I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 12
"Center Of Attention"
She'd been right. Her explanation had taken a whole day.
Kid Flash and Jinx stared at her, in disbelief, and confusion. "And . . . you're telling the truth?" Kid Flash managed out.
Analexia and Mason nodded. "Yes," They said in unison.
"So goodbye," They began to turn and leave when something sharp hit their backs and they fell over.
They fell to the floor, unconscious. Jinx walked over to where they lay and placed a hand on her hip.
"Was that necessary?" Kid Flash asked, coming to stand next to her with his arms crossed.
"Yes," Jinx replied. "They're psychotic, who knows what they would've done if we refused to let them leave."
"How do you know they're not telling the truth?"
Jinx gave him a look. "Raven and Beast Boy? Really? That wouldn't happen unless the world was-." Gone. "Ending . . . What is that?"
Kid Flash had left and come back in all of two seconds, as he normally did. "In their defense, Raven already made the world end. And it's a picture frame."
Jinx took the picture from him. "Oh . . ." She sighed, "Come on, let's bring them to the infirmary."
There was a grunt, "N-No . . . need for that."
They turned and saw the two scraping themselves off the ground. Lucinda/Analexia was dusting off her skirt. "We've had worse."
Jinx and Kid Flash stared in confusion, "Uh-."
"So you do believe us now, correct?" Mason questioned. "There is no longer any need for your," he gestured to Jinx's hands, "convincing arguments."
Jinx shook her head, still wide-eyed. No one had ever recovered from her hits that quick. Quickest she'd scene (before this incident of course) was two hours later.
"Good," Analexia/Lucinda said. "And if you don't mind, I'd rather we explain our mission on the way. Is that alright with you?"
"Sure," Kid Flash nodded. "Where we going?"
As they left, Mason talking animatedly, Jinx left the picture on the table. It was a recent photo of the Teen Titans in the park, with Starfire waving to the camera and Cyborg seeming to be getting ready to throw the football at the other two Titans. Robin was eying the two from the corner of his eye, but didn't appear to be doing anything else. Raven and Beast Boy were under a tree, a couple feet away, and Beast Boy was pretending to be listening to whatever Raven was saying (for he was in mid-nod while staring at her) as she pointed to something in the little black book. Her hood was off (which she rarely did in public) and she didn't seem to care about how close Beast Boy was.
It was, admittedly, cute.
Number One had no idea why they were here. It had nothing to do with the mission, it was a waist of time, and more importantly, stupid. "What are we doing here?"
"You're 'friends' are supposed to be here." He glared at her, "Put on your disguise."
She morphed her eyes and pulled her cape tighter around herself as her clothes changed along with her general face structure. "Who are we looking for?"
"A boy and a girl."
'Gee, that's specific.' "But-?" Too late. He was gone.
She sighed before removing her cape. It revealed a black dress that went down to her thighs, and went down into a wide 'V' in the back and tight up and around the neck in the front. She had on gray boots that went up to her ankles and had darker gray leg-warmers that went up until just a few inches just below the puffy skirt. Her outfit was bordering on the fine line between 'costume' and 'party dress'.
Number One had decided to give herself a momentarily new name in the time she was there. But she didn't quite know what to call herself (considering she couldn't remember her previous name) yet. But all train of thought was lost the moment she was inside the building.
The neon lights flashed right in her eyes, and she took a step back (almost losing her balance, since she wasn't really used to wearing heels yet) before hesitantly looking around in the safety of the shadows. The floor was vibrating, like it was alive, and it was filled with people in similar outfits like hers (and it made her shudder to think such skimpy outfits were normal). They were all moving rhythmically to whatever noise (music) that was playing in the background.
"How am I supposed to find them in here?" She hissed to herself. A hand tapped on her shoulder, and her fingertips felt the static of her powers readily at hand. She turned, folding her black gloved hands behind her back.
A boy, black haired, and with blond streaks in his hair behind her. He was wearing a dark blue top and black jeans. He was grinning in such a way Number One had to hold her 'electric hand' to keep it from punching him in the face.
"Yes?" She said politely.
"You look a little lost, you need me to help you with anything?" He eyed her body suggestively. The grip on her wrist tightened to the point she couldn't feel her hand anymore.
"Actually, I was looking for someone."
"Well what do they look like?" He asked, still eying her.
She took a fraction of a second to snap her fingers in his face, "My face is up here, thank you. And I was looking for some people probably dressed in weird clothing. They stand out, I guess. You seen them?"
He shook his head, "Nope. Sorry." She turned, but his next words made her stop. "But hey, there's a closet in the back and I was wondering-."
The boy stopped in shock when the girl he had previously been hitting on turned and looked at him with glowing white eyes. He felt the temptation to piss himself right there.
"Leave," Her voice was so soothing yet menacing. All he could do was listen. "Now." He turned, "Oh, wait!" He turned back. "What do you think my name is?"
A pause. "Doesn't matter. You're pretty."
Number One hissed, "Leave," And he did. She felt utterly flustered. She needed a name. As she began listening in one conversations around her, she found one that was suitable before going off in search of the people she would just 'know' were who she was looking for. But there were too many people! The only place she could get a good view of the crowd was on the stage.
She smirked. Ah, the advantages of being manipulative.
Jinx, Kid Flash, Analexia/Lucinda, and Mason walked into the building.
"So, which do you like more?" Jinx asked. They'd been discussing Analexia/Lucinda's double-name.
"Analexia," She replied. "But here I'm called Lucinda more often. So it's whichever you prefer."
"I think I'll go with Lucinda, and Lucy for short." Jinx decided.
"That happens a lot too." Lucy said.
Mason and Kid Flash were already looking around. "So what's this girl look like?" Kid Flash asked.
"She'll be the slut," Mason replied. Jinx laughed, and then realized he was serious.
"Why do you say that?" Lucy asked. "I thought it was cultural here."
Mason rolled his eyes. "She enjoys being the center of attention, and unconsciously makes herself just that in new environments she isn't familiar or comfortable with."
"Are you a therapist or something?" Jinx questioned.
"His parental is just smart," Lucy replied. "I can get a better look on the stage."
Jinx nodded, "So long as I don't have to go on it, I'm fine."
Kid Flash laughed.
Least to say, Robin had been trying for some time now to get the 'electronic thingy' (as Beast Boy had so kindly named it) to work. But all it said was: SUBJECT NOT FOUND. COMMUNICATIONS DISABLED.
And at this point, Robin slammed his hands on the keyboard. "I get it!" He shouted like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum.
"At least we figured out how to mute it," Raven commented. About ten minutes ago it had been saying 'ORDER MISREAD. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.'
Cyborg stared at the screen, long and hard before answering. "I've never seen this kind of stuff before. It's pretty advanced, even for my standards."
"So what do we do then?" Starfire asked, "I do not wish to go out into the cold quite yet, I am still very tired."
Robin sighed, "I guess we can give it another day to try and hack this thing and rest, but after that there's no way we can stay any longer. Someone could be following us. And as the Titans-."
"PASSWORD ACCEPTED."
"What?" All of them turned to look at the computer that had spoken. What was also strange was that the mute had failed them.
As something began downloading, they shared confused looks. Then, on the large, screen, what seemed like a whole file on something appeared for them to read. It was titled, 'Instructions'.
"Well . . . that was odd." Beast Boy finally said.
"Odd . . . seems about right," Raven agreed. "Guess we finally found out who lived here. That's beneficial."
"I . . . I do not understand. Have we now obtained the 'friends with benefits'?" Starfire questioned. Everyone stared her. "What? Am I mistaken?"
"J-Just a little Star," Robin muttered, flushing pale before regaining his color. He began reading, "Welcome Teen Titans, it is our pleasure, myself, and my comrades, that you have found our hide-out. Further instructions on where to follow are in the proceedings of this document, and we hope that you don't have too much difficulty understanding. Currently, 2 out of the seven (that will somehow end up in total) are here, though I'm not sure about whether one of those seven are here or not, we are waiting for you. Please feel free to rest, but do not take too long. It is of crucial importance that you meet with us before she realizes you are here, otherwise, I assure you, bad things will happen.
Nonetheless, please proceed with your reading.
Sincerely,
The, well, you'll find out soon enough. Goodbye."
Raven paused, "Again, odd."
"But . . . they did say we could rest," Beast Boy pointed out happily. He leaned back, "I think we should take that offer."
Robin rolled his eyes, "Whatever."
Lucy stood near the stairs of the stage, serving as the distraction. She'd changed back at the Tower and now dawned a coat. Mason wore what he normally did (his uniform, you could say); dark gray pants (much like Robin's) with a navy blue shirt on. It wasn't his full uniform, but he looked normal and relatively the same with his black hair, white skin, and dark eyes. He looked a lot like his dad, Lucy had noted once.
"Excuse me," Someone behind her said. Lucy turned.
Shit. Lucy stood, stunned.
"Do you mind if I went on stage first? I'm looking for somebody." Number One said kindly.
The girl shook her head, "Mm-mm." She managed before bolting.
Number One gave the girl a confused look before calling, "Wait!" In her 'soothing' voice. The girl turned obediently, already Number One's powers were working on her. "Do you wanna help me with-?"
The girl shook her head, seeming to snap out of the trance. "Excuse me, I've gotta go." And she ran.
Number One was surprised. Then sighed, the girl probably couldn't hear her over the music. She quickly walked over to two boys and got them to help her. Not that they had much of a choice, considering they could hear her.
Mason was the first to notice Anna's lack of appearance on the stage. He saw her running towards them. "Found her?" She nodded, out of breath from the run.
"You're planet . . . is annoying . . . to hide in," She managed. "I do not normally run this much on mine."
Jinx and Kid Flash decided not to ask.
"So why are you here then?" Mason continued.
"She-!"
WOOSH!
Their heads snapped up at the sound of the song starting.
"You're right," Jinx mumbled. "She does dress like a slut."
Currently said 'she' was up on the stage, appearing to be alone except for some background dancers that were hardly noticed considering their lead was hogging the attention.
"Work out your mind mind
Work out your body
Move your mind
Move your mind mind
Work out your body body
Work out your mind mind
work your body
Move your mind
Move your mind mind
Work out your body
Move your, move your, move your..."
Admirably, this girl was a good dancer. She was very good at attracting the attention, and the dancers in the background sloppily copied their leader, and Jinx noticed they had a dull look in their eyes-.
"Move your body,
Every- everybody.
Move your body,
C'mon now everybody.
Move your body,
move your body.
Everybody
C'mon now everybody."
But all eyes were on the girl gracefully but slowly moving-.
"Move your body!"
Jinx took the 'slowly' part back.
"Every- everybody.
Move your body,
C'mon now everybody.
Move your body, move your body.
Everybody c'mon now everybody.
Move your body,
Every everybody.
Move your body,
C'mon now everybody.
Move your body, move your body.
Everybody c'mon now everybody."
There was a small music interval in which she proceeded to wow the crowd.
"You'd think she'd done this before," Kid Flash commented in Jinx's ear, shouting over the music.
"You want to move the world,
Start with your body.
Yo, c'mon you gotta start with something."
"She has!" Mason said, also shouting over the sound.
If you wanna move your mind,
Just move your body.
Move your mind, move your mind,
It's gonna cost you nothing.
You want to move someone,
Start with your body.
Yo, c'mon and try to move somebody.
If you wanna move alone,"
"She just doesn't remember!" Lucy added.
"Then everybody will move along with you.
Move your body,
Every- everybody.
Move your body,
C'mon now everybody.
Move your body,
Move your body.
Everybody, c'mon now everybody.
Move your body,
Every- everybody.
Move your body,
C'mon now everybody.
Move your body,
Move your body.
Everybody, c'mon now everybody."
"How can she not remember?" Jinx questioned, eying the girl, "She seems a natural."
"Work out your mind mind
Work out your body
Move your mind
Move your mind mind
Work out your body body
Work out your mind mind
Work out your body
Move your mind
Move your mind mind
Work out your body...
You want to move the world,
Start with your body.
Yo, c'mon you gotta start with something.
If you wanna move your mind,
Just move your body.
Move your mind, move your mind,
It's gonna cost you nothing.
You want to move someone,
Start with your body.
Yo, c'mon and try to move somebody.
If you wanna move alone,
Then everybody will move along with you."
It was a while before they answered. "It's . . . difficult to explain. Duck!" They ducked their heads down as the spotlight that scanned the crowd passed over the people around them. "She'll be looking for us, we can't let her know you're here. Come on!"
"Move your body,
Every- everybody.
Move your body,
C'mon now everybody.
Move your body,
Move your body.
Everybody, c'mon now everybody.
Move your body,
Every- everybody.
Move your body,
C'mon now everybody.
Move your body,
Move your body.
Everybody, c'mon now everybody."
As they weaved between the crowd, Mason couldn't help but notice how swiftly she moved. It was like she was born for just dancing. He sighed, he wanted his friend back.
Maybe then-.
"Come on, Mason!" Lucy shouted, grabbing his wrist and pulling him.
"Move your body,
Every everybody.
Move your body,
C'mon now everybody.
Move your body,
move your body.
Everybody, c'mon now everybody!"
The blast of light behind her was hardly noticed as the energy from the people around her filled her body. It felt oddly . . . rejuvenating. Despite the fact she should've been tired from all the dancing, she felt better then before. Number One then remembered the purpose of getting on the stage at all and released the boys behind her after bowing with them. They hurriedly left the stage, seeming embarrassed. But Number One allowed a slower, separate bow, as she scanned the audience.
A flash of pink filled her vision and she smirked. "Found ya."
And she stepped back into the shadows and disappeared.
Once they were outside, Jinx brushed some hair out of her eye. "Explain. Now."
Lucy began talking. "She's forgotten most of everything-."
"Not everything."
They all turned and saw her standing on the roof, skirt moving slightly from the wind before settling again.
"E-!" Mason began before stopping himself.
Number One smirked, "Finally decided to stop calling me that, have you? Geez, took you long enough." Her hand shot up above her head and instantly her outfit changed into something less revealing. A black jumpsuit, to put it plainly. Black pants, a black belt, a long sleeved, turtle-necked black top, black shoes, and gloves. You could tell the theme there. She pulled her mask on (Me: Can you guess the color? Huh? Huh? Ha) and her face went back to normal. "Ready?"
Lucy let the coat slide off her body to show her strange white outfit, and everyone else just tensed.
The fight started quickly, with her first just watching them before jumping off the rood while pulling out a bow-staff, getting ready to hit Jinx in the head. The bow staff was caught by Jinx's own pale hand and acted as a lightning rod, sending Jinx's hex up to One's arm. Number One quickly pulled her hand away and tried to send a kick at Jinx when Kid Flash grabbed her other arm and swung her towards a wall. She jumped away from it and proceeded to try and attack Lucy who simply stepped out of the way, much to Jinx's surprise, and had her hands folded behind her back. Jinx tossed the rod she still had in her hand to Mason, who caught it and swung it at her.
Then, everything went quiet, and, Number One's eyes from under her mask went wide. Everyone froze. And the thump of when she hit the ground made them all stare. The rod dropped to floor.
Lucy had the collar of Mason's shirt in her hands in a second. "What have you done!?" She shrieked, eyes wide.
Mason pushed her off him, "I didn't mean to hit her that hard! I don't know what happened!"
Lucy placed a hand on the girl, face down, on the floor. She seemed to examine her harshly before- in a lightning fast movement- getting up and snatching something from her back-pocket at the same time, hiding it from Jinx and Kid Flash with her hand.
"What's that?" Jinx questioned.
Mason seemed shocked. "You care about that when she's probably dead!?"
"It's not mine," Lucy insisted. "It's my planet's."
"What planet are you from anyways?" Kid Flash asked, jokingly.
Mason tried to cover 's mouth, but he wasn't close enough to her before he paled, having ruined her own secret, his secret, and their future's secret.
"Tamaran. Why?"
ZAP!
THUMP!
As a girl walked by, with her parents, passing the back ally-way of a large club, she proceeded to shout their was a 'lady in there'. Her parents ignored her. She continued shouting and describing what she saw until her parents told her to be quiet.
And the little girl watched as Number One opened a portal, and pushed four 'asleep' people inside.
The Next Day
"I think I liked it better inside," Beast Boy was saying. They'd been walking for only half and hour and already they were already getting cold.
"It's not far," Robin reminded him. "Just-."
Raven's black aura covered his mouth and he turned and stared at her. She pointed ahead of them, with cautious eyes.
They all turned and squinted (continuing walking) until they saw a building through the snow. It was large, a light gray color so that it was nearly invisible and blended in with the background of snow, and very intimidating.
"Break in, anyone?" Cyborg mumbled.
Robin pulled out the device their 'Instruction Manual' had given them. "Here's what we should do-." He began.
Then, only a few yards behind them, a small light began appearing. "Hide!" Robin ordered. They all ducked behind various ice-chunks.
The light sparked into a full portal, and out stepped the familiar shape of Number One. She stretched her arms, and had her mask on already. Beast Boy vaguely wondered why she never allowed anybody to see her face. Raven's theory popped into his head, but he discarded it as impossible.
Just as she took a step forward, and they were convinced she was alone, four figures followed numbly behind her. The Titans suppressed gasps. Jinx, Kid Flash, a boy, and the blond girl followed behind her, all having a dull and just out-of-it look in their eyes.
"Come along, hurry up," She was muttering to them in what sounded very foreign, but English at the same time. Very seductive, almost. They hurried, and followed her through to the gates. As soon as she came within feet, four large men in costumes much like hers appeared.
"Password?" One asked in a gruff voice.
"Get the hell out of my way," She snapped, shoving them aside. Number One glared at them, "Passwords. Hmph. The nerve."
The guards shared confused looks before shrugging and saying something like, "Well, I guess it was her after all. No need to further press things."
Robin had a plan at once when he noticed something from the corner of his eye. He nudged his Titans and pointed to one of the windows in a building.
They looked just in time to see two kids, one girl with magenta hair and a boy with just fire red hair looking down from a far away window for a split second before the boy shoved the girl out of view and disappeared, a small light flickered out of view.
"I think we've found or friends," Raven whispered.
"So how do we get it?" Cyborg questioned.
Something yellow flicked underneath their feet, and they looked down.
"Another clue? Really?" Beast Boy muttered.
"Better then leaving us out in the cold," Raven said.
And now we get to the juicy stuff.
Yes I know that this chapter had a lot of Jinx and Kid Flash along with Mason and Anna rather then the Teen Titans, but it was very important that they be dragged into this. So, of course, I made them come in my story.
So we've got some major fluff in future chapters. Later!
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