Hero Worship: a teen titan's fic

[JazzyChick]

well, as promised here's ch. 1 of my next fic. just an fyi, this is going to be longer than my last fic (not just in the number of chapters, but in chap length as well) as well as more involved (like, trying to put in more stuff that's just everyday life kinda junk). anywho, i'm looking forward to writing it and though their are no insane people (:evil: Miss. Sarah:evil: ) it should still be entertaining as hopefully you'll see my odd sense of humor (most people don't notice it when i tell a joke :crying: ).....

so....uh.....yeah....here it is:


Hero Worship



Ch. 1

So it begins



It had been a relatively quiet week in Jump City. None of their resident super villains had broken out of prison, no one new had shown up looking to make a name for themselves. The super powered teens hadn’t dealt with anything more strenuous than a bank robbery in more than a week and a half. Things were slowing down, and through none of them would trade their highly active lives for anything, it was a nice break.



The team was out eating pizza, being normal teens for as long as they were allowed. Starfire was busy having to convince the store’s owner that she wasn’t kidding, or insane, when she ordered a pizza with mint frosting as the only topping. She was still at the counter when Cyborg and Beast Boy started in on an eating contest, seeing who could eat the most pizza in three minutes. One of the other customers, a nine year old boy name Jason, was acting as referee. He had gotten a stopwatch for his birthday and was happy to be of service to his heroes, the Titans. Raven was watching with mild interest, she and another gothic girl in the store were betting on how long before it would be until one of them threw up, and were smiling amongst themselves. Robin was bust cheering his friends on, though secretly he was routing for Beast Boy, knowing that whenever Cy challenged him he transformed his stomach to that of a cow. Of course Robin would never tell Cyborg this, it was too much fun to see the exasperated look on his face when the scrawny little green dude beat him.



Yes, it was nice to be normal teenagers for once.



* * *



Three miles from where the Titan’s were having their childish fun, a little girl sat on her sad excuse for a bed crying. The bed was barley more than a cot, a tattered mattress covered in an ancient blanket and a worn pillow. Her long brown hair fell in unordered masses in front of her face as she pulled her knees up, hugging them to her chest. Tears fell freely from her sad gray eyes, turning her rosy cheeks a puffy red. A well-loved teddy bear was being held tightly in her hands, nearly as ragged as her donated clothes.



Jessie lived in Jump City’s orphanage, had since she was three years old. Today, a rich couple had come looking for an eight-year-old girl. There were three children at the orphanage who met that criteria: Katie, Taylor, and Jessie. They had shown quite a bit of interest in Jessie, she was athletic, intelligent, not to mention cute, but then they met Taylor. She had perfectly straight blonde hair with just the right amount of natural highlights where Jessie’s was an unruly tangle of brown. Taylor’s eyes were a bright blue that made you think of the depths an endless ocean, while Jessie’s were a gray that resembled the sky before a storm. Jessie always wore soccer shorts and a t-shirt, while Taylor was so adorable in her dainty dresses. The couple seemed to forget all about Jessie and ended up adopting Taylor later that day.



Jessie watched them leave. Watched at the happy couple loaded up her few things into their expensive car. Watched as they helped her into the back seat. Watched as they took her away. Then she ran to her room and sat on her bed, and allowed the tears that she wouldn’t let anyone see fall from her young eyes.



* * *

On the edge of the city lay an almost forgotten mansion. Ivy crawled up the aging stonewalls, weeds covered the unkept grounds. Its owner rarely left the confines of its walls, and had never been outside its grounds due to a severe allergy towards sunlight. The only other resident of the dreary house was his butler, who had served his family for uncountable years.



He sat alone in his library, the only light coming from a few scattered candles and a modest fire burning in the fireplace. Sipping a cup of hot tea, the man sat in his favorite red chair, a leather bound volume open on his lap. The room was relatively bare, no furniture except for the chair, the only thing interesting save the books that lined the walls was a glass chess set, sitting on a carved wooden stand next to the chair.



As for the man himself, his features were dark and mysterious. Straight black hair that he wore long, his face pale from too many hours indoors. His eyes were as black as his hair and could see well in the dark. As for his clothes, he wore a red shirt with a black Chinese style jacket with a high collar over it and black pants.



He would sit there all night, never leaving his chair as he planned out his strategy. There was nothing he could do but wait now, but that didn’t stop him from reviewing his plans once again. Things were in moation now, he only wished he could be there to witness it, but of course that was impossible.



A soft knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. The ancient oak door swung forward on its well-oiled hinges, soft light invading the darkness of the room. It revealed an old man holding a pot of tea. He came in quietly, neither man speaking a word as the elderly servant refilled his master’s cup.



* * *



The Titan’s left the pizza shop around eight that night, they had finished eating by seven, but had to wait for Cy’s stomach to settle down enough from the pizza eating contest for him to drive. Beast Boy sat in the back seat groaning as the mountains of food he had eaten threatened to come back up.



“Aw man!,” Beast Boy grumbled from the back seat, clutching his stomach, “Why’d I eat all that pizza?”



Unsympathetic towards her friend’s self induced misery, Raven asked, “When you throw up tonight, tell me. I’m supposed to call a girl I met today and tell her. We have a bet going as to when you’ll do it, if you can hold it until after midnight she’ll owe me a coffee.” Her comment made everyone but Beast Boy smile; it was amazing how often Rae did that. Beast Boy thought it an insult that someone who couldn’t show emotion had more luck getting the group to laugh than he did. They got home in record time, Cyborg and Beast Boy went straight to their rooms to lie down for the rest of the evening. Robin and the girls went into the living room to watch a movie. An old James Bond flick was on, and they spent the next several hours watching the bad special effects and getting onto Bond for wrecking the beautiful cars.



* * *



Jessie’s tears had finally stopped, her sadness slowly fading into anger. She threw her prized teddy bear against the opposite wall, fuming with rage. Almost immediately after throwing him, she rushed over to Snuggles, gently picking him up off the ground.



“There, there Snuggles,” she said in an attempt to comfort the battered bear, “it’ll be alright. Those people were probably stuck up anyway, and we can’t have that. Besides, this just means that the perfect family is still out there just waiting for us. We’ll have a home soon Snuggles, I promise.” A single tear fell from her eyes onto the bear’s brown fur.



* * *



The elderly servant was exiting the door when he whispered to his master, “Everything is going according to plan, sir.”



He smiled evilly, not showing any of his pearl white teeth, quietly he whispered to himself, “Excellent.” When his servant had left, the man shut his book, saying aloud, “So it begins.”




hey, if you guys remember the first chap from my last fic, you'll probably remember that eveyone said i moved into the story too quickly, so do you think i did better? worse? same? PLEASE POST FEEDBACK!!!!

[Sproxie]

FIRST POST! (what's so good about first posts anyway??)
Awesome. that was a REALLY great start! I think I see where this is going...
I loved how you started it off, and the bet Raven made with the girl was funny.
Poor little girl...... :sad: (usually I would be insulting Taylor right now, but i can't seem to be evil to little kids, even if they're not real.) :sweat:

[Crowgirl]

Secondies!! Yippee!!

This is really great, you have so much detail and emotion in your writing, and you characterization is flawless. I feel so sad for Jessie!:crying: Poor kid, teach her how to use a sword! That'll cheer her up! Or, you can just write her a happy ending.....

Okay, at first I thought the man in the chair was Batman, but then I remembered how Slade had a butler in the first episode who refilled his cup of tea. So I'm guessing that guy in the chair is Slade or Batman/Bruce.

The bet with the girl and Raven was hilarious. I could just imagine her doing something like that. I also like this part, this is also hilarious:


Robin was bust cheering his friends on, though secretly he was routing for Beast Boy, knowing that whenever Cy challenged him he transformed his stomach to that of a cow. Of course Robin would never tell Cyborg this, it was too much fun to see the exasperated look on his face when the scrawny little green dude beat him.

That made me laugh wicked hard.

This is going to be great, keep it up!

Crowgirl

[raven54]

thirds.

If i say my shpiel(sp) , i'll only be repeating Crowgirl's comments. Soooo... *pokeths her postie* read this and times it by two.

Hmmm.... I get your humor, in any case. 'Twas some funny stuff, man.

ooooooooo.... do i smell a SLADE???? i think i do....

[TeenTitansGO!]

Fourths! um..I just wanted to say it. I'll edit in a reply.



EDIT: OK, I read it now. I think I'm going to like the guy in the chair. If Crowgirl is right, I'll love him all the more as Slade. The guy's a genius. Lovin' Jessie too. I'll cya monday.


TTG~Slade is an evil genius

[Aquagirl15]

oooooooo so mysterious! poor Jessie. haha! that makes it sound like i calling myself poor cause i'm aka Jessie. evil man in chair, pizza eating contest, orphan girl, somehow these things seem to have no link. but i'm sure they will later. i hope Raven wins the bet! :D

[JazzyChick]

well, here's chapter two. hope ya'll like it. school starts on monday (Jan. 3) (boo school) so you guys might have to wait a while between posts. apparently there's this thing called homework. :rolleyes: anywho, please post feedback!



Ch. 2

Fire



“Hey Raven!” Beast Boy said in an overly confident voice, standing outside her door.



It took her a while to get up, it was almost two in the morning. She walked to her door, opening it a crack saying in an agitated voice, “Beast Boy, what could possibly be so important that you felt the need to wake me up at TWO IN THE MORNING?!”



Suddenly not so sure of himself, Beast Boy’s confidence dissolved as his stammered, “Well, uh…I uh….”



“WHAT?”



“You said to get you up when I threw up, and uh…I just did. Bye” Beast Boy ran off, leaving Raven fuming in he doorway.



Before Raven could go after Beast Boy, the alarm sounded. Raven made a mental note to get Beast Boy back as soon as possible. For now, she made her way to the living room, plotting her revenge and trying to wake up. She was the first to reach the living/control room, except for Robin of course. Their excessively large television showed a map of the city, a blinking red light showing the origin of the distress call. Cyborg was the next to arrive, he didn’t sleep much anyway and had already been waking up when the alarm had gone off. Starfire arrived shortly after Cy, her usually silky hair a mass of tangles. Beast Boy walked in almost immediately after Star, visibly avoiding Raven’s gaze.



Robin turned to face his friends, no hint of sleep in his eyes, “The orphanage downtown caught on fire, lots of kids inside and the fire department needs some help getting them all out. Titans, Go!” Half asleep, the Titans made their way downtown, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy flying, Robin on his R-cycle, and Cyborg in the T-car. They rushed to the scene, Raven having to fly Robin and Cyborg over the crowds.



After he had spoken to the authorities already present, Robin assembled the Titans, ordering, “Okay, Rae, Star and BB, fly up to the top floor. The youngest kids are up there, fly them down.” Raven’s eyes took on a white glow as she rose from the earth, Star and Best Boy not far behind. “Okay, Cy come with me. We’ll go through the lower levels.” Cy nodded in silent agreement and the two headed out.



Starfire and Raven were floating outside an open window on the third floor of the building. Beast Boy was inside, gently carrying the infants and toddlers to the window and handing them out to the waiting girls. There were about twenty screaming children in the room to begin with, there were only five left to be carried down now. The three teens worked in silence, working desperately to get the infants out.



Robin and Cyborg were searching the bottom two floors room by room, stopping only to pull out one of the scared children and pass them to one of the firemen who had followed them in. They were on the second story when the floor started to cave in. All of the firemen who had accompanied them were already on their way out, each carrying a child.



“Robin!” Cyborg cried over the roar of the fire, “We got to get out of here!” Robin nodded in agreement, coughing too much to answer any other way. Cyborg led the way out of the burning building, having to half-carry Robin the last stretch; the smoke was really starting to affect him. They ran out from the building to the fire department’s many trucks waiting along side the road. Cyborg shouted to the firemen over the noise that disturbed the previously calm night, “Did we get everybody out?”



A worried looking woman started counting the children, after double-checking she shouted her answer back to him, “No! Jessie’s missing!”



“Where’s her room?” Cyborg asked, assuming that the child had been sleeping when the fire had started.



“Second floor!” the woman cried as Cyborg headed back into the burning building.



* * *



The elderly servant returned to report to his master after watching a ‘breaking news bulletin’. As quietly as he could , the man opened the door on its well oiled hinges, entering the darkness of his master’s library. “Master?” the servant questioned timidly.



“What is it?” the young man’s cold voice answered not betraying any emoation.



“Sir, I was just watching television and apparently the orphanage downtown has caught fire.”



“Then things are in motion. Has everything gone according to plan?”



“Yes.”



“Wonderful, you may go to bed now. I have no further need for your services tonight.”



Already heading towards the door, the aging servant answered, “Thank you Master. I bid you goodnight.”



* * *



Robin started to follow his friend, intending to go help search for Jessie. Raven pulled him back, saying that he had already inhaled too much smoke. He reluctantly allowed himself to be pulled away, realizing he would be more of a hindrance than help. Pulling his arm from their grasp, he stormed away from them, finding a solitary place on the fire truck to watch for his friend’s return.



Without hesitation, Cyborg rushed back into the orphanage, seemingly unconcerned with the raging flames. The stairs were directly to the left of the front room; they were burning more violently than before. The flames barely registered in Cyborg’s mind. His focus was devoted entirely to finding Jessie and getting her out, there wasn’t room for fear or timidity. Approaching the second floor he sprinted down the halls, calling out the girl’s name as loud as he could. There were two halls leading off of the stairs, without stopping to think, he sprinted down the corridor on his left. The child didn’t answer his call, that or she was unable to do so, but it forced him to search each room.



The first room he came to was empty, just as the second, and the third, and all the others in the hall. He sprinted down to the other hall, searching all those rooms as well. When he came to the second door, Cyborg found it stuck; he threw his shoulder into it, forcing all of his weight into it. His enhanced strength forced it down after his second try, but not without burning most of his human flesh, but with all the adrenaline flowing through his veins his mind didn’t register the pain. Walking inside the room was like walking into another world. The walls were burning, but that’s where the flames stayed. None of the flames passed from the walls to the floor, or the ceiling, or anywhere else in the room. In the center of the room sat a little girl with matted brown hair and ash dotted across her tear-streaked face. She was desperately clutching to an ancient teddy bear.



Cyborg didn’t say a word as he picked her up and carried her out of the room. She was strangely quiet, all of the other children he had pulled from the inferno had either been crying or screaming their heads off, and she just shook in fear, not uttering a sound. The stairs were even more aflame by the time they reached them, threatening to collapse at any moment. He didn’t bother to look for another way down, there wasn’t time. The entire second story was threatening to crash down. Stopping briefly to resecure his hold on Jessie, Cyborg ran down the stairs. Half way down, the stairs made good on their threat and collapsed.



Cyborg wasn’t thinking now, his movements were based entirely on reflex. He turned mid-fall so that he landed on his back with Jessie safely on his chest. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, the boards falling, the petrified look in Jessie’s eyes, the shock of hitting the hard floor, seemed to not be quite real, as if they were moving in a dream, or a nightmare. Time resumed its normal pace as they hit the floor, forcing all the air from Cyborg’s lungs and leaving him stunned and barely conscious.



Jessie’s silent streak ended with their fall. As soon as they hit the ground, she started screaming at the top of her lungs for help. After a short moment that seemed like an eternity to the youth, the mechanical man sat up. He said as gently as he could under the circumstances, “Let’s get out of here kid.” Jessie nodded in solemn agreement. Cyborg picked up the girl and carried her the out of the building.

[Aquagirl15]

wow! it all makes sence now! oh could you use bigger font? the smallness of this kind is hurting my eyes. or maybe it's just cause it like 10:30 here. anyway this was really good. very descripive and all that jazz. i felt like i was there and that's a really good thing! :anime:

[decka]

I want to go to the orange bowl! I live in miami beach so it is some what of a drive but it's all good if I can go!:D Anyways great chapter!!!!!!!

[Crowgirl]

What is the orange bowl? Is it edible?:sweat:

That was great. Go CY!!! Poor Jessie....

You are truly fantastic.

Crowgirl

[JazzyChick]

thanks everybody, chap 3 will be up asap.

oh and Crowgirl, the orange bowl is a football game. At the end of the colleage football season (football, not soccer) a lot of teams play in 'bowl' games, it depends on how well you did durning the season. this year the national champinship is being held at the orange bowl, and guess who's going to the orange bowl? That right: the OU (oklahoma university) SOONERS!!!!

*starts singing ou's fight song* i'm sooner born and sooner bred, and when i die i'll be sooner dead. rah oklahom rah oklahoma, rah oklahomaaaaaaaaaaaaa! OKU!

[TeenTitansGO!]

Hey, that was great. If there was one thing I disliked about it, it would be the name you gave Robin's motorcycle. It's official name is the Redbird. If you read "All for Nothing", you would see on abou the tenth page the post by...Rae? that says so. Other than that, you emotions(mostly mystery in the villain and servant scene) and you characters are awesome. You sorta ruined it for me by telling me what's going on at school, but I'll still like it. Good Job.


TTG~BOOMER SOONERS BOOMER SOONERS. Heisman belongs to White. Leinhart's a loser.

[Allen CARR]

Actually Robins Bikes name is the R-cycle

[Aquagirl15]

even though it is strange for means of trasportation to have names i have to agree w/ Allen. that's what it is always call in the show. oooooo posting soon that's always a good sign!!! hope you have fun at the orange bowl thingie. :sweat:

[Sproxie]

ooooOOooOooo.... I like it alot.... I think I know where this is headed. Great job!

[JazzyChick]

read my new sig to clear up any confusion about the orange bowl.

anywho, here's the thing. school started up again and that means basketball started too. now, i love basketball but i've got a tourny this week so that means that it may be a while before i can get ch. 3 written and up. not to mention my bible teacher is giving us a butt load of homework and i'm starting a job (my first, ahhh! i'm scared :eek: ). sry for the delay. :sad:

oh and Sprox, i bet you don't have any idea where this is going. :evil:

[Kregor8]

Ooh, ooh! Nice new story. Let me say - yes, this beginning is twice as good as your last one. The way you splice the three story lines is wonderful - the tiny type is just great. Why? I don't know. I use tiny type. Reid uses it. Now you do. So, it's a nice pattern. Let me comment on a few things.

1) Raven asked, “When you throw up tonight, tell me. I’m supposed to call a girl I met today and tell her. We have a bet going as to when you’ll do it, if you can hold it until after midnight she’ll owe me a coffee.”

“Hey Raven!”...
“WHAT?”
“You said to get you up when I threw up, and uh…I just did. Bye”Man! I thought the "Why won't you play the music" was funny. Not now. Not in comparison to this. Wow!
2) The orphanage scene in chapter one was touching. Jessie being angry and throwing her bear across the room, then instantly regretting it and comforting it - can't get much more realistic than that. She's looking like a very interesting character now...I wonder what we don't know about her.
3) The man inside. An evil villain. Rich. Sinister. Eheheheheheh. Very nice indeed. Here's my thoughts. I don't think he's Slade. Even though Slade does have that ridiculous butler in DaC. No. This guy is all pale and whatsis. He doesn't go outside. So, I don't think it's him. But I could be wrong...

Gasp! You spelled motion wrong! The horror! Ah! (I guess since that's my only complaint right now, you're doing pretty well).
This story is shaping up to be four times as good as the last (that's an exponential improvement). So be encouraged, and keep up the good work.

7<regor

[JazzyChick]

i'm sorry for the spelling mistakes :shrug: i type up this on Word so it catches most mistakes, but i guess not all.

thanks for the reviews everybody ('spically Kregor8 'cause he replied on what i wanted peps to reply about...)

anywho, here's the next chap oooo! i almost forgot, its been raining really hard down here and now its like 20 degrees outside (that's farenheit, oh wait, i can't spell so chances are that still no one knows what the heck i'm talking about...) so there a good chance i'll be out of school tomorrow (yay!) if that happens, you'll prpbably get chap 4 tomorrow or friday, if not it might be next week. so wear your pj's inside out or something and hope i don't have shcool!



Ch. 3

After the Fact



Robin watched in horror as Cyborg came stumbling out of the building. He had saved the kid, and she looked uninjured, but Cyborg fell in a dead faint as soon as they were out of the front door. This time when he ran forward no one tried to stop him.



“CYBORG!” Robin screamed as he rushed to his fallen comrade. He slid on the debris as he came to a sudden halt at his friend’s fallen body. Quickly checking his vitals, Robin found Cyborg’s heart beating regularly, though his breath was ragged. Two firemen came up seconds after Robin had, one carrying a med kit in his hand. With a sympathetic look, the fireman holding the med kit took over Robin’s field examination while the other carried Jessie away from the flames. It took a while for Cyborg to wake up, Robin waiting anxiously the whole time.



“Hey, take it easy there kid,” the fireman warned as Cyborg sat up, “Do you think you can walk? It’d be hard to carry you.”



“Yeah, I can walk,” Cyborg grunted as Robin helped him to his unsteady feet. Stumbling, Robin caught him and Cy added, “Well, maybe I need a little help.”



They helped Cyborg walk over to the other Titan’s, looks of concern etched on their faces. Cyborg lost consciousness again as several EMT workers came over and loaded him onto a stretcher.



Raven came over protesting calmly, “Thanks, but we can take care of him back at the Tower.”



The man nearest her shook his head, smiling sweetly at her saying in a voice that would be used to calm a child, “No. He has severe smoke inhalation, a nasty looking burn on his arm and several bruised ribs. He’s coming with us,” Raven glared one of her most frightening looks, her eyes changing to red and multiplying to four, he added quickly, “But I’m sure they’ll discharge him to you tonight.” Robin nodded at the man, giving him his silent permission to continue as Raven continued to glare.



Beast Boy and Starfire followed Cyborg to the hospital, Robin needed to go back to the Tower and deal with his own aching chest and Raven followed to assist him and to meditate in preparation for Cyborg’s return. She needed to rest if she was going to use her healing powers on both Robin and Cyborg, it was harder to do than even her friends thought. Raven flew low to the ground, trailing behind Robin, just in case.



Robin stared at the seemingly unending pavement through the dark plastic of his sleek helmet. All of his thoughts were devoted to the night’s events, and most of them lay with Cyborg. He hated it when this happened! When one of his team got hurt. There was always something more he could have done that would have saved his friend and teammate. Of course, the others felt the same pang of guilt deep inside their chests, but it was more potent for Robin. He was the leader. He was supposed to protect his team. He was supposed to take the falls, make the sacrifices not anyone else! Especially when it meant someone getting hurt. This was his crusade, his team was invaluable, but as to whether they succeeded or failed, the ultimate glory, or shame, would lie on his shoulders. He could have gone after the girl, not Cyborg, but he couldn’t change that now and he couldn’t change the fact that his friend had gotten hurt. All he could do now was wait and Robin wasn’t a very patient person.





* * *

Jessie rode along side her rescuer. Her already dark and matted hair was soaked in ash and soot, making her appearance resemble that of a chimney sweep’s. She didn’t say a word as they rode to the hospital, not that she said much anyways, but her present silence was that of reverence and awe. Living in Jump City all of her life, she knew all about the Titan’s and had every newspaper article ever written about them (well, at least all the one’s she could find) hidden away in an old metal lunch box that she kept underneath her bed. Well, she had every newspaper article written about them hidden under her bed, they had probably been consumed in the fire.



Another part of her silence was from fear. Jessie feared fire more than anything. She wasn’t scared of bugs or spiders, snakes or even heights like most little girls her age were, but Jessie wouldn’t go in a room if there was even just a candle lit. Her parents had died in the ravenous fire that had destroyed everything she had ever known when she was just three. She had been away at a friend’s house while her parents enjoyed some much needed relaxation time that is so hard to find when you have a child of that age, or else she would have perished in the fire as well.



They reached the hospital in about ten minutes, the men busying themselves with the care of Cyborg. Everyone ignored Jessie, having already determined that she hadn’t been injured in the fire they busied themselves with Cyborg, so she followed them inside as a silent shadow. She hated hospitals, their excessive cleanliness, being surrounded by the sick and hurting, the overpowering sadness. No one told her where to go, no one even noticed her, it was easy to stay out of the way when you come up to everyone’s waist and they’re all too busy to look down. After spending some time exploring the building, she found where they were keeping Cyborg who was still unconscious. The burn on his arm had been bandaged and two of the other Titans were waiting with him. They smiled when they saw her; Jessie had been worried that they would blame her for their friend’s injuries. Obviously she had been wrong, they were being really sweet to her, the short green boy making her laugh with and unending supply of funny faces and odd noises he could make with various body parts. Starfire, confused but still very kind, took her to get a soda after they had been waiting a while.



* * *



Raven glared at Robin. He could be so stubborn! He was one of the few people she knew that could successfully argue with her, and the only one who could ever win. They were in the Tower’s infirmary, where they were preparing for Cyborg’s arrival and Robin was supposed to be resting and allowing Rae to use her healing powers on him. Of course, he wouldn’t let her, saying it was nothing and she should save her energy for Cy, all while coughing so much it took him nearly five minutes to get out the sentence.



“Robin, I’m not going to argue with you again. Sit down, now. You can barley breathe with out practically coughing up a lung. You have to let me help,” Raven ordered Robin, frustration brewing in her chest causing sever small objects to float up a couple inches and fall back down.



Robin shook his head in stubborn defiance. This is what made him such a good debater: he was as stubborn as a mule and much more intelligent. What he couldn’t figure out was how to explain to Raven that the reason he didn’t want her help was mainly the guilt he felt form Cy getting injured. He hadn’t done anything brave; he wasn’t the one who had risked his life to rush into a burning building on the verge of collapsing to save the life of an eight-year-old girl named Jessie. He didn’t deserve Rae’s help; he would deal with this on his own.




i know its not as long as the other two have been, but that was a natural break in the story, sry if i got your hopes up or something....:rolleyes:

[Crowgirl]

I absolutely loved the way you depicted Robin's lament towards Cy getting hurt, and how he felt it was his fault. And poor Jessie (Again, I know...), she just got caught in a fire and that's what her parents died in. :crying: Poor Cy... poor Robin... poor everyone!! This shouldn't be called Hero Worship, it should be called Poor Souls or something of the sort.

I loved how Jessie was already a fan of the Titans, but I have the feeling that it's only going to increase. I can't wait for more!!

Crowgirl

P.S. It's inside-out and backwards, which reminds me....

[Sproxie]

WOW. Just plain WOW. You, are a GREAT writer!!

I absolutely loved the way you depicted Robin's lament towards Cy getting hurt, and how he felt it was his fault.
I think you captured everyone's character perfectly. And Crowgirl, it's really not that sad....
I think Jessie's character is very intriguing. Great job!

[Crowgirl]

I can pretend it is, can't I?

[Kregor8]

You're welcome! Always glad to be appreciated (especially when then I go somewhere else and say something stupid. Funny, but stupid).

Her parents had died in the ravenous fire that had destroyed everything she had ever known when she was just three.
I wondered about that, back in chapter two. Made sense, for some reason. It's always nice (for me) when I guess right. :D

This is what made [Robin] such a good debater: he was as stubborn as a mule and much more intelligent.
How true! I perfer to use logic in debate, but bull-headed-ness (huh?) is also pretty freekin' effective. As I've been saying for a long time, you do a good job of characterizing Robin. His leadership skills often manifest themselves in guilt whenever anything goes wrong. Good job on that.
I don't have that much else to say. Sad that we haven't heard from the man with the buttler any more. But we will, I'm sure. So I hope that was helpful.

7<regor

[Vivace]

Okie Jazzy, I read the fic you can call of the ninjas. Anyway It's going absolutly great so far. Better than Falling Away yet still missing Ms. Sarah. (A moment of silance for her absance) Anway Renold can still be used to describe your fics.

[starfire0639]

BOOYAh i live ib florida where the orange bowl is goin on heck ya and my step mom is on the superbowl comitee! and i gots box seats!yay!*cough*oh ya i shouyld also mention...i live in jaxsonville!..*does a dance*ok sorry ill stop now but i will say that your fic is awosme and hope you write more soon it really is wickid awosme!:D

[Aquagirl15]

wow, i really liked that chapter.



No one told her where to go, no one even noticed her, it was easy to stay out of the way when you come up to everyone’s waist and they’re all too busy to look down.

very true. i guess me being short is why i get trampled in the hallways...anyway, i like how you have described elements of everyday life and how it all seems so... real. i'm enjoying this story a lot, although it is more serious than your other fic. :anime:

[JazzyChick]

thanks to everyone for their feedback and the ego-bosts, though they are making my head swell to an abnormally large size, i quite enjoy getting them.

anywho, school wasn't cancled (we're suing mother nature) so we're looking at another snowless, and snow day free, year. (curse oklahoma's weather) so it might be a while until i can get chap 4 done (:crying: )

starfire0639: i hate you, though its kinda a blessing not to of had to watch ou's humiliating defete.

Crowgirl: its not supposed to be that sad, though the first few chaps turned out to be. and the title will start making sense with the next chap.

P.S. Yay! my fic has two pages!

[JazzyChick]

sry about double posting, but oh well...

here's chap 4, it didn't take nearly as long to write as the last one, so uhh...enjoy!

Ch. 4





Cyborg woke up with the face of a little girl two inches from his face. Giving a quick cry of surprise, he sat up in his white hospital bed and looked around. “Who are you?” he asked the little girl.



“I’m Jessie,” she answered. After seeing the confused look on his face she added, “The kid you saved at the orphanage.”



“Oh, uh….hi Jessie. I’m….” he began, only to be interrupted by the girl’s sweet voice.



“Cyborg, I know.” She said with a smile.



A period of rather awkward silence followed which Cy broke by asking, “Do you know where my friends are?”



“Well, Beast Boy is up in the cafeteria looking for some breakfast and Starfire just went up there to see what he was doing ‘cause he’s been up there for an hour now and Robin and Raven are back at the Tower waiting for ya’ll to come home, though I think that they’re probably asleep by now, ‘cause its like seven a.m. and you’ve been here since like two-thirty in the morning, and that’s a really long time to wait.”



Cyborg smiled at the exceedingly long sentence she said in one breath. She was smiling the entire time. Hers was the kind of smile that lit up her entire face and even when it was encrusted in soot and grime she looked beautiful. A face of innocence despite hardships faced in her young years, that was the one of the two things she had been able to keep from her former life, from the time before the fire, her innocence and her teddy bear.



Cyborg looked the girl over, she didn’t look any worse for the wear from the fire, her clothes were a shambles, an ancient teddy bear was clutched in her left hand hanging limply by her side. At that moment Beast Boy and Starfire came back from their sorry excuse for breakfast.



“Hey dude! You’re up,” Beast Boy called as he walked and Star came in. Cyborg smiled at his friend’s casual comment. He was feeling the results of his rescue mission. The burn on his arm was hurting like heck and it was still hard for him to breathe.



“What happened? At the orphanage I mean,” Cy asked curiously, his voice dropping several decibels from the pain in his throat.



“Dude it was awesome! You were all like rushing in to play the hero and then Robin tried to follow and we were all like no. Then we were all scared and were waiting for you to come back, and then you did and you looked all cool with the carrying of the kid and all. Then you passed out and we were all scared again and then…”



“I get the picture BB thanks.” Beast Boy smiled, the sarcasm in Cyborg’s remark completely lost on him.



Starfire walked in, a timid woman in her mid-thirties trailing behind her. “Friends! This is Mrs. Bowers, she runs the home of the orphans. She wishes to speak to us on a matter of great importance.”



“Sure, what’s up?” Cyborg questioned.



“Um, well you see the thing is…” the nervous woman began.



“Look, you don’t have to be nervous. What is it?”



“I see you’ve met Jessie, she’s a sweet girl, but you see with the orphanage burnt down and all of the other children injured, she doesn’t have a place to stay, and…”



“And you were wondering if she could crash at our place for a while?” Cyborg guessed as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, slowly getting to his feet. The woman smiled a little and nodded her head.



Starfire jumped into the conversation brightly exclaiming, “Oh that would be glorious! We could do the bonding and be the ‘role models’, and all would be glorious! And…” she continued to list off all the things they could do with Jessie, but they just tuned her out.



Cyborg answered the woman in a more dignified manner saying, “I’ll have to talk to Robin, but if its only for a few days it should be okay.” Pulling out his communicator, Cyborg excused himself saying, “I’ll just call home real quick.” Walking over to a corner, Cyborg called Robin’s communicator. It took him a while to pick up, Robin just wasn’t a morning person.



“This better be good Cy,” Robin’s sleepy and annoyed voice asked over the system’s speaker.



“Sorry to wake you Robin, but you remember that kid from last night, Jessie?”



“Yeah, so?”



“She needs a place to crash for a few days, until the orphanage can find somewhere to use as a temporary home for all the kids. You care if she stays with us?”



“Whatever Cy.”



“Thanks Robin, you can go back to sleep now.” Cyborg smiled, he had a feeling that he’d have to explain the whole thing over again, as the chances of Robin remembering their conversation were slim to none. He walked back over to Star and BB. “Hey guys, I just talked to Robin, though I’m not sure he knew what he was saying.”



“Glorious!” Starfire exclaimed, “Now may we venture home?”



“Sure Star,” Cyborg said walking over to Jessie, “You ready to go kid?” Jessie’s eyes lit up, a smile erupting across her face. She nodded happily, said goodbye to Mrs. Bowers, and took Cyborg’s outstretched hand, trailing him out of the building.



* * *



Timidly, the servant entered his master’s favorite room. The young man sat, as usual, in an ancient leather chair, his priceless glass chess set displayed before him. Slowly clearing his throat, the servant waited for his master to acknowledge his presence.



“What is it James?” the young man’s cold voice asked.



“There’s,” he paused, searching for the right word, “a problem.”



Letting out an annoyed sigh, he asked, “With what?”



“Its Jessie. She’s going to stay with the Titan’s until the orphanage can relocate.”



Surprisingly, he wasn’t angry. The young man was known for his outbursts of rage and the destructive rampages that followed. However, his face stayed the same cold, emotionless mask he always wore now days. “The Titan’s will only prove an annoyance, with proper planning they can be defeated. Leave now. I need to plan the fall of our city’s beloved heroes.”



“Yes Cha…” the butler began.



“I told you never to call me that!” the young man screamed. Regaining his composure he added, “My name’s Stratagem now.”



“Yes, sir,” the elderly servant said as he exited the room, closing the door silently behind him.


there! finally you can't possibly think that my villan is Slade! sry, but that's been bugging me for ages.
oh, and i couldn't think of a name for the capter, any sujestions?

[Aquagirl15]

that was good, i think it'll be cool to see what happens when Jessie goes to Titans tower. and how the titans take to her. post more soon!

[Crowgirl]

I GET IT!!! LET THE WORLD REJOICE!!!!!!!!

Sorry,:sweat: , couldn't resist. But now I see where this is going. It's good to know that the 'Man in the Chair' isn't Bruce or Slade, you've created a new villian all you own. Bravo! Also, Jessie's gonna stay with the Titans, that's gonna be good. I can sort of see a bond between her and Cy already, and I bet that she's somehow going to relate to Starfire.

Anyway, this is where I think it's going:
Well, the way I see it, the 'Man in the Chair' (I forget his name) is after Jessie for some odd reason. She's probably the missing link to something, or she's got powers that she doesn't know of yet. Later though, somebody's gonna try to kidnap her, and either they do and Cy gets her back, or they don't kidnap her because Jessie stops them herself.

Anyways, that's all I got. I need some more popcorn....

CG

P.S. As a name for the chapter, how about: Uhh... actually, I got nothin' Sorry...

[Sproxie]

It's good to know that the 'Man in the Chair' isn't Bruce or Slade. Yea, when I first read The guy had a butler, I thought he was 'Bruce Gone Bad'. :sweat:
Anyway, I think its going as the same direction as what Crowgirl said.
This chapter was SOOO..... um, sweet. But I enjoyed it alot. I loved the way you described Jessie, esspecially when you brought up the teddy bear. So cute! :anime:

A name for the chapter... um, how 'bout 'Homecoming'? ...I dunno.

[Vivace]

Renoldtastic chapter. Among my decisious I would have to Say that it's somehow Jessies fault for the fire. Waiting for the next one. Under NO! ninja influence.

[Adrastea]

This is great.

A lot of peoples have problems coming up with their own characters, they seem forced, and as if they did indeed come from someone's head instead of as if they really existed, but not only have come up with your own villain instead of using the old Slade fallback, but he has lots of mystery and intrigueingness (sp?) and we all want to know more about him, why he's shut up, why does he want Jessie, if he wants Jessie at all? Plus your dialougue (sp?) rocks!!

So, keep up the good work, we all look forward to your next post!

[JazzyChick]

sry its been so long since i've been on. between basketball (4 games this past week) church, and work, i didn't get home before seven or eight every night and Mon.-Wed. spent 11-13 hours at school. i've been working on the next chap (by working i mean writing in class when i'm supposed to be paying attention...) and will have it posted asap. and i'll try and not go another week before getting on again...

[Crowgirl]

Good to hear you're back JazzyChick, we missed you.....

A lot of peoples have problems coming up with their own characters, they seem forced, and as if they did indeed come from someone's head instead of as if they really existed.
Hmph! No 'Blue' or soup for you!

[starfire0639]

um........................wierd-ok write m0re soon chapter rocks write more soon or ill throw away my socks........................sorry bout that :sweat: just write more soon b4 i grow more insane then medicaly possible

[JazzyChick]

well this chapter is long overdue, but hopefully it will be worth the wait. i had this whole romantic sceen w/ Cy and Rae, but then decided it didn't fit how i wanted this fic to go, so that was like a page of rewriting...anywho here it is:

Ch. 5

Can we keep her?(or maybe Morning, or maybe Breakfast, whichever you like best)

Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Jessie stumbled into their home at around eight. They were greeted by Robin’s loud snores and a glance from Raven, who lay down her abnormally thick book. Star and BB headed straight for their rooms, exhausted from their night’s work. Their only goal: to sleep well past noon the next day.



“You should do the same,” Raven said quietly to Cyborg, breaking the silence of the cold morning.



Ignoring her remark, Cyborg tilted his head towards Robin and asked, “How’s he doing?”



“He’s fine. He wouldn’t let me use my healing powers on him, saying he was fine. You know how he is.”



“Let me guess,” Cyborg said smiling, “You waited until he fell asleep and did it anyway.”



Raven just stared at him, the smirk on her face her only indication that she had even heard his remark. They were interrupted by a loud crash and the sound of shattering glass emitting from the other end of the living room. Startled, they turned their heads in the direction of the noise, Cyborg’s sonic cannon half formed on his arm. Their eyes met a terrified little girl staring at them, her eyes three times their normal size, surrounded by what was left of Raven’s reading lamp.



Raven closed her eyes, taking the time to calm herself before opening them and addressing the child, “Jessie?” the girl nodded hastily, still obviously petrified “You can help me fix the lamp later. Now you should be in bed.” Relief filled Jessie’s face, her body losing its tension. “Come with me, I’ll show you your room.”



Jessie followed, too tired to protest. Raven led her through the labyrinth of halls that she couldn’t hope to duplicate. It seemed to take an eternity to reach her room, and Jessie was half asleep when she stumbled into her room. Not even bothering to take off her filthy clothes, she fell into the large, circular bed, instantly asleep. Raven walked over to the room’s giant window and shut the blinds so that the sunrise wouldn’t disturb the sleeping girl. She walked out of the room without making a sound, turning off the light as she exited.



When Raven arrived back in ops, she found Cyborg dragging a blanket over Robin’s sleeping form. Shaking her head she scolded him, “You know, you’re the one who got hurt tonight. We should be taking care of you, not the other way around.”



Cyborg shrugged, “You know how he gets when he doesn’t sleep well.” Their conversation was interrupted by a fit of coughing racking Cyborg’s body.



Raven waited for the episode to pass before she said, “You should be in the infirmary.” Cyborg tried to answer, but couldn’t stop coughing long enough to get the words out. Shaking her head Raven placed one of her hands on his shoulder and the other on his back and led him to the infirmary.



When they reached the infirmary, Cyborg fell into one of the beds. Too tired to do anything else. Raven sat by his side, not saying anything. She first unraveled the bandages on his arm, surrounding her hand in energy, white instead of her usual black, and placed it on the burn. By the time she finished with his arm, Cy had fallen asleep. Smiling slightly, she brought the white energy back to her hand and positioned it on his chest, slowly reversing the damage to his lungs.



* * *



Jessie woke up slowly. Her dreams had been void of her usual nightmares, and she had slept well for the first night in months. Sitting up, she looked over to the side of her bed to find Raven sitting in the room’s only chair, quietly reading a book.



“Good morning,” Raven said, marking her place and shutting the book.



“Good morning. What were you doing in my room?” Jessie asked in the manner of children, running head long into another subject.



“Waiting for you to get up.”



“Why?”



Raven thought about giving the girl the long, well thought out explanation she had been thinking about for the last twenty minutes, but decided against it, replying with, “Everyone was being really loud in the living room.”



“Oh. What time is it?”



“Almost noon,” and seeing that she was about to be bombarded with more of Jessie’s questions, Raven added, “Why don’t you go take a bath, and I’ll find you some clean clothes. When you’re done, how about coming down and getting something to eat?” Jessie nodded happily, and Raved silently thanked the air how easy it was to please little kids. They walked into the bathroom and Rae showed her how to work all the knobs in the bathtub, and left Jessie to herself.



Walking into the kitchen, Raven found all the Titan’s sitting around the table, getting ready for a late breakfast. Quickly thinking on whose turn it was to cook, Raven gulped as she remembered that it was Starfire’s turn. Robin kept saying that all Star needed was a little practice, some encouragement, and a good cookbook, but Rae would believe that when she saw, or rather tasted, it.



“Hay Rae, you’re just in time for breakfast, care to join us?” Robin ordered in the form of a question. It was his oh so subtle way of telling her to sit her butt down and suffer through Star’s cooking with the rest of them. Raven didn’t argue, she would just open a tiny portal inside of her mouth and act like she was eating.



Sitting down, Raven asked Beast Boy, “Beast Boy, I’m looking for some clothes that would fit Jessie. Is there anything in that disaster area you call a room that would fit her?”



Beast Boy nodded saying, “I’ve got some old jeans and few t-shirts that don’t fit on my freakishly large biceps anymore. She can have those.”



Raven shook her head and replied, “Beast Boy, you must be the only person on the planet that can turn giving some old clothes to a little kid into an ego trip. I’m not sure if I should be disgusted or amazed.”



Before he could reply, Starfire sang out from the kitchen, “Friends! I call upon you to stop the quarreling for it is time to feast upon the break of fast. Come join me in the sharing of a traditional Tamerian meal of the morning.” With that, she flew towards them, two huge platters of food carefully balanced on each of her hands. One was full of gelatin type dishes of various colors, some that the Titan’s had never seen. The other held harmless looking bread and slices of what they assumed to be cheese. Starfire served herself a mountain of the gelatin stuff and began to devour it happily. Timidly, the other Titan’s served themselves from the bread and cheese platter, all taking abnormally small portions.



Raved waited to excuse herself until she had ‘eaten’, saying that she needed to get those clothes to Jessie. Thinking quicker than he had ever before, Beast Boy joined her stuttering about how Rae probably couldn’t find anything on her own. It was his room after all.



Cyborg glared daggers into Rae and BB’s backs as they left, envious for their valid excuses. Timidly, he picked up one of the slices of cheese and took a bite. He nearly threw up, but managed to keep it down. Once he was sure if he opened his mouth what little on his stomach wasn’t going to come up, he asked Starfire, “Starfire, what is this?”



Star looked up from the excavation of her enormous breakfast, bits of it all around her mouth, answering innocently, “Cheese.”



Cyborg looked at her horrified, “Then why is it crunchy?”



At that moment, Jessie walked into the room, saving the group from Star’s explanation of her cooking. Jessie was wearing a pair of jeans that nearly swallowed her. They were made to be baggy and already too big for her, so it looked like you could fit about three more of hers in them. Her shirt was a well-worn red tee that read, “INVADE CANADA” in bold black letters. They were from BB’s skater/rocker stage, but on Jessie they just made her look sporty. Her hair had been brushed and was pulled back into a low ponytail that fell about five inches past her shoulders. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, anything the Titan’s had would have looked like clown shoes on her.



Robin was the first to speak, “You hungry kid?” Jessie nodded. “What would you like?”



Shrugging her shoulders, Jessie answered sweetly, “I don’t care.”



Thinking back to his days with Batman, Robin tried to remember one of the amazing breakfasts Alfred had prepared that he could hope to duplicate. Suddenly it came to him. “How about French Toast?” Everybody likes French Toast, right?”



Jessie looked at him confused, “I’ve never had it. Is it good?”



Robin smiled and nodded his head. Then he went into the kitchen, pulled last birthday’s gag gift (an apron that read “Real men wear aprons,” and matching hat) and began to cook. While all the skillet was heating up, he asked, “What do you want to drink?”



“Apple juice please.” Robin smiled and got her a glass. She was a cute kid, even if he didn’t remember giving permission for her to stay; he guessed it would be okay. Just as long as it was only for a little while.





well tha's it. now what i want is for ya'll to review. and please don't just say 'good job, post more soon' i want to get better at writing, so anything you think could use some work, PLEASE TELL ME it doesn't even have to be 'bad' just could be better.

[TeenTitansGO!]

I have to grab...FIRSTS! yes first time. Uh i'll edit when I've read it.

[Aquagirl15]

Very nice. I really liked how Jessie seems so much like a real little kid. You have a very good way of writing about things that happen in everyday life. I like some of the points you incroperated throughout the chapter. Like the fact that Cy was ticked that BB took Rae to his room. And Robin's apron that was so funny. The thing I liked most was that the Titans weren't mean to Jessie as teenagers have a tednency to be easily anoyed by kids younger than 11. All in all I don't see anything wrong with this chapter, except the fact that it was shorter than the other ones. :sad: Oh well we can always expect something dissapointing with something good. :D

[Vivace]

DANGIT!!! I DON't have a long detailed review! I'll just say as usual, good and...

INVADE CANADA!!!

*runs off with all the silly rabbits revolting against all Trix eating children*

[Sproxie]

I love it!
I think its cool how you have Raven being the one to take care a Jessie the most (Right?) And you described Starfires 'wonderful' cooking abilities, Sounds like a delicious meal. :p
I just seem to find Jessie so adorable!! :anime: :sweat:
Also, you have everyone's character perfect.

I envy you....... :crying:

Did I mention how much I love this story? ;)

[Rae]

This was great

Everything you wrote seemed to work well and it went with out flaw

Can't wait for the next chapter

Rae

[Crowgirl]

That was great. I loved it a lot. Jessie is awesome, and I loved the way the Titans treated her. I agree with all the above comments.

Also, I loved the 'Invade Canada' shirt. Hilarious!

CG

[starfire0639]

it was adorable and robin seems to be warming up i guess he seemed like a grouch at first but now its all sweet and stuff awosm writing awsome chapter write more soon!

[Adrastea]

AH!!! that was great!! I loved how Raven "Pretends" to eat with the portal in her mouth!


Usually the first thing that comes to mind that needs fixing is grammar and punctuation and sytax 'n stuff, but you have deprived me of that one, as all of that is really good, or if there is any, they are so small that i didn't notice them. I really don't have much more to say, because there isn't much more to say. Your detail is excellent, you've captured the characters beautifully, and from what i've read, your creativity is amazing.


Originally Posted by CG
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adrastea
A lot of peoples have problems coming up with their own characters, they seem forced, and as if they did indeed come from someone's head instead of as if they really existed.


Hmph! No 'Blue' or soup for you!
just because I said "a lot" doesn't mean that you were included in that group. Your characters are great too!

[Crowgirl]

Oh, thanks. :o But I was just joking around you know....

[Lady Lightfire]

I love this. I can't wait for another chapter.
The way you portray the characters is great!

INVADE CANADA!

[Kregor8]

Just a quick...
very nice 2 chapters.
If this is cheese, why is it cruchy?
I'll say more later.
Loved it.
7<regor

[JazzyChick]

hey everybody...

i'm really really really really sorry i haven't gotten up chap 6 yet, but i got sick and my life is really hectic and i don't have time to get sick, so right now i'm playing catchup with....well everything. But basketball season's over in about two weeks, so i'll be able to post more regulary. My next chap is about 1/2 way done, and i promise to get it here soon.

Thanks for all your comments and patience and well...INVADE CANADA!

-JazzyC.



p.s. does anybody here understand shakespeare? :confused:
p.p.s. romeo and juliet is over rated :shrug:

[TeenTitansGO!]

hehe, I have yet to read chap 5, but i will soon, BTW, I was working on my rewrite JC, and it's going well. That about all I have to say 'cept see ya tomorrow, happy belated b-day Welshi, and...INVADE CANADA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TTG~*gasps and looks at the camera* CANADA?

EDIT: Oh...hey! I read and I loved-it seems to go that way all the time-but please carry on. Sorry, I need action, and I'm NOT patient.

[JazzyChick]

ITS HERE! ya'll thought i was never going to post it, didn't ya? guess what? you were wrong!

sry 'bout that, its just that i know how much i hate waiting for chaps and i've really tired your patience on this. i appoligize. basketball is almost over, state tourny is next week and tri-state is after that. i'll have more time once those are over.

one more thing...PLEASE REVIEW!


Ch. 6

i give up on naming chapters...

Cyborg snuck away form the breakfast table unnoticed. The others were joking around with Jessie while stuffing themselves with Robin’s French toast. He was glad everyone was getting along with Jessie, it meant he didn’t have to. Nothing against Jessie, he just didn’t like little kids. They cried, were convinced that evil clowns lived under their beds, and had a tendency to be sticky.



Entering his room, Cyborg instinctively looked around to check for intruders. Reassured, he walked over to the hidden refrigerator he kept stocked for emergencies, like every time Beast Boy cooked. He grabbed some left over mac-and-cheese from lunch a few days ago and threw it in his microwave. While waiting for his meal to heat up, Cyborg sat down in his favorite chair and kicked his feet up on the desk. The microwave’s bell rang. Cyborg grabbed the door’s handle and pulled out his lunch, seizing a plastic fork he started shoveling the cheesy pasta into his mouth. It wasn’t long before Cyborg had begun amusing himself with his favorite pass time: finding new ways to soup up the T-car.



* * *



What to do about the Titan’s? How do I defeat the City’s heroes? Separate them, that’s obvious, but I must not forget their individual strengths. Though Beast Boy may seem the weakest of the group, but when it comes to defending those he loves, his strength is immeasurable. Starfire’s naivety may make her seem slow, but her alien might is boundless. Raven is more dependent upon her friends than she knows, but is a powerful, dark, little girl. Cyborg is the most independent of the group, but finds his meaning in taking care of others. As for Robin, his obsession over defeating his enemies is both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness.



But how do I defeat them? What villain would divide them? Better yet, what villain has already divided them?



A malicious smile crept over Stratagem’s face as a plan began to develop in his mind.



* * *



Jessie looked around the room, suddenly concerned. “Where’s Cyborg?” she asked with little girl apprehension.



Robin looked around the kitchen, just now noticing that Cyborg had left. “He’s probably just down in the garage working on his car Jessie. Don’t worry about it,” he comforted. Worry was still etched on her face, not at all convinced by his explanation. Putting his quick mind to work, he thought up a distraction saying, “Hey, how would you like to see the evidence room?”



Cocking her head to the side she inquired sweetly, “What’s the evidence room?”



Raven jumped into the conversation by responding, “Its where we keep all the bad guy’s really cool stuff.”



Jessie’s eyes grew three times their normal size and her jaw dropped slightly at the thought of seeing first hand all the weapons of Jump City’s most feared villains. Smiling at her apprehension, the Titans dumped their plates into the sink and walked her down to the evidence room. Robin and Raven grabbed her hands, while Beast Boy and Starfire were competing in a rousing game of who can tell Jessie the most about the evidence room in the least amount of time? Their voices had just reached a high enough decidable level to start shaking the walls when Robin’s communicator gave off its familiar tone.



Suddenly forgetting about his young charge, Robin recited his over used catch phrase, “Titan’s, trouble.”



Robin, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy sprinted down the hall back to their combination living room and ops. Jessie was left standing in the hall, not sure what she was supposed to do.



* * *



Cyborg was already waiting for his teammates by the time they showed up. “What took you so long?” he joked, turning to the television screen.



Beast Boy didn’t get the joke and started yelling in frustration, “You know what? Just because you’re an artificially advanced cybernetic whatever dude doesn’t mean……” everyone was staring at him by this point. Still not understanding what was going gone, he asked in all seriousness, “What?”



Shaking his head slightly, Robin examined the screen, disgusted at what he saw. “Dr. Light escaped again?” he nearly screamed in frustration, “You would think he’d give up by now,” sighing he added his usual motto without his customary conviction.



Jessie watched the Titans leave from a nearby window. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach the ledge, but she managed. Without any supervision, Jessie did as any eight-year-old would do and consumed large amounts of sugar while running through the halls screaming like a banshee.



* * *

“Well,” Cyborg commented as the team got out of his car, “That was two hours well spent. I mean come on! It took us less than fifteen minutes to track down and catch the guy, and then we spend the next hour and forty five minutes in the police station trying to convince them that their security on the guy needs improving. He’s escaped three times in the last month, and well…he’s not the brightest of people, and…..” Cyborg’s rant was cut short as they walked into the living room. Everything was in shambles. Furniture was turned on its side, the refrigerator door was open and water leaking everywhere. All of their cabinets had been thrown open and their contents strewn across the floor of both the living room and kitchen. Lamps were broken, papers shredded, and Jessie stood in the middle of it, still unaware of their presence.



She was wearing a yellow towel tied around her neck like a cape and a construction paper mask. Somehow she had found the puppet replica of Cyborg and was….well they weren’t exactly sure what she was doing but it vaguely resembled a waltz.



Cyborg put a finger to his lips to shush the others as they came in. He might not like kids, but this was hilarious. Robin walked in last. After viewing the disarray of their living room, a smile erupted across his face. Clearing his throat to alert Jessie to their presence, he led his team into the disaster area.



Turning around suddenly, Jessie stuffed the puppet behind her back in a futile attempt at hiding it. She had that deer in the headlights look about her, and it was all the Titans could do to keep from laughing. Slowly backing away from them she stammered, “I…I’m sorry,” then added with a more pleading voice, “I’ll clean it up. I promise!”



Robin tried to be mad at her. He really did, but she looked so cute standing there that even his stone like face broke into a chuckle. “We’re not mad Jessie, and we should be the ones apologizing, not you. We’re not used to having someone to take care of and forgot when we got a call from the city. It won’t happen again.” Robin knelt down so that he was eye level with her and placed one hand on her shoulder added with sincerity, “I promise.”



The rest of the day was spent cleaning up the living/ops/kitchen/everything else room. It was another let’s-just-be-normal-teenagers kind of day, with plenty of teasing all around. All that was destroyed were a few dishes, and another lamp, and the blender. Jessie had left the refrigerator door open for well over an hour, so all the food had spoiled except for some of Star’s cooking that had been in there for over a month.



Once everything had been cleaned up, Beast Boy ordered pizza for dinner. They ate it while watching a kid friendly movie on TV about some talking dog that gets lost and his friend, an albino ferret, helps him find his way home. All in all it wasn’t a bad evening.



“Okay Jessie, time for bed,” Cyborg ordered after the movie was over. It was almost nine, and well past her usual bedtime.



“Will you read me a story?” she asked sweetly, her eyes like a begging puppy’s.



“Uh…” Cyborg looked around desperately for an excuse to say no. He didn’t find any. “Maybe some other time Jes. Go on now, get ready for bed.”



Suddenly appearing hurt she pleaded, “Will you please read me a story?”



Robin walked up behind Cyborg and whispered, “Just read the kid a story Cy,” in a tone so low it was inaudible to everyone else.



Turning around, Cyborg’s face begged in silent protest for his friends to intervene and save him form the terrible fate of story time. They just smiled, smothering their laughter behind hands and pillows. Defeated, Cyborg twisted back so that he was facing Jessie again and muttered, “Let’s go.”



Jessie’s face lit up, ecstatic at the thought of her favorite superhero telling her a bedtime story. Smiling so broadly you’d think it was Christmas, she slipped her tiny hand inside Cyborg’s and led him away.



After the two had left, Raven looked up from her book and said quietly, “I almost feel sorry for him.”

[TeenTitansGO!]

Hey JC! That was great! I liked the fact that she broke the blender, and the last line of the chapter was funny. I can just picture Raven sitting there, book in hands, saying that. FUn fun fun.

TTG~out

[Kregor8]

Hmm. This chapter introduces some interesting developments. Cyborg doesn't like little kids...but a little kid loves Cyborg. That should be quite interesting. Let me highlight my favorite parts here:
1) Robin and Raven grabbed her hands, while Beast Boy and Starfire were competing in a rousing game of "Who can tell Jessie the most about the evidence room in the least amount of time?" 2) Without any supervision, Jessie did as any eight-year-old would do and consumed large amounts of sugar while running through the halls screaming like a banshee. That's probably my personal favorite line in the this chapter.
3) But how do I defeat them? What villain would divide them? Better yet, what villain has already divided them? Mmn, tasty. I like where this is going. Very good chapter. Glad you were able to get one out - that's more than I've been able to do. Anyway, Invade Canada!

7<regor

[Rae]

This is a great addition to the story and i can't wait for more

Rae

[Crowgirl]

That was brilliant, Jessie is hilarious! :D :anime: :D :anime: :D

Honestly, I have no critisms, except for little stupid things like typos, but those are avoidable. This is a great fic, and I can't wait for more!

Good to see your back!! :anime: Yay!!

As for those Canadians.... they've had it too good for too long..... :evil:

Ciao,
CG

[Sproxie]

I agree with all the comments above.

Jessie watched the Titans leave from a nearby window. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach the ledge, but she managed. Without any supervision, Jessie did as any eight-year-old would do and consumed large amounts of sugar while running through the halls screaming like a banshee.

That was definitely my most favorite line. :anime:
I loved the new chapter! Every time I read a new chapter I wind up smiling, I love Jessie, she's adorable AND hilarius! Keep up the great work!

[Vivace]

But how do I defeat them? What villain would divide them? Better yet, what villain has already divided them?
I'm thinking Terra or Slade. Seeing as you hate Terra alot and think even if she was brought back she'd be evil I'm leaning toward Terra

[Aquagirl15]

Ah yes I loved that chapter! It was so funny.


They cried, were convinced that evil clowns lived under their beds, and had a tendency to be sticky.


Now that I can relate to. My brother sleeps with his light on becasue he's scared of the dark. Even though he is 9 he's still sticky, I hate it. But I get into the same situations as Cyborg. Little kids love me for some unapparent reason and they totally get on my nerves. Great chapter JC! :D

[Mystery fan]

I'm really liking this story! Can't wait for more! PLease post soon!:)

[JazzyChick]

well, yeah for being home alone all day.....by myself.....with nothing to do....even if I was practacally bored to tears (or insanity, don't forget insanity) i did give me a chance to get this done. anywho, i actually might get to post chap 8 on monday 'cause its president's day and we don't have school (yeah for random national holidays! :D )

well, here it is! Now remember, HONEST FEEDBACK!

Ch. 7



“So,” Cyborg began, “What story do you want me to read?” His words were forced. He didn’t want to read this little kid a stupid story. They’d just spent two hours watching a movie about a talking dog for crying out loud! Shouldn’t that be enough?



Jessie jumped up onto her bed, grabbing Mr. Snuggles as she landed on the pillows. Burrowing below her blankets she replied, “I don’t care,” she debated the question for another moment and added, “Will you tell me about your adventures?”



Cyborg smiled, well at lest it wasn’t little red riding hood. He hated that story. Why didn’t the stupid girl just stay on the path?



Bringing up memories of his favorite battles, Cyborg began, “We’ve had a few adventures that the newspaper didn’t report. There was this one time, a few months ago that a man who called himself the Master of Games kidnapped me, Beast Boy, and Robin….” Jessie slowly drifted off to sleep as Cyborg related the Tournament of Heroes to her. “And then, Robin broke the crystal that was keeping us all imprisoned and together we defeated the Master of Games,” Cyborg finished forty-five minutes later. He had gotten so ensnared in retelling his adventure, he hadn’t noticed that Jessie had been asleep for the last half hour.



As quietly as he could, the cybernetic youth got up and tiptoed out of the room, shutting off the light as he went. Making his way to the living room, found the other Titans laughing over some movie they were watching on TV.



“So, how was story time?” Robin asked as he tried to hold in a laugh.



“Wonderful, I volunteer you for tomorrow night.” Cyborg glared at him. That was all it took for Beast Boy and Robin to crack up. They were still rolling on the floor when Cyborg sat on the couch. “So, how long is she staying with us?”



“Oh relax Cy,” Robin teased, “She’s only here for a week. Why don’t you try and have fun with her?”



“Fun. With an eight-year-old. Are you insane?”



“No Cy, I’m not insane. She likes you man, and you know what, she hasn’t had the best life. You might try and be a little sympathetic. You don’t have to be so selfish.”



“Selfish?!” Cyborg screamed, “Just because I don’t want to spend ‘quality time’ with some kid….”



“She looks up to you Cy! You’re her hero, start acting like it.” Beast Boy and the girls grew increasingly uncomfortable as their argument grew in intensity and volume. They started slinking back towards the nearest exit and away from the arguing teens.



“I never asked to be some kid’s hero!”



“Cy, it comes with the job. You save the city, everyone wants to be like you. Don’t you remember that kid in the park with one arm? The one who said you were his favorite Titan because he was just like you? News flash, there are tons of kids like that in the city.”



Cyborg’s was seething with fury, his chest rising and falling in anger. He didn’t have a response. In his heart Cyborg knew Robin was right, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. “So what are you going to do? Enforce your power as group leader and order me to be a good role model? Come on, its not like I’m her surrogate big brother.”



Robin sighed, “No Cyborg, I can’t make you like her or want to spend time with her. I just want you to drop this tough guy attitude and humor her. She’s here for a week Cy, you put up with her for that long.” Cyborg stormed out of the room leaving Robin standing alone in front of the TV. Cyborg had this attitude about him. Like he was the toughest guy around, but he wasn’t. Why did he think Beast Boy was his best friend? Cyborg was the oldest of the Titans, Beast Boy was the youngest, it didn’t make sense. Mos and Minnos loved him. Cyborg was everyone’s big brother; he just hadn’t realized it yet.



* * *



Stratagem sat in his beloved leather chair, a chess game set before him. James had long ago ceased to be a worthy opponent and it was difficult to find a challenger that was willing to come to the mansion. So Stratagem played himself by setting up impossible situations and giving himself three moves to checkmate.



Distract them. That’s all I have to do. If I can keep the Titan’s occupied long enough with rumors and hints of their enemies and they will leave my actual target open for attack. They will leave Jessie unguarded. Defeating the Titans, isn’t what needs to be accomplished, only distracting them. That shouldn’t be too difficult.



James entered the room slowly, carefully balancing his master’s dinner on a tray. “Good evening, Sir. I’ve brought your dinner,” he said properly. Stratagem’s eating habits were strange, but the manservant was well compensated in salary.



“Thank you James,” the young man said as he accepted the tray.



“You seem in an excellent mood, Sir.”



“Yes James, and with good reason,” the elderly servant gave his master a questioning look and Stratagem continued, “I’ve decided on how to collect the girl.”



“Very good, Sir.”



“I will need you to acquire some things for me in the morning.”



“Of course, Sir.”



“Thank you James, that will be all for tonight.” The servant retrieved the tray headed out the door.



Sometimes he questioned his master’s decisions, but his loyalty to the boy’s family overrode it. He had served Charles’s –he meant Stratagem’s- family for over thirty years. That kind of devotion was hard to betray.



* * *



At the Titans’ Tower the next morning Starfire woke early to prepare for a fun filled day with Jessie. She had sweets, and dolls, and pony rides, and…



“STARFIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Robin screamed from deep inside the tower.



Starfire looked around guiltily and then responded timidly, “Um…yes Robin?”



“Why are there ponies and a truck load of dolls on our front lawn?” he asked furiously as he entered ops.



“I have been preparing a glorious day of enjoyment with our young friend Jessie! I have arranged….”



“Star,” Robin began with his hands shaking, “Wha….but…..I…the…..how?”



“I have spent many hours on the internet discovering the wishes of a human child her age! We will spend many joyous hours playing together.”



Robin took on an accusing stare and asked sternly, “Star, did you try coffee again?”



She was nodding in response when Beast Boy’s surprised voice cried as he joined his friends in ops, “Why is there a horse chewing on my boots?”



“Oh!” Starfire responded, “You have met Cupcake!” The miniature horse nibbled on Beast Boy’s ear. The green boy turned into a tiger and growled at the pony that promptly backed off.



Raven wandered in, took one look around the room and said, “Starfire tried coffee again, didn’t she?”



“Yup,” Robin sighed.



They were just about to try and figure out how to get rid of all the stuff quietly when Jessie walked in rubbing her eyes. She was wearing some old yellow-footed pajamas they had found in Beast Boy’s room and was clutching her teddy bear. “What’s going on?” she questioned.



Before anyone could do anything, Starfire exclaimed, “Oh good! You have awakened. Now we may spend a glorious day eating sweets, riding on the ponies and playing with dolls!”



“No thanks. My stomach hurts from all the candy I ate yesterday and I don’t like horses or dolls.”



Starfire’s face fell from an exaggerated smile to a deflated frown faster than was humanly possible. Robin just grinned. Raven was trying as hard as she could not to laugh, the chair next to her rose several feet as a result of her effort. Beast Boy ran out of the room because he couldn’t keep himself from laughing. That and Cupcake was trying to eat him again.



“But….but….all small children enjoy sweets and the rides of the pony….” Starfire stuttered, clutching one of the dolls tightly in her hands.



“Well I don’t, so obviously not all kids do,” Jessie returned, frustration rising in her voice.



“Surely you enjoy playing with the miniature versions of people.” Starfire thrust the doll she clutched into Jessie’s face.



“I hate dolls!” Jessie screamed, backing away in anger.



Starfire screamed as the doll she held in her hands burst into flame.

[Crowgirl]

I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT HER!!!!! :D

Nice, though. I loved that chapter a lot. I'm glad that Jessie has powers, it makes it easier to fit in with the Titans.

But the dolls and ponies thing was just hilarious. :anime: :D :anime: I laughed wicked (Yes, wicked) hard, and that's pretty hard.

I liked how Cy got caught up in the story-telling about that adventure, that was a nice touch.

Stratagem is an awesome villian, and this story is awesome. Can't wait for more!

Ciao,
CG

[Sproxie]

ooooOOooOooo.... I like it alot.... I think I know where this is headed!oh and Sprox, i bet you don't have any idea where this is going. :evil:
AHA! I was right! Well, close anyway...
I LOVE that chapter! it made me laugh alot!
I absolutely LOVED the dolls, ponies and coffee parts! :anime:
Great chapter!

Oh, and it's spelled "Mas y Menos"

[JazzyChick]

well here it is....and unfortunately i can't promise a new chap soon. yes basketball is over, but soccer practice started today and now that will take over my life. so, as always the next chapter will be out as soon as i can get it.

by the way, POST FEEDBACK! or else....:evil:

Ch. 8



Jessie’s face soon fell from rage into fear and guilt. She slowly started backing away from the Titan’s who were too busy being shocked to stop her retreat. Looking down at the floor she started to stammer, “I….I’m sorry…..I didn’t……didn’t’ mean to……to do it……can’t help it……I…..” was all she got out before she bolted for the nearest door.



“Woah there kid,” Robin began, grabbing her before she could leave the room, “it’s okay.”



“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to do it,” Jessie said through tears that were beginning to form.



Robin really wasn’t sure how to react, he liked kids, but really wasn’t sure how to comfort them. Improvising from how Alfred used to act when Bruce came down hard on him, Robin pulled the little girl into his body. He held her close and let her cry, all while whispering gently to her, “Shhhhh, its okay….don’t cry….shhh, its okay.” Apparently it worked, Jessie’s sobs slowly started to slow down until they stopped entirely.



When her tears had finally stopped Jessie whispered sweetly into Robin’s ear, “Can Cyborg take me to my room please?”



Robin smiled and, acting on an impulse, picked the child up and carried her over to Cyborg. He handed the child over to Cyborg, who gave him a protesting look. They waged a silent battle of wits behind Jessie’s back, Robin won easily and Cyborg took the child with a exasperated sigh that the girl didn’t notice. Starting to make his way towards the child’s bedroom, Robin ordered in the mechanical teen’s ear, “Be nice,” in a voice so low it was inaudible to anyone but Cyborg and himself.



The other Titans started to relax after Cyborg had taken Jessie out of the room. That was about the time everyone got over the initial shock of seeing Jessie’s powers in action. Starfire finally dropped the blackened doll to the floor and went into the kitchen to wash off the black stains off her hands.



“Dude!” Beast Boy exclaimed once Cyborg and Jessie were out of ear shot, “she was like…..and it went like…..with the fire…..and the stuff….and the….whoah.”



“Your communication skills never cease to amaze me,” Raven said indifferently.



“What’s that supposed to mean?” Beast Boy demanded.



“Guys, can we focus back on Jessie for a minute?” Robin intervened.



“What do you mean dude?” Beast Boy questioned.



“What are we going to do with her?” Robin answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “We can’t just act like she can’t burn things at will. It’d be irresponsible on our part, not to mention dangerous for her and everyone around her. I’d bet that she started the fire at the orphanage, and that she has little or no control over her powers. We all know how dangerous someone’s powers can be when they’re uncontrolled.” He was thinking about Terra. They all were.



Beast Boy took on one of his rare serious moments saying, “Then let’s help her to control them. We all had to learn how, its only right that we help her.” In some strange way it seemed to the youngest Titan that by helping Jessie he would some how begin to pay to repay for how he had failed Terra. Maybe if someone had helped her when she was Jessie’s age, none of it would have happened. She wouldn’t have betrayed them -wouldn’t have betrayed him- and become Slade’s apprentice. If someone had helped her, maybe she wouldn’t be gone now.



“I’ll do it,” Raven volunteered.



“Oh glorious!” Starfire cried out smiling, “You wish to become the friend of the small child!”



“No,” Raven said shortly, Starfire’s smile quickly fading, “I think her powers are controlled by emotion, anger specifically, and no one else knows how to control emotion based powers like I can.”



“Okay,” Robin said, “start as soon as you can, Rae. But wait until Cy says she’s okay.”



Raved nodded in silent response.



* * *



Cyborg sat Jessie down on her bed, gently tucking a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. He instinctively smiled at the girl in a small attempt to comfort her. “Great,” he thought to himself, “she’s growing on me.” And amazingly, he liked the thought more and more. After all, she was cute. Heck, she was adorable and sweet to top it off. If he had to get stuck with an eight-year-old kid, he guessed she was one of the best.



She had finally calmed down enough for him to talk to her. There were some questions that needed to be answered, and Cyborg just hopped that Jessie trusted him enough to tell him. “Jessie, I need to ask you a few questions, okay?” The child looked up at him with tear-stained eyes and nodded. “When was the first time you made something catch on fire?”



She looked around the room, reaching back into her young memory and digging around for the answer. “Right before Halloween. I was on the playground at school and some kids wouldn’t let me play with them. I got really mad and….and one of the basketball nets caught on fire.” She looked embarrassed over the ‘destruction’ she had caused, like he would judge her for doing it.



Cyborg was surprised. Usually if a child is born with supernatural abilities they don’t begin to show themselves until they reach adolescence. Something must have happened to give her powers. “Jessie, did something happen to you right before that day on the playground?” Jessie looked at him questioningly, not sure what he was asking. Sighing, Cyborg searched for a way to rephrase his question, “What I mean is, do you remember anything happening that could have given you your powers?”



Understanding dawned upon the little girl’s face, but she shook her head. Cyborg was about to continue to question her but before he could speak her sweet voice cut in asking, “Cyborg, you’re not going to make me leave, are you?” even more tears started to well up in her eyes.



“Why would we make you leave?”



“Because I’m not like everybody else and….and Taylor got adopted instead of me….and if I were normal…”



“Wait a second,” Cyborg interrupted, “Who’s Taylor?”



Reaching her hand up, Jessie wiped her nose and answered, “A girl from the orphanage. She just got adopted a couple days ago.”



“The day of the fire?” Jessie nodded. Cyborg nodded his head, finally understanding what had happened that night. She must think that because she wasn’t normal she didn’t get adopted. “Jessie,” Cyborg said sympathetically, “we would never make you leave because of your powers,” indicating his mechanical parts he added, “None of us are exactly normal either.”






sry its not as long as they normally are, but it came to a good break


just in case you missed my earlier threat....FEEDBACK OR ELSE :evil:

[Vivace]

"Your conversational skills never cease to amaze me."


Jazzy why do you have to be so much better than me? I don't know why I have 3 more votes than you because I don't really deserive it...

Great stuff keep it up or the Cheese of Austraila will infest your DVD player.

[rrarbecy]

People, I now know that JazzyChick is better than me. That was great. I loved how you showed the effect that living with Bruce had on Robin, and how you tied Alfred into it. Raven's insult against BB was great too. Just overall great. I, too, cannot see why you aren't ahead of me in the HOF.

[Rae]

“Dude!” Beast Boy exclaimed once Cyborg and Jessie were out of ear shot, “she was like…..and it went like…..with the fire…..and the stuff….and the….whoah.”



“Your communication skills never cease to amaze me,” Raven said indifferently.



“What’s that supposed to mean?” Beast Boy demanded.

Definately one of the best lines ever!

Loved it. Everything managed to fit right and it was all...whole, as in there was nothing missing!

Rae

[starfire0639]

I loved it and the warmness showing from Robin is adorable.I used to be a big fan of Batman and stuff before TT came out so its always cool to see a tradeout like that when BM charachters are in fics.Write more soon!:anime:

[Kregor8]

I guess I have to review 2 chapters.

Chapter 7: Stratagem. How cool is he? How cool can a original villain be? This cool. He's just plain awesome. His personality, his associates, his habits, his mysterious aura. This is a villian before who's feet wimps like Brother Blood habitually cower. I bet if you ask the buttler (what's his name?), he'd tell you that every Thursday at 3:00, Brother Blood has a half hour of grovelling due to Char...Stratagem.

The Star and Coffee line was excellent. Not as good as the toaster thing...but still. "Again?" Am I supposed to know about the 1st time she "tried the coffee?"

Pwhoof! Flames! Fire! Destruction! BWAH-HAH-HAH-HA! (Seriously, fire is the coolest of the 4 Greek elements).

Chapter 8: Yay, Cyborg doens't hate Jessie! Hooray. Now we get to see some touching little kids stuff as well as some whacko mutant fire and totaly awesome villian stuff.

The short length didn't bother me. Maybe cause I was already behind and had to read 2 chapters.

Ok, I'm done.

7<regor

[JazzyChick]

thanks for the replies ya'll, i really appriciate them. oh and Kregor, you're not supposed to know 'bout the first time star tried coffee. not that its an important scene or anything, but now that you mention it....it may show up later...

so um....chap 9 will be up tonight or tomorrow.

hey, what would ya'll think if, after this story is done of course, i did a story about Jessie when she get's older? she's such a fun character to write as a kid, i can barely imagine how much i'd enjoy her as a teen/young adult. besides, i really like her character and don't want her to disappear after hero worship is done. so, would ya'll read it?

[rrarbecy]

Again I tell you that there is no point to a question like that. You write it, we'll read it. Having said that, I think that it would be great if you wrote a story about Jessie when she's older.

[Crowgirl]

Okay, that was so sweet! I love Jessie!!!! And that chapter! It was great to see Cyborg be sort of... brotherly to Jessie for once. The whole chapter was touching

Oh yeah, definitely write a story about Jessie when she's older after this. That'd be awesome! (Of course, you realize if Jessie is put in a near death situation in this story we now know she'll live. :p The problem with the future....)

Oh yeah, you know what you should have done? You should have put Jessie in the tournament. That would have been awesome! It would have been really funny if her competitor said they couldn't fight her because she's too young, and then she beats them by doing whatever. :sweat:

Can't wait for more!!

Ciao,
CG

[JazzyChick]

i would have put her in the tornament, but i didn't get on for a while. so by the time i would have actually been able to put her in, all the spots were taken. besides, i wanted to enter Miss. Sarah (even though she isn't a hero) 'cause everyone would be too scared to be around her to ever fight her. so she'd win 'cause everybody else would forfit.

with that said, here's chap 9!

Ch. 9

Look what I can do!



The annoyed young man sat in a slouched position drumming his hands on the armrests of his chair. It was old, wooden, and uncomfortable but it was the thing to sit on in the elaborate entry room. He had been sitting there for twenty minutes, and the boy’s patience was waning. All he wanted was to get the rest of his money and get out of the mansion. His employer alone was cryptic enough, but then again, only someone as eerie and mysterious as him could possibly live in such a creepy place. But that butler guy had told him to wait here and no amount of uncanny sights and sounds could get him to leave. Well, at least until he got his money.



Finally the aging servant reappeared saying, “Thank you for waiting, my master will see you now,” indicating with his arm the direction the youth should go he added, “If you will please follow me.”



Pushing himself up from the unpleasant straight-back chair, the boy said, “ ‘Bout time. Let’s get this over with, I’ve got places to be.” Without replying the butler escorted him through the manor. Their journey to the study was void of conversation, and neither man was disturbed enough by the silence to break it with any attempts at small talk.



Traveling through the halls, the young man saw how elaborate the house really was. Beautiful, and very expensive, paintings decorated the walls. Ancient looking artifacts stood proudly on display throughout the intricate maze of rooms and halls. Eventually, the butler stopped before an oak door. On each side of the door hung a blazing torch, which provided the only light for the hall. To the young man, it seemed like an attempt to make the house seem even more cryptic, just in case anyone walking in hadn’t gotten the picture yet. They really didn’t have to worry about that.



“Through there, Sir,” the servant ordered.



Shaking his head, the young man opened the door and stepped into the dim light of his employer’s study. Of course he would be sitting in a large, leather chair, facing a roaring fire. This view, obviously, prevented the young man from seeing his face. Score one for over dramatics.



Naturally, he started speaking before the boy came into view. “You did well.”



The young man sighed and shook his head, “Look, I appreciate your complements, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here to get paid. So let’s get down to business so I can get out of here.”



“Very well. The amount we agreed on is in an envelope laying on the table.”



Looking around, the young man discovered the table he had mentioned. Being overly cautious, he crept over to the table and picked up the envelope. It hadn’t been sealed, which saved him the trouble of ripping it open. Carefully counting bills, the teen found that it contained not only their agreed price, but and extra five hundred dollars.



“You’ll find that there is more in there than we previously agreed to.”



“I noticed, and you can keep it. No one over pays for a job well done.” He knew that from experience. When he had been younger, more naive, he had fallen for this trick. A former employer had over paid him and he had taken it as a gesture of gratitude. Unfortunately, a few weeks later he had learned that in accepting the extra money he now owed a favor to the man. Needless to say it took him months to get out of the seemingly never-ending cycle of accepting and repaying favors.



“You have two options here. One, take the original price we agreed upon and walk out. No questions asked.”



“I’m starting to like option one, what’s the second?”



“The second is this: you take the extra five hundred as a down payment on another job I want you to do.”



“I’m listening.”



“Upon the completion of this job, I will pay you double what’s in that envelope.”



“You play to my greed, Stratagem.”



“Is it working?”



“Flawlessly.”



* * *



Raven sighed and collapsed onto her bed. It had been a long day. She had spent most of the morning and all of the afternoon with Jessie. Now she had three quarters of an hour before she had to be at the coffee shop to redeem her winnings from Beast Boy and Cyborg’s pizza eating contest. Not that she wasn’t looking forward to her evening; she was just exhausted from working with Jessie so long.



The child didn’t have any sort of control! Even Terra had had basic…..basic control. It was strange how much she found herself comparing Jessie to Terra. They were nothing alike. Jessie was a scared child that they could help, and Terra…..well, she didn’t like to think that much about Terra.



After allowing herself to lie on her bed for a few more moments, Raven got up and headed towards her shower. She kept the water freezing cold; it was a nice contrast when compared to all the heat that Jessie had provided. Tonight should prove entertaining; she could get away from the Tower’s commotion for a while. Away form Jessie following Cyborg like a puppy and worshipping the ground he walks on. And especially away from Cyborg not noticing how much the kid looked up to him.



* * *



“Hello baby, its been a while hasn’t it? Did you miss me? I know you did,” Cyborg whispered to his baby, the T-car. He hadn’t been able to work on her for quite some time now, and he had really been starting to miss her. Since Jessie had been with Raved all day, Cyborg had spent all day tucked away in the garage. Now he was leaning under the hood putting the final touches on the day’s work. There was something relaxing about working on the car, something peaceful…..



“Cyborg!” Jessie’s excited voice echoed through the garage.



In surprise, Cyborg shot his head up, striking it sharply on the hood of the T-car. “Owww,” Cyorg called out as he involuntarily reached his hand to the back of his head.



“Cyborg?” Jessie repeated as she wandered into the garage. Once she saw her idol, she exclaimed again, “Cyborg!”



Pulling his hand away, Cyborg checked to see if he was bleeding as he replied, “Yeah Jessie?” He wasn’t bleeding, but he wouldn’t wish the headache he’d have in the morning on anyone.



“Look what I can do!” she answered excitedly. Without waiting for him to say anything else, the girl shot her arm out, her hand opening from a fist and forming a ball of flame in the air floating just in front of her palm. In another swift motion, she pulled her arm back in, closing her tiny hand around the ball of flame. As she reformed a fist, the fireball disappeared, appearing to have been drawn back into the girl’s body.



“Um…” Cyborg struggled to find the right words, “That’s awesome, Jessie.” His voice was the over exaggerated excitement voice that everyone uses on little kids when they’re either not really paying attention or they’re only pretending to care about what the child is doing. His adding of the word ‘awesome’ also provided a nice touch (bonus points for the use of awesome, cool, or wow as often as possible). It’s a proven method to fool any small child into thinking you’re really interested in what ever they might be doing at the moment.



“Do you want me to do it again?”



“Sure, that’d be really cool.” She repeated her newly learned trick and Cyborg responded with an appropriate, “Wow.”



“Raven taught me how to do it today. She said that learning how to control my anger is a lot more important than showoffy tricks, but I think this is a lot more fun than that weird thing she calls meditation she was making me do. And look what else I can do!” Reforming the ball in her palm, Jessie threw it up in the air and caught it with her other hand. When she passed it back, she made it hover in mid-air just above her head for a few seconds before letting it fall into her hand and disappear.



Cyborg was impressed. Jessie had gained a lot of control over her powers in a short amount of time. He would have to congratulate Raven on a job well done latter. Suddenly feeling very big brotherish, he suggested to the girl, “Do you want to go show everybody else what you can do?” Jessie nodded, “And how about after that we all go get some hamburgers for dinner.” Jessie nodded very enthusiastically. Then, she wriggled her hand into Cyborg’s and the two walked out of the garage and headed towards ops.
remember, feedback or else! :evil: (just kidding, but I NEED FEEDBACK!!!!)

[rrarbecy]

That was great. Especially the dialogue between Stratagem and the other guy. "Is it working?" "Flawlessly." That was great.

I'm glad to see that Cyborg is adapting to Jessie in the tower(how ever slight this adaptation is...) Anyway, I hope to see more soon.

[Crowgirl]

"So... was it good?"

"Flawless."

[Sproxie]

Have i ever said how much i love this story? This is my favorite story, yea, it even surpasses the other great stories, but, this is my favorite.
I love Jessie! :anime:
"So... was it good?"

"Flawless."(^ i wasn't being a kiss-ass! :sweat: ^)

[Vivace]

"So... was it good?"

"Flawless."So....When are YOU going to firgure out if it was good?

And after you do when you you tell us.

[Vivace]

MEMO:

JazzyChick will not be able to update for a while since she is going snowboarding and leaving me in a monkey's appenix (thanks alot Jazzy) Anyway, She just wanted me to get the memo out as she can't...'cause she's in the snow....where i'm not.

[JazzyChick]

hey everybody, i'm back! i had a blast snowboarding, even if i did slide down the mountain on my butt more than i did on the board....:sad: anywho, Coloardo was beautiful! We (i went with a group from my church) stayed at a YMCA lodge in the rockies and i am now in love with mountains (oklahoma's really flat. the closest thing we have to a mountain is this really big hill that the football team has to run).

now that i am home after a fifteen hour bus drive trying to keep small children from driving everyone else insane, covered in bruises, and really sore i will have plenty time to work on the next couple chapters. That is of course after i go run two miles because my soccer coach thinks we'll all stay home and get fat if we don't run over the break.

All of that to say: snowboarding rocks, running doesn't, and i'll probably have the next chap up later today.

[Kregor8]

Stratagem!

That's about all I need to say about that. He's just awesome. Sooner or later, however, he'll need to do some more awesomeness. I see that he has a plot or plan or whatever, but he can't sit on his laurels forever.

Jessie is pretty neat too. Especially throwing the fireball around like that. It makes me think of the cover of "About a Burning Fire" (Blindside cd). You know, with the boy who holds the fire globe? Just Jessie is cooler, cause she doesn't have a globe.

I so wish I could go snowboarding again. But no, the snow is basically melted here, and I can't afford to go on a trip. Sad, sad, sad.

Ok, I'll be back for the next chapter.

7<regor

[JazzyChick]

so i lied about the days...what are ya'll going to do? drag me out and stone me? nope, you're going to reply.....a lot.....or else.....okay, i'm shutting up now and posting the chap....enjoy.


Ch. 10



Cyborg sighed. It had been a long day. Jessie had shown the team her new trick over, and over, and over. With little girl excitement she repeated it until they had gotten into the car to go to dinner. She would have continued doing it then except for Robin’s stroke of genius. He told her she couldn’t do it in the car because it might catch fire. Then at dinner, she almost started up again but Raven convinced her that she should keep her powers a secret. What is it with little kids and their bounding enthusiasm to have a secret? When they finally did get home, thankfully it was time for Jessie to go to bed. Cyborg had convinced the girl that Robin could tell a much better bedtime story than him, so the Boy Wonder had taken that responsibility for the night. Then, she had finally fallen asleep.



Now it was well after midnight, and Cyborg was about to crawl into bed. As he looked outside his window, the teen saw a rain starting to fall. “Great,” he said to the empty room, “If it rains tonight, that means it will be muddy tomorrow, and Jessie won’t be able to play outside. She burns so much energy when she’s outside.” The kid was growing on him, but still she could be so annoying!



Thunder crashed outside quickly followed by a bolt of lightning streaking across the clouds. Not two minutes after that first clash of thunder, Cyborg heard a frantic knock on his bedroom door. Confused at what was going on, he yawned and opened the door.



Jessie’s frightened face greeted his knees in the doorway. She had that nasty, old teddy bear clutched so tightly to her chest that its button eyes were starting to bulge out of its head. Frustrated, confused, and tired, Cyborg asked her groggily, “What’s wrong Jessie?”



“There’s a storm outside.”



“Yeah, so?” Cyborg was too tired to be sympathetic.



“So its scary!”



“You’re scared of storms?”



Before she could reply, another blast of thunder erupted in the night sky. Moving at impossible speeds, she ran and ducked under Cyborg’s desk.



She’s scared of storms. Well, I guess it’s better than having an evil clown living under her bed. But still, storms?



“Uh….there, there, Jessie,” he comforted, “its okay. There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s only thunder, it can’t hurt you.” Is that how you comfort an eight-year-old? Umm…I have no idea, but it seems to be working okay. Yup, she stopped trembling, and her grip on that nasty looking teddy bear has lessened at least a little.



“Promise?”



“Promise.” Wow, that was easier than it should have been. Now maybe I can convince her to go back to bed and I can finally get some sleep. “Jessie, now why don’t you…” He was interrupted by the tower’s alarm blaring throughout the building.



Aww crap. Reaching for his communicator, Cyborg called Robin, “What’s going on, man?”



“A robbery.” Despite the late hour Robin’s voice sounded just as serious and determined as it always did.



“Can it wait until morning?”



“Look at your clock Cy, it is morning. Now, get your butt down to the T-car and drive us into the city.”



Defiantly, the teen looked over at his clock, determined to prove the spiky haired brat wrong. The glowing red numbers blared 12:07. Crap. He hated when the spiky haired brat was right, epically when it was in the middle of the night. “I’m coming Robin,” when he saw Jessie he added, “Jessie’s coming too. She can wait in the car.”



“Okay. Let’s just get down there. Robin out.”



“Come on Jessie,” Cyborg ordered, motioning for her to follow him. She eagerly followed, her bright eyes not showing a hint of fatigue. They reached the garage five minutes later, meeting the rest of the Titan’s there. After Cyborg unlocked his baby, they all piled in, Cyborg in the driver’s seat, Robin sitting shotgun, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven crammed into the middle seat, and Jessie in the back. Opening the garage door, Cyborg slammed his foot down on the gas and they sped into the city.



“You know, in retrospect, it might have been a good idea to have Cy actually get a driver’s license,” Robin thought to himself. He was glad to get some action tonight, even if it was only a robbery.



It was an interesting robbery. The target had been a manufacturing company on the edge of town. There wasn’t anything of interest at the company’s plant; they made car parts. Nothing of value was there, nothing that anyone would consider worth stealing. Except for possibly someone extremely obsessed with their car. Giving Cyborg a suspicious look, Robin continued to think through the situation



They arrived at the scene without incident. Police officers filled the area, the flashing lights from their cars provided the only illumination. The Titans filed out onto the street, Cyborg giving Jessie strict orders to stay in the car. She glared and pouted at him for quite a while, but did as she was told. For the next several hours, the teens searched the area.



* * *



A young man leaned against the brick wall of an abandoned building, watching in amusement as the Titans searched for clues. He had stolen some things form the building’s storage room not an hour ago, and he wasn’t really sure what he had stolen. All he had done was take the boxes that bizarre guy, Stratagem, had told him to take. It had been one of the easiest jobs he had ever done, so easy it would have been depressing if he weren’t being paid so well.



He let a mischievous smile cross his face. However simple this job might be, watching the Titan’s struggle through the ‘crime scene’ he had created not two hours ago. Robin he respected, but the others had a lot to prove to him. Of course, they were just a bunch of kids, but he still expected more of them.



His white mask gleamed in the shadows as he considered the nature of his ‘mission’, as that psycho Stratagem insisted on calling it. That guy was seriously insane, a genius in his own respect, but completely insane. He had first hired the young man to steal some information for these labs in Dakota. Stratagem had taken the information and made this-thing. The psycho had tried to explain it, but he didn’t really understand it. Then, he had paid him to sneak it and inject this kid with whatever it was Stratagem had developed. Now he was supposed to kidnap the same kid and deliver her to Stratagem. Unfortunately, those stupid Titans had taken the kid in, making his job much harder.



Thus, the robbery. It didn’t matter what he stole, just as long that it distracted the Titans for a while. His luck had changed some however; they had brought the kid along with them.







so, did ya'll like it? feedback please!!!!!!
actually, i'd go for random fluff right now, i have 10 chapters posted and four pages. its really depressing....:crying: i'll try and post more regularly, but there this thing called shcool...

[Vivace]

Huzzah! I really awesome chapter from Jazzy! It's almost as if she typed it up but I knonw that the shoe gnomes are also good story tellers so they wrote it for her.

How do I know about the shoe gnomes? I am one.
Noooo!! Don't come at me with the shots. Not the room! Not the round rubber roooooom......

Crazy, I was crazy once....

[JazzyChick]

drew/vivace, you scare me. does he scare anyone else, or is it just me?

just kidding drew, ya know i love ya (in a good, friendship kind of way) and that my stories would suck if i didn't have you to bounce ideas off of.

[Vivace]

drew/vivace, you scare me. does he scare anyone else, or is it just me?

just kidding drew, ya know i love ya (in a good, friendship kind of way) and that my stories would suck if i didn't have you to bounce ideas off of.
Right back at'cha. at you....at....well you know what I mean.

But hey, A GIRL IS WILLING TO PUT UP WITH ME AND BE MY FRIEND HOW COOL IS THAT! friends like all year and it is still mind boggling (cause Caligo is more like the torturer to me so torture is not friendship...atleast to the Amnish

[JazzyChick]

hey ya'll guess what?! me and Matt. H. are applying for the Satelite section of Tulsa's newspaper! its a section 'for, by, and about area teens' so in other words, a bunch of high school students get together once a week and write random articles 'bout stuff like duct tape and it goes in the paper every friday. the exciting part is, they're taking applications for new people now! yay! so, keep you fingers crossed for us!

so, i'll give a rabid badger to whoever guesses who the 'young man' is. honestly, if you can't guess by the end of this chapter.....

anyhow, here's chapter eleven. please post feedback and all that jazz...






Ch. 11



Jessie was rocking back and forth in her seat. She had been sitting in the car for over an hour now and was getting bored. Really bored. Fighting crime was supposed to be fun, but all her idols had done was look at some old building. There was nothing to do in the T-car, she had already played with all the buttons and Cyborg still hadn’t gotten around to installing a GameStation in to his car.



Outside the Titans were getting frustrated; there was scarcely any evidence, and no suspects. There was nothing to go on and while it was these kinds of cases Robin loved, the other teens preferred face-to-face battles. Robin was calling them all to meet back at the car when…



An explosion ripped through the warehouse, sending all five Titans flying across the room. Stunned, they laid in the contorted positions they had landed in for several minutes before moving again. Robin was the first to act, his mind already racing to determine the cause of the explosion as he darted over to his fallen teammates. This had been a robbery with minimal damage to the building, nothing should have caused any type of explosion, let alone one of this magnitude. They hadn’t been looking for explosives while they were investigating, so a well-hidden one could have very possibly escaped from their examination. That was the most likely explanation as to what had just occurred.



Something clicked in Robin’s mind as he was helping Starfire sit up. The robbery was a cover up. All they had taken was the gas tank, which hadn’t made sense until now.



* * *



The young man smiled to himself as he watched the building burn. His instructions had been to collect the child, and that was just vague enough to suite him. He had taken a gas tank from the company, and made a makeshift bomb. By filling it with gasoline, and attaching a small remote detonator on the outside he had made an explosive just powerful enough to fulfill his purposes. It wouldn’t have harmed any of the Titans more than a few bruises, but it would distract and disable them long enough for the young man to grab the kid.



* * *



Jessie’s mouth had fallen open as she saw fire rip through the building. Fear paralyzed her for a long while. The only thought running through her mind was, “My friends are in there.” But she still couldn’t move.



Fire terrified her. Her last memory of her parents was the night they perished in flames. She had had an unnatural fear of the substance ever since.



Now she was torn between wanting to help her friends, and not wanting to be anywhere near the flames. After she sat there for nearly five minutes, the child made up her mind. Reaching across her body, Jessie undid her still buckled seatbelt and reached for the door. After pushing it open, she jumped out and was just about to take off as fast as her eight-year-old legs could carry her when two strong hands lifted her off the ground.



“Where do you think you’re going, kid?” her attacker asked with cold amusement.



Jessie screamed, her voice muffled by her attacker’s hand. The girl fought him as best as she knew how, by kicking as hard as she could. The young man didn’t let his grip slack as he dragged her away from the scene. Some of her kicks started making hard contact with his shins, and the boy grunted in pain, but he didn’t let her down, or even yell for her to stop. That might alert the Titans to his activities.



* * *



“Let’s get out of here!” Robin shouted at his team. They were still inside of the burning building, which was becoming more and more dangerous as the minutes ticked by. Thankfully, none of them had been injured during the explosion, but that could change quickly if they stayed in the warehouse too long.



“Which way’s out?” Cyborg shouted back.



“It’s this way!” Robin returned, pointing to his left. Of course he didn’t know if that was the actual way out, but as the leader he needed to act like he did. It was something Batman had taught him. Robin turned his back and started walking the direction he had indicated. There was no doubt in his mind that his team would follow.



They all started out, Robin leading, Raven behind him, Starfire tentatively following her, and Cyborg half dragging Beast Boy brought up the rear. After several minutes of walking through the smoke, they started having trouble breathing. His lungs burning too much to speak, Robin motioned for them to get down on the floor and crawl where the smoke was the thinnest.



* * *



The young man was almost back to the alley he had been hiding in earlier when he heard the sirens. “Crap,” he thought to himself. He knew they’d show up, but the boy had assumed he would have had at least a little more time than this. Picking up his pace he ran into the safety of the shadows. Usually his costume just made him look cool, but tonight he cursed its colors as they were the most likely thing to give them away.



Jessie kept making a fuss, and honestly he couldn’t blame her. Of course she would be afraid, she was being kidnapped, but he couldn’t afford for her to get him caught. Reaching into his belt, the young man pulled out a syringe filled with a clear liquid. As gently as he could, the adolescent injected her with the liquid. Almost immediately she stopped fighting him and drifted into unconsciousness.



“Finally,” he whispered in frustration. She wasn’t strong enough to get away from him, but by tomorrow his shins would be black and blue.



* * *



Robin smiled. He could see the door they had come in through the gray haze of the smoke. His guess had been the right one. Looking over his shoulder, he called as loud as his aching lungs could manage, “Its just a little further guys, I can see the door.” Reassurance, Bruce had taught him, was the best way to get people motivated, next to threats of course.



As the masked teen opened the door, he saw the flashing lights of the fire trucks that had just arrived on the scene. Good, he thought, they could leave the actual putting out the fire to them and go home. Raven and Starfire were coming out behind him, quickly followed by a green rat scurrying out. Cyborg was the last to exit, and with him out they all ran away from the dangerous building.



While they were running, Cyborg glanced over at the T-car and for the first time since the explosion, thought about Jessie. She must be terrified right now! They had reached the line of fire trucks and Cyborg mentioned it to the Titans.



Robin considered Cyborg’s thought for a minute before saying, “Okay Cy, you and Star go over and see if she’s okay. Me, BB, and Rae will stay here and talk to whoever is in charge for a minute and then we’ll meet you at the car. Titans, GO!” Was it necessary to add that last part? No, but Robin said it out of habit anyway.

[Vivace]

Is it a fish? No. Is it a wombat? No. It's SUPER MANAGER...I mean chapter.

[Rae]

Is it a fish? No. Is it a wombat? No. It's SUPER MANAGER...I mean chapter.
A chapter? I could have sworn it was a fish.........

Anyway, the sane me now in the drivers seat (not that I'm sane but never mind) says that this was great! Have no idea who this mystery guy is...possibly some one from the hive? hang on, it's ...........Red X? I have no idea!

Anyway that was really well written and the way Robin took care of the situation was very Robin like!

Rae

[Sproxie]

it's ...........Red X? I have no idea! Hey... thats my idea too! :anime: *ahem* anyway, “Finally,” he whispered in frustration. She wasn’t strong enough to get away from him, but by tomorrow his shins would be black and blue. LOL!! :D That was hilarius!!! Ok, ok, Those last two chapters were really cool, but i think the Titans were pretty stupid to leave Jessie in the car alone. And how did the dude get in the T-Car anyway? Wouldn't Cyborg have installed some extremely oversensitive alarm or something? :sweat: Anyway, loved it. :)

[TeenTitansGO!]

YIPPEE!!!!! hey email me your satellite essay. I'd like to look over it. ANyway, that was great.

[JazzyChick]

yes, it is Red X. unfortunately, pictures of wild badgers are hard to come by. and i would just go catch one myself, but who knew they had really sharp teeth....*looks down at bloodied hands*

anywho, it was fine for the Titans to leave Jessie in the T-car, of course there's an awesome security system installed! But she left the car, remember, to go see it the Titans were okay.

I like fish!

-JazzyC.

[JazzyChick]

sry 'bout the double post, but i wanted people to see my anouncement. I know its been like forever since i last posted, but there's good reason. last week i had my high school retreat, and this week it soccer tri-state. we had a regular season game tonight (we lost 2-0 and it was our first of the season, so i'm really depressed about that right now :crying: ) so i probably can't update until sat. night. but the good news is that, this next chapter is (so far) by far my favorite.



sry to make you wait...
-JazzyC

[JAG]

This is great so far! I want to see Strategem get his butt kicked. No complaints!

[JazzyChick]

i lied. here's chapter 12. enjoy!

and to everyone who's ever given me feedback: i deeply appriciate your comments.

just a quick warning, there are a lot of time jumps here, umm...now you can enjoy!




“You will collect the girl tonight,” Stratagem had ordered. It was strange how he referred to his criminal activities in such a business like manner.



“Alright. Are you going to let me do it my way, or are you going to tell me how to do my job…. again?” the young man asked.



“Mr. X, I…”



“My name is Red X. Not ‘Mister X’ or any other name you might come up with. Red X. And I get that you like your little games of figuring out how to break in and, in this case, kidnap. But I honestly don’t care. You hired me to steal, and now kidnap, and you pay well enough for me to ignore what little morals I have. When I stole that junk from Dakota, I did everything exactly like you told me to. Same when I snuck into the orphanage, and honestly I’m getting bored. You take away the challenge, and with that goes the fun. So this one, I’m doing my way, and am going to have fun doing it.”



“You will do as I tell you, or you won’t get paid.”



“You let me do this my way, or I don’t do the job, and you’ll have to start all over.”



Stratagem shook his head and responded, “X, we both know that you won’t find anyone who pays as well as I do. We both know that you’re bluffing, and we both know that you’ll do this job any way I tell you to.”



“And how do you know that,” Red X asked in the same defiant tone he had been using throughout their conversation, but inside he knew that the man had called his bluff. This was the best paying job he had ever had, and he wasn’t about to give it up. Only the hours he had spent playing poker kept his face expressionless.



“Because, Red X, I know you. But more specifically, I know your pride. Haven’t you figured out by now why Robin both fears and respects you? You’re the only human alive who has as big an ego as he. He always gets his man, you always get the job done. Unconsciously you took this job because you knew it was a chance to work right under the Titan’s noses, and you love the thought of them never finding out you were here. And now, you have a chance to kidnap someone in their charge, while they are no more that a hundred yards away. How could you deny yourself such an opportunity?”



X was stunned. Stratagem had hired him off of his reputation yes, but he didn’t really know anything about him. And here he was, describing him with perfect accuracy, and manipulating him to get what he wanted. That sort of skill had to be admired. “Fine, what do you want me to do?”



* * *



It took him nearly thirty minutes to reach the mansion. Between the added weight of the girl’s body and having to avoid any human contact, it was surprising it didn’t take him any longer. Think about it, he was carrying the unconscious form of an eight-year-old girl around at night, he was a known criminal in the city, and his costume was white. The only way he could be more conspicuous is if he were in Gothem and Batman was chasing him. Finally, the rusting iron gate of his employer’s mansion was in sight and he allowed himself a brief pause to breathe a sigh of relief.



Pulling the creaking gate open, he slipped inside with Jessie slung over one shoulder. He didn’t make a sound as he walked along the overgrown cobblestone path. Dead leaves blew across his trail as a light wind came through. To say this place was creepy would win the understatement of the year award hands down, but X didn’t mind. Besides, this was the last job he would ever do for Stratagem, and after tonight he could leave Jump City for a good long while.



He walked at a leisurely pace up the walk. Now that he wasn’t avoiding everyone and having to constantly make sure he wasn’t being followed, he could afford to take it easy. After a few minutes he reached the ancient looking door. Before he could knock, it creaked open, the butler standing just behind it.



* * *



James was sitting in his favorite chair, sipping a cup of tea, and reading a good book. As his master forbade the use of any light source other than firelight, he read by the light coming from the array of television screens that sat on the desk before him. Each screen was divided into four quarters showing different parts of the manor. There wasn’t a square foot of the house or yard that wasn’t being constantly monitored by these security monitors. Some would call it paranoia, but with his master’s business, and business associates, it was necessary.



There really wasn’t a reason for him to be here, they had as many alarms rigged around the property that he would hear an intruder long before he saw one, but the aging man sat there. Every night he would sit in his favorite chair and enjoy access to his master’s library. Usually he would have gone to bed long before now, but it was a very good book.



Alarms rang through the room. James, instantly alert, scanned the screens before him for the origin of the disturbance, finding it quickly. The annoying young man his master had hired had just walked onto their property, carrying the girl he had been sent to pick up under one arm. His white mask looked directly at one of the hidden security cameras, and the older man could almost see the cocky smile hidden beneath it.



Quickly shutting off the alarms, he stood up. After briefly pausing to straighten his jacket, he walked over to the front door and waited for the annoying boy to arrive.



* * *



“You’re late,” the butler observed before X could say anything.



Red X glared at him as he walked in the door muttering to himself, “You’d be late too if you had to drag a kid around the city all night.”



He heard the comment, but chose to ignore it. “Do you know your way by now, or do I need to show you to his office?”



He waved his hand saying, “Forget it, I know where he is,” and walked off towards the nearest staircase.



* * *



The door opened behind him. Finally, the annoying youth he had hired had arrived. “Were you successful?” Stratagem asked quietly, not bothering to turn around.



“Yeah, I got the kid.”



“Did you stray from the plan I laid out for you?” It was a strange question, but he took a certain pride in his ability to see every variable of a situation without ever being physically present. This Red X character was the first he had ever hired who had tried to vary from the plan he created. Needless to say he would never be hiring him again.



“No,” he lied smoothly. If Stratagem wanted to sit around all day and come up with new and exciting ways to break the law, the so be it, but that didn’t mean he had to take all the fun out of it. Besides, he had done most of it Stratagem’s way.



“Don’t lie to me X.” He was really starting to get annoyed by this kid.



The boy looked around the room, searching for the right words, “I was forced to improvise a little.”



“Fine,” his tone was short. He just wanted this kid out of his house. “Set her down over there in the corner. The rest of your money is on the table.”



Without saying a word, X carried the girl over to the corner and gently set her down. Standing up, he walked over to the table, picked up the envelope, and walked out of the room.



* * *



“Finally!” X said once he was out of the city. He was glad to be out of there. “Note to self,” he added shaking his head, “never work for Stratagem again.”















what did ya think?

[Vivace]

NEw chapter!!!!!!!!!!! It's soo......new......it rocks......with newness.

[JAG]

Great new chapter! Having watched "X" last night for the first time since it came out, he's now one of my favorite villains. I like his attitude and weapons.

[Crowgirl]

NEw chapter!!!!!!!!!!! It's soo......new......it rocks......with newness.
Somehow that does it justice. Nice job! :anime:

[Rae]

That was a great new chapter and i liked Red X's attitude to Stratagems plans

Rae

[Kregor8]

I'm trying to catch up...sorry. I've just read chapter 10. Short but sweet. I'll say more maybe later, when it isn't so late and I've read through chapter 12 or whatever.

7<regor

[Sproxie]

NEw chapter!!!!!!!!!!! It's soo......new......it rocks......with newness.Nice, that seems to work for me too. :anime:

[rrarbecy]

Are we going to get more? Like now? Like...now? Like... ... ... ...NOW!!??

[Matt A]

There's only one thing that I need to say here: this story is cool. Period.:anime: :anime: :anime: :anime: :anime:

However, seeing as that'll make for a real short review, I think I'd better be more specific. In some ways, I think I share Cy's attitude: as much as I dislike little kids, Jessie is just unbeliveably adorable. Along with Strategem, the ultimate insane genius, and James being the quietly rebellious soul that all good butlers should be, your talent at creating iconic yet well-rounded characters is remarkable. In fact, it's almost as remarkable as your talent at comedy: I'd point out all the cool lines, but there are simply too many. I doff my cap at you for both points.:anime: :anime: :anime:

However, there is one criticism that I need to offer up: Jessie is scared of fire, and she's a pyrokinetic...there's something obvious that needs dealing with there, but you seem to have missed it. Maybe there's a reason for that, but if there is then it's gone right over my head.:sad:

But still, that's a minor point, and I'll still be reading more of this, as and when you write it...that's a hint, by the way.;)

Matt A,
The Grand Vizier Of Shock

[JAG]

Well, Jessie doesn't like her powers, and has trouble controlling them. Her fear of fire is probably one of the reasons why.

And (correct me if I'm wrong) your character, Vine, was scared of plants.

[Matt A]

Well, Jessie doesn't like her powers, and has trouble controlling them. Her fear of fire is probably one of the reasons why.

And (correct me if I'm wrong) your character, Vine, was scared of plants.
Those both be excellent points. However, I still have something to say: Jessie was genuinely excited when she created her fireball, which strikes me as a bit of a contradiction. Okay, so Vine had a massive fight scene in STT, but seeing as she was under major-league hypnosis at the time the chances of her flipping out were nill anyway.

Anyway, as I said before, that problem be a minor one. As long as it gets addressed somehow, even if it's just a one-sentence brush-off, then it doesn't matter.

Matt A,
The Grand Vizier Of Shock

[JazzyChick]

umm..yeah. I noticed that too and am having issues fixing it. I keep telling myself that her excitement over the fireball was just her being excited that one: she can finally sort of contorl her powers and two: she got to show off and get attention. But I'll try and fix it....


anywho, thanks for all the reviews and as a reward, here's chapter 13.

hey, guess what? SCHOOL'S OUT IN 8 DAYS!!!!!! *flips out until someone threatens her with the rats* (rat comment: partially from Falling Away, partially from 1984)


Ch. 13



It took her so long to wake up. All she wanted to do was slip back into the comfortable blackness of sleep and never wake up, but she knew she couldn’t. There was some reason why she had to wake up. Something important. Something horrible. What was it? What had happened? Did it really matter? Sleep was so pleasant, surely there could be nothing so pressing that required her presence for the next few hours, or even minutes. She should just sleep, just fall back into the darkness and sleep.



But she wasn’t very comfortable. Maybe if she could just turn on her side, reposition herself somehow. And why were her hands behind her back? It was a really awkward position. How did she get in it in the first place? It was cold too. She never kept her room this cold. Her room…



Memories flooded back into Jessie’s mind. The fire. The Titans. Being kidnapped. Now she struggled even more urgently to fight off the drug’s power over her body. After a moment or two, she got her eyes open.



Before her was a dark room, the only light coming from a fireplace. The room was lined with books, and was sparsely furnished, the only furniture being a round table near the door, a large leather chair facing the fireplace, and a chessboard on another table by the chair. There were no windows in the room, and the only exit was the ancient looking door on her right.



Jessie shivered, suddenly remembering her urgency. At least she knew why she was so cold, she was dripping wet, the water feeling more like ice against her freezing body. She found that her hands had been handcuffed behind her, the cold metal cutting welts into her wrists. Her feet had been bound as well, making it impossible for her to get up and walk around, let alone escape.



No one was in the room with her. She was alone, but at least that mean boy dressed in white wasn’t here any more. He was even scarier than storms. Maybe as scary as fire.



There was nothing she could do right now. She didn’t know where she was, who had taken her, or why but she couldn’t learn any of those things right now. Desperately wishing for her beloved Mr. Snuggles, Jessie drifted back into an uneasy sleep.



* * *



Robin was worried about Cyborg. He had been forced to literally drag him away from the warehouse, not that Robin blamed him. Jessie had gotten kidnapped while they were not even a hundred yards away. She’d been gone for two days now, and still there was no sign of her. They had no witnesses, no fingerprints, no ransom note, no leads and with each passing hour Robin was beginning to think that they weren’t going to find any. If the kidnapper had wanted money, they would have demanded it by now. Besides, if you’re going to kidnap for money you don’t go after an orphan.



None of them had gotten much sleep the last two days, but Cyborg hadn’t slept at all. Sure, he didn’t need as much as the rest of them, but he still should have recharged by now. It was nearing two a.m. and Cyborg was still up in ops. He was looking over police reports and newspaper articles, anything he could get his hands on. But there was nothing. And he knew it.



Robin got up from his chair, it was time he had a talk with Cyborg. He considered changing out of his light blue pajamas and back into his costume, but decided against it. The only reason he would be wearing his costume this late at night is if there was trouble in the city, and he was playing his role as the boy wonder and team leader. His costume gave him authority and he didn’t want to appear like he was trying to order his comrade around, he wanted to appear to be exactly what he was: a concerned friend.



The steel walls of his beloved home, Titan’s tower, seemed to stretch on forever and it took him longer than usual to get to ops. There he found Cyborg staring at their almost to large television screen, which was now serving as a monitor for the oldest titan to read endless data. Robin suddenly remembered a similar scene, only with the roles reversed. He had been up late, looking for a sign, any sign, of his archenemies, Slade. Cyborg had walked in on his way to bed, trying to convince Robin that Slade was gone, fallen into a pit of lava, and he wasn’t coming back. How he wished he had listened to him. It would have saved the young man a near death experience, and the momentary loss of his sanity.



“You still up, Cy?” Robin called from his place in the doorway.



Startled, Cyborg turned around suddenly and stared groggily at Robin. “Yeah,” he answered.



“Come on Cy, we’re all worried about Jessie, but you haven’t slept or recharged in almost three days. Even you need to rest sometime.”



“I can’t Robin,” the pain in Cyborg’s voice was evident.



“Why?”



“Because,” the cybernetic youth struggled to speak, “I was – I am – her hero.”



“We’re a lot of people’s heroes, Cy.”



“Don’t give me that man! To Jessie it was personal. She was here, she followed me, mimicked me. Wanted to do everything I was doing. She worshiped the ground I walked on. And I let her down.”



“You can’t take all the blame for what happened, Cy! We were all there. We all could have done something.”



“No Robin!” Cyborg was shouting now, “I was her hero. Heroes are supposed to teach you strength, courage, and bravery. They’re superhuman, above reproach. Nothing can touch them. You know the only thing I’ve shown her? That heroes can’t be trusted. That her hero won’t be there to whisk her away from danger. And maybe even that she shouldn’t put her trust in heroes.” Cyborg turned away from his friend to face the glaring light of the screen once again.



Robin looked at his friend in shock. He knew that Jessie had looked up to Cyborg, and that he had just began to warm up to her, at least on the outside. Robin had always suspected that he really cared for her and was just afraid to show it. What he hadn’t realized is how much her worship of him had been affecting him. Without saying a word, Robin sat down beside his friend. Together, they looked through mountains of data well into the night, only stopping briefly for breakfast when Raven stumbled into ops at nine the next morning.



* * *



“Good morning, Jessie,” said a cryptic voice next to the girl’s face.



Jessie opened her eyes timidly; fearing was she would see. Before her sat a pale young man, dressed in all black, an evil look in his eyes.



“Hello Jessie,” the man began, his voice frightening her more with every word, “you may call me Stratagem.” He sat up, standing over her Stratagem continued to speak. “You are here for one purpose, and one purpose only: to serve me. You will do my bidding. Quite simply, you do what I tell you and you will be rewarded, disobey me and you’ll be punished. Ready to begin your training?”

[TeenTitansGO!]

Me Snags Firsties!!!!!!!!!!

GREAT!!!!!! TOo bad I knew what was going to happen...

The composition rocked beyond rockin'. Yes. It was cool.

[Matt A]

Cool it indeed was. Jessie looks set to be in deepest trouble, and if Cy keeps going the way he is he might be as well. Speaking of which, the scene between him and Robin was a touching one, especially when Robin finally realised that he didn't really have any grounds to criticise his friend over what he was doing (is it me, or did Robin's tactical choosing of clothing tell you everything you needed to know about his personality in only one paragraph?;) ). But still, that was another great piece of work: be proud.:anime: :anime: :anime: :anime: :anime:

Matt A,
The Grand Vizier Of Shock

[JAG]

I stand by what I said before: Strategem must die. If he does get Jessie to serve him, the Titans will have very big problems. Keep it up!:)

[rrarbecy]

DAMN SCHOOL!!!! DAMN WORK!!!!! I WILL SWIM THROUGH A SEA OF THUMBTACKS TO READ THIS NEW CHAPTER!!!!!! later...

[Crowgirl]

Damn school indeed.

What Mate said. That was fantastic! I loved how you portrayed Cy and Jessie. That was really sweet. Plus, Stratgem had a nice evilness moment at the end. Well done! :anime:

I believe the expression here is Back with a bang...

[rrarbecy]

That was, for lack of a better work, magical. That means awesome. A very typical Cyborg moral moment and a healthy dose of mystery really made that great. I wonder what Strategem will do to make her serve him. hmmmmm... There has to be something more. I also wonder why she was wet. Yes, I know why she would be wet, but why exactly. If you catch my drift. Which you probably don't. Oh, screw it. Never mind.

[JazzyChick]

i'm really glad ya'll liked it! :D (it makes me smile....)

anywho just wanted to say that i'm working on the next chapter and it'll be out soon. Probably monday or tuesday. I'm going to try and finish this fic before the end of the month. how will she do this? you ask. there's only going to be a few more chapters and a rather interesting epologue(sp?)

now i'm going to take a brief moment to thank all of you who have been reading and reviewing my story. it really means a lot to me that you consider my writing worthy of your precious time.

wait a second, i know i'm forgetting something, oh yeah....

School's out on Thursday!!!!!


-JazzyC

[Rae]

School's out on Thursday!!!!!
If you want to live you will not mention that again. My school doesn't break up until *picks up calender where the day is circled in bright red* July 22nd

Rae

[Matt A]

[points and laughs]

Tomorrow's my last day!!!!! Woohoo!!!!!!:anime: :anime: :anime: :anime: :anime: :anime: :anime: :anime: :anime: :anime:

Sorry. That was harsh.:sad:

Matt A,
The Grand Vizier Of Shock

[Fixit]

FHISDFDHDD:eek: :eek:

[Matt A]

Huh?:confused: :confused: :confused:

-Matt A-

[JazzyChick]

Huh?:confused: :confused: :confused:

-Matt A-
:^: My thoughts exactly.

Rae: That sucks. When do you start school? We start August 16 or somewhere around there. This year we started Aug. 23, but that's kinda late for us.


Welshie's Mate: You suck.


On another note entirely.....STAR WARS EPISODE III ROCKED!!!!!

[Matt A]

When do you start school? We start August 16 or somewhere around there. This year we started Aug. 23, but that's kinda late for us.
From what I can recall, it's usually the first full week of September. Which makes August 23rd bloody early!:eek: :eek: :eek:

Welshie's Mate: You suck.
I know. Cool, isn't it?:evil: :evil: :evil:

-Matt A-

[JAG]

Aw, how come you saw SW before me?!:mad: It looks awsome from the commercials, and I can't wait much longer.

[JazzyChick]

I'm going to see it AGIAN on thursday after finals, as an end of the year thing with a lot of peeps from school (really small school) YAY STARWARS!!!!

anywho, guess what? i actually finished the chapter when i said i would. go figure, i thought i'd never do it. its a little shorter than usual, but there's almost no diologue which is how i usually get a lot of the length for my chaps, but its not the shortest one i've ever posted either... well, here it is. enjoy!





Ch 14



What he was doing was wrong. He hadn’t said anything about his master’s actions in the week the girl had been there, but things were getting out of hand. Stratagem kept her in handcuffs, her feet always bound, and she was always soaking wet. He understood why his master did this, as long as she was wet she couldn’t ceonjure fire, thus posing no threat, but that didn’t make it right. And as if that weren’t enough, Stratagem had begun to hit her whenever she didn’t do what he said.



James had to admit; she was a strong willed child. No matter what his master asked her to she always refused. Stratagem would un-cuff her for short periods of time and have her do things for him. Such as bring him a glass of water from across the room or put a book back. Other times he would purposefully drop a glass for the sole purpose of making her clean it up. When he had asked his master why he did this he had laughed and answered, “Once she learns to obey me in these small things, she will bow to my will no matter what I ask. Not from loyalty to me, loyalty takes too much time for a person to develop, but out of habit,” a sinister smile had inched across his face, “and from fear of the consequences if she didn’t.”



Bruises had formed, her face an array of colors ranging from violet to black. He heard her cry at night, her muffled whispers only escaping once Stratagem had finally left the room. For some reason it reminded him of Stratagem as a child. The boy would spend hours in his room quietly mourning his fate. Those tears had broken the aging man’s heart then, and these new tears ripped at his chest, and made the thoughts of what was to become of her unbearable.



It was wrong, but what could he do? He couldn’t betray his master, that would breech every code of loyalty he had ever been taught. But what about the girl? Stratagem was insane! How could he be expected to serve a man who would kidnap and torture an eight-year-old girl? No, it was too late to do anything. Things had been set in motion that he couldn’t undo. He couldn’t voice his opinions to Stratagem. Heaven only knew what would happen, and James didn’t want to tempt fate. But, could he live with himself, knowing what he had let occur? Could he listen to her tears for another night? A week of nights? A month? A year? Would he watch her grow up, a servant to this madman in ways he would never be? He had to do something!



Inspiration struck the old man. His head jerked up, his eyes leaving the security screen for the first time that evening. Without a word, he walked to the front door, snatched his coat and hat, and walked out into the rainy evening.



* * *



Cyborg walked slowly into ops. His teammates were gathered around the kitchen table, silently eating a meal. He had just gotten off the phone with the orphanage; they had wanted to check up on Jessie. “They won’t call for another few days,” he informed the group with a sigh. Sliding down into a chair, he grabbed a slice of pizza and began to eat it half-heartedly.



“What’d you tell them?” Robin asked, staring at his half eaten slice of pepperoni.



“That she’s a great kid,” he turned his head away so no one would see his human eye beginning to water, “and we loved having her here.” Starfire looked at him oddly, silently questioning his deception. “What?!” he screamed at her, “Did you want me to tell them that she has super powers, and was kidnapped by a psycho a week ago and we don’t have any leads?”



Starfire was visible hurt, but Cyborg didn’t say anything. He was frustrated, sleep deprived, and on the verge of an emotional break down. Not only could he not deal with Starfire’s bruised feelings, he just didn’t care. Robin, who was sitting next to her, reached his arm out and placed it on the girl’s slender shoulder, simultaneously comforting her and apologizing for Cyborg’s behavior.



It had been a long week for all of them.



* * *





Everything hurt. Her face and body were bruised from being beaten over and over, her wrists were cut and bleeding from her handcuffs, large welts adding to their pain, her ankles were raw from the ropes that bound them, and her body was sore from sleeping on the hard ground of the library. Not to mention how cold she was, Stratagem just had to use freezing cold water to keep her powers subdued. Jessie, more than anything, wanted to go home and sleep with the knowledge that she was safe. Not to her bed in the orphanage, but to her room at Titan’s tower, where her family was.



Desperately, she tried to use her powers again, but the girl couldn’t even get a spark to light. It was strange; she didn’t fear the fire she created, only what she couldn’t control. The fire that had killed her parents, that had burnt down the orphanage, was like a monster that was hungry and nothing could stop its quest for provision. The fire that she created was still an animal that required feeding, but it was small and could easily be fed from the palm of her hand.



No hint of flame came as she tried to call it forth, as Raven had taught her. Somewhere, in the back of her eight-year-old mind, she knew it wouldn’t work, but the other part of her didn’t care. There was one thing she hadn’t tired, but she didn’t dare even consider it.



* * *



It was raining hard outside, muffling the footsteps of an elderly man in a trench coat walking down the deserted streets of Jump City. His gaze was focused on the ground that lay before him, not daring to look up. The man’s posture was one of fear. Fear of his mission, of its consequences. Fear of the city at night, of the nocturnal inhabitants of the city’s streets.



His gaze shifted up as the man crossed the street. Rain continued to pelt on him from the sky as he looked over his shoulder. The mansion’s eroding roof could still be seen in the distance, a mocking sign of his betrayal. He considered going back. Stratagem would never know he had left, and…and Jessie would still be held hostage. No, he wouldn’t go back, he had made his choice.



He turned his head again, this time to face his destination: Titan’s tower.
















so, wha'd ya think?

[JAG]

This is gonna get real bad real fast. Strategem's gonna kill his butler, Cyborg's gonna kill Strat, and Jessie will probably be brainwashed and try to kill everyone! I need more fast!:)

[rrarbecy]

Bastard. How can you do that to a kid. It is so inhumane(of course, who am I to talk). It just boggles my mind that anyone would do that. The scary thing is, it really happens in the world, no matter how twisted that it is.

By the way, you so totally rule. This is winning something in the HoF. I'll make sure of that.

[Rae]

This is awesome!

That pretty much sums it up! Obviously James is going to tell the Titans where to find Jessie, but it won't be easy to rescue her, Strategem will put up a fight, yatter yatter yatter

Anyway, I look forward to more!

Rae

[TeenTitansGO!]

HEHEHE!!! Great stuff! SCHOOL'S OUT FOR ME!!!!!!!


Jazzy, you're still a freshman. I'm a sophomore now. STUPID FRESHMEN!!!!

(my one time I can freshemn bash my best friends)

MY 200th post! Yeah!

[Matt A]

Hmm, that was a quality chapter. It's always hard work trying to come up with a villain who is genuinely despicable, but I think you may well have succeeded with Strategem: the guy is such a c*nt that I just want to pound his arse through the floor right here any now. Be proud of that.:anime: :anime: :anime: :anime: :anime:

“Once she learns to obey me in these small things, she will bow to my will no matter what I ask. Not from loyalty to me, loyalty takes too much time for a person to develop, but out of habit,” a sinister smile had inched across his face, “and from fear of the consequences if she didn’t.”

It was wrong, but what could he do? He couldn’t betray his master, that would breech every code of loyalty he had ever been taught...He couldn’t voice his opinions to Stratagem. Heaven only knew what would happen, and James didn’t want to tempt fate.
My my, how ironic...;)

-Matt A-

[Crowgirl]

This is awesome!

That pretty much sums it up! Obviously James is going to tell the Titans where to find Jessie, but it won't be easy to rescue her, Strategem will put up a fight, yatter yatter yatter

Anyway, I look forward to more!

Rae
Obviously. :anime: But then again, I was going to say the same thing.

I get out of school a month before you Rae! :)

[rrarbecy]

HEHEHE!!! Great stuff! SCHOOL'S OUT FOR ME!!!!!!!


Jazzy, you're still a freshman. I'm a sophomore now. STUPID FRESHMEN!!!!

(my one time I can freshemn bash my best friends)

MY 200th post! Yeah!YO! I am not talking to you until you apologize!

[JazzyChick]

Matt H. (TTG)-Shut up. you still had to be at school, so it was no different for you.


anywho, just got back from the lake (yay!), spent a couple of days laying around the cabin and eating hamburgers. oh yeah, and getting thrown around on an intertube that was being pulled behind a ski boat for about 4 miles. needless to say i'm sore and it you've never gone intertubing (the right way, lots of people do it the wrong way) then you've most certainly had a deprived childhood.

next chpater will be up soon. We might go out again on Monday (though it'll be packed for memorial day). yay for knee boarding, water sking, and wake boarding! so expect a chap by thursday afternoon.


-JazzyC

[Matt A]

Umm...what's intertubing?:o :o :o

-Matt A-

[TeenTitansGO!]

We're sorry Mate, but Jazzy has a spelling problem. It's inner tube.



HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate being evil.:evil:



Sry jazz.

TTG~Matt H sry:sweat:

[Matt A]

In that case, what's inner-tubing?:confused:

-Matt A-

[TeenTitansGO!]

you know those big inflatable tubes that you use in the pool sometimes. Well, you tie one to a ski-doo and take it out on the lake, with you on it.



AND JAzzy! That was amazing. I just read it, and the story was great. Your composition was a little off for you , but it was still wonderful. Jessie IS cool now, And I might just read...Well, your other story.

[Matt A]

you know those big inflatable tubes that you use in the pool sometimes. Well, you tie one to a ski-doo and take it out on the lake, with you on it.
Sounds like fun!:anime: :anime: :anime:

-Matt A-

[Crowgirl]

In that case, what's inner-tubing?:confused:

:eek:

Only one of the most fun things known to, erm, me! :D

[Anime]

well im finally cawt up and this fic rox. actually i have a few more to go, so ill see ya then.:sweat:

[JazzyChick]

umm...so i haven't checked my own fic in a long time....i am shamefaced.

anywho, inter-tubing is freakin' awesome ('sepecially when the driver of the boat is trying to throw you off at 30-40 mph) hey guess what? hey hey guess what? hey guess what? I GOT A WAKE BOARD TODAY!!!!!! i'm so happy....:D

anywho, i'm working on the next chap, but i've got like 4 different stories floating around in my head right now and everything i've written for this sucks, so it might be a while (i have this weird idea for a star trek ds9 fic that won't go away. basically, it keeps flooding my thoughts whenever i try and write TT, so this might take a while...)

sorry for the wait, but i refuse to post a crappy chapter.

-JazzyC

[JAG]

Congrats on the wakeboard!:D

I have the same problem as you with my own story.:shrug: I started a Godzilla monster-fighting tournament-thing last night, and if I ever finish it, I might post it on the Story Board.

[Sproxie]

Man, just about everything has been said about the last chapter already, oh well, it was great! Strategem is freaking insane...


By the way, you so totally rule. This is winning something in the HoF. I'll make sure of that.
Yups, definitely.

[Crowgirl]

Sproxie, I just realized this, but you changed your name! :) :anime:

[Matt A]

Yeah, she's been "Sproxie" for a while.;)

-Matt A-

[Crowgirl]

Meh.

[JazzyChick]

no, i haven't died. i was just bitten by a plot bunny that finally died, so now i'm free to finally finish this!!!!! just so ya'll know, i finally have an idea of how to write the next chapter, so that'll be here pretty soon ('cept that i'm going to Missouri for a week and i'm leaving tomorrow...)

anywho, i've got to go clean the house...:sad: so ttfn!


-JazzyC

[TeenTitansGO!]

YES! Jazzy is NOT dead and DS9 IS! Post the chapter before we leave! Please. Missouri is going to be so much fun. See ya tomorrow! Say, when do we leave?

[JAG]

Stupid plot bunny.:p

Like TTG said: post the chapter before you leave! Please? Pretty please? I'M BEGGING YOU!!!!:crying:

[Crowgirl]

I'm with JAG here! Pleeeeeeeeeeease...

[Liz-Slade]

What they said:D .

[Matt A]

Yes, please post. We've been without your twisted brand of genius for soo long already...:crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying:

-Matt A-

[JazzyChick]

well my 'twisted brand of genius' only got 500 words done before we left, sorry...

missouri was AMAZING except for the bus ride home. somehow, we managed to fit a 6 hour bus trip into 12 hours. this involved a 100 mile detour, and for 9 hours an average speed of 23 mph. now add on to all of that that 1/2 of the bus was car sick (including myself) and you have a vague idea of how my friday was. then, we (my family) went to the lake again the next day, i hade church on sunday and yesterday was the 4th (yay for blowing things up!!!) and i've been reading a really good book. and i'm lazy...

needless to say i still have about 500 words done on the next chapter.

i'm going to go work on it now. with any luck i'll have it done tonight.

-JazzyC

[JAG]

The bus ride sounds like it was fun.:p My trips also have an annoying tendency to take several hours longer than they should.

As for the almost finished chapter: woohoo!:D :D :D

[Liz-Slade]

the forth sucked for me we couldn't light off anything cuz its elegal in most citys in california now cuz of some dum law, But ya another chapters comeing can't wait, it sounds like you had a fun weekend bus rides suck.

Liz-Slade

[JazzyChick]

its illegal to shoot off fireworks in city limits here too, but luckily i don't live within city limits so i can blow up stuff whenever i want...:D :evil: :D


oh and by the way, here's the next chap!


Ch. 15



The blaring sounds and flashing red lights of the alarm system woke Cyborg. Blinking several times, he looked around, surprised to find himself in the living room/ops. Sleeping did him little good unless he was charging as well; the human part of him must have been more tired than he thought.



Robin’s back was too him, already up from the couch and accessing the tower’s security information on the computer. Cyborg guessed that the boy wonder had fallen asleep as well, otherwise the team leader would have ordered him to bed hours ago, but he knew Robin would never admit to it. His pride would never allow him to appear as anything but super-human.



They had been staying up again hoping to find a trace of Jessie. She’d been gone over a week now, and they were running out of lame excuses to tell Mrs. Bowers – the lovely woman in charge of the orphanage – why Jessie couldn’t come to the phone, or the door, or leave for that matter. Robin had almost been reduced to tears when Beast Boy told her she couldn’t because she was watching TV.



“What’s up?” Cyborg asked, the seriousness in his tone counteracting the usual lightheartedness of the phrase. He and Robin hadn’t gotten more than two consecutive hours of sleep since Jessie’s disappearance, and were only functioning because of that miracle drug better known as coffee. Starfire and Beast Boy tried to stay up with them but only a new video game can keep the changeling awake past two a.m. and …strange things happen when Starfire drinks coffee. Raven stayed up with them as much as possible, but she has to meditate, has to be alone. As much as she wanted to stay and help, nothing was worth the risk of her losing control of her powers, not even Jessie.



“Proximity alarm’s going off. There’s an intruder on the grounds,” the black haired boy replied without zeal. Normally this would excite, or at least anger, him but not now. He was too tired to show any emotion, even one at potent as anger.



The doors to ops opened, revealing Raven’s floating figure. She looked calm, not to mention well rested, as the young woman descended the short flight of stairs without her feet touching the ground. Her cloak billowed around her in fluid motion, as they always seemed to do, even when there was no wind. Gracefully reaching her slender arms up, she lowered her cloak and said, “I’ll take care of it,” just above a whisper.



Gratitude swept through Cyborg’s mechanical body. He was in no condition to fight anyone, particularly someone smart enough to get close enough to the tower to trip the proximity alarms. Both he and Robin could scarcely function. Lucky for them, and for the city, it had been a slow week in Jump City. Usually Beast Boy, Starfire, or both of them if need be, were able to handle any trouble in the city on their own. That left the investigation to the boys and Raven.



“Thanks, Rae,” the boys replied in unison.



Raven shook her head saying, “You two need some sleep,” before she flew off.



* * *



“You want to run that by me again?” Cyborg asked, his hand massaging the skin on his brow. Before him sat an elderly man, soaking wet from being out in the storm. He had shed his hat and floor length coat, revealing what appeared to be the man’s pajamas. His attire actually supported his story, suggesting that there had been no time to change. Robin sat on the couch to the right of the elderly gentlemen; Raven reclined on his left, subtly acting as guards while Cyborg, who was seated directly in front of him, playing perfectly in the capacity of an interrogator.



The man took a deep breath and let it out slowly; these teenagers were trying his patience. “I work for a man who goes by the name of Stratagem,” he began again, “he began, several months ago, to plan a way to procure for himself a…I believe what you would call a sidekick or lackey with supernatural abilities. He needed someone young, easy to manipulate, and someone who wouldn’t be missed. Unfortunate for my master, Batman, you were once affiliated with him, were you not Robin?” when the youth didn’t respond, he continued, “As I was saying, unfortunately for my master, Batman keeps a complete record of all such youths, thus disqualifying them of the second requirement and their disappearances would raise unwanted questions. Thus he endeavored to artificially produce in some ill-fated soul these uncanny abilities. He hired a young man who called himself Red X to procure a product from Alva industries; this company if you are unaware is based out of Dakota. The young man returned some days later to deliver a small vile he had recovered from the company’s labs. Please, do not ask me what was within that vile, as I would be unable to answer, for there are some issues that my master will not enlighten me upon. My master spent many sleepless nights – I speak as if those were uncommon – analyzing the contents of that vile and after a month had passed, he called upon Red X’s services a second time. He requested that the young man take a certain syringe to the city’s orphanage and inject its contents into one of its inhabitants, the only prerequisites being that the child be fairly young, say between the ages of seven and ten, and healthy, as it would do no good for a disabled child to be endowed with such abilities as the injection would produce. The young man selected the child you know as Jessie.” Here he paused for a moment to collect himself. Now that the three Titans knew the background, it was time to inform them of present events. “This all happened about two months ago. A week and a half ago, a dilemma arose in my master’s plan. Her powers escaladed out of control and caused the fire at the orphanage, this event in itself would posed no threat to his endeavor save that it placed the child under your care. As I’m sure you can imagine, it is nearly effortless to infiltrate an orphanage, while Titan’s tower is famous for being impenetrable. Stratagem hired Red X for the third and final time, to kidnap said child and deliver her to my master’s abode. It is there she has been for more than a week now, and it is on her behalf I have come.”



“Why didn’t you come sooner?” Cyborg asked coldly so he might not betray his rage.



“I family has served Stratagem’s for uncountable generations. I have learned not to question the orders I am given, that loyalty is not put to death easily. But, needless to say, my conscience has been weighing heavily upon me for some days now.”



“What assurance can you give us,” Cyborg continued, “that you are not leading us into a trap?”



“My word alone.”



“Alright,” Robin interrupted, hoping that his instincts to trust this man were accurate, “Cyborg, go get the T-car, Raven go wake up Star and BB and I will conduct this gentleman to a guest room.” A guest room that just so happened to lock from the outside. He trusted his instincts, not people.



“We’re not going anywhere right now, Robin,” Raven said calmly, “Its not even midnight yet, you and Cyborg are going to get some sleep while James and I discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Stratagem’s mansion.”



“Raven…” Cyborg began.



“I’ve already meditated tonight, Cy don’t worry about that. And there will be no difference in the outcome if we attack now, or if we wait a few hours except that you two will be better prepared if we wait. Now go get some sleep,” she ordered, “I’ll wake you up when we’re ready.”



With a nod and several yawns from both boys, they ascended the stairs and disappeared behind the automatic doors, walking with their eyes nearly closed. Cyborg fell onto his ‘bed’ and had barley ordered the computer to commence a sleep cycle before drifting into blessed unconsciousness.





so, what'd ya think? oh my gosh, my eyes are not worthy? liked it? tollerated it? hated it? think it breaks laws against cruel and unusual punishment?

[Liz-Slade]

LUCKY:p :evil: I am so jealous. Awesome chapter. Right now I feel like how you described Robin and Cyborg. Hope you write another chapter soon:anime: .

Liz
very tired:) :anime: :D

[rrarbecy]

I am also jealous...THAT YOU HAVE TIME TO WRITE QUALITY PIECES OF WORK SUCH AS THIS, AND I DON'T! Having said that, I assume that you can tell that I absolutely loved that chapter. I can't wait for the big raid of Strategem's mansion.

[JAG]

Yeah, it was good. And Strategem's about to get his butt kicked!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!:D :D :D :D

[TeenTitansGO!]

Everyone kick Strat's butt. 1...2...KICK! And James laughs the night away with a knockout on the other side of the ring. Teen Titans GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stupid Stratty...Jessie's a kid!

Brilliant Jazzy, Coffee's addicting!

[Matt A]

oh my gosh, my eyes are not worthy?
That's about right. Need I say more?;) :anime: :anime: :anime:

-Matt A-

[JazzyChick]

thanks ya'll, i'm really glad you think it good. umm...yeah, that's pretty much all i have to say. next chap will be here soon... i'll try and finish this fic before i leave again (i'm going to niceragua(sp?), how freakin' awesome is that?)-JazzyC

[Crowgirl]

Yeah, it was good. And Strategem's about to get his butt kicked!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!:D :D :D :D
What he said. I loved that!! But there was this huge paragraph in the middle that hurt my eyes.... :shrug: Other than that, great work!

[Matt A]

(i'm going to niceragua(sp?), how freakin' awesome is that?)
Very awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I might just have to spontaneously combust through envy...

[dull thud can be heard as Matt A explodes]

:p :p :p

-Matt A-

[rrarbecy]

You are a funny guy Matt A.

[JazzyChick]

well, i leave for niceragua(sp? what? i can barly pronounce the word let alone spell it!) in a little over a week (yay!!! i'm so excited. its a medical mission trip with some friends of the family, and...and...YAY!!!)

anywho, here's chap 16. i actually get into a fight sceen here and well, i suck at writting fight sceens, so HELP!!!! anywho, here it is

oh and crowgirl? sorry 'bout the freakishly long paragraph, :ack: it won't happen again. (or will it? hmm....*laughes evily as creepy music plays in the background* :evil: ) i mean umm...and...well...look over there, its a flying watermellon. *runs off as everyone stares, muttering to self, "gosh, i suck being manical"*


oh yeah, the chapter...

Ch. 16



Jessie sat up carefully, her muscles sore and stiff from sleeping on the floor. A purple bruise had formed around her eye during the night and it was nearly swollen shut. Other bruises decorated her small body, making each movement even more painful. She looked up at the antique grandfather clock beside her; its face read 3:48. Good. He wouldn’t be up for a few more hours.



Creeping over to the window, she crawled behind the thick curtains. He would get mad if she opened them, and she didn’t want to make him angry. That didn’t stop her from finding creative ways to get around his rules though.



The glass revealed the front of Stratagem’s home, complete with gated driveway and a once well manicured lawn that had been unkempt for some time. Off in the distance, beyond the gates to her prison, was a little used road. Often during the day she dreamed she saw the T-car driving down that road, Cyborg would leap out and blast down the gate with one blast from his sonic cannon. Then they would come rushing in and take down Stratagem after which, Cyborg would pick her up and take her back to the tower where she would put on dry clothes and sleep for days.



* * *



“Does anyone have any questions?” Robin asked his team after their briefing. When no one said anything, he continued, “Alright then. Sir,” he said, addressing James, “I suggest that you remain here until we return.”



“Of course,” the aging butler replied.



“Titans, Go!” Robin shouted as they jumped up from the table and sprinted outside. When he and Cyborg were in the garage getting their vehicles he asked his friend, “Cy, did you shut down all the main systems? Its not that I don’t appreciate what James did for us, but well, I just don’t trust him.”



“Don’t worry bird boy,” Cyborg answered from the driver’s seat of the T-car, “its taken care of,” and sped off.



Robin slid on his helmet and straddled the R-cycle. “So that’s why I keep you around,” he said to himself before he revved the engine and followed Cyborg. In thirty minutes, he arrived outside the mansion that James claimed Jessie was being held in. It was an imposing structure, every inch of it screamed for anyone to stay away. A rusting metal fence that’s gate stood before them enclosed the yard, which was overgrown with weeds that reached up to their knees. The house itself was ancient, complete boarded up windows and a rotting wooden balcony that hung over the front door. It was hard to tell in the predawn darkness what the house actually looked like, but it was easy to perceive why it would be the focus of many local ghost stories. Nothing good could come from a house like that. He pulled up just behind Cyborg, all the other Titans, being able to fly, had already arrived. Robin slid off his bike pulled off his helmet, and hung it on the R-cycle’s handlebars. “Everybody ready?”



“Dude! Of course we are,” Beast Boy said more loudly than he should. Raven and Starfire simply nodded in silent agreement, not wanting to disturb the night anymore.



Cyborg nodded his head as well, but he added, “Titans, GO!” and rushed through the metal gates, his teammates close behind. A rage burned inside the boy, it was plainly written on his face for all to see. Robin honestly feared for anyone who came between Cyborg and Jessie. This was too personal.



James had informed them of all the house’s automated defense systems, the most sophisticated money could buy. They had already tripped the silent alarm, there was no getting around that, but the Titans weren’t concerned about that right now. Their first challenge were a yard full of automatic motion sensitive lasers. As soon as they stepped onto the grounds, these devices shot up from the ground. They were shaped like metal disks and had a red mouth from which the lasers shout out from, but were attached to a pole that kept them secured to the ground and allowed them to turn three hundred and sixty degrees. Their plan was for Beast Boy and Starfire to take out these devices, and to cover Raven, Robin, and Cyborg as they continued on into the house.



In a practiced motion, Cyborg transformed his arm into a sonic cannon and shot down a strip of the hundreds of devices that had shot up from the ground. Robin flew in just behind him, three more taken down by bird-a-ranges. The boy wonder then proceeded to perform amazing acts of acrobatic skill as he dogged the red beams that were aimed at him, tearing down more and more of them as he went. Cyborg lost sight of him as several more of the lasers were aimed at him. He jumped up into the air, dodging bolts and firing his sonic cannon as he went, several of the beams scorching his metal parts.



To his right, Raven had put up a shield of black energy to protect herself from a bombardment of twenty or more of the devices. Though he couldn’t hear what she was saying, Cyborg knew she was chanting her trademark magic words as she threw the shield at the objects, obliterating all of them. More of the bolts shot at her, too quickly for her to raise a shield this time. She flew down, evading another array of lasers, caught three of them in black energy, and flung them into the gate. When Raven rose up again, several smoking holes could be seen in her cape.



On his left, Starfire was shooting down the devices by the dozens, incinerating them with star bolts. Green energy detonated around her nearly as quickly as it was countered. All of a sudden, eight or nine of the weapons aimed themselves at her and fired in unison. Starfire ducked down, barley missing the huge blast, and shot at the small arsenal with bolts from her eyes. While she did manage to destroy those, one directly behind her took aim and fired before the young red head had a chance to react, striking her square in the back. The teen fell to the ground, momentarily stunned but was up again before any of the Titans could come offer her help to her feet.



Beast Boy soared overhead in the form of a hawk. He abruptly went into a dive and impaled one of the devices before changing back into his human form. It was his job to clear a path for Cyborg, Raven and Robin into the mansion and he intended to do it well. After a few running steps he changed into a giant gorilla and began tossing the weapons as if they were made of plastic. He was hit several times by the armaments, but he didn’t seem to notice. Soon, he got bored of this and altered his form into that of a T-rex. Instead of continuing to beat them off one by one however, the green dinosaur simply sat down, clearing a path to the mansion in less than five seconds.



Robin and Cyborg took a moment to stare at the changeling in amazement and surprise before Raven came up behind them and literally pushed them towards the entrance. Brought back to his senses, Robin ordered, “Okay BB and Star, stay here and take out the rest of these things. Cyborg and Raven, you’re with me.” With that, the trio stepped into the house.



* * *



Stratagem woke up to an alarm. He sat straight up in bed, fully knowing what it was. On a delicate bedside table next to him lay a black electronic device that greatly resembled a beeper, this device that was responsible for the alarm. It was programmed to go off whenever someone trespassed on his property. Without looking at the screens from one of his many security cameras, he knew what had happened. Somehow, the Titans had discovered Jessie’s location and were here to rescue her. How cute, he thought to himself, they thought they could rescue her.



The pale young man reached for a bucket sitting on the floor next to his bed and took it into the bathroom. There, he filled it with the coldest water that would come from the faucet and walked towards the library. “Let them come,” he said aloud, “there’s nothing they can do. The girl is mine.”










what'd ya think???

[rrarbecy]

I do so love chapters that end like that. They always keep me on the edge of my seat. I wonder what Strategem's doing with that bucket. It has something to do with Jessie probably, but what? hmmm....

Great job.

[TeenTitansGO!]

Ok so that rocked. Your fight scene wasn't the best, you're right, but it was still completely awesome! You're an amazing author and your character M...Jessie, is the coolest thing since...since............HANDY!

TTG~Matt H. Ian has a fic now

[Matt A]

"Titans vs. anonymous horde" fights are hard to do, which is why I respect you in the utmost for managing to pull it off with remarkable skill. But I too wonder what Strategem's planning...either way, we'll find out eventually.;) :anime: :anime: :anime:

Have fun in Nicaragua!:anime: :anime: :anime:

-Matt A-

[JazzyChick]

thanks for your input ya'll. i'm working on my fight sceens, but they're still the worst thing i write. the problem is that i can see what's happeneing in my head, but i can't transfer that onto paper with out it being really cheesy and horrible in general...grr.

anywho, just thought i'd let you know that i'm working on chap 17, but everything i've written so far sucks, so i've got squat right now. sorry, but it'll be a bit before i can post it (i won't post anything that sucks. well, the fights might suck a little, but there's nothing i can do about those...:sad: )

-JazzyC

[Matt A]

Fair enough. Quality is always better than quality.:shrug:

Besides, right scenes are hard to write full stop. They're every writer's achilles heel....especially with me.:sad:

-Matt A-

[TeenTitansGO!]

Fair enough. Quality is always better than quality.:shrug:

Besides, right scenes are hard to write full stop. They're every writer's achilles heel....especially with me.:sad:

-Matt A-
THat WHOLE post was just grammatically wrong. CAN'T LOOK! THE PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Matt A]

And you think I give a monkey's?:p :evil: :evil:

-Matt A-

[JazzyChick]

okay, so no i'm not dead. i went to nicaragua for a week (and didn't think about Teen Titans) and when i got back it took me a while, granted a long while, to finish chap 17. which happens to be the final chapter. but here it is! the last chapter, the final installment, the... *backs away from threatening glares*

okay, okay here it is. and don't worry, there will be an epilogue (did i spell that right?) to tie up any lose ends you might see.

WARNING: THIS IS TWICE AS LONG AS MY CHAPTERS USUALLY ARE (just thought i'd give ya the heads up :) ) now, ENJOY! (or else...)



Ch. 17



Cyborg burst through the door, fully expecting to be instantly immersed in even more laser fire. To his surprise, there was none. He stood still for a moment, halfway through the door, to catch his breath and call up the map James had provided so that he could see it in his one red eye.



Robin and Raven approached silently, standing a pace behind him to form a miniature v-formation with Cyborg at point. The oldest Titan didn’t bother to look back and see if they were ready, both to continue and to follow him, they had worked together long enough for Cyborg to know that they trusted him. Tentatively he raised one of his massive metallic feet and took a step into the building. As soon as it landed on the polished tile floor of the entryway alarms rang out, piercing the grave like silence that had permeated the house only seconds before. Red flashing lights lit up the hall, overwhelming the small beam emitting from Cyborg’s shoulder. Without further hesitation, Cyborg sprinted into the mansion, followed closely by his comrades.



As they sprinted down the halls, the manor’s automatic defense systems started up. Automatic lasers, again. Cyborg had time to think, “Honestly, for a rich guy who spends all his time inside, he’s really not that original,” before he lost himself in a deadly game of doge ball. The tight space of the corridor was far from the ideal conditions to evade lasers, and Cyborg was hit several times. Luckily, the damage to his systems was minor and any injuries sustained to his human parts went unnoticed for all the adrenaline rushing through his system.



Unfortunately, one of his friends wasn’t a lucky. Cyborg heard the familiar sound of bird-a-rangs being unsheathed, and the equally familiar sound of several of the weapons being released. The next sound he heard, between the continual din of firing lasers, was a soft grunt and a thud as one of his friends went down. He didn’t turn around to see who had fallen, he couldn’t spare even a second, not when he was this close to Jessie.



Seconds later, the lasers stopped firing. He whispered a quick thanks to whoever it was who had shut them off as he sprinted down a hall.



* * *



She didn’t hear him come in. Her tiny face was pressed up against the glass of a window, engrossed in the starry scene outside. She didn’t hear the click of the brass doorknob as it slowly turned, the creak of the door as it swung slowly on its hinges, or her captor’s light footsteps as he tread into the room.



What she did hear was the sound of the door slamming shut, the noise loud enough to shake the walls and send several books crashing to the ground. She did hear him scream, “What the hell do you think you’re doing!” at the top of his lungs.



Jessie ducked out from the curtain as fast as she could, only to be met by a sheet of freezing water soaking her body. She fell to her knees; hot fearful tears fell from her eyes, mingling with the cold water that now drenched her body. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she pleaded between her tears.



The crazed young man ignored her. He rushed up to her; grabbing her wrist with one hand hard enough to bruise her pale skin and with the other he reached up and slapped her face. Hard.



He was mad. No, that wasn’t a strong enough word. He was infuriated, livid, outraged. Someone had broken into his home, broken the sanctity of his solitude, intruded upon the prison he had locked himself in. And it was all her fault.



* * *



Robin looked to his right, making eye contact with Raven as they entered the mansion behind Cyborg. He let a smile cross his face as three bird-a-ranges appeared in his hand. He let Cyborg take point and lead them in, he had talked to him before they had left. This was Cyborg’s mission; he let him lead this one.



As soon as they entered the entryway, they were bombarded with automatic laser fire…again. Raven rose into the air along with several heavy and expensive looking items, which promptly flung themselves at the nearest of the offending devices. She smiled in satisfaction, mainly from the destruction of some of Stratagem’s priceless items.



Robin barely had time to crack a smile himself before he was forced to dodge an onslaught of the beams, or else be turned into bird-boy barbeque. He let the bird-a-ranges in his hand fly, lodging them in more of the devices. Calling another one of his favored weapons into his hand, the boy wonder scanned the room for a target.



Cyborg was already sprinting up the stairs, either oblivious to the fight that was going on behind him or too focused on saving Jessie to notice. Robin could see singed and exposed circuits covering the cybernetic parts of his friend where he had been hit with the lasers.



There was his target. The bird-a-rang was out of his hand less than a second before he was struck in the chest with a red beam of burning light. Behind his mask, the boy’s eyes widened in a mix of surprise and pain as he fell to the hard wooden floor. The next instant, Cyborg was gone, sprinting down some hallway, and Raven was kneeling by his side, examining his wound with concern.



“You missed,” she said calmly, indicating the bird-a-rang imbedded in the wall, a good six inches away from the nearest device that until thirty seconds ago had been firing lasers steadily. She raised her right hand, surrounding it with black energy and touched his chest, directing her healing powers to his wound.



“Wasn’t aiming for that,” he said weakly, “I cut the power supply, we won’t be bothered by those anymore. I’m insulted,” he continued, a smile on his face, “You know I never miss.”



Raven didn’t answer him. Carefully, she used her powers to lift him off the ground and carry him outside, where Starfire and Beast Boy were waiting. Beast Boy, who had been lying on the ground panting, sprang to his feet, trying to make it look like he had been standing the entire time. Starfire was hovering a foot off the ground, preparing to charge in and help her comrades, landed swiftly at the sight of Robin’s semiconscious body.



“I’m fine, Star,” Robin said in response to the concerned look on her face, “I’ll stay the night in the Infirmary and take it easy for the next few days.” He gripped her trembling hand firmly to reassure her. It apparently worked because she smiled and nodded. Beast Boy stared at him from behind Starfire, shaking his head and wondering how Robin got so lucky. Thankfully, only the boy wonder saw his look of disgust and confusion, and he struggled to keep from laughing.



“I’m going to take him back to the Tower,” Raven informed them casually, already lifting off from the ground, “You two stay here and wait for Cyborg.”



“Don’t go in unless he calls for backup,” Robin ordered, “Cy needs to do this on his own.” Starfire and Beast Boy nodded in understanding, and Raven took off towards Titan’s Tower as the sun rose over the horizon. It bathed the sky in soft pastels, pinks and yellows fading into blue and a new day dawned in Jump City.



* * *



A bright, red dot flashed before Cyborg’s mechanical eye, flooding his vision with crimson light, distorting what he saw to appear coated in blood. Cyborg sighed and shut off all the alarms warning him of system malfunctions. Nothing vital had been hit, and the constant whine was distracting. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and shut off the map as well, he didn’t need it anymore.



Before him stood an ominous wooden door daring him to enter, mocking his status as a hero. It was beautiful in its own right, hand carved and worn from age. Behind it lay an eight-year-old girl who worship him, who he had let down, failed. That door…wait a second, what the heck was he doing monologuing? He had to save Jessie.



Rage burned in his eyes as he changed his arm into a sonic cannon and blew down the door.



* * *



An explosion ripped through the room, catching captor and prisoner off guard, showering both of them with splinters of wood. Stratagem immediately grabbed the girl harshly by the shoulders and flung her in front of him, using her small, freezing body as a human shield. As the dust settled, they looked up, one with fear the other hope, to see the silhouette of a young man with his arm outstretched.



Jessie’s eyes lit up for the first time in what seemed like forever, “Cyborg!” she screamed with elation. He was here, he was finally here; he had come to save her. He would take her back to the Tower and everything would be okay again. Her hero had come.



“Jessie,” Cyborg cried, grief clutching his throat as he saw her bruised and beaten body shivering in the clutches of a maniac. He stepped forward, ready to charge in and take Stratagem down.



Stratagem saw him move and, with reflexes quicker than Cyborg had thought possible, grabbed one of the many knives he kept on his person, pressing it against the child’s neck. “If you value her life,” he threatened malevolently, “remain where you are.”



Jessie watched as Cyborg stopped short and raised his hands into the air. She heard him saying something about how Stratagem should just calm down, and that they should talk, but she really wasn’t listening. This wasn’t what was supposed to be happening. Cyborg was supposed to come in and pick her up and say that everything would be okay now, and that she didn’t have to be scared anymore, and that no one was going to hurt her ever again. But that wasn’t happening.



Instead of being gently caressed in Cyborg’s strong arms, she was being used as the human shield of a crazy man with a metal blade pressed against the tender flesh of her exposed neck. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. She turned her head to hide the hot tears that were pouring down her face. The curtains, the massive, thick, black curtains came into her line of sight, behind which the sun was on the rise. What was it he had said the first day she was here? He had slapped her face and told her that if she ever touched the curtains he would hit her far harder than that. Why was he so afraid of the curtains?



An idea began to form in her young mind. She turned her head back to look at Cyborg, who was still trying to talk Stratagem down. After a few moments, she caught his eye.



When Cyborg looked down at Jessie, he could tell something was different. Tears were no longer falling from her innocent eyes. Her body was still shaking, part from cold and part from fear, her eyes still pleaded with him to save her, but her presence no longer screamed in desperation. She was about to try something, and needed him to keep Stratagem busy.



Cyborg watched as she closed her eyes. He kept Stratagem talking, kept him busy and his attention away from the girl, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t watch. Behind her, out of the scene, was a fireplace, a roaring inferno burning inside it.



His jaw dropped slightly as Jessie pulled flames from the fire, and he stopped talking long enough for Stratagem to notice. Suddenly panicked, the villain flung himself around, pulling Jessie as he did, but he was too late. The fire engulfed his precious curtains in a matter of seconds, flooding the room with sunlight for the first time in decades. A primal scream erupted from the man’s throat as he ran for the door, forgetting all about Jessie. Cyborg raised his sonic cannon for the second time that night and shot the scoundrel’s back as he fled.



Jessie ran to him, and Cyborg picked her up in his strong arms. The girl looked at him confused, so he explained, “He’s allergic to the sun, Jess,” but that didn’t seem to be enough, “I’m so proud of you,” her hero added as he hugged her tightly. “Now let’s go home.”



The eight-year-old looked up at her hero and smiled. He didn’t know how long she’d been waiting to hear him say that.

[Kregor8]

OK, so you're up to Chapter 17. Well, I've only read through 14. But I'm getting there. I don't have lots of time to say stuff, but as always, I am impressed by Stratagem. He deserves to die, but so does/did Slade. And I recently watched Titans East 1&2 (hadn't seen them yet) and I was just struck by the fact that, if they really wanted to have a story with Cyborg as the main character, they should have hired you. Seriously.

Oh, and the use of Red X was surprising and good. Putting a face on what had previously been a faceless goon gave the story a little more of a sinister feel.

7<regor

[Matt A]

A bit of a sudden finale, but still very cool. It's always nice to see an all-round bastard like Strategem get what's his, and having him be brought down by something as simple as the sun has a certain irony that I find quite appealing (plus Jessie did it rather than Cyborg, which is satisfying too). All in all, a worthy ending...:anime::anime::anime:

...not including the epilogue, of course. That'll be good to, no doubt.;):anime::anime:

-Matt A-

[Vivace]

OK, so you're up to Chapter 17. Well, I've only read through 14. But I'm getting there. I don't have lots of time to say stuff, but as always, I am impressed by Stratagem. He deserves to die, but so does/did Slade. And I recently watched Titans East 1&2 (hadn't seen them yet) and I was just struck by the fact that, if they really wanted to have a story with Cyborg as the main character, they should have hired you. Seriously.

Oh, and the use of Red X was surprising and good. Putting a face on what had previously been a faceless goon gave the story a little more of a sinister feel.

7<regor
I guess you may have not read much other than her stuff but allow me to say..

She does Robin better


And ENDING!!! AND A GOOD ONE. A Good Good one./

[TeenTitansGO!]

Well, it's over i guess. Good stuff. You still need to finish your three-part. But this one, was awesome, and I'm hoping that your next 5 will be too!:p

TTG~Matt H. You realize, both mine and your stories end with a word about weather?
PS Couldn't resist.

[Crowgirl]

That was really, really great. I totally agree with Matt and uh... Matt. :) That was a killer ending and I liked it lots. "He's allergic to the sun..." That was very clever. It's nice that Jessie held her own against him. She's extremely smart for an eight-year-old, I think.

I can't wait for the epilouge!! :anime: Well, actually I can, because then the story will be over!! :crying:

Ciao,
CG

P.S. That door…wait a second, what the heck was he doing monologuing?
I could have sworn you took that from the Incredibles...

[JazzyChick]

P.S.

Quote:
That door…wait a second, what the heck was he doing monologuing?

I could have sworn you took that from the Incredibles...



no, i just thought it could use a bit of humor at the time. though the Incredibles was a hailarious (gosh, i really wish i could spell...) movie!

umm...Matt H., i'm really not sure what the heck you said.

Vivace and Kregor, thanks for thinking i can write Cy and Rob well (:evil: muahhaha, now my evil plan is working! i'll hypnotize everyone on toonzone into thinking i can write well, and then no one will be able to stop me from...from...umm...crap. curse my short attention span, i never got past hypnotizing an entire internet community. :sad: )

Matt A, i'm glad strat's butt was sufficently kicked to your liking.

-JazzyC

[Sproxie]

T-the ending? :( You will be making an epilogue... right? :crying: That was great, its nice to know that the phsycotic man was stopped. :anime:

That door…wait a second, what the heck was he doing monologuing?
lol, nice touch of humor!

[JazzyChick]

well here it is. the REAL last installment of this story. at last. finally. straberries. its here. no really, its here.


Epilogue



“I’m not going,” Jessie stated flatly. Her arms, now healed of all bruises thanks to Raven’s healing powers, were crossed over her chest in defiance, the soft paw of her beloved, newly washed, teddy bear clutched in her left hand. Though she sounded tough, as tough as an eight-year-old can be, tears brimmed in her eyes, threatening to spill over.



Today was the day she had to go back to the orphanage. She had stayed with the Titans as long as possible after her rescue, but they had run out of excuses for keeping her there short of revealing her powers. Cyborg was kneeling in front of her, gently trying to reassure her that everything would be okay, but she had to go now. There was a car waiting for her outside.



“It’ll be okay Jess,” he said, trying not to cry himself, “Remember, they said we can come see you every Saturday.” It was true, the entire team had been given permission for weekend visits, but they couldn’t take her back to the Tower. If they wanted to see her it would have to be at the orphanage. Of course everybody thought is was a public relations thing, like they were trying to make sure everyone saw them as the embodiment of perfection and kindness. “Do you know how many days that is?” But in all reality, they had fallen in love with this precious little girl, and couldn’t bear the thought of abandoning her to the department of human services.



“That’s in…four days,” she answered after a pause, cheered slightly at the thought of seeing her heroes again so soon.



Robin walked in, carrying the small, pink suitcase they had bought her. They had filled it with new clothes, toys and some cheap jewelry and nail polish for her to take with her. She had seen all of these presents the night before at a small going away party, though they had refused to call it that. Cyborg stood and stepped away, allowing Robin to kneel and say his goodbyes. “I put in something special that you didn’t see last night,” he said, indicating the bag, “its one of my masks.” Jessie’s face lit up in a smile for the first time that morning. “Can’t be a superhero with out a mask, can you?” The girl shook her head enthusiastically and threw her arms, along with Mr. Snuggles, around his neck.



After their hug, Robin took his place beside Cyborg and Raven came over for her turn. “Be careful with your powers,” she warned solemnly, “only practice what I showed you and only at night, when no one can see. You don’t want everyone to know about your powers.” Jessie nodded gravely in response, suddenly very serious. Reaching inside her cloak, Raven pulled out a leather bound book with a violet cover engraved with mythical creatures. “This was my favorite book when I was your age. Don’t worry, its just a book of fairy tales, not one of my spell books.”



After setting the book down carefully on the floor, the eight-year-old ran up to Raven and embraced her. Surprisingly, Raven let her, and though she would never admit to it, hugged the little girl back before going to stand beside the boys.



Starfire was next; her gift was also a book. But this one was titled Fire Safety for Morons. The two girly laughed together for a little bit before they hugged and Starfire walked off, joining the rest of the team on the side.



Finally, it was Beast Boy’s turn. “Hey,” he said awkwardly, “umm…so I didn’t know we were supposed to bring gifts…but I got something better.” Swiftly, he transformed into a dog and back. “Let’s just say, you might be seeing me more often than on Saturdays.” Changing into the dog again, he barked at her and wagged his tale until she finally bent down and scratched behind his ears.



“Beast Boy!” she exclaimed in laughter when he started to lick her.



“Down boy,” Cyborg said, kneeling in front of Jessie again. “I’ve got something for you Jessie,” he told her seriously. Bring his fist up so that it was just below her eye lever, he opened his hand. There, resting on his palm, was a yellow and black Teen Titans communicator. “If you ever need help, we’re just one call away,” Cyborg promised her, “and when you get older, if you want it, you’ll have a place with the Titans.”



Outside the car waiting to take her away honked impatiently. Cyborg sighed and stood up, taking Jessie’s hand in his own. It took every ounce of self-control in his body to walk her outside and help her into the car while Robin secured her bag beside her. But somehow he managed and the care pulled out, taking Jessie away and leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.










well, that's it! same as always, tell me what you think.

if you enjoyed this story what so ever...

my next big fic will be called Passing Through, its a TT x-over but it might be a while before i start posting it. (i actually want to edit the chapters before i post them... :shrug: )

in the mean time, i will be finishing my TT short story trilogy Breaking Point (only one posted is shades of gray, if you want to read it...) and another not-so-short story called Behind the Mask (its a JLU fic). Yup, all of these comming soon to a thread near you...(wow that was lame...)


-JazzyC

[TeenTitansGO!]

Yes...a swell ending. Now to another story that I already know most of anyway. Stupid school. I'm sure this story would've been better if you weren't my best friend. Same with Renegade. There both good stories though, and this Passing Through I know will be too. Hehehe. Good crossover story too.


TTG~Matt H. Ahh!!! I'm melting!

[Matt A]

Aye, that was a good ending indeed. Very sweet, but in an entirely non-syrupy way: a hard trick to pull off even at the best of times. But hey, Jessie is just too adorable a character for the ending to be any different. Which is good, for obvious reasons.;):anime::anime::anime:

Your next few projects sounds pretty cool. What's "Passing Through" going to be a crossover with, if you don't mind me asking?

-Matt A-

[Vivace]

As always, I know what Passing Through is and you will love it!

[JazzyChick]

hmmm...should i tell or make you wait and see? lets just say that its a three way cross over. if you can guess i'll give you a fabulous prize (prehaps the prize will be a sneak peak at the prologue...:eek:) but, matt h and drew are excluded, they already know.

and Matt H. you know you don't have to ask about my stories, don't you? :p its your fault your curiosity gets the best of you.

guess what? I don't have to go to school tomorros 'cause i'm going to the OU game!!!!!! (and please no jokes about our rescent loss to TCU. believe me, i'm getting enough grief over that from everyone including my youth pastor...) :mad:

and i just realized that, most likely, nobody else on here (except for Matt H of course) cares about OU football... :crying: oh well, i'm excited.


now i would like to take a moment to thank everybody who stuck with this story. thats right loyal posters, this is for you. thank you so much for your contiued feedback, it was very much appriciated. it was very encouraging to know that people liked what i was writing enough to take the time to read it.

-JazzyC

[Vivace]

ME: YEah! now that you're done with this story you can write behind the mask where Bullet proof and Gree----MPPPH LET GO OF ME MADDIE! ow

*stuffed into a tiny metal box*

Maddie: What? He's close enough to the guy who invented Trig.

[TeenTitansGO!]

Um...GOod story?

TTG~Matt H. My attempt to get this story to page 10

[Matt A]

Should I make that attempt succeed?

Nah: not my thread, not my job. I think I'll leave it on page nine.

[looks at the numbers just above his post]

Bugger.

:p:p:p:p:p

-Matt A-

[Crowgirl]

[Figure with cape appears on horizon] I- SHALL- REVIEW!!!

That was such a touching ending. It shows that Cyborg and Jessie have a developed friendship, and how hard it is to say good-bye, something I'm sure we all know very well. I can't wait to see Jessie again in another story!! :anime: :anime: :anime:

Fantastic work on this story!!!

[Liz-Slade]

[Figure with cape appears on horizon] I- SHALL- REVIEW!!!

That was such a touching ending. It shows that Cyborg and Jessie have a developed friendship, and how hard it is to say good-bye, something I'm sure we all know very well. I can't wait to see Jessie again in another story!! :anime: :anime: :anime:

Fantastic work on this story!!!
I totaly agree with Crow, I so can't wait to see Jessie in another story!!:) :anime: :D

[JazzyChick]

Thanks for all of your posts ya'll! (yay! i finally have 10 pages :D :anime: :) :D :anime: :) ) Just an fyi, i'm not doing a story about Jessie in the near future, and if I did, it'd be set when she's 15 and working as a superhero in her own city. Her superhero name is Manes (its Latin and its meaning somehow protains to fire). So its more likely that she'll show up as a supporting character somewhere down the road... sorry if I got your hopes up earlier...


Does anyone want to take a guess at who the Teen Titans will meet up with in my next story?

-JazzyC (ya know, since drew already said my real name...)

-Maddie

[JAG]

Does anyone want to take a guess at who the Teen Titans will meet up with in my next story?


Godzilla? Yoda? Captain Picard? The Avengers? Static Shock? Thomas the Tank Engine? Harry Potter? The Taco Bell dog? The comic book Titans?

[JazzyChick]

Well, one of those is right....

[JAG]

It is?!