Chapter 15 – The Next Day
Raven woke up with sunlight hurting her eyes. She moved her right hand and the curtains were wrapped in a dark aura and slidded, deepening the room in darkness once again. The empath put her feet out of bed, stretching. Her head felt heavy and her mouth dry. Looking at the clock on the nightstand, she noted it was almost 11 o'clock. Considering she only returned from Nevermore around 6 o'clock, she had 5 hours of sleep.
After a good shower she left her room in her uniform, finding some asleep titans along her way. Bumblebee, for instance, was in her tiny form and lying on top of the common room doors. Coming inside, Raven came across most guests of the previous night.
Cyborg was snoring loudly, sitting on the couch with his head hanging backwards, the videogame controller still in his hands. At each side of him were asleep Más y Menos. Starfire was hugging Silkie and shrunk in a chair, next to Kole, sleeping with Gnark at her feet, asleep in a sitting position. A green sloth was spread on the carpet, with Thunder's belly as pillow.
Raven walked to the kitchen, careful not to step on anyone, and met Robin, also dressed, drinking a cup of coffee and reading newspaper. He looked the same as always, safe for dark circles under his eyes that were visible even under the mask.
"Morning" he greeted her in low voice "Coffee?"
"Good morning" she answered, dismissing the coffee with a hand gesture and picking her kettle "How long do you intend on letting them sleep?"
"Now that you're up, about five seconds" he informed, looking at his watch. In the meanwhile, Raven found a blue sock inside her kettle and some goop on the stove's surface, and decided to give up on the tea.
Robin made a sign for her to cover her ears, and she nodded, indicating she was ready. He pushed a button on his communicator and the Tower was filled with red lights and a loud alarm.
"What? What?" yelled Cyborg, sitting straight and looking around, not sure where he was or what was happening.
"Who's the intruder? What is… the problem?" asked Starfire, dropping Silkie on the floor with prepared green lasers on hands, pointing to one place at a second.
All the other titans woke up with a startle, confused and mostly defensive. The doors slid open and Bumblebee came in looking dizzy, like she fell from a high spot. As sudden as it began, the alarm stopped, and Robin was standing on the kitchen's counter, which was already covered on foot prints anyway.
"Very well!" he yelled, catching everyone's attention "Dear guests, thank you for being here! We sadly say goodbye now! Resident Titans – get ready and present yourselves for cleaning in five minutes!"
A collective moan was heard to these warnings. Some titans went back to sleep and others asked for more time to get ready to leave.
"All the titans not resident of this Tower – if you're still here in five minutes, you'll be very welcome to help with the cleaning!"
The Honorary Titans suddenly remembered urgent appointments and found energy to get up quickly, and the room was filled with noise and people saying things like 'Look at the time!'
"Thanks a lot, Sparky, it was a great party!" said Bumblebee, pinching Más y Menos's ears and dragging them out.
"I hope to see you soon, Star!" waved Kole, as Gnark made some noises no one understood.
"Goodbye my friends…" Starfire muttered, her eyes still trying to close.
"Bye… Good to see you again…" Cyborg was waving at the frigde.
"Don't even think about it!" exclaimed Robin, taking a green mouse by its tail, trying to sneak out with the crowd. The little rodent lowered its ears and when released, changed to the form of a young green man with messy hair, crumpled clothes and some beard wires.
Five minutes later, there were only five people at the common room, three of them trying to remain awake on the couch. Robin looked around.
"Where's Terra?" he asked, turning to Beast Boy, but the changeling was drooling with his head leaned on Cyborg's metallic shoulder.
"Last time I saw friend Terra" Starfire yawned, almost completely awake "she said she was going to her bedroom"
"Yes, she is there" informed Raven, after looking telepathically through the Tower.
"Very well. I will wake her up" said Robin "But first…"
A bucket of cold water fell on top of Cyborg and Beast Boy, and they woke up completely.
"Dude!" yelled Beast Boy, after turning into a fish and then back to his normal form "What was that about?"
"Cleaning" answered the leader, throwing at them a mop, a brush and a bottle of cleaning product "Kitchen and bathrooms"
"Star: hallway and windows" he said gentler to his girlfriend, also giving her a bucket and a mop "Raven: living room and elevator. I'll get the rest of the common room and also be responsible for storing the things we used, and Terra gets the balcony"
After the boy wonder disappeared behind the doors, Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other. They knew they got the wrost part, but cleaning the kitchen seemed far better than the bathrooms. So, they ran desperately towards the kitchen at the same time they tried to push one another. Cyborg, however, was faster, and he handed Beast Boy a bottle of cleaning product specific for bathroom with a pretentious smile from behind the counter.
"Aw, man!" moaned the changeling, picking up the bottle and a bucket and walking with his ears lowered to the doors leading to the first (and most used) bathroom of the Tower.
"Good luck with whatever came out of Gnu when he stayed there for like fifteen minutes!" said Cyborg, waving and turning to his own job. Looking at the stuff covering the stove's surface, however, the smile was wiped away from his face really fast.
Raven avoided Beast Boy's eyes and concentrated in her cleaning area. CDs, games and controllers were wrapped into a black aura and went back to its places, just like any trash or food remains, which floated inside a big garbage bag. While the carpet went to the window to flap itself, she organized the cushions on the couch with her hands and the mop rubbed the floor with water and a lavender fresh product.
Robin joined them some minutes later, vacuuming the chairs area. Raven looked at him, anxious.
"Was Terra okay?" she asked, cleaning the tables with a wet cloth as he vacuumed below them.
"Hm? Yeah, she just has a pretty bad hangover" informed Robin, like he was telling nothing new "But she's cleaning the balcony already, I walked her there"
"Okay…" she muttered, looking at the now black cloth after cleaning the footprints of someone stupid enough to think of dancing on the table.
After the mop's work was done, she dried the floor with some wind produced by her powers and brought back the now clean carpet. She vacuumed the couch, finding some weird objects between the cushions, such as a shoe, chewed batteries and a utility belt that didn't look like Robin's; and she piled the bean bag chairs so Robin could take them to the deposit later. Cyborg was still cursing and yelling at the kitchen when she took the mop and bucket to the elevator.
Raven thought it would be quick, but surprisingly, all the elevator's walls were covered with paint – at least she expected it was paint – like an abysmal someone had the brilliant idea of playing paintball in there. The empath grunted, finding it unfair, but then she turned and saw Starfire trying to clean a blue stain outside of the window that spread as it was rubbed, and hearing Cyborg's swears when he opened the oven, so she came to the conclusion that they were even.
Three brushes covered by black energy were rubbing the paint off the walls, running to the floor as a dyed water, as Raven floated with her legs crossed in the middle of the elevator, thinking. She finally decided, taking into account the last surviving tulip at Affection's garden, to give Terra a chance. It would be best to everyone if she tells Beast Boy herself what had happened. Raven wouldn't come out as a gossipy, or feel guilty about Beast Boy's suffering; Terra could show that she was in fact sorry and the changeling wouldn't feel like he was tha last to know. Both of them could handle the issue in the better way possible.
Raven collected the remaining water as a ball in the air and threw it in the bucket. Finally, she passed a piece of cloth on the walls and the elevator was clean and shining again. Taking advantage of her position, she pressed the button to go to the balcony.
Already up there, she found Terra asleep, leaning against a broom. Now that there was day light, she could see that in the balcony it appeared to had place a second party. Plastic cups and food remains were spread all over the floor, one of the basketball hoops was broken and drawings made of the same paint on the elevator adorned the sports court where her teammates often played basketball and volleyball.
"Terra" she called, and the blonde woke up, startled.
"I'm cleaning it up, Robin, I was just…" she looked at the empath and relaxed "Oh, it's just you, Raven…"
"I need to talk to you, Terra" said Raven, walking to the girl "Do you… remember what happened here last night? What I saw?"
Terra was silent for a few minutes with a frown.
"Yes"
"Well. I just wanted to say that… I won't tell Beast Boy" she informed with a great effort. Terra raised her eyebrows "Because I think you should"
"Me?" she asked, looking at her shoes.
"Yes. That's the best way for you to discuss this and I think it's easier on Beast Boy" she explained "Okay?"
"Yeah… I guess you're right…" Terra sighed and sat down "He is going to hate me…"
"No" Raven argued without think, a squeeze in her chest "He couldn't"
The two girls remain like that for some minutes, until the peaceful silence was broken by two words from inside of the Tower, echoing all over the island.
"OH, MAN!"
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