Categories > Cartoons > Teen Titans > You Idiot...
Author’s Note: Thought or Emphasis; Flashback; Thought or Emphasis in Flashback
I do not own Teen Titans, but I wish I owned Control Freak’s remote. There have to be millions of people who have wanted to jump into a TV show, especially this one. (Jumping into TV is one of my top fantasies, right up there with a portable time machine.) Besides, who wouldn’t want to see the Titans Together vs. Dr. Light battle up close? Read and review.
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Teen Titans: You Idiot…
Part VI
Days blurred. The halls of Titans Tower were quiet. No games, no laughter, not even arguing had echoed its way around the building since the day of the incident. The summer sunlight did not even seem to penetrate the Tower’s dozens of windows; a blanket of sadness covered them all.
Raven actually loathed this “peace and quiet.” She knew it was because there was something missing, a sort of light or energy that faded from the Titans’ home on the cursed day. She herself felt drained, sleeping later, even losing interest in some of her books. Even in meditation, in the times when she could focus, she could taste the salty depression of her surroundings—and some within herself—on her tongue.
She—they needed him back.
And he will come back, she told herself. She refused to give up on the fool who got hurt. She had something to ask him, after all. Yet the melancholy pressed down on everyone, and the waiting was just so… annoying. Somewhere in the first or second week (without any important battles or interest in anything, she could only vaguely remember) she tried to remedy that.
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“You’ve been spending more time down here recently.” Raven paid a visit to the team’s leader. As he was the only other Titan who seriously attempted to keep his feelings reserved, she decided to have a talk. Varied equipment, such as automated weights, treadmills, and projectile launchers, littered the training room. A passage linked to the Olympic sized room a floor below. Besides the opposite breathing of the two bird-named Titans, hers calm, his harsh, the only other sounds in the room were the smacks of green gloves making contact with a wooden dummy.
“True.” Robin let out a grunt as a right forearm cross-chopped over a wooden one. “But I’m not stopping. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Cyborg when I saw Beast Boy in the infirmary:—” another grunt, this time from a kick to the left side of his imaginary adversary— “This won’t happen again. I have to make sure.” The boy wonder kept his eyes on the inanimate opponent.
“As much as I don’t want that to happen again,” the sorceress’ fists tightened slightly at the word ‘that’, “how do you know it won’t? You never know when we will have such a fight again.”
“And that’s exactly why I’m training.” A heel drop connected with the “head” of the stiff-armed pillar.
“I told Cyborg something too when I saw… him.” Again, she found it hard to say the name. “I told him, ‘People get hurt.’ And people—”
“I certainly know that. We almost lost you, remember?” A right hook made its mark.
The gruff remark almost startled Raven. It was, of course, strange for someone to remind you of your own sort of “death.” Fighting her father was one of the most harrowing trials in the team’s career, yet there was one thing that mattered in the end.
“But I came back. And he still has a chance to do the same.” She had to admit, it felt strange to be the positive one on the team, but none of the others was here right now. She also had to admit that she was not just saying this to him, but to herself.
Raven elicited a sigh and carefully placed a hand on the acrobat’s shoulder, halting Robin’s next attack. “I may not be the right one to say this, but you should relax.” Her placid countenance shifted to a slight smirk as she grasped at an idea. “Maybe talk to your girlfriend?”
Robin’s rapid breathing began to slow as his shoulders slumped. He turned around with a weary look on his face, eyes seeming to droop through his mask. “You’re probably right, you know.” Rare moments like this, where the two actually talked to just one another, reminded him that Raven entering his head some time ago now gave her a bit of insight as to how his mind worked. He knew that she knew he was merely avoiding things (including his relationship), making her right yet again. Still, he would not let this loss go completely. It may have seemed peculiar for him to say, but these were peculiar times. Nevertheless, a shadow of a smirk slid onto his face this time as he started to walk through the sliding door.
“In the meantime, maybe you should see your boyfriend.”
Raven’s face fell back to normal.
“Very funny.”
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“It is nice to see you here, Raven. It has been quite a time since we have all talked to one another.”
“Yeah, but I figured this… thing would be sort of hard for everyone.” The Azarathean’s other stop on her “tour” was to see her essential opposite, the alien princess Starfire.
Starfire’s room, once forbidden territory for Raven, emphasized their differences. The room’s bright purple and pink tones (two of Starfire’s favorite colors—she liked almost all of the bright ones) almost hurt the magic-wielder’s eyes. The glowing-green eyed teen covered her dresser with stuffed toys from her various adventures around the world, as well as during would-be quiet dates with her primary-colored loved one. Raven’s dresser was indeed messy as well, but with literature and candles instead of plush animals.
“It certainly is hard.” Orange-tinted fingers wrapped around ends of flowing red hair as the former monarch’s voice dropped with her mood. “I wish that accursed day had never come. Every time I think about it, a pain wells up inside. That scientist…” Her hands almost threatened to glow with energy as she envisioned the villain’s face. “I fear that with this sadness, I may even lose my power of flight.” As she mentioned her fear, the natural glow in her emerald eyes seemed to fade. Closing her eyes, the redhead whispered, “I pray to X’hal every night for our friend’s return.”
“Trouble with your powers, huh?” Raven still had trouble meditating, still had the dream, even after she saw him. In a few occasions, she would wake up to see herself, or objects in her bedroom, levitating before crashing to the floor—she lost a mirror that way. In addition, though she would not admit this to her friends, on the night of her visit to the infirmary, before she drifted to what remnants of sleep she would get, she had silently prayed to Azar.
“Me too.”
“Really? I knew I was not alone! Though we are separate, we are all still connected.” Suddenly, Starfire’s eyes relit as she remembered a mission she appointed herself in the beginning of this trying time. I cannot believe I had almost forgotten! Resurged with a bit of new life, the princess hurriedly opened a drawer (clearing out a few souvenirs in the process) to reveal something, placing it into pale hands. “I have been making this to show our connection. Robin helped.” She looked over to Raven in silent thanks for convincing him to leave the training room for other reasons than food and crime. The empath nodded in understanding.
“No one said anything when I asked previously, but it seems as if things are changing, so…” Starfire desired nothing more than for everyone to be together, and maybe the object in her dark friend’s lap would be the catalyst. Pulling out her most innocent face, she offered, “Would you like to help?”
Raven looked down at the object, mulling it over. Why not? She peeked inside. Eyebrows rose at the contents, and she quickly shut it closed. Locking her eyes on her sisterly opposite, the darkly cloaked Titan knew how to reply.
“Of course.”
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Time passed, but now the curtain of melancholy instead lifted off just a bit higher. Thanks to Raven’s little tour, the team could finally open up and meet outside of mission briefing. For once, more than one visitor was in the infirmary at once. One day, the entire team had awkwardly collided at the door, and all decided to share good times.
“Remember when he switched your hair gel with barbecue sauce?” Cyborg laughed.
“Oh yeah. That.” The boy wonder could still recall wondering why dogs kept mysteriously showing up whenever he went on patrol. “I gave him double duty on dishes for that stunt.”
“I still don’t think he actually did them.” Raven muttered, putting a skeptic eye on the patient just to her left.
“I remember when Beast Boy switched your CDs with salami.” Robin replied to Cyborg, cutting off his laughter.
“Not funny.” Cyborg was surprised that for someone who vowed against eating meat, the green teen had such a unique use for it. Then another thought came up. “Hey Rae, remember last Christmas?” he asked slyly.
“Ah yes, that,” Raven dryly replied.
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“Merry Christmas, everybody!” The cry rang out as Beast Boy burst into the living room. He sauntered over to the couch, where he spotted violet hair, and set his dangerous plan into action. “Merry Christmas, Rae.”
She heard the jovial greeting, but kept her eyes on the TV. “It’s Raven.” A sigh escaped, “…and merry Christmas.”
“Check out what I bought at the mall yesterday.”
The magic-wielding Titan began to turn around. “What did you buy that could possibly interest—” No.
The sight she saw would haunt her for the rest of the day. Beast Boy was wearing a green beret. What almost made Raven run, however, was not his headgear, but what was hanging from it.
It was a sprig of mistletoe.
Raven slowly stood up and backed away from the couch, inching toward the door—no, not today, not in a million—only to bump into Cyborg, who silently witnessed the little scene with a curious grin. “Pucker up, Raven. You know the rules.” Raven, who glanced behind her at Cyborg with a glare, now turned back to the prankster.
Beast Boy, who once started with a mischievous smile, now replaced it with a nervous one. He bought the hat on a whim, a crazy scenario; he never thought he would actually get this far. He would try to… now he could barely think of it, she would slap him and they would go their separate ways until they opened presents. Now he actually had to… to kiss her.
Raven, meanwhile, wanted nothing more than to push Cyborg aside and run to her room, where she could quiet down the weird feeling in her gut. She could not tell exactly if it was disgust or nervousness, or maybe a mixture of both. Curse him, curse Cyborg, curse that mistletoe, curse my luck…
Then she realized that she could indeed move Cyborg. Or better yet…
Beast Boy went for it. His face inched closer, his eyes closed, his lips slightly puckered until… he made contact.
The first clue that something was wrong was the slight cold. Sure, he thought that Raven acted cold from time to time, but this was just strange. In addition, though he had not kissed many girls in his life, he could tell that what he connected with did not actually feel like lips.
The last clue was Cyborg’s cry. “B, what the heck are you doing?”
Beast Boy pulled back and opened his eyes to find out. What he saw was not the pale lips and angry eyes of the dark Titan, but the smooth, cool metal of Cyborg’s chest.
“Gah! CYBORG?!” He leaped back in shock. “Where’d Raven go?”
“She disappeared into the floor a second before you made out with my pecs.” The mechanical teen shook off the weirdness and patted the groaning Beast Boy on his shoulder. “Maybe next year, loverboy.”
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“I’m sure he’d be trying to shut my mouth right about now. ‘Dude, don’t talk about that!’” Cyborg tried his best Beast Boy impression, which was stretching out ‘dude’ and speaking in a high voice.
“Well, I wouldn’t blame him. That was awkward for everyone involved.” Raven flatly stated.
“Yeah, yeah.” Though that was true in Cyborg’s case, he still had something to say. “You know you liked it.”
“Again with this?” Raven blurted. “Must I repeat that I do not like him in that way?” she explained through gritted teeth, eyes focused on the one foolish enough to make the joke. “You keep saying it, and I keep denying it. You even convinced Robin!” she exclaimed, pointing to the masked hero, whose eyes rose at the attention placed on him.
Rather than either of the boys responding, Starfire was the one to add an interesting point. “But you do like him, correct?”
The fire in her violet eyes defused as Raven thought about it. “Well…” She looked over at the boy in question, his eyes still closed and his body still motionless, except for his chest as he breathed. “I don’t hate him. I did help you with that project, after all.”
The princess twirled her fingers around some locks of hair, and her eyes closed in near solemn recollection. “Yes. I still wait to show our gift to him.”
“We’re all waiting, Starfire.” Robin’s green-gloved hand rested on his girlfriend’s shoulder. “We’re all waiting.”
I do not own Teen Titans, but I wish I owned Control Freak’s remote. There have to be millions of people who have wanted to jump into a TV show, especially this one. (Jumping into TV is one of my top fantasies, right up there with a portable time machine.) Besides, who wouldn’t want to see the Titans Together vs. Dr. Light battle up close? Read and review.
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Teen Titans: You Idiot…
Part VI
Days blurred. The halls of Titans Tower were quiet. No games, no laughter, not even arguing had echoed its way around the building since the day of the incident. The summer sunlight did not even seem to penetrate the Tower’s dozens of windows; a blanket of sadness covered them all.
Raven actually loathed this “peace and quiet.” She knew it was because there was something missing, a sort of light or energy that faded from the Titans’ home on the cursed day. She herself felt drained, sleeping later, even losing interest in some of her books. Even in meditation, in the times when she could focus, she could taste the salty depression of her surroundings—and some within herself—on her tongue.
She—they needed him back.
And he will come back, she told herself. She refused to give up on the fool who got hurt. She had something to ask him, after all. Yet the melancholy pressed down on everyone, and the waiting was just so… annoying. Somewhere in the first or second week (without any important battles or interest in anything, she could only vaguely remember) she tried to remedy that.
---------------------------
“You’ve been spending more time down here recently.” Raven paid a visit to the team’s leader. As he was the only other Titan who seriously attempted to keep his feelings reserved, she decided to have a talk. Varied equipment, such as automated weights, treadmills, and projectile launchers, littered the training room. A passage linked to the Olympic sized room a floor below. Besides the opposite breathing of the two bird-named Titans, hers calm, his harsh, the only other sounds in the room were the smacks of green gloves making contact with a wooden dummy.
“True.” Robin let out a grunt as a right forearm cross-chopped over a wooden one. “But I’m not stopping. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Cyborg when I saw Beast Boy in the infirmary:—” another grunt, this time from a kick to the left side of his imaginary adversary— “This won’t happen again. I have to make sure.” The boy wonder kept his eyes on the inanimate opponent.
“As much as I don’t want that to happen again,” the sorceress’ fists tightened slightly at the word ‘that’, “how do you know it won’t? You never know when we will have such a fight again.”
“And that’s exactly why I’m training.” A heel drop connected with the “head” of the stiff-armed pillar.
“I told Cyborg something too when I saw… him.” Again, she found it hard to say the name. “I told him, ‘People get hurt.’ And people—”
“I certainly know that. We almost lost you, remember?” A right hook made its mark.
The gruff remark almost startled Raven. It was, of course, strange for someone to remind you of your own sort of “death.” Fighting her father was one of the most harrowing trials in the team’s career, yet there was one thing that mattered in the end.
“But I came back. And he still has a chance to do the same.” She had to admit, it felt strange to be the positive one on the team, but none of the others was here right now. She also had to admit that she was not just saying this to him, but to herself.
Raven elicited a sigh and carefully placed a hand on the acrobat’s shoulder, halting Robin’s next attack. “I may not be the right one to say this, but you should relax.” Her placid countenance shifted to a slight smirk as she grasped at an idea. “Maybe talk to your girlfriend?”
Robin’s rapid breathing began to slow as his shoulders slumped. He turned around with a weary look on his face, eyes seeming to droop through his mask. “You’re probably right, you know.” Rare moments like this, where the two actually talked to just one another, reminded him that Raven entering his head some time ago now gave her a bit of insight as to how his mind worked. He knew that she knew he was merely avoiding things (including his relationship), making her right yet again. Still, he would not let this loss go completely. It may have seemed peculiar for him to say, but these were peculiar times. Nevertheless, a shadow of a smirk slid onto his face this time as he started to walk through the sliding door.
“In the meantime, maybe you should see your boyfriend.”
Raven’s face fell back to normal.
“Very funny.”
----------------------------
“It is nice to see you here, Raven. It has been quite a time since we have all talked to one another.”
“Yeah, but I figured this… thing would be sort of hard for everyone.” The Azarathean’s other stop on her “tour” was to see her essential opposite, the alien princess Starfire.
Starfire’s room, once forbidden territory for Raven, emphasized their differences. The room’s bright purple and pink tones (two of Starfire’s favorite colors—she liked almost all of the bright ones) almost hurt the magic-wielder’s eyes. The glowing-green eyed teen covered her dresser with stuffed toys from her various adventures around the world, as well as during would-be quiet dates with her primary-colored loved one. Raven’s dresser was indeed messy as well, but with literature and candles instead of plush animals.
“It certainly is hard.” Orange-tinted fingers wrapped around ends of flowing red hair as the former monarch’s voice dropped with her mood. “I wish that accursed day had never come. Every time I think about it, a pain wells up inside. That scientist…” Her hands almost threatened to glow with energy as she envisioned the villain’s face. “I fear that with this sadness, I may even lose my power of flight.” As she mentioned her fear, the natural glow in her emerald eyes seemed to fade. Closing her eyes, the redhead whispered, “I pray to X’hal every night for our friend’s return.”
“Trouble with your powers, huh?” Raven still had trouble meditating, still had the dream, even after she saw him. In a few occasions, she would wake up to see herself, or objects in her bedroom, levitating before crashing to the floor—she lost a mirror that way. In addition, though she would not admit this to her friends, on the night of her visit to the infirmary, before she drifted to what remnants of sleep she would get, she had silently prayed to Azar.
“Me too.”
“Really? I knew I was not alone! Though we are separate, we are all still connected.” Suddenly, Starfire’s eyes relit as she remembered a mission she appointed herself in the beginning of this trying time. I cannot believe I had almost forgotten! Resurged with a bit of new life, the princess hurriedly opened a drawer (clearing out a few souvenirs in the process) to reveal something, placing it into pale hands. “I have been making this to show our connection. Robin helped.” She looked over to Raven in silent thanks for convincing him to leave the training room for other reasons than food and crime. The empath nodded in understanding.
“No one said anything when I asked previously, but it seems as if things are changing, so…” Starfire desired nothing more than for everyone to be together, and maybe the object in her dark friend’s lap would be the catalyst. Pulling out her most innocent face, she offered, “Would you like to help?”
Raven looked down at the object, mulling it over. Why not? She peeked inside. Eyebrows rose at the contents, and she quickly shut it closed. Locking her eyes on her sisterly opposite, the darkly cloaked Titan knew how to reply.
“Of course.”
----------------------------
Time passed, but now the curtain of melancholy instead lifted off just a bit higher. Thanks to Raven’s little tour, the team could finally open up and meet outside of mission briefing. For once, more than one visitor was in the infirmary at once. One day, the entire team had awkwardly collided at the door, and all decided to share good times.
“Remember when he switched your hair gel with barbecue sauce?” Cyborg laughed.
“Oh yeah. That.” The boy wonder could still recall wondering why dogs kept mysteriously showing up whenever he went on patrol. “I gave him double duty on dishes for that stunt.”
“I still don’t think he actually did them.” Raven muttered, putting a skeptic eye on the patient just to her left.
“I remember when Beast Boy switched your CDs with salami.” Robin replied to Cyborg, cutting off his laughter.
“Not funny.” Cyborg was surprised that for someone who vowed against eating meat, the green teen had such a unique use for it. Then another thought came up. “Hey Rae, remember last Christmas?” he asked slyly.
“Ah yes, that,” Raven dryly replied.
----------------------------
“Merry Christmas, everybody!” The cry rang out as Beast Boy burst into the living room. He sauntered over to the couch, where he spotted violet hair, and set his dangerous plan into action. “Merry Christmas, Rae.”
She heard the jovial greeting, but kept her eyes on the TV. “It’s Raven.” A sigh escaped, “…and merry Christmas.”
“Check out what I bought at the mall yesterday.”
The magic-wielding Titan began to turn around. “What did you buy that could possibly interest—” No.
The sight she saw would haunt her for the rest of the day. Beast Boy was wearing a green beret. What almost made Raven run, however, was not his headgear, but what was hanging from it.
It was a sprig of mistletoe.
Raven slowly stood up and backed away from the couch, inching toward the door—no, not today, not in a million—only to bump into Cyborg, who silently witnessed the little scene with a curious grin. “Pucker up, Raven. You know the rules.” Raven, who glanced behind her at Cyborg with a glare, now turned back to the prankster.
Beast Boy, who once started with a mischievous smile, now replaced it with a nervous one. He bought the hat on a whim, a crazy scenario; he never thought he would actually get this far. He would try to… now he could barely think of it, she would slap him and they would go their separate ways until they opened presents. Now he actually had to… to kiss her.
Raven, meanwhile, wanted nothing more than to push Cyborg aside and run to her room, where she could quiet down the weird feeling in her gut. She could not tell exactly if it was disgust or nervousness, or maybe a mixture of both. Curse him, curse Cyborg, curse that mistletoe, curse my luck…
Then she realized that she could indeed move Cyborg. Or better yet…
Beast Boy went for it. His face inched closer, his eyes closed, his lips slightly puckered until… he made contact.
The first clue that something was wrong was the slight cold. Sure, he thought that Raven acted cold from time to time, but this was just strange. In addition, though he had not kissed many girls in his life, he could tell that what he connected with did not actually feel like lips.
The last clue was Cyborg’s cry. “B, what the heck are you doing?”
Beast Boy pulled back and opened his eyes to find out. What he saw was not the pale lips and angry eyes of the dark Titan, but the smooth, cool metal of Cyborg’s chest.
“Gah! CYBORG?!” He leaped back in shock. “Where’d Raven go?”
“She disappeared into the floor a second before you made out with my pecs.” The mechanical teen shook off the weirdness and patted the groaning Beast Boy on his shoulder. “Maybe next year, loverboy.”
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“I’m sure he’d be trying to shut my mouth right about now. ‘Dude, don’t talk about that!’” Cyborg tried his best Beast Boy impression, which was stretching out ‘dude’ and speaking in a high voice.
“Well, I wouldn’t blame him. That was awkward for everyone involved.” Raven flatly stated.
“Yeah, yeah.” Though that was true in Cyborg’s case, he still had something to say. “You know you liked it.”
“Again with this?” Raven blurted. “Must I repeat that I do not like him in that way?” she explained through gritted teeth, eyes focused on the one foolish enough to make the joke. “You keep saying it, and I keep denying it. You even convinced Robin!” she exclaimed, pointing to the masked hero, whose eyes rose at the attention placed on him.
Rather than either of the boys responding, Starfire was the one to add an interesting point. “But you do like him, correct?”
The fire in her violet eyes defused as Raven thought about it. “Well…” She looked over at the boy in question, his eyes still closed and his body still motionless, except for his chest as he breathed. “I don’t hate him. I did help you with that project, after all.”
The princess twirled her fingers around some locks of hair, and her eyes closed in near solemn recollection. “Yes. I still wait to show our gift to him.”
“We’re all waiting, Starfire.” Robin’s green-gloved hand rested on his girlfriend’s shoulder. “We’re all waiting.”
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