88. Treehouse

It was a distant white dot at first. That's how long I watched for its arrival.

The white dot became a silvery blob and then a silver and blue blob and then a shiny bright car as it rolled along the bridge under the noonday Sun.

I smiled and leaned back against the frame of the Tower's garage door. I shuffled playing cards absentmindedly in one hand. The perfect pose to greet my friends with. But whatever…

As long as I got to greet them.

The T-Car rolled to a stop. The top was up…but it came down. And five Titan faces beamed in my direction. Cyborg the brightest of all. "Excuse me, sir! But do you have any Grey Poupon?"

I chuckled breathily, bending over.

He winked a human eye, parked the car, and shut off the ignition.

"We are home!"

"Glorious!" Starfire floated upwards, dressed in a summer frock with sandals and a cute hat—probably from Kansas. I secretly hoped that she didn't fly too high above us with that skirt of hers… "Our habitat is as beautiful as ever!"

"Yeah…it's still standing!" Beast Boy remarked. "Speedy didn't burn it down in a drunken orgy! That's a good thing!"

"Seriously, Beast Boy," Robin hopped out and walked towards the Tower. He looked over his shoulder and smirked at the changeling. "Speedy knows better than to get into that stuff!"

I sweatdropped and managed a smile.

"Noir…great to see you, man," Robin held his hand up high.

I gave him a high five we shook hands before snapping them loose and pointing at each other with a wink.

"How's everything holding up in the City?"

I scratched the back of my neck, simpered, and gestured in the air.

Cyborg interpreted from long distance while heaving suitcases out of the trunk. "Nnghh! He says that not everything's burnt to the ground. Whatever that means…"

"Hmmm…..you and the archers ARE making a report on all of this, right?" Robin inquired.

I gulped.

SWOOOOOOOSH-WHUMP!!!!

Starfire hugged me fiercely.

"Hello, mute woebegone friend of darkness!!!"

I wheezed for air, patted her head, and managed a weak smile.

"Let him breathe, Starfire…," Raven droned from the background where she was piling up her books from random locations within the T-Car. "You'll have plenty of chances to suffocate him later."

The Tamaranian girl blushed and stepped back, releasing me. "I do apologize, dear friend. I am still attempting to work on that."

I wheezed and gave a thumb's up.

Cyborg wandered over and patted me hard on the back. "Ha ha ha!! You sooooo missed California!"

I could care less.

I shrugged with a smile.

"Dude! Bikinis galore! But I guess you got your estrogen long before you could have gone that far west with us!" Beast Boy cackled.

I rolled my black eyes and swiveled about to frown at the changeling….and found myself staring down the mouth of a fanged beast.

I let out a silent shriek and fell back on my rear. PLOP!!! I shivered.

"Ha ha ha ha!!" Beast Boy exclaimed, holding what turned out to be a huge lawn ornament of a black gargoyle in his gangly grasp. "Dude, that was so rich!! You're not all that dark, are you man??"

I stood up, dusted myself off, and looked at Cyborg while gesturing at the gargoyle confusedly.

"We ran into an auction on the way home," the android Titan mumbled while rolling his human eye. "In Tennessee. We all wanted to hurry back home, but he just couldn't resist."

"Man, I was bidding like crazy!" Beast Boy hopped with the wretched/retching Gargoyle in grasp. "Heads turned and rolled that evening, I swear to God! I shook the tent off its foundation!"

"It was cheap," Robin explained. "He got it for next to nothing…."

"……," Beast Boy blinked. "Yes….well….a very honorable nothing."

"I still maintain that the vibrantly colored gnome would have been of greater value!" Starfire smiled, her hands cutely behind her back.

"Uh uh! This thing was bought for a purpose!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "And it's going into Raven's room!"

If I wasn't mute, I would have given a good cackle at that. My mouth hung open in a silent laugh as I rolled my black eyes under my shades.

"Yes…it is…," Raven smirked ever so slightly as she walked over.

I did an explosive double take.

The dark girl stood and 'petted' the gargoyle's head. "To be honest…it'd be a nice addition to my room. So what's to complain about?"

"See? I did something smart for a change!"

"Nothing smart about it," Raven retorted. "Just lucky."

"Yeah, whatever," Beast Boy muttered. He shook out of it. "So…um…how's it getting into your room?"

"I'll give the little lady a hand," Cyborg winked and swiped the gargoyle from Beast Boy. "It'd be a shame to carry this and your books up to your room all by yourself, right?"

Raven shrugged. "Whatever. Let's go."

The android Titan picked up Raven's books for her along with the gargoyle and the two marched through the entrance of the Tower. I watched them the entire way. Silent.

Then Beast Boy rose into view, smiling. "So….you got her number, right?"

I blinked at him. Blank. Confused.

"Ya know! Kara's!!"

I mouthed 'oh' and simpered, blushing.

He giggled and pointed at my red skin. "Hehehehe!! So she did leave an impression on you!! You should call her soon!" I bit my lip and scratched the back of my neck.

"You mean….y-you didn't exchange them?!" Beast Boy's eyes went into white pixels. "What's wrong with you, dude?!"

"Eh…nothing's wrong with him, B.B.," Robin walked by with his briefcase and Starfire's. He paused along his way to the Tower's entrance and smirked at us two. "He's just had a good week of sanity lately."

"Yeah? Why?"

"He wasn't hanging around with us."

Starfire giggled as the two wandered up into the Tower.

Beast Boy folded his arms and pouted. "We're not totally dysfunctional, ya know!" A beat. He looked at me. "Supergirl smoked, didn't she? That's why you didn't get her number??"

I tossed my hands and fled into the Tower.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"So…this your new bedmate?" Cyborg smirked, hoisting the gargoyle under his arm as he and Raven traversed the hallway to her room.

"No," she grunted. "More than likely, it'll be an ornament beneath my bookcase. There's this one spot where the light from the moon at night illuminates the lower shelves just right."

"I'll take your word for it," Cyborg chuckled. "That's not a room you live in. It's an abyss!"

They reached the door to the abode in question.

Cyborg set the stuff down. "Well, this is where I leave you alone. I better go check on the lab and make sure none of the housekeepers messed it up. Sorry to make you carry this stuff in yourself, Raven."

The girl paused. She thought to herself. Then she uttered: "It's okay, Cyborg. You can carry them in."

The android's human eye bulged. "Um…b-b-but Raven…isn't that…YOUR room?"

"How perceptive of you. Now hurry and bring in my gargoyle before Starfire decides to turn it into a pony for dress-up or something."

Raven swiftly opened the automatic door with the keypad and sauntered in. A very clumsy Cyborg picked up her things and tip-toed in behind her.

He let out a whistle at the gothic interior of the place.

"What? You've been in here before," Raven droned. She inspected the length and breadth of the room as if suspicious of any changes since she had been gone. "Remember when you and Beast Boy just happened to have fallen into my mirror?"

"Yeah…but…," Cyborg placed the stuff down on her bed. "…is that why you're letting me in here? Cuz of a goofup I had made a long, long time ago?"

"No….," she spun about and folded her arms with a tiny smirk. "There comes a time when someone realizes that she obsesses too much over unimportant things."

"I think this is breaking one of your prime directives, Rae."

"Perhaps so. But laws are rewritten. I always wanted a democratic mind."

Cyborg shrugged. "As long as it's a stable mind and all that. Not my territory, though."

Raven nodded, smiling. A beat. She leaned her head to the side. "Cyborg…it is true that you have a photographic memory, right?"

"If I try really hard and juice up my neurological pathways with added power reserves….then 'yeah'."

"And Robin has enlisted you in reviewing profiles of numerous people across the country, both young and old…."

"Heheheh…this should be old news to you, Rae."

"I'm just double-checking."

"What for?"

Silence.

Raven blinked. "I want to show you something. Close the door."

"Well, allright…," the robot Titan walked over and shut the automatic door.

In the meantime, Raven wandered into her closet. A few seconds later, she emerged with a painting.

"Naughty pictures?! Raven, how unbecoming of you!" Cyborg grinned.

Raven gave him a sarcastic smirk. "I want you to take a look at this…," she twirled the painting around for him to see. "And tell me if it conjures up any match in that neurological cyberbank of yours."

Cyborg squinted his human eye. He stared at the female figure in the vest and slacks. Her short, short, boyshort blonde hair. Her angelic smile. The sword in her grasp. The feminine grace, beauty, and wisdom of everything thrown together.

"It's a nice piece. You draw it?"

Raven nodded. "But does it make you think of anything? Anyone?"

He scratched the human half of his head. "I dunno. Sorry, Raven. I've got it recorded in my memory banks though. So if I hooked myself up to the Titan Tower's core, I could run a more thorough search of my archives. Why? Is it really important to you? Do you know who she is?"

"I don't…," Raven sighed and stared at the picture. "But I have a feeling someone else does."

Cyborg blinked. He took one last glance at the picture. At the sword in the girl's grasp. He looked at Raven. "Noir, right?"

"Yup."

"Got a vision from him or something?"

"Exactly."

"Well…heheh….if I knew someone like that, I'd be telling anyone! That girl's downright pretty! Beats me what Noir's problem is!"

"I don't think it's a problem…," Raven placed the painting down on a chair. She wandered over and placed the gargoyle somewhere near the bottom shelves of the bookcases in her room. "If it is a problem, it's probably just me. I realize now that I overreact to my premonitions. Even when my premonitions come true. I'm obsessing over them too much." She paused to look at the android. "Just like I obsess over keeping people out of my room. What's the point? Yes, I need my privacy. And lord knows how bad it could be if I get too close to someone. But to threaten anyone who so much as comes close to me…..well….that isn't right, is it?"

"I'm not the expert of that," Cyborg shrugged. "I've been in your head only once and I've gotta say….not a place I'd like to take a cruise to. You're certainly protecting us from something."

Raven tried not to react to that, but ever so slightly she bit her lip and he blue eyes looked away.

Cyborg winced. "Aw man….I-I didn't mean it like that. You see—"

"It's okay. I know people can't understand," she hugged herself and looked off through the distant window. "I bet it's all really wyrd to you and the rest."

"Perhaps…," Cyborg swallowed. He walked forward and stood by her side, smiling bravely. "But….ya know….like I'm always trying to tell you. We may not understand, but we can still be by your side. Ya know?"

"Your funeral."

"So what?" Cyborg shrugged.

Raven gave him a sideways glance. "You're rather brave."

"Hey. You invited me to walk into your room. I just followed along."

She stifled a forbidden chuckle and said: "Maybe I died in the middle of our vacation."

"Were you ever alive to begin with? Ha ha ha!!"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"So…dude….like there was this shark out there in a beach south of San Francisco. The rest of the Titans and I could see the poor kid on the raft about to become bait. Other people were running up and shouting for him to stroke to shore. The lifeguards ran out to help him, but they were too far away. So, I thought I might—ya know—spring into action and save the day in the only way Beast Boy can!"

In the Main Room, Speedy and Green Arrow sat listening…mesmerized.

There was a period of silence, so Speedy uttered: "So…….what'd you do? Turn into a bigger shark or something?"

"Nope!" Beast Boy smiled proudly and leaned against the back of the couch where Starfire and Robin sat. "I dove into the water, all right! I swam passed the boy and charged the shark!"

"As a bigger shark, right?"

The changeling winced. "Er….no. As a catfish."

Speedy did a double take.

"Catfish?" Green Arrow hid a chuckle with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah…well…," Beast Boy sweatdropped and scratched the back of his neck. "I figured that—in a desperate situation like that—it'd be best that I try not and kick butt. Seeing that I don't do that very well on my own. Ahem. So I gave the shark something better to chew, and I distracted the big fish from the kid. Later I turned into something else and got away from the shark and the life guards got the kid and everyone was happy."

Speedy clapped, smiling.

"Quite brave of you," Green Arrow smiled. "I think the West Coast needs more superheroes."

Standing in the corner, I tried not to snicker at that. I watched and listened as the conversation went on.

"Well, at least he's honest," Robin smirked.

"Yup!" Beast Boy folded his arms and beamed. "I was certainly brave in leading that shark away from the kid—"

"I mean about the 'failure-to-kick-butt' part."

Beast Boy's face fell and he frowned at a humored Robin.

"Is Beast Boy lacking in his buttocks?"

"No, Star."

"Oh…..you sure?"

"Ahem," Green Arrow interjected with a clearing of his throat and smiled as he said: "Other than Booker, Braniac, Metallo, and…er…the shark….was it a relaxing vacation?"

"As much as heroes relax…sure," Robin nodded. "But what about you guys? Was it that tough of a job?"

Green Arrow and Speedy looked my way.

I smiled at them and shrugged.

"Cakewalk," Speedy winked under his mask. "Absolutely."

"But…now that you're here and all…," Green Arrow stood up and stretched as if he just underwent a long duration of some exercise or another. "I suppose we're due back West where we came from!"

"Can't keep a City of our own waiting, now can we?" Speedy added.

"You ever going to consider joining our team someday, Speedy?" Robin asked quite openly. "I expect us to be around for a while…so…."

I cleared my throat.

Speedy and Green Arrow shifted where they stood.

Starfire blinked. "Are we missing something?"

"I'm…..um…..going on vacation too," Speedy simpered.

"Oh?" Starfire smiled. "Where to?"

"Normalcy."

"………."

"I'm throwing in the mask," he said firmly.

Starfire gasped.

Robin's face went long.

"No way….," Beast Boy uttered. "You serious?"

"Dead serious," Speedy smiled gently and gestured, "Not all of us can stay in it for the long haul." He smiled and bowed his head towards Robin. "Boy Wonder…I tip my head off to you. In the end, you were the winner of the crime fighter game. Congratulations all around."

Robin had a blank expression. He looked paralyzed.

Starfire giggled and clapped. "I sense a wonderful life choice in this endeavor!"

"Yeah…well…that makes you and me both," Speedy blushed.

"You……you're not gonna be Speedy anymore?" Robin remarked. It sounded almost like a whimper.

Beast Boy nearly laughed.

"For the time being," the redheaded archer relented.

"Let's just say…," Green Arrow wandered over and patted his apprentice's shoulder. "Sanity is a precious thing. We both realize that it's best to keep it sacred. I hope that clarifies it….while keeping ambiguity in check."

"Affirmative," Starfire cheerfully nodded. She floated up in her dress and gave Speedy a soft hug. "Oh, dear friend! Do visit us again sometime! Even if your crime fighting days are over!"

Speedy patted her shoulder as he hugged her back. "I'll be back. I promise." He looked at Robin over the Tamaranian's shoulder and smirked. "As long as there're still punk capers in this world looking for a rematch!"

I noticed a glint of rekindled fire behind Robin's eyemask. The Titan leader stood up, smiled, and walked over to give the archer a firm handshake. "I'll be ready for you whenever you're man enough!"

"Challenge accepted!"

"Woo hoo!" Beast Boy cheered. "The unpredictability of life!"

A womany voice dripped into the room. "Now what's going on in here?"

Everyone—including the changeling—glanced over.

Black Canary walked in with her outfit of blue, black, fishnets, and everything. She paused in the back of the Main Room, took a good look at everyone, and smiled with her hands placed picture-perfectly on her hips. "Ah, of course. Should have known. Looks like it's Kid's Day in the treehouse again!"

Beast Boy blinked. Tiny, pink hearts throbbed inside his irises and he started to teeter. "It's greeeeeat to be home." He tipped over. PLOP!!!!

"Awwww," Black Canary cooed. "Did I hurt him?"

"If life is fair, yeah," Robin said.

"That does not seem fair to me," Starfire pouted.

"Am I dreaming??"

"You will be soon, B.B."

"Okay…," Speedy chuckled and shook his head as he headed for the door. "Let's get the Hell out of here."

"Said it better than I could, ward…"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Dude! How could you just let them go?!?!" Beast Boy cackled to the Boy Wonder. Robin, Beast Boy, Starfire and I were wandering down the hallway. Starfire and Robin carried their suitcases.

"Green Arrow and Speedy have done us enough by keeping the City and Tower safe. Who am I to stop them from going back home?"

"Dude! Not them, the chick! The goddess!"

"The Black Canary?" Starfire remarked. "She served the citizens of this City with equal fervor as the archers. Does she not deserve a discharge as much as them?"

"But…I-I barely got to talk to her! I barely got to know her!" Beast Boy cackled. He sighed and all but slumped to the ground in a wilted pile. "Must I always remain a lonely Casanova??"

"Awwww," Starfire smiled and hugged him with one free hand. "Someday you will find a sweet young lady to cas the nova with!"

"Yeah…well…as long as she wears fishnets," Beast Boy murmured.

Starfire giggled and parted from the hug. In so doing, she accidentally collided with Robin. "Nngh!"

"Ooof!! S-Sorry, Star—"

Their suitcases went falling to the floor.

"Do not distress, merely a circumstance," she smiled pleasantly.

They both picked up a suitcase.

"I dunno about y'all, but I'm pooped," Beast Boy said. "And no, not in the literal manner."

"No need to state the obvious—"

"Hey, Noir, which room did Black Canary last sleep in?"

I bit my lip.

Robin looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you asking?"

"No reason," Beast Boy smiled innocently. He blushed and walked off, whistling innocently.

"He seems…a virtual well of endless energy," Starfire blinked after the departing changeling. A beat. "Is it a sin to covet something so trivial?"

"Starfire…trust me….I'd pay you the day you sin."

I choked on a breathy chuckle.

Robin glanced at me. "What?"

I waved my hands and mouthed 'nothing'.

"…….what's with everyone today?"

"We are home!! Hehehehe!! See you after a good 'settling in', Robin!"

"Later, Star."

She skipped off in her dress. Happy as a bee.

Robin stared. He looked at me.

I smirked.

"And just what are you smirking at?"

I shrugged.

"Sheesh….I think I should sleep too…," he walked off.

I chuckled to myself and went to my room too.

It was great to have the gang back….

I sighed happily.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

SWISH!!

The automatic door behind Robin closed.

He sighed and slumped the suitcase down onto the center of the bed.

He stood still in place.

A beat.

"I can't believe it….who does Speedy think he is?"

Silence.

Robin grunted and snapped open the clasps of his suitcase.

"He'll be back. I know it. He's just going through a phase. We all are."

He opened the suitcase and rolled his masked eyes to the ceiling while unpacking.

"I bet Noir had something to do with it. The rookie's always making people think twice about thing…"

The Boy Wonder sighed and looked down at his folding of the pink, flowery panties--

"YAACK!!!"

The masked hero flew backwards ten feet in a quarter second.

His heart caught up with him.

He panted.

Slowly….cautiously…he stood up.

He peered over the edge of the bed at the article of clothing like it was a live grenade.

Indeed, the suitcase was filled to the brim with obvious pink and lavender femininity.

Starfire's bag by accident. They had been switched in the hallway.

The Boy Wonder bit his lip. "Aw man." He gulped. "Okay….on the count of three….one….two….two and a half…."

He dove forward. Tossed the panties into the suitcase. And slammed it shut.

"Whew…….whew…..whew….," he exhaled, leaning against the leather pack. He stood up and cleared his throat before bravely snapping the clasps shut.

A beat.

"Well….guess I won't be thinking about Speedy overnight," he blushed. He winced. "Oh man…I hope Starfire isn't half as embarrassed with my suitcase as I was with hers." And he began to sweat as worried thoughts of her horrid reaction filled his head….

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Hehehehe!"

Starfire giggled as she twirled before the mirror, trying on Robin's yellow cape and belt. "I've always wondered….th-they are short on me!"

A beat.

She glanced back at the suitcase and scratched her dainty chin. "I wonder if I should start worrying about where my 'lingerings' went?"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Dear Diana,

They're back. And I couldn't be happier. Robin seems so relaxed. Starfire is twice as joyful as normal, if that can be perceived. And Beast Boy is the same as always. And I suppose one cannot complain for a return to normality. There's safety in the familiar. But I'm sure you're well aware of that. Even in as exotic a lifestyle as crime fighting can be.

Cyborg and Raven—I haven't seen much of them. But I look forward to what tomorrow brings. I truly love being around the Titans. I really do. Even though there're times I need to be alone. It's all a matter of balance, I suppose.

Green Arrow and Speedy went home. Black Canary joined them too. You may start hearing rumors Diana, but as a first-hand witness…let me give it to you straight. Speedy is retiring. At least temporarily. And it would be best to keep things ambiguous enough and just state that he 'needs' it. Green Arrow won't be without his support, though. I get the feeling that Black Canary will be joining his side. Now how's THAT for a rumor?

Other than that, I have very little to say. There's more to come later, of course. Once the experiences worthy of corresponding about come to light. And lord willing, they'll be good experiences. Until then, peace be unto you and the JLA.

Sincerely,

Noir

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I sat on my bed with the laptop over my legs. I had finished typing, but my fingers lingered on the keyboard. Lantern light flickered off my dark shades as I sat still. Trembling.

A beat.

My metal fingers twirled.

Another beat.

I put the laptop down on the bed and stood up.

I paced around.

Silence.

I looked at the computer.

More silence.

I sighed.

I walked towards it—paused—paced back. Another pause. I started-stopped-and started again.

After one last round of frustrated hesitance, I eventually gave in with a smile and—wincing—picked the laptop up with a flurry and quickly typed:

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

P.S.: Would you be so kind to inform me of—

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I winced.

I bit my lip.

I hit the backspace key.

I took a breath.

I typed….

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

P.S.: Would it be okay if you related to me—

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I struggled.

I fought my own hand.

I had a wrestling match with myself until my fingers typed for me…

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

P.S.: Do you know of a way I can contact Supergirl by phone??

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I hit the 'send' key on the e-mail before I could stop myself.

As if striking revenge against my hand, I dove for myself and toppled over the bed.

When I fell on the floor, I couldn't help it.

I laughed breathily till I was red.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Beast Boy entered his room.

He yawned and headed for his bed.

But something caught his eye and made him froze. He glanced at the calendar on the wall.

The last day of August….tomorrow….

"Oh man….," he suddenly uttered in a depressed tone. He sighed and leaned against the wall. "I almost forgot….."

On the day in question was a huge letter 'T' in red marker. There was a heart around it.

The changeling bit his lip. He sighed.

Better late than never.

Before going to bed, he set his alarm for as early as conveniently possible.

He'd be waking up the other Titans the following morning.

It was the 'anniversary'….