Not just simply gorgeous. Jaw-dropping-eye-popping-knee-shaking gorgeous.

And she's looking at you right now.

Blue water was lapping at those fine long legs that seemed to stretch on forever. Her skin was a creamy coffee-colored tone. Full pouting pink lips and big glossy eyes rounded her out. That beautiful creature was too good to be true.

"Why don't you come down here, stud?" she asked him in a low fluid voice, gesturing to a generous spot near the ocean's waters.

Without a word, he casually slid the quiver of arrows off his back and eased himself onto the sandy bank next to her. "This close enough for you?" he asked.

She nodded in approval. A hand smoothly curled around the nape of his neck, pulling his head closer to hers. The fragrance of jasmine engulfed him in clouds of passion.

"Why don't you take that mask off?" she asked him in his face.

The red headed young man gave an innocent shrug. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not". She chuckled softly and leaned closer. He could already taste her tantalizing lips on his mouth...

Just a little more. . .a little...

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Speedy bolted up in bed. Ocean waters dried up, sand drifted away, and the Miss Beautiful of his dreams had vanished. He realized that the noise that had woken him up was the the ear-piercing scream was coming from down the corridor of Titans East.

"WAAAAAGGGH!" came the sound again. Correction: Two children, and they are hollering at the top of their lungs.

"All right, all right!" Speedy moaned The young man threw back the covers and forced his bare feet onto the cold floor. He pulled on a cotton shirt over his wife beater. Sleepily, he shuffled down the hallway. Not even bothering to turn on a light, Speedy blinked in the darkness and his foot stepped painfully on a set of Leggos that remained haphazardly on the floor.

Cursing between his teeth, he grabbed his sore foot with one hand and gripped the doorknob with the other hand. Mas was as the top of the bunk bed and bawling as tears ran down his face. Menos, on the bottom bunk, was hugging his blanket to his chest and crying just as loud.

"¡El doctor, no me lastima!" Mas babbled."Agujas! No! ¡No más de agujas!

Speedy rushed to the bed and gripped the boy gently by the arm. "Hey, it's okay. You're awake now. Safe." Mas blinked his eyes and looked at Speedy. He had stopped crying but was still gasping for breath.

"Los doctores nos lastimaban. D-d-doctors. . we were hurt," Menos stuttered awkwardly. "Hurt with n-n-needles".

"Si, si. Needles. Sangre." Mas added. "Sangrábamos. Nos asustaron Hurt us all over, all over sangre."

Speedy sighed and rubbed his heavy eyelids. The two trouble makers just had a bad nightmare. And the sooner they'd calm down, the sooner he's get back to sleep.

"No, there's no agujas here," Speedy said. "Usted es . .. ah .." he fumbled for the right words. "Seguro ahora", he finished.

"Usted es seguro adentro Steel City." he repeated. "With your Amigo Speedy. Safe."

"S-safe," Menos repeated, nodding his head. They could understand Speedy pretty well, even if he was still grappling with Spanish.

Mas threw his arms around Speedy's neck and squeezed so tightly that he nearly felt his circulation getting cut off.

"Safe," he said a small shaking voice. "Safe with our Amigo T-t-Titan," he stumbled on the last word.

"I'm not so safe when I'm mad," he muttered under his breath.

They must have not heard him or chosen to ignore him because Menos was also clinging to Speedy, hugging him by the ankles. The archer wobbled for a moment, hoping that he wouldn't fall flat on his face.

"Shhhh, it's all right," he said aloud, forcing down the urge to pry them off his body. He patted Menos on the head and ran a hand through Mas's red hair. The small boy released the throat crushing grip on Speedy and looked at him in the face. His scared expression quickly turned to one of eagerness.

"¿Podemos dormir con usted?" he asked with a small smile, pointing to Speedy's chest, then back at his. Speedy twitched, not knowing precisely what he was saying. Something about sleeping with someone . . .

"Sleep," Menos said. "Dormis con Amigo Speedy."

Bingo.

Menos noticed the archer's face twist into an uncomfortable look of utter annoyance and anger at his request to let the two boys to sleep with the teenager.

Immediately, Menos' mouth turned downward and he began to groan, preparing to burst out into tears again.

"All right! All right!" Speedy shouted. "You can sleep with me tonight. But just for tonight," he added, shaking a finger in their faces.

"YAAAAAH!" Mas and Menos squealed out loud.

Four minutes later:

As much as Speedy wanted to get back to his dreams of beautiful women he had a rule before lights out: no one goes to bed with breath that reeks of leftover pizza.

Speedy squirted some watermelon flavored toothpaste on the brush and motioned for Mas to open his mouth. Mas wrinkled his nose at the goopy green stuff.

"Go on, you'll like it," Speedy coaxed him. "It's watermelon. Sandia"

Mas reluctantly opened his mouth but his eyes popped open when Speedy started to brush his teeth,

"Mmmmm, delicioso," he said. The boy grabbed the toothpaste bottle at once.

"No no no!" Speedy yelled. Too late. Mas had squirted some toothpaste into his mouth, giggling and licking his lips. Immediately, Menos had the rival at hand and snatched the toothpaste, squeezing some onto his tongue at well.

"Give me that," Speedy ordered. He grabbed the toothpaste from the twins and stashed it up on the highest shelf possible. "You two are es epugnante. You got that? Just disgusting."

They both just licked their lips of the green toothpaste and giggled. At least they had stopped crying.

"Lexcorp wanted a study in human acceleration using artificial drugs and surgical procedures," Bumblebee explained to Aqualad and Speedy."But the government wouldn't give Lexcorp approval so the company scientists set up their laboratories south of the border."

"Like Guatemala?" Aqualad asked.

"Yes. They could operate in the desert without having the law breathing down their necks. Luthor funded the plans with his own pockets."

"What about the test subjects?"

Bumblebee pursed up her lips for a moment and she glowered.

"They weren't interested in using animals at all. So they used children."

She watched the boys' mouths fall open in alarm. "They just took kids? From where?" Speedy blurted out.

"From the orphanages, the slums, the streets. Wherever they wouldn't be missed."

Bumblebee pressed a button and an image of two children sitting in metal chairs appeared. Speedy felt a cold clammy feeling in his chest as he realized they were none other than Mas and Menos. But dressed in gray uniforms and with their hands clamped onto the chairs with metal bands, they looked trapped and scared.

"Miguel and Mario Domingo. They were living inside of a broken run down car when some of the scientists found them. It was almost too easy for Lexcorp to drug them and bring them to the lab. At first the twins didn't react to the drugs injected into them. Not until the scientists realized that some kind of magnetic field had to be channeled through them and physical contact would keep the twins constantly charged with energy."

"I had no idea how cruel the land-dwellers could be," Aqualad growled.

Speedy tried to defend the accusation. "Not everyone on earth is like that," he insisted.

"He's right, Aqua," Bumblebee said with her hands on her hips. "The Justice League found the laboratory and arrested everyone who worked for Lexcorp. They tore the entire place apart. But Miguel and Mario knew couldn't go back to ordinary lives again so the League sent them here."

The three of them glanced out of the window where Mas and Menos were racing around the training room at top speed, laughing away without a care in the world.

"I've got a letter of recommendation from Wonder Woman asking if we'd take care of them," Bumblebee concluded, waving a paper in the air.

Speedy glanced again at the two red haired boys who were now tossing a basketball in the air. "And I thought the little monsters were always so happy-go-lucky all the time."

Bumblebee looked concerned. "They're not as happy as you think they are. Those kids saw a lot of terrible things in the lab. Bad memories always stuck in their minds. So we've got to give them as much love and attention as they need".

Speedy finished tucking Mas and Menos into his bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and dimmed the lights. Twin pairs of shining eyes looked back at him with gratitude. Suddenly, they sprinted out from under the covers and Speedy was caught off guard by another bone crushing hug.

"Gracias, Senior Speedy," came a small voice from the face buried close to his chest.

"Si, si. Gracias mucho, Amigo."

"You're welcome," he said, managing a grin and ruffling their hair. "Now go to sleep. Dormir!" he ordered them.

They both nodded and lay back, fake snores blaring loudly in the room. Speedy rolled his eyes and got off the bed. Adjusting the light ever so slightly, he walked out of the room and slowly closed the door.

So much had happened in such a short time. Not more than a year ago, he was Speedy, the guy who whizzed around without a care in the world. He sure loved fast things: fast cars, fast games, and fast women.

And now he was thrust into a ring and had to pool his energy in with everyone else. No more ditching the gang and playing hooky. You stuck with the team through everything, no matter how crazy life got.

The League teaches you how to fight and the Society teaches you how to protect yourself. But the Titans teach you to how to be a famil whether you like it or not.

Speedy realized he didn't feel so tired anymore. He went into the bathroom and changed into his uniform. After adjusting the mask on his face, he got his bow and arrows from the training room. Then he headed into the garage where a newly-made motorbike sat waiting for him.

"Rob's got the R-bike," Cyborg had said to Speedy. "I figured you'd want some wheels to get around as well."

Speedy didn't want to push his luck when Cyborg had offered to build him a motorbike. But he wound up with a mouthful of drool when his fellow Titan rolled out the newly-crafted Comet from the garage. That was the name of his new sweetheart, all silver chrome and smooth on the road.

Speedy threw a leg over the side of the Comet. He placed the helmet over his head and flicked down the visor. A sputter of fumes coughed out and a rumbling sound of anticipation was heard from the motor. The Comet wasn't the R-bike but this was his set of wheels to take him wherever he wanted.

The Comet out of the room and roared down the highway. Steel City streets were nearly empty of cars at this late hour of the night. Line after line of harsh white lights flickered past Speedy. Icy wind nipped against his bare arms. But he liked the cold air. It made him attentive and kept him awake. He liked these silent streets with endless miles of asphalt to travel. And he needed some time to be alone.

Funny how at first everyone thought he was "Robin's Clone". That's it, he's doesn't have a name. He's just "Robin Number Two". The doppelganger. The other one.

All it takes is a game or two to set the record straight.

A-A-A

One year ago:

He had just been chasing a jewel robber when Speedy saw a flash of light and felt his body get sucked into a swirling vortex of power. He shouted, thinking that it must have been some kind of a hurricane or a tornado. But the spinning around him stopped as suddenly as it started and his feet touched the ground.

Blinking and trying to recall what just happened, he realized that he was in a giant room with polished floors and a high ceiling. Several other people were there: a giant beast-looking animal, a young man that looked half robot, and a funny little kid with green skin just to name a few.

"The Tournament of Heroes!" boomed a loud voice over their heads. Speedy realized that everyone looked just as confused and surprised as him at what was going on.

"A friendly competition between the world's greatest young champions!" the voice announced.

One by one, the names of the contestants were mentioned along with their abilities:

"Robin! The one man Kung Fu trained one man army," the Master of Games announced. On the screen, a giant image of Robin was seen. Speedy's eyes grew wide behind his mask.

Robin . . . as in, "Boy Wonder" and sidekick to Batman? Green Arrow had said something about Robin ditching Gotham City and doing other things. Speedy thought he had gone solo, but the crime rates in Jump City had cut down lately. Obviously, Robin had been keeping himself busy.

He felt a nagging tone in his ribs as the image of Robin on the screen flipped in midair and spun a powerful kick. Speedy was pretty good at self-defense but Robin had trained under the very best. People were scared as hell of the Batman. They said he ate demons for breakfast and had their heads to decorate his hideout. Was the Boy Wonder just as much as a psychopath?

The other names of the contestants also made him suspicious: Hot Spot, the human flame thrower. Wildebeest, the monster of a lifetime. Gizmo, a nasty little genius with a set of mechanical wings. The half robot was Cyborg and the green little kid was really a changeling named Beast Boy. Aqualad he knew about from Ollie. A pretty faced swim-team boy that drove the ladies nuts.

Heck, these supernatural superheroes were going to give him a run for the money.

"And Speedy, the agile archer with an unstoppable arsenal of energy arrows," the Master of Games concluded. He couldn't resist a large grin. From the way the Master of Games made it sound, he was just as gung ho and knuckle fisted about this tournament as the others.

Speedy regained his confidence at once to see his own image appear on the screen. The other contestants looked with amazement as the image pulled out an arrow and with a look of fierce determination on his face, aimed for the target and unleashed a perfect attack. Maybe this was going to be some fun as well. . .

A mummer of talking came from them all, deciding what to do. Robin faced the Master of Games and said, "Looks like we're in. All of us."

The Master of Games vanished, leaving everyone to prepare for the fun ahead. Speedy's eyes scanned the room quickly. Beast Boy had slapped high fives and was talking to Aqualad. Judging by the grins on their faces, they were also looking forward to a friendly competition. Cyborg was glaring down at Gizmo who was smiling with sharp white teeth back at the rival.

Then Speedy looked right at Robin. They starred at each other. Then they circled each other cautiously. Speedy realized he was about an inch taller than Robin. And the "one-man-army" wore traffic-light colors compared to Speedy's muted tones. How does he stand green tights? What's with the cape?

Suddenly, Robin broke the tension and stuck out a green gloved hand.

"Speedy, I heard you're good. Real good," he said with a grin. Judging from his voice, it was obvious he was trying to be friendly and not a suck up. Speedy accepted his hand in a firm handshake.

"Robin. Likewise," he smiled back. "Great to finally meet you."

"So, what are those arrows made of?" Robin asked, pointing to his quiver.

Speedy proudly pulled out an arrow and Robin gazed eagerly, his face showing a mixture of delight and fascination.

"Polarized matrices of high energy electrons," he said proudly. At once, the ice had been broken and the two of them launched into an animated talk about combat attacks.

"Right. Same technology packs the punch in my electric discs," Robin said, taking out small silver discuss. "How do you overcome the quantum-entanglement problem?"

Speedy began to talk about the entanglement problem by predicting the amount of time to accelerate the charge, but his words were broken off by a voice: "Dude, never knew Robin had a clone."

Speedy noticed that the green changeling was looking at him along with Cyborg. Robin laughed and gestured for them to come over.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Speedy. Speedy, these are my friends, the Teen Titans. This is Cyborg and Beast Boy."

"The Teen Titans?" Speedy asked keenly. "So the League was right. You really have flown out of Gotham's nest."

Robin bristled a little from his comment and shrugged. "Its time to take action for myself. What about you? Still hanging around Green Arrow?"

It was Speedy's turn to get ticked off. The Emerald Archer was a great teacher, but Speedy wasn't the good little Boy Scout to stay at home. "Nah, I'm just doing my own thing in Star City."

"Maybe you should come down to Jump sometime," Cyborg offered him. "We've got a lot of room for chilling out and could always use another person to play Starkiller Scream."

"Yeah! And we've got a fridge full of tofu," Beast Boy added. Speedy resisted a laugh. He could tell from Robin's face that at least the leader took the crime fighting team very seriously.

The discussion was cut off by an announcement from the Master of Games. Speedy found himself in a giant blue sea full of columns. He began sprinting from pillar to pillar while Aqualad swam underneath him.

As much as he wanted to take down Robin, Speedy was more than content to pair up against Aqualad. Beast Boy had mentioned beforehand his slight hatred/envy of the black haired boy. Speedy knew too well about other guys that seemed to steal the spotlight.

It was a lot of fun and a lot of ass whooping as well. Tuna Boy was swimming under the water but his shadow made an easy target for Speedy. When he thought Aqualad was capsized, he sat down and began laughing, hooting and cheering for victory.

His joy was short-lived as the waters swirled up and Aqualad delivered a powerful punch across Speedy's fist. He was sure that his jaw had been broken, but it was easy to get up and try again. Aqualad was smirking at him so Speedy just wiped his mouth and grinned back wickedly. So Tuna Boy wanted a tough fight? Then Speedy wasn't going to back down at all. The right arrows and the right vision did the trick. It was over in a matter of minutes: his perfect aim shot the sub-zero arrows into the water, freezing Aqualad into place.

He had won! This was great, just great. Only three other contestants had won as well: Robin being one of them.

A-A-A

He had yet to discover that Robin was indeed, very different from himself. Speedy liked a good competition every now and then. Winning was fun. It was an energy-booster and impressed the ladies. But Robin was taking this seriously. Maybe even too seriously.

"May the best man win," he said to Robin with thumbs up.

"I intend to," Robin shot back. To him, this wasn't a game. It was war and you played to win until you were the last man standing.

Speedy realized this as he was against Robin in the final round. The bo staff slammed against Speedy's bow and the masked boys found themselves face to face. The tension between them began to grow and they pressed harder against each other.

"Its just as friendly competition, isn't it?" Speedy said, grinning weakly as sweat poured down his face. But Robin looked just as serious as if they were two soldiers in battle, standing on opposite sides.

"Yeah, should be fun," he said in a sarcastic tone. He pushed harder and Speedy felt his boot heels grind against the dirt, driving him back an inch.

"Right. 'Cause winning isn't everything," he chided Robin.

"It's the only thing that matters!" Robin shouted, flipping his body into a superb martial arts twist. Speedy switched to defense and kept getting blocked with the bo staff. If only he had a split second, he'd get ready to fire at Robin again. But the Boy Wonder had learned under the best. It was his stamina against Speedy's quick reflexes.

And in the long run, Robin was going to win. Because nothing else mattered to him.

It didn't bother Speedy that much when Robin broke his bow and the red headed teenager had lost. What disturbed him was Robin's smug look as his gazed down at the loser, a look of triumph accompanied by a somewhat evil smirk on his face.

"You lose," he said, raising his staff at Speedy.

Bats must have taught him too hard.

"Was it worth it?" he asked Robin with a disappointed look on his face.

His words must have had an effect on Robin because the smirk vanished and he looked somewhat disturbed from Speedy's criticism.

A-A-A

In the end, Speedy had to admit that it was a good thing Robin had been acting like a jerk. Only such a hyperactive drive to win really saved them all from the Master of Games. Plus, he was able to get a taste of the Titans' strategies. As much as he liked fighting on his own, the teamwork was really something remarkable. Cyborg blasted forward as Robin shoved Speedy out of the way from a wave of flames.

Capes really do come in handy, he thought to himself as Robin threw his yellow cape over them and the fire washed over their bodies. Both teenagers stood up, unscathed and protected. Robin glanced at Speedy. "Can you aim for that jewel?" he asked, pointing to the necklace.

Speedy pulled out an arrow and fitted it quickly. "I can do better than that."

Nodding at Robin, the young man watched the Boy Wonder charge forth and leap into the air. Speedy's eyes scanned past the dodging flames and following Robin, he managed to release a flaming arrow.

Robin leapt into the air and drove his booted forward, grinding the arrow into the Master of Games' medallion. The sore loser roared and fell back, allowing the other trapped contestants to be freed.

It wasn't over, though. It was only the beginning.

"Here, you deserve this," Robin said, pressing something into Speedy's hand. He looked down to see an amazing looking circular device in his palm. A white T set against a shining black metal lid and encircled with a gold band looked up at him.

"It's a Teen Titan communicator. So from now on, you're an honorary Titan," Robin said to him. Speedy's hand gripped the communicator tightly. Winning Robin's approval, or at least his trust, had actually saved all of their lives. Speedy knew that he wouldn't trade it this prize for a room full of trophies or medals.

"Sorry I acted like a jerk," Robin added sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Speedy had done the same simultaneously. They both cracked a laugh and shook hands.

"Well, we both did. But really, it was your guts to win that saved us," Speedy added.

"I didn't do it to win. I did it for my friends," Robin said seriously. The two of them glanced at each other. Once just sidekick boys out for the thrill, now two young men waiting to face a world with all the power they had. Maybe Robin wasn't such a neurotic perfectionist after all.

Maybe he and Robin weren't so different after all. And if this Kung Fu Kid could start his own team . . . maybe Speedy would have a lot more fun hanging out with him.

"So, we're friends?" he asked.

"Definitely," Robin grinned back at Speedy.