Unbeknownst to Them
Robin and Starfire have a secret. One they haven't shared with anyone else... Until a certain villain decided to toy with them… Placed BEFORE the third season, and during. Robin/Starfire. PLEASE R&R!!!
Rated PG.
Disclaimer: I only own Life of the Party, and no one else. I own the poem at the beginning too. Please don't steal it. Though I doubt anyone would WANT it...
Unbeknownst to Them
Fiddle dee-dee,
So full of glee.
Diddle dee-do,
Let's put on a show.
Fiddle dee-dee,
Parties are for me,
Diddle dee-do,
What do you know?
Fiddle dee-dee,
I' m the Life of the Party,
Diddle dee-do,
I want a little more.
Fiddle dee-dee,
What I can do you'll see,
Diddle dee-do,
In my fantastic long-term show.
Fiddle dee-dee,
A kiss for thee,
Diddle dee-do,
Your secrets I will know.
Fiddle dee-dee,
Let's spin the bottle – WHEE!
Diddle dee-do,
Who'd it land on? OH!
Fiddle dee-die,
A needle in the eye.
Diddle dee-doo,
It landed on you…
Fiddle dee-die,
This is bad, my oh my…
Diddle dee-dow,
The truth be told now!
Robin's POV
The alarm went off at three in the morning. Of course, none of us were ready. Cyborg was the last to rise, since we needed to unplug him and shake him until he came online. When all of us were up, the villain had dried up one bank and was skipping to the next. As I saw Cyborg head over to the consol to check who it was, I told him to leave it. We didn't have time.
We had to fly to get there this time, for it was the fastest, most efficient way to go. Raven and Beast Boy carried Cyborg, each holding on of his arms, and Starfire carried me. It was easier this way – Cyborg was much heavier than I and only Starfire could carry him, and it made no sense for Beast Boy or Raven to fly without making some use of themselves. We reached the villain just as he was sprinting off to rob a nearby jewelry store.
"Stop right there!" I shouted, unable to see him for he was hiding in the dark shadows cast by the faint moonlight. I pointed, and the other Titans carefully tensed up, ready to take him down. "Come out now, and we won't have to treat you rough."
The man slipped out of the shadows and stood in the pale yellow glow of an all-night casino. I was instantly reminded of Mumbo Jumbo. This man stared at me through masked eyes, bringing out his white face, two pink tufts of hair poking out from under his jester's hat. His yellowing teeth glinted from under his long, pencil-like nose, and his long, spider-like fingers played with a button on his old-fashioned, multi-colored petticoat. The cuffs of a lime-green shirt poked out from under the sleeves of this strange coat, which dangled aimlessly by his long, bowed legs. He wore a pair of tight, blinding pink pants, and he waved the end of a violet clown shoe in the air. Barely visible in the night was his indigo baton, which lay at his side, untouched.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
"Cool," said Beast Boy. "A clown villain. I was hoping something like this would come around."
"Shut up, kid," hissed the man, his voice high-pitched and slurred. In a flash, he had picked up his baton and had it pointed at us. Long, glittering ribbons of every color dangled off the end. "I am the Life of the Party."
"More like Party Crasher," I said. "Or, at least, that's what we'll be once we get the police down here to cuff you."
Life of the Party hissed. "I'd like to see you try."
"Good. Because you will. And you'll lose." I drew out my bowstaff and readied myself.
Life of the Party took a step back, a look of surprise flickering across his face.
"Titans, go!"
We charged forward, and Life of the Party jumped right over our heads. We skidded to a halt and pivoted, facing him again. He tipped back his head and laughed hysterically.
"Pathetic little children!" he called. He laughed again. "Can't you do better?"
I charged, watching for him to spring away. And he did, before I reached five feet of him. I swerved to the right, jumped up, placed my feet on the wall of the building, and launched myself off. I tossed several of my exploding disks, which had been loaded in my fingers, and pounced off the next building. I zigzagged back and forth, tossing more and more exploding disks as I went along with growing momentum. Life of the Party dodged them all, unfortunately.
Starfire flew overhead, with Cyborg and Beast Boy above her. She fired starbolt after starbolt and Cyborg blasted everything in sight. This, coupled with my disks, made it very difficult for Life of the Party to go anywhere. More than once he doubled back, trying to escape, only to be urged forward by my approaching form.
We chased him a good block down the city, before we reached a dead end. A large church loomed in front of us. We expected Life of the Party to stop, or go inside, but he didn't. Instead, he jumped up without warning and, in a similar fashion to mine, pounced off the building. He hurtled face-first at me, and I had to leap over him to avoid collision. I landed on my feet, whipping out my bowstaff and turning to chase him. Starfire came from behind and slipped her arms around my chest, lifting me into the air. Surprised, I didn't react a moment, but then I regained my head.
I narrowed my eyes, focusing on my prey. She flew me over Life of the Party, who was dashing back down the way we had come. We came down, and she hovered over my shoulder. I held out my bowstaff and twirled it once, to demonstrate my ability.
Life of the Party came to a screeching halt, eyes wide. He slowly turned his head. On the surrounding buildings, the other Titans crouched, waiting for him to try and run. He looked back at me, grinning.
I raised an eyebrow expectantly.
Life of the Party tugged at his sleeve, a bomb popped out, fizzling, into his hand. His maniacal grin widened. "Nothing up my sleeve…" He stepped back, aimed, and fired.
I dodged instantly, covering my head and waiting for impact. But he wasn't aiming for me.
He was aiming for Starfire.
She screamed, and above me there was bright flash. BOOM. I caught her like I had so many times before, with my hand on my back and he knees on my forearm. She stared at me, covered with gobs of pink goo.
Bubble gum.
I tried to set her down, but the gum had glued her to my arms. We fought it, but we couldn't budge. We stare at Life of the Party with wide eyes, hoping… no… praying… he wouldn't attack us again.
The other Titans leapt from the buildings, moving to subdue Life of the Party. Out of nowhere he conjured more bombs, and tossed them up into the air.
"Gum, gum, everywhere!" he hollered as they exploded, showering their sticky contents all over the Titans. He looked around, a false pitying look on his face as he studied Raven, who had he boots glued firmly to the sidewalk. "Oh, but not a bite to eat."
No matter what the Titans did, they couldn't move.
Life of the Party returned his attention to me and Starfire, who remained stuck to the spot.
"Aww," he said. "I just love it when romance blooms, don't you?"
Starfire's eyes glowed green and she clenched her teeth angrily.
My feet were still free. I started walking forward, ignoring the fact Starfire was still glued to me. My bowstaff was pointing out from behind her back, and I moved to point it at him, turning my body sideways. I knew I looked ridiculous, but I fought back my embarrassment.
"How cute," commented Life of the Party. He tilted back his head and laughed madly. "Is ickle Robbie defending his WUV?"
Starfire went rigid. She let out a frustrated scream and powered up her starbolts. She tilted her wrists just so and started blasting away at the goo that held her prison.
It began to melt.
Life of the Party's eyes widened. "No!"
We were free. Together, we ran at him. He scrambled back, turning and running. The other Titans cheered us on instead of helping, because they were still stuck. Life of the Party got ahead quite a bit before he skidded to a halt and turned to look at us with a murderous look in his eye.
"This wild goose chase has gone on long enough," I said firmly. Starfire stood right by my side; I could feel her shoulder against my own. "Time for it to stop."
Life of the Party grinned. "No," he said. "We haven't even started playing the party games! How about… SPIN THE BOTTLE!?" He jumped up, reaching into his petticoat and whipping out a long, green bottle. He chucked it at us and landed on his feet, wobbling slightly on his skinny legs.
The bottle hit the ground with a tiny tinkling noise, and began spinning rapidly in circles. Starfire and I stepped back, watching it warily. We shouldn't have. It kept spinning, faster and faster, and it was only too late I realized it's a hypnotic device to subdue us. I tried to force my eyes open and look away, but my eyelids began to droop.
"Such pretty colors," mumbled Starfire sleepily.
The bottle began to slow, and eventually came to a stop. I staggered sideways into Starfire, unable to control my motions.
"Aw, look! It's landed on you!" said the Life of the Party giddily. "You know what that means, don't you? YOU GET A KISS!" He brought up his long, thin hand and pressed it against his mouth, then closed his eyes. He took a small step back, bending forward, and lowered his hand. He gave a tiny puff, and a large red pair of lips flew off his hand.
My eyes widened. I struggled to regain my motor functions, but it was no use. The lips split into two, and planted themselves firmly on our cheeks.
My mouth dropped open. The world swam before my eyes. He must have poisoned us, or sedated us, or…
Starfire collapsed beside me. The colors, through my eyes, began to dull. Soon, everything was black and white. I took a weak step backwards, fighting back the fatigue threatening to bring me down. Everything was getting darker…
I sank to my knees, and slowly fell backwards. I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling. I could barely make out Raven's form as she flew overhead to capture Life of the Party before all went black.
Author's Notes: Yeah, that's it. You may be confused now, but that's perfectly okay. I'll clear it up later. Just so you know, this chapter was only created to introduce Life of the Party, and to show his attack. The plot will come in the next chapter.
Also, I may not update as quickly as normal because I have school. I'll try really hard, but I wish to maintain my A's and B's, so… yeah. I'll be spending a lot of time on homework. Don't worry if I take a while – I'm trying to get to you!
And… uh… I know it's not all that important but… PLEASE REVIEW!!!!