a/n:
Okay. We have no excuse. This is a year-and-a-half overdue. The writing style has even changed toward the end, but Aia believes in finishing what we've started. (Haha. Cid gets no commentary).
Again, we used a chapter title that was tweaked from "How Do You Say I Love You?" If that bothers you, let us know. :D
"It can't be any worse than that documentary on hot dogs Starfire made us watch." - Robin
How Do You Say I Hate You?
Robin glared at Slade.
"So after all this time, Slade... I've found you. It's just you and me now. One on one. I've waited for this day too long."
Slade didn't answer.
"You think you can get by with silence?" Robin burst into a cruel laugh, "You have nothing to say to me? Well, let me do the talking then. I'll tell you a story, Slade. I think you'll like it."
Starfire's worried expression peeked from behind Robin. She was told to stay out of this; Robin had to deal with Slade on his own. But always the cautious alien, she was concerned with the situation.
They were standing in a Mayan temple, a ruin past restoration almost caved in from years of neglect. The limestone walls were laden with drawings of archers, healers, animals, and the paraphernalia of the past times. The air was heavy with tension.
There was a warning sign at the entrance of the temple:
Caution:
This Mayan structure has been tested as unable to withstand severe weather, natural damage, human interference, and other destructive causes. It has been sealed away to prevent injuries. No loitering is allowed. Anyone found in the structure will be escorted to the nearest police station.
Under the federal sign, someone with a lack of spelling skills had rudely scribbled, "Get yer buts away from me proparty!" Robin hadn't listened to either warnings, and now, Starfire feared they were in great danger.
"It started long ago," Robin began his story. He looked at Slade evenly.
Slade said nothing.
"Remember that day, when the H.I.V.E. first attacked? You left your mark then. I keep looking back on that question I asked so long ago, 'Who is Slade?'" Robin reminisced, "But it didn't take long for you to reveal yourself. What you did after that... trying to get to me through my friends... I'll never forgive you for that."
Robin's glowered hatefully.
"You thought you could team up with Trigon then, huh? Use Raven as your puppet... like you used me... and, what about Terra? You don't know anything about the word friend. Because that was your downfall. You sunk pretty low, Slade."
Robin smirked.
"'So what's the end of this story, you're probably wondering. I'll tell you."
He leaned down, hissing, "This is the end."
Robin swiftly pulled out his metal rod, a maniac glint in his eye, and attacked. He ran the few feet towards Slade and leapt; in midair, he brought down his weapon, and hit his target.
Robin laughed cruelly.
"You're not going to fight back? I'm so disappointed, Slade. It's not like you to give up. But then again, you were always an unpredictable villain."
He barked with laughter again.
"Robin?" Starfire asked, concern etched on her face.
"Not now, Star. He's about to lose. I'll be the winner this time... for the last time."
"I must insist on your attention."
Robin turned to look at her, keeping half a gaze on Slade at the same time, "What?"
Starfire shook her head, "Robin, this is not reasonable. What you are doing is—"
"Harsh? Inhumane? Star, he's the cause of our troubles! He started this! And now..." Robin looked back at Slade, "He'll pay."
"But—"
"No, Star. I have to finish this."
Robin turned back to Slade and prepared for another attack with the metal rod. He jumped and began a series of intricate movements that became a blurry outline.
Starfire sighed. She simply didn't understand Robin. There seemed to be no reason behind his actions, but she at least understood that this was important to him. That Robin needed to do this to finish his final fight with Slade. But this... it just didn't make sense.
Robin prepared to strike again. Starfire turned away and sighed again.
Robin looked down at his victim, satisfied, "No more apprentices now, Slade? There's no one here to save you. No one. Beg for my mercy! Kneel before me!"
The remains of chicken bones were now scattered uselessly across the floor.
"Okay, Raven..." Beast Boy said as he entered the kitchen for breakfast the next morning.
"I know you're still medituting and don't want to be bothered, but—" Beast Boy brought out a checkers board.
"Can you play chess with me?" he said excitedly.
Had Raven been her normal self that day, she would have pointed out that they'd need a chess board for that, not a checkers one, and said no to the offer in the first place, but—she was not. She hadn't moved from her chair by the windows since the day before. No one noticed.
Beast Boy set up the board on a table in front of Raven and brought out the black and white pieces.
"You wanna be black right?" he asked.
Raven said nothing, but Beast Boy took her silence as acquiescence, and turned the board around to accommodate her reaching needs.
"Okay, I go first," he muttered to himself. "This little piece with a Dora the Explorer mark on it should go up, right?"
Raven stared past Beast Boy.
He moved the Dora the Explorer checkers set piece up one space and looked up at Raven eagerly, as if he'd finally accomplished an overachieving task, "Your turn!"
Realizing that she wouldn't respond, Beast Boy moved a black piece for her and glanced at Raven to see if she would agree to his choice of placement. She returned his gaze with a distant look.
So, in this way, they finished the first round. And Raven won. And Beast Boy yawned. And they were back to an awkward, one-person silence.
"Dude... there's nothing to do here!" Beast Boy complained after a few minutes. Then his eyes lit up, "Wait! I know what to do!"
He leaned across the checkers board to whisper in her ear, "We can watch TV!" Raven didn't respond, but Beast Boy was already standing up and walking across the living room floor. He found the remote coated in a blue fungus and oblivious, picked it up, and pressed the ON button.
"—in other news, the House of Representatives has signed the bill promoting higher taxes and the final steps before—"
"Boring!" Beast Boy changed the channel.
"Crikey! Did ya'll just see that? Two rows o' sharp teeth that jus' bit right through the—"
Beast Boy changed the channel.
"And so I'm like, 'Dude, you've got like, serious issues! Can't you see that she totally thinks you're hot?' and so he's all like, 'No way, man! She's like—'"
Beast Boy changed the channel.
"—so here we have it, ladies and gentlemen, a new champion to conquer the famous Mount Everest. Meet—RAVEN!"
Beast Boy grinned merrily, "Hey, Rae! Look, there's some person on TV called Raven too! And she's on Mount Everest! Isn't that awesome?"
Raven didn't respond from her window seat.
"So, tell us, Raven—how long and difficult was your journey to the top of this incredible mountain?"
The green-cloaked Raven on TV smirked and said, "'bout two days. And it was actually pretty easy, seeing as I've got awesome superpowers and all." Then she turned to the camera and waved wildly, "Hey Rae-Rae! Check it out! I'm on Mount Everest!"
The talk-show host mindlessly nodded, "So, got any new adventure ahead that you'd like to share with the audience?"
The TV Raven thought for a moment and then replied, "Totally! I'm sky-diving in an hour and jumping off some sky-scraper in China without a parachute!"
Beast Boy stared at the screen confusedly, and only one thought ran through his head.
What's Brave doing on TV?
"You want some candy, punk?" Rage asked as she twirled a lollipop in her mouth.
A dozen kindergarten students stared at the red-clad emotion eagerly as they nodded.
"Too bad!" She snapped and jumped onto the playground swing, carrying a bag of candy with her and popping another Jolly Rancher into her mouth.
"P-please, Master Raven?" A young girl wearing a red-and-white dress asked timidly as she walked up to Rage.
Rage glowered down at the girl with disgust and she began gnashing her teeth against the Jolly Rancher. "I said no! Get lost, you freak!" she shrieked.
The polka-dotted-dressed girl whimpered as she drew back into the crowd of hungry children. They all looked at Rage with saddened and forlorn faces.
Rage eyed them unhappily and demanded, "What?"
"N-nothing, Miss Raven!" A pair of twins chorused nervously.
"When's Teacher Barnes coming back?" a brave boy asked.
Rage glared at the boy, "Dang it! Quit asking such dumb questions! I don't know when your stupid teacher's coming back!"
A few children snickered while others looked shocked and perplexed.
The emotion rolled her eyes impatiently and snapped, "Now what?"
"You said 'Dang'! You said a naughty, naughty word!" A peppy boy announced through giggles.
Rage looked at the children inexpressively, while her left eye started twitching. She bit through her lollipop and muttered, "Damn kindergarten kids."
Before the congregation could react, a cheery young teacher came back with bags of groceries for the children and announced, "Hi kids! I'm back from shopping! Would anyone like to help me put the bags away?"
"Mrs. Barnes!" a few ecstatic students exclaimed as others ran to the teacher to help with the groceries.
"Each of you can have some candy after lunch!" Mrs. Barnes said as she walked towards Rage with a ten-dollar bill.
"Thanks for looking after them," she lowered her voice as she handed the money to Rage.
The emotion stared at the money for a moment.
"No thanks. I don't take charity."
The teacher looked perplexed, "But it isn't charity. I'm paying you for looking after the children."
"I said I didn't want it!" Rage said heatedly.
"But you must accept."
"No! I don't—"
"Please, do take it!" The teacher was about to hand the money to Rage when the bill suddenly burst into violet flames.
The teacher blinked.
Rage stood up, an annoyed look on her face. "This is stupid."
"What-what just happened? How did you do that?" The teacher asked shakily.
Rage dropped the Jolly ranchers and left the kindergarten. So much for kindergarten kids bowing at her feet.
As the world was seemingly falling apart among the Titans, Cyborg was too engrossed in his own problems to mind them.
He led a silent procession of furry grey creatures to the Titans' cemetery. Most of the other team members had buried deceased pets and creatures of the like there, but this was the first time the cemetery would receive an inanimate object in its grave.
Cyborg sniffed as he dragged the exploded car parts to a somber gravestone.
"This wasn't meant to be, my sweety. We were supposed to grow old together—and now—now—" he dropped off, choking back a sob. "Rest in peace."
"Amen," the creatures chorused and Cyborg blew his nose loudly. After burying the last pieces of his car, he turned to the creatures, smiling excitedly.
"So, who's up for pizza?"
"No, turn it a little to the side. No, that's not right, a little more to the left. Darn it, hold the camera up! And don't shake so much, Timid," Happy whispered loudly as she and Timid hid behind the kitchen counters, pointing a plastic camera in Beast Boy's oblivious direction. He was playing Mega Monkey on the couch. Timid shakily snapped a picture.
"Okay, now get a shot of his hands. They just look so amazing from here. And then get another one of the side of his face. Rage keeps saying he needs to pierce those cute 'lil ears. I totally agree."
"What if-if he catches us, Happy? I'm so afraid of what he'll say if he sees us. It's like we're… we're…"
"Stalkers? Relax, Timid. He's just gonna grin his loopy mouth off and laugh. Don't worry about it."
Timid's eyes widened and she felt tears coming on. "He's-he's gonna laugh at me? Don't make him laugh at me! I'm going to be sad and cry. And I won't ever come out of Nevermore again if he makes me cry."
Happy smiled. "See? That's what I'm telling you, honey. Stop worrying about it. And get another shot of his head. I just love the way his hair sticks up right there. Makes me wonder what Raven's thinking being so mean to him all the time."
Happy glanced at Raven's immobile form by the windows. "And speaking of Raven, that girl needs to start moving pretty soon, or else all this BB hunting we're doing's not gonna help her much."
"I-I thought you said she can't come back yet. She's stuck in Nevermore because we've left her there. She must be lonely there all alone… Oh, that makes me sad all over again." Timid's hands shook as she snapped a picture of the back of Beast Boy's head.
"Nah, Raven's fine. She needs some solitary time. Maybe she's hosting parties up in Nevermore all by herself. She can imagine things up, you know."
Timid smiled a little. "D-do you think she's imagining Beast Boy in Nevermore?"
"Absolutely. She's gonna thank us once she's back out here. Hey—doesn't that mean we've gotta head back to Nevermore if she comes out? See, that's not fair to us. We should get more freedom than just that. Then again, Raven hasn't moved for two days. She probably needs to eat and stuff."
Timid nodded with little conviction. "I'll go back to Nevermore. This place scares me a lot. It gets dark at night and I found my cloak chewed a little at-at the hems this morning."
Happy laughed. "Well I like this place. You can do whatever you want here. And there's lots of Beast Boy to go around. Write a little paragraph about BB under that journal entry so I can read it later and put the pictures underneath. I'll bet you Brave'll love that. Make it descriptive too. I wanna smile when I read it!"
Timid shyly complied.
"Yep," Happy murmured as she angled the camera for another shot of Beast Boy as he poked his tongue out in concentration. "I definitely love this place."
Wisdom strode through the automatic sliding doors. The place smelled like an air-conditioned airport. It was, in fact, a library.
"Oh my God," someone whispered. "It's Raven."
"Look at that cloak," someone else murmured. "She's changed it."
"That's so awesome."
Wisdom stared at the two teenage girls by the counter. She stared blankly. "Where's the nonfiction section?"
Their eyes bulged. "Oh my God," one of them whispered. "She's speaking to us. Oh my God, get a camera!"
"Perhaps you misunderstand me. Where may I find the nonfiction section?" Wisdom stared at them blankly.
"No, better yet! Get a recorder!" one of the girls gushed. "Then we can actually record what she says to us."
Wisdom impatiently strode past the counter, into the nonfiction section.
"Oh my God, she's leaving! Get me a camera, Lucy!" Lucy stared at Wisdom's retreating back with awe.
Wisdom had a briefcase with her, which was not unusual. Inside were papers and photographs of Beast Boy. The pictures were random: a snap of BB's ear; one of his toes; another of his right elbow. One would wonder how they even got close enough to take one of his bellybutton. Doesn't his uniform cover that part of his body? Wisdom shook her head, blushing.
She sat at a faded desk in the nonfiction area, and started sorting through the papers in the briefcase.
Happy and Timid had certainly written a lot of comments in the BB journal. One read:
"His skin is white like porcelain."
The writing was illegible there. It seems as though the two had had a fight with the pen. It continued:
"Scratch that. His skin is like a pile of green leaves. It makes you want to sink in it. His eyes are emerald. The emerald gleams in his eyes like a shiny stone. I want to stare at his shiny stones.
He stares at his videogame and his lips curve into the prettiest smile. His smile is pretty. His lips are red like cherry blossoms—"
The writing is illegible again. There are pen scratches on the paper.
"Scratch that again. His lips are green like luscious avocados. They are very pretty. I wish Raven was not dumb and thought so too. Maybe she would taste his luscious avocados. Yes Timid, I wrote that his lips are pretty."
Wisdom raised her eyebrows, impressed. At least they had been considerate enough to correct their mistakes.
In Nevermore, Raven cursed her emotions. How rude. They had actually had the audacity to lock her up in her own mind? Raven would not stand for such disrespect.
Enraged, she wandered within the wasteland of Nevermore. Posters still hung off the branches of trees and markers littered the ground. She wanted to meditate, but that would be impossible. She couldn't concentrate now that her haven was a jail cell.
It had been two days since the emotions had locked her up in Nevermore. Two days ago, she awoke feeling numb. She remembered the Emotions dragging her into Nevermore. They left her there, leaving and cackling like manic chickens.
"So long, Ravie!" Happy had waved, poking her tongue out at her.
Raven had screamed after them, but they were long gone.
Now she was all alone, stuck inside her own head. She tried to make herself feel better by thinking that things like this happened all the time, she wasn't a special case. But no. Getting kidnapped and thrown into your mind by your own emotions was not common. She was quite special, apparently.
Raven walked through each emotion's realm, trying to relieve her anger and sudden boredom. In Affection's realm, she stopped short. And gawked.
In front of her was the most hideous statue of Beast Boy she had ever seen. It was at least fifty feet tall. And it was made of gum. It was green, because it was covered in fungi.
The emotions had built a Beast Boy shrine.
Raven blanched.
Slade's large computer screens stared at Robin. They showed Slade's motionless face. Robin looked around, wondering where he was. He was wearing the cursed uniform that mirrored Slade's and he was weaponless.
"Robin."
Robin whirled around, face-to-face with Slade. He was smirking as he neared Robin, standing too close for comfort. There was an army of African masks behind him. Giant masks, seven feet tall. They grinned savagely at Robin. Suspended in the air, they crowded around him.
Slade's eyes shone. He reached for Robin's uniform and suddenly shouted, "I'm going to rape you for no reason!"
And he did just that.
When finished, Slade flew into the air, cackling. His African masks laughed at Robin, who was staring up at them all frightfully.
"Oh Robin, what have they done?" Starfire leapt into the scene. She comforted Robin and wagged her finger at Slade. "That was quite mean of you, Slade. Kiddy corner for you."
And she hugged Robin until he could no longer breathe.
The African masks chortled at Robin.
Slade ripped off his mask and a rabbit hopped out of where his face should've been.
Slade's computers crashed on them all and—
Robin woke up gleaming.
a/n: Thanks for reading. Dora the Explorer doesn't belong to us, and neither does Teen Titans.
Cybernetic cookie, anyone?