"Dove, focus!"
The green-eyed girl snapped back to attention, looking over at her sister. "S-sorry, Jessie…"
Jessie sighed. It was going to be tough training Dove when she would never focus long enough to get anything done. "You need to focus. Okay, breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. Good. Now, shift your weight to stand on one leg, and bring your leg up-" Dove did as she was told, struggling to balance on one leg "-and close your eyes-" She again did as she was told; though it was only a moment before she toppled over. Jessie sighed again. They'd been training for a few days now, with very little progress.
Dove opened her eyes, letting out a breath of frustration. "I'm never going to get it!"
"Yes, you will. It'll just take time and practice."
"Why is it so easy for you and Rae?"
Jessie sat down next to Dove. "Well… you were raised differently than we were – all three of us were raised differently. Raven was raised by those monks, I was raised by Father's lap dogs, and you were raised by your mother." She tilted her head. "Weren't you happy while you were growing up?"
"Yes, of course I was. I was loved. That counteracted my powers for a while… until I turned twelve. That's when they started acting up." Dove sighed. "I just… don't understand."
"Just keep working at it. You'll get it eventually." The redhead stood up and walked off towards the door.
"Thanks. You know, you're a lot nicer about this than Raven."
Jessie paused at the door. 'That's because I'm just trying to win you over…' she thought, her jaw tensing a bit. "Keep practicing. I have to run an errand."
Nightwing caught the foot that was coming at his face. He pushed against it, knocking his opponent onto her back. The brunette before him gave out a frustrated growl, narrowing her eyes at the man.
"Growling isn't going to get you anywhere," he sighed. She pushed herself off the ground and came at him again, this time using her fists. He ducked and pushed up at her arm with the heel of his palm, diverting the blow. His leg wrapped around to the back of her ankles, causing her to, again, fall over. He straightened up and crossed his arms. "You need to focus and keep your eyes on your target. Both were all over the place during that match."
Blue Rose let out a deep breath. "Sorry. Can we try again?" Her blue eyes were hopeful.
"Let's take a break for now. We've been going for a few hours now." He walked over to the counter – the training room had already been repaired and improved; it now had a refreshment bar, with a mini-fridge that was stocked with sports drinks and water – and drank from his bottle of water. "You've been working really hard these past few days. And you've begun to improve. Keep up the good work."
"Nightwing…"
"Hmm?" He returned his gaze to her.
She shook her head, smiling. "I'm going to beat you one of these days!"
Nightwing smirked. "Whatever you say, Blue." And with that, he walked out of the room.
Training with Blue Rose hadn't been as bad as he had initially feared; when they'd started training, she'd lost her fan-girl attitude and switched into a more serious attitude. She was actually growing on him.
His eyes suddenly fell on red hair. Another smirk rose on his face. "How's the training on your end?" he asked.
A laugh escaped the redhead's lips. "Slow coming. How's yours?"
"Not too bad. She's getting better."
"Oh? Did she finally stop asking for your autograph?"
"She's not that bad on the sparring mat. And she's starting to grow on me."
"Isn't that precious; the idol and the fan-girl," Jessie purred as she walked past him.
Nightwing rolled his concealed eyes, watching her as she walked down the hall. 'She's starting to grow on me, too,' he thought, hoping that this Roth couldn't read thoughts.
United Evils Tower was quiet. Though, from what Jessie had gathered since arriving in Jump City and reporting to Slade or Damion every couple of days, the tower was usually this quiet. There were only two regular boarders here; an irksome blonde girl and a black-haired boy with potential.
"Roth," a cold voice greeted.
Jessie rolled her eyes, placing a hand on her hip. "Wilson," she returned just as coldly.
"You've kept me waiting. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I was a bit busy working at getting our new portal on my side. And what have you been doing these past few days? Playing with the tykes?"
He ignored her remark, instead asking, "What is your report, Roth?"
The redhead sighed. "Nightwing is training his fan-girl. Terra is holed up with her new lust-buddy. Cyborg is still away. Raven is as freakish as ever, and Dove is nowhere near ready. You're going to have to tell X that his plans will have to wait."
"So. Nightwing returned, huh? I can hardly wait to reunite with my old apprentices."
Jessie turned to leave. "If that's all, I'll be going now."
"Not quite yet." She heard a rush of air and a light thud as Slade landed near where she stood. "Such a shame that your beauty is wasted on the Titans." His face was near hers, and his fingers were playing with her hair.
She slapped his hand away. "Don't even think about it, creep," she hissed, stepping away and turning to face him. Her red eyes flashed as she glared at him. "My contract is with X, not you. Our contract was broken the moment my father declared you dead."
She was sure he was smirking, though his face was hidden by a mask. "I'm fully aware of that, Roth. All the more reason to –"
"No. Do us all a favor, Wilson, and keep it in your damned pants."
She walked out of the building, refusing to look back. Slade Wilson had always given her the creeps.
'I have got to get a new job…'
It was hardly his fault that the middle Roth girl was so tempting; it was the curse of her father. As one of the seven children of sin, she would be curse to embody her sin. It just so happened that hers was lust. Therefore, her curse was attracting people. She wouldn't be able to help it.
"Did the witch leave?" a female voice asked behind him.
Then there was her; ElectroJinx. Initially, she'd been his first choice as an apprentice. Now Slade had his eye on the other. "Hummingbird has gone. Now, be a good girl and bring me Eclipse."
His hair was in his eyes again. Pretty soon he would have to cut it. Eclipse was lost in his music, not really thinking about anything in particular. With each change of song, his thoughts changed. He didn't hear the knock at first; in fact, it wasn't until EJ was banging on his door that he snapped out of his trance.
He got up and opened the door, greeted by an annoyed-looking blonde. "Slade wants you," she said monotonously.
Eclipse nodded. He'd learned it was best to just do as Slade said. He walked out of his room, leaving his music running without thinking about it, and down the hall. Slade was in the main hall, leaning against the banister. "You called, sir?"
The man looked up at Eclipse. "Yes. I want to extend an offer to you. Come down here, boy." Eclipse walked down the stairs calmly, successfully hiding his panic. As he approached Slade, the older man put a hand on his shoulder. "You have shown me that you have potential, boy. I have decided to take you on as an apprentice."
"Apprentice, sir?"
"You will be my underling; I will train you to become the perfect killer. And, dear boy, you don't really get a choice…"
"Well then… I suppose… that I accept…"
"Smart words."
What was it about these workers that put him on edge? With them around, Beast Boy could hardly think of anything else. All he could do was keep an eye on them. Sure, they worked fast… but there was something off about them. He was so deep in thought that he hardly noticed when he bumped into something. Looking down, he corrected himself; someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you, Jessie," he apologized.
The redhead shrugged. "It's my fault, actually. I stepped out of the shadow and in front of you."
Beast Boy blinked at her. "You stepped out of the… shadow?"
"Well… yeah. Everyone in my family can do it. Didn't you know that? I mean, you lived with Rae-Rae for so long…"
His heart skipped a beat at the mention of Raven's name. Jessie raised an eyebrow at him; she'd noticed the skipped beat. "Right… I knew that Raven could. You and Dove are, well, a mystery to all of us, though. Raven never even mentioned having siblings."
"I don't doubt that. Rae-Rae never really liked talking about us."
Beast Boy snorted a little – it was true that Raven didn't seem the family type – before his ears twitched; there was the sound of two set of footsteps coming their way. He gave Jessie a look, then turned into a fly. The redhead understood that she should hide and slid back into the shadows.
"Friend Robin "
"Nightwing," came the sharp correction.
"Er… right… friend Nightwing…" Starfire continued. "I was wondering if you and I might go see a movie? It has been a long time since we went out and did the dating." The Tamaranian sounded very unsure of herself.
Nightwing sighed. "Starfire, we broke up. That means we don't go on dates. We don't go see movies just the two of us."
"Does that mean we could not get back together?"
"That's exactly what it means."
Starfire stopped walking. "I see," was all she said before she turned around and went back the way she had come. Nightwing shook his head and continued walking.
When he rounded the corner, Beast Boy returned to his human shape and Jessie came out of the shadows. They looked at each other, Beast Boy with an expression of concern, and Jessie with a slight smile on her lips.