Thanks for the reviews, guys; I'm glad you like it so far. Also I took some liberties with the design of the tower, specifically the training room. You'll see what I mean.
Two
The fateful day had finally arrived and an hour before the expected appearance of Titans East, Raven was in her room finishing off a long meditation. She was generally in control of her powers, allowing herself to express her emotions on a more normal basis. However, with guys like Speedy around she couldn't be too careful.
Raven, no longer meditating, sat on her bed to contemplate the two males fighting for her attentions. Speedy was the more obvious courter, whistling when she walked by, calling her annoying pet names like "babe" and "sweetheart". He would also buy her many pieces of fine clothing. She'd had to reject a few leather skirts and fur coats, but she hadn't found a way to give the elegant blue dress back. Speedy once told her he was rich enough to buy her a mansion for only her books. Though his arrogant attitude towards his wealth bothered her, she had to admit a place filled only with the literature she treasured seemed wonderful. She hadn't told Speedy though. No need to get his hopes up.
Aqualad was more of a gentleman, opening doors and pushing out chairs for her at the East Tower. He would brew special teas for her and strike up interesting conversations she honestly enjoyed. The only gift he'd brought her was the pearls, which were worth a small fortune on their own. Aqualad had said they would look beautiful on a woman as magnificent as Raven. She'd blushed, guiltily accepting the gleaming necklace made in Atlantis.
Raven wasn't trying to lead the boys on. She was just unsure of how to reject them without hurting them. Beast Boy may think her cold, but she was actually very attuned to the emotions of others and not just because of her empathy. Speedy and Aqualad were valued Titans with exceptional talents and diverse personalities. Was it possible Raven could like one of them and pursue a relationship?
Before Raven could answer her own question, the doorbell Cyborg had installed for any scheduled visits rang.
"Here we go." She whispered, exiting her room with her hood covering her face.
-
The first thing they noticed was the absence of two fast-speaking, fast-moving twins.
"Mas and Menos were called home for the summer. Some family emergency." Bumblebee explained.
"This was supposed to be all of our teams. You're down two members." Robin replied, crossing his arms to show he was not pleased.
"I could force them to ignore a family emergency. Besides, it's even. Eight Titans. We can still perform all the exercises you mentioned."
Reluctantly, he nodded. The Boy Wonder didn't like it when his plans didn't work out exactly the way he wanted.
"Welcome to our home, friends!" Starfire began the line of hugs, embracing Bumblebee.
The Titans had stood in an organized line with Starfire commencing the hugs (or in everyone else's case the handshakes) then Cyborg, then Beast Boy, and then Robin, who stood next to Raven. When Aqualad reached her, he simply extended a hand to the dark sorceress. She took it, meeting his dark eyes and seeing the undisguised adoration there. He released her small hand with a final squeeze and gentle smile. Then there was Speedy.
"Hello, sweetheart, long time no see. You haven't visited me in a while. I hope you didn't think that would change anything between us." He winked and as quickly as his nickname implied, he'd moved forward to plant a kiss on her cheek, choosing a spot dangerously close to her lips.
Robin's eyes narrowed under his mask but before he could put the asshole in his place, a burst of black energy pushed the archer backwards, where he tripped on a pile of Beast Boy's misplaced video games.
"Ouch, babe. That one stung." Speedy picked himself up in one fluid motion, a wide grin on his face. "At least I know I'm getting to you."
He casually walked away, claiming he was going to set his bag down in one of the guest rooms meant for the Titans East.
Raven glared at the floor and Robin glared at Speedy's departing back, but the remaining 5 Titans (except for Aqualad who was cursing Speedy under his breath) stared at Raven in shock.
"So… what the hell was that, Rae?" Cyborg spoke.
"Yeah, why was Speedy flirting with you like he liked you or something?" Beast Boy asked.
"Friend Raven, are you okay?" the alien gently approached her best friend.
"Yes, Star. I'm fine."
"It seems Speedy has a thing for ya, girl." Bumblebee said. "I am deeply sorry for ya."
She laughed and nudged Cyborg, asking him to help her find her room. Aqualad and Beast Boy went with them, the green Titan buzzing with questions Raven would never answer.
"How long has Friend Speedy acted this way towards you?" Starfire questioned.
"Since we started visiting Steel City more often."
"I see. This is my fault then. It was for me these constant trips were made."
"No, Starfire, it's not your fault."
Robin felt intrusive, listening to the girls' conversation but he wasn't sure if he should leave. He settled for fiddling with his communicator, trying to pretend he was updating the mission log and training itinerary.
"He is what they call a 'heartbreaker', correct?"
"So I've heard."
"Are you not afraid?"
"Of what?"
"The breaking of your heart."
Raven gave a dry chuckle.
"No. Speedy won't hurt me because I don't care for him."
"And Friend Aqualad?"
"How do you know about that?"
"I saw when he gave you the underwater necklace of pearls. It was quite romantic."
Of course Starfire saw it that way.
"It was, but I didn't really see it like that. I don't care for Aqualad that way either."
The alien princess nodded but a wistful smile touched her pretty features.
"Yet, it is still pleasant to feel so wanted, is it not? The stolen kisses and hidden glances. The premature stage of love." Her voice saddened and she must have remembered who else was in the room because she gave Robin a pained glance and mumbled an excuse to join the other Titans.
"I can see what you meant before. Speedy is a problem." Robin said, choosing to sidestep the broken pieces of his and Starfire's relationship.
That was something he hadn't forgiven himself for.
"A bright red problem. With arrows. And numerous innuendoes."
"I was going to wait until tomorrow to start our training, but there is a trust-building exercise I'd like to try today.
Raven frowned at his mischievous smile.
-
Everyone was gathered in the vast training room, which was usually spread out with Robin's crazy obstacle courses. This time, though, it was ominously empty.
"What are we doing?" Beast Boy was asking Cyborg, who shrugged.
"No idea."
They heard the sound of Robin's steel boots on the floor and then he was at the center of the room, wearing that same mysterious smile from earlier.
"Thank you for gathering so quickly. As you know we have a month prepared for our teams filed with intensive training and strategic exercises. This first challenge is centered on trust-building. There are eight of us, meaning four pairs. There are 3 Titans East members and 5 Titan West members so one pair will be two of our members. Let's go in order. Bumblebee, choose a partner."
"Sparky." She grinned and Cyborg glowered at the nickname but moved to stand next to her.
"Aw man, bros before hoes, dude." Beast Boy complained and received an electric shock, courtesy of Bumblebee.
"I'll choose next." Robin didn't miss a beat. "Raven."
She kept her face blank as she moved forward to stand next to him. Speedy watched her with annoyance on his face. Clearly, he'd wanted to pick Raven.
"Aqualad." Robin said next.
The Atlantian hid his disappointment at not working with Raven better.
"Beast Boy."
"And Starfire will be with Speedy."
The archer moved to stand next to the tall girl.
"Hey, pretty lady."
"Friend Speedy, though you may try to fool me I am well aware of your sentiments towards Friend Raven. I disapprove of your wayward behavior. If you do like her, I expect you to prove it." her words were quiet but firm and Speedy's eyebrows raised with newfound respect for the girl.
He was used to flirting with anything that had long legs and breasts. And he was used to having his interest reciprocated. It seemed like neither Raven nor Starfire was susceptible to his charms. It was nice to see their friendship was strong. Starfire was loyal to Raven and would not tolerate his flirtation when he supposedly liked her best friend. And Speedy did care for Raven. More than he'd cared for any other girl, but he didn't know how to get to a girl like Raven. She didn't care about his money or his good looks. She cared about the important things. Intelligence and honesty and culture. Speedy would have to work harder to prove himself, like Starfire had said.
"The point of this exercise is working with your partner to overcome the obstacles in your way in a set amount of time. If you cannot complete the course, you will have to repeat it. As many times as needed."
As Robin spoke the training room floor moved and the dreaded obstacles popped up. There were five obstacles in total. The first was a series of shifting walls that would slam together unexpectedly and begin moving again. The second was a long empty pit with who knew what inside. The third was a tall wall that looked like those used for rock climbing except there were no colored rocks to scale. There was just a hard wooden wall. The fourth obstacle had a big jumble of ropes, tangled in insane ways blocking the way to the next obstacle. The fifth obstacle was a pool of water with currents of electricity running through it and what appeared to be monkey bars over the pool to get safely across. Then there was just a quarter mile of open space to run before crossing the finish line.
"I'm going to die. I just know it." Beast Boy said and Aqualad told him to calm down.
"Now there are some rules that must be followed." Robin explained. "Some of your abilities give you an unfair advantage. For instance, Raven's teleportation. That is something that can't be used because she can't just teleport us to the end of the race. That defeats the purpose of the exercise. In each team there is one hero that can fly. This can be utilized but not to fly over the entire course and simply touch down at the finish line. Again, this defeats the purpose. Play fair and work closely with your partner. We each have six minutes to complete this course."
"Hey, wait, don't you get an unfair advantage? You designed the course." Speedy grumbled, still angry Robin had taken Raven from him.
"Actually, I didn't design this. I asked a friend to do it. He's always busy but I assured him this would be worth it."
"What friend?" Cyborg asked but Robin just hid a grin.
"Any volunteers to go first?"
He was met with silence.
"Fine. I've put our names in this bag. If I call your name, you and your partner go first." Robin produced a small black bag and reached in, coming out with one slip of paper.
"Beast Boy."
"Aw man!"