Author's Notes: Honestly, I have no idea where the heck this idea came from. But I thought it was a pretty cute one, wherever it was from. Anyway, this is a one shot! Repeat, this is a one shot! Hehe, just making sure we're clear on that. Anyway, I'll wrap this up and get to the actual story!
Oh, before I forget, this does have a few flashbacks in it… perhaps even an excessive amount. But, as I hope you will see and enjoy, they are meant to be there. I also hope I got them as accurate as possible, not having any reference to them at the moment. Anyway, now let's get on with it!
Courage
Robin smirked as Cyborg and Beast Boy raised their eyebrow incredulously. "That never happened," Beast Boy scoffed, but Robin crossed his arms over his chest.
"It did, I'm telling you."
"I don't believe you," said Cyborg, waving him off, but Robin was persistent.
"Seriously! You don't have to believe me, but it really did happen."
Beast Boy settled himself against the counter, disbelief still written across his face. The Titan boys were sitting in the kitchen, rehashing battles, discussing new tactics… until the conversation turned competitive. Soon, they were all trying to top each other with tales of their accomplishments. Robin had just finished telling them a story from before he had founded the Titans, where he claimed he "single-handedly rescued a huge slew of people from a burning building… including the cat."
Raven was sitting a few stools down, reading her book lazily. She wasn't interested in their topic at all, and had all but tuned them out. She caught snippets occasionally, but all they got from her was a roll of her eyes.
"OK, OK, I got another one. You remember when Blackfire tried to set Star up to get arrested?"
"Yeah."
"Well, this is what really happened when I went to save her…"
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"Robin!" Starfire cried, as a strange, green tentacle protruded from the alien's arm and smacked Robin away. Robin fell, the wind knocked out of him. The 'arm' of the creature then snaked itself around Starfire's body, twisting and writhing until it had her completely captured. Her eyes glowed green, revealing the strength she was trying to use to break free, but it was to no avail.
She began to hurtle through the air, heading straight towards the ship. The alien's eyes were full of malice, happy to have captured his prey.
"Starfire!" called Robin, running after her. He leapt into the air, throwing himself into space in an attempt to grab her, but he failed. She slipped away from him, yelling muffled cries. Robin landed precariously on the edge of the roof as the ship rolled into the clouds, out of sight. Robin quickly reached for a grappling hook and shot it in the direction the ship had fled. He heard the 'clang' as he hit his target, and was jerked into the air, the wind whipping in his face. His hair blew in front of his mask, obscuring his vision.
He had latched onto the direct underside of the ship. When the rope of his grappling hook ran out, he unhooked it from the ship and let it fall back to earth, drifting down in what seemed like slow motion.
Robin was holding on tightly to a few bars underneath the ship, suspending himself in midair. He quickly shoved one hand in his pocket and then the other. In it, he kept a small packet of one of the stickiest solutions in the world. It didn't last long, but he was able to use it to hang upside for a few moments.
"No one's taking her away," murmured Robin in a husky voice. He coiled his muscles then sprang from the underside of the ship to land gracefully on top. He stood up, the sticky substance already worn off his gloves.
The alien turned to see the Boy Wonder, surprise in its beady eyes. He could see behind the alien was a large glass case, one that held a certain alien girl. Starfire was still bound by the green tentacle and her eyes still glowed emerald, wide with confusion and fear.
"My friend stays here!" Robin demanded, clenching his fist. The alien roared as it charged at Robin, aiming a huge punch that had it hit, would have killed Robin on impact. But Robin was jumped quickly out of the way, lithe as a cat, avoiding harm entirely.
They continued to spar. At times, Robin seemed to gain the upper hand, then the tides were shifted back towards the red alien. They jumped apart, glowering at each other. Robin flicked his eyes to the side and saw one of the engines. He immediately came up with a plan.
The alien shot another green tentacle at Robin, but this time he was ready. He crouched, pulling his cape up to block the oncoming blow. The appendage bounced right off and swerved into the engine, destroying it.
"No!" cried the pilot, trying to regain control of the craft, yet he was unable to. Robin made his way cautiously over to the glass case, trying to keep his balance on the bucking ship. He slammed his hand down on the large red button at the base of it, and the glass disappeared. He unraveled Starfire, causing her to call his name. "Robin!" she said anxiously.
"C'mon!" urged Robin, and he took her hand safely in his. They leapt from the spacecraft as it fell steadily towards earth.
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Robin grinned at the look on Beast Boy's face. Cyborg, on the other hand, was less impressed.
"I'm sure Star could've handled herself once they opened up that thing to talk to her." Cyborg leaned his elbow onto the counter. "She could've kicked their butts."
Robin snorted. "No kidding. She could take anyone down." Cyborg and Beast Boy shared a knowing look, both of them sensing the hint of pride in Robin's voice. Robin slid from the stool and stood up. "But it was still brave."
Cyborg laughed. "You think that was brave? Listen to this…"
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"Perfect timing," Cyborg grunted as he wrenched his restraints up. They shattered and he broke free. He slid from the examining table neatly onto the floor.
Cyborg began charging towards the door, his only thought on escape. His breath was ragged, partially from running, and partially from the fear of what Fixit was attempting to do to him.
Cyborg felt a burst of triumph as he neared the door. He could almost taste freedom.
But just as he was about to escape, the wall seemed to close in around him. What used to be an opening was now smooth metal, it's surface hard and impenetrable.
"I didn't want to have to do this but - huh?" Cyborg had raised his right arm to fire his Sonic Cannon, yet instead of the normal stream of energy that emitted from it, he only managed to give off a few sparks. They fizzled and died, leaving him with nothing.
"Your defensive systems have been deactivated for the procedure." Fixit approached, staring after the cybernetic Titan, his eyes turning an eerie red. They shone through the darkness, throwing Fixit's face into shadow. "They will be reactivated when repairs are complete."
Cyborg's eyes grew wide with fear. He began running full throttle in the opposite direction, trying to get at Fixit.
Long, vine-like metallic tendrils snaked around Cyborg's arms, stopping him dead in his tracks. He grunted as he struggled to move forward. He had to stop Fixit before he lost the precious remnants left of his normal life. He slowly, slowly inched forward with a hand, finally able to grab a piece of Fixit's garment, tearing it off, revealing one of the most disturbing sights Cyborg had seen yet…
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"Pssh!" Beast Boy said dismissively. "He may have been scary then, but we all know he turned out to be just some nut in a cloak… you helped him out in the end."
Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "You think you could've handled it?"
Robin propped his foot up, choosing to remain silent. Cyborg was being very good-natured about Beast Boy's flip response (probably because Cyborg knew he was right). Beast Boy nodded fervently.
"I not only think I can do better, I did do better!" he proudly announced. Cyborg's temper seemed to be wearing thin, however, and he clenched his fists.
Robin, sensing the impending Beast Boy-pummeling, held up his hands. "OK then, Beast Boy, you're gonna have to prove it."
Beast Boy smirked. "I'm glad you asked…"
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Beast Boy swerved another blast from the mechanical British soldiers below. His hummingbird wings beat as fast as they possibly could. Had he been in human form, sweat would have been beading around his forehead. Luckily, as a bird, he didn't have to worry about that.
He quickly dove behind a turret high above the raging battle below. The robots soon changed their interest, having lost sight of the green Titan. Beast Boy breathed a sigh of relief and waited.
He was ready for action.
He sat, poised, waiting for his chance to strike.
He heard his signal from down below. "Beast Boy, go!" Starfire cried. Beast Boy quickly transformed into a flying squirrel. The changeling obeyed, leaping and hurtling through the air. Mad Mod looked up, surprise reflected behind his glasses.
"Oy! Geroff!" Mad Mod shouted as he twisted around, trying to grab the animal crawling all over him. He came very close to be torn off, but Beast Boy held on for dear life…
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"But… he did throw you off."
"Yeah, but I still completed the mission!" Beast Boy said, puffing up his chest.
"Beast Boy… that wasn't so much bravery as it was dumb luck," Cyborg said matter-of-factly.
Robin laughed out loud and even Raven snorted from behind her book. Beast Boy turned to glare at them simultaneously. "It was brave! I'm very brave!"
This only caused Robin to laugh harder. Cyborg grinned maliciously. "Well, we all know how brave I was when I single-handedly took down Brother Blood!"
"How about all the times I've battled Slade?" asked Robin, his competitive edge returning.
"What about the time I took on Atlas?"
"I-" Beast Boy tried to put in, but Robin cut him off.
"Oh yeah? Who went off on that little trip downtown by myself-"
"Oh, you know Starfire followed you! But I happened to come across that drug heist-"
Robin laughed. "Those were minors and practically cried when you arrived, that's hardly-"
"Hey, I-" Beast Boy attempted, but was again rudely interrupted.
"I also stopped that big guy, what was his name-"
"Oh, he was a piece of cake, don't flatter yourself."
Beast Boy felt his fists clenching and unclenching. He slid off his seat and stood to the side of Cyborg, trying to wave himself back into the conversation. But his fellow male Titans were oblivious to his pleas. Beast Boy frowned, and stood still, unsure of what to do.
Raven got up, folding her book. She had just finished a chapter and wanted to get out of the room before the level of testosterone caused her to lose any more brain cells. She began to head towards the door, past the bickering boys.
Beast Boy was hit with sudden inspiration. "You guys think that stuff was brave?" he demanded, as Raven brushed by him. "Watch this." Beast Boy latched onto Raven's arm, whirling her into his chest. She was so surprised, she dropped her book. Beast Boy grinned cheekily and dipped her, leaning over her. Beast Boy lowered his mouth to meet Raven's in a deep, passionate kiss. With a flourish, he swung her up again and released her, smirking at Robin and Cyborg.
They stared at him, utterly lost for words. Beast Boy felt the feelings of triumph drain out of him, and he slowly turned around to look at the dark girl again. She stood stock still, a hand raised to her face.
"You…" she started, also unable to properly create a sentence. Beast Boy tried to explain.
"Look, Raven… I didn't… I mean, I wanted… I guess I… um… you see…" But he stopped as grabbed him by the collar, dragging him closer. He winced and closed his eyes, dreading the oncoming slaughter.
It never came. Instead, he felt a tiny brushing against his lips, sending a pleasing tingling sensation through his entire body. He cracked an eye open to see Raven leaning in to kiss him. He let his eye fall closed again and moved closer to deepen the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Raven, and she moved her hands behind his neck, playing with his hair.
Robin and Cyborg moved mechanically from the room, shaking slightly. They were both in states of shock, completely amazed and surprised at what they had just witnessed. They looked at each other, then looked away, deciding against speaking, since neither of them could think of a thing to say.
Author's Notes: Another short one. Oh well, I felt that that was the best way to present it! And yes, I did start to make up some events for them in the end. I mean, certainly the only crimes they stop are the ones shown on the episodes, you know?
Also, does anyone have any idea how Robin really hung upside down from that ship? I never figured that out…
By the way, the 'x's are in there because the website won't let me use dashes. I love my dashes...
Hehe, anyway, please review!