Chapter 21 Epic Tamaranian Thumb War
"Rae rae!" Beast Boy held his hand in front of the shadowy sorceress. "Stay back; I's here to protect you!" Before her very eyes, he transformed into a gorilla. In a blink and miss moment, he charged toward Raven, looking like he wouldn't be satisfied until he saw her blood run.
Raven couldn't believe this. It confused her, Beast Boy coming over to her side of the arena in this manner. But at the same time, she was also felt relieved. The goofy green changeling threw punch after punch towards Raven, all the while having an intense heat in his eyes. On top of that, he stood over Raven in the bravest, most protective manner possible. It was so unlike him; an act too mature for someone like Beast Boy to comprehend let alone act on. And yet, Raven wasn't surprised to see him doing this. Maybe it was due to their long, troubled history with one another, but seeing him step on the battlefield in such a way was comforting to her. It even brought a smile to her face.
"You really like to play the hero, don't you BB?"
Beast Boy looked away from the punching bag that was Raven's double and sent her a grin. "I would be willing to take on any role if it meant that you be's safe, Mama."
Raven blushed. That was so sappy, so cheesy…and yet, she kind of liked it. This feeling of whimsy and love was similar to how she felt when she watched her favorite show, Pretty Pretty Pegasus. And yet…it was different. It was a stronger feeling. It was an intense feeling. It made Raven want to smile for the rest of her life, knowing that she had such a good….friend(?) like Beast Boy there to protect her from any and all harm, physical or otherwise.
Maybe she should give him another chance romantically? He did seem to be taking things more seriously, which was made all the more sweeter due to the fact that it was for Raven's sake. Was he now mature enough to not fiddle with a romantic relationship? Did he see that somethings were worth taking seriously, especially when the feelings and well being of another person was involved?
"RAVEN!" Beast Boy pounded his chest. "I is gonna beat you so hard for messing with my bae!"
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Okayyyy…" She prepared herself for another attack, raising her arms to shoot more dark energy. "Azarath Metrion…AAHHH!"
Beast Boy grabbed hold of the taller shadowy sorceress and threw her to the ground. Raven groaned when she made contact with the floor, wincing and sucking air through her teeth as she tried to hold herself upright. This action drew glee out of Beast Boy, almost to a concerning degree.
"Yeah boy!" He danced around, cha-chaing and swaying to an invisible, inaudible beat. "Yeah baby! Yeah baby! I'm awesome; I'm awesome!"
Okay. All of that romantic interest and pride in Beast Boy for acting mature for Raven's sake? Gone. Poof, thrown out the window. Raven couldn't help but facepalm, watching her ex-boyfriend do the silliest salsa in the universe while standing over her opponent. Seriously. Beast Boy was just being….so cringey.
…
Both Starfires, feeling as though they weren't interested in tearing each other to shreds like the situation demanded they do, had given up on trying to fight. Instead, they watched their other teammates engage in hand-to-hand combat. This included Beast Boy fighting Raven on the part of his ex-girlfriend.
Starfire, much like Raven in this scenario, cringed as she watched Beast Boy dancing over Raven. "Friend Beast Boy is not aware of the concept of 'the less is the more.'" She shook her head. "It is the painful to watch."
Starfire, surprisingly, didn't seem to share that sentiment. While she wasn't smiling at Beast Boy's arrogant display, she did at least have an air of positivity regarding. "I do not know." She faced her double. "On some level, it is nice that he is doing the fighting for Raven." The tiniest traces of a smile appeared on her face in the most adorable way possible. "He clearly cares about her the great deal."
Starfire considered this. "They do share the close knit bond." She shrugged. "I guess you are the correct; it is kind of sweet."
Starfire nodded. "Caring for your friends is always an action deserving of the utmost praise." Her smile grew bigger. "I imagine, since you are an alternate version of me, you also understand this. Especially during the celebration of Blorthog."
Starfire's face lit up. "You celebrate Blorthog?"
"I do indeed." Starfire sent one more glance over to Beast Boy. "Friendship really is the most special thing in the universe. I am exceedingly glad that both you and I come from planets that recognize and appreciate it."
Starfire beamed. "I couldn't do the agreeing with you more."
Right at that moment, The Master of Games floated over to the two Starfires. His expression was irritated, his body language impatient. "I hate to interrupt your lovely discussion ladies." He tapped his foot. "But this is not a friendship festival; this is a tournament! You are supposed to fight each other!"
Both Starfires exchanged a look. It was clear that they were feeling and thinking the exact same thing; they were too attached to their double to even consider fighting them.
"But why though?" Starfire asked.
"Yes," Starfire said. She turned toward the Master of Games. "Honestly, I feel that this violence isn't necessary in the least. It is much more worthwhile to to engage in conversation with our doubles; figuring out our similarities and differences as opposed to competing to find out which one of us is the best."
Starfire smiled. Yes! Her double got it! She understood what was really important!
The Master of Games, in an unfortunate show of contrast, just sniffed. "Sweet. Real sweet, girls. But I am running a tight ship here! I rented this giant, floating stadium of death, and gosh darn it, I will not let it go to waste!" He glared at the Tamaranian princesses. "You will fight each other, or so help me, I will find a way to make life very difficult for the two of you. I have connections." He slowly floated away, his expression not moving away from either of them.
The Starfires exchanged a look. Starfire's face fell once the Master of Games was out of earshot. "Well, it looks like we will have to fight each other." She sighed and raised her fists. "I am extremely sorry about this, Starfire."
"I am as well, Starfire." Starfire raised her fists as well, not excited at all to exchange fisticuffs. Then, like a miraculous strike of lighting from the heavens, and idea struck her. "Wait!" The smile returned to her face. "Maybe we don't need to do the fighting!"
Starfire raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean! The Master of Games said we need to!"
"That is the truth. However, he didn't do the specifying about what kind of fight we should do. So, therefore, nothing is stopping us from doing…" she went over to her double and whispered in her ear. Starfire's face rose back up.
"No way." She faced her double with a mixture of joy and questioning. "Do you think we can do that?"
"Why not?" Starfire said with a giggle and a shrug.
Starfire fought about this some more before extending her hand. "Well, I think it is a glorious idea. I except your challenge, Starfire of Tamaran!"
Starfire grinned. She took her double's hand, and without wasting anymore time…
"One two three four, we declare the thumb war!"
It was a silly idea, to be sure. But both of them were excited about it. After all, competing in a competitive thumb war would be a much better idea than punching each other until they were black and blue. So, biting their lips in concentration, the Starfires engaged in the thumb war.
Come on, come the on! Starfire thought in her head. She was so close to beating her double. Wait, there was an opening…oh no, she swerved out of the way in the nick of time. Oh no, Starfire got too cocky! She was now open to have her thumb covered…phew, she got out of the way! Thank the goodness! She was still in the game, she could still come out victorious in this over-the-top, one hundred percent serious thumb war.
The girls' epic thumb war carried on. Both of them had clear near misses, ones that almost got them eliminated from the tournament. However, they still engaged in this showdown with the most incredible bout of vigor. The more that the thumb war went on, the more engaged they became in the outcome. And the more engaged they were, the more intense their expressions became.
"Come on!" Starfire said, just barely missing the opportunity to cover her double's thumb. "This is the longest war of the thumbs I've ever engaged in."
"Same with me." Starfire grit her teeth; Starfire was impossible to pin down! "I feel as though this could go on for forever!"
Starfire smirked. "Hardly, little double of mine! I plan on beating you!"
Both girls became more engaged in the game. After another minute and another round of near victories passed, both princesses became enraged. Not even realizing that they were doing it, they zipped up to the ceiling, hitting it so hard that they broke the glass. Starfire's eyes surged with the green light indicative of a Tameranian's righteous fury. Before Starfire could say anything to stop her, her double fired miniature star bolts out of her thumb. She just barely avoided hitting her in the face.
But that was okay. Starfire actually liked this new, more dangerous element introduced to the game. She fired a starbolt of her own at her double. Soon enough, the thumb war aspect of the Starfire's fight was more or less completely forgotten. The starbolts they fired flew around the arena, just barely avoiding hitting the Titans who were still down on the ground. The Master of Games' hair even got sliced off by a passing bolt.
"Classic," The Master said, magically causing his missing hair to regenerate.
Starfire grit her teeth. This was become an intense battle, and one thing about Starfire was the fact that she had the desire to win in every battle she found herself in. She and Starfire zipped back down to the ground, still trying to beat each other in this dangerous version of the Earthly thumb war. Summoning all her strength, she fired a beam at her double. With reflexes that only a Tamaranian could display, Starifre shot back. Soon enough, they were locked in a beam battle. Starfire screamed. The other Starfire screamed. This was it, all or nothing. Whoever lost in this miniature beam battle was officially out of the tournament.
Come on, come on, come on!" Starfire puffed out her chest. I know I can do this! I know I can beat her! And I am going to prove it…the once and for ALL! She summoned all the strength into her beam, and then…
BOOM!
The entire stadium shook. The bright green light caused all of the other Titans, out or in, to turn toward the Starfires. For a second, there was nothing but silence. Nobody moved. Nobody said anything. Nobody turned away from the Starfires.
And then, the light cleared. Starfire's thumb was covered in soot. With all her hand strength drained away, she lowered her finger. Starfire beamed as she lowered her finger on top of her double's officially ending this battle once and for all.
"I am the victorious!" Without another word, she threw Starfire toward the force field. She was officially out.
Two Titans from both teams were out.
AN: Hey everyone. I really liked the thumb war scene from the original movie, I will admit. I hope I captured it well in written form. Please tell me what you think, and have a good day! :)