DISCLAIMER: See chapter one
On the 3rd day of Christmas, Jump City brought to me: 3 lightspeed racers.
What greeted the eyes of Kid Flash when he arrived looked like nothing less than a disaster zone. Wrappers littered the floor, as well as plates and bowls of unfinished food. Pop cans surrounded the couch, and the words GAME OVER were prominently displayed on the flickering TV screen in front of four unconscious teens sprawled over the furniture; each of which clutched a video game controller tightly to his chest.
Shaking his head, he lifted his eyes to make eye contact with Raven, who was sitting at the kitchen table. She shrugged her shoulders and returned to sipping her tea.
Just then, Robin entered. He also shook his head, and turned to Starfire, who was just behind him. "This reminds me of the time Silky…" Then he noticed Kid Flash. "Oh, hi. Sorry about the mess." He gestured with his left arm. "Looks like they went a little too far last night." Now he addressed Raven. "Wake them up, will you? We don't want this mess when our last two guests arrive."
"With pleasure." An evil smirk crossed her lips. She levitated a pail into the sink, filled it with cold water, and carried it over to Beast Boy. Slowly she positioned it over his open, drooling mouth, then all at once, flipped it. He shot up, transforming into a cat in midair just as he had the day before, and dived under the couch with an earsplitting shriek. However, that was no refuge, as Raven reached under and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. She dragged him out, unheeding of the hisses and claw swipes targeted at her, and looked him in the eye. He froze, then became human once more. Now she grabbed the tip of one ear, which was followed by his protest. "Du-ude!"
"Get to work," she said, shoving the pail into his chest and releasing his ear. He stumbled but caught himself, giving her a questioning look.
"I want it cleaned up. Yesterday," Robin elaborated.
"How is he to clean this place before it was dirtied? I do not understand," Starfire inquired. "Does this have something to do with the Warp?"
Every other conscious being in the room sweatdropped. "Star, it's just an expression. I just meant I want it cleaned up as fast as possible."
"I…see." Her puzzled frown disappeared, replaced by her usual radiant smile. "Then shall we not proceed?" she said, picking up several food wrappers and tossing them in the garbage bin under the sink.
This prompted the others into action. Raven woke each of the others in turn (for some reason not taking as much pleasure as when she woke the changeling). Robin began picking up the leftover food and putting the dishes in the sink for Beast Boy to wash and scrub, while Kid flash looked on, unsure how to help.
Robin solved his dilemma. "Cyborg, take our guests to their rooms."
Cyborg yawned but didn't protest, obediently leading Thunder, Lightning, and Kid Flash into the hall.
By the time Jinx got up around noon, the common room was spotless once more. Not one shred of evidence remained to prove there had been a party the night before. In fact, it looked exactly the same as two days ago, right down to the slumbering Beast Boy curled up on the couch.
She shrugged. It was quiet, which would suit her just fine. She sat down on the floor, her back against the sofa's back, and opened the book she'd been carrying. Soon she was as oblivious to the world as the unconscious form on the other side of the piece of furniture.
She didn't even notice when two other persons looking for peace and quiet wandered in—Raven and Starfire. They each took one look at the sorceress with her nose buried in the book, then calmly placed themselves in front of the window. They began hovering, folding their legs into the lotus position, and closed their eyes. "Azarath, metrion, zinthos. Azarath, metrion, zinthos…" And the room had two more oblivious occupants.
But the peace and quiet was not to last.
The first Jinx knew of the disturbance was when a flash of color streaked past her. It stirred up the pages her book and caused her to lose her place. She slammed it shut, displaying a unicorn prominently on the back cover, and stood up, turning to face the source of her irritation. "How many times do I…" she began, but trailed off. It was not Kid Flash she saw.
Instead, whoever it was, was about half his height. Two someones, to be exact. Two nearly identical someones. They were dressed in white suits and gloves and red wristbands and shoes. On each of their chests was a red circle, outlined in black and containing a white symbol. That symbol was the only way they differed—one had a minus symbol, while the other had a plus.
They spoke, startling the other occupants: Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire each fell to the floor with a thud and wide eyes, whirling to face the twins in between them. The aforementioned twins spoke in unison. "¡Hola, amigos¡Más y Menos, en su servicio!" Everyone else blinked, but Raven recovered and introduced them. "Más and Menos, Jinx. Jinx, meet Más and Menos." And, with that out of the way, she left, presumably to find a more quiet place to meditate.
"Um, hi you guys," said Beast Boy. "Long time no see!"
"Hola, señor Beast Boy."
Starfire greeted them. "Hello, friends! You are also here to partake of this season of joy and making merry?" They started, as if they had not noticed her, then smiled, little hearts seeming to float out of their eyes—until they each saw that the other was doing so. They immediately turned on each other in a flurry of fists. Starfire tried to break them up. "Please friends, do not fight." She tried to pry them apart, to no avail. Even though they were fighting, they were still in contact with each other, and were therefore going at light-speed.
Jinx looked on, confused, until Beast Boy explained. "They've had a crush on her since the first time they met, after Brother Blood was stopped from taking over Titan's East tower. It's kind of funny, cause they only speak Spanish." He looked uncharacteristically thoughtful for a moment. "Say, do you think Kid Flash would like to meet them? They have the same power he does."
"I noticed. Maybe they should, if you can get those two to stop fighting." But as she said that, Starfire was finally successful in putting an end to the fight, separating the twins with a well-placed bolt of green energy from her hand (this energy was called a starbolt). As she scolded them, alternating between English and Tamaranian, they turned face-to-face, apologetic expressions on their faces, and clung to each other, tears welling in their eyes. They began chattering away at each other in rapid-fire Spanish.
As Jinx left to get Kid Flash, they were sitting down on the couch and turning on the TV to the Spanish channels.
"So you're saying, they have the same power I do?" Kid Flash scratched his head. "I thought it was unique."
"Who knows, they might even be faster than you." She grinned like the Cheshire cat.
He narrowed his eyes. "Even if they are fast, they can't be faster than me!"
"Then prove it. Challenge them to a race."
"All right, I will." He left in a blur of colors.
"This should be interesting." As she was about to exit, she stopped, frowning in concentration as if she was trying to remember something. "Did I tell him they don't speak English?"
The racer stopped only long enough to let the door to the living room open, then zipped inside to issue his challenge. He stopped in front of the TV, but facing the small twins on the couch. They were staring with wide eyes and dropped jaws. "I hear you two are speedsters. It just so happens I am too, and would like to race to see who's the faster." They managed to get their jaws hinged again, and the next instant, they were in his face, with one standing on the shoulders of the other. "¡Hey, le recordamos¡Usted nos ayudó hacia fuera con Brotherhood of Evil¿Cuál es su nombre¿Usted habla español?"
This set Kid Flash back. "Um, sorry, I don't speak Spanish, but I can learn it. Be right back."
He zipped off to the city library, where the librarians were helpful enough to point him to the right section. "Let's see," he said, looking through the languages. "German, French…ah, Spanish." He removed it from the shelf and began flipping through the pages—at the same speed he ran. In a mere matter of moments he was done. Putting it back, he reached for the next volume, then the next, until he'd gone through all the books they had on the subject.
Armed with his new knowledge, he high-tailed it back to the tower within fifteen minutes of when he'd left.
Again he issued his challenge to the twins, but in flawless Spanish. "Mi nombre es Kid Flash. Me le dicen que dos sean rápidos como mí. ¿Usted cuidaría para competir con?" He glanced at Starfire, who was quietly snacking on…something. "Y la impresionaría, yo piensa."
The twins glanced at each other. "¿Debemos aceptar el desafío?" They looked at Kid Flash. "Excúsenos por algunos segundos. Necesitamos discutir esto." They zipped out, then zipped back ten seconds later. "Lo haremos." Kid Flash muttered under his breath. "They're faster than I thought. This should be interesting."
Out loud he spoke again to the twins. "Necesitaríamos a árbitro." He turned to fully face Starfire. "We would like to have a race, but we need a judge. Would you care to referee?"
"I would be most delighted to do so. When shall this event take place?"
He consulted with the twins, then spoke in English once again. "Tomorrow morning, at nine o'clock."
"I must inform the others!" She was so excited she flew right out the door.
"A race, huh?" Beast Boy grinned. "Now this I've gotta see!"
"Yes. Tomorrow morning. They agreed to hold it at nine."
"Well, I'll tell Cyborg. You go ahead and tell the others." As Starfire flew off down the hall and around the corner, Beast Boy did an about-face and knocked on the door behind him. A few moments passed. He knocked again, louder. "All right, Cyborg, I know you're in there! Wake up!"
Just as he was about to knock a third time, the door slid open. "What do ya want?" Cyborg questioned. He covered his yawn with his right hand.
"Some of your friends from Titans East are here. Más and Menos."
"Really?" He tried to stifle another yawn. "That's interesting, but you didn't have to wake me up just to tell me that."
"Dude, why're you still tired? I woke up ages ago, and I was up late as you! Anyway, what I wanted to tell you was, they're having a race with Kid Flash tomorrow morning, at nine."
This caught Cyborg's attention, and woke him up slightly. "Really?"
"Yeah." Beast Boy confirmed. Then a sly look crossed his face. "Say, the winner should get a prize."
"Yeah… hey, I know that look. What exactly did you have in mind?"
Beast Boy stood on tiptoes and began whispering in Cyborg's ear. As he spoke, Cyborg's expression began to match his.
Starfire found the next person in the training room. "Robin?" He apparently didn't hear her, continuing to deliver blows to the punching bag. "Robin!" He caught the bag to stop its swinging and turned his head. He smiled when he turned to face her. "Sorry Starfire, I didn't hear you."
"Why are you training so hard? Are not all our enemies frozen with the Brotherhood of Evil?"
"You shouldn't forget, new enemies could appear. And no, there's at least one enemy that is still unaccounted for. Slade." He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes as he said the name. "I don't plan to be caught off guard by him any more." But his eyes softened—he never could stay angry around her. "But you didn't come here to hear about my grudge. What did you want?"
She was mentally thrown off-balance by the abrupt change of topic. "Um, I, uh, came to, to tell you," she stammered.
"Yes?" He quietly encouraged her by putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Well, Friend Kid Flash, and the twins Más and Menos, they are going to have a race tomorrow morning, at the time of nine. They have asked me to judge the fairness of the contest."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "That sounds good. I could find out just how strong their abilities are. But they forgot one thing." He removed his hand from her shoulder. "They need a course to run."
"Oh! I did not think of that!" She bit her lip, her eyes downcast. Robin tilted her head back up with a curled finger under her chin. He smiled at her.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we can think of something." After considering this for a few seconds, she smiled back and gave him a hug, this one more gentle than usual.
"Well, I still have Raven, Thunder, and Lightning to inform." She kissed him on the cheek and flew off again.
Starfire had barely knocked once before Lightning's door opened. "Yes?"
"I wish to inform you of a race tomorrow between three of your fellow guests. The one known as Kid Flash will be competing with the twins Más and Menos from the Titans East, to see who is truly the most swift."
He considered that for a few seconds. "This isn't a normal race, is it?"
"No it is not. They have powers that allow them to go at very high velocities."
He didn't hesitate in responding with, "Sounds like fun. I'll be there!"
Thunder's door was just across the hall, but before she'd even taken the three steps necessary to stand in front of it, it opened to reveal the room's occupant. "You don't need to repeat it. I heard you telling my brother. I too think it sounds like fun. But are there any other events planned?"
Starfire hesitated. "I…am not aware of any."
"There's still more than a week until Christmas. There need to be more things to do."
Starfire adopted a thoughtful expression. "You are correct. I shall inform Robin of this."
Raven did not answer right away after she was informed of the competition. She stared at Starfire for several seconds before answering in a bored tone. "I suppose. I don't really have anything better to do."
"Marvelous! I am glad you wish to join us. But, what do you mean, 'nothing better to do?'"
"I can't meditate all day."
"But there are other things you can do during this most joyous of times!"
"Such as…?"
"You could go to the Mall of shopping to obtain gifts for the others, or find decorations appropriate to the season of festivity."
Raven looked a little taken aback at that. "I see…anyway, I'll be there tomorrow."
"Everyone has been informed, and they will all be there to observe."
"That's great! Now we need to plan a course."
Robin and Starfire bent their heads over a map of the city. Said map included the surrounding countryside and coastline, which provided varying types of terrain for the potential track: desert, beaches, suburban neighborhoods, and rocky slopes. And, of course, the ocean was not to be ruled out, either, considering the velocity of the contestants. After several hours of arguing and debating, they worked out a course that seemed satisfactory. They stood strait once more, stretching to get the soreness out of their back muscles.
"Any more changes you want to make?" Robin questioned.
"No, it seems like it will be a most challenging race the way we have it." She began to exit his room, but stopped in the doorframe. Turning around to face Robin once more, she said, "I almost forgot. Friend Thunder said we needed to have more to do than merely one race. I know we have shopping for presents and decorations, but do you have planned any other events we might enjoy participating in while we are not doing this?"
He gave her a grin. "Don't worry, I've got a few things in mind. How do you feel about having some other—contests?"
A few hours later it was the middle of the night. The halls were dark and no one was awake to notice the silent shadow slipping through the tower. Whenever it reached a door, it stopped and touched the frame for several seconds before moving on. Even the door into the living room received the figure's attention for a moment.
But one door in particular received more than the cursory inspection, a door that had what appeared to be a nameplate attached at about eye level; however, it was too dark to read whatever might have been engraved upon it. The figure stood at that door for well over two minutes, doing something indiscernible, before finally moving on. Only one other door received the special attention of the first, one that bore another nameplate. Before long the figure had covered the tower from the basement to the roof, and slipped out whatever way it had come in.
END A/N: Whew! That's the longest chapter yet!
As for this mysterious shadow, who is it? What was its purpose? Was it friend or foe? Does it have anything to do with yesterday's mysterious figure? These questions and more will be answered in later chapters. Stay tuned to find out!
Oh, and that thing about Kid Flash's speed learning, it's actually true. I didn't make it up. In the comics this show is based off of, Bart Allen, the third Kid Flash, absorbed the knowledge of the entire San Francisco Public Library in just a few hours. He may not be the same Kid Flash featured in the show, but something like that would definately run in the family.
IMPORTANT NOTICE! Although I have the general outline of this story ironed out, and the major points plotted, I would welcome suggestions for the story. Anything, from other games and activities (I already have shopping planned, but maybe they could watch a movie?), to traditions that could lead to interesting situations (like mistletoe, wink wink) will be welcomed. Any suggestion will be duly considered, given a fair hearing.