No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem

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Part Eight: Raven (continued)

[Author's Notes: Sorry for leaving you guys hanging like that, but I thought that was probably the best place to break off.

Standard Disclaimer: DC Comics owns the Titans. They and their representatives and assigns are the only entities legally entitled to make any money from said Titans. That means I don't have any financial stake in this story. I write this because my Muse will hit me hard enough to leave a mark if I don't. As they used to say about the Peace Corps, it's the toughest job you'll ever love.]

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{Sunday, 9:12am}

. . . . . . . Her brown eyes now rimmed in red, Terra leaned back so she could look Raven in the face. Maybe she was searching for some kind of deceit, or maybe she was just unsure of her own answer, but after long moments of study she gave her head a tiny nod. "Talk. Yeah, we … we can talk. Not hungry, though. Benny … makes sure …"

"I understand." The empath put her arm around the other girl's shoulder and they walked slowly back to the café.

Madge, who never seemed to miss anything, had seen Raven dart out after 'Leah', and had put two and two together. (The answer she got was 4.61, but then she was working with insufficient data.) At any rate, she saved Raven's booth; and as she had expected, the girls went right back to where the dark Titan had been sitting. Madge went back to the kitchen for more tea.

Terra curled up across from Raven, a tight knot of unease that practically glowed in the empath's mind. Placing her hand as casually as she could on the table about midway between them, Raven asked, "Brown?"

"… The hair?"

"Actually I meant the eyes. Hair dye, anyone can come by. But you aren't wearing contacts. And I don't feel any magical aura coming off you."

"Oh. Uh, yeah. Um … Benny helped with that."

"… Benny did?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. Benny's a good guy …"

"You have no idea."

Raven cocked her head over, studying Terra's face. "… but I didn't know he could perform cosmetic surgery at that level."

"It wasn't surgery. He … well, he had Madge make me this drink."

"… A drink? Like a potion?"

"I guess. But the next morning I woke up and my eyes were brown."

"How'd you even meet Benny?"

She turned her gaze away, her cheeks tinging red. "Um …"

"That's okay; if you don't want to tell …"

"It's not really my … I mean, I kinda-sorta promised that …"

"Don't worry about it. It's not as if I don't have any secrets of my own."

That pulled a tiny smile from the thin girl. "Thanks. There's a lot of … see, I've been trying to stay under the radar. The fewer people who know about me, the better."

"Does that include Gar?"

The suddenly-wide eyes, accompanied by the tremor that passed through the girl, gave Raven all the answer she needed. Nevertheless Terra shook her head hard. "Please don't tell him! He thinks I'm … you know, not really me. From the school."

"Right. He told us about you being at that school. But he wasn't convinced that you'd forgotten everything, and is still firm in that conviction."

"… I was afraid of that."

Raven's brows drew together the tiniest bit. "Are you that afraid of how he'll react?"

She only huddled up closer to herself.

Okay, bad topic for conversation. "How'd you get into that school, anyway? Don't you have to have proof of a physical address?"

"Um … yeah." Terra seemed relieved to be talking about something else. "That was kinda tricky."

"Where were you living?"

She wouldn't meet Raven's eyes. "In a homeless shelter."

Madge came up then and set Raven's tea in front of her. Getting Terra's attention, she asked, "Leah? You want anything?"

"I'm good, thanks."

"Great. Just holler if you need something." And she hurried off.

Raven cleared her throat. "And that hoity-toity private school was okay with you living like that?"

"They didn't know. I had a … a, um, fake address."

"Do I really want to know how you pulled that off?"

"Prrrrrrrobably not."

That almost made the empath dimple. "So are you still going to that school?"

"Yeah. For now, anyway. It's ... kinda hard. I don't know if I'm gonna wash out or not."

Raven slowly swirled her tea as the cogs clicked in her brain. "Is there one particular subject that's giving you trouble?"

"Uh ... two, really. Pre-calculus and Chemistry. And Chemistry's a problem mainly because I don't have a good handle on the math." Raven noted that she had a lock of her hair gripped tightly in one fist and was worrying the end of it as she spoke. "See, I ... well, you already know I wasn't ... uh, usually welcome for very long at the different places I stayed when I was younger. My powers ..." She stopped and then sighed deeply. "Well ... School wasn't really a priority. And let's say I'm not a natural at math."

"Are you in a study group?"

She dropped her eyes. "... um ..."

"Would you like to be?"

Those dark brown orbs came up again, this time filled with uncertainty. "Huh?"

"Well, it so happens I know rather a lot about math. If you want, I can be a sort of tutor."

Eyes growing very wide, Terra squeaked, "Really?"

Raven gave her a confident nod. "For whatever reason, probably due to Robin's anal-retentive methodology, crime in Jump is way down; either most of the criminals have left for greener pastures, or they simply aren't committing as many crimes. We have a measure of free time on our hands most days. I would have plenty of opportunity. If you want."

Slowly, unblinkingly, Terra's head bobbed up and down a few times. "I would ... like that. If you don't mind."

"It'll give me something with which to occupy myself." She did smirk then. "And the old saying about idle hands being the devil's workshop goes triple for someone who's already half demon."

The smile that bloomed on the girl's face, and the wave of intense gratitude that splashed over with it, brought a warm glow to Raven's chest, and threatened to creep up her cheeks as well. Such a little thing, she thought, to bring such a profound reaction. Terra leaned forward and grabbed Raven's hand. "That would help so much! I got a scholarship thing so I could go there, but if my grades slip I'll lose it, and then ... well, you know." She sniffled and wiped at her eyes with one sleeve. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

A new and menacingly guarded voice said, "Am I interrupting something?"

Raven's head whipped around to focus on a pair of light fuchsia eyes ... eyes that were beginning to frown in a way that gave her a sudden unease. "Jinx!"

She wore a short skirt of black denim, a white tank top, and over that a long-sleeved, loosely-knit sweater in a wide-striped pink-and-black pattern that hung off one shoulder. Her long, candyfloss hair trailed down her back in a thick braid. The bad luck charm stood there with her hands fisted on her hips, darting her gaze between Raven and ... "So, you gonna introduce me, or what?"

"Sorry! Jinx, this is Leah ..." turning to the girl, Raven said, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your last name."

"Featherstone."

Raven blinked once, fighting down a grin. "Featherstone. Okay." Glancing back at Jinx, she continued, "Leah Featherstone. She works here at Benny's. She's a student over at the Murakami School. We've been talking about a couple of her classes, and I agreed to tutor her in math."

Jinx's expression didn't change much.

Raven patted the seat beside her. "Sit with me?"

After a hesitation that was so brief it might have been missed, Jinx did, scooting in next to her girlfriend, who planted a quick kiss on her cheek. That seemed to mollify the hex caster, and she gave Raven a pretty smile.

Terra's eyes grew round. "Are ... are you two ... like ... together?"

In tandem, the young women answered, "Sure are." Then they looked at each other and Jinx giggled.

Terra's shock was evident. "I didn't know you swung that way! I thought you and Ga- um, Beast Boy were supposed to be an item."

"Rumor, innuendo and hearsay. If it ever existed, it was pretty one-sided." She hugged Jinx closer. "I never even knew I could have a real relationship until this little minx inserted herself into my life."

"Heh!" snickered Jinx. "You said 'inserted'."

"Oh, hush, you!"

Jinx caught Terra's eye. "So I guess you weren't putting the moves on my girl, then?"

"... Ew!"

Raven snorted. "Thanks a lot."

Terra brought both hands up in a 'warding off' gesture. "No, it's not ... I mean, you're pretty and all, but ... ew. I like guys."

"Fair enough."

Jinx said, "You look kinda familiar. You sure we haven't met before?"

"I – I – I don't think so."

Tilting her head in concentration, Jinx said, "You also don't lie worth a shit. Where'd we meet? You're kinda cute. I ought to remember."

Terra seemed to shrink in place. Frightened eyes sought Raven's.

The empath looked between her and Jinx a few times and then extended her hand again. "Jinx can keep a secret if it's important. Keeping her pants on is another thing, but ..."

"Hey! I resemble that remark!"

Turning a small grin on her girlfriend, she continued, "... but, if you want to tell her, it'll be okay."

Jinx gave Raven a calculating look. "So you did know her already."

"I never said I didn't. You just assumed."

"... Humph. Always with the semantics." Glancing back at the terrified girl, Jinx said, "I don't bite. At least not unless you want me to."

Raven punched her arm, pulling another giggle from the pink-haired girl.

"So, spill. Where do we know each other from, and how do you know Rae?"

Terra's eyes ranged around the café. It was about half-full by this time, and there were diners in the booths on either side of them. She began to tremble.

Jinx offered, "Hey, if it's such a big deal ..."

Raven said, "Let's try this." She held her hands out, palms cupped together. A small sphere of inky darkness formed there. She muttered a few words in a language that had been dead for several millennia, the ball grew larger and then more transparent, and then they were surrounded by what seemed to be a minute haze in the air.

Jinx chuckled, "You have got to teach me that one!"

"What, and make thieving even easier for you? I think not."

"Maligned!" Jinx cried, the back of one hand melodramatically held against her forehead, "I am maligned!"

"You are hilarious, is what you are." Raven turned to Terra. "No one can hear us now. And I guarantee no one will pay the slightest attention to us. You may speak freely if you wish."

"... And you think it'll be okay? Isn't she, like ... a villain or, or something?"

"I'm part-time these days, girly," responded Jinx. "Usually pitch in with the hero stuff. I only – ah, keep the skills sharp now and then."

"And what," asked Raven, "am I supposed to do if we get called out on robbery and it turns out to be you?"

"If it's just Bird Brain and the Three Moogs, it's not a problem. Besides which, I'm more careful than that. No longer into the drama of a standoff or a fight."

"You? Not into drama? Did the Cubs win the Series or something?"

"Ha-ha. Funny woman. Anyway, I don't, ah, practice my art in Jump anymore. You guys aren't the only ones getting better. Since the Good Pee-pul of Jump got rid of that last asshole police commissioner, and they actually put someone in the job that was interested in the public welfare instead of takin' bribes and bangin' his secretary, it's been hot times in the ol' town for second-storey men. Not interested, thanks just the same."

"You aren't the first one I've heard that from."

"And besides which, I fell into something a lot more lucrative than robbing jewelry stores."

"Oh?" One of Raven's eyebrows went up. "And what would that be?"

"Security verification."

"... Beg pardon?"

"Guy from Wells-Fargo looked me up; wanted to know if I'd be willing to test the security on a new office building. We talked around the issue for a while, and he whips out a contract. Like he knew I'd be interested. How-some-ever, I took it and ran it by a couple guys I know, and they said it was legit. So I met with the bigwigs at Wells and now I'm a contractor for 'em."

"... You never cease to amaze me, Jinx."

"Hey, everybody needs a hobby. They've got five new facilities lined up for me to check out, and I get eight large per. That's more than we ever cleared on any job I worked when me and Giz and Mammoth were together, and I don't even have to split it. Or worry about laundering it." She kicked a leg up onto the bench. "It's really kinda cool."

"So have you started this ... new thing yet?"

"Did the first building yesterday afternoon."

"... Yesterday?"

"Mm-hmm."

"And you didn't think I'd be interested in this development?"

"We had, ah, other things to talk about last night."

"Yeah." Raven nodded to herself. "We did, didn't we? Okay." She turned her attention to Terra, who had followed this interplay silently. "So, it's up to you if you want to let her into the club or not."

"... Well ... if you think it's all right ..."

"I do. But the important thing is whether you do."

She sat up straight then, and scooted to the center of the bench. "... Okay. But ... would you tell her?"

Another grin was successfully repressed. "Sure." She glanced at Jinx. "You don't remember her clearly because she's got a top-drawer disguise going."

The pink eyes came together in a frown. "Oh? Really?" She leaned forward, studying Terra's face. The other girl blushed and stared at the table. Finally Jinx shrugged. "It's a good one, then. I mean, yeah, you tickle the ol' memory, but that's all." She jerked her head at Terra and asked, "So, who is she?"

"Terra."

blink-blink

"Jinx? You okay, there? Look like you're trying to swallow a golf ball."

"Terra."

"Yep."

"The ex-Titan."

"She's still a Titan, as far as we're concerned."

Jinx gave her an odd stare and then examined the smaller girl again, at length giving a nod. "Okay. I can see it now. But your eyes are brown. That really makes a big difference, when they were sky blue before. How'd you do it?"

"Um ... Benny. He ... he-helped." She swallowed, very nervous under that close scrutiny.

"Huh. So you swapped that 'Nordic Warrior Maid' look for 'Sultry Latina'." She nodded again and leaned back in her seat, appropriating Raven's arm in the process. "I like it. Works on you. But you ought to do something about your name."

"What do you mean?"

"Leah Featherstone? Come on. Leah Featherstone has auburn hair, a light dusting of freckles, green eyes, a British accent, some killer curves, and works as an assistant antiquities curator at a museum in Cairo."

Terra's mouth fell open. "Who ... bu-wha ... how ..."

Jinx had to laugh at her expression. "No, I don't really know anyone by that name, but you can bet I can imagine it in a Gothic novel just fine. Point is, you don't look anything like a Featherstone."

"Huh. Well ... then what should ..."

"Alessa D'Amato."

"… Huh?"

Raven spoke up. "Jinx, sweetie, you're messing with her head."

"But she could totally pull off the Italian-heiress thing, dontcha think?"

"Possibly so. But the school – and all the people she knows there – know her as Leah. She can't just announce a new name out of the blue."

Jinx pouted. "But Alessa D'Amato is a pretty name!"

"Indeed it is. But so is Leah Featherstone."

"Yeah. It is." Jinx brightened and gave Terra a thumbs-up. "I guess it'll have to do."

Raven noticed Madge looking around like she was confused, and dispelled the zone of security from their booth. It was only seconds later that Madge spotted them and came over. "Hey, girls! I saw you when you came in, Miss Jinx, but I didn't see where you went. Must be getting' to where I need glasses." She whipped out a pad and pencil. "You want anythin' to drink? Or munch on?"

"Yes, ma'am! I'd love a glass of your pink lemonade. And bring one for Leah, too."

Terra started. "… Oh … but I …"

"Hush, girl," Jinx admonished. "You'll take your drink and like it."

Madge chuckled. "Better listen to her. She can get real mean."

Terra settled back and allowed a grin, the first one Jinx had seen, to blossom. "Don't I know it."

"How 'bout you, Rae?"

"Another cup of tea would be perfect."

"Be right back." She gave them a wink and hurried off.

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[A/N: I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed or sent me PM's about this ... well, I hesitate to call it a story since it's really just a series of vignettes. How about 'collaborative work'? That'll do. 100 Silver Wings has already done Chapter Four, and ej8012 has contributed his own addition to the mix (check out the hotlinks on my profile), so it's not just my viewpoint anymore.

I'm going to TRY to give Benny's place a rest for a while so I can work on 'Triad', and another story that isn't going to be published on this forum. Hopefully that won't take too long. Then I have to finish the last four chapters of 'Gone Wylde', preferably before my posting schedule gets me to the point where I left off.

In other news, my hometown (Ringgold, GA) is still closed to general traffic while they continue to clean up in the wake of the tornadoes. I'll be taking a trip over there in a couple weeks. And I just heard early this morning that Joplin, MO took a major bunch of damage from ANOTHER twister: half the city destroyed and over 90 people killed. That's much worse than what happened in Ringgold, but then our population is just 2,800.

Also, please wish me luck on an invention that a colleague and I are going to be testing next week. If the efficiencies all work out the way we think they will, I'll be going to work for myself, making these things full time before too much longer.

Happy Reading!

Concolor44]