Sorry about the delay for an update; I've been very busy this last week. Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites, and I hope you enjoy!
Starfire gasped as the sudden rush of wind took her breath away. Her scarlet hair whipped back against the girl's face, and she grabbed tight to the speedster carrying her, worried that he might lose his grip by accident. Yet it was over in a moment, for as quickly as it had begun, it stopped, and Starfire was gently set on her feet. As the alien princess recovered, she could hear Jinx chastising Kid Flash with her words.
"Kid! What have I told you about doing that?!" the pink sorceress scolded, crossing her arms. "You should be ashamed!"
"What, of running?" Kid Flash questioned, smirking at her.
Jinx sighed in exasperation. "No! The flirting and literally sweeping girls off of their feet!"
"Well, to be fair, I don't think she really liked it. I forgot how strong she is." Rubbing his stomach where Starfire had clutched his shirt, Kid Flash suddenly chuckled and shook his head. "But did you see Rob's face?! Red as a beet!"
Starfire glanced around the street she found herself in, Jinx and the sorceress's boyfriend's voices fading into the background of city chatter and traffic. She was in the street next to the Titan's usual lunchtime, dinnertime, or really anytime destination: the Pizza Corner. There was no sign of any criminal mastermind or villain as of yet; the nameless felon was probably expecting the Titans to make a later appearance. Starfire jumped a little as her communicator rang.
She withdrew it from her pocket to see Robin on the other side. "Starfire. You okay?"
The girl smiled at him, nodding in reassurance. "Do not fear, Robin. I am safe and awaiting yours and our friends' arrival." Robin dipped his head, looking relieved. He wasn't expecting Kid Flash to have done anything, but the leader had caught the alarmed and shocked expression Starfire wore when the speedster snatched her up. He was comforted to know that she had just been caught unaware by Kid Flash's actions. Robin didn't blame her; they all were surprised, especially himself.
"Alright, we'll be there soon," he promised, back to business like the leader he was, and proceeded to cut off the communication.
Starfire once again turned her attention to the setting nearby. Kid Flash and Jinx were still engaged in their somewhat playful banter, and, distracted by her call from Robin, Starfire had missed the unusual flash of light that came from the nearby alleyway. Her warrior instincts had only just tingled as if to warn her of an unseen danger when a streak of blue burst from the backstreet. It connected with Starfire's shoulder, and, shouting with surprise, she hit the ground. Rolling with the force from the attack, it was seconds before she was back on her feet, Kid Flash and Jinx crouched protectively in front of her.
Jinx glanced back. "You good?"
Examining the strange sheet of frost that covered her shoulder, Starfire nodded. "Yes, I am the good." The cool temperature of the snowy ice was chilling against her skin, and had she not been extraordinarily resistant to the cold due to her birth on another planet, the freezing crystal would have had a much harsher effect on her. As it was, Starfire was able to melt it into water with one of her starbolts. While the girl was working, a figure emerged from the alleyway's shadows. Nearby citizens gave surprised and shocked shouts, scrambling to escape the scene.
"Hello Titans."
Before them all stood a stout and strange man. His wide body was clothed in a white scientist suit that was too big for him, giving the impression that he was very overweight. His head implied otherwise, however, for it was abnormally gray and gaunt, but his eyes were covered by oversized goggles and bugged out, making him look like a fly. Supported in his arms like a baby was a large piece of equipment that faintly resembled a cannon.
Jinx lifted an eyebrow. "And you are you?"
The man stiffened angrily. "What?! You mean you do not recognize Professor Chang?!"
"Who?"
"Oh hey!" Kid Flash suddenly realized, speaking up. "You're that guy whose butt I kicked a few days ago! The one who made that big snowstorm afterwards!" Jinx rolled her eyes at her boyfriend as Professor Chang fumed.
"You did not 'kick my butt'!" he snapped, his accent harsh.
Kid Flash smirked. "I dunno, that's kinda how I remember it." He peered down at the machinery hooked up to Professor Chang's chest and arms. "And I see that you've fixed your whatchamacallit."
"It is an Ice Ray!" The scowl on Professor Chang's face lessened, closer to a smile now. "But, yes, after our previous battle-."
"Wouldn't call it a battle," Kid Flash coughed into his hand.
Professor Chang glared at him from behind the outsized goggles. "-I took the liberty to repair and upgrade my Ice Ray. Now it is double the speed and twice as deadly!" Upon the last syllable in his sentence, the odd contraption that the villain clutched suddenly vibrated and shot off a bright beam. Starfire was already out of firing range –for the attack was aimed at the duo standing near her- but she saw it coming and responded with a starbolt. The blue and green energies met in the air, and a blast of light exploded in between the heroes and the villain. Snow floated all around them. A little ways off, Kid Flash carefully set Jinx on her feet.
After seeing that she was fine and uninjured, only surprised by the abrupt save, he winked at the girl. "Stay here, Slowpoke; I can handle this."
"Kid!" Jinx protested in frustration, but he'd already run off. Exhaling an angry breath, Jinx approached the alien princess standing in the street to help speed the removal of the ice liquefying on Starfire's shoulder.
Professor Chang fired several more shafts of blue light at the sprinting speedster, but none came in contact with Kid Flash. Grinning, the boy started to circle the villain, the wind picking up until it became similar to that of a funnel. The same technique had been used to defeat the Professor during their previous encounter, and there was no obvious reason why it could not work again. The evil man, however, had learned and adapted to this battle technique, and just as the swirling gale started to lift his feet off of the pavement, he fired the Ice Ray at the cement. Kid Flash skidded over the slippery surface, unable to stop himself, and crashed straight into the building beside Professor Chang. The villain had enough time for a smile before a pint hex shot past his head. Jinx was standing in the street, fingers clenched into tight fists. Starfire was floating in a battle position beside her, the ice having at last melted away.
Professor Chang glanced at Kid Flash who was lying on his back, groaning softly. "It seems your little girlfriend is trying to save you. But who is going to save her?" With a high-pitched giggle similar to that of a maniac's –which he very well could be- he fired off a round of ice beams. Jinx and Starfire dove apart, dashing for what cover there was.
The villain had stopped only to see what damage had had caused and to find if he'd actually hit anything –or preferably anyone- when a small projectile latched onto the ground at his feet. It beeped twice before exploding in an eruption of flame and smoke.
"Starfire!" Robin leapt out of the T-ship, -which was certain to have broken a few speeding laws in its rush to get here –and ran to his girlfriend who was crouched on the street.
Taking charge since the head Titan was occupied, "Titans, go!" rang out from both Cyborg and Bumblebee's mouths, each instantly prepared to take up position of leader in Robin's absence. They exchanged confused glances, pausing in their advance to see who was going to retain control. Rolling her eyes, Raven lit her hands up with magic and flew past the couple, Beast Boy's hawk form shadowing the empath's actions from above. After the moment of hesitation passed, Cyborg and Bumblebee followed. Jinx jumped up, ready to join the battle.
At the sight of at least three more Titans than expected appearing so suddenly, Professor Chang panicked. He pressed a series of buttons on his machine and it began shooting off beams like an overpowered disco ball. Raven was quick to throw up a shield, and Cyborg, Bumblebee, and Jinx met the assaults with powered attacks of their own. Yet, Beast Boy had no such projectile abilities, and he could only dodge for so long before one of the rays connected. A flash of blue clipped his wing, forming small cold crystals on the tips, and the green hawk dropped out of the sky. Seeing the silhouette of her falling teammate grow larger, Raven instinctively stopped, chanting her mantra under her breath. Beast Boy had transformed into his human form, and just as Raven completed her spell, the shape-shifter collided with her. In a tangle of arms and legs, the two crashed onto the sidewalk together. Raven's powers managed to cushion the blow, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.
"Ow," Raven grunted from underneath Beast Boy.
He sat up, shaking his head. "Oof, that was a hit!" The boy glanced around. "Raven?"
"Beast Boy."
He realized where she was. "Oh, hey, there you are. Thanks for the save!"
Raven pushed herself up into a sitting position. "I thought you were the one who was supposed to catch me if I fell," she reminded, referencing their conversation from the dance. "Good thing I happened to be just below you to break your fall."
Beast Boy blushed, rubbing the back of his head. "Heh, yeah. Thanks."
"Beast Boy?"
He lifted an eyebrow curiously. "Yeah?"
"You want to get off of me now?"
While Beast Boy scrambled off of Raven's lap and apologized profusely, Starfire and Robin and had rejoined the fight. The couple and their teammates –save for Jinx who was checking up on Kid Flash- were still avoiding the rays, jumping and swooping from side to side. Robin ducked under a blue streak, flicking a bird-a-rang at the weapon. Professor Chang hopped out of the way, awkwardly shuffling from his position to one he believed was safer. However, he was terribly mistaken, for he stumbled right into the path of Bumblebee. The Titans East leader dove down, with a slice of her electric stinger cutting through the center of the machine and tossing it into the air. Cyborg finished the job, firing off a blast from his hand cannon and demolishing the Ice Ray into a shower of fragmented wires and mechanics that rained down around Professor Chang.
The villain swallowed, finding himself backed into a corner by the teenagers, and out of fear the man began to stammer pointless babble. Robin cut him off, his eyes blazing behind the mask. "How did you get out of jail?!"
"I-uh, oh, I- uh –u-uh-i-oi-."
Another glare from Robin stopped the villain's nervous blather. "You've upgraded your Ice Ray that you made for the Brotherhood of Evil," he recognized. The boy leaned closer. "What were you hoping to accomplish by attacking us?!" Starfire moved forward slightly so Robin could see her in his field of vision. She knew the reason he was so livid was because she had been attacked, but she was unharmed and her boyfriend needed to calm down.
"I-I-I-I-uh-uh-!" Professor Chang finally pulled himself together enough to give a response. "I-I was going to defeat the T-Teen Titans?" He'd meant to say it as an answer, but the words came out in a question under Robin's intimidating gaze.
"Where are your assistants?!" Robin pressed the man. Professor Chang's lip quivered, and Starfire rested her hand on the Titan leader's arm. He exchanged a glance with the alien princess, and, dropping his shoulders and the man in his grip, he drew back. As Starfire spoke to him quietly, Cyborg and Bumblebee took over.
"See how we gotta hold back our own?" Cyborg chuckled at the look on Chang's face. "Well man, next time you might not be so lucky that we decided to restraint him." Professor Chang's body shivered, and he nodded vigorously. Cyborg chuckled, patting the man on his head like he was a "good dog," and then faced Bumblebee. "We're gonna hafta call the police to pick him up."
Bumblebee waved her communicator at him. "Already done, Sparks."
Her robotic friend smirked, leaning back against the wall and crushing a piece of leftover machinery beneath his foot. A siren wailed, and the police pulled up in a series of flashing lights. "On top of things, as always," he grinned.
The Titans East leader smiled back. "Only when you're not. I saw you trying to step on my toes back there; we can't both be leader when Spikey's out."
Cyborg crossed his arms. "Yeah, but we did make a pretty good team in takin' out Chang's machine, I hafta say."
"Won't disagree there, Sparky." Bumblebee glanced over her shoulder at the T-ship as the officers loaded Professor Chang into their police squad vehicle. "So after this, you planning on heading back to the party? If my dance partner leaves then I'll look like I'm all alone!"
Cyborg nodded, pushing off the wall into a standing position. "Wouldn't be a party without the JD, right? 'Course I'm goin'!"
"Great!" Bumblebee faced him entirely again, cracking her knuckles. "You feeling up for a dance contest maybe?" When Cyborg paused to consider her offer, the girl added, "You know, you still owe me money for winning all our bets a few days back after Star's sleepover. Although you could always repay me in a different way…." She tapped her cheek meaningfully.
Cyborg stared at her with a blank look on his face. "But we never bet money," he protested, trailing off before understanding dawned. His human eye widened, the whirring of mechanics from his skull signaling the "click" of information connecting. The teen suddenly became tongue-tied. "I-I-uh-um-uh-gotta go, um, check the T-ship's, um, oil and stuff!" he excused, slipping away.
Bumblebee turned after him, calling the teenager. "Hey, Sparks?! Sparky! Cyborg!" He seemed not to hear, even after she had used his actual title, and the girl drew up her shoulders. "Seriously?" she grunted. Had she really just scared him off so easily?
Deaf to the odd exchange that had concluded but a few feet away, Jinx was checking on Kid Flash. Despite the fact that he'd run head-first into a brick wall, the speedster suffered nothing but a bruised nose. Raven had already taken on the role of doctor to heal Beast Boy's ice-damaged fingers –which wasn't entirely necessary, but the empath wanted to make sure there was no harm done to the tissue- and she was quick to restore color to Kid Flash's darkened skin. She would have offered to do the same for Starfire's shoulder, but the alien princess appeared uninjured. Giving enough room for her to work, Beast Boy hovered over Raven's shoulder to watch, but Jinx was knelt beside her boyfriend without a thought to the darker girl's appreciation of space.
"Guess that's what I get when I rush into things, huh Slowpoke?" the speedster chuckled.
"You're an idiot," Jinx grumbled, worry coming through her voice no matter how hard she tried to keep it hidden.
"An adorable idiot." Kid Flash cracked a grin, lifting his eyes to her.
"But still an idiot nevertheless," his girlfriend stated. Raven finished healing and stood, as always a bit tired after using recuperation magic. Jinx took up the empath's previous position, grasping her boyfriend by the hand and hauling him to his feet. "Just slow down for me once in a while, Kid."
"Heh, alright. Sounds like a plan to me." The two smiled at each other just as Robin and Starfire approached together, and Cyborg appeared a moment later, outwardly antsy.
"So, the butt-kickin's done; ready to head on back to the Titans East?" he suggested, shifting position every few seconds. His eyes focused on Robin as Bumblebee joined them.
The Titan leader scanned over his team, noting the weary faces and drained body language. "Actually, I think we're ready to call it a night." The team nodded in a unanimous vote save for Cyborg and Bumblebee. The Titans East leader glanced at her robotic friend.
"Alright, well I'm gonna need a ride over; I don't really feel like flying all the way back to my tower from here." She faced Cyborg entirely. "Say Sparky, you think I could squeeze in your T-ship's pod with you?"
The teenager shifted, rubbing the top of his shiny head. "Uh, I dunno if there'll be enough room for the both of us…" Raven lifted an eyebrow, her eyes unreadable beneath her hood, but she wasn't the only one to notice his uncharacteristic reluctance. Those aware of the robotic boy's crush on Bumblebee were well aware of the oddity of his indirect refusal, and Cyborg felt the confused stares settling on him. Thankfully, Kid Flash was blind to the circumstances and spoke up.
"Hey, Bee, if you need a ride, I'll be fine with running you back to your tower. Jinx and I are planning on going back for a while anyway." Her face a slight shade of scarlet, Bumblebee nodded, not sparing Cyborg a glance as she walked over to the speedster. Kid Flash nudged Jinx with his elbow, whispering in her ear, "See? I asked this time."
"I'm glad you're finally learning," was her smug reply.
After a bit more of banter from the couple, Kid Flash eventually scooped Bumblebee up in his arms and waited for Jinx to hop on his back. With a smile at everyone else, the trio was gone in a flash. Cyborg slumped his shoulders, exhaling quietly, and trudged off to his pod.
"He knows."
Raven narrowed an eyebrow at Bumblebee's face on the communicator screen. The empath and the rest of the team had arrived home about an hour ago, and the teenagers were winding down, getting ready to head off to bed. She was currently in the main room, washing the dishes from her herbal tea. As far as she was aware, the others were either in bed or in the bathroom.
"Who knows what?" The dark girl rubbed her eyes. "Why are you calling me, Bumblebee? I thought you'd be dancing with Cyborg."
At the mention of his name, Bumblebee glanced over her shoulder. The party had quieted since the last time Raven was there, and now only a few guests were rocking it out on the dance floor. To the empath's surprise, she caught a glimpse of Speedy dancing with his date. Everyone had known how badly his hopes were pummeled by the dark-haired girl, but it seemed at last she'd taken pity on him. Nearby, Kole was dancing with Jericho and Gnarrk in a circle similar to ring-around-the-rosy. The mute wore a light and enjoyable smile as he spun in circles. Other than those two groups, no one else was to be seen.
"That's the thing, girl; he can't hear this."
Raven shook her head. "What happened?"
"You're alone, right?" The dark sorceress nodded in response. "Well, you and everybody else noticed how weird things were after the battle, right?" Bumblebee gave Raven a pointed look. "I'm sure that he knows."
"Knows what?" the empath grumbled.
"About our deal!" Bumblebee exclaimed in a hushed tone. "I think he figured it out! I mentioned the sleepover real quick and all of a sudden he started being all awkward and stammering about changing the T-ship's oil."
Rolling her eyes, Raven rested back against the kitchen counter. "He does tend to do that a lot." She paused, the slight incline of her mouth indicating her thoughts. "Wait, didn't you call our landline phone yesterday to make sure that no one would listen in on the conversation? Why the sudden change in plan?" The empath tapped the edge of the communicator with her thumb.
Bumblebee sighed, not wanting to take the time to explain. "Yeah, but to do that we gotta be connected on both your and my home phone, and I figured no one would be trying to listen at this time of night anyway. Now," she went on, walking from her party's main room into a quieter area of the tower, "why are you not freaking out?!"
"Well, say he already likes you; what's the big deal?"
"Ugh, Raven! You aren't thinking this through, and that's saying something!" Bumblebee closed a door on her side of the communicator and the music disappeared altogether. Judging by the cabinets and bathtub that was the background, she must have been in their bathroom. "Listen, is Starfire there? Maybe she'll be more cooperative." As if hearing her summons, the doors across from Raven suddenly slid apart and the young alien princess glided in, her eyes scanning the room for a certain pink larva. Silkie squirmed out from under the lake of pillows still flooding the floor, and Starfire swooped down to him, rocking her bumgorf in her arms from side to side like a baby.
She noticed Raven relaxing against the counter with her communicator open. "Friend Raven, I did not realized you were here! Please, are you doing a chat of late nights?"
Bumblebee heard Starfire's voice. "Oh, perfect! Star, girl, come over here!"
"Friend Bumblebee?" Starfire glided to Raven's side curiously, stroking Silkie's head with one hand. "What is the matter? Is something wrong?"
Bumblebee was quick to recap with what she had already told Raven, and eventually she finished with, "If Cyborg knows, how long would it take for him to call your teammates and let them know about it?! This could ruin our entire deal!"
Starfire bit her lip nervously, but Raven had taken on a different shade of color entirely. If Cyborg told the boys about the deal, how hard would it be for them to figure out her feelings for Beast Boy? How hard would it be for Beast Boy to figure it out? Sure, the empath teased him about the extraordinary amount of vacant space that occupied his head, but even he could connect the dots without much trouble after learning information like that.
The alien princess at Raven's shoulder drew her eyebrows together in worry. "What is it we can do, friend Bumblebee?"
"Go and check up on your boys now," Bumblebee demanded. "Don't leave them alone for one minute until you can get their communicator away or something. Throw it out the window if you have to; just make sure they don't find out about this."
"I doubt we need to be that dramatic," Raven objected, but a sharp rapping came from the communicator. Bumblebee turned around toward the door, and a voice was heard on the other side of the wall.
"Yo, you done in there yet or what?! I'm dyin' out here!"
Bumblebee snapped back. "I'm busy! Give me a minute!" Something along the lines of 'I don't have a minute' reached the speakers on the communicator and the Titans East leader whispered rapidly to Raven and Starfire. "I'm gonna to talk to Jinx when I get the chance. Go. Check. Now." And she ended the call.