Teen Titans: Twilight of the Gods (IC/Limited Acceptance/S/PG-16)

[Hälō]

After watching Blake and Kiara place their orders with the waiter before running off to do their own thing, Roxie grabbed the poor man by his collar and pulled him in close. "Cheese," She whispered. "ALL THE CHEESE!" suddenly shouting with excitement, the girl released the man, before leaping over the seat and making her way towards the games. 

 

It had been quite a long time since she'd visited Aurora Pizza Xtreme: Diner and Arcade- about two week if she remembered correctly. "Johnny!" The blonde called out to a young-man who couldn't have been more than eleven. Watching as the kid's face lit up at the sight her, Roxie extended her hand towards the lad and preformed an extremely intricate secret a shake before suddenly recoil as if she where in pain after they ended it with a high five. "Gah! Wow mate have you been working out???" The blonde whistled as she rubbed her palm. "Almost took my bloody arm off that time, love..." 

 

"Yea I have!" Johnny responded almost instantly beaming with confidence. "I told you I'm going to be a Titan one day just like you, Ha-" "Shhhhhh" Roxie silenced the boy with a finger to the lips. "I told you guys that ya can't go giving away my secret code name!" Johnny's eyes widened in realization, before he nodded his head in understanding. Lowering her finger from the little boy's lips, Roxie shared a laugh with the lad before glancing around the arcade. "hm, where's your sister and the rest of the gang?"  

 

little Johnny's expression suddenly shifted, causing Roxie's eyes to narrow slightly. "Oh com'on not again..." The former knight sighed before hoisting Arondite over her shoulder and moving towards the back of the arcade with Johnny close behind. 

[Ren✧]

"Baby, you can give up now and we can just begin our date." Coop offered, raising his upper lip. No doubt he thought the expression was supposed to be alluring, but Kiara could not be more repulsed by the boy. She had to remind herself to hit the punching bag in front of her and not him. 

 

Kiara wound up to strike the dangling punching bag, a confident smirk on her face. Coop had already wasted a good deal of time, flexing and whatnot before hitting the bag and only managing to score walloping 216. This kid talked a big game, but he had nothing to back it up. Of course, even if he did, Kiara would have been able to easily clean the floor with him anyway. Oh well, she liked it better this. Hopefully now he would leave everyone alone and leave the arcade goers in peace. 

 

Kiara's fist crashed into the punching bag, causing it to ricochet back and forth as a red blur. She watched as Coop's eyes grew wide as the numbers that tallied her strength continued to climb. Finally as the bag's momentum started to slow, the tally maxed out at 999. With a feminine giggle and Kiara forcefully poked Coop in the center of his chest, causing him to stumble backwards. 

 

"Now," She said, trying to sound as infuriatingly sweet and condescending as possible. That would get his testosterone-charged, man-baby attitude nice and angry, "why don't you go and get out of here before someone sees that the king has been dethroned." 

 

Feeling strangely empowered by striking out against the misogynistic clown, Kiara collected the tickets she had won from the strength game and quickly exchanged them for a plastic tiara. 

[King K. Azo]

Batsu was confused, a feeling he was becoming more and more familiar with. Earthlings did strange things, like set up entire buildings with strange devices that flashed odd lights and emitted strange sounds. They seemed similar to those 'video games' the others played while he trained. Still, he was getting slightly irratated. They interrupted his training to come here? Looking around, he could tell this was a place for children, not for guardians of the planet!

 

"I'm just glad to get out of the Tower. I was starting to lose my mind in there." Kiara said to the group. Okay, it was for morale reasons. He could get behind that, he supposed. Still annoyed him, since he didn't need the morale lift.

 

"Hey Batsu...these are earth kids...way squishier than any of us. If one runs into you on accident...make sure not to lose your temper alright? Don't want any of these guys to end up stuck inside the side of a arcade machine." Blake laughed. Batsu choose not to retort, since that jab was in good fun. He was finally beginning to tell when Blake was joking...

 

The team slid into the booth Blake picked, and the boy genius made sure to get an outside seat or some reason. An Earthling in a embarrassingly silly costume came over with some sort of writing device for some reason..."Give us the biggest pie you got! I guess we'll split it into fourths..I would like my fourth with every single meat you have in the back please!"

 

"You know what? Surprise me, just no anchovies, alright?" Kiara said to the waiter with a wink. Roxie grabbed the poor man by his collar and pulled him in close.

 

"Cheese," She whispered. "ALL THE CHEESE!" she suddenly yelled, causing Batsu to blink. Humans were strange, strange creatures. The team then just suddenly... Dispersed, leaving a very confused alien and a very shaken waiter, who looked at Batsu, waiting for his order.

 

The alien was now caught in a situation where he didn't know what to do. What was the right answer here? He sat there with a blank look before stating,

 

"Give me everything they're having," the waiter nodded and walked off. Batsu just sat at the table awkwardly, unsure of what to do. He then felt someone... Staring at him. He turned and looked to his right, where he saw a small group of kids all staring at him. "... What?" he asked.

 

"You look funny," A boy said bluntly, pointing at one of the many scars covering his body.

 

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" he growled slightly, trying to control his temper. A different boy pointed at a scar on his shoulder.

 

"Where did you get that?" He asked. Batsu took a look at the one the young Earthling was talking about and reached into his memories banks to recall that.

 

"I got it from fighting a Hoii," he explained. The kids blinked in a confused manner.

 

"What's a Hoii?" A girl called out. Batsu thought of a way to describe it.

 

"It is like a lizard... Only as big as a house, with wings coming from its back, and it can breath fire," he explained. The children's eyes widen.

 

"You fought a dragon?!" One called out. Batsu blinked. What was a dragon?

 

"I suppose so...," he answered. The children all piled into the booth, climbing over the others to get a seat.

 

"Tell us about it!!" They demanded. Batsu blinked, but began to tell his tale of Batsu, the Puncher of Dragons.

[Ren✧]

---

 

GM Post: Teen Not a Titan

---

 

The newly crowned queen of Aurora Pizza Xtreme strutted through her kingdom enjoying whatever perceived power the crown on her head gave her. Thinking about her encounter with the boy, Coop, Kiara couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Of all the people in the arcade he had chose to hit on, it had been her. How incredibly unlucky for him. Honestly the only way he could have made a more unfortunate pick is if he had targeted Roxie. Kiara was fairly certain that the blonde-headed bombshell would have punched the guy in the face instead of settling for a punching bag. ...Or perhaps she would have seduced him into her ever-growing horde of suitors. Not that it would have taken much work. The telepath shuddered at the thought of it. 

 

As Kiara loftily perused the pizza diner, the rest of the team seemed to be enjoying themselves. Blake appeared completely at home. He was still deftly beating every high score, probably scores that he helped set, on video games that would have been retro over a century ago. Always careful to maintain a small telepathic link when possible with her teammates in a crowd, Kiara could feel Blake's emotions. Or at least, she could try to interpret what he was feeling at the moment. Since she had known the boy genius, this was the closest thing to carefree she could truly say she had seen him. 

 

She had just barely caught sight of Roxie. The stallion of a woman had been trudging off towards a corner of the arcade that Kiara hadn't explored yet with a child at her side. Kiara knew that several of the kids that frequented the arcade knew Roxie so Kiara figured it was some game they were playing. Still she was a bit worried. Hopefully she didn't get carried away and...you know...blow a kid up. Kiara doubted that even the Justice League could get them out of that. 

 

Feeling her stomach growl, Kiara decided it was time to return to the table and see if their order had arrived. She hadn't expected to stumble upon the cutest scene she had witnessed since becoming a Titan. Still at the booth was Batsu surrounded by children. He seemed to be regaling them with stories of his homeworld. Feeling the cloud of wonder and excitement that was rising from the gaggle from kids that had taken to the alien, Kiara decided it best not to interrupt...even though she was incredibly hungry. 

 

Still admiring how gentle Batsu seemed amidst the sea of boys and girls, Kiara completely missed the warning signs that were going off in her head. The anger. The anxiety. The embarrassment. So much resentment. The emotions could clearly be read on his face, one didn't need telepathy. Unfortunately, Kiara's back was turned. The gun went off before anyone had any time to prepare. Fortunately, the target was protected by arcane enchantments that would require a lot more than a bullet to get through and said bullet ricocheted off. It is just really unfortunate that ricochets do have to hit something.

 

Lending her scream of pain to those of surprise and panic, a middle-aged woman with jet black hair fell to the ground clutching the side of her blouse now stained crimson. A girl, no older than 10 and with the same color of hair as the woman, looked to the collapsed woman with confusion and fear in her eyes as hysteria broke around the pair. 

 

Kiara whirled around to see the shooter, her tiara falling off her head as Coop came into her line of vision. Suddenly everything pieced itself together and despite the fact that people were screaming and running, Kiara saw only Coop. She could end this real fast. He was a fraction of a second away. No one else would get hurt. However, just as she prepared to move Coop grabbed a woman in an Aurora Pizza Xtreme uniform and held the gun to her head, bringing the woman in close to his body, using her as a shield. Kiara stopped.

 

"Anyone makes a move against me or if I see any cell phones. This b**** gets wasted. I don't know what the f*** you are," He said gesturing at Kiara, "but you should be dead. So, just know that if anyone dies that it should have been you."

 

---

[spoiler=OOC]

The Titans' day off has taken a turn for the absolutely worst. Pissbaby Coop is back with a vengeance and he isn't playing games. The Titans' priority should be to save the people in the Arcade and then to apprehend Coop. The main doors to the arcade are blocked by Coop and the hostage that he has taken. You need to find a way to get these people out of here. Also, someone has been hit. Get them help. Don't let anyone die. 

 

Titans don't get a day off. 

 

 

 

[Mr. Hyde]

The gunshot made him lose his concentration, and he had lost his last Galaga.  A nice afternoon out...ruined like always.  He made sure not to make any sudden movements as he scanned his surroundings, trying to get a fix on his fellow Titans in the process.  Roxie had moved towards the back of the arcade with a child.  Good...she was safe.  Batsu was stuck in a crowd of young children though...he couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing.  The kids were all crying, of course they had every right to be.  It would surely test the limit of Batsu's patience.  

 

Blake looked towards their new friend and shook his head as if to say, "Don't do what I think you're going to do."  What was the worth of a single life to Batsu anyways...Blake had to make sure that their newest member was an asset to the team, and not a hindrance.  

 

Kiara was standing in between their table, and some arcade machines.  The woman in pain on the ground had been shot, but calculating the angle the shooter would've had to take that shot, he found it impossible.  The only other solution was that it bounce off of Kiara's shield, and ricocheted towards another target.  Looking at the scoreboard of his Game Over screen, one name held most of the four-spaced spots.  

 

"Anyone makes a move against me or if I see any cell phones. This b**** gets wasted. I don't know what the f*** you are, but you should be dead. So, just know that if anyone dies that it should have been you."

 

Why did all the crazies live in Aurora City?  He shook his damn head.  With his hands raised in the air above his head, Blake slowly rose from his arcade stool.  He'd show his Titans that there was more than one way out of a sticky situation...that didn't involve fists at least.  

 

"Cooper!"  He took a guess from the High Score screen earlier.  A kid with this many top scores must've had a high inferiority complex.  "Listen...whatever caused all of this commotion, it's not worth what you're getting yourself into.  You've taken a hostage, and held up this place with a gun.  There are children here for gods sake!"  He calmed his tone.  "Nobody here needs to get hurt Cooper, especially not you or anyone else.  Now...lets put the gun down, and forget all of this ever happened."  

[Ren✧]

"Nobody here needs to get hurt Cooper, especially not you or anyone else.  Now...lets put the gun down, and forget all of this ever happened."  Blake persuaded, capturing the shooter and the arcade's attention. Kiara turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of her teammate, but made sure not to let Coop out of her line of sight either. As Blake stood up she could feel Coop get more agitated. This kid really wasn't messing around. If the Titans did the wrong thing here they could end up getting someone killed. 

 

"Blake stop moving around." Kiara sent the boy-genius a telepathic warning, hoping he'd take her advice. Clearly there wasn't something quite right with Coop if he was willing to shoot up an arcade because a girl rejected. "He's even more unstable than he appears. He's unraveling." It was apparent that Coop didn't quite know what to do. His plan had obviously been to kill Kiara and get out. However, that obviously hadn't worked out. In fact, it had gone about as horribly wrong as murder can go. 

 

"Forget this happened?" Coop asked incredulously, laughing wildly at the notion that Blake had presented. "You think she's gonna forget this?" He asked Blake, pulling his hostage in tighter, causing her to cry out in pain. "What about her?" He briefly gestured with his gun at the woman bleeding on the floor. "Or them?" The children cowered under the gaze of the pistol. "I know for sure she isn't gonna forget." He gestured with his chin roughly at Kiara, a sneer on his face. "So, no. I don't think this can just be swept under the rug. It's a bit late for that."

 

Now Coop was trapped. If he ran, the Titans would catch up to him. If he fought. the Titans would beat him. His only option was to stay put and hold these people at gun point, but even that could work for so long. Eventually someone would break. Besides, there was another timer that the Titans were on. There was a woman bleeding out on the floor just a few meters behind Kiara that she couldn't get to. She was trying to ignore the sobs of her daughter. 

 

Briefly recalling that Roxie had been in the back of arcade, hopefully out of sight, Kiara reached out telepathically to her. "You've got to figure out a way to help these people. A woman up here is going to bleed to death. The shooter is staring at Blake and I, and Batsu is much too big to get to her stealthily."

 

One thing was for certain the more time that ticked by the closer they came to a fatality. 

[King K. Azo]

"And that's how Daigo and I not only defeated an herd of Hoii, but managed to fight off our teacher off at the same time," Batsu finished up the third story, taking the time to eat his slice of pizza covered in a lot of cheese, a bunch of fruits and veggies, and every meat in the store... minus anchovies. He had to wonder what those where and how they tasted...

 

"Wow," A kid said. "You and Daigo sounded super close!" Batsu nodded, looking at his slice of pizza.

"Yes... we were almost like... brothers...," Batsu said, trying to ignore the aching in his hearts. Dammit, now was not the time to show weakness. Then he heard it.

It was the sound of one of the Earth's weapons known as a 'gun' going off. Immediately, he dived in front of the children he was telling stories to, ready to take a bullet for them. However, the bullet didn't fly to them. No, it instead flew at a woman, nailing her in the leg. Oh no, oh no, oh no. She was hit, they could see the blood. Children shouldn't have to see this kind of thing...

 

"Anyone makes a move against me or if I see any cell phones. This b**** gets wasted. I don't know what the f*** you are, but you should be dead. So, just know that if anyone dies that it should have been you." A small man-child that seemed like he would have tiny reproductive systems (That was an insult on Earth, right? Right...) stood there, holding a worker hostage. Crap, crap crap crap. He couldn't just charge in and deck the guy, that would be... too dangrous to everyone else around here... even if he really wanted to deck the guy. They better let him punch him when this was done...

 

"Nobody here needs to get hurt Cooper, especially not you or anyone else.  Now...lets put the gun down, and forget all of this ever happened."  Blake tried to calm down this... Cooper. Batsu shot his teammate a look. Really? Really? The man pulled a gun and they were supposed to forget this? While we're at it, let's hope for rainbows to magically appear and Cygnus to be less of a condescending ujj.

 

"Forget this happened?" Coop asked, having a nice 'super-villain in the making' laugh. "You think she's gonna forget this?" He asked Blake, pulling his hostage in tighter, causing her to cry out in pain. "What about her?" He briefly gestured with his gun at the woman bleeding on the floor. "Or them?" The children cowered under the gaze of the pistol. "I know for sure she isn't gonna forget." He gestured with his chin roughly at Kiara, a sneer on his face. "So, no. I don't think this can just be swept under the rug. It's a bit late for that."

 

Batsu couldn't agree more. He slowly started to inch over to the woman, barely moving, hoping that the saying 'slow and steady wins the race' applied here. Please, let him get there in time, and please, let the stupid man not notice.

[Hälō]

 "You've got to figure out a way to help these people. A woman up here is going to bleed to death. The shooter is staring at Blake and I, and Batsu is much too big to get to her stealthily."

 

"Already working on it.." Roxie responded to Kiara mentally, whilst glancing down at the faces of the children that huddled around her. As expected of a young hero, Johnny did his best to comfort the others, placing his arm around one of the younger children as he looked up at Roxie expectantly despite the obvious fear he himself was experiencing.

 

Peaking around the corner to survey the situation, the blonde couldn't help be thankful that she had ventured in the back to deal with the bullying that was taking place behind the vending machines... "Wait!" Her eyes widened in realization, as the girl's brain began working in overdrive. Spinning around to face the children again, Roxie allowed her gaze to dance across all their features before settling it on young lady that stood a few paces away from the rest of the group despite the danger they were all in. 

 

"Andrea!" She whispered the girl's name whilst silently gliding to her side. Though the former knight didn't wait for a response. In all her time spent in the arcade she had never heard the girl utter a single word, regardless of what kind of harassment the others had put her through. Looking up at Roxie with wide eyes, the girl listened intently as the blonde whispered her scheme into her ears. 

 

 

"I need you to be brave for me, my dear... Let it all out just like I told ya." Roxie assured young Andrea as she popped open a hatch to reveal an amassment of poorly maintained wiring. Watching has the girl shakily stepped towards the wires and placed her hand atop the circuit breaker, the former knight slid off her shoes and placed her bare feet on the building's sticky red carpet. "Johnny, make sure to keep everyone back until my friends take care of the bad guys, alright?" As she addressed the boy, Roxie placed Arondite into his hands before motioning over to the other children. Determined to be of use, Johnny nodded before joining the rest of the kids behind the cover of the vending machines. 

 

"1, 2," The blonde silently mouthed her countdown to Andrea before willing her spider bombs to crawl into her open palm. "3" In an instant, blue sparks of electricity seemed to erupt from little Andrea's fingertips, sending enormous amount of energy throughout the building's faulty wiring and causing the lights to go out with a low hum. Without a moment to spare, Roxie burst forward with kinetically enhanced speed, bringing herself to a sliding halt behind armed assailant before tossing her spiderbombs forward to erupt in several disorienting flashes.  Praying that her teammates would see her trademark golden blur through the darkness and grasp the situation before Coop did, Roxie shielded her eyes and waited for what came next...

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"You know guys, as down as I am with taking some time off, I could really use some time to write."

 

 

That was Benjamin's response to Kiara's thought of taking a break. Of course he did want to hang out with the team, have fun, enjoy life. But nevertheless, he had this idea in his head for too long...and his epiphany finally came today. His first story, the one story that would be going on shelves as his starting book. And it was all thanks to Cygnus and Roxie for their respective knowledge in the Medieval age and even Cygnus' knowledge in French.

 

The moment he hit his room, the sounds of keyboard typing was heard, along with the occasional blaring of music. He was going to finish this, he was going to finish it....today!

 

 

 

[spoiler=The Story's End]

BGM

 

"Sir Cyrus...?"

 

Cyrus heard the cooing of Odile, causing the white armored knight to turn away from his steed, to see the princess standing at the doorway to the stables. "My princess, why have you come?" he sighed, looking away from the beautiful one before him. "I had wished not to see you, before I departed."

 

"Yes, Sir Cyrus." Odile responded softly. "But I could not, nay, I would not be alright until I saw you off. After your engagement with the dragon under Adrien's control and even stopping Adrien from his unfathomable techniques in the dark arts, I prayed you would stay for a bit longer."

"Aye, and I would indeed stay." Cyrus spoke, his gaze returning to Odile. "But you know as well as I do, my princess, that the longer I stay, the more danger that would be caused by Adrien and his magic. It is the duty of a knight to protect what I care for..." he paused. "To protect who I care for."

 

The two continued to stare at each other, until finally Odile embraced Cyrus, holding him tightly and not letting go. Cyrus could hear the young girl sobbing, even hearing her tears colliding with his ivory armor. He tried his hardest to fight the tears that hung in his eyes, but it was not to be. From his eyes, the ivory knight began to cry as well, continuing to hold onto Odile and not letting her go. The minutes seemed to tick away as the two continued to hold each other endearingly, but alas, this slowly was broken apart by the ivory knight.

 

Cyrus wiped the tears from his eyes and then Odile's eyes, before he took her hand and slightly kissed it. "Odile, I promise to you, I will return to you." he spoke, his voice cracking with sadness. "I will defeat Adrien and return to you."

 

Odile's hand remained held by Cyrus until she put her other hand on top of his. She gave off a faint smile before slipping something into his hand. It was a small ring with the emblem of a swan engraved into it. "Then return to me, Sir Cyrus." she said softly. "This will give you reason to return to me."

The ivory knight remained quiet, only holding the ring in his hand as he looked at Odile. A small nod came forth as he turned and mounted his steed, before trotting out of the stables. With small jolt of his foot, the painted horse galloped away fast from the kingdom. He jolted his foot again, the horse ran faster. Then faster. And faster...

 

Cyrus tugged on the reins of the horse, before he stopped and looked back behind him. Now the kingdom of Orléans was but a faint glimpse, a far distant goal now. He looked away, directing his gaze only to the swan engraved ring. His mind could only drift back to Odile and her beauty. Cyrus couldn't stand being apart from the love of his life, but he swore an oath, and as a knight, he knew he would have to uphold it. He put the ring into the satchel on the horse, before jolting it's side again, riding off towards the rising sun.

The sunlight glistening over his ivory armor. And once more, the swan knight rode off, to finish his quest once and for all.

 

 

 

"Well...what do you think?" Benjamin asked, twirling a pen in his hand, as he waited for the response.

 

"I have to say, you do have my writing skills. So I'm proud of you for that. Buuuuuuut..."

 

"Buuuuuuut?"

 

"I know how much you learned through your classes...how much help did you have?"

 

"Oh jeez, thanks for the vote of confidence mom!"

 

Felicia giggled as she spoke on the other end of the phone. "I'm being honest, son. Remember, I know you all too well, Benjamin." she said. "So who helped?"

 

Benjamin sighed. "Two of my teammates. Cygnus and Roxie..."

 

"Well I understand the whole 'Cyrus' name for the knight." Felicia giggled."Regardless, I'm glad you've done work with it. I'll send it to my publisher and send you the first few copies, that way you can hand them to your friends."

 

"Thanks mom." Benjamin said, grabbing his TV remote and turned it on as he watched the news channel suddenly pop up. It mentioned an "Aurora Pizza Xtreme" and a shooting and he stayed stunned. Wait...wasn't that the place...oh no...

 

"Ben? What's wrong?"

 

"Mom, gonna have to call ya back." Benjamin said, before hanging up the phone and quickly grabbing his costume. He zipped up his hoodie and pulled his fingerless gloves on. Hang on guys...cavalry's coming! he thought, as he put his goggles on his head, before knocking on Cygnus' door. "Cygnus! Cygnus we got trouble!" Benjamin said, hearing no response. "Oh c'mon Cygnus! I know you can hear me!!!" He sighed and then proceeded to knock on the door multiple times.

 

"Cygnus...Cygnus...Cygnus...Cygnus..."

[Ren✧]

Cygnus hadn't heard anything from his fellow Titans all day and quite honestly, it had been fantastic. Or, at least, that's what he told himself. The solitude, the quiet. Those were the things that he used to enjoy! Now, however, something felt almost amiss if he wasn't being bothered by some adolescent or another. It was amazing how dependent he had become on his teammates...his friends. Perhaps he was regretting so quickly shutting down the idea of having some time off. Kiara had been, after all, just trying to boost morale, something that all leaders should do. It may have been selfish to so easily dismiss it.

 

But, no. It didn't matter. Going out today was out of the question. It just wasn't safe. Tonight was the new moon. His powers would be null, even now he was next to defenseless. What if something were to happen? He would just be in the way. Another liability. Another casualty. It pained him to think like that, but he knew the limitations of his own powers, even if his teammates didn't. There was no way he could jeopardize things just to go play at some sticky arcade.

 

 "Cygnus! Cygnus we got trouble!" Ben's voiced crashed through his inner thoughts like the first clap of thunder on a silent.

 

"You bet we do." The Frenchmen thought, the image of all the spiders that now occupied the dark corners of Titans' Tower. 

 

"Oh c'mon Cygnus! I know you can hear me!!! Cygnus...Cygnus...Cygnus...Cygnus..."

 

"Listen, whatever the problem is, I can't deal with it. Not today. I'm sure you can handle it. You're a Titan." After a moment, the sorcerer added, "I'm sorry." Hoping that Ben had already left to fix whatever problem he thought they had. 

 

 

"Already working on it.." The former knight responded. Good. The sooner Roxie thought of something, the sooner they were all out of this mess. Kiara had already been through everything she could think of. Obviously a frontal assault wasn't going to work, she just couldn't risk any civilian lives. She had tried to worm her way inside of Coop's head, but despite the growth in her telepathic powers, it had proven time consuming and taxing to keep her mental invasion of the boy's mind a secret. All of his anger and frustration, not to mention paranoia and anxiety, made a solid mental defense against her stealthy telepathic attacks, she would either need a lot more time or forgo stealth and take up brute force to overwhelm Coop's mind. Neither would prove beneficial for the hostages. 

 

Fortunately, that's when the opportunity presented itself. The lights in the arcade flickered and dimmed, bringing them into semi-darkness, only able to see by the sunlight streaming in through the closed shades. Knowing that Roxie must be responsible, Kiara knew what must be next. Shielding her eyes, she avoided the disorienting bursts of light from the spider bombs. 

 

"Batsu, get them out of here and to a hospital!" Kiara commanded, knowing that sudden spur of action could divert from what needed to be done. Assigning Batsu to take the wounded mother and her frantic daughter to a hospital in the confusion of Roxie's attack would get one of the many heavy things off of the telepath's mind. 

 

Knowing that Coop would only be disoriented for so long, Kiara turned to keep him occupied long enough for Batsu to get his job done. Taking two long strides towards the blinded gunmen, she slammed her heel into his foot. Crying out in pain, Coop released his immediate hostage whom Kiara ushered to safety. 

 

"Don't let me go. He'll shoot me! He'll shoot me!!" The women cried, clinging to Kiara for dear life.

[King K. Azo]

"Batsu, get them out of here and to a hospital!" Kiara mentally ordered Batsu. He didn't need to be told twice. He took a dive at the woman and the child, sprouting his extra arms to grab the two as he tumbled past them. Adjusting his grip on them so he held the woman with two arms positioned in such a way that held back the bleeding and using two more to hold the young child, he started charging at a wall.

 

Normally, he could just ram through it and keep going, but that was too risky here. Instead, he leapt up as he ran and smashed his foot into the wall, making it collapse as he flew through it. He managed to skid to a stop on the sidewalk and make a mad dash to the hospital. If he went in a straight line, it would take him less than ten minutes to get there, but the twists and turns of the city road would slow him down. Guess he wouldn't take the roads then.

 

He bounced up for a tiny hop before kicking off the ground for a mighty leap, sends the three soaring into the air. He could hear the screams of the woman and child as he flew up. Heck, he wasn't too sure about this. He never really did it that much. However, his high jump managed to propel them to a rooftop of a smaller building. From there, he hopped from rooftop to rooftop to get to the hospital in record time.

 

Man, he needed to experiment with these powers more.

[Mr. Hyde]

Roxie had cut the lights.  As soon as she did, Blake turned on the night vision mode in his one eye.  Once it was on, a super bright flash came from in front of Cooper that it almost blinded him.  He closed his eye to try and stop the vision impairment, but it was already too late.  The system was re-calibrating.  He sighed as he opened his right eye, his human eye.  Once he did that, a rush of air almost knocked him off his feet.  He knew it was Batsu, who was taking away the injured as Kiara had instructed.  

 

"These damn titans are gonna get me killed I swear!"  He thought to himself, cracking a smile.  

 

With his vision coming back to, he realized Cooper was hostage-less.  Now it was his turn!  Words weren't going to help him this time, so now it was all up to Blake to save the day!  He started running towards Cooper, and as soon as he approached him, jumped in the air to tackle the guy.  

 

Cooper must've been shocked, for when he felt the full force of Blake knock into him, he pulled his finger tightly.  

 

*BANG*!  

 

Another gunshot rang throughout the arcade.  Blake was on top of Cooper now, his arm pinning the other boys hand to the ground.  His other arm was shoved up against Cooper's neck.  Blake was panting, and blood was dripping onto Cooper's shirt.  With a smile on his face, and blood dripping down his lip, Blake sighed.  He was only human after all.  He wasn't invincible like how his other teammates seemingly were.  Without his suit, what was he?  Nothing.  But today, he tried to be more without the suit.  It reminded him of the Howler Ring, and how he stood toe to toe with big baddies without his armor.  

 

The pain was settling in, and he could hear sirens in the background.  Weakly he asked, "Is anyone else hurt?!"

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Listen, whatever the problem is, I can't deal with it. Not today. I'm sure you can handle it. You're a Titan. I'm sorry."

 

Benjamin clenched his fists when he heard this response from Cygnus, before shaking his head. He wasn't sure what the heck the swan was doing but it seemed a bit more important than helping the others. Scratch that...he was a Titan as well, and helping others was just part of the job and title of a hero. "Yeah..." he simply said, before running down the hallway, heading directly towards a window. He slid his goggles and mask on, before pressing a button on his communicator. Suddenly the window slid open.

 

Benjamin leaped through the window, his hand connecting with the side of Titan's Tower as he slung himself onto it, quickly scurrying up the building towards the top of the roof. Upon reaching the roof, he flipped up and rushed towards the edge. "Okay...the arcade they went to...is..." he started, before hearing the sirens of police cars and ambulances. "There...follow the sirens I suppose."

 

The only thing left to do was...getting over there in time. Currently, Benjamin was at Titan's Tower and without Cygnus there to give him the much needed lift into the air right now, he was stuck. There was an option...well two. "Could construct some way for me to swing from webs. Naaaaaahhhh, way too comic-bookish." he sighed, as he snapped his fingers, the spiders pouring from his body on command. "Alright guys, something we haven't done in a while. Make shift wing suit." At this he held his hands out to the sides, and the spiders latched from his arm and began to spin web after web in the shape of the wing suit's wings. Once they were done, Benjamin only took a small breath.

 

"Alright...here I go!" he said, running off the building's roof....

 

BGM

 

Suddenly Benjamin was in the air, soaring at a quick pace. "WHOOOOOO!!!" he screamed as he soared, following (to the best of his abilities) the police and the ambulance.

 

It wasn't long before Benjamin could see the arcade's roof. "Alright...a nice lan-" he stopped, only moments after hearing his left web wing ripping. "Oh crap..." he gulped, as he started going into a spiral towards the roof. Benjamin quickly did his best to get the web wings off him, as the roof came only inches closer. He managed and finally somersaulted forward onto the roof. "N-Nailed it..."

 

Benjamin quickly got up after hearing some commotion outside of the arcade. Peeking over the edge, he saw the cops already bringing out a young teen and a gun in an evidence bag. Wait...the shooting...was from him? he thought, only to notice the gang of Titans emerging from the arcade. Guess they had this...still, better to be here late than at all... Benjamin sighed, before running off the roof, near the building's rear and switched out of his costume and back into his regular clothes.

 

 

BGM

 

Benjamin threw his bag over his shoulder as he made it towards the arcade, seeing his friends there. He moved quickly as he, rubbed the back of his head. "Uh...hey guys." he sighed, seeing the Titans' gaze on him. "I'm here...guess a bit too late though." He chuckled lightly for a moment before sighing again. "I'm really sorry guys. If I wasn't focused on getting this story written, I would've been here to help you all out. But...heh...I'm here."

[Ren✧]

---

 

GM Post: Teen Not a Titan

---

 

The Titans became inundated with so much action, so many words, sensations, emotions...it was hard to process what was going on. Their plan had worked that was for sure. Despite the fact that Aurora Pizza Xtreme: Diner and Arcade was now perhaps more chaotic than before with sirens and lights outside, children running and crying to find their parents, and police officers just trying to keep the peace, the plan had worked. Everyone was safe...well, almost everyone was safe. 

 

Coop had been led out the arcade through the gaping hole that Batsu had left in his wake, fleeing to the hospital to save the gunshot victim...correction, first gunshot victim. Of course, by that time, paramedics had already arrived on scene and had already begun work on Blake, who despite being shot was still concerned about everyone, the other Titans looking on with concern about their friend. They wondered if they shouldn't flash their communicators and identify themselves, demand that he be taken to Titans' Tower, where they had a state of the art medical bay. However they all stood back and let the paramedics do their job.

 

It wasn't long after that Kiara felt a familiar mind enter her telepathic range. Turning wildly, she saw Ben standing their amidst the chaos, innocent to what had just happened.

 

"I'm here...guess a bit too late though. I'm really sorry guys. If I wasn't focused on getting this story written, I would've been here to help you all out. But...heh...I'm here." He offered, clearly not able to see where the paramedics had moved Blake, readying him for transport. Kiara made sure to keep the scene hidden from him, making it fantasy for just a little longer for her teammate. Noting that the ambulance had pulled away with Blake inside, she began to explain. 

 

"He's okay, but Blake's been shot..." As she answered all of Ben's questions about what happened throughout the day, and no doubt as the young writer consoled the telepath about her experience Kiara had heard Roxie say she would, "...let Frenchy and Batsu know..." before she took her cell phone out of her pocket. 

 

It would be inevitable that each Titan would find a way to blame themselves for some part of the tragedy that had transpired that day. Of course, none of the blame rested upon them, but that's just in their nature.

 

~ Two Days Later ~

 

"Does it still hurt?" Roxie asked, pantomiming a punch to Blake's abdomen, causing the boy-genius to cringe.

 

"Of course it still hurts, what kind of question is that?" He responded angrily. Roxie just shrugged, wheeling Blake off of the elevator into the Central Complex. Despite having Titan status, the hospital staff had refused to release Blake into Justice League custody until today. Of course, Blake suspected that Sybil hadn't really pressed too hard for his release and he had to admit that he did get a lot of rest in the hospital, but still the food had been horrible. It was good to be home.

 

"SURPRISE!"

 

As Roxie wheeled him into the main area of the Central Complex, his teammates came into view as did a big 'Welcome Home' banner. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He had taken a bullet for these people. Well, these people and everyone else in the arcade, and he'd do it again. 

 

"You guys, I was only gone for two days." 

---

[spoiler=OOC]

Alright this officially unofficially brings us to an end of 'Teen Not a Titan'. However, since we still have a few days left until Saiba's return feel free to just post interaction after the mission's end. Of course, you can also do some flashback posts and react to Blake getting shot as well(or at least Hollow can) since Roxie was there. I would really like it if we had activity over the next few days, so just because the mission has ended and we aren't picking up Spore yet, don't think you are off the hook! 

 

 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"He's okay, but Blake's been shot..."

 

Benjamin's heart sank when he heard this and even turned a bit pale to this news. He couldn't believe that this would happen and he wasn't there to help. This thought continued to linger within his mind, as Kiara explained everything that. Apparently she felt some strong responsibility about this little problem, being the leader and what now. "Kiara...it's alright. This wasn't your fault. None of you knew this was going to happen..." Benjamin spoke, the thought of him not being here to help still weighing deeply in his mind. "So don't let it get to you..."

 

Like I can even say that...

 

 

Since that day, Benjamin couldn't bring himself to even visit Blake at the hospital, still feeling deep down that if things were different...how the outcome would be. Even though his first novel, Of Swans & Knights was already in production and even selling quite well, he couldn't bring himself to enjoy it. It was because of his wanting to write, at least in his mind, that caused him not to be at the right place at the right time.

 

Eventually, the young writer finally left his room from his "coping" time and would just reunite with the Titans...and at a good point in time as well. Blake would be discharged from the hospital today and he would return home...via Roxie bringing him home. And how else would they welcome him back....?

 

 

"SURPRISE!"

 

The team put together a small banner saying "Welcome Home", of course and put together a little party. Not a huge one like they had after that whole Orb situation, but just small enough.

 

"You guys, I was only gone for two days."

 

"Yeah well, let's just say things have been a bit quiet here since you haven't been around workin' on your suits of armor..." Benjamin spoke first, rubbing the back of his head. "Let's be honest...it's become snooze-fest without hearing the constant working from your end of the tower."

 

Benjamin tried his best to throw his jokey and sarcastic self out there, but he knew he was only lying to himself at this point. He sighed before shaking his head. "Alright, I'm just going to throw it out there. I feel like crap right now. I keep thinking if I was there...that something could've been different and you wouldn't be shot. So I'm just going to say it...I'm sorry. I'm sorry to you all that I wasn't there to help when you all needed it."

[Hälō]

"Com'on, Benjie..." Roxie interjected almost immediately after the her spider-powered teammate's apology. "Me and the others where there and we couldn't do jackshit about. All that matters now is that everyone is ok, and that Blake has a cool new battle scar to show his girlfriend!" She punctuated this by bringing her arms to the top of her head to form rabbit ears. 

 

Truth be told, the former knight had also spent the past two days contemplating everything she could have done to prevent Blake's injury. No matter how many times she told herself that it wasn't anybody's fault, the girl's mind always managed to come to the conclusion that things had went down they way they did, not because of Ben and Cygnus's absence, but the fact that she wasn't strong enough to stop it...  If she had more power, she couldn't ended Coop before anyone got hurt- hell she could have made an example out of him, dragged him around the entire city so that nobody ever tried something like that again!

 

Pushing back a small wave of emotion, Roxie brought her cyan gaze down to Blake before forcing one of her smiles. "But even more importantly..." Without warning the blonde jumped over the boy's wheel chair, landing on his lap with a thud. "Who's gonna give us a push so we can see how fast this baby can really go?!" Grinning wildly, Roxie placed her hand on the chair's arm rest and began charging it kinetic energy.

[Ren✧]

Kiara finished hanging the banner just as she heard the familiar 'ding' of the elevator that signaled Blake and Roxie's arrival. Seeing Blake in a wheelchair made the overhanging cloud of guilt that had been present in the tower firmly settle on Kiara and judging by empath readings she was getting from the rest of the team, they were feeling the same. Of course, none of them really had cause to feel guilty. They hadn't been the ones to piss off the shooter in the first place. Coop had said from the beginning, if anyone got hurt it would be her fault. Well, actually he said if anyone died it would be her fault. Fortunately, the Titans had prevented that from happening.

 

Just once though, Kiara wished the team could get a real break. How the Justice League made it to their age being heroes, she didn't understand. She hadn't been at this game a whole year yet and she already felt so tired. So stressed. She couldn't comprehend what pushed them all to keep doing it? To keep putting their lives on the line? To willingly jump into the fire, knowing that they could die or watch their friends die any moment? It didn't make sense to Kiara. 

 

However, as she looked at Roxie, Batsu, and Ben mercilessly scootering around on Blake's wheelchair, who looked a little less than thrilled, she realized that she understood a little more than she let on. There were parts of this job that made the more taxing aspects worth it. 

 

"He's all right, I take it?" Cygnus asked, coming up from behind Kiara and standing beside the Titan leader. He sampled the frosting of the homecoming, cocking an eyebrow at Kiara.

 

"You can't fool me," Kiara responded. "I know you went to the hospital to check on him and the mother that was shot. They keep a visitor's log, ya know? Don't worry, they'll never know." She said with a wink.

 

"I'm next!" Kiara demanded running towards the kinetically charged bad idea.

 

---

[spoiler=OOC]

This the official, official end of Teen Not a Titan. Saiba will be back soon(HURRAY!!!) so hopefully it won't be too long before Spore is back underway! (yay!) So just sit tight until then. 

 

 

[Saiba Aisu]

---

GM Post:

---

"That's the last of them, I think!" Roxie called brightly, nodding in approval as Trent and Issac helped pull one last shivering castaway out of the sea and onto the safety of the speedboat. For a couple of ascot-wearing nancy boys, they weren't half bad when all was said and done. "Not too shabby at all! Look lively, me hearties!"

The 'Great Rox-beard' turned and flashed an quick thumbs-up and smile to Cygnus, poised in the air above them, borne aloft by his angelic wings. The lunar sorcerer nodded tersely and climbed once more into the sky, circling like a hawk on the frozen winds, his eyes scanning the wreckage of the Saint Dominique—still illuminated by the flock of silver swans—searching for more jettisoned passengers. Yet try as he might, he couldn't make out any signs of movement, save for the ebb and flow of debris as it rolled with the waves. The ship itself had long since vanished underneath the ocean's inky black surface.

Hardly an ideal way to start the mission, Cygnus thought to himself, but things could have been a lot worse.

He turned back towards land, trying to catch sight of his remaining teammates. Straining his eyes, he was able to make out Batsu's massive silhouette on the docks, sporadically lit by bursts of flame as he ignited small fires to help warm the survivors gathered around him. Not too far off was an unmistakable gleam of armored metal—Blake, using his suit's repulsor units to dry off his own set of rescued passengers.

At that moment, there was a flash of movement from below.

"Stay tight, the spider is comin'!" Ben yelled, paddling frantically with an iron pole gondola-style, guiding his small vessel over the waters towards the center of the wreckage site.

"Ben!" Cygnus called, swooping down next to him, hovering over the waves. "What's—?"

"Kiara!" Arachnid replied, pointing desperately towards the patch of sea where the charred helm of the Saint Dominique had disappeared. "I got a psychic message, she's gone under, she's—"

A sickening wave of cold flushed Cygnus, unrelated to the frigid December air, as he realized that the girl was no where to be seen. His fingers reached down for his Titan Communicator automatically, without thinking, trembling as they pressed the button and made the call.

"Drowning."

Deep underneath the waves, wrapped in shrouds of impenetrable shadow, Kiara was fading, merely another victim to be devoured by the ravenous maw of the sea. Her vision had already blurred; now it was blackening. A final stream of bubbles blossomed from her mouth—the last of her precious oxygen—twisting upwards through the darkness and out of sight, wafting towards the surface. How easy, how enviable, to be a bubble!

Hehehe, bubbles, Kiara thought to herself with a sleepy and strangely peaceful giggle, her oxygen-deprived brain preparing to shut down, having long since surrendered to hypothermia. Already salt water was beginning to force its way past her lips and into her lungs. Was this death? Was she dying? If so, it wasn't that bad, not really, no...

She vaguely registered a bright light appear, expanding as it advanced, followed by motion next to her—a strong arm curving around her waist, catching hold of her firmly by the torso, another body that straightened her and began pulling her upwards, so quickly that the water seemed to thrum as they cut through it.

Up, up, and away, the young heroine chuckled, her eyes rolling back into her forehead as the void claimed her.

"PULL!!"

The Titans roared and heaved, pulling desperately as one, watching as the silver rope curving into the water before them writhed like a snake.

"PULL!!" Cygnus cried again, beating his wings furiously as he pulled with all his might. With a growl, Batsu tightened his grips—all of six of them—and heaved, while Blake set his jet thrusters to full reverse and arched his back, clutching the knotted end of the lifeline, the joints of his armorsuit creaking with the strain. Roxie was at the forefront, her usually cheerful eyes narrowed and trained upon the scene before her, her forehead beaded with sweat despite the winter air.

With a muffled explosion, the dull surface of the sea broke open before them as it reluctantly surrendered its two prizes. For a moment, Ben and Kiara seemed to hang upon the night air, utterly drenched to the bone, the spider-spun rope tied around the former's waist so taut it practically snapped in half. The pair landed with a crash on the deck of the speedboat, eliciting shocked cries and murmurs from the passengers gathered at the far end.

"Kiara!"

"Kiara!"

"Kiara!"

"Kiara!"

"Kiara-love!"

The team's voices overlapped and broke with concern as they huddled around their unconscious friend.

"She's not breathing! Someone give her CPR, quick!"

---

[spoiler=OOC. Please Read.]Alright, guys! As of now, "Spore" is officially back in action and back in effect! Thanks so much for your patience ♡ I hope you guys all had wonderful and safe holiday seasons and winter vacations. Let's not waste any time! As you can see, our heroes have come back right into the thick of the action—Kiara has been rescued, thanks to some quick thinking by our favorite web-slinging superhero, but her life is still in danger! Get to it!

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Stay tight, the spider is comin'!"

 

Arachnid kept up the gondola-style navigating through the center of the wreckage site, hoping and praying that he got to the in trouble Kiara. Alright...c'mon Kiara...don't die on me now! he thought, until he was paused by the swan himself.

 

"Ben! What's—?"

 

"Kiara!" Arachnid replied, pointing desperately towards the patch of sea where the charred helm of the Saint Dominique had disappeared. "I got a psychic message, she's gone under, she's—Drowning." Apparently, Cygnus got the message as they both reacted at the last word. He watched Cygnus press his communicator before looking at the water.

 

"Cygnus, back me up!" Arachnid quickly said, as held his right hand out, as a few spiders crawled out from his pores. He didn't speak as the spiders began to weave a web rope as tight as they could make it. When it was all finished, he sighed and quickly tied it around him and tossed the other end to Cygnus. "Hasta luego!¹" he waved before diving into the icy cold water.

 

BGM

 

Arachnid could feel the cold water chilling him straight down to the bone as he swam down into the water. He did his best holding his breath, but not even that would last long and he knew that. Through the swimming...he still saw no sign of Kiara. His heart began to sink at this thought...

 

But then he suddenly saw a small bubble began to float past him. Arachnid fixed his gaze he finally saw Kiara, desperately clinging for her life. This made the web-warrior swim towards her faster. C'mon Kiara...hang on there! he thought, before finally making contact with her, wrapping an arm around her waist tightly. Now came the fun part...

 

Arachnid tugged on the web rope as hard as he could, knowing Cygnus and possibly the others would've had time to get themselves ready for th-... Suddenly, Arachnid could feel him being propelled upwards towards the surface at an alarming rate. Obviously Batsu was having WAAAAAAAY too much fun with this. With that, a small explosion from the water occurred, revealing a drenched Arachnid and Kiara, as he felt the rope being pulled and pulled hard.

 

At this point, both he and Kiara were skidding across the water from being pulled, before finally being airborne, only high enough to hit the deck of the speedboat. Arachnid landed with his back slamming onto the deck, groaning as he gasped for air, still holding onto Kiara.

 

"Kiara!" "Kiara!" "Kiara!" "Kiara!" "Kiara-love!"

 

The group huddled over Kiara, as they called out to her. But no response was given. Arachnid lifted his goggles from his eyes, looking down at the Titan, his fists clenching tightly.

 

"She's not breathing! Someone give her CPR, quick!"

 

"I-I can't!" Arachnid quickly snapped, shaking his head. "I wasn't trained in CPR..."

 

[spoiler=New Language Speak with Benjamin]

1. Hasta luego - See you later!

[Mr. Hyde]

Blake and Batsu heaved that web line like there was no tomorrow.  He couldn't tell he was putting in more effort, but seeing as how Batsu had pulled out two more pairs of arms, it was pretty obvious, Blake just didn't want to admit it.  He had to pull with all of his strength!  He had to save her teammate.  He could finally see something breach the surface of the water, as Ben and Kiara were pulled back to shore.  Blake practically jumped out of his suit....

 

until...

 

"Kiara!" "Kiara!" "Kiara!" "Kiara!" "Kiara-love!"

 

She was back on the surface, thank god, but now...she wasn't responding.  She wasn't breathing!  Blake hated seeing her like this!  Such a strong girl...but so defenseless at the same time.  He looked to the others, panic was written all over their faces.  

 

"She's not breathing! Someone give her CPR, quick!"

 

"I-I can't!  I wasn't trained in CPR..."

 

USELESS!  You'd think with all that magic, there would be some sort of dumb spell that could save a person!  

 

Mechanical whirs could be heard as Blake exited his suit, only leaving with a pair of his mechanical gauntlets.    

 

"Move!  Let me handle this!"  He bent down next to Kiara, placing a balled fist inside an open hand above her chest.  He started chest compressions.  With his suit's gauntlets, it would give him a little more strength than his own body would be able to produce.  It would hopefully be much quicker this way as well.  after he had done fifteen compressions, he moved to her face...lifeless and wet.  

 

"Come on Kiara!"  He opened her mouth, plugged her nose, and proceeded to breath his oxygen into her still lungs.  Two breaths later, and he was back to chest compressing.  

[Ren✧]

The things that oxygen deprivation does to your brain is really quite amazing, Kiara thought. There she was, about to die and she could only think about bubbles. The only thing she could compare it to is the night that Cygnus had thrown the team a party and Kiara had gotten amazingly drunk. Her inhibitions completely lowered, her brain practically swimming in alcohol. Still, this was a different sort of carelessness. This one was peaceful. Even though Kiara knew she had things to do, important things. Stopping a terrorist cell sort of things. If she could just rest...

 

...

 

That's when the darkness set in.

...

 

The first thing that Kiara noticed after sputtering to consciousness was how close Blake was to her face. Disoriented, she couldn't figure out why he would need to be on top of her. Of course, as the shadows from her near-death-experience began to lift things began to come back to her. Shoving Blake away so that she could turn to the side and heave up the remaining water caught in her lungs, Kiara became acutely aware of the chills that were racking her body. She was unbearably cold, not that this was surprising considering her recent swim in the bay. 

 

"You know..." She began, turning back to face Blake, "...you aren't supposed to do mouth-to-mouth anymore. Couldn't let the opportunity pass you by?" She let the statement linger before punctuating it with a half-hearted smile, still shivering horribly. "Thank you."  She said telepathically to the boy-genius, letting him know that she did appreciate him saving her life. 

 

"Batsu, could I get a fire over here? I'm still a little chilly from my swim. Rox, what about the rest of the passengers? Has anyone gotten any word on the Lady of Lilies yet?" Kiara fired her questions in rapid succession, trying to not let her teeth chatter. As team leader she had to show them only strength even after such a gloriously stupid disaster. She could only hope that her strength returned to her before the next tragedy struck because at the moment she was feeling a bit...waterlogged. 

[King K. Azo]

They did it. They managed to to pull Kiara out of the water! But there was an issue. She wasn't moving, just laying there, soaked to the bone, like she had just been regurgitated by a Wicfad. The only difference was her skin wasn't dissolved... Batsu mentally suppressed that memory before hearing someone cry,

 

"She's not breathing! Someone give her CPR!" Batsu's worry- Jxak, when did he start caring enough to start worrying? - overrode his curiosity as he looked to the others. He couldn't give what he didn't know.

 

"I-I can't!" Ben quickly snapped, shaking his head. "I wasn't trained in CPR..." Apparently he wasn't the only one that didn't know. Batsu heard gears starting to turn, and they weren't the ones in his head. He looked over as Blake walked out of the armor and bent down next to Kiara, placing a balled fist inside an open hand above her chest. He then started to... Pound her chest? That didn't seem right....

 

"Come on Kiara!" Blake suddenly opened her mouth, plugged her nose, and pressed his lips against hers for some reason. Now he was really confused. Why would people press their lips together? That was weird. Earthlings were weird. Two breaths later, and Blake went back to pounding her chest. Well, it somehow worked, because she shoved Blake to the side and started to expel the water out from her mouth. Maybe that's why they pressed lips? To draw out the water?

 

"You know..." Their leader began, turning back to face Blake, "...you aren't supposed to do mouth-to-mouth anymore. Couldn't let the opportunity pass you by?" Oh... Guess that wasn't the reason. She let the statement linger before a ghost of a smile graced her lips. "Batsu, could I get a fire over here? I'm still a little chilly from my swim. Rox, what about the rest of the passengers? Has anyone gotten any word on the Lady of Lilies yet?" Batsu heeded her words, walking over and getting on a knee, holding out his lower right arm and ignited a fire in his palm, the flames illuminating the area slightly and giving out a comforting warmth.

 

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly before he could stop himself. Jxak. He couldn't give the others the wrong idea. He was only worried because Kiara reminded him of her, no other reason! He decided to distract the others from his question, just in case they heard him. "Is there something significant about pressing lips together on Earth?"

 

---

 

[spoiler=And now it's time for Sufsem!] Jxak. The literal translation is 'sh**'. As in the Earth curse word. As for a Wicfad...

[spoiler=If you're still under the impression Batsu's home is a nice place, let this shatter that.]A Wicfad is a creature from the planet Va'ho. The average size which is usually about the size of a two-story Earth house. The most unique feature of a Wicfad is its mouth, which opens wide enough to swallow anything about around its size. The creature will find a prey and swallow it whole, allowing the stomach acids to dissolve the prey alive. If it has children, it will then spit up said prey so the children may eat.

 

Batsu has had some bad experiences with those creatures...

 

 

[Hälō]

"Is there something significant about pressing lips together on Earth?"

 

With the crisis everted, Roxie couldn't help but answer the muscle gorilla's question with a wide smirk whilst coiling herself around Kiara to keep the other girl warm. "It's called snogging, Batsy." She began before forming two mouths with her hands and having them kiss in front of Kiara's face. "We do it here on earth when we have too much booze, and our mates run off to go trolling for todger and a bloke- sorta like that nancy boy over yonder in the ascot, but with bigger muscles and a beard." She motioned towards Trent, who turned and waved at Roxie with a smile that was much to large for someone in his current situation. "Anyway, so he senses your weakness and tells you that you're the queen of the universe. Then two days later you're sneaking out in the middle of the night to go watch the stars with the wanker an-" 

 

"Maybe we should just show him~" Issac suddenly appeared at Roxie's side, only to have his faced palmed and thrusted backwards by the former knight without even a sideways glance. Though unfortunately the boy's interjection was enough to set Roxie's express train of thought slightly of course, switching her story without here even realizing. "Or when you meet a someone who you'd never expect to have feelings for, and they suddenly get married and run off to another bloody galaxy... and know the best part??? HE ONLY DECIDES TO PRESS HIS BARBECUE PATATO CHIP CRUST LIPS AGAINST YOURS THE MOMENT BEFORE HE FL-"  She stopped herself, only now aware of the fact that she was raising her voice. How long had she been blushing?!

 

Suddenly overtaken by an ever so rare wave of embarrassment, Roxie hid her face behind Kiara's shoulder and turned to face the far end of the boat to allow the steam that had been gathering around her face to disperse. "All the people are fine, Kiara-love......"   

[Saiba Aisu]

---

GM Post: "Spore"

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Cygnus' breath caught in his throat as he gazed upon Kiara's unconscious form, soaked to the bone and utterly motionless. So still, she might have been dead. In that instant, every magical incantation he knew that might have helped seemed to twist and vanish from his mind, slipping through his fingers like smoke. Blake, on the other hand, didn't waste any time—exiting his armor suit, the supergenius went to work, his hands a blur as he quickly and expertly administered CPR. For a moment that seemed to last an eternity, silence hung over the speedboat, broken only by the regular sounds of Blake's efforts. Every face was turned towards the scene, eyes wide, lips narrow, hands clasped together. Waiting. Praying for a miracle.

 

With a sudden jerk, Kiara came to life, rolling to one side and coughing violently, heaving up all the water she had swallowed.  Wiping her mouth with her forearm, the young heroine turned to her rescuer, smiling faintly in spite of the terrible cold wracking her body.

 

"You know, you aren't supposed to do mouth-to-mouth anymore. Couldn't let the opportunity pass you by?" she asked, chuckling softly, her words almost blotted out by the loud chorus of cheers from the surrounding spectators. Cygnus breathed an internal sigh of relief, only now just aware that he had been holding his breath the entire time.

 

Moments later, the team's leader was back to her old self, firing off questions in rapid succession, trying—and failing—to control her shivering and keep her teeth from chattering. Worrying about everything and everyone except herself. Typical Kiara. To everyone's surprise, Batsu was the first to respond and kneel at the girl's side, extending his open palm towards her, a small but surprisingly potent fire radiating light and warmth from between his fingers.

 

"Is there something significant about pressing lips together on earth?" he asked, completely serious in spite of the laughter that erupted on all sides, his gaze shifting between the other Titans.

 

"It's called snogging, Batsy," Roxie replied with a smirk, launching into a colorful tongue-in-cheek explanation involving booze, finger puppet demonstrations, and muscular bearded men. Typical Roxie. Yet as the girl's narrative continued, Cygnus noticed a gradual shift in her words and emotions.

 

I guess she's still not over it, he thought to himself with a faint smile, remembering the night after Alfonso had left for Gilfax, when he and Roxie had stayed up until the break of dawn, sharing secrets and confiding in each other. Time was supposed to heal all wounds, but he knew from personal experience that it wasn't true. Some wounds weren't meant to heal. Not completely.

 

A sudden computerized beeping noise, followed by an insistent mechanical vibrating, shattered the moment and brought the team back to task. Flipping open his Titan Communicator, Cygnus was greeted with a pair of flashing grey eyes and a bristling brown mustache that would have made any self-respecting walrus jealous.

 

"Police Chief Rookwood," the lunar sorcerer murmured coolly, while the the other Titans crowded around curiously or checked their own devices. "What an unexpected surprise. What can I do for you?"

 

"Not that unexpected, Cygnus. We got a call a few minutes ago about the Saint Dominique. My team and I are currently on the docks, sorting out the survivors and transporting those in critical condition to nearby hospitals. If you and the other Titans don't mind, I'd love to have a word."

 

BGM

 

"So that's it?" Police Chief Rookwood asked incredulously, coughing slightly into his fist as his eyes traveled over the six Titans, all of whom met his gaze head-on. "You expect me to believe that all of you just happened to be here—in full combat gear, I might add—moments before the Saint Dominique was struck by a short-range missile launcher by some unknown agent?"

 

"That's correct, sir," Cygnus lied sleekly, refusing to let the other man intimidate him. "We were on a routine patrol of this sector of the city when we heard the explosion and saw the fire. Fortunately, we were able to react quickly and minimize civilian casualties."

 

"A routine patrol, you say," Rookwood muttered, his gaze lingering on Kiara, who was still drenched and trying not to shudder under the massive blanket she was wrapped up in. "It would appear that your 'routine patrol' had some unforeseen complications."

 

"Am I to understand that you are unhappy with our autonomous response to this event?" Cygnus inquired coolly, crossing his arms and raising one eyebrow as he sized up the much shorter man. "If so, I would recommend that you direct any complaints you may have through the appropriate Justice League channels, starting with our Senior Advisor, Sybil—"

 

"Goddamnit, Cygnus!" the police chief growled through gritted teeth, slamming his fist against the side of the police van with a muffled thud as he lost his temper. "Don't give me that bureaucratic bullshit! You and I are on the same side here!"

 

"Of course we are, sir," Cygnus replied calmly, completely unfazed. "Is there anything else you would like me to tell you?"

 

"The truth," Police Chief Rookwood replied shortly, his impressive mustache bristling as he locked eyes with the young sorcerer. "You and your team have already helped us once before, what with that Bubbly incident at Club 0XYGEN, and we're grateful to you for it. I'm hoping that you'll help us again. If there's anything—anything at all—that you might know about this attack, or whoever's behind it. Anything that could help us protect the people of Aurora City and prevent something like this from happening again."

 

Silence.

 

"I'm sorry, sir," Cygnus replied at last. "There's nothing. We've already told you everything we know. And now, if you have no other questions, may we please leave? Kiara is soaked to the bone and it's freezing. I'm sure you understand."

 

"Very well," Rookwood sighed disappointedly, rubbing his brow and leaning back against the vehicle, allowing his exhaustion to show for the first time as he waved the Teen Titans away. "Dismissed."

 

 

"We're not actually leaving though, are we, Frenchy?" Roxie asked, keeping her voice low as the team strode away and down a nearby alley, only too aware of the eyes—many of them suspicious—trained on their backs.

 

"No, Blondie, we're not," Cygnus replied. "Not until we've made contact with our mysterious friend. They've got to be around here somewhere."

 

"Perhaps much closer than you think."

 

The Teen Titans whirled as one at the sound of the voice, watching as a figure emerged from the shadowy mouth of an open doorway. It was a young woman of astounding beauty with a smooth oval face, almond-shaped brown eyes and a long mane of dark brown hair. Her outfit was elegant, if poorly suited for the bitter cold: a white chemise detailed with lace on the shoulders, tucked into a pair of high-waisted light blue dress pants, coupled with black high-heels, a matching clutch purse, and a single golden ring that shone faintly on her pointer finger. Despite the fact that her hair and clothes were still heavy with water, she somehow managed to exude a palpable aura of unshakable confidence.

 

"You're looking for the Lady of the Lilies, right?" she asked, her lips curving into an amused smile as she lounged against the doorway with an effortless, insolent grace. "Well, congratulations. You've found her. Or rather, I found you."

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[spoiler=OOC. Please Read.]Alright guys, thanks for your great work so far! I love how we are just whisking through this now :) Take a moment to react to the latest developments! Once everything is neatly squared away, I'll proceed with the next GM Post.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"Move!  Let me handle this!"

 

Arachnid could only move back, seeing Blake already moving to administer CPR to Kiara. He just sat there watching him try to bring Kiara back from this. It seemed almost like the world began to slow down to him as he just sat there watching it. His fist clenched tighter as he looked at it, watching it slowly open. He saved her from the ocean's grasp...but at the same time...couldn't save Kiara from the predicament she was in now...

 

Suddenly, he saw Kiara jerk back to life, coughing up violently. Arachnid could only sigh, surprised that Blake was able to save someone without his suit like this. However, the moment was ruined slightly...

 

"Is there something significant about pressing lips together on earth?"

 

No one seemed to answer right away, but he listened as Roxie explained everything to Batsu (somewhat) before going into a long narrative. Arachnid could understand who she meant, obviously because of the context clues left: married, another galaxy, leaving.... Roxie... he thought, sighing to himself slightly. He knew that she obviously took Alfonso's departure hard...but wasn't expecting THAT being the reason. Time heals all wounds... One of Arachnid's favorite lines, but when looking at Roxie, would that be true for her?

 

"Police Chief Rookwood. What an unexpected surprise. What can I do for you?"

 

It was now that Arachnid came back to reality, hearing Cygnus talking with the police chief... Oh I can see this going well...

 

 

"So that's it? You expect me to believe that all of you just happened to be here—in full combat gear, I might add—moments before the Saint Dominique was struck by a short-range missile launcher by some unknown agent?"

 

Annnnnnnnnd the accusations begin! Arachnid thought, rolling his eyes behind his goggles. He found it funny how whenever something bad happened, the law enforcement would turn directly to costumed vigilantes and begin accusing them. Wonder if the Justice League ever had trouble like this?

 

He just remained silent as Cygnus delegated the conversation between him and the police chief. Arachnid had to admit it, the swan was impressively good with the politics of situations like this. However...the police chief was having none of it. Nevertheless, Cygnus kept his composure.

 

"The truth, you and your team have already helped us once before, what with that Bubbly incident at Club 0XYGEN, and we're grateful to you for it. I'm hoping that you'll help us again. If there's anything—anything at all—that you might know about this attack, or whoever's behind it. Anything that could help us protect the people of Aurora City and prevent something like this from happening again."

 

What he truly wanted to say: "Look! Don't start accusing us because of this. In case you didn't know, we saved quite the number of lives out there. We aren't like the other meta-humans out there!" However, the costumed teen decided to stay his tongue. Regardless, Arachnid could only see how this played out if they HAD told him the truth. So far...the whole city would be in a panic...not such a good idea. The wallcrawler could only chuckle to himself at the thought.

 

Finally the group was released from this interrogation and free to roam...

 

 

"We're not actually leaving though, are we, Frenchy?"

"No, Blondie, we're not. Not until we've made contact with our mysterious friend. They've got to be around here somewhere."

 

Arachnid only tossed his hands behind his head, sighing. "The police chief really rubs me the wrong way...how do you people just work so well with him?" he asked, shaking his head as he remembered his run-ins with the police when he first debuted as Arachnid...wasn't pretty.

 

"Perhaps much closer than you think."

 

He paused, seeing this young woman walking out from a doorway. He along with the rest of the team were silent as the woman basically came out and said that she was their contact.

 

"....Well...that was easy."