So I had a snow day today and I figured I'd update again simply because I love this story! I'm glad you guys are enjoying it too. Thank you for the reviews and followers!
Oh, and I know Raven seems a bit OOC because she's happier and nicer but she's been through the end of the world, guys. Trigon is gone. She and the team have come a long way. She can trust them with her emotions, at least. Or I think so.
Three
Beast Boy was practically whimpered but Aqualad only took a deep calming breath and moved to the start of the course, dragging the changeling behind him.
"Ready?" Robin held a stopwatch in his right hand, waiting for Aqualad's signal.
The Atlantian gave a brief nod and the second Robin pressed the start on the timer, they were a blur on the course. Aqualad slid smoothly through the slamming walls and Beast Boy waited until he went through before turning into a hummingbird and flitting quickly through the first obstacle. The second obstacle caused Beast Boy to shriek and the others wondered exactly what was in that pit.
"Carry us over." Aqualad commanded.
Beast Boy changed into a pterodactyl, picking him up with one claw and moving over the pit. When they were halfway over the pit something grabbed Aqualad's leg but he gave it a look of disgust a rough kick, sending the thing back to the depths of the pit.
"Four minutes left!" Robin shouted over the whir of the obstacle course machines.
"Change into something smaller to fly us over." Aqualad said. "A pterodactyl won't fit through that space."
Though it was possible to make it over the wall through flight, there was only a small opening between the ceiling of the training room and the top of the wall. Beast Boy nodded and turned into a bald eagle, strong enough to lift Aqualad but small enough to get through the opening.
"Three minutes!"
At the fourth obstacle the pair paused.
"We can crawl under most of the ropes. I'll be a rat and you can follow me." Beast Boy suggested but Aqualad shook his head, not bothering to listen to any of his partner's thoughts.
Instead, he jumped into the tangle of ropes, attempting to glide through alone. Beast Boy growled but turned into a rat as he'd said, scampering easily under the ropes and jumping through any loops that were in his way. He resumed human form at the end of the ropes but didn't see Aqualad waiting for him.
"Dude, where are you?" he called, peering through the mess of ropes.
"Two minutes!" Robin announced and Beast Boy began to panic.
"Aqualad! Come on!"
"I'm stuck!" the voice came from deep inside the obstacle and Beast Boy morphed into a snake, moving lithely through the course where he finally located the Atlantian.
True to his word he was stuck in a difficult position with each of his arms caught in different ropes and one of his legs tangled behind him.
"You should have followed me like I told you."
Aqualad snarled in anger, mostly at himself, and Beast Boy turned into a rat again, gnawing on the ropes that had trapped Aqualad. Then he waited for Aqualad to follow him under the ropes as he's originally said. They had just exited the ropes when Robin called out that they had a minute left.
"We're not gonna make it!" Beast Boy said helplessly but Aqualad waved him off.
"This is my element, Beast Boy. Just stand back." He waved his hands upwards to manipulate the water in the fifth obstacle.
"Wait, what are you doing? That's electrified!"
Again he was ignored and as Aqualad moved the water some inevitably moved towards him. Suddenly, Aqualad was being electrocuted as his powers worked against him. He dropped to the floor, releasing the water into the pit again.
"Aqualad!" Beast Boy touched the older boy and jumped back as a current shocked him.
"You have twenty seconds!" Cyborg was shouting and Beast Boy morphed into a pterodactyl again, carrying Aqualad over the fifth obstacle and towards the finish line.
He could have made it… if a sixth obstacle hadn't revealed itself to be hidden laser cannons that shot him down mercilessly. It turned out the quarter mile before the finish line was not simply a free run, but a defensive strategy obstacle.
-
When the time was up, the course readjusted itself, the laser cannons disappearing once again. Cyborg and Starfire ran to the fallen Titans, each picking one up and bringing them to the front of the training room where everyone else awaited their turn.
"Beast Boy?" Starfire said gently, depositing him on the ground.
"Hold on." Raven knelt down and touched a glowing white hand to Beast Boy's chest.
He gasped and sat up as Raven did the same to Aqualad. The Atlantian woke up, his onyx eyes falling on his resuscitator.
"Raven." He breathed. "Thank you."
She merely nodded and moved back to stand with Robin.
"You have failed to complete the course in time. This means you will have to repeat the course after the rest of us go. You did not work well as a team. Aqualad, you ignored your partner's counsel and that cost you a failure. Beast Boy, you were careless by the end and didn't stop to consider any other threats. That cost you as well." Robin turned to the other Titans. "We can all learn from example. We've seen one team go through so we should be more prepared. Are there any volunteers to go next or should I pick another name from the bag?"
"Actually, I vote us to go next." Raven said quietly but confidently.
Robin raised an eyebrow.
"All right then."
"If you fail, I'm going to laugh." Speedy jibed, trying to rile Robin.
"If that were so, it would mean I also failed. Are you implying I'm not capable of completing this course in time, Speedy?" Raven had pushed her hood back and turned the full power of her amethyst eyes on the flushing archer.
"N-no, Raven. I-I didn't mean you, I just meant-
"Whatever it is you meant, I'd appreciate if you kept it to yourself. This isn't playtime, you know. We're supposed to be learning something." She snapped.
Speedy, face as red as his hair, looked down as the other Titans laughed.
"That's my Rae-Rae." Cyborg said proudly. "I'm still gonna kick your ass for liking my little sister, though." He said seriously and Speedy rolled his eyes.
"Cy, can you run the time?" Robin handed the android the stopwatch. "Are you ready, Raven?" he lowered his voice to address her.
"We can do this, Robin. With time to spare."
He grinned.
"I know."
"Good. I didn't want Speedy getting to you."
"Please." His smile turned cocky, full of the practiced bravado he'd acquired over the years of his career.
"On your marks. Get set… go!" Cyborg yelled and the birds shot forward.
Robin and Raven ran straight through the crashing walls without hesitation and were at the second obstacle in record time.
I'll fly us over on an energy platform. I don't want anything coming up to grab us like what happened to Aqualad. Raven sent her thoughts to Robin using the bond between their minds and her telepathic ability.
Good idea. Both the platform and the telepathic communication. This is faster, he responded and she raised the platform under their feet, gliding over the pit without looking down so as not to lose concentration.
I'm glad you didn't look down. It was filled with these creepy mutated bugs like Killer Moth's pets.
Your friend sure has a sense of humor.
Raven heard Robin's laugh in her mind as she easily took his hand so she could drop the platform and fly them smoothly over the third obstacle wall. She deposited him on the other side in front of the ropes, letting him take the lead for this one.
"Four minutes! You guys are kicking butt here!" Cyborg called from far away and Raven smirked.
What now? She asked him.
Follow me and do exactly what I do. He began to twist and flip through the ropes as smoothly as if he were breaking through ocean waves and swimming underwater. She tucked her arms tightly against her body to keep her cloak from getting caught in the ropes and levitated to fly after Robin. She kept careful track of his bright yellow cape and soon the cape was no longer in flurried movement but stationary at the end of the fourth obstacle. He grinned and held out a hand as she finished after him.
"Three minutes!" Cyborg shouted.
I could fly us over this.
Where's the fun in that? Robin winked pulling her forward then dropping her hand as he jumped up to the monkey bars and began swinging from bar to bar with ease.
Showoff, she grumbled, ignoring his laugh as she climbed up the monkey bars but took a different approach. She ran over the top, making sure to maintain a certain speed so that she wouldn't fall through the bars and into the electrified water. She saw the end of the pit and copying one of Robin's moves, flipped off the top of the monkey bars to land swiftly on her feet at the bottom.
I told you the gymnastics/flexibility training would come in hand. His voice filtered through her mind.
Whatever, Wonder Boy. How do you want to avoid getting shot by laser cannons?
"Two minutes!"
I get the left ones; you take care of the right ones. Don't stop moving.
She nodded and floated slightly above him as they rushed forward, a quarter mile away from the finish line. As expected, the laser cannons appeared and began a storm of shots towards the two. Raven chanter her mantra once under her breath and slashed out with her power to destroy all the right cannons. She heard the telltale whoosh of air signifying Robin's birdarangs and explosive discs hitting their targets.
"One minute!"
And then they were over the finish line and Raven was so excited, she reached over and hugged Robin. A full-blown hug with her arms around his neck and true warmth radiating from her body to his. Robin, caught by surprise, gradually understood he was being hugged not choked and wrapped his long arms around her petite form.
"You were great out there."
"So were you, Robin. We… we make an efficient team."
"I've known that for a while." He said, his warm breath touching her ear and creating a tingling sensation in her body.
She slowly pulled away, embarrassed by her actions and his words. He just smiled as the once emotionless sorceress turned a lovely shade of pink.
"Rae, Rob, you were amazing! And you had a minute to spare." Cyborg and the others had come over to them, probably wondering why they were taking so long to return to the front of the room.
"Thanks, Cyborg, but it's not an impossible feat. You can all do the same. You just need to work together." Robin explained, falling back into wise leader mode.
As they walked back to the front so Speedy and Starfire could take their turn, Cyborg fell back to walk with Raven.
"How were you guys communicating? I didn't hear any words being exchanged and your lips weren't moving, but you seemed to be asking each other for strategies throughout the course."
Raven tapped her brain.
"Telepathy."
Cyborg snapped his fingers.
"Man, I can't do that."
She laughed at his complaint.
"I wouldn't worry about it. You and Bumblebee are very close so working together shouldn't be a problem."
Cyborg blushed and Raven chuckled. It seemed everyone was blushing, either from embarrassment or romanticism.
But then didn't that mean that Robin making her blush was a romantic thing? Did she like Robin as more than a teammate?
He's my best friend's ex-boyfriend. My leader. One of my closest friends and the only person who has access to my mind through our bond. Plus, I have enough men in my life due to Speedy and Aqualad's recent declarations of love. This will just have to wait until later. Maybe after this training is over I can talk to Robin about it. Maybe… Raven though to herself, stealing a glance at the handsome masked boy in question.
-
Starfire and Speedy had completed the course with seconds to spare, but had worked relatively well together. Starfire was patient and open to suggestions through every part of the course and Speedy had learned that trying to be the bigshot (like Aqualad had tried) was fruitless so he was as patient and open as Starfire. At the end, the Tamaranean wrapped him in a big hug and he hugged her back. For once he had no lusty, inappropriate thoughts. Starfire was a beautiful girl but she was more than a nice face and nicer body. She was his friend.
Bumblebee and Cyborg did as well as Raven had predicted. They finished with more than forty seconds to spare and exchanged high fives as Cyborg did a loud "Boo-yah!"
Aqualad and Beast Boy had to repeat the course, but this time Aqualad followed Beast Boy's lead and they made it to the end with seconds to spare.
After the teams had all completed the course, Robin said it was lunchtime and they could go to the Pizza Parlor to unwind. Everyone cheered and Cyborg and Beast Boy began arguing about ordering a meat or tofu pizza. In the end, the Titans ordered two large cheese pizzas and one medium meat lover's pizza for Cyborg and Starfire (who added a large quantity to her slices to make it perfect).
"This is actually… fun." Raven pronounced the word cautiously like it would kill her.
Robin laughed, finishing his third slice of pizza. He gently bumped Raven's waist with his own.
"I knew what I was doing when I planned this. You should trust me more."
"I do trust you, Robin. With my life. You know that." She looked down at her second slice of pizza to avoid his gaze.
"So you trust me to save you from the depths of hell but not to plan a team gathering?" there was humor in his voice and Raven let a smile grace her face.
"Something like that."
They both laughed, unaware that they were being watched. From across the table Aqualad's dark eyes were narrowed with murder written on his face. He'd tried to wait patiently for Raven, but she'd ignored him and paid more attention to Speedy's advances than his own. Now he finds out she likes Robin? That just wasn't fair. And Aqualad wouldn't stand for it.