As I walked out of the bathroom, my mind began to wander again, so much so that I bumped my shoulder against the doorway upon entering the hallway. Cyborg, who was still in front of me, didn't seem to notice or care and kept going. This was fortunate for me because in response to bumping into the doorway, I wound up tripping over myself and stumbling awkwardly for a moment before I could continue my stride after him.
Come on, Fernando! Pull it together! You're just walking down the hall, I scolded to myself in reference to me quite literally throwing my weight around. I was already both tall and large, and therefore constantly conscious and aware of how others looked at me or how I presented myself, but it didn't help that I sometimes had the tendency to be a socially awkward clutz. I just needed to focus on keeping my cool and simply walking down a hallway. Easy, right?
Unfortunately it wasn't so easy. I couldn't get over how I had to almost die to ask for help or answers on why I was going to die later. I couldn't get over how I had to find a way to help find and rescue the three missing Elementals before my time was up so Andre's rule can have a fighting chance in the battle to come. I couldn't get over my extended family and how I had to both make sure they were safe, and figure out what approach would be best with notifying them about my death, if at all. And lastly, I couldn't get over how little time I had left with Raven.
And as if that wasn't driving my brain crazy already, it was at that moment I heard Cyborg ahead of me mutter something. I ignored it because his voice was kinda low. My mind was wandering for about the umpteenth time so I couldn't catch what he said nor was I in any position to pay attention. Despite not knowing what he said I could at least tell from tone and "direction" of his voice that Cyborg wasn't talking to me, and as far I knew at the moment, we were the only two people in the hallway which at the time led me to believe that he was muttering to himself. I soon found out however that there was in fact another person in the hallway with us at the time, and that Cyborg had said, "excuse me" to that person because they were walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. And since I wasn't really paying attention to anything (in addition to my mind wandering, I also had my head down, and my eyes, although zoning out, were looking towards the floor), I wound up bumping into them, and by "them", I meant Raven.
As I bumped into her, the world slowed down again. I looked up and saw Raven still in the process of looking up at me after we collided. I could see the book she was holding falling to the floor. I could also see the page she was on prior to dropping it based on the page numbers I saw as the covers started to close and the neighboring pages began to flip. I then blink my eyes, as if to shake off the feeling of being stunned, and the world returns to normal, as indicated by the sound of the book finally hitting on the ground.
"Sorry", said Raven simply as she then lowered herself to the floor to retrieve her book.
"No, no, it was my bad. I was zoned out", I said as I followed her to the floor. I then impulsively reach out to grab the book. As I did so, my hand bumped into hers as she reached for the book as well.
"Oh, sorry", we both said at the same time as we pulled our hands away. When neither of us reached for the book again, we both reached for it, again at the same time. Our hands bump into each other again when we both repeated, "sorry". However, upon pulling our hands away from each other, my hand grazed upon the back of her hand. Normally this wouldn't have been so bad, Hell, a large part of me was tempted to deliberately slow my hand down so I could savor the feeling of my skin touching hers. However, the moment was short-lived because I wound up accidentally scratching her.
She pulls her hand away sharply as she winces. Upon seeing and hearing her do so, I look down at my hand. My nails were long, and some of them, jagged. Hell, on my right hand alone, I had three nails that were chipped. I look back up at Raven and her hand. I didn't scratch it enough to leave a mark, other than that light, white, ashy mark that comes from your skin being scratched. Still, I felt guilty and embarrassed for having scratched her none-the-less.
"At the risk of sounding like a broken record, sorry", I said bashfully hoping that my nails weren't a deal breaker. I then reached back out and grabbed the book preparing to hand it back to her.
"It's just a scratch. No need to apologize", she said with a small grin. I grin back as I reach forward about to hand her back her book. I held it by my fingertips, in an attempt to reduce the likelihood of scratching her again. It was at that moment I noticed the dark brown cover of the book, and the title. She commented on the book as she took it from me. I guess it was in response to my staring at it.
"It's from my place of birth", she said sort of bashfully as she pulled the book into herself and wrapped her left arm around it. "It's called…."
"The Book of Azar", I interrupted. A small look of surprise then appeared on her face. At first I thought it might've been because I interrupted her, but based on what she said afterwards, I soon decided not.
"You can read Azaranian?"
"Azaranian? What's that?" Raven then takes the book and presents the front cover to me.
"This is Azaranian", she said as she pointed at the title, which still read, "The Book of Azar".
"Um, no. That would be English." Raven then places the book on the floor and opens up to one of the first few pages. She then points her index and middle fingers on her right hand towards the book and chants her spell.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", she says calmly as she surrounds the book in her aura. She then uses her fingers like a wand and lifts the book into the air, as if she was Hermione Granger practicing the levitation spell on a feather. She then lowers the book back to the ground and turns it to me. "Now you try", she said as she pointed at a sentence of text on one of the pages. I look up at her for a moment, confused as to what was going on, and I had a couple of reasons to be confused.
For one, I was confused as to why I was doing what I was doing. This conversation somehow went from confusing English for some new language called Azaranian, to me casting a levitation spell. Another thing that had me confused was that, although she usually coined the mantra by heart, when she casted her spell, she was looking at the pages as if she was reading the words, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" right off of the page. Assuming she had, what she read and what she pointed to me were two completely different things. The section of text she pointed to was not her usual mantra, and she didn't turn a page when she faced the book to me.
After pausing for a moment, I came to the realization that she wanted me to lift the book just as she did. Once I did, I surrounded the book with my aura and lifted the book, and then lowered it to the ground, but did so without speaking, or moving my arms, hands, or fingers. I didn't need to.
"Good. Now try it like this", said Raven as she reached out and adjusted my hand to where my index and middle fingers were pointing. Normally I would freak out or try to pull my hand away or something, but in all honesty I was frozen because all I was concerned about was hoping I didn't scratch her again. When she had finished positioning my fingers, she leaned back and said, "and read this aloud", as she pointed to the text again.
"But that's not what you read. I mean, that's not what it says".
"Then show me what it says. What do you read when you see these words?" It was then that I realized what was going on. According to Raven, this book was written in Azaranian, which was all well and good. However, it appeared that not only can I read Azaranian, to the point where the language looked like plain, old English in my eyes, despite never hearing, reading, or ever having heard of the language prior to discovering this book, but some of the text says something different to me, than it does to Raven, who I assumed was an Azaranian.
Having finally understood why Raven was asking me to do the things she wanted me to do, I take a deep breath and point my fingers to the book as I read aloud.
"Atlantis Auroros Motom", I said as the book once again became surrounded by my aura. I then lifted the book into the air and floated it over towards Raven. I then lowered it to her as she stuck her hands out to catch it. When she held the book in her hands again, I broke my connection and paused to reflect on what just happened. I had just read a language I didn't know existed, read a sentence that was different then what everyone else read, and I casted a spell that I didn't even know I could do. I was about to question Raven on what had just happened when Cyborg walked over to us.
"I hate to interrupt, but when you're done playing with books, I'd really like to talk to you, Wolfman", said a slightly impatient Cyborg as he held up the black credit card in his fingers. I had forgotten that he was standing nearby.
"Oh, my bad, Cyborg", I responded.
"What are you guys even doing?" Upon hearing the metal man ask that, I felt I had to confirm something.
"Hey, Cy, come have a look at this", I said as I gently positioned the book in Raven's hands so that Cyborg could see, mentally kicking myself for having man-handled Raven again. Using Raven's hand as a bookmark, I then close the book and point to the text on the front cover. "What does this say", I asked him.
"Uh, 'The Book of Azar'?" Hopeful after hearing him read it correctly, I open the book back to the page Raven was keeping marked and pointed to the text Raven and I read.
"And this?"
"Hmmmm. Scratch, scratch, chicken scratch, words, yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah, and more words", he said sarcastically while at the same time holding back a cheeky grin. His response made it clear to me that he was aware that the book was called, "The Book of Azar" due to Raven probably mentioning it in the past, and not because he could read the title. He and I then look over at Raven who wasn't as amused as he was, probably from the fact that he was making fun of her language. "No offense, Rae", he began as he moved his hands in a sort of "jazz hands" fashion. "I just can't read or understand Azaranian. Hell, I'm barely keeping up with Tamaranian."
"You speak Tamaranian", I asked in suspicion.
"Koriand'r schlectna rowarknof", he replied. I look over at Raven for translation, but she simply shrugged having no idea what he said.
"Well okay then", I responded as I had no idea how to respond to whatever it was he said. Raven then closes the book and rises back to her feet.
"I think I'll let you two get back to what you were doing", she said as she begins to walk past me down the hall. Just as she was about to pass me she looks me dead in the eye. I open my mouth to say something, but once again, nothing comes out. Meanwhile, I'm getting lost in her eyes for about the millionth time. My right hand instinctively gives her my signature "peace pistol" gesture (it's like my signature "hello" and "goodbye" wave. It's when I use my thumb, index, and middle fingers as if I were pretending to wield a gun, but parting my index and middle fingers as if making the "peace" sign, and then sort of flicking my wrist kinda like as if I were tipping my hat) as she passes, but stays frozen in the air as she walks away with her back turned to me. When she opens the door to her room, she hesitates just as she did before and looks back over to me, my body still frozen in place unable to move. She then smiles back at me and then disappears as the door closes behind her. Even after she was gone, I stood there frozen for about another minute or so. As I stood there, I glanced over at my nails on my right hand as I thought to myself, I should probably cut these. It was around that moment when Cyborg placed his hand on my shoulder again, and again, made me jump.
"Jesus! Stop doing that", I exclaimed at him.
"Chill, dude! Why are you so jumpy today?"
"I'm not jumpy and I am chill! I'm as chill as a cucumber!"
"Could've fooled me." It was at that moment I realized how defensive I must've sounded, especially since I had raised my voice.
"*Clears throat, yes, well um, you said we needed to set up something", I asked trying to change the subject.
"That depends, are you easily distracted by anything else?"
"Ha ha", I said sarcastically. Cyborg responds with a grin, and then turns back down the hall. Being more alert and calm than I was before, I follow close behind.
When we got to the end of the hall, we turned right and passed through the hall that led to the main room on our right. As we passed, I looked over and saw Beast Boy trying to teach Starfire how to play a video game. I couldn't tell what game it was they were playing, but I knew it was a one-on-one fighting game.
Wonder where Robin is, I thought to myself after we had passed to the other side of the doorway and continued to the opposite end of the hall. It was at that moment that I realized that I had not yet been to that side of the building yet, and for some reason, it was enough to make me a bit nervous.
Once we reached the end of the hall, we turned right. Once there, I noticed that this hallway mirrored the one on the other side. Whereas the other hall had three doors on the left wall (Beast Boy's room, Raven's room, and the bathrooms), this hall had four doors on the right wall. As I followed Cyborg down the hall, I look at each door and the words written on them. The first door said, "Robin". I remembered my ears twitching as we passed as I was hearing what sounded like typing coming from behind the closed door.
Found him, I thought to myself in reference to my previous thought. The door next to his was to Starfire's room. Note to self, stay as far away from this door as possible. The third door is the one that really grabbed my attention. As I passed, I noticed that the word on it read, "Terra".
"Hey, Cy? Who's Terra", I asked as I stopped and pointed at the door. Cyborg immediately dodges the question as he walks back up to me, wraps his arm across my shoulder and leads me to the next door.
"My room's this way." I took his hint immediately. It hardly took a genius to realize that he didn't want to talk about it. It was obvious that there was, at one time, a sixth Titan that lived in this tower before I did, and it was obvious that for whatever reason, they were no longer around, so I didn't pry. After that, just as he said, we approached the fourth door which led to Cyborg's room. "Come on in", he said as the door opened and he walked inside. As I walked in behind him, I remember feeling like I had just walked into a laboratory. The first thing I saw, directly across from the doorway against the opposite wall, was flat steel table-like surface that was propped up by a thick metal stand. It was elevated at a diagonal, and at the bottom of the table were two, for lack of a better word, fork-like plates, like the whole thing was structured from either a fork-lift or a dolly. It took me a minute, but I soon realized that the two fork-lift plates were for Cyborg's feet, and that the structure itself acted as Cyborg's bed.
Directly next to his bed was a small computer that stood on a stand similar to that of a music stand, though it was connected to it and not simply balanced on it. In the center of the room, was an actual dolly, except that in had a computer-like system built into it to where it looked like a giant amplifier for an electric guitar. The entire right wall of Cyborg's room was nothing but computers, with the only exceptions being the small stove and fridge at the end of the wall closest to his bed, and the long counter-top that stretched underneath the computers. As I stared at the wall of computers in awe, Cyborg then opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of apple juice.
"Want one", he asks as he looks back at me with the bottle in his hand.
"Uh, sure", I respond hesitantly. I didn't really want it, but I didn't want to come off as rude either. Cyborg then tosses me the bottle before returning to the fridge for his own bottle. He then closes the fridge and walks over to the left side of his room.
In the far corner, was yet another computer, but it was a personal computer that sat at a desk. Cyborg had one chair at his desk, whose back faced the far wall, but had two other chairs along the left wall for guests.
"Pull up a chair while I get this process started", suggested Cyborg as he pops open his bottle of juice as he sits at his desk.
"Sure", I respond weakly as my attention was focused on exploring his room. Everything was all computers and data except for a bookshelf that sat directly to the left of the doorway. The bookshelf consisted of three sections, all three of which had a large assortment of miscellaneous books. The top section had books lined up from left to right with little to no empty space, while the other two sections had books sort of just thrown in. The middle section's books were divided with some books on the far left, and the rest on the far right, with a big gap in between. The books on the bottom shelf was simply a small pile consisting of four books stacked on top of each other in the center of the shelf.
Above the bookshelf was a mirror that hung on the wall. Nothing too special about it, it was just a mirror. Next to the mirror, also hanging from the wall, was a little string puppet of Cyborg, complete with a little blinking red eye.
Not sure if vanity, or he's got himself a dedicated fan out there somewhere, I thought to myself as I examined the doll in my hands. Below the mirror, on the top of the bookshelf were three other items. On the far left was a sort of peg-like pedestal that had a baseball on it. I look back behind me for a moment to see if Cyborg was watching me. When I felt he wasn't I turn back to the baseball and lean forward towards it so I could examine the scent. I let out a huge sneeze in response to inhaling a large breath of dust from the baseball, which gave me a clue as to how long Cyborg had been holding on to it. Next to the baseball, in the center, was an old title-less book. It had a dark brown cover, with yellow borders and designs on it. It too, looked like it was aged for several years, to the point where it looked similar to Raven's Book of Azar from earlier.
I was about to open the book and explore further when I noticed the third item on the far right. It was a framed picture of Cyborg and Robin. The picture showed Robin in a heroic yet silly pose, as if he were just some average Joe pretending to be a hero, with Cyborg standing behind him. Cyborg is also leaned more towards Robin's left as he has his left hand making the peace sign, while his right hand rests on Robin's head with his fingers in his hair like an older brother would do to his younger brother.
He really does have a strong connection with Robin, I thought to myself as I looked at the framed photo. It was clear that based on the photo, and what Cyborg mentioned before about trusting Robin's judgement, that these two truly did look at each other like brothers. It was then that I thought of my own older brothers. Nathaniel, Seth, Dakota, Manny, I miss you guys. Much like my sisters, my brothers meant the world to me, and I was extremely proud of them all. As I stood there missing my brothers in Cyborg's room, Nathaniel and Dakota were both happily married men, one being a successful mechanic with his own business, and the other an Airman in the US Air Force. As for the other two, Manny was studying to become a teacher, and Seth was in medical school to become a nurse. I remember thinking to myself, what have I done? What accomplishments have I made since high school?
I lose my train of thought again as I notice what looked like battle armor off in the corner of Cyborg's room, between the bookshelf and the spare chairs. I walk over to examine closer, only to discover that it was indeed battle armor, only it was made of stone, and it had the symbol of a crescent moon carved out of the chest. I didn't really know how to describe it further other than to say it looked samurai-ish, to the point where it came with a sword, that rested on its own pedestal in front of the armor. The only thing that looked out of place in terms of looking samurai-ish was the metal shield that hung on the back of the armor, which looked more like it was from medieval Europe. I chuckle to myself feeling impressed as I look back at Cyborg, still busy at his computer, and think, Cyborg the Barbarian.
Having felt like I thoroughly searched his room, I lean against the wall between the armor and the chairs waited for Cyborg to finish whatever it was he was doing. I was just about to take a drink from my apple juice bottle when I noticed another small computer on the other side of the room that sat directly to the right of the doorway, almost as if it was hiding. At first I wasn't too impressed or interested in it, as it was just one of many computers in the one room, but from where I was, I could see what looked like a black wolf on the computer screen.
Wait a sec, what's that, I asked myself, now curious as to what was on the screen. With Cyborg still busy at his desk, I walk back over to that side of the room and investigate the computer.
Onscreen was an unfinished document template. It had a large square off to the left for the user to put a picture in, and the rest of the document was all bullet points and lines for the user to type in information. "Name: Unknown", I began as I read to myself. "Codename: Wolfman. Date of Birth: Unknown. Hometown: Unknown. Species: Mutant. Sub-Species: Werewolf. Abilities: Lycanthropy, Shapeshifting, Multiplication, Static Electricity. Class: Level 5". Looks like someone's been keeping tabs on me, though not very complete ones. It was then that I noticed the picture in the square that went with the document. It was a black wolf yes, but it wasn't me. In fact it wasn't even a werewolf, just an ordinary black timber wolf. Guess I haven't given him enough details to finish my profile. Hmmmm, I wonder…., I thought to myself as I came up with a sneaky idea. I was curious to see if there was profile information on the other Titans.
I look back again to see if Cyborg was watching me. When I discovered he wasn't, I minimized the document, and noticed that the computer had a sort of search engine for all of its files and data. I then placed my apple juice bottle on the nearby counter and typed in the letters C-Y-B-O-R-G. The computer then pulls up a completed document template with Cyborg's information on it, complete with a picture of Cyborg pointing one of his cannon arms at the camera as if preparing to fire. "Name: Victor Stone. Codename: Cyborg. Date of Birth: March 19th, 1995". Note to self, that's in ten days. "Hometown: Jump City, California. Species: Human. Sub-Species: Cyborg". Guess there's really no way to sugarcoat that. "Abilities: Cybernetic Weapons including proton cannons and missiles". Jesus! I bet Obama would have a field day with you if that ban on guns gets passed. "Class: N/A". Very interesting. So who else is on here?
I then typed in the letters R-O-B-I-N. The computer then posts a banner message in the center of the screen, while simultaneously filling the empty screen space with countless little red "x"'s. The message read "Data Classified".
Is that so, I ask myself as if to say, "challenge accepted". However, I doubt I had the time or skills to hack the system to override the data lock, so instead I did the next best thing. Since Cyborg doesn't want to talk about it, I thought to myself as I typed in the letters T-E-R-R-A. Considering that Robin's data was blocked, I was a little surprised to see that Terra's was accessible considering how Cyborg dodged my mentioning of her. I was a little disappointed however to discover that there was no picture of her. Let's see here. "Name: Unknown. Codename: Terra. Date of Birth: Unknown. Hometown: Unknown. Species: Mutant: Sub-Species: Elemental". Pffft, yeah, right. "Abilities: Terrakinesis". So she's an earth-bender. Huh, "Elemental". Put her in the ring with Taiyo and then we'll talk. "Class: Level 4". Well that's all well and good, but it doesn't tell me a whole lot about who she is, where she came from, or where she's gone. How do I find out more? Upon referencing my quest for knowledge on the Titans, I finally gave in to my inner thoughts. I tried to post-pone it, because a large part of me wanted to earn my knowledge and learn from her directly, but I couldn't resist. I gave in and typed in the letters R-A-V-E-N. The document that popped up featured a picture of Raven reading a book, like someone had stolen her picture when she wasn't paying attention.
You're just too cute for words, I thought to myself as I looked at how intense her eyes were as she was lost in her book. I then began to read Raven's profile. "Name: Unknown. Codename: Raven. Date of Birth: February 6th, 1996". Dammit! I missed it! "Hometown: Azarath". Wherever the Hell that is. "Species: Mutant". So she is a mutant. Before I could read any further, Cyborg spoke and gave me another jump scare.
"Whatcha dooooin'?"
"You know, somebody oughtta put a bell on you", I said sarcastically as I placed my right hand over my heart struggling to catch my breath.
"Yeah, yeah, Scaredy Cat. Come on, it's your turn", said Cyborg as he reached around me and turned off the monitor to the computer.
So close, I thought to myself, disappointed that I only got about halfway through Raven's data. Cyborg then leads me to his desk. I hesitate for a moment when he sits back down in his chair as I was unsure as to whether or not I should hover over him. Fortunately for me, he answered my question before I had to ask it.
"Pull up a chair", repeated Cyborg as he turned his computer screen to the other side of his desk so that I could see it. He also pushed his keyboard to the other side so that I could use it. As instructed I grabbed one of the two spare chairs and sat down at the keyboard.
On the screen was what looked like a list of security questions. The screen told me to pick five of them. They were all so detailed and wordy that I just randomly picked five with my eyes closed and then clicked the "next" button at the bottom of the screen. It was then that one of the five questions I selected reappeared on the screen. There was also a little symbol towards the top that said, "Page 1/6", which told me that I had to answer the other security questions on the following pages. The first question I chose said, "type in an 8-number pin code". It was then that my mind wandered again and I started thinking about Raven and the information I just read on her.
I've got it, I thought to myself once I thought up a pin code. I then typed in the numbers 02061996. Nah, too obvious, I thought as I hit the "backspace" button on the keyboard. I then rearranged the numbers to 00126699. There we go, more discrete.
The next question asked me to create a password. Again, thinking about Raven, I typed in the letters A-U-R-O-R-O-S. The next question asked me to list my favorite musician. This was an easy one for me to answer. This singer had the most songs on my iPod and I was a fan of hers ever since I was a young pup. Hell, back when Hit Clips were a thing, at least for us 90's kids, she was my first Hit Clip. The only downside to liking her music was that it was usually embarrassing to admit that she was my favorite singer, especially with me being a 6'1 black male. It was because of this that very few people knew about my being a fan of hers, and her music became my sort of secret guilty pleasure.
Good thing this is a password, I thought to myself as I typed in the words, "Britney Spears". The next question was a weird one. Below the question were a large assortment of random pictures, and I mean random. Nothing about these pictures of everyday things were in any way, shape, or form, related to each other. There was no theme, relevance, or anything. The question asked me to pick three of them. Because why not? The first one I picked was a picture of a pig, which in all honesty I did because it was the only picture of an animal among all of my choices. For a sort of "coolness" factor, I also chose a picture of a fireball. Eh, Krystie likes roses, I thought to myself as I picked my third picture, which was that of a single red rose as I thought of my little sister. And finally, was the fifth and final question. "What are the first names of your youngest brother, sister, and cousin (for all that apply)?".
Oddly specific, but still easy, I thought to myself as I typed in the names, "Ximenez", "Kalynn", and "Keira". And there, I'm done, I thought as I clicked the "next" button. I groaned to myself when the last page, which I assumed was going to be a confirmation page, had one more secret question on it.
"In the event of emergency or crisis, who can you call upon for assistance?". This was another strangely worded one. It sounded like something parents and students filled out on permission slips for school field trips, but there were no little spaces asking for contact information or anything of that sort. It just wanted me to list people's names. This led me to believe that I should just write first names just as I did for the previous question, but a part of me still wanted to take it seriously. With that said, I wanted to keep my siblings and cousins off of this list, because if this was a sort of emergency contact list, I didn't want my immediate help to rely on this, and that was assuming that during a worst-case scenario that anyone would even need to look back at this. With all of that said, I knew exactly who I would list. In all of my travels as a military brat, and all of the people I'd met, fought, befriended, and in some cases trained, there were five young women (four mutants and a human) that I grew to love almost as much as I did my sisters and cousins.
The first was Maria Beaulieu. A sweet animagus tigress that I met in Orlando back in 2011. She was a guest speaker at the National Keystone Conference. I had bumped into her during a one-day only "Tango" class and she was my dance partner. I remember feeling nervous when I first met her for several reasons. The first was her status, the second was the fact that she was female, the third was that she was a human at the time, the fourth was that she was older than I was, and the fifth, though I am ashamed today to admit it, was because she had a lazy eye, which made it difficult to talk to her sometimes. Despite all of that, I got to talking to her and we became really good friends, and that friendship only got stronger after she was mutated.
The second person I listed was also an animagus jungle cat. A young ginger cheetah named Kelsey Gray. A highly hyperactive short chick that loved dancing, parties, and laughing. She's just a great energy to be around, and her naturally hyperactive attitude came in real handy on the battlefield where ferocity counted the most. She was sweet as a kitten to her friends and loved ones, but a dangerous predator to those she saw as a threat. Kelsey has always been one of my very best friends.
The third young lady I mentioned was named Belle Dillon. She was an animagus king cobra, though she preferred to be called a queen cobra. I remembered how much I used to playfully tease her for being an independent bookworm, much like the Disney princess who shared the same name. Belle marched to her own beat and didn't care to take shit from anybody. My only real complaint I've ever had with her was that she never saw herself as anything of beauty, which if you ever saw her, you'd think is quite false. She had long strawberry-blonde hair, a cute pair of glasses, and a pear-shaped figure. Between that and her mutation, she was quite literally what you would call "toxic".
Ha! That should totally be her theme song, I chuckled to myself in reference to the Britney Spears song. The fourth person I listed was an animagus fruit bat named Arzu Fowler, but everyone calls her by her middle name, Melody. I remember thinking about how ironically appropriate her mutation was for her when she first was mutated. Melanie could be dangerous when necessary, but was naturally docile and kept to herself. It was also fitting for her because her newly acquired talents for echo location only amplified her natural singing talents and desires. Her echo radar and ability to fly were always handy little tools in battle, making her an excellent ally to have.
The last person I listed was a young human female named Grace Wilson, but I called her Amazing Grace. It was a fitting nickname for her for several reasons. She was brought up as a church girl with a love for singing and music in general. But she was also amazing because she was kind, generous, most helpful to others, extremely loyal, and loving. Not to mention the fact that she to this day has the most contagious laugh I have ever seen. Whenever Grace laughed, her face turned tomato red, as if she temporarily forgets how to breathe when she laughs. No joke was too silly or too dumb for her, she would crack up at almost anything, and though this could be annoying with some people, I loved every second of it. It was impossible to witness Grace laughing without laughing yourself.
I miss them, too, I thought to myself as I remembered those five young women. Maybe I'll see them again, before my time is up. My thoughts were interrupted again when Cyborg broke the silence.
"You all set?"
"Uh, yeah", I said as I clicked the "next" button one more time. After I did, the screen turned black and a bunch of green texts of data began to type out on the screen.
"I'll take it from here", said Cyborg as he turned the monitor back to him and took back his keyboard. "You certainly took your sweet time in answering those questions."
"You're the one who had me answering all those strangely-worded questions."
"Strangely-worded how?"
"Like naming the youngest siblings and cousins I have?"
"Hahaha, you were truthful with those? No wonder you were taking your time, I made up names for mine."
Nice going, Fernando, I thought to myself for having over-thought the majority of those six questions. A few moments later, Cyborg takes the blank credit card and inserts it into his computer. I then notice a little green light pointed at me from the top of his computer.
"Smile", he said. I then instinctively smile and sit up straight, scared that I'd end up with a crappy mugshot. "Thank you", he said after the camera flashed. The computer let out a weird buzzing sound as it spit out the credit card. "And we're done", he said as he handed me the credit card. On the front, printed in a gold text, were the words, "Wolfman - Teen Titans". On the back was my credit card number, and the picture Cyborg had just taken of me.
"What is this to", I asked in reference to the fact that I had no money to my name, let alone an account to put any in.
"It's to your new bank account, the one you just set up. Just use your communicator to check it out. Like this", said Cyborg as he pulls out a blue card that read, "Cyborg - Teen Titans", and scans it with his communicator. I then pull out my communicator and imitate his movements.
"Cool", I said as my account info was being pulled up. I then became shocked once I realized how much money was already in it. "Whoa! I have that much already?"
"That ain't no thing. You get more when our next monthly paycheck rolls around."
"Paycheck?"
"Yeah. Being a hero ain't cheap. We get paid for it. Then half of it goes to the tower, and the other half is evenly divided among the six of us."
"So you're telling me that once a month I'm going to get 1/12th of a paycheck, and it'll still be more money than what I've already got in here", I ask as I point at my communicator.
"Pretty much, yeah."
"Huh. That explains how y'all have been doing this for so long." It was at that moment that Cyborg's door opened.
"Is he all set", asked Robin to Cyborg as he pulls out a red credit card. The color pattern was once again obvious.
"He just finished."
"Good, now we're all set to go", he said as he turned and walked down the hall.
"Sweet! I needed some new parts anyway", said Cyborg as he stood up and walked towards the exit.
"All set to go where? Where are we going", I asked him.
"Where else? To the mall", he said as he disappeared down the hall.
"Hey! Wait for me", I exclaimed as I shot out of my seat, Changed into my wolf form, and sprinted after him.