98. Sides of the Fence

BANG!!!

A woman shrieked and flattened herself further against a wall next to a string of hostages.

The gunman walked halfway across the bank lobby. Frowning under his ski mask: "One part of 'stay put and shut up' do you not understand?!"

"I-I….!"

BANG!!!!

"AAH!!"

The crook shook his head, aiming a smoking gun to the ceiling. "For the love of pete…." He turned around and hollered at two accomplices by the safe. "Get your asses in gear!!"

"Hey! Our asses are gearing enough as it is!" one snarled. "What's up with you?! Stop standing around and giving orders and help us!"

The gunman grumbled. He rushed over the counter—kept a gun carefully aimed at the hostages—and assisted in hoisting one of the money bags from the safe. "Neal!!" he called to the fourth robber keeping watch. "How's it look?!"

A masked man stood by the glass doors of the bank with an uzzi. "All clear!"

"We better split for it…," another one muttered.

"Yeah…we got what we came for!"

"Hardly. But it'll do for now," the self-appointed leader aimed his gun at the trembling citizens as the three joined their companion by the door. "If I hear so much as another shriek from you, the floor's gonna get a new paintjob!"

Silence.

"Yeah….now that's right," the gunman grinned. He stepped out of the bank first and bumped into a pair of folded, Titanium arms. He looked up at a grinning Cyborg. (gulp!) "Now that's wrong!!"

"Right!"

SMACK!!!!!

Metal knuckles flew into the robber's face. He stumbled back, his nose bleeding.

The four accomplices gasped and started firing madly at the metal Titan.

"Smoke him!!"

"Aim for the skin!!"

"Damn freak!!!"

POW!!! POW!!! BANG!!!

Cyborg pivoted so that a metal forearm raised and deflected the streaming bullets. "Hey!! Why the hot temper?!"

PLANT!! Beast Boy perched on Cyborg's shoulder and grinned down at the gunmen. "Looks like you guys could use some fuzz therapy!" WOOOSH!!! The green changeling dove forward, flipped, landed in the middle of the three robbers, and swiftly morphed into a kimodo dragon that spun around and tripped each with a writhing tail. WH-WH-WHUMP!!! Beast Boy jumped into a collapsing thug in the form of a kangaroo.

WHAP!!!

The thug flew backwards into Robin's grasp.

"Hey there. Where's your head at?" WHAP!!!! The Boy Wonder smacked him hard in the top of the head. The robber fell unconscious with a groan. Robin dusted his gloved hands off. "You won't know until the morning."

One of the two remaining, awake crooks stood up. Growling, he aimed a gun at Beast Boy and Robin.

FLASH!!

"H-Huh??" he gasped.

Black telekinesis encased his gun, yanked it out of his hand, and shattered it in mid-air.

The man shielded his masked face…then looked with bitter shock at Raven, floating overhead.

"I have news for you. Bullets are officially outdated."

The man panicked. He spun around and tried running…..

SWOOOOOOOSH!!!

His legs came off the ground.

He gasped…then found himself pinned to the wall by a curved, wooden sword. He struggled and cussed, trying to get free. He looked down.

I smiled up at him, saluting mutely.

The last crook was scampering to his feet now. He tried running back into the bank for some stupid reason…when a pretty figure who had snuck inside came flying out through a revolving door, scooping him up in amber arms, and carrying him into the sky. The man cried out in fear, but was soon sat atop the junction of three telephone wires at the corner of a street. Petrified of heights, he hugged himself and trembled as Starfire hovered a few feet away.

"I do apologize for the inconvenience," she smiled with a cute wave. "But I have found perpetual fear to be a wonderful deterrent to escaping the scene of a crime….not to mention exploitation of human bipedal limitation."

The crook blinked at

Beast Boy called up from down below: "What she means is, we royally kicked your ass and you suck!!"

"Ha ha ha!!!" Cyborg laughed.

Robin and I gave each other high-fives.

Starfire floated down to the streetside as the sound of police sirens picked up in the distance. "Our task here is complete, is it not?"

"Just about…," Raven uttered as she walked into the bank. "Let me double-check on the hostages…."

"Dude!!" Beast Boy jumped over to Robin and I. "Just in time, too!"

I mouthed: 'For what?'

Robin glanced at me and folded his arms. "You mean you forgot?"

A beat.

I inhaled and remembered….and I wasn't sure whether to be happy or not.

-T-T-T-T-T-

"Good-bye, Sandy!"

"Sorry we couldn't make it earlier, girl. We got caught up with a bunch of hoodlems."

"Hehe…I know," Sandy smiled pleasantly at the base of the Tower. She stood, half-inside a taxi cab. She had a black satchel over her shoulder for her return trip home. "It happens."

Starfire flew over. "Hehehehe! As Beast Boy likes to put it….'can I have one for the roadness'?"

Sandy giggled. She hugged Starfire and the Tamaranian eagerly returned---without crushing her.

"You're always the sweetest, Star. I'll miss having your……cute way of speaking in my ear."

"Does it not define me?"

"Oh, believe me, it does." Sandy winked. She waved at everyone. "So long, Titans! Ma'ams! Sirs!!"

Robin smirked and waved. "Hope to see you again soon, Sandy. Remember our offer."

Beast Boy: "You rule, girl! Peace!"

Cyborg: "Tell your folks we said hey!"

Raven: "Take care of yourself."

I hand-signed a salutations.

Sandy stepped inside and shut the rear door. She tapped on the back of the front seat. The cab's engine started and the car started cruising down the land ridge. At the last second, the rear window rolled down and Sandy stuck her spectacled face out. "Oh! Noir! Remind me….what's the name of that novel?!?!"

I tried gesturing it to her…..but she was gone.

Vrooooooooooooom……

Silence.

"Well……," Cyborg slowly swiveled around. "Parting is such sweet suckage. I think I'm gonna drown stuff out with Halo."

"Dude!" Beast Boy hobbled after him. "Let me drown with you!"

"If only you don't shoot me in the back this time!"

"Would I do that to you?"

"Yes."

"Er…..well….would I do that to you two times in a row?"

"Yes."

"Come on!!"

"Ha ha ha…."

Raven floated silently up the height of the Tower where she could meditate on the rooftop…I suppose.

I glanced over at Robin and Starfire. As I somehow expected…the two were sauntering off together for some reason or another.

"Robin…now that we are alone, would not be a good time to talk about what you promised we would discuss?"

"You mean 'Las Vegas'?"

"Yes! How can people engage in matrimony upon such short notice?! And while attending areas of worship modeled after genres of eccentric design?"

"Well…this isn't really an Earth issue, Star."

"It isn't?"

"Nope. More like an American thing."

"I thought 'America' and 'Earth' were the same thing…."

"Oh…..hahahahaha….no, Star. Luckily….no."

"There is still so much I have to learn."

"Nah….more like, so much we have to talk about!"

"Hehehehe. You are too kind, Robin."

"If you insist….."

The two were gone, walking around the far side of the Tower.

I was alone.

I took a deep, half-pleasant sigh.

I was neither smiling or frowning.

I felt mellow….and I loved it.

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

"Greetings. This is the Local News. I'm Marilyn Chen. As of today, the public consensus is almost unanimous. The Teen Titans are on a roll. Having recovered from a recent inside-invasion of mind control in the Tower, they have still managed to foil the plans and rampages of the Puppet King, Johnny Rancid, and three violent bank robberies in the last week alone. Polls show a ninety six percent approval rate by the City's population, compared to the ninety two percent prior to their sabbatical, the dismal eighty two percent during Slade's terrorist bombings, and the more positive ninety percent average for the last six months prior. Inside sources interviewed Commissioner Decker earlier today for a reaction to the recent surge in popularity for the Titans' performance and vigilantism:"

"'Get those [bleep]ing cameras out of my face you dip[bleep]s! Can't you see that I'm still dressed in that god[bleep] fruity stuff that the Puppet King hypnotized me into wearing! I got a mother [bleep]ing load of military and defense workers to direct back to their stations since—like always—the Titans somehow miraculously saved the City without so much as a finger being lifted by our all important, multi-million dollar [bleep]job of a civil defense program—"


 "Ahem. (Steve, that was the wrong tape--)Oh!! Er…l-later today, I had the chance to sit d-down with Blake Glover of the newspaper and interview him about the Titans' soaring approval rating. And this is what he had to say:"

"'I've been so lucky as of late to witness—first hand—the peace-loving fights of these brave youngsters. I can hardly believe I was ever the unruly doubting Thomas I once sold myself as. Quite simply, unless you've seen the Titans do what they do best up close, it is impossible to truly appreciate them. If these recent polls are accurate…I'm surprised! But in a good way. There're seemingly a lot of content people whose dreams of having heroes that they can rely on is more than one hundred percent likely of coming true! Let everyone in the City meet the Titans…then run the poll again! You'll see a change…even more to the better, if that's plausible!'"

"When asked about the Titans, the mayor expressed his sincerest gratitude to the Titans for those whom they saved. Especially in regards to the hostages held at the Tower by the Puppet King two days ago. One of them, the rich and famous Veronica Vreeland, has volunteered to open a trust fund for constructing a counseling committee for hostage-survivors City Wide. Vreeland was stated as believing supervillains to be on a rise, and the likelihood of frightening situations like that with the Puppet King taking place is more and more common."

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

Snkkkkkt!!!

Beast Boy shut the t.v. in the Main Room off that afternoon.

"Blah blah blah. I am sooooooo interested," he lethargically uttered and continued eating a banana snack.

"Man…," Cyborg frowned, retrieved the remote, and turned the T.V. back on. "…you should be more thankful!"

"Thankful?! To a T.V. set?"

"The news, B.B. They're saying GOOD stuff about us! That's….um…..ya know…GOOD."

"Don't you ever get bored of good stuff?" Beast Boy muttered. "It's just so….so….."

"So what?"

"Like playing light side in Knights of the Old Republic!"

"You're comparing our legacy to an Xbox game?"

"And your right eye is made of ruby quartz. Shut up!"

"Heheheh…."

"Don't you ever wanna….I dunno…..just fantasize for once, Cy?"

"Fantasize what? Is this a conversation too mature for you, Beast Boy?"

"Oh hush. Seriously!" Beast Boy sat on the coffee table, swallowed the last bite of banana, and tossed the peel behind him. "Ever imagine what it's like to be evil?"

Cyborg raised his human eyebrow. "A subject like that hardly ever goes far very well in the Tower, man…."

"I'm not serious," Beast Boy smiled. "Again…this is only fantasy. If you were a villain…what would your powers be? What would you do?"

"Well….," Cyborg rubbed his chin while leaning back on the sofa. A Pepsi commercial played on the t.v. screen at low volume. "I think I'm pretty much stuck with these powers. If you even called them powers."

"Good point," Beast Boy blinked his green eyes. "What exactly are you, Cy?"

"I've got prosthetics….that'll MAKE YOUR MOMMA CRY!!!!"

"Hehehehehe!!!"

Cyborg chuckled. He raised a finger. "If I was a villain though, I'd probably have…..ya know….a flame thrower."

"Dude!!"

"Roast people's capes off, man."

"Sweet! What else?"

"Well…I wouldn't be 'bad' per se," Cyborg smirked, leaning his head aside. "I'd just be misunderstood."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ya know. I'd like…..be this badass android who wants to strike revenge against some evil corporation," Cyborg gestured. "Tin Man With an Axe!"

"And PMS!"

"Nah….I'd still be male."

"I wouldn't."

"……."

"……."

"…….you sure this isn't THAT kind of fantasy, man?!"

"Hey! Helps hide the identity away more!" Beast Boy remarked. "Think about it! All of those villains and heroes out there! All of the ones with secret identities! Who says both the real person and the vigilante share the same gender?"

"That's crazy, man."

"But wouldn't it throw the authorities and the mafia off?!"

"So you're saying that Clark Kent would be better off fighting Lex Luthor in drag."

"Pfft! Nonsense. It could go the other way around."

"Like…."

Beast Boy giggled his head off. "How do we know Robin's really a guy?!"

"Oh shit. Oh no, man!!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha!!"

"Oh no!!! Man, that's just freakin' wrong, dawg!!"

"Or….O-O-Or maybe Raven's a guy?"

Cyborg folded his arms. "I'd hope not."

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "Eh??"

Cyborg bit his lip. He cleared his throat and looked across the Main Room. "Hey Noir buddy!!"

I looked up from a table and my lonely game of solitaire.

"Transgendered aliases. Good or bad?"

A beat.

I smirked.

I hand-signed.

Cyborg blinked…then laughed.

"Dude….what'd he say?"

"Noir said: 'That'd explain Granny Goodness!'"

Beast Boy blinked. "Excuse me?"

Cyborg rolled his human eye. "Man….I forget. Not everyone's lived in Metropolis."

"I get confused with that whole Apokolips stuff."

"Yeah well…..you're better off."

"So what'd your name be if you were a villain—"

"Enough with that subject, dawg," Cyborg said. He cleared his throat and looked back at me. "Yo, Noir. You seen Raven around lately?"

I looked at him curiously. I shook my head 'no'.

Cyborg shrugged and turned the t.v. volume up. "Ah well. She said she'd be up for walking earlier."

"………"

Just then, the phone rang.

All three of us jumped.

"Sheesh!" Beast Boy hopped up and trodded towards the phone. "Why don't we get that thing disconnected?! It always freaks me out when we actually get phone calls!!"

Cyborg smirked at the t.v. "You never know, B.B. It could have been one of those obsessed girl fans you've always wished for."

Beast Boy reached the phone. "Okay…let's not have a ladyfan conversation so quickly after a transgendered conversation."

"You poor thing…."

"Ahem." The changeling picked up the phone, held the receiver to his head, and happily chimed: "Titans' Tower. Beast Boy speaking. How can I help you?"

A beat.

His eyes blinked.

Another beat.

He grinned wide and giggled like a girl. "Oh jeez!!! Hehehe!! Of course. Dude, this is perfect. Hang on….h-he's right here."

Beast Boy cleared his throat, held the receiver away, and craned his neck about dramatically as he cooingly sing songed: "Oh Noirrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

I looked at him funny.

"It's for youuuuuuuuu."

I leaned my head to the side….as if it was a completely and utterly ludicrous thing for me to receive a phone call.

And it was!

"Well don't just sit there!" Beast Boy scowled. "Come on over and take this thing over before the blood runs out of my forearm!"

"I'm surprised you're not used to it."

"Oh hush up, Cy."

"Heheheh…."

I confusedly got up, brushed myself off, and shuffled over across the Main Room. I took the receiver from a winking Beast Boy and mutely held it up to my ear………….still and confused.

"Hey Jordan!"

"……………"

"………………"

"……………."

"…………how're you doing?"

"………………"

"………………….um….it's…..i-it's Kara!"

A light glinted twinkly off my shades as I gasped happily, smiled, and dumbly tried to hand-sign something with one hand. But then hit myself when I realized she couldn't understand sign-language. And then I hit myself again when I realized she couldn't see my hands gesturing. And then I hit myself a third time when I suddenly remembered I couldn't talk.

"Hehehehe," Beast Boy chuckled like a stoned junkie. "He looks excited to hear from her."

I frowned at him, cradling the receiver to my ear.

"It's so great to be talking to you!!" her youthful, warm voice exclaimed. A beat. "Er……I am talking to you. R-Right?"

I sweatdropped.

"I have an idea that can fix this quickly. Tap once on the receiver for 'yes'. Tap twice for 'no'. Simple binaries! You got that?"

I nodded. A beat. I hit my forehead, cleared my throat, and tapped on the receiver once.

'Yes.'

"Hehehe! See! That works! Unless……"

I raised an eybrow.

The girl's voice on the other end cleared its throat and said: "Ahem……the last time we met, did we talk a lot?"

I tapped once.

'Yes.'

"Did we kick Metallo's and Braniac's butt?"

'Yes.'

A pause.

"The hairband was alone in the package?"

'……………'

"……………"

'No.'

A sigh of relief through the code and plastic. "So you got the letter…"

'Yes.'

"I didn't call to talk about that. I just wanted to say 'hi' to you!"

I suddenly wished she could understand morse code….

"Surprised that I got this phone number?" Kara exclaimed over the phone. "Well…a couple of things. Clark's officially 'ungrounded' me, I guess. And with his connections……well……he got the feeling that we wanted to chat."

I raised an eyebrow from under my shades.

"Well, it's no biggie, really." There was a touch of….something in her voice. Something happy. Proud even. She uttered: "One of the JLA members……um……hehe……got the feeling that you were………requesting my phone number?"

I blushed and bit my lip.

Wonder Woman……

I glanced sideways.

Beast Boy was staring at me. When he saw my reddened face, he grinned even more.

I frowned and motioned for him to get lost.

"--…and I guess they thought it'd be best if I called you instead of you calling me. Poor Jordan. You're really just a shy boy underneath, aren't you? I bet everyone sees it."

I blinked.

A pause. "……Jordan? Don't you agree?"

I gasped. I scratched my head.

This wasn't fair. If only I had a tapping signal thingy for 'I don't know' instead of just 'Yes' or 'No'. I felt that I had been successfully pinned up against a wall of some sorts by Supergirl. Or was it Supergirl and Wonder Woman? Some superheroine conspiracy?

I wasn't even paying attention when I tapped: 'Yes'.

"Hehehehe……at least you're honest."

I wanted to laugh.

"Clark says you and Wonder Woman have been……'corresponding' or something."

'Yes.'

"It must be an honor to actually write about the Teen Titans with the legendary amazon."

'Yes.'

A sly giggle. Then: "You flirted with her yet?"

'No no no no no no no no.'

Supergirl laughed on her end. "I wouldn't blame you if you did, Jordan. How many posters of her are around compared to yours or mine?"

I chuckled breathily. It seemed as if we already had an inside joke…

"So um……look, I'd so much love to go visit the Tower. I'm sure even you'd agree that'd be awesome."

'Yes.'

She paused….as if flattered…..then went on: "But even though I'm not really grounded anymore, Clark's got me stuck here until the barn is repaired and stuff. I guess it's his form of punishment or something for my getting everyone so involved with……stuff recently. Especially since I'm prohibited from using my powers while helping to construct the thing."

Even I had to wince at that.

"Don't worry. Hehehe…I'm not asking for you to run all the way over here and help me and stuff."

I smirked.

"You've done enough as it is, Jordan. And……sometimes I wonder…"

I raised an eyebrow.

"I wonder if…ya know……if I've done too much for you to………ever want to see me again."

I could almost sense her biting her lip across the wires.

An awkward pause.

She said: "The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you, Jordan. And if you're mad at me, then it's okay. We don't have to—"

'No.'

"……………………"

'……………No.'

A sigh of relief on her end. "I……um……I'm glad…hehe…"

I smiled. I loved how she…….fumbled for words.

What was wrong with me?

In the background, elevator doors opened. Raven shuffled out. She and Cyborg made eye contact.

"Oh…still up for it, girl?"

"What's there to back out of?"

"Let me just get my walking shoes on…."

"'Ha ha ha'….very funny."

"I knew you'd laugh."

"You must be positively thirsty for sarcasm."

"Enough of the chatter and more of the charity walk."

"Whatever…"

Cyborg and Raven wandered out of the Main Room together.

And I barely took notice….

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

"…and what bothers me most about the films is that none of them is truly accurate enough to receive laud," Raven stated. "Heathcliffe was in love with the first Catherine, true. But she died before the first half of the novel was complete, and it was her daughter—also named Catherine—that Heathcliffe constantly pestered and emotionally abused. But by the second half of the novel, the focus of the story switches mainly to that of the second Catherine and Heathcliffe's effeminate waif of a son."

Cyborg nodded as the two walked around the quaint bluffs, sand, and sawgrass around the Tower. If one paid enough attention to it, the area seemed positively aesthetic. Especially on a day with a cool breeze blowing in and causing the surf in the background to calmly ebb and flow.

"Films are always trying to brainwash people into believing that a true romance must be something portrayed by two living entities under the son. But literature has proven—to more or less 'intelligent' audiences—that love is an emotion so complex that it can be greatly magnified through situations as glum as an antisocial old man's bitterness over his deceased infatuation and the way he tries to let loose his aggravations in themes highly suggestive of incestuous and necropheliac tendencies as the madness of obsession take over during the passing of years. I assure you, there's nothing greater than the gothic romance. Emily Bronte was a genius."

"Yes…," Cyborg smiled. "I'm sure. You know what else is a good book? Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Raven gave her a sideways glance. "You're not taking this conversation seriously….are you?"

"And what makes you think I'm not?!" Cyborg gestured. "I tell you….Douglas Adams was a genius! Who else could succinctly magnify the absurdity of existentialism and the question of the transient divinity of essence with an illustration of a bowl of petunias falling randomly through a planet's atmosphere?"

"………," Raven blinked. "Okay……someone actually lost me for once. Congratulations."

"I'm flattered, Miss."

"I'll admit that it's not been so bad walking with you as I imagined," Raven droned.

Cyborg laughed. "Am I that frightening?"

"You hang out with Beast Boy a lot. So….yes."

"Forgive me if I can't help you center yourself or anything, Raven," Cyborg winked a human eye. "All I am is just a bucket of bolts. If you wanted sanity, you should go back to meditation."

"I've already meditated today," Raven groaned. She paused in her step and folded her arms, "Besides…I could use the exercise."

"What? Imagining a theological bowl of petunias? That's gotta work out the brain…"

"No. I mean walking."

Cyborg glanced down. "Uhm….Raven. I'm sorry to break it to you. But you're thin."

Raven gave him a cynical look. "I'm also one of the physically weakest members on the team."

"You're a sorceress. It happens," Cyborg smirked. "If I could move furniture around with my head as a kid, I wouldn't have been so buff as you see me now."

"You can move furniture around with your head," Raven said. She resumed walking. "Just run straight into a couch while bent over."

"Oh ho ho ho!!! Was that the great and almighty Raven trying to tell a joke?!"

"I don't know what it was. But it sure as heck wasn't great or almighty."

"You sound like you're confusing yourself," Cyborg pointed. "Which is okay. Cuz you're confusing me."

Raven sighed and looked up at the partly cloudy sky. Wind kicked at her blue hair. "I am worried about a few things."

"Don't you mean 'afraid'?"

"Worried," Raven all but growled.

Cyborg chuckled. "Okay. I can take a hint. But about what, Raven?"

"It's about Robin, mostly."

"Oh?"

"I feel that he may be…..slipping."

"Slipping?"

Raven looked Cyborg's way as the two paused in their walk. "I founded this team with him, Cyborg. I very carefully took measure of his resolve and motive when establishing the Teen Titans. He is a different person now than he was the day he and I set things up."

"People change, Raven….believe it or not," Cyborg smiled. "Not everyone is as steadfast as you in…..er….their steadfastness."

"Robin was once an outsider," Raven went on. "He knew the value in distancing oneself from allies…no matter how much they could be trusted. From the Batman's training, Robin learned what it meant to second-guess everything and keep issues and suspicions to himself. He and his own secrecy were his best secret weapons. He had a secret identity for a reason, to hammer in that dividing line. But….ever since the Titans began….and especially in the last few months….he's started to………slip. And I think he's doing it on purpose. Either that, or he's not aware of how much he's becoming vulnerable to people around him. The Robin I first met would never have considered letting Sandy become an 'initiate' and future possibility of a Titan. And the Robin I first met would never….never….."

Raven's voice trailed…as did her indigo eyes. They glanced liquidly across a space in the bluffs.

Curious, Cyborg glanced to follow her gaze.

Starfire and Robin sat on the edge of a huge rock, looking out into the waters, chatting pleasantly. Robin smiled as he said something and Starfire giggled.

"Well….all the better, I'd say," Cyborg smiled. A beat. He beamed over at Raven. "Are you jealous??"

The dark girl's eyes bulged. "No!! If Robin and Starfire…..if those two…..No!! That is not the case at all!" Raven folded her arms. She sighed through her nostrils and muttered: "And besides….."

"Besides what?"

"……..y-you know….."

A beat.

Cyborg looked down. "Yeah…….that…….."

"But don't pity me," Raven said.

"I didn't say I was going to."

"I know…but if there's anything I learn about the Titans, there's not much to 'saying' things anymore. A word is such a relative thing."

"But what if you can't talk?" Cyborg smirked.

Raven glanced at him. A beat. "That reminds me…..I'm worried about something else."

"What?"

Raven hesitated. She pensively bit her lip and glanced off towards the horizon.

"What is it, Raven?"

"It's about Noir…."

"Naturally."

"…..and Supergirl."

"………….oh." A beat. Cyborg sat down on a rock. "I'm all ears."

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

"Fighting crime while going to high school at the same time? Yeah…it has its drawbacks. But it also has advantages! Can you believe it?"

I smiled. I relaxed on the sofa with the phone to my ear. I tapped the phone once.

"You can? Then allow me to share…"

That's all I wanted.

"All the guys. And I do mean ALL the guys dig me."

'…………'

"Er……'Supergirl', that is."

I mouthed an "oh" which she couldn't possibly see and chuckled breathily.

"Kara, on the other hand…she has to remain undercover. And you saw me the first time, right?"

'Yes.'

"Right. Dark wig. Glasses. Dresses like an early nineties reject……"

I raised an eyebrow.

What did an Argosian know about the nineties……?

"I've got a few guys who have their eye on me. The really quiet and sweet type. Kinda like you."

I rolled my black eyes….but smirked.

"But all of them—as well as the jocks and alpha males—I swear, they've all made some comment about Supergirl or another. 'Dude, she's so hot!' 'Angel of Metropolis'. 'Foxy alien chick'."

I snickered.

"What??"

I cleared my throat.

"Is something funny?"

'No.'

"Hmmmm……a-anyways. I hear that stuff—like—everyday. Especially in shop class. There're like two billion guys sitting around me. And……like……isn't that the wyrdest thing to live with??"

'Yes.'

"Just……hearing how cool and kickass you are by the word of tongue all around you and not being able to do anything about it. Rrrrgh. It's frustrating and flattering at the same time. I-I know I can't complain…but…ya know?"

I smiled.

"I bet all the girls around town talk about you all the time."

My eyes trailed the corners of my shades. I couldn't honestly respond to that….

What was my life outside of the Tower………?

"That's all bearable in a high school situation. But it's crazier when you hear the call while you're in the middle of class."

I bit my lip.

"Er…the call of duty that is."

I sighed with relief.

"This one day, I was in the middle of gym when I heard a police siren from beyond the lockerrooms. And it sounded like it was speeding by really quickly. Which—on these country roads—seems pretty normal. But these cops were REALLY booking it! So, since I was in the process of changing, I whipped out the tank top of Steel---hehe—and tore on out of there to kick some butt. Er……the butt ended up being a cow stampede two miles away. But…I-I made it there pretty quickly, at least!"

I chuckled breathily and nodded.

"When I came back, gym class was completely over with. So I scurried into the gym to change back into 'Kara' so that nobody would notice me and I would get in trouble just for a one-class absence, right?"

'Yes.'

"Well, I had my clothes……my backpack……but my locker wouldn't open. So I forced it open with my powers and promised to fix it later………until I realized that it wasn't my locker at all!" A dramatic pause for effect. Then she said: "I was in the guys' lockerroom!! And just then, I could hear the football team coming! So I hid in a utility closet and prayed for it all to be over…"

I covered a hand over my mouth and curled over. My breath was trying to find vocal cords to laugh through.

"I made it out of there safely, of course. To this day, I don't think anyone knew that I was in there. But………to say the least………I didn't sleep at all much that night."

I swallowed.

"Dang, it feels cool being able to share these stories with someone for once. I wish I could hear all about you, Jordan!"

I gulped. I sighed slightly. My mind wandered…but soon returned without much hesitancy.

Regardless….I tapped once.

'Yes.'

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

"I have promises to keep," Raven told Cyborg. "But it's no secret that I had a difficult time trusting Supergirl when we met up with her in Smallville."

"Oh, you mean Kara?" Cyborg smirked.

Raven glared. "Supergirl…that's right." A beat. "Anyways…I won't go into any incriminating detail, but I saw a potential there for Noir to be hurt. Really, really hurt."

"By Kara?"

"Yes," Raven nodded. "Don't get me wrong. She's an exceptional hero and she has done much to prove herself worthy…."

"I'd say!"

"….but….if I were Noir, I wouldn't understand exactly what he sees in her that's so redeemable. I don't see the point in being an emotional person like Noir and yet allowing yourself to be….potentially hurt by someone. There's no logic in it."

"Well…of course not, Raven," Cyborg rubbed his human head and pointed. "Even if Supergirl is capable of hurting Noir—which I frankly don't understand—a human being like Noir is more than capable of accepting that."

"Accepting pain?"

"Uh huh. When you live by emotions, Rae, you deal with pain just as much as you do when you live without them. People like Noir…they accept the pain and risk of socialization and friendship because there are benefits along the way too. While you restrict the mental luxuries of your entire life on account of pain, Noir must accept all that life has to throw at him. They're two different sides of the fence, really."

"I know that…," Raven said, her blue eyes trailing. "At least…I think I do."

Cyborg placed a hand on her shoulder and caught her attention. He seemed on the border of solemnity and cheerfulness. "Rae," he said, "…it's okay to be worried about your teammates. I'm sure it's not breaking some prime directive of your brain/emotion/meditation stuff. As mature and sound in yourself that you are, Raven….you can't possibly understand everything. N-No offence."

"No, Cyborg…you make perfect sense," Raven sighed.

A beat.

"And besides….you can hate Supergirl for stealing Noir away," Cyborg winked.

Raven's eyes burned holes in him. "Now you're de-evolving."

"Suit yourself."

Raven stood up, smoothed her robe, and headed down the path. "I don't think Robin's the only one changing."

"Hey…," Cyborg stood up, shrugged, and followed her along. "I'm not complaining!"

"….."

"……"

"……Cyborg?"

"Yeah, Rae?"

"Thanks……ya know."

"Thank yourself, girl."

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

"…and that's how you make an Argosian Sundae. Though I must admit, trying to make it here on Earth is nowhere near as nice as the real deal back at……home. Ahem. You see……cows here make nice milk, but it's nothing like the cream processed from herds of Brown Field Scur'lalen from the Upper Continent. When there WAS an Upper Continent, that is. That stuff could possibly give a Terran a buzz who's never experienced Argosian Sundaes before. Hehehe!"

A bit of a pause.

Kara sighed on her end.

"Do you think we can really……truly meet again someday?"

Silence.

"Jordan??"

'Yes.'

A breath. Then: "Just like in person…so quiet."

I smiled.

"Look……um……I-I gotta go. Hang up, ya know. Before I get grounded again……and this time for the phone bill."

I sweatdropped.

"I wish there was a……way to converse from both ends. Ya know? Instead of me yapping my head off."

I looked around hurriedly. I saw Robin's laptop. I held the receiver over to it and tapped a button on the built-in mouse.

-tap-

"You've got mail!"

I held the receiver back, smiling proudly.

"Hehehehe!! Of course! Duh!! Okay……okay……you ready?"

I raised an

"For my e-mail address, silly!"

I breathed. I tapped once.

'Yes.'

I rolled my eyes and wrote it down with a smirk.

"I'd love to find out yours. But I guess you could just e-mail it to me and that'd be simple. And if we can't get talking online to work, then I could just learn morse code. Hehehehe." A beat. "You…d-do enjoy this………phone stuff, right?"

'Yes.'

"Hehehe…really quick on that response."

'Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.'

She giggled some more.

I felt proud for some silly reason.

"Oooh…um…anyways, I gotta go. It's………r-really nice…to talk to you, Jordan."

'Yes.'

"Until…later………"

I waved at the open air.

-click-

I put the phone down, sighed happily, and leaned back with my hands behind my head.

A beat.

"…………."

I slowly looked up.

Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy had paused in what they were doing—some of them having just reentered the Main Room—and were staring at me. Silent. Humored.

I blushed furiously. I cleared my throat, stood up on wobbly legs, and hand-signed nervously.

"What is he saying?" Starfire asked.

Cyborg smirked. "'The phone is free for grabs now'."

"Right….," Raven droned.

Beast Boy started snickering. Evilly.

I clenched my fists and pondered on eighteen different ways to teleport, blur, or dash over there via murk and punch him out when Robin suddenly rushed in from a stairwell.

"Titans! Trouble!" he exclaimed.

The five of us looked over.

"What is it?" Raven asked.

"There's been a breakout from the prison. A high-risk criminal is now loose in the City. I have with me here a printout of security cameras taken at the breakout. Sent to me by the new warden himself!"

"Well, who is it?!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

I walked over, curious.

Robin's lips were firm as he held up the photo.

"Eek!" Starfire cupped her hands together.

"Aww man…not again," Cyborg groaned.

Beast Boy seemed most winded. "Dude….this is not gonna be clean."

I shrugged. A challenge was a challenge.

Robin placed the photo down on a coffee table. "If reports are correct…he should still be in Town! Let's go track him down!"

"Right!" Cyborg nodded.

"Teen Titans! Go!"

Raven and Cyborg headed for the elevator.

Robin went down the chute.

Starfire and Beast Boy floated towards the window.

I paused before blurring towards the windows. I looked down at the security photo.

In black and white obscurity of a smashed jail cell, the rampaging Fang looked royally pissed.

So much for supper tonight……

I sighed and exited the Tower.