Why yes, it has been a long time since I posted last! Do I need to repeat my utter hate for Animal at this moment in time? In between disparing of ever writing this chapter- because getting it started was more then half the battle- was Animal and me Not Getting Along At All. But the chapter's written, it's posted, I'll try not to wait until NEXT year to post.
Chapter Four
Animal slunk into the living room, keeping a wary eye on the two current inhabitants. Raven was sitting by the window in mid air, cross legged and reading a book. Starfire was doing- something- with paint and paper plates. Some sort of artsy-crafts thing, he supposed.
"Friend Animal!" Starfire looked over at him, and grinned. "How is it that you are doing this glorious morning?"
It wasn't the most convoluted sentence she'd ever tossed his way, but it still took him a second to figure it out. "Fine." Very obviously, he kept one ear turned in her direction as he made his way to the kitchen. He was in the mood for a little chicken. Hopefully someone would be willing to 'show him how' to use the microwave. Again.
"Are you not tired of wearing clothing that is not yours?" Starfire asked, following him into the kitchen. Animal tensed, and shot a wide eyed, half feral look over his shoulder at her. He hadn't heard her walking- oh. Floating. That explained it.
He sprang away, putting half the kitchen between himself and her. Her face fell a little, but almost immediately she was smiling again.
"Clothes are clothes," he said, though he was. Robin was a bit narrower in the shoulders and hips, a bit taller, and liked bright, primary colors, even for his civilian clothing. Red sweaters and green skin just didn't go well together. It didn't even make him look like a walking Christmas tree, more like some color blind schmuck who'd gotten dipped in paint and hadn't cleaned up yet.
Starfire stared at him, and grinned. "I am going to the mall of shopping. Perhaps you can come with me, and we can get you clothing of your own?"
He felt one eyebrow start to climb its way up his forehead. "Won't Robin be upset?" he asked. "Thought I was under arrest."
"No! You are in training. Robin wishes for you to… Get to know us before the training of your powers."
"Right." Animal started to rummage through the fridge. "I don't do good with crowds."
"Neither does Raven." Starfire sighed. "I thought, perhaps, you might feel better with something that does not come from us. I shall go on my own, if you do not wish to go."
Animal bowed his head, and sighed. "No, I'll go," he said, and closed the fridge without taking anything out. "I guess I could do with some clothes."
And there was that smile, the one that made Starfire look like she'd just taken some sort of laughing gas. "You will? Truly? Glorious! We shall have fun, yes?" She floated closer to the ceiling.
He decided he might as well tell her. "Ah, Starfire?" He pretended to cringe when she swooped down, stopping a foot away from him. "I kind of… The clothes I need…" He chewed on his lip. "They can't be baggy," he finally said. "When I transform, so do my clothes, but only if they're not baggy." Damned if he could explain it either.
"Really?" She asked. "I shall remember. Come! We will get Cyborg to drive us in the car of the T."
So, he'd finally see the mythological car, then? About damn time.
Animal trailed after Starfire to the stairwell, and hid a smirk as she floated down the middle, going slowly so he could keep up if he hurried. Well, she was friendly enough. It wasn't a weakness, but it'd only been three days since he'd gotten up and about. He'd find out all he needed to know, soon enough.
Fortunately it was Starfire who broached the subject of transportation with Cyborg. The- well, cyborg- hadn't taken it too well. "The car's not even half done! I haven't gotten any of the security systems in and the radio's not working, and don't even get me started on the paint!"
Animal eyed the car in question, what looked like a beaten down clinker about five miles from the junkyard, and snorted. "That ain't a car," he said. "That's a-" He cut himself off. Let them fill in the missing words. They'd probably come up with something better for his disguise then he could.
It was hard to read Cyborg's expression, what with his face being more then halfway metal, but Animal figured there was a good helping of sympathy. "Well, I guess I can take you," he said. "The engine's fine, and I'm not going to be leaving it in the parking lot."
"Thank you." Starfire lunged for Cyborg, and caught him in a full body hug that made something creak. Animal looked away, but kept his ears tilted towards the two.
"So, you coming, little man?"
Little? Animal scowled. "I ain't little," he informed Cyborg. "You're just too big."
"You're little to me. You're in back. Ladies up front."
"Sure thing, ma'am."
"Hey!"
"Well, you said…" Animal trailed off as he got in behind Starfire's seat. More leg room.
Starfire giggled, and somehow managed to stop floating near the ceiling long enough to get into the car and buckle in.
0O0
You're paranoid, Rude informed her. Intellect and Rage both turned on the annoying Emotion, which at least cut the chatter from that part of her mind.
There's something odd, Raven told her Emotions. I don't like him.
She stared unseeing down at her book, and followed Starfire, Cyborg, and Animal with her empathy until they were out of range. She waited five minutes, and then closed her book.
She couldn't put into words just what it was about Animal that made her uneasy. Her empathy was back, and he had the most curious mix of emotions she had ever felt, but that could be easily explained away. His speech patterns were harder. She knew how the educated spoke, and except for a moment here or there, Animal spoke like one educated.
Which doesn't mean anything, Intellect said, sounding doubtful.
No, but what else do I have? Feelings aren't my strong point.
Raven tucked her book under one arm, and headed towards the bedrooms. Animal always locked his door, but when had locks ever stopped her? She paused long enough to make certain Robin wasn't anywhere nearby, and created a portal through the door.
Once inside Animal's room, she started to look around. The bed was made with military neatness, which- while odd- could also be explained. Perhaps he had learnt at a homeless shelter, or- well, she didn't know. But why would Animal bother to make his bed in the first place?
The rest of the room was similarly neat and tidy. The clothes he had borrowed from Robin were hung in the closet, or folded away in the small chest of drawers. There wasn't a lot to look at, admittedly, as the clothes Animal had arrived in hadn't been worth saving. And living on the street didn't make one inclined to gather possessions, she supposed.
Raven? I had a thought.
Wisdom's thoughts were always worth listening to. Go on.
She could almost see Wisdom standing before her, one hand raised to her chin, brow furrowed. He does not act like one who is homeless. Perhaps he isn't.
Isn't? Raven asked, and frowned. How do you mean?
Wisdom sighed. We are getting quite the name for ourselves. There are even a few meta-humans looking to duplicate our efforts. But, she said, and held up one finger, if one were seeking acclaim, wouldn't one be best going to the source of the movement?
If by movement, you mean fighting crime as vigilantes in bright colored clothing… Raven murmured, but she nodded. That's not the only possibility, but it is one idea.
Something inside her relaxed. Well, now she had a possible reason for his acting- and now that she was thinking about it, it was acting. Quite as good as Robin, in fact, and Robin had a double life he occasionally went back to. Raven had the impression that his friends and family in Gotham thought he was away at a boarding school, but that was besides the point. Animal was acting, pretending to be a homeless meta-human. Why he wanted to join the Titans was probably known only to him, but Wisdom's guess- that it was for the fame that would come, when he joined the Titans and became known as one of them- was as good as any.
Does this mean you're not going to fuss any more? Happy asked. Because I think we should make pancakes!
Raven wasn't even going to wonder why solving a minor mystery warranted pancakes. I think I'll go back to reading my book.
0O0
Animal was starting to regret ever telling Starfire he needed close fitting clothing. Only Cyborg's intervention had kept her from looking in a goth's specialty shop. Not that Animal had any problem with gothic wear, but… That particular shop seemed to specialize in clothing that'd make him look… not the way he wanted to look. The dog collars especially were a little scary; the spikes looked sharp enough to draw blood.
Cyborg had been dragooned into carrying the bags. Animal figured the car was safe; the way it looked, no one would even want to park near it, for fear it'd infect their cars.
Well, people were strange. In the end, it meant Animal had company in the Hell that was also known as the local mall.
He didn't have to feign being intimidated. All the noise, mall music, people talking, yelling, children screaming, music from the individual stores and food court noises, and the smells, which were completely indescribable, had him nursing a headache and keeping close to Cyborg's bulk. People didn't crowd close to the Titans, which was at least a little breathing room.
"What about this store?" Starfire asked, gesturing at a shop that seemed to specialize in jeans.
Cyborg looked down at Animal, who shrugged. "Sure," the bigger man said. "Can't hurt. C'mon, little man, let's get you some pants."
Animal trailed along behind the two Titans, feeling like nothing more then taking them both out right there. Starfire was treating him like a living doll- even as he thought that, she grabbed him by the bicep and dragged him over to a rack of pants. She started pulling jeans off the racks and holding them up to him, muttering in what he assumed was her native language.
"These," she finally decided, separating three pairs of jeans from the assortment, and dragging him over to the change rooms. Cyborg followed, a lot slower then the energizer battery pretending to be an alien girl.
Animal accepted the pants, and sulked as he got changed. Well, they were form fitting enough, so at least he wouldn't end up nude when transforming. The darker colored jeans were a better cut, in his opinion, which seemed to be echoed by Starfire. Once that was done, Animal ended up with four pairs of the dark jeans, and Cyborg was given the bag to hold. Then it was off to another store.
At least Starfire let him choose his own underwear. The last thing he wanted or needed was a girl picking out that sort of thing. She'd probably choose something with flowers.
Finally, not even Cyborg could carry any more bags, and Starfire reluctantly left the mall. Animal just about skipped out the doors to the car. He took a deep breath of exhaust fumes and could barely imagine anything smelling any sweeter. He was never, ever going into another mall for the rest of his life.
As expected, the car was safe. Animal helped pile the bags into the trunk and the backseat, and squeezed into the back himself. Just like that, they were off, heading back to the tower.
"Are you pleased with your selections?" Starfire asked, twisting to look back at him.
Animal nodded. "Sure." Most of the clothes were black, since colors tended to clash with his skin and hair. Good thing he liked black.
The ride back to the tower was more subdued then the ride to the mall, thankfully. Cyborg and Starfire chatted with each other, giving Animal the space he desperately needed.
He just wasn't a people person, he supposed. Most of his life he'd had Slade and Wintergreen for company, and no one else. He could deal with people just fine, he just had his limits.
"You're kind of quiet, little man. Trip to the mall tuckered you out?" Cyborg asked, easing the car through traffic.
Animal bristled at that. Just how weak did they think he was? "No. All talked out."
"You sure?"
"I'm fine."
Cyborg opened his mouth, hesitated, and then concentrated on the road. Animal stared at the back of his head.
The rest of the trip was made in silence.
Animal helped carry the bags of clothes up to his room, nodded his thanks to Cyborg, and then got started putting things away. Something was off, though, something at the edge of his awareness.
He closed his eyes, and concentrated on his hearing. Sometimes it happened that he heard things on the edge of human hearing. When he was younger, it scared him. He was used to hearing things now, like mice in the walls, but this… Whatever it was, it wasn't audible. He opened his eyes and quickly looked around, but nothing had been disturbed. Scent, then. He sniffed at the air, and frowned. There was a new scent to his room, and it wasn't the clothes.
He narrowed his eyes, and went back to hanging up clothes, or folding them and putting them in drawers. The entire time, he was thinking about the scent. He'd picked it up before, and in this Tower. So, one of the Titans, maybe? Couldn't have been Starfire or Cyborg, he'd been with them.
Robin or Raven. One of the birds had decided to do a little snooping. Good thing he didn't have anything worth investigating in his room.
0O0
The alarm had gone off at six. Animal had nearly jumped out of his skin, and gasped for breath even as the Titans were lunging for the door. Dinner was abandoned on the stove, the TV was left on, and Robin spilt his coffee on Raven's book and neither bird seemed to notice.
Animal frowned a little at that. He got to work, first turning off the TV, and then moving to the book. It looked ruined, he thought, a little sadly. First edition books were hard to come by, especially when they were by Herman Melville. He mopped up the spilt coffee as best as he could, and laid the book out flat on the countertop to dry. He wasn't sure if that was what you were supposed to do when you had paper drenched by really bad java, but it was the best he could think of.
He turned off the stove before the food caught on fire, and then moved to the big picture window overlooking the bay.
He'd taken maybe fifteen minutes. He could catch up, no problem. Besides, it was kind of hard to miss the two flying Titans hurtling through the air.
0O0
Raven mentally cursed Robin for lack of anyone better. She blocked a burst of pink from Jinx, and threw a trashcan at the witch. Jinx back flipped away, turned her attention on Starfire, and left Raven with a little breathing room.
Whoever had told the Hive it was a good idea to rob a bank during the day was wrong. There hadn't even been any need for the silent alarm. The Titans had shown up, and now there was a fight endangering civilians and property. It was aggravating.
Jinx turned her attention back to Raven, as Mammoth threw Cyborg into Starfire. Raven winced for her teammates, blocking another burst of pink energy with a quick shield. She backed away from Jinx, keeping her shield where it was, before dropping it and sending a mailbox flying through the air at the witch.
She supposed this was what was meant by 'Mexican standoff'. The Hive couldn't escape, not with the money, but the Titans weren't able to catch any of the criminals. If this went on much longer, there was a good chance someone would get hurt.
Even as she thought that, she noticed Robin, running full tilt at Mammoth. Raven opened her mouth to call warning to Robin, but was too late. Mammoth turned, one long arm swinging out- and into Robin's head.
The boy wonder went flying into a parked car, and fell to the ground. He was moving, and in a great deal of pain, but he was out of the fight.
Starfire flew at Mammoth with a blood curdling war cry. Cyborg went after Gizmo, who was trying to get away with the money. Raven was left to deal with Jinx, who refused to hold still.
She was quickly running out of things to throw, Raven realized, unless she resorted to ripping up pieces of the road and throwing them.
Jinx cart wheeled towards the sidewalk, and stopped, between Raven and a lamp post. A small group of civilians were cowering in a doorway; the store was out of business and the door locked, Raven supposed, considering the windows were boarded up. The civilians couldn't get into shelter, and the way things were going right now, they couldn't escape the fight either.
Now Raven couldn't throw anything at Jinx. If she did, there was the risk of hitting the civilians. She couldn't create one of her more elaborate shields to contain Jinx, because it took time to regenerate power. She had enough for basic fighting, and that was it; and she was already getting tired!
The next part was pure bad luck.
There was a shout behind her. Jinx's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. Raven turned to look, and flinched back.
Gizmo had launched one of his rockets at Cyborg. Cyborg had batted the rocket aside- only it hadn't stopped the rocket, only altered its course, and it was heading straight for the civilians.
Jinx flipped to the side, getting out of the immediate path of the rocket. It wasn't flying steady, and it was spluttering as it flew.
Raven reached out, and tried to grasp it, but her power was currently limited to very large things, or shields, and for some reason she couldn't get a hold of the slippery thing. The rocket hit just above the doorway the civilians had chosen for shelter.
Sensibly, they ran. Raven planted herself between them and the Hive, just in case, though she didn't think she would be needed. The Hive had never threatened civilians before.
She didn't even have to hear the yell of "Jeffrey" to know something was wrong. There was a strong surge of fear from the direction of the fleeing civilians, and an even stronger surge of sheer, paralyzing terror from the doorway. She turned to look, and just about sighed.
Of course. What is it about small children and staring death in the face? she wondered. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jinx move towards the young boy, but Raven was faster.
She made it just as the first block fell. In a quick move, more instinct then thought, Raven knocked the child to the ground and hunched over him. The rest of the building, old, unstable, began to crumble then.
Through it all, she could hear the boy's mother screaming.
0O0
Animal didn't move from his crouch on the rooftop, even though he wanted to lean forward, the better to see. The dust was clouding his vision, and he wanted to see so badly it almost hurt.
Raven was buried by most of the front of the building. The three criminals, and the Titans currently standing, were just standing around in what he judged to be shock. Animal didn't think Raven was dead, but if she were, wouldn't that be ironic? "Yeah, Slade? You know the Titans? I think all we'll have to do is collapse buildings on them, they're very squishy."
Before he could continue that thought any further, something in the settling dust and rubble flexed, and like a bird shrugging off snow, Raven flicked the rubble away. He couldn't see her all that well- the move had knocked more dust into the air- but he could make out her bowed head and slumped shoulders. So the child had died then. Or- no, even from where he crouched, across the street and five stories up, he could hear the boy's hysterical sobbing.
Exhaustion, then, he decided. It couldn't have been easy, fighting and then holding off most of a building.
Animal watched with interest as the three criminals slunk away, everyone's concentration on Raven and the child. The Titans were moving towards their comrade, but the boy's mother was faster.
He nearly fell off his rooftop in shock. The mother had just snatched her child from Raven's arms and was backing away with all haste, babbling something about souls and night fiends. Raven's expression was… Well, she didn't have an expression. She looked as if she'd been carved from marble, or maybe granite. She didn't respond to the mother's babbling, simply turned and walked towards Robin, where he lay.
Animal frowned, and stared at Raven's back. Interesting. Very interesting.
