team usually hunted down criminals on foot, or else had Photon fly them.)
Gemini: (thinking) You can take the pirate out of the sea…
Echo: Right! Are we all set to sail? Hey, where's Photon? Isn't he comin'?
Shotman: Captain, he's at it again. You'd better stop him; he's going to get hurt this time.
Echo: Oh no…
(Echo rushes into the tower and finds Photon in the combat training room, facing a wooden dummy in the shape of a person. He has his eyes shut, apparently concentrating hard. Before Echo can stop him, his eyes open wide and he yells something out.)
Photon: Quinque Caelestis Defigo Signo!!
(Photon moves his finger rapidly through the air, drawing five pentagrams in a circle with white light. He hits each of them towards the dummy, two each encircling the wrists and ankles while the last one gets the neck. Photon brings his hands together, his right hand touching the inside of his left wrist with the middle and index finger. The five pentagrams glow brightly… and the dummy explodes in Photon's face, throwing him into a wall. Echo sighs and goes to help him up.)
Photon: I don't understand! This should work! The idea is to seal the enemy's powers into them with these five seals for twenty-four straight hours; I've memorized every aspect of this spell so why won't it work!?
Echo: Honestly, mate, give it a break! Ye've been at this every spare moment fer the past month! Ye tryin' to kill yerself?
Photon: I can't quit. I have to get as good as he was at least. Because she's already surpassed it… She's beaten the prophecy, which was supposed to be impossible… She has already gotten so far ahead of me… I can't decide if that's impressive or infuriating!
Echo: This again… Yer ramblin', mate! Yer not makin' any sense!
Photon: I'll explain another time…at present, it's that nightmare that worries me…
Echo: Yeah, I thought that might be part of it.
(Photon has been having a recurring dream, which he thinks back to now. In it, he is playing chess against an invisible opponent and winning spectacularly. He is making the most use of his favorite piece, the knight. Then, just as it seems he will win, the black queen captures his knight and corners his king. He never sees who he is playing.)
Photon: Strange dreams for a sorcerer never mean anything good… something terrible is going to happen…
Echo: When it does, I'll be there to help ye. Now let's go.
(The two exit the Tower and board the ship.)
Echo: Weigh anchor! Spread the sails! We're off with the tide!
(In Jump City, the West team is waiting on the rocky shore just outside their Tower. Cyborg has his grilling machine and is pacing impatiently.)
Cyborg: What's taking them so long!? The sooner they get here, the sooner we can get going!
Robin: Relax. It should only be a few more-
(At that second, the Titans East airship comes flying into view. They land and the team climbs out.)
Cyborg: About time! What'd you do, stop for directions!?
Bumblebee: Cool it, Sparky, we're here aren't we?
Mas: "Hola, Senora!"
Menos: "Nice to see you again!"
(The twins are staring at Starfire with heart-shaped eyes. She sweatdrops with a nervous smile and takes a few steps away.)
Beast Boy: Aqualad! Glad you're here, dude!
Aqualad: Beast Boy. Likewise.
Speedy: So, we going or what?
Robin: We still have to wait for Echo and his team to get here.
Speedy: Yeah… listen Robin, about those guys…
(At that moment, a shrill whistle cuts into the conversation, the type one might hear calling to a ship. Everyone turns to see a ship with a flag bearing a capital "T" heading straight for them. On the top of the stempost stands a grinning Echo, waving to them.)
Echo: Ahoy there! Thanks fer waiten', scallywags!
(The East team looks a little uncertain about this cheery, eye-patched person, but Robin smiles and waves back. Once the ship has reached shallower waters, the entire crew rises out of the ship in a bubble of light and lands on the shore. As the bubble dissolves, Bumblebee's eyes momentarily take a heart shape, but she stifles it before anyone sees; Photon has chosen to make his first impression on the East team in his human form. The West Titans greet their friends warmly.)
Robin: Welcome back, Captain. How's the hero business going?
Echo: Oh, it's been amazin', lad! If I'd have known what a mistake I made in choosin' a life of evil, well… Anyway, this is workin' out grandly!
Gemini: Hello again, Star- pained gasp
(Starfire has seized Gemini in a rib-cracking hug.)
Starfire: Friend Gemini, how glad I am to see you again!
Gemini: (gagging) Great, just don't break me!
Starfire: Your hair! It has changed it's color! Are you catching the gorphozz flu!?
Gemini: No, Star, I just dyed this part, that's all! Call it…(glances at Echo)…a tribute to someone I care about…
Starfire: Glorious! Perhaps my hair shall receive the death as well! Thank you for the wonderful idea! (hugs Gemini again)
Gemini: (gasping) My head is gonna explode…!
Déjà: Ho ho! Mademoiselle, do not keep me waiting! I shall readily receive your embrace of death, for at least I die happy!
Starfire: Um… hello to you, friend Déjà…
Déjà: Not quite as I had hoped…
(Déjà Vu feels as sharp pain in the back of his leg and gives a yelp. He turns and sees both Mas and Menos glaring at him. Mas says something in Spanish while gesturing to Starfire and Menos gives a shout of agreement. Déjà begins swearing at them in rapid French. Everyone glances at them a moment, then decides to ignore them.)
Beast Boy: Medic, c'mere! I want you to meet Aqualad! Now all three of us can hang out!
Aqualad: I don't know… You're Japanese, right? Don't you people, um, eat a lot of fish?
Medic: You have nothing to fear of me, my Atlantean friend; I have never eaten fish nor any other animal. I am a total vegetarian.
(Aqualad brightens a bit; it seems these three are well-suited friends.)
(Photon and Raven take a quick glance at each other, then sharply turn their heads.)
Photon: (muttering) Shadow-witch…
Raven: (mumbling) Bright-eyes…
Together: What was that!?
(The two glare at each other as electric sparks crackle between their eyes.)
Robin: (dryly) Nice to see them getting along…
Echo: About as well as usual, anyway…
Cyborg: Shotman! How's it going, big man?
Shotman: I am pleased to see you again, my shiny friend. Er…in a manner of speaking…
Echo: And ye must be Bumblebee! I'm Aidan, but please, call me Echo. As one team leader to another, I'd like to say hello and nice to be working with ye, on behalf of me whole crew!
(Echo sticks out a hand with a smile. Bumblebee looks a bit worried about something, but accepts the handshake.)
Cyborg: Okay, now that we all know each other… can we go already!?
Robin: Alright, alright, we're going!
Echo: Where to?
Robin: These rocks aren't really any place for a party, so we're going to do this in the park near the city.
Photon: (sarcastic tones) Great. A park. Hundreds of smiling faces all asking you if you aren't just loving what a beautiful day it is. I can hardly wait.
Speedy: Aren't we a cheerful ray of sunshine? Lighten up, man.
(Photon turns sharply to him with a dangerous look in his eye.)
Photon: And what is that supposed to mean!?
Echo: (nervously) Er, Speedy, me lad, ye may want to…
Speedy: Hang on there, Patchy. You got something to say to me, lightweight?
Photon: I do…
(Speedy keeps his eye on the sorcerer. As he watches, one second Photon is there, and the next, he isn't.)
Speedy: Where- Uh!
(Speedy has been knocked forward on his face. Photon's knee presses into his back, while his staff is pulled against Speedy's throat. Photon is in his natural form now, but the light from his skin has changed from white to a burning red. Several nearby rocks are beginning to tremble as his anger releases some of his power.)
Photon: Watch what you say to me, or you won't live to regret it, wise guy! Got it!?
Echo: Photon, let him go!
Photon: But Captain, he-!
Echo: I said drop the archer, lad. He's not an enemy, he's our teammate; there'll be no killin' of our new friends!
(Photon reluctantly releases his hold and re-forms his holographic appearance.)
Photon: You just watch it…
(Echo whispers to Bumblebee.)
Echo: Sorry about that, lass, truly I am, but ye mustn't think badly of Photon. He's not been himself lately with all he's puttin' himself through…
Bumblebee: (still apparently masking her fear of Echo) Don't worry about it.
Echo: Right then, let's go! Photon, if you would…
Photon: Of course, Captain.
(The South team steps in close, and Photon re-forms the bubble of light.)
Echo: We'll meet ye there Robin! Titans South, go!
(The bubble rises up and flies off in the direction of the city.)
Robin: Guess we should go now…
Speedy: (rubs his throat) You trust those guys?
(Robin thinks back to how his team and Echo's crew had worked together to save the city from the Black Reflection six months before. He smiles.)
Robin: I'd trust them with my life.
Bumblebee: Robin, listen. Now that those guys are gone, there's something you should know…
(Speedy brings out a tiny disk and slips it into a small device with a screen.)
Speedy: While I was looking through the files on the South team, I came across something disturbing…
Cyborg: What?
Aqualad: Over the past month, some criminals being turned in by the South team have been very badly hurt; the last few were sent to the hospital. All of them were screaming something about a monster.
Robin: What do you mean?
Speedy: Watch this.
(The device turns on and the disc plays. It shows a man in a ski-mask backing against a wall, looking terror-stricken.)
Man: No! Stop! I surrender! You win! Stay away!
(The man screams as a huge burst of blue light in concentretic waves washes over him. Robin and the others share a glance; it perfectly resembles Echo's signature blast of sound. There is another scream, an explosion, then the tape dissolves into static.)
Speedy: That was taken by a surveillance camera during a bank heist. There have been at least five other cases. All ended with the criminal being beaten within an inch of their life.
Bumblebee: We understand that this Captain Echo has had a history of being…unstable.
(An image flits through the West team's minds of Echo as he used to be; laughing maniacally, seemingly insatiable for the sight of fresh blood.)
Robin: No! He's not like that anymore! Echo risked his life to save us all! He's changed!
Starfire: And Gemini would have told us if it were otherwise. She is very close to him.
Raven: But… if he is going back to his old ways…her feelings for him might stop her from doing the right thing…
Robin: Good point. We'll keep an eye on him, but I don't think we have that much to worry about.
Bumblebee: That's all we ask for. Now come on, we're late for our own party!
(Cyborg enters the driver's seat of the T-Car and hits a button. A path rises out of the sea, leading from Titans Tower to the edge of the city. The East team enters their airship and the two vehicles set out for the Jump City Park. When they arrive, they find the South team already there.)
Echo: What kept ye?
Robin: Um… just some last minute catching up with the others… Anyway, let's get this party started!
(Cyborg begins setting up his grill while the rest of his team unloads some food from the car. The East team brings out a few tables and umbrellas, set up rapidly by Mas and Menos, while the South team brings out one bottle each of ten different drinks.)
Aqualad: Bit short on the liquid, aren't you?
Gemini: We prefer to pack light. Besides…
(She waves a hand, and the bottles multiply into what looks like the contents of ten vending machines.)
Speedy: Whoa…cool. Can you do that for people too?
Gemini: Yeah, but living things take a lot more effort, so they disappear if I don't hold my focus. But as long as it isn't alive, that's not a problem!
Echo: (laughs) Isn't she amazing? Don't know what we'd do without ye, Colleen… me in particular. I couldn't stand not havin' ye around… Nothin' else looks as pretty.
(Gemini's entire face and neck turn as red as the dyed part of her hair.)
Gemini: D-Don't say things like that in front of so many people… You know what it does to me.
Echo: (grinning) Sure do!
Beast Boy: Yeah, yeah, warm fuzzies all around. Now let's get this show on the road!
Echo: Okay… (raises a bottle of root beer) Party!
(Cyborg gets the grill fired up while Robin goes to talk to Echo.)
Robin: So… have you guys been doing okay? Nothing… out of the ordinary?
Echo: Well… there was something' rather strange goin' on about one month ago…
Robin: You mean it's true?
Echo: I thought we were the only ones who felt it…
Robin: Huh?
Echo: It still makes me shiver… about a month ago, there was this weird feelin' in the air; it was like time completely stopped, then started back up again. It was only fer a second, but it gave me the chills. It was like I had died again…
Aqualad: Now that you mention it, I felt something like that too…
(Raven gulps; one month before, she had fought with her father, the Demon Trigon, after he had turned the population of the entire planet to stone, save for herself and the rest of the West team. She had defeated him, and the world was restored, but she never told the East or South teams about her father.)
Raven: (thinking) Except for him…
(Photon is nearby listening, and he shoots a glance over at Raven. With that look, she realizes that he knows what happened; that she has defeated the Demon. For just a moment, it occurs to her that Photon is one of the few people who can fully grasp what this means.)
Echo: Ever since then, Photon has been workin' himself to the bone on his magic studies. He seems to be the only one who knows what it was.
Raven: I guess he would be…
Echo: What?
(Raven hesitates, then sighs and brings Echo off to the side. She tells him all about what happened with Trigon, and how her friends had fought to save her so she could defeat the Demon at last. Echo is amazed, then sighs sadly.)
Echo: That explains it… I was wonderin' what was so important to him… He just can't let himself get upstaged by a girl…
(Mas and Menos zip up to them at this point.)
Mas: "Hola, Senora Raven!"
Menos: "And you too, crazy pirate man!"
Echo: Well! Hello there! I'm afraid I don't understand ye, lads… Hold it a second…
(Echo points at the twins for a second and a blue field of energy surrounds each of them.)
Together: (in perfect English) Hey! What are you doing!? (They hear themselves) Huh!?
Echo: There we are! Now ye can speak whatever ye like, and my little field there will translate it fer us! This is how I learned to talk to a fair few of me crewmates! It'll wear off if ye wander too far from me, mind. I don't have long-distance connections…
(Over by the tables, Shotman is introducing himself to Speedy.)
Shotman: Hello to you, archer. I am the Blind Shotman. I notice that you are a sharpshooter like myself; I thought we should get acquainted
Speedy: That's cool. What do you want, some tips on accuracy?
Shotman: (laughs) You jest me! There is nobody in all the world with more precise aim than the Blind Shotman!
Speedy: Except for me.
Shotman: (smile fades) The joke has run it's course, my friend; my aim is superior to anyone's! I never miss my target!
Speedy: Neither do I. But I don't miss better than you do.
Shotman: Is that a challenge!?
Speedy: Sure.
(Minutes after, the two are standing side by side with their eyes on the sky. Medic is standing nearby while Robin readies to signal the start of the competition.)
Robin: Okay! Shotman, you first. Medic, first target!
(Medic throws a single shuriken into the air. Shotman draws a pistol and blasts the star in midair.)
Robin: Triple the targets!
(Medic launches three shuriken at once. Shotman blasts them down one by one.)
Speedy: My turn.
(Medic throws another single shot. Speedy pulls back an arrow and let's fly, hitting the metal star dead-center.)
Bumblebee: Nice shootin', Tex! Now go for three!
(Speedy mirrors Shotman exactly, knocking down all three shuriken.)
Robin: Okay. Now for the tie-breaker; Medic, whenever you feel like it, throw a single target. Whoever hits it first is the winner.
(The two wait for the target, Shotman readying his pistol, Speedy cocking an arrow back. Cyborg focuses his bionic eye on the sky, ready to declare the winner. All at once, Medic throws the star and they both fire in unison. The energy bullet and the arrow both move at equal speed and the shuriken is enveloped by a huge explosion. Everyone turns to Cyborg.)
Cyborg: It's a tie. They hit at the exact same time.
Shotman: It looked that way to me too. You are quite good, my sharp-eyed friend.
Speedy: You too.
Shotman: But the challenge remains unfinished. So, to break the stalemate, I challenge you to a drinking contest, Russian-style!
Speedy: Huh?
Shotman: The rules are simple. We drink until we can't hold anymore. The one who drinks the most, wins. We may each choose a second to take over if we drink the same amount.
Cyborg: Hey, that sounds fun! I want in!
Shotman: Alright. Captain, would you honor me as my second?
Echo: Certainly, lad!
Speedy: What do you think, Bee? Want to be my second?
Bumblebee: Sure, why not? Sparky can't win against me at anything, so you might have the advantage.
Cyborg: Say what!? Oh, now you asked for it! 'Cause my second is… him!
(Cyborg is pointing at Silkie, who is gnawing the edge of a table.)
Echo: A worm? Are ye sure about that?
Cyborg: (grinning) Just wait and see…
(Echo starts the competition by emitting the sound of an air horn from his mouth. The competition moves quickly, with Gemini multiplying a fresh bottle of cola for each competitor as they finish the previous one. The bottles pile up quickly, and the three continue going strong. After they've each downed about a gallon and a half, however, they start to look a little green. They all tag in their seconds at the same time.)
Echo: Sure ye want to do this, lass? It's not wise to take on a Scotsman in drinkin', much less a pirate Scotsman!
Bumblebee: Bring it, tough guy!
(The three seconds start drinking at a rapid pace, with Silkie draining his through a straw as Starfire cheers him on. Echo lives up to his boasts, going through over two gallons and still not looking filled. However, Bumblebee appears to be just as tough, and twice as determined. Then, as they are both reaching for another bottle, they see something frightening; Silkie has drained more than twice the number of bottles they have, and has now started eating the empty ones, even those left over from the first three competitors.)
Echo: Call it a draw?
Bumblebee: Agreed.
Cyborg: Told ya so! Now let's get cookin'! Who wants barbecue sauce on their ribs!?
(Meanwhile, the whole time this contest is going on, Déjà Vu is wondering if he died somewhere along the line and went to his own personal heaven; all of the girls passing through the park seem to like him a lot. They are surrounding him with heart-shaped eyes, all smiling brightly.)
Girls: He's so foreign!!
(Déjà grins happily while Beast Boy, Medic, and Aqualad look on. Photon hangs back, invisible, not wishing for re-runs of the Harbor City female population.)
Beast Boy: Cool! You must be a total stud back in your city!
Déjà: Naturelement! The ladies cannot help but admire my passion!
Beast Boy: Can you teach me!?
Déjà: But of course! I am always there for romantics in need of my brilliant expertise in the ways of les amour.
--Cough - The Cap'n--
Déjà: Now, one thing you must know how to do is this. (takes a bowl of cherries from the table and breaks off a stem.) You must be able to take this stem, and tie it in a knot with your tongue alone!
Medic: Hey! I was the one who told you that!
Déjà: Indeed. Now, kindly demonstrate for us!
Medic: Sigh This is nothing more than a superstition of my country… But, I suppose…
(Medic pops a stem into his mouth and sets to work. Within three minutes, he has done it, and the stem is knotted.)
Aqualad: Seems simple enough. Let me try…
(Aqualad takes the stem and, after a little trouble, manages it in two and a half minutes.)
Beast Boy: Okay, here goes!
Aqualad: Watch it, man, it's not as easy as it-
Beast Boy: Done!
(Indeed, the green changeling has succeeded in only ten seconds. He balances the knot on his tongue and grins at Déjà Vu.)
Beast Boy: (tongue still out) Okay, your turn! You're probably better than any of us, right!?
Déjà: Wow… I must admit, my friend… I can't do it!
Beast Boy: Who's teaching who here!?
Déjà: Hm? (Photon is back in sight now that the girls are gone.) Ah, Photon! You have a go as well! Show us what you can do!
Photon: ……You can not be serious…
Déjà: What's the matter? Can't do it?
Photon: I didn't say that. I just don't indulge in pointless activities.
(He turns and starts to walk away. Déjà Vu gets an evil grin.)
Déjà: Very well, we shall ask one of the ladies to try. They could do it far better anyway. There are no doubts of- mmph!
(Déjà's mouth is suddenly shoved full with about twenty cherries, all freshly relieved of their stems. The stems rest in Photon's other hand.)
Photon: Step back.
(He opens wide and downs all twenty stems. His mouth makes some small motions for about thirty seconds, then the end of a stem sticks out between his lips.)
Déjà: You see? I knew you could not-
(Photon pulls on the end of the stem, and as it comes out, it is seen that it is tied into a bow. He continues pulling, and the stems come out in one long chain, all in bow ties. The other four men stand and gape.)
Medic: My friend, you have entirely the wrong physical traits for your personality…
--If you don't get this joke, ask someone to explain the "cherry-stem test" to you, 'cause I'm not explaining. – The Cap'n--
Cyborg: Yo! Come and get it! Food's done!
(Everyone stops to eat then; even the drinking contest participants seem miraculously able to eat. Shotman and Cyborg each take a full side of ribs, Robin and most of the others settle for hamburgers, and Beast Boy introduces Medic to the concept of Tofu Dogs. Gemini is watching Starfire with an expression that is torn between bewilderment and amusement as the Tameranean begins slurping an entire bottle of mustard through a straw. Echo begins entertaining everyone by changing his voice between mouthfuls and mimicking the voices of villains he and his team have defeated. First he does Adonis, then Johnny Rancid, then a few random human thugs. Evidently, this is routine entertainment at the South Tower, because Gemini starts requesting favorites.)
Gemini: Aidan, do that crazy British guy! You know, the school teacher nut-job we took down two months back!
Echo: (grinning) Okay… Ahem! (Perfect imitation of Mad Mod) Awright, my lit'l duckies, you're all going to learn your lesson if it kills you! But then, that's the idea! Of course, it would have been much smarter of me to remember that one of you only sees what he wants to, and can't be hypnotized! I guess, for a teacher, I'm not that bloody smart!
(Everyone cracks up, with the obvious exception of Photon. Beast Boy laughs so hard, he snorts soda out his nose. This, in turn, makes everyone else laugh harder. Shotman smiles, recalling his victory over Mod. Aqualad turns to Bumblebee.)
Aqualad: Maybe we were wrong about these guys; they don't seem so- Huh? Where'd she-?
(Looking around, Aqualad sees his team's leader approaching Photon, who is down near the end of the table. He has already eaten, and is once again absorbed in his black book. From the current viewpoint, it is seen that the page he is reading begins with the incantation that backfired on him before; this is apparently a spellbook. Bumblebee, meanwhile, gets the tiniest of blushes on her face as she moves in closer; she saw the end of the cherry stem experiment, and decided to get better acquainted.)
Bumblebee: Hi there. We didn't really get a chance to talk yet. I'm Bumblebee. I lead the Titans East. And you are…?
Photon: (without looking up) Annoyed with your very presence. Go away and don't talk to me again.
(Bumblebee recoils in shock. For a second, the background changes to a snow-covered glacier and an icy wind filled with snowflakes blows through. A few penguins walk around in the snow, led by a green one. Bumblebee slowly walks back to her spot, still looking shocked at the cold reception. Gemini speaks to her in comforting tones.)
Gemini: Don't let him get to you. He's like that with me too. He doesn't trust anyone, especially girls. But, underneath all that, once you get to know him, he's really a good person at heart.
Speedy: Are you serious?
Gemini: Well, that's what Aidan says, anyway. I personally can't stand the guy!
Bumblebee: Yeah, I guess some people are just like that… Even so, those eyes… rowr!
Gemini: (blushing) Well…yes, I won't deny that, but… I'm committed, and happy with it, thank you.
Speedy: Yeah, it seemed like there was something going on between you and that guy with the patch… what happened to his eye anyway?
Gemini: Nothing. He likes the patch.
(Meanwhile, Photon has gotten into an argument with Raven. She had simply glanced at his book while walking past, and he had yelled at her to keep her eyes to herself. Raven yelled back for him to take that huge ego of his and stick it someplace loathsome.)
Photon: Oh yeah? You want to settle this then?
Raven: What do you want, a levitation race?
Photon: A chess match. Sorcerer style.
Raven: What?
(Photon pulls out a chess board.)
Photon: Luminos Necrodin Xendrenel…
(Photon's side of the board becomes covered in chess pieces formed of white light.)
Photon: We hold our concentration to keep our pieces formed out of magic alone. Normal chess rules apply.
Raven: Sounds interesting… Terms?
Photon: If I lose, I'll never say anything against you ever again. Not even one syllable.
Raven: Really? And if you win?
Photon: You admit in front of everyone that I am infinitely better than you in every possible way.
Raven: (thinking) A bit obsessive, are we…? (aloud) You'll keep your word if you lose?
Photon: I swear it on the blood of my clan.
Raven: Good enough… Azarath Metrion Zinthos…
(Raven's pieces appear, formed of shadow magic.)
Raven: Let's play.
(Echo watches this go on, then turns back to Robin.)
Echo: This was a great idea of yers, lad. Just look at Photon; I've never seen him having such a good time!
(A small word-bubble containing a question mark pops up next to Robin's head as he observes Photon's stone-faced expression.)
Robin: "Having a good time"…? He sure doesn't look like it.
Echo: Photon never smiles. Or laughs. But I understand him. He's really not as heartless and devoid of humor as he makes himself out to be…
Gemini: You always have such a positive look on things, Aidan. (smiles) That's one thing I like about you…
Echo: Ha! Robin, have ye any idea what joy this is? Have ye a girlfriend of yer own?
(Robin chokes on a drink of soda and turns slightly red.)
Robin: Um…well… (takes a small glance in Starfire's direction.)
Gemini: How about you, Star? Have you moved ahead on your feelings, like I did?
Starfire: Er…I… (mirrors Robin's nervous glance.)
(Echo and Gemini exchange a glance, then nod, apparently seeing how it is. They leave the matter alone.)
Echo: Hey! Beast Boy! What about ye? There anyone special in yer life?
(Beast Boy gets a strangely serious expression and excuses himself.)
Gemini: Well, what was that about?
Robin: Sigh So he's still hung up on that…
Echo: How's that?
Starfire: Beast Boy had a… very close friend, once…
(Robin and Starfire tell Echo and Gemini the story of Terra. By the end of it, Echo is looking horrified and Gemini is drying her eyes on her sleeve.)
Gemini: That's so sob sad! sniffle
Robin: He doesn't like to talk about it.
Echo: I see… and Cyborg?
Robin: Nobody that I know of…
Bumblebee: Like Sparky could get anyone anyway…
Cyborg: I heard that!
Bumblebee: (smirks) I know…
Starfire: And what of your other teammates, friend Echo?
Echo: Well, Medic says there's some girl that scares the life outta him, but other than that… Shotman might like someone who doesn't mind a man that can read their every thought…
Déjà: (popping up from nowhere) I have no real preference! I love all women equally!
Gemini: And therein lies the problem…
Echo: As fer Photon, well… (grins wickedly and speaks loudly) He might have a small thing fer Raven, despite what he says!
(Photon's expression suggests that if this statement had been made by anyone but Echo, they would be instantly disemboweled.)
Photon: Never!!
(A nearby tree splits down the middle and falls, responding to his emotional release.)
Echo: (chuckling) Just a joke, lad…
Déjà: What if she were the last girl on earth?
Photon: I'd demand a recount!
(Meanwhile, Photon seems to have gained a serious advantage over Raven; he has captured more than half of her pieces already.)
Photon: (thinking) This is it… I'm going to win… Playing the game in this style requires a lot of concentration, and a good deal of endurance to keep the pieces formed. Add to that the need to think of strategy at the same time, and it becomes mentally exhausting; there's no way this girl can match my intelligence and magical stamina. Although that dream of mine worries me a bit…But, I've got that knight protected, so I'm not that worried. Hmm, next I think… (aloud) Knight to E-5. Knight takes Rook. Check.
(Raven is sweating a little, aware that she is in trouble. Then, she notices something…)
Photon: Give up? (thinking) Wait. That knight is safe, but the other one is…and my king is-! No! I missed that! If she sees-!
Raven: Queen to E-5. Queen takes Knight. Checkmate.
(Raven has on the very smallest of smug grins. Photon looks utterly horrified. He gets up and slowly walks away, unable to believe what has just happened.)
Photon: (thinking) Black Queen captures the White Knight… was that all it meant?