Blood...
There's so much blood...
How could things have come to this...?
Xandria remembered smiling proudly, watching as her older sister landed on the aisle, her ceremonial dress gleaming in white and silver. A cloak draped over her sleeveless gown, and removable sleeves embellished her arms with intricate designs. As she removed the hood of her cloak, her neon blue hair, meticulously styled, cascaded down, and adorned with a ringlet of jewels encircling her head. She confidently strutted down the aisle in an extravagant pair of boots, a cherished gift from her mother just hours before.
She held up a sword in her hands, wielding the crest of Lethahiri on its hilt, the blade gleaming in the blue light of the Lethahirian star. She walked slowly with grace, occasionally glancing at the sidelines where the people stood in silent awe and respect while ceremonial music droned in the background.
Halfway, she joined her older sister as they intertwined their arms, preparing for the final stretch of the walk.
'I'm so proud of you, Big Sis,' Xandria whispered in their native language, Hirianic, before they closed the distance between them and their parents. Xandria then bowed to them, leaving her older sister as she stepped aside to allow her to stride up to the altar where her parents and the chief stood, faces with expressions of pure joy and pride.
The ceremony commenced while Xylocka was asked to stay on one knee for the entire duration of the coronation with her head lowered, only raising it up to say the oath and her affirmations. At the end, the King used the sword that is now blessed by the Gods and touched her head and shoulders respectively with the hat of the sword, before presenting it to her to take.
She finally stood to her height as she accepted it, and thrusted it into the air as the crowds erupted into thunderous cheering, rocking the palace.
She took a deep breath, before projecting her voice loud and clear to ensure that her citizens hear her voice, 'I, Newly Crowned Queen Xylocka of Lethahiri, promise to do everything in my power to ensure the safety of my citizens and the kingdom, as well as to lay my life on the line when the need arises.'
Her words earned an even louder wave of cheering and Xandria thought that it was the happiest day of her life.
Until everything went wrong in a split second.
The sky darkened suddenly, before it rumbled with a loud and fierce thunderclap that scared the hell out of her as she scanned the environment for any signs of impending danger.
Xylocka was on her guard almost instantly, her grip on the hilt of her sword tightening as she mentally prepared herself. Almost instantly, her battle instincts kicked in as a large object was blasted in her direction. She instantly shot off the ground, hovering in the air as the object crashed into the altar, destroying it upon impact.
Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened upon seeing that the object wasn't really an object at all, but a person. 'No...'
One of the strongest men in the Thunder Battalion, the most powerful military in all of Lethahiri, lay sprawled across the debris of the altar, unmoving, eyes and mouth wide open, spewing a purple liquid that had her heart dropping to the floor.
Blood...
He was...
'Dead...' Her father concluded her thoughts, inching closer to the fallen soldier and prodded their skin.
Her body slowly touched the ground once more, looking at the unfortunate soldier who had met his demise due to an unseen force. Shock ran through her body in chilling waves as the reality of his death sank in. Another soldier limped forward, one of his legs bent at an unnatural angle while one of his arms was missing, causing a trail of blood to drip onto the ground.
'Your Highnesses!' The soldier croaked out, clutching his side where Xandria swore she could see the pale cream white of his ribcage, 'there's been an attack! Most of your best soldiers are down!"
That's when Xandria noticed the opaque orange fog that's slowly spreading behind the soldier as he reported, and she instantly knew what was going to happen.
'Commander Avaeh! Behind you!' The words were out of her mouth before she could even hesitate to speak, but it was too late. A large hand reached out from within the fog and grabbed the soldier by the throat, strangling the poor man as he choked on the combination of the lack of air and blood pooling into his mouth as he begged for someone to save him.
Then, energy beams shot out of the fog, piercing through the soldier's skull and melting the flesh as he yelled out in pain. Soon his cries faded into silence as his body stopped wriggling all at once, allowing an eerie silence to fill the air.
The scene was so gruesome that Xandria almost threw up right then and there, her stomach rolling and coiling with her breakfast. Then, large boots emerged from the fog, before an entire body was revealed to them.
Xandria hated how she knew who that was.
'Everyone, to the palace!' The King barked his orders, already turning to stop in his tracks as the palace exploded in front of his eyes, igniting the sky with a deadly orange light.
'No...' The King was on his knees, watching as fiery debris flew everywhere, destroying everything in their path. Chaos ensued, the people of Lethahiri ran helter skelter, some were crying, others were panicking as Darkseid finally revealed himself to them.
Her eyes widened as the Galactic villain walked up to her sister, and easily grabbed her by the hair, lifting her up from the ground as she fought and kicked against him. 'Xylocka!' Left her mouth in a pained cry as she forced her legs to move, yet they retaliated and buckled instead.
Darkseid needed only a few seconds, and in those agonising moments, her world shattered. As his eyes ignited with a deadly glow, she watched in paralyzed horror. Her sister was mercilessly cleaved in half by the searing beams, with a blood chilling cry and tears streamed down her face, mingling with the suffocating despair that consumed her soul. There was no mercy, no hesitation—just the cold, unfeeling finality of death.
With a glass shattering scream, she jolts awake, eyelids finally snapping open as she pushes off the mattress into a sitting position. Her chest feels tight and she's left panting from the extent of that memory as she tries to catch her breath. Tears sting her eyes as she just sits there, staring at the sheets while slightly lowering her head limply.
Her hands almost instantly goes to her wrists, where a pair of Lethahirian metal bracelets lie as she plays with them, the last gift given to her by her sister before that day.
It's just a nightmare.
It's not real.
Beads of sweat roll down her face, combining with her tears and drip onto the comforter, and all she wants to do in that moment is curl up into a ball and cry.
'Olivia? Are you still in there?'
Her head snaps up at the voice and she clears her throat before responding, "Y-Yeah. . .?" She internally cringes at how weak she sounds.
'Are you alright? I heard screaming.'
Damn it Kori and her good ears.
"Uh, yeah, everything's f-fine," she wipes the sweat off her forehead and pushes herself off the bed, briefly glancing at the mirror to ensure that her hair isn't fully blue (it wouldn't have been the first time) before placing her hand on the scanner to allow the door to open.
"Are you sure? You look shaken up." Kori's head slightly tilts to the side, showing her motherly side. Olivia smiles to hide her true pain, making sure that it reaches her eyes before she shakes her head, "Yeah, I'm sure. It was just. . . a nightmare. Nothing I can't handle."
Kori raises an eyebrow, but she doesn't press further, which Olivia is grateful for as she trudges out of her room, dragging her comfy slippers on the floor as she tries to forget that memory that has been haunting her since the day she crash landed here on Earth.
"The others are in the training room," she calls, "I just came to let you know since you're the only one who's absent."
"I see. . . thank you," Olivia inclines her head a bit, before making her way towards the training room, still clad in her sleep wear because she doesn't even bother to change her clothes. As the elevator doors slide open to reveal the training room, she rubs her eyes at the sudden brightness of the light of the room.
As her eyes readjust, she hears Gar's voice warning her, "Hey, Livy, watch out!"
She turns just as a robot, most likely part of the simulation, lunges towards her with a deadly intent and all she does is use her laser eyes, sending two beams of blue light to blast two holes into the robot's chest without missing a beat, before it dissolved back into the simulation.
"Well, look who showed up late. And I though Gar was bad," a male dressed in blue, Blue Beetle, or Jaime, folds his arms and looks at her with distaste. "Sorry," she yawns, stretching her hands above her head shamelessly, "had a late night last night."
"Yeah, we can clearly tell," he eyes her sleep wear up and down.
"You know you're naked, right?" Raven, speaks up to earn her attention as her head snaps up to see Garfield. . . not wearing anything.
Not even a pair of boxer briefs.
"Woah," she averts her gaze, closing her eyes and instantly regretting the fact that she can see, "that was something I did not need to see this morning."
The green male bashfully covers his most intimate part as he shuffles towards his clothes that lie in a heap on the ground while giving an explanation, "I overslept. Was rushing. Forgot to put on my uniform. Okay? So I sleep in the nude. So what? Animals are naked. I'm the entire animal kingdom crammed into a single magnificent specimen."
"You're something crammed into something," Raven folds her arms as Olivia and Jaime join the two, causing the scarab on Jaime's back to chitter. "What did that thing just say?" Gar glares at the scarab.
"It was just laughing at you," Jaime tells him with a smug grin on his lips as Olivia covers her mouth to muffle her giggles.
"Yeah, well, butt out bug," the green teen boldly gives the scarab a flick. Seconds later, he morphs into a fly to escape as the scarab retaliates by unleashing limbs to attack him. "Yow! Keep that thing on a leash, man!"
"Shouldn't have tested it, Gar," Olivia watches as the fly performs basic maneuvers to evade the scarab's limbs. "I told you, don't annoy it," Jaime scolds the younger teen.
Garfield morphs back into his human form and hides behind Raven as Kori suddenly speaks up, meaning that she has been there for a while, most likely a couple of minutes after Olivia. "Jaime's right," she says walking up to them, "that scarab is not a pet. It may be fused to Jaime's spine, but it's not exactly under his control."
"It's like you and your pants," Raven tells Gar, eliciting a not so graceful snort from Olivia, who turns her head away to not show her smile.
"That's why Jaime's here," Kori adds, "that's why we're all here. To help each other control our gifts. Help one another become our best selves."
"Where else are we gonna go? I mean, we're a bunch of freaks, right?" Jaime speaks up.
"Come on, Jaime, we're all family. Like the three amigos," Gar turns to the scarab wielder as a means of cheering the teen up.
"Five," Raven inputs, giving a subtle smile to Olivia.
"Six," Kori adds, earning the members' attention. "Six?" Olivia curiously raises an eyebrow.
Kori nods, "We're getting a visitor."
Minutes later (after Olivia finally takes a shower and puts on something appropriate), the five of them make their way to the entrance of the Titan's tower, where the Batmobile pulls up as it slows to a stop.
The roof of the car slides open as Nightwing, or Dick, jumps out and comes to greet Kori while a kid wearing a uniform and a mask grabs a duffle bag and prepares to jump out as well.
"Nightwing," Kori sticks out her arm for Dick to take as he obliges, "Starfire."
"It's been a while," she tells him.
"I know. You're looking good," he compliments her, before introducing the group to the boy who is most likely the newest member of the Teen Titans, "This is Damian. The new Robin."
"Welcome, Damian," Kori greets the newcomer warmly, only to get a narrowing of his eyes through the mask and a rude, "I'll be in my room."
"Would you like to"-
"I think I can manage," the caped sidekick cuts Kori off as he trudges past her, causing Olivia to frown slightly. "That is one creepy Mocoso," Jaime says once the boy is gone, and, knowing Spanish, Olivia instantly translates that word to 'Brat', which seems fitting for the young hero.
"No," Raven disagrees with him, "more like sad."
Sad, huh. . .
✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *.✦ .* : . ───✧
Now dressed in her hero costume, she watches with slight annoyance as Damian uses the training simulator, swinging his sword with precision as he goes for both the offensive and the defensive sides.
Damn, this kid is impressive. Olivia can't help but think as she observes his movements, the accuracy of it all is a dead giveaway about the fact that he was trained to be an assassin, or what Kori has told her.
"He hasn't stopped for an hour and a half," Jaime says matter of factly.
"Damian, it's time to let others have their turn," Kori scolds him.
"I'm not finished," the young boy places emphasis on the word 'not' as he stabs a clone from behind.
Jaime has a smug grin on his lips as he goes up to the controls for the simulation before turning it off, before saying sarcastically, "Gee, how'd that happen?"
Damian narrows his eyes and throws a batarang at Jaime, but the scarab activates lasers from its limbs as a way to deflect it. "What the hell?"
"Hmph, I heard your tech was fast," Damian observes, "I wanted to see how fast."
"Don't mess with us, little man," Jaime warns him, stalking up closer. Damian raises his sword, and before things can escalate, Kori flies in between them to break up a potential fight, grasping their arms. "Alright, I can see we are getting off on the. . . wrong foot. Damien, this is a team effort." She emphasises the word 'team', "We need to be willing to accommodate others."
"Nightwing said you were a princess," Damian turns to her, then sheathes his blade, "Exiled, no doubt."
"Technically, it was a coup. And like it or not, I am the leader of this group," Starfire tells him.
"As I see it, you're an alien with nowhere else to go," Damian snaps back.
Damn, that hit a lil too close to home.
"Everyone needs a home, Damian," Raven speaks up next, "You included."
"Thank you for chiming in, witch girl," Damian doesn't stop with his bratty attitude.
"Bro, chill. You've only been here for like ten minutes and you're already treating your teammates like crap," Olivia folds her arms, frowning slightly, "you need to show us more respect."
Damian narrows his eyes at Olivia, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Respect? Please," he scoffs. "I don't need to respect anyone who hasn't earned it. Just because you play dress-up and call yourselves heroes doesn't mean you're on my level."
Olivia swears her jaw dropped.
"We are only here to help you realise your potential." Kori speaks up once more.
"You've been here long enough. When do you think you'll realise yours?" With that, he walks off, only to get stopped by Jaime barely a second after, "Dude, you need to show some respect."
What he needs to do right now is get humbled.
Mere seconds after, him and Jaime got into a fight as Damian kicks him in the gut, sending him across the room.
"Oh no," Raven voices.
"Oh no is right," Olivia echoes, watching as Jaime forms two blades with his armour. Damian unsheaths his katana, "Ready when you are."
"No, stop this!" Kori tries again to break it up, but her words land on deaf ears as the two go at it. "Who's fighting me, you or the bug?" Damian asks as he blocks Jaime's attacks.
"You'd better hope it's me," Blue Beetle pushes the Boy Wonder back as he goes for the offensive, leaving Damian to block his thrusts.
Olivia wants to see Damian get humbled, but fighting amongst peers is not the way. Damian throws two explosive batarangs at Jaime, that knocks him back, having him skid along the floor, motionless.
"Jaime. . ." Olivia wants to move, to do something, but her legs don't let her.
"That's the difference between you and me," the Boy Wonder slowly approaches the blue armoured teen, "You wear a weapon. I am a weapon."
"That's enough!" Olivia's laser eyes shoot two beams, momentarily distracting Damian before Jaime's suit moves on its own and produces a blast that not only sends the pre-teen flying back, but also burns half of the boy's face.
Then the suit moves forward, preparing to hit him again, only if Kori hasn't intervened with a starbolt of her own, allowing Jaime to have control of his suit once more. "Enough!"
She runs to the boy's side as Jaime tries to explain what happened in the last few seconds. "I tried to stop it. Dios mío. Is he dead?" He asks as Kori removes the boy's mask, not that it really. . . does much to cover the boy's face.
"He's still alive. . . Barely." Kori reveals.
"This is going to be an awkward call to Batman," Gar speaks up next.
"Everyone get back," Raven steps forward as the Tameranean places Damian on the floor.
"I can help"- Olivia speaks up when Raven raises a hand, "I can handle this." Then kneels down by Damian's head before she says, "By the powers of Azarath, I beseech you." She starts emitting a purple aura, cupping the boy's face as she chants, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."
The burnt marks on Damian's face slowly fades away, not before Raven collapses from exhaustion.
"That's why I wanted to help," Olivia crosses her arms, "I knew this would happen."
"We need to get her back to her room," Kori says, "Garfield?"
The green teen turns into a gorilla and gently picks Raven up, "I've got her." At that time, Damian wakes up and rolls onto his stomach, "What. . . what happened?"
"Raven healed you. We have to tend to her," Kori answers as she turns away from him, Jaime following her lead as he said, "Sorry" with a tone that doesn't sound like he is really sorry.
Soon it is just her and him in the training room.
Olivia lets out a sigh, her arms uncrossing as she speaks. "Look, kid. I don't know you, you don't know me. But that doesn't mean you have to pick a fight with everyone that you meet just to prove to your inflated ego that you're better than everyone else. Especially with the way you spoke to our leader, because if you haven't realized, you're not in the BatCave anymore, so you see the disrespect you have shown towards us since you got here? Cut it out. You might actually learn something from it. We're fully capable of feeling emotions, no matter what species we are. So are you. Think about it."
With that, she leaves the Boy Wonder to himself as she leaves the training room.
✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *.✦ .* : . ───✧
While everyone else being resigned in their quarters, Olivia makes use of the now free training room. She outstretches her arms as she fires bolt after bolt of blue energy at the clones as she hovers in the air, her eyes fully blue as she unleashes laser beams, annihilating the enemy.
She then flies over to the control board and presses 'pause', watching as the clones freeze mid run, allowing her to take a breather.
She hasn't realised that she is sweating until she can actually feel it dripping off her chin onto her costume. She pants while she wipes the sweat off her forehead.
Too slow. . .
Too damn slow. . .
She doubles over, putting her hands on her knees as she catches her breath, shutting her eyes tightly as she mentally berates herself.
Too damn weak. . .
All she can see in her mind is her older sister being cut in half in front of her, over and over again.
Dying. . .
She shakes her head, trying to focus on the present. Olivia decides to call it a night, and turns off the simulator. She taps the gauntlets on her arms before her costume retracts, leaving two bracelets on her wrists. She hugs herself before heading to the elevator to return to her room.
As she waits in the elevator, her mind goes to Damian. What's the deal with his attitude? She sighs, closing her eyes and leaning her body against the metal walls of the lift. She has initially expected him to be hostile since this is all new to him, but not this hostile.
As the doors part and she steps out into the corridor, she spots a certain black haired male whom she is just thinking about. Damian stops in his tracks, meeting her gaze with his piercingly green eyes. They maintain eye contact for who knows how long, but Olivia holds her ground until Damian is the first to avert his eyes.
Silent, she walks past him, not even bothering to say anything until Damian's words stop her in her tracks. "What you'd said earlier. . . what did you mean by that?"
Olivia turns her head to give him a once over. "You're gonna need to be more specific, kid."
"About. . . You know what, it doesn't matter."
"Damian."
This is the first time she has ever called him by name before, and she internally smirks at the way his body stiffens at the seriousness of her tone. "You have already gotten my attention. What about my words do you need to clarify?"
"About me. . . having no consideration for anyone's emotions." He doesn't trail his eyes away this time, "I was just laying bare the facts. Why do you have a problem with that?"
"I have a problem with that because it feels like you're blatantly insulting me," Olivia keeps her legs planted on the floor, "Don't even tell me to not take it personally, because. . . because you don't know us, even if you have done your research, but you don't know how harshly words can cut through someone like a knife, even if they are facts."
She walks down the hallway, stopping at the last door on the right. She glances at the boy for the last time tonight, then scans her handprint on the scanner before entering her room to retire for the night.
✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *.✦ .* : . ───✧
"Steady. . ." Gar speaks to himself out loud in his chameleon form as he tries to remove a single building block from an entire tower stacked up highly on the table. "Gar, I wouldn't take that block from there if I were you," Olivia looks up from reading, her eyes analysing the stability of the tower through her glasses.
However, the green chameleon pulls out a blue block from the tower from that exact area that she tells him not to touch, only for the blocks to collapse on him mere seconds later, knocking him off the table. "Can you please do that. . . anywhere else?" Jaime looks up from his laptop.
"Jaime?"
Both him and Olivia look up to see Damian standing in the doorway, and the scarab wielder is the one to verbally answer, "Yeah?"
"Perhaps it was a mistake to challenge you this morning with knowing the full capacity of your. . . alien attachment," he admits, arms crossed behind his back, "I promise, it won't happen again." With that, he takes his leave.
"Huh. . ." Olivia frowns, "that's a new one."
"Did he. . . just say he's sorry?" Jaime asks next.
Beast Boy changes back into his human form as he coos at the scarab wielder, "Aw, see. He likes you."
"I don't think that was 'liking him', Garfield," Olivia points out, closing her book as she stands up.
"At least he didn't threaten to kill him," Gar argues back.
✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *.✦ .* : . ───✧
Kori slows the car down once she has found a parking space, the vehicle coming to a stop with a soft jolt. By then, Olivia's legs have gotten numb from being crammed into the backseat of the car with the other three while Raven enjoys the luxury of being able to ride shotgun. She can practically feel her shoulder being dislocated from the pressure of Garfield's body against hers, squishing her against the car door.
"I can fly you know," she speaks up, her voice sounding strained, "wouldn't that have been better than the four of us being crammed into the backseat like a pack of sardines?"
"Yes, but, I believe that this is a more authentic method," Kori replies cheerfully as she turns off the engine.
"You're just lucky we weren't pulled over by the cops," Olivia sighs, rolling her eyes.
"Aah!" Jaime's sharp cry goes noticed when the hilt of Damian's katana pokes him in the cheek, "Dude, did you have to bring the sword?"
"Preparedness is a prerequisite for victory," Damian responds without missing a beat.
"Kori, I'm going to open the door, I can't feel my legs," Olivia somehow manages to blindly find the door handle and open the door, allowing her legs to rest on the ground outside as the pins and needles start to kick in, "I think I'm gonna fly the way back."
"The gear stays in the car, Damian," Kori tells him as she pulls the keys out of the ignition, "Tonight, we are to enjoy some mandatory fun."
"So. . . what if I'm not having fun?" Olivia exits the car, only for her body to tense once Kori sends a glare in her direction through the window of the car to the driver's seat, "nevermind."
Now clad in a white tank top under a black sports jacket and cargo jeans with sneakers, she waits for the others to exit the car before they make their way to the entrance.
After paying, Olivia joins the others as Kori speaks, "This is an opportunity for us to become more familiar with each other."
"How much more familiar can we get?" Jaime questions, "We've already seen Garfield lick himself."
"As a dog?" Damian asks.
"I wish," Raven says.
"You really don't wanna know," Olivia shudders, her eyes briefly closing as that very image flashes in her mind.
The first ride they stop at is the Ferris wheel, where everyone is more or less paired up, where Olivia, Jaime and Garfield end up in one cart, while Damian and Raven end up in another cart.
The three of them are having the time of their lives as the wheel slowly spins round and round, with Jaime and Garfield acting like total goofballs, causing Olivia to smile the brightest she has ever smiled in her life as she holds onto the cart, catching Jaime's attention.
"I didn't know that the Great Olivia Fletcher is capable of smiling," Jaime says, raising an eyebrow, making her roll her eyes. "I'm capable of many things, mi amigo," she shrugs, "I just don't do it ninety nine percent of the time.",
"You should smile more," Jaime offers her a small smile, "it suits you."
"I see. . . Thank you. . ."
At that moment, the ride suddenly stops and they are stuck in the cart. "This is. . . super awkward," Olivia peers down a the ground. They aren't much higher from the ground in their position but luckily no one starts panicking and in a couple of minutes, the ride is working again.
After the Ferris wheel, the others stand back and watch as Gar and Olivia handle the shooting tent, knocking down a generous amount of faceless ducks and winning tickets.
"Just call me 'eagle eyes'," Gar holds up his bit of tickets while Olivia rolls her eyes.
Jaime only turns his head over to the high striker and grins smugly.
There, he spits onto his hands and grips the hammer, holding it over his head. He winks at Olivia before she catches sight of a red set of eyes on his back and shakes her head as he brings the hammer down forcefully. The impact is strong enough for the puck to crash against the bell, blowing the bell off completely.
The carny walks away in stunned silence because the game is practically destroyed.
Olivia puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder and nods, showing him that it's okay.
After, they hit the ring toss booth and take turns tossing the rings onto the bottles. Olivia watches as Damian holds a set of the rings in his hands, before he calmly tosses them, then her jaw drops as each ring lands perfectly on a bottle.
With that, Damian wins the most tickets and uses it to pick a plastic sword that lights up, before giving it to a little blond girl which has Olivia's lips perking up a bit.
So he's not incapable of having emotions.
While they are taking a break from playing games and such, Garfield approaches her with a huge bag filled to the brim with popcorn. "Aw, Garfield, you shouldn't have," she accepts the bag happily, "you remembered."
"How could I not?" His goofy grin is contagious, "I remember the three hour long rant you had about eating buttery popcorn and you almost attacked Jaime with those blue bolts of yours because he had dozed off halfway through."
"I feel honoured that you listened," she shoves a mouthful of the salty, buttery goodness into her mouth. His eyes glance up briefly behind her, then he gets a wicked glint in his eyes. "Come on," he grabs her hand and pulls her with him, leading her towards Jaime to challenge him. Then the three of them make their way towards one of those dance machines you see in an arcade.
Garfield takes one side, Jaime takes another and they prepare themselves to dance.
They go at it, Garfield showing off his moves as he practically dominates the game. Jaime, on the other hand, seems to be struggling to keep up. Soon, a crowd forms around Olivia as they watch the two. She turns around and spies Kori, Damian and Raven mingling amongst the crowd and carefully ducks through to meet them.
"Look at those two go," she nods along with the song until the final note. Jaime grabs onto the rails behind him, exhausted as Garfield stands victoriously with his arm in the air while the crowd cheers for him. "Oh, looks like we found something the bug can't do," Garfield taunts his friend as he leaves the stage, then addresses the audience, "Please, please, no autographs. I'm a busy man."
Jaime walks up to the group, dejected. "I'll give Olivia's bag of popcorn to anyone who can slay the beast," he tells them. "Um, excuse you, there is no way in hell that I'm giving away my popcorn," Olivia glares at him as she hides away the bag into her jacket.
"I can do it," Damian speaks up, having everyone turn to look at him in surprise. "You know how to dance?" Olivia raises an eyebrow.
"I'm a quick study." Damian walks up to the dance machine.
"A hundred bucks if Garfield loses," Olivia smirks at Jaime as she spits on her hand and sticks it out.
"I'll take that bet, there is no way Gar can lose to that kid," Jaime obliges, doing the same and they shake on it.
"Gross," Raven visibly gags.
The two stand facing each other, then go on the platform to battle it out as the four of them move closer. At first, Damian is just as bad at the game as Jaime, but for some reason, Olivia thinks he's doing it on purpose so he can observe Gar's moves and act accordingly, since almost everything he says and does is based off on his observation.
Sure enough, seconds later, Damian's feet on the dance pad is correctly pressing the symbols that appear on the screen presented in front of them as he goes in timing with Garfield.
"Mira. Look at them go," Jaime marvels, only to falter when he sees the sly look on Olivia's face, "it's—it's not over yet. Gar has time left."
"Cuenta sus oraciones, Jaime," she turns her head to watch.
Garfield holds onto the rails behind him and immediately lets go, only to hold onto it with both hands a barely a minute later and watch as Damian performs the finishing move, declaring himself as the victor while the crowd cheers for him.
"Hmm? You said something earlier, Jaime, what was it again?" Olivia grins smugly at him, , "Oh right. 'I'll take that bet, there is no way Gar can lose to that kid'. Where's my money?" Jaime lets out an exasperated sigh as he digs into his pockets and pulls out a hundred dollar bill, handing it over to Olivia, who takes and shoves it into her own pocket.
"Awesome, dude," Jaime focuses on Damian as he approaches him. "Yes, quite impressive," Kori add, then shifts her attention to Gar, who is hunched over and out of breath, "You were very good too, Garfield."
"Yeah. . ." The green teen pants, raising his hand, "okay. Whatever."
Olivia then looks around to talk to Raven, but frowns upon seeing her friend's absence. "Uh, guys. . . Where's Raven?" She voices aloud, her eyes scanning the environment for any sign of the dark haired girl.
There is screaming and a crash as the group's heads collectively turn towards the source of the noise, seeing a mixture of explosions and a red pulsing light. "What the—"
Someone is abruptly thrown forward and Olivia has to squint to make out the person's features.
. . .Raven. . .?
She is already clothed in her dark blue cloak as 1, 2, 3. . . creatures surround her.
"Raven!"
✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *.✦ .* : . ───✧