Chapter 9

"Yo, Giz, that transistor can't go there. You'll short out the system."

"Shut up, you walking trash-can I know what I'm doin'." Zaaattt! "Gah!"

A giggle. "He told you, didn't he? Such is the fate of the foolish." Another giggle.

"Ugh, I feel like an over microwaved burrito. And you shut up too, ya poofy haired witch. Get a hair-stylist."

A vulpine growl. "You no talk ta Jinx like dat. It not nice."

Raven watched the closed workshop door, irritation clouding her face. Having had just about enough of the constant noise, she had stolen out into the dingy hallway and tried to read. Sitting on the dirty floor, she leaned against the wall, book in hand. She scowled, trying to return to the book, "The Screwtape Letters". Another loud bang from within the chaos hidden behind the flimsy door rattled her nerves mercilessly. Gritting her teeth she hissed fiercely. "Laughter is-" she read aloud, before the door swung open.

Beast Boy walked out, rubbing his sensitive, pointed ears. "Ergh, couldn't stay in there any longer. They were driving me insane."

"That makes two of us," Raven replied, a hiss of anger tainting her usual monotone drone. "So you thought you'd bother me, is that it?"

Beast Boy was unperturbed by her hostility. "Whatcha readin'?"

The dark girl lifted the cover and tapped its title. "It's by an ancient writer from old Earth. The story'sabout a demon named Screwtape sending letters to his young apprentice. Very fascinating."

Beast Boy stole a glance at the pages and tried to read the old English. "Uh, I'm sure it is but I'll stick with comic books." He grinned and slumped down beside Raven, leaning against the wall comfortably.

Raven rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you will." She paused. "You know what your problem is, Beast Boy?"

He turned toward her, a look of mild curiosity inching across his face. "What?"

Raven shook her head and sighed. "You aren't the least bit sophisticated in any way and you don't let it bother you. That irritates me."

The green teenager chuckled. "Lots of things irritate you, Rae."

Raven pursed her lips. "We aren't talking about me. Couldn't you at least try and be less of a shapeshifting goofball." She scowled slightly. "I mean, this whole business with Starfire hasn't fazed even the slightest."

It was now Beast Boy's turn to scowl. "What are you talking about? I miss her and want to see her safe just as much as you. You're just too caught up in your own misery that you don't notice." He stopped, realizing what he had just said. "Uh, Rae, I didn't-"

"No," she interrupted, snapping her book closed. "No, you might be right for once." Raven looked down at book cover. "But I have my reasons and you aren't in any position to judge me."

Beast Boy looked down as well. "You're right. S-sorry." He glanced at Raven out of the corner of his eye. "But, ya know ya could talk to us once in a while. Things that don't involve this whole thing." He waved his arms around.

Raven didn't look up. "Why do you even care?"

Beast Boy grinned wide. "Because, under all that sarcasm and bite, you're a nice person, Rae. I just know it." He folded his arms behind his head, watching the door before him. It still shook with the occasional cry. But somehow,it seemed distant.

"You're too unassuming and naïve to know what you're talking about, Beast Boy." Raven cracked open her book again. "So you might as well stop."

Beast Boy pushed her book down. "No, I know exactly what I'm talking about, Raven. I know about your dad and how you're the portal, or something, but I don't see why you can't let some of that niceness shine through, ya know. To see you smile would be, like, the ninth wonder of the worlds."

Raven looked up at the green teenager, something unidentifiable in her eyes. "Beast Boy, just shut up, all right? My book needs me."

Beast Boy sighed heavily. "There you go again. Hiding behind your big, thick books. I sometimes even wonder if you're reading them. Maybe you're just hiding yourself in plain sight. Hiding from us, your friends." His green eyes flashed. "I have to wonder if you're really even care about us. If you care about Starfire's predicament. Maybe you're just making it all up." He stood up, looking down at the dark girl. "You give us no clue what you're thinking about, and it worries us. They all care about you," he said, jabbing a finger towards the door, "and I care, too. But,do you care about us?"

Raven didn't look at the shape-shifter, instead returning to her book.

Beast Boy huffed angrily. "Need some air," he mumbled angrily before marching towards the stairwell. He was soon gone.

Raven looked up, her eyes misty. Blinking hard, she tried to clear her vision. "I do care," she whispered to the air. "I care far too much." She wiped at her eyes.

The book lay forgotten beside her.

Cyborg was in the process of trying tograg andstrangle the short, goggled man. "Why ya little rat. You don't dare bring my mom into this." He struggled against Jinx, but only barely. He didn't really want to hurt her. "I oughta tear your arms off and shove them up where the sun don't shine."

Jinx smiled nervously. "Ehehe, calm down, big guy. Let's just concentrate on our-whoop!"

Cyborg lifted her bodily and place her to the side before diving at the mini-mechanic. Gizmo's eyes widened as the large man grabbed him in a body tackle, slamming him hard into the ground.

"Gah! Oh my hip."

Sneak watched on from Jinx's shoulder, swishing his puffy tail. "Hehe, he sound like ol' man." Undisturbed by the raucous fighting, he licked something off of his fur. "Mm, mustard."

Cyborg and Gizmo rolled right into a bedpost, which Cyborg tried to slam the little man's head into the thick metal. Gizmo gritted his teeth and flicked a switch on his metal backpack. It sparked slightly before sending raw pulses of electricity into the android's body. Unfortunately, it also went through his own body. They both screamed madly until Gizmo shut it off. They released each other and lay panting from the exertion.

Jinx stepped up quickly and grabbed them both by an ear. They were hoisted to their feet wincing at the fate-bender's hard grip. "Are you two quite done?" They both nodded fervently, trying to pull their ears away. "Good!" She grinned and released them suddenly.

Gizmo rubbed his ear and glared at Cyborg. "He started it," he whined almost childishly.

Jinx grinned wider. "And I ended it. Now, how about you boys get back to work."

All the while, Sneak was laughing uproariously at the two boy's flaming read ears. "Heheheh, they ears ar' 's red's mine. Hehehehe."

Cyborg mumbled angrily under his breath. "Gizmo, keep working. I'm gonna go find something to eat."

Gizmo waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, I will. Just leave. You're cluttering my workspace enough."

Cyborg walked out of the room, Jinx and Sneak tailing him. Gizmo scowled. "Finally, some peace." He continued to fiddle with the device with expert fingers.

Sneak flew off as soon as they were outside, leaving Jinx and Cyborg to walk in relative quiet. They had seen Raven out in the hallway, but she had ignored them completely. Beast Boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Man, that little green snot gets to me real bad," Cyborg said suddenly.

Jinx grinned. "He's not so bad if you know how to deal with him." Her platform boots kicked at something on the old pavement. "My sisters were much like him."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "You have family?"

The Cheshire cat grin faltered for a moment. "Had a family. But there is no use in dwelling in the past, is there."

Cyborg winced internally. "I suppose not."

They lapsed into silence, only the sound of their shoes on the concrete making any noise in the dilapidated city. The light was waning, meaning it was about three in the afternoon on the top levels. Night came much earlier to those who could not afford more sunlight, however diluted and dim it was. The wind whipped around corners of building and alleys, buffeting them this way and that. One or two other people passed by them, keeping their heads down and minding their own business. The desolation pressed down on the two meta-humans like a thick, invisible blanket. And they welcomed it, in a sense. It was far more free than the Base.

High above them, the streets and bridges of the rich criss-crossed and doubled back on themselves, forming a maze of metal, rock, and tar. The buildings encased the rich and elite in the same cold elements. It was all so far and distant. And neither Cyborg nor the petite Jinx wanted that distant, cold, fantasy. Both instinctively knew what the other wanted. The entire group knew what they all wanted.

Freedom.

But freedom is the most precious of all commodities. Of all luxuries. Something you couldn't buy or trade on the Universal Stock Market. Something priceless. And priceless things are hard to buy.

And the silence carried on.

Aaaannndd, their back. Didja miss them? I'm sure they missed you.

Anyway, I'm the not the king of subtle, but you might notice some things I slipped into the dialogue that might be considered fringe romance. Dunno, tell me if you can pick up on it.

Not quite sure what I'm gonna do for the next chapter, so you might have to wait a while until an idea hits me in the head or something. But for now, Algebra 2 work. Yay?

Razvanor