Chapter 06: comfort zone
Titans tower living room. 15:30 pm
Richard Grayson as himself for once instead of his robin persona, walked out of the corridor leading to his living quarters heading towards the kitchen while addressing Bruce Wayne currently sitting on the living room sofa with the newspaper in one hand and a pencil in the other, solving various puzzles and crosswords
"Heading out for a quick training session, beast boy you're going with" beast boy's ears twitch when he heard dick address him, and began to stretch and yawn on the arm chair next to the sofa while sporting the form of an Angora cat, suggesting not so subtly that he was currently in a lazy mood.
Robin knowing exactly what to do or better yet what to say, course corrects towards beast boy, leans down towards ear shot and whispers to him a few en-audible words and then sidesteps when beast boy transforms back to human form frowning while he makes his reaction noticeable to all.
"You are not just a dick, you're a double….. no no no…. a triple dick."
"Are you done?"
Beast boy sighs audibly "apparently I am"
With that robin instructed beast boy to head outside while he was saying goodbye to his father figure and his beloved, the former giving him a nod with a slight and devious smirk while the latter gave him a tense but respectful acknowledgment.
Mr Wayne catching that exchange decided to put the newspaper and wait until robin gets out of earshot.
"Tell me ms. Starfire, care to share what's bothering you about Richard?"
"Whatever do you mean Mr Wayne?" Starfire response without a hint of anger or any emotion as a matter of fact.
Bruce now on instinct chooses his words carefully.
Well I know you don't hate him, still you can cut the tension between you two with a knife
Starfire from the kitchen counter turns around to confront him head on. "Yes you are correct I don't harbor any hatred towards him, however I'm not pleased at the fact that he chooses to put words in my mouth and act as a self appointed ambassador"
That caught Mr Wayne a little bit off guard to say the least, until he recalled as to what context Starfire was inferring to.
"That's funny I don't recall dick ever mentioning you posses super hearing as a skill set?"
Starfire on the other hand wasn't the least bit surprised when she responded with, "it is not a simple or a short story to tell, however the important part of it is I was not born with the skill set of which you speak, rather I was taught that skill thru training, mastering the arts of lip movement and body language" while saying just that starfire studied the response of her audience as well making sure he was following her answer, which led mr wayne to respond with this.
"While this is an impressive answer, followed with what I'm sure is an interesting story your majesty, don't you think you've acted quite rudely yourself?"
Starfire was now the one to be caught off guard, not by the logic behind such argument but by the fact he knew she was from royal decent, however she simply responded with this, "I'm surprised by how much robin… or Richard has chosen to reveal"…, however before continuing this line of thought Mr Wayne politely interrupted.
"If I may interrupt, robin never got that far into telling me, I just surmised it with what little I was told and by studying your mannerisms". Starfire now nodding in acknowledgment was also starting to relax a bit more around the eccentric visitor, once relaxed she continued with the conversation.
I suppose you'll encourage me to forgive robin, am I not mistaken?
Are you? Was the answer she received back
"Presently with all honesty I cannot at the time being I cannot, however I will take it under consideration if he offers a satisfying apology"
Mr Wayne had no reaction but genuinely smiling while thinking, 'well robing, she sure is a keeper'
Meanwhile robin was jogging near jump city's beach while beast boy kept a close distance, however jogging was not what he concentrated on. Rather one crucial element that didn't sit well with the new information he received.
'Red x, gizmo and Adonis, except being extremely dangerous on their own, are egotistical to boot, how does an off the records government agency force them to obey them or better yet what drives them to work together? '
Near Slade Wilson's estate, 17:30 pm
The joker, Gizmo and Red x were making their aproach to the mansion's grounds in what appeared to be a stick shift FIAT Punto 1995 model, joker behind the wheel while the other two cramped like sardines with their knees almost thoroughly stuck in their mouths, again apparently because knowing the joker's sense of humor it could have been a Yugo with the same layout in design.
The entire drive to the estates was unpleasantly quiet, due to what happened previously to there long time colleague on the cargo plane and due to the fact that well nobody felt stupid enough to distract someone who probably suffers from a severe case of A.D.D while being in charge of driving a vehicle, so with that in mind the chattiest little brat of the group decided to whisper to the fellow stuck next to him.
"hey 'scar face', listen up we're in over our heads on this one….."
In return he got a pointed look that said 'so….?'
So…. you stupid fuck when our complexion challenged friend isn't looking, we take him out and make a run for it.
Red x now in the mood to mess with the short fused and constipated looking kid had this to say, "make a run for it?, truly the mind of an under appreciated protege, not to mention the metaphorical noose around our neck?".
Unbeknownst to the now two jackasses trying to kill each other with death glares, the joker was well aware of his passengers conversation was having the time of his life, not because he found them funny in any shape or form, well at least after he was done 'remolding' them but because he found a far more funnier and crueler payback to dish them back, he'll just have to bid his time a little longer until the timing would be favorable.
Half an hour later the squad arrived to their destination while the driver pulled in front of the property's entrance, getting out of the car first you would expect him to let the passengers out, however he did no such thing, he got out and locked both teenagers inside. Ignoring said now furious and swearing teenagers while looking for the reception he has expected according to Waller's directives.
The joker knowing he trapped two people in a cramped and unconditioned car decided to take his time giving the surrounding area a ones over from top to bottom, giving an inspection about how the mansion was maintained, how the garden was maintained if there even was one to begin with and of course the ever so essential, where were the security cameras and what range they possessed, in case he wanted to cause mischief.
The whole process took about 10-15 minutes before an older gentleman was making an approach towards him, however joker didn't waste a second, "let me guess, judging by your atire, mannerisms ans stride, you're the butler of this fine establishment."
The only response he got from the elderly man was a short "correct" however what followed was a lengthy awkward silence that went on for a while until wintergreen finally broke it.
"There were supposed to be others, fetch them it's beginning to get late as it is", the joker got insulted by that remark and would've reacted just as violently if it wasn't for his unusually good mood, however being the joker meant….
Excuse moi? Do I look like a dog to you my good man.
Opting to responded with silence wintergreen instructed the joker politely to follow him towards the drive way where the car was parked with the following being.
Now in all due kindness would you please let them out?, the owner of the estate prides himself on punctuality" the joker now appeased reached towards his pant's pockets and comically dragged out the car keys almost dropping them in the process, however seeing nobody laughing his grin turned into a frown, quickly got near the car and unlocked the doors and effectively Red x and gizmo drew in some much needed breath, while the latter found it right to spout out between breath.
You…. Pasty….. faced….. motherfucker….. if it wasn't….. for this situation…. I would have murdered…. you were you stand.
Conserving his energy, Red x whispered to Gizmo once joker was out of earshot, "don't worry, you'll get your chance in due time"
The joker not paying attention to his comrades in arms, began to act like he owned the place, and ordering wintergreen around.
"Oh Gieves make sure you carry the extra baggage inside will you dear man?"