Season 1, Episode 1

See, Hear, Speak

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Punch. Contact between my fist and the leather. Recoil, pushing my hand back. Subtle vibrations, up the bones in my forearm and shoulder. Brief sensation of pain.

Before the punching bag can swing back, I hit it again.

Jab, then sidearm. Uppercut. Break the rhythm- left hook, then another jab. Jump, spin, kick- one move, without stopping.

I didn't do anything wrong.

My knuckles burn. I lean forward, hands on my knees as I take in gulps of air. The bag lazily drifts to a standstill. Sweat is stinging my eyes.

It's on him. It's all on him.

I stand straighter. I'm ready to keep going.

Maybe we're better off without him.

One step brings me back. My fist is in the air, but I hesitate.

It's not my fault.

The room is silent. I can't bring my hand forward. The bag looks like it hasn't even been touched- as if for all this time, for all this work, nothing's really changed.

I slowly let my arm fall. My eyes still hurt. I try to blink out the sweat.

It's been a while since I've talked, so my voice is rough. Quiet. "I'm sorry."

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Thing about sound, it echoes. The important stuff seems to bounce around more, ya know? Even when ya wish it wouldn't, 's got a way of gettin' louder an' louder.

I said two words a few hours back, an' I can still hear 'em.

Some kid brushes past. I'm starin' at the ground, only lookin' up so I don't run into a wall or nothin'. Haven't been to this part of Jump before- don't really know where I'm headed.

"Hey, I know you!"

The kid stopped- now she's waitin' for me to say somethin'. I turn enough to see her face, an' it lights up, that kinda happy only kids got figured out.

Aw, great. Fans.

"You're Cyborg, right?" Man, I am so not in the mood for this.

I shrug. "Not today, kid."

She frowns. "Whaddya mean?"

I don't even know how to start. "Look, uh... I'm not gonna be doin' Titans stuff for a while."

S'like I just told her Santa's not real. I swear she's gonna cry- her shoulders bunch up, an' she blinks, an' I'm feelin' like the worst criminal in the city right now- so I hurry an' keep talkin'. "It's just, I gotta do some recon, y'know? I guess you could say I'm lookin' for my next mission."

Hey, it's sorta true. Besides, ain't no way I'm gonna tell her I left for good.

She sniffs, lookin' kinda confused, an' maybe she doesn't know what all that meant, but it seems to calm her down, so I give her a smile. "You like the Titans, huh?"

Another grin breaks out, an' she nods. "Yeah! They're the best!"

Can't lie, the way her voice squeaks at the end is pretty adorable. Man, I'm feelin' even worse about all this. I look back behind me, at... wherever I was gonna go. "Hey, kid," I say absently. "Whaddya think the Titans are all about?"

Don't really know if I'm expectin' an answer. I was kinda thinkin' out loud, but I don't know about what. Maybe I'm thinkin' about trust, or respect or teamwork or somethin' like that. Pretty abstract stuff.

It's a while before I hear her. "I don't know," she says brightly.

Well, that's what I get for askin' a little kid.

But she keeps goin'. "You're all totally different. It's kinda weird." For a sec, I picture Beast Boy, an' kinda weird seems to fit just right.

She looks down, probably thinkin', then smiles again. "But you guys help people all the time. That's really cool!"

...Huh. Ain't that somethin'.

"That's what I wanna do," she says. "I wanna be a superhero like the Titans!"

Somethin' beeps on my arm. I look down, an' the screen spells out TITANS ALERT.

The echoes from 'I quit' are still loud, but I can't hear 'em over the communicator.

I look back up. "That's really great, kid," I say quietly. "Don't ever lose sight of that, y'hear?"

She nods, with that same big smile on her face. I take a deep breath.

S'time to make things right.

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So here's the deal, guys. I have a confession to make.

I've been a 'fan' of Teen Titans for a while. I hesitate to say fan because I haven't actually seen the show, outside of a few random episodes (I think the one where Beast Boy becomes the Beast, and maybe a couple others). But I obviously like the characters- I finished a story (Flux) with them, for crying out loud. I've been able to learn a lot just from reading other people's stories here on Fanfiction, and also by looking stuff up online.

However.

I have the opportunity to watch the show now. I'm talking the whole thing. All the episodes. And I'm really excited.

I've actually gotten through four episodes already- I just watched the one with Thunder and Lightning- but the idea occurred to me that I could write a oneshot for each episode. This way, not only would I get a lot more practice with writing these characters, but I'll also be able to develop some ideas and plot points that stick out to me as I'm watching the show. Plus, since I really don't know where the series goes as a whole, you guys will be able to watch a complete noob slowly get sucked into the mythos of Teen Titans, and maybe I'll chat about the episode in an Author's Note at the end.

Also, I think it will be fun.

So yeah- after every episode, I won't let myself watch another until I've written the chapter. That should put us at 65 chapters. But I hear there's a movie, too, so if I'm able to watch that, who knows?

What to expect in terms of genre? Honestly, I have no idea. I'm told that the show is split into serious and funny episodes, so in keeping with the spirit of the thing, I'll probably try to make the goofy episodes into goofy oneshots. The serious ones could go any direction- angst, action, romance, friendship stuff, I don't know.

One last thing- perspectives might go all over the place. First person, third, and as many different characters as I want- I don't know, it'll probably all get thrown in there. We'll see what happens.

Have fun, everybody.