Sometimes We Forget (MH)

[TeenTitansGO!]

This is my return to writing fanfiction. :D I'm very happy about this story, and I expect it to be one of my better endeavors. Well, I don't have much to say other than I hope I'm able to give you all an enjoyable time. Here you go.



Sometimes We Forget
Prologue

Sometimes we forget. Some times we lose our grip. We misunderstand. We lose our train of thought. We try our hardest to remember. We can't. We've lost it. We seem to have had our memories erased.

Sometimes we forget. Other times, we choose not to remember.


Sometimes We forget
Chapter 1—Where we are can't be Where We've Been

An owl sat, perched on a low hanging tree in the middle of town. There were no more visitors in the park, and the streets were rather empty, even for a Tuesday night. The owl's eyes shown out from beneath the shadow, fixed on a certain drain alongside the street. Throwing itself into the lamplight, the owl swooped down from the branch. The owl's bright green feathering soon turned into a rough skin. It's haunting eyes changed to bead-sized, black shadows, no longer visible. Finally, the owl shrunk and its body morphed into the shape of a small rat.

The newly formed rat scuttled to the drain and, bracing itself for the fall, fell into the sewer. Once it had picked itself up, the rat ran down the sewer, turning in and out of passages like it understood where it was headed. One left, two rights, a crawl through a clog, three more lefts, and a half mile straight-away. The dripping, rotting sewage was no problem for the rat. The number of times he had crawled through these stinking pipes had inured him to the sights and smells. However much he originally hated his surroundings, there was a strongly enticing prize at the end of the tunnel. He could see the lights coming now. This place was his favourite—not the sewer, but the room at the end of the pipes.

The rat slowed at the end of the tunnel, stopping to look over the edge. He now stood near the ceiling of a very empty cave, with a rock platform in the centre. An empty rock platform. The rat began his transformation into an eagle and jumped off the ledge. Mid-flight, he finished his metamorphosis and swooped down, landing on the square stone. The eagle sturdied his legs, folded in his wings, and laid them softly around his feet.

On that empty platform, our eagle became a green, teenage boy, with large eyes, pointed ears, and the acne that fit the age. He sat, his knees bent, hugging his legs, and his head buried in his hands. He sat alone in the cave for what to him seemed only a few minutes, but to the world his experience would've taken up two hours. He missed her, nothing disputed that, but the question was if she really missed him. Because, if the past few days had been any kind of true, she had forgotten him. The stone girl that once stood here had come back like he'd wanted, but she didn't want to remember him. She didn't need him anymore, but he needed her.

She had been a friend, and near the end of their time together she had been something more. Then she'd gone away again, and he'd been left in confusion. She wasn't supposed to be evil. She was a Teen Titan, and they were the heroes, the good guys. They were supposed to fight together, not against each other. Everything was wrong.

The boy stood from his place and stepped down from the platform. He took about five steps before he looked back and read the plaque we've all read before. Her name meant nothing anymore. The girl he had known was gone, and a new person had taken her place.



Robin sat on the couch holding Starfire's hand. Cyborg and Beast Boy were behind them, playing air hockey on the new table Cyborg had built for them. There was beginning to be too much noise for Robin. Beast Boy changing into a bear for some extra power didn't help the room seem any quieter. It was about the time that Cyborg brought out his sonic cannon that Robin stood up to stop the commotion.

“Can you all calm down back there?!” he said as he turned around, dropping Starfire's hand in the process. She gave him a glare of near hatred as he returned to his seat, but when she felt his hand and met his eyes she knew that he was hers. As they continued their playful discussion, Cyborg expressed his feelings about the situation.

“'Can you calm down back there?!' Who does he think he is? This is my sonic cannon, I built it, and I can use it whenever I want to. Man, forget that. I'm gonna play air hockey HOW—I—WANT!” The puck went flying across the table, into the opposite goal, and out of the table, bouncing off random items around the room. The electronic scoreboard sitting above the table rolled continuously from zero to nine, and it didn't stop for the next few minutes.

“Dude!” said Beast Boy. “You can't do that!”
“And who say's I can't?”
“I say you can't! That's so unfair dude! You broke the table!”
“You're the one turnin' into the gorilla, Beast Boy. Who you callin' unfair?”

Beast Boy stood watching the scoreboard running over and over again through its digits. His eyes were filled with shock, and there might have been a slight sign of a tear. His lip was quivering, his mouth dropped, and his arms were laid at his sides like he'd given up all hope.

“It was a bear! A grizzly bear! Dude!”
“I swear, if I hear the word 'dude' one more time...” Raven sat in the back of the room trying to read. None of the Titans could ever figure out why she kept coming back into the living room if she never got any reading done there. There was always going to be noise in every part of the Tower but her room, but when it came to reading, she'd rather be anywhere but there. Secretly, she knew she enjoyed the company.

“But dude, he broke the...uh oh.”

Under Raven's hood, everything went black. A wind came from out of nowhere and caught her cloak, throwing it around violently. A black energy grabbed the air hockey puck off the floor and hurled it straight towards Beast Boy. It flew at him, and before he could react it landed right in his mouth, wedged to where he couldn't remove it. It followed that he ran around the room, pointing at the at his mouth, and pulling at the puck to try and free it. He finally turned into a lion, opened his mouth and pawed the puck off of his tongue. Once he'd taken his human form again he was ready to express his frustration.

“D...d...Raven...ugh!” was all he had to say before marching up the stairs to his room, a very secret place fill with things of completely unknown origins. That is except for the fungus in the far right corner which had grown from a piece of pizza left there three years ago.

“Ha! You sent Beast Boy to his room. Nice job, Raven. High-five!”
“Shut up or you'll be next,” Raven scowled.

“And I don't high-five.”

Sirens sounded throughout Titans Tower. Red lights shown on the walls, and the giant television screen turned into a map of Jump City with five red dots flashing in the centre. The names and pictures of five teenage criminals were scrolling along the bottom along with live video of the incident at hand. Robin cringed when he saw Kitty's face slide across the bottom of the screen, but that was nothing compared to the despair he felt when Johnny Rancid and Killer Moth made there appearances. The picture of Kitty was an old one, actually taken the night of Robin's prom, but in the video she looked different. She was wearing a leather vest and had multiple piercings on her face. Yeah, she'd definitely been dating Johnny, and it looked like daddy wasn't too happy.

Killer Moth was attacking Kitty, Johnny, and their two friends, one of which was fighting back with two short swords. The other of Kitty's friends was flying over the entire scene tossing random objects and Killer Moth telekinetically. It was time to take some action before these villains took out the entire downtown.

“Titans, GO!” called Robin. “Cyborg, grab the car. Let’s get out of here!”

In under half a minute the Titans were out of the Tower, across the water, and flying, riding, and driving down the street. When they arrived, they had no trouble in following Kitty's path of destruction. Cars were wedged into windows along the streets, people had hidden themselves in the higher stories of the buildings, and the Titans seemed to be the only thing moving. As they turned down one of these seemingly empty streets, Kitty swung around the corner at the end on the back of Johnny Rancid's motorcycle. A swarm of moths were chasing the two of them.

“Daddy!” she shrieked. “He's a good boy! I promise! Get them away from me!” Kitty was swatting at the moths, knocking them down one by one, but as Killer Moth followed close behind, more and more of the creatures joined the already giant swarm. The whole commotion stopped, however, when Johnny Rancid saw the Teen Titans at the end of the road. He stepped on the brake and threw the bike into a power-slide. Kitty flew off the bike and hit a wall of windows on a nearby building. Killer Moth landed right next to Johnny, his swarm settling for the time being.

“Johnny! What'd you do that for?” Kitty whined. With an annoying smirk that said that he really cared for her but was just cool enough to be rude to her, Johnny answered,
“Sorry, babe.”

Robin stepped forward from the line of Titans, his arms bent at his sides and his right foot just a little farther than his left in typical superhero posing fashion.

“Robin?” Kitty gasped. She stood up from the broken glass and sauntered over to Johnny, laying her hand on his shoulder. “If you came back for me, I'm taken.” She gave a slight smirk, and Robin returned the favour.

“As am I. But that's not what I'm here for. You've been causing a bit of damage, I hear, and it's getting to dangerous around this area. So this is the end of the road for all three of you.”

Two teenagers dropped down behind the Titans. One was a young girl, dressed very much like Kitty and holding to short swords. Her clothes were a bit thicker, however, and she was covered in sheaths, each containing different knives and daggers. The hovering boy beside her had short, spiked, blonde hair and very deep brown eyes. His clothes were baggy and he was covered in chains and piercings. He smiled at the Titans with a tinge of wit.

“These are Johnny and I's friends Sarah Pierce and Strike. Johnny has some interesting friends, and I'm sure that with their help we could take you Teen Titans on any day.”

Sarah and Strike nodded.

“See, daddy, they are good friends for me. They'll protect me from the Teen Titans.”
“That's to be seen, Kitty. Right now, though, let's get rid of these low-lifes.”

Cyborg brought out his sonic cannon, pointing it at the nearest of the villains.
“The only person any one's getting rid of is you!” cried Cyborg. He shot his cannon off towards Sarah Pierce, and the shot landed right on her chest, knocking her back about fifty feet. “Booyah!”

Johnny rode at top speed towards Robin. Robin jumped into the air, landing backwards on the back-end of Johnny's bike. He took his bow-staff and threw it around his back, put it across Johnny's neck, and pulled on both ends. Johnny let go of his handlebars to grab at the staff. When he decided that pulling the staff away was not going to work, he grabbed Robin's arm and threw him over the front of the bike onto the street. A split second before he would have been flattened, Starfire flew by, grabbing Robin and putting starbolt after starbolt in Johnny's face.

“Star! Drop me!”
“OK!”

Starfire dropped Robin back near Johnny and flew toward Kitty before she could reach the boys. Because she landed in front of Kitty in the middle of full sprint, Kitty hit her, knocking both of them to the pavement. Starfire stood up, positioning herself for the perfect attack. Kitty sprung up and slashed at Starfire, but Starfire stepped back, caught her arm and threw Kitty in the air. As Kitty fell, she was pelted with six starbolts, but she still managed to land upright.

“You forgot one thing,” said Kitty. “Kittens always land on their feet.”

Starfire cocked her head to the side, raising her left eyebrow.
“Is that true? I must try such an experiment when I g—”

Kitty ran at Starfire and pushed her to the ground, slashing at her back and forth with her claw-like nails. Starfire was struggling to get up when she finally got a starbolt off. A continuation of eyebeams and starbolts kept her on the ground for the next few moments, and when Starfire let up, Kitty had no more energy to stand.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy and Killer Moth were a little ways down the street. As a gorilla Beast Boy's swings were to slow to make any contact. Right as he deduced this, Killer Moth ran around the back of him and pounded his fist into the back of a transforming Beast Boy. The green pterodactyl fell to the ground and writhed in pain. Killer Moth stood over him smiling. This pause had given Beast Boy enough time to become a smaller bird and soar at least twenty feet into the sky. However, there was only a moment of freedom for him, as a swarm of moths flew at him. He quickly changed back to a pterodactyl, kicking and biting at the moths. When he decided that wasn't going to be enough, he became a T-Rex, biting at the moths and stomping his feet at Killer Moth, trying to stop him from running. When Killer Moth was next to one of his feet, Beast Boy turned into a bear, grabbing the villain and throwing him into a building. He watched as Killer Moth slid down the wall, unconscious.

Cyborg and Sarah Pierce ran in front of Beast Boy in the middle of his transformation back to himself. Pierce was swinging her swords at close range and Cyborg was transforming his arm into different gadgets that he could do without. Item by item, Pierce was slicing them off: a spatula, dental floss dispenser, metal chopsticks, spoons, etc. Finally, he had only two choices. He could use his hand, or pull out the cannon, which if cut off would take a week to rebuild. He'd take his chances.

With his sonic cannon out, Cyborg took shots at her swords. She kept swinging, and he kept missing, but the good thing was that she was missing just as often. Finally, one of the shots connected with a sword, and as she paused to remove a knife he shot the other sword out of her hand. He continued firing shots toward her weapons, sheathed or unsheathed, knocking each of them away until she was left with only two small daggers. Cyborg needed to stay away because this was going to be a close fight if Pierce had her way. Pierce jumped at him, and as she did he fired a shot that passed her by an inch. She came up behind him, grabbing his left shoulder and wrapping her right arm around his neck.

“Now...since you've obliterated my weapons I'm going to tear every little part of you to shreds. I'm speaking mechanically and physically.” She said this as she ran one of her daggers down from in between his eyes down under his jaw.

“Is that so? Cuz I thought...ugh,” Cyborg shook and struggled to escape, and when he finally freed his arm he finished, “...I thought...a bit...DIFFERENTLY!”

Cyborg raised his free arm to his caught hand and pressed a button that let a large jet pack out of his back. This forced Pierce away from him, and as he rose into the sky she was left on the pavement. Watching him hover in the air, Pierce heard Cyborg say,

“Booyah!”

Right as she began to stand Cyborg put another shot in her gut. He was sure she was unconscious. No one could last that long, but when Cyborg assumed he was off free, Pierce sat up and threw one of her daggers right through the jet pack on his back. The engine sputtered, the crackling noise it created was silenced, and Cyborg began to fall.

“Ah, man! I just built that! ” Cyborg looked down. “Crap.”

Black energy enveloped Cyborg and slowed his decent. Raven set him neatly on the street and threw all of Pierce's knives far enough away so that they wouldn't be a problem. Cyborg looked up to see Raven flying by overhead.

“Thanks Rae!”
“Noooo problem. I've always got time to help out my friends while I'm being chased by an immature telekinetic who is so trigger-happy it may be his first day with powers.” Raven felt her ankle being pulled toward the ground.

“Yep. Trigger-happy. AGH!” Raven took a window out of a building nearby and threw it at Strike's head. He couldn't catch it before it hit him, but he had time to control the pieces and use them as projectiles. Raven put up a shield and let the pieces of glass bounce off. Strike picked up a car and made it fly toward Raven. Raven looked back and saw him smile as he took a giant lighter out of his pocket.

He let go of the lighter, opened the gas cap of the car, and as the car neared Raven he set the lighter inside telekinetically. Raven flew straight up and the car followed, Strike far behind. She stopped. There was no out-running this. Strike smiled at her from below and lit the lighter.

Raven put up the best shield she could muster. She'd led him high enough above the city so that there would be no collateral damage, but she couldn't ensure her powers would hold up. The car lit, the fire expanded, and the force began to shake her inside her black envelope. There were beginning to be breaks in the sphere, and thin streams of fire were seeping in. Raven was burning up and she was almost ready to pass out when finally the explosion began to dissipate. With its last bit of energy the explosion broke Raven's shield and threw her onto the top of a building.

Rolling on her left side and gaining her bearings, Raven opened her eyes to see Strike lying nearly lifeless about one hundred feet away. He'd apparently underestimated the power of the explosion. She wasn't sure if he would live. She pressed a button on her communicator to call an ambulance. They'd be here soon, and this situation needed to be taken care of.

Raven stared into her communicator and spoke.

“Robin, get this over quickly. Strike's out cold and the ambulance is on the way.”
“Gotcha!”

Robin was on the R-Cycle, riding dangerously close to Johnny. Johnny was trying to ram him into buildings. He kept pressing his bike into Robin's in hope of running him to the side. Every time he did, Robin took a shot at Johnny with his staff. The fourth time Johnny tried running Robin off the road, Robin threw three explosive discs at the tires of his bike. The bike flew into the air, Johnny flew backwards, and Robin stopped his bike with a strong power-slide. As Johnny stood, Starfire approached from behind. Johnny raised his hands, and they began to emit some sort of lightning. He brought his hands down, hit the ground, and the ground shook. Out of nowhere, two starbolts hit him in the back. The ground stopped shaking, and Johnny fell face-first on the pavement.

“Nice job, Star!”
“Mmhmm!” Starfire grinned. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven came walking down the road, four figures covered in black energy following them. A crowd of people had gathered around the Titans and their captured, and the ambulance was having trouble getting through the people. Raven set the unconscious Strike in the arms of a nearby paramedic, and the people cheered. The Titans had saved the day again.

Robin caught Starfire's eye in the midst of the celebration. She quickly approached him and took him in for a kiss. The two closed their eyes, embracing each other for a long moment. They didn't even here the gasps from the crowd. Journalists who had flocked to the scene were flipping page after page in their notebooks. Ending their embrace, Robin leaned back, opened his eyes, and smiled at Starfire. He looked over her shoulder.

A figure that looked remarkably familiar was standing half a mile down the road. As soon as he figured out who it was, he jumped over everyone in the crowd and ran down the street. Slade quickly took off down an adjoining sweet. Robin was too far behind to catch up. He was sure of it. In fact, when he rounded the corner and searched his view, there was no masked villain to be seen.

The other Titans and the crowd came sprinting down to follow the boy. He turned to face their questions. Every one was chanting some query at him, but the only question he heard was Starfire's.

“Robin! What is it?”
“Slade. It was Slade.”

[Matt A]

I said I'd read this, so here I am...and it was definitely as good as you hoped.:anime: However, I don't have much time, so I'll have to be brief:

1. The description of Beast Boy's powers in the opening section was well handled. This is clearly someone who has his skills down pat, and can go from one thing to another thing to another thing with grace and precision. Congrats for making that sequence share such qualities.
2. Cyborg and Beast Boy's "air hockey" was genius. There's nothing quite like super-powered over-competitiveness for mining the comedy gold in any situation.:anime:
3. I liked the guest villains. Sarah Pierce and Strike were cool creations, suitable bizarre for the Titans' world, but not over-the-top. And the thought of Kitten going Punk is deeply amusing, not least because such a weird direction is so appropriate for her. Hopefully, we'll get to see some more of this bunch.
4. The fight scene felt a little muddled at times, but it was ultimately as clear, fast and enjoyable as a paper-based action set-piece can be. In particular, the cuts between all the different mini-battles were well-handled, giving enough space to each one and a logical "flow" between them. All in all, a fun way to kick off a story.
5. The thought of the Jump City press going ape over Robin and Starfire's relationship is a very funny one. I wonder how they'll react to becoming tabloid darlings...:evil:
6. Slade's sudden appearance was an...interesting development. Considering the role Terra will evidently have here, it's pretty appropriate, but I wasn't expecting him to turn up so abruptly and so soon. Then again, mysterious is what Slade does, so it'll be interesting to see what he hopes to accomplish this time round.

So...yeah, I think that about covers it. That was a cool opening chapter, and I'm excited to see what the rest of this story has to offer. Good work, as always.:anime:

-Matt A-

[Kregor8]

Ah, I love the opener. It had a kind of fluid grace to it - more than just "and then Beast Boy turned into a hippo" - and, well, it's cool. Good way to start a story.

The pre-action comedy and the action itself seemed very episodic to me - i.e. if this were an episode of Teen Titans, that's pretty much what would happen. Well, the show would have a little less Star/Robin, but whatever. I love the line "This is my sonic cannon, I built it, and I can use it whenever I want to. Man, forget that. I'm gonna play air hockey HOW—I—WANT!" Classic.

It's brutally hard to write paper action sequences. You did a good job - kept the action mixed up. Like Matt said, you had the transitions down. Maybe some of the action read too much like stage directions - you have to remember when you're writing fan-fiction that you're writing fiction, not a sports-cast or a script. I can't really come up with a example drawn from your text right now, but I'll work on it. :D

Slade is awesome.

I've got a question for you. When does this fic take place? Is it set immediatelly following Season 2? That's what I typically do when I write (ignore season 3, 4, and 5).

Oh yeah, I thought the little bits of dialogue throughout the action sequence were in character, especially Starfire's little thing with Kitten and Raven's oh-so-typical "Yep. Trigger-happy." I can definetly hear that.

Well, if this is your so-called "return to writing fan-fiction," it's a great way to come back.

7<regor

[TeenTitansGO!]

Well, thanks guys. I enjoy this fic more or at least as much as you do.


It's brutally hard to write paper action sequences. You did a good job - kept the action mixed up. Like Matt said, you had the transitions down. Maybe some of the action read too much like stage directions - you have to remember when you're writing fan-fiction that you're writing fiction, not a sports-cast or a script. I can't really come up with a example drawn from your text right now, but I'll work on it. :D



I understand completely. In fact, I was afraid someone would bring that up. Fighting is not my forté, but I was looking at bringing something new and fresh to a fight-scene that I had yet to see, so my transitions were planned. I do enjoy seeing people recognize that.


The pre-action comedy and the action itself seemed very episodic to me - i.e. if this were an episode of Teen Titans, that's pretty much what would happen. Well, the show would have a little less Star/Robin, but whatever. I love the line "This is my sonic cannon, I built it, and I can use it whenever I want to. Man, forget that. I'm gonna play air hockey HOW—I—WANT!" Classic.



Exactly what I was going for. I want this to be very episodic. I like to harp on little details that have been seen in episodes or would be. Again, recognition of something I wanted. Drama and Action unending have their place, but this is Titans. (That's not to say there won't be action and drama at all.)


Ah, I love the opener. It had a kind of fluid grace to it - more than just "and then Beast Boy turned into a hippo" - and, well, it's cool. Good way to start a story.


Mmm...every time I think of this scene I weep. It's so...warm...and...fuzzy.:D

I've got a question for you. When does this fic take place? Is it set immediatelly following Season 2? That's what I typically do when I write (ignore season 3, 4, and 5).


this takes place after the movie, so, after season five. I'm picturing this a few weeks or so after Tokyo. There are a couple of references to that in the next chapter.


1. The description of Beast Boy's powers in the opening section was well handled. This is clearly someone who has his skills down pat, and can go from one thing to another thing to another thing with grace and precision. Congrats for making that sequence share such qualities.


Still warm. Still fuzzy.


5. The thought of the Jump City press going ape over Robin and Starfire's relationship is a very funny one. I wonder how they'll react to becoming tabloid darlings...:evil:


My, my, my...how you pick up on things.


Then again, mysterious is what Slade does


Quite true.

TTG~Matt H. expect a new chapter soon

[JazzyChick]

matt, ya know i love your story.

Can't wait for your next chapter!

-JazzyC

[TeenTitansGO!]

Here ya'll go. Hope you enjoy it.:robin:

Sometimes We Forget
Chapter 2—What Happens When You Screw Things Up

A series of large carboard boxes were thrown onto a thick wooden table. They would land, clippings would fall out of them, and another were cover them up. The bare walls of Robin's room would be filled with papers and photographs within the next few hours. Old evidence from dead leads and cold cases would lie on the floor for months, and the single light hanging from the ceiling would actually serve a purpose for the city. There was a villain on the loose and Robin knew that it was his job to take care of him.

Robin threw his hand down into a cardboard box. He was throwing out clippings and shoving pieces of old stories around, he dove further into the box. He threw his hands into the air, and the door to his room swung wide open. A frustrated Robin met eyes with Cyborg. He was holding a round object in his hand, and Robin reached out for it. His eyes widened and he yelled.
“Give it to me!”

Cyborg pulled back and smiled.
“Ah, ah, ahhh! Nope, you need to chill out just a bit. Slade hasn't tried anything yet!”
“What are you talking about? He made a public appearance. He was around people! Every time he shows up, it's a bad thing! Now give me that mask!”

Robin lunged for the mask, grabbed it, and yanked it away from Cyborg. He felt around the back of it, looked it in the eye, and toyed with some dials on the back. The last time he'd seen this he'd been driven crazy and nearly killed himself.
“Cyborg, you remember the dust that activated that vision of Slade in my brain?”
“'Course. But I've already check that. Nothin's up.”
“Check again. Check the site, check the Tower, check the entire city. Check again.”

Cyborg drew his hand down his face, shook his head and looked down.
“Robin.” he looked up. “I've checked all of it. There's nothing there.”
“I said CHECK for it!”

Robin threw the mask back at Cyborg, and he caught it over his head. He shook his head again and stuck out his hand to stop Robin from turning around.ack. You wonder if he knows what h.....”
He started to say something but closed his mouth before he could. He dropped his hands to his side and lazily pushed open the heavy door. As the door closed, he mumbled something.

“He wants the mask, and then he gives it b—”


Snow was falling now in Jump City. The streets, lined with empty cars, were icing over, and any travelers that drove over them were going no faster than twenty-five miles per hour. There were few people on the sidewalks; the bitter cold had driven most away. A glass door swung open, and Starfire exited in a long, fur coat. Raven and Beast Boy were behind her, both with the warmest outfits on that they could find. Beast Boy's feather-stuffed winter coat nearly swallowed him, and Raven, who had shed her cloak and leotard for a t-shirt and jeans, was wrapped in a couple of sweaters.

The three of them walked the city in the snow for a wihle, all of them holding steaming cups of hot chocolate and tea. Each would periodically take drinks out of his/her cup. Raven closed her eyes for a few seconds, enjoying the cold wind. The snow had come in the night before, bringing with it an ironic feeling of warmth. The heater at Titans Tower had been kicked on, and the windows had frozen over, creating a very homey effect.

“How are you and Robin, Starfire?” Raven brought her cup to her face after finishing the sentence. She turned a concerened eye toward Starfire. Robin's obsession had surfaced for the first time since Robin and Starfire had been dating. There were so many ways she could handle it.

“He is...very...”
“Obsessed?” Beast Boy finished.
“Yes. But it is something more. It is not just that he is obsessed with his search, but that he is not interested in spending time with me.”

Raven smiled.
“I figured you would say something like that. It was only so long before something happened between you two.”
“What do you mean?” asked Beast Boy. “I always thought Robin would do pretty well if he and Starfire dated. I'm surprised he's like this.”
“I am not,” said Starfire. “I have been preparing myself since we left Tokyo.”
“I guess that's only sensable.”

Continuing their discussion of Robin, the trio turned a corner. About a block away, the pizza restaurant where they spent a good majority of their time stood, filled with the lunch crowd. No one was sitting at the tables on the balcony. The large sign near the roof read “Pizza,” its letters covered by snow and ice. The doorways were stuffed with customers, and there would be no chance of making a quick lunch in the warmth of the restaurant.

“Come on, guys! We have to go. We haven't had pizza since we came back from Tokyo.”
Raven rubbed her forehead a bit,
“Beast Boy, that place is packed. We'll never get in.”
“We have to, Raven. Come on.”
“I too am hungry for a pizza with mustard and anchovies! We must go. We must!”

The three Titans walked through toward the crowd, standing in line just inside the door. It would be another half hour before they would get their pizza and sit down on the patio to eat. They were the only ones outside. The cold had kept most everyone inside the restaurant main. There was snow lining the edges of the building, and their was a mass sheet of ice in the middle of a group of tables.

“Mmm...Pizza. There's nothing better than pizza in the middle of the snow.”
“I could think of a few things,” Raven said. She smiled a bit and opened a book.
“Oh, Raven,” said Starfire, “you would agree, though, that not many things are greater than this. Would you not?”
“Yeah, Starfire, I would.”

The glass door to the patio opened, and three girls walked through. There was a redhead girl smiling at her friends, a black haired girl talking to the other two, and a blonde with her back turned to the Titans. Her laugh let Beast Boy know who she was. When she turned the three noticed that Terra had made her appearance. Beast Boy and Raven looked away. Starfire's eyes lit up. Raven noticed this and put her hand on Starfire's arm.

“Starfire, don't.”
“But,” Starfire sulked, “it's her. Beast Boy was right!”
“Don't.”
“But—“

Beast Boy stood up from his chair, and took the pizza tray with him.

“Come on. We'll ask for a box.” He took a last glance toward Terra who had now noticed them and was looking uncomfortably over her shoulder.

“Good idea. Let's go.”


Robin lay sleeping in his bed. The light that hung over his evidence table had been shut off. This had been his attempt to get some rest, but even in sleep Robin's dreams worried him. He was dreaming that he was running away from an unknown villain, Starfire dead in his arms, and he without any of his usual arsenal. He couldn't escape this time. He was going to lose. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

His eyes shot open, and he realized his surroundings. The room was dark, but he knew home. Home. It was sad that he called such a place home. He really did love this place, this tower, these people, this room. It was the sincerity he had for his job that worried him. He was pushing people away, yet he loved doing it, and it defined him. Why was he such a sick man? When had he become such a jerk? He had found a way to be self-centered in his attempts to save the world, and he couldn't even save his relationship with his friends.

The communicator he had left on his table rang. He sprang from under the sheets to open it up. The face on the screen was not one he wished to see. Slade did the best he could to smile under his mask. His only visible eye curved a bit upwards as he greeted the boy.

“Hello, Robin.”
“Slade.”
“Don't bother coming to find me. You won't. The signal is rerouted through several different places, and I've run a little pet protocol of my own that would have even your Cyborg running in circles for weeks. By that time, I could be much farther than out of this town.”

Robin stood silent, staring into the device.
“Not very talkative, are we? Well then, I shall say what I must. Doubtless, you know of the return of your dearest friend Terra. You will also know, then, that she used to be under my service, just like yourself.” Slade pointed his finger at Robin from the screen. “Surely you did not think that our little endeavor in the netherworld would be the last you saw of me.

“I tell you Robin. If you do anything to cross my path, I swear I'll take your stinking, rotting corpse of an existence through the incenerator.”
“You'd know a bit about that,” came Robin's retort.
“I see you're practicing your comebacks. Bravo. I should be leaving now.”
“You better explain, Slade!”
“I have no reason or obligation.”
“You don't need any other obligation but me!”
“Don't waste your time, Robin. I've learned much in the past few years. Goodbye.”

The color on the screen died and sealed up into an empty black hole. Robin's face turned red, and he clinched his fist. He threw the yellow communicator across the room, and it hit the wall, breaking into pieces. After turning himself around, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. As he marched down the hall, he yelled over his shoulder.

“Cyborg, I'm going out for while. Don't wait for me!”

As Robin started down the stairs, Cyborg peaked out of his room down the hallway.
“Mmm...?”

He'd heard Robin yelling, but he wasn't sure who he'd been yelling at. Robin was supposed to be asleep. At least that was what he had told Cyborg he would be doing. He walked across the hallway, turned the handle to Robin's room slowly, and edged the door open. It was definitely a mess, with papers sitting everywhere and Slade's face plastered on the walls.

The cardboard boxes Robin had been throwing around before sat on a table in the middle of the room, clippings and paper flowing out of them. The legs of the table had begun to buckle, but if it fell the room would become not much more of a mess. Cyborg cleared some of the papers out of his way. He picked up Robin's communicator off of the table. He flipped it open and checked the last call. The screen showed “Starfire.” Apparently they'd been fighting. He set the communicator down and left the room.


----


mmm??? Have fun.

[Death_lash]

Before I start off, I'll just say one word; CHRIST!!:eek:


Okay. That was a bit random.:sweat:
You see, I like any stories with RobXStar in it. I like stories even more when they have evil-minded Slade in it. And I ABSOLUTELY looove BBXTerra. So, what you got me here is, well, how should I put it, a story that I cannot resist.:anime:

Then Raven:raven:, my favourite, is perfectly in character - as are all other Titans - and you've managed to put in a few gags that made me cry with laughter and a cool fight scene with this main story on Robin and Slade.

Well, what can I say. I like this story, a lot, and seeing how that's not going to be enough to express my absolute adoration, I'll go down a bit further and say I love you for writing this story. Keep up the good work!:D

[Matt A]

In most stories, having characters act according to type is a bad thing, a sign that personality development has gone out the window. However, in fan-fiction, having characters act according to type is a sign that you've nailed the people you want to write about...and is thus what fan-fiction is there to achieve.

So, when I say the Titans here are being their usual selves, I want you to understand my full meaning: every single one of them has a bang-on depiction. Even Robin, often the hardest character to nail, feels like he could've walked straight out the TV screen: painfully self-aware, knowing what his lifestyle is doing to himself and his friends, even knowing how to stop it, but also completely incapable of doing so. And his relationship with Starfire is also impressively handled, avoiding the sacharine fantasy of most Rob/Star pairings, and instead already playing on the very real difficulties that all romances possess.

I also have to give you credit for Slade. Based on this appearance, he's a lot more vicious here than he is on the show, but seeing how he's an arch-nemesis an' all, that only serves him well. (In particular, the "incinerator" line is most enjoyably blood-chilling.) And you've kept his sense of mystery very much in place, with him calling Robin out of the blue just to say...well, that he was still around, really. That's the sign of man possessing utmost confidence in his plan.

So, yet more good work here. I'm still unsure as to what the plot is going to be, but wherever this story goes from here, I can tell it'll be worth reading.:anime:

-Matt A-

[TeenTitansGO!]

First off, thanks to both of you.

There is one thing about your reply, Matt, that bothers me. It's not your fault necessarily, but mine in that I've probably written something wrong. Here's your quote:

And you've kept his sense of mystery very much in place, with him calling Robin out of the blue just to say...well, that he was still around, really. That's the sign of man possessing utmost confidence in his plan.

The trouble I have with that is that Slade's call here has no purpose. You'll see later why that really won't matter, but I believe there was a purpose. I think he was basically telling Robin, "I want you to watch what's going to happen, but don't get involved. You'll make it worse." Even if I put that forth in different words, I want people to know that that's what I meant.

Matt H.~the guy who thinks he can write but probably can't but is still persistent on getting it down.

[JazzyChick]

es muy bueno!

i really like what you've got going on here matty-ol-boy. i know you don't like the Rob/Star ship, so its really cool that you're pulling it off, and pulling it off well.

-JazzyC

P.S. we talk so much in school, i though it pointless to rehash my thoughts here...:sad: oh well! job well done! :D

[TeenTitansGO!]

This chapter is fresh out of the oven. In other words, I just finished it. So, any grammatical/spelling errors are expected. I wanted to get this out without wasting time for editing. Have fun.



Sometimes We Forget
Chapter 3—Me Can be Better than Us

Thousands of giant, white snowflakes fell from the clouds to find their place on the rocky ground around Titans Tower. The stones were icy, allowing every piece to stay. There would soon be a larger accumulation of snow than the city had ever seen. The waters around the Tower would chill any absent-minded swimmer to the core. Sheets of ice had begun to form, and the water that splashed onto the island froze instantly, creating a danger to anyone that would come by.

Frost was laid thick on the lower portion of the the tower. As one looked farther up the glass, the frost thinned out, creating an almost beautiful effect against the snow. The sun was blocked out by the thick, fog-like streams of precipitation, but a soft shimmer still shone bright off the structure. The city was lit barely enough for day to make itself apparent. The ice-covered streets were traveled lightly by cars and trucks at speeds well under the usual. Snowplows had cleared most of the important parts of town, yet it was if the citizens wanted to get a good view of the weather before it disappeared.

Jump City had broken a record today. The weathermen had not suspected that only a couple of weeks before Christmas and Hannukah, the city would experience the coldest day in its history. It had come however, and schoolchildren rejoiced, teachers took a break, and emergency responders got ready for a busy day. There would always be the overconfident drivers who felt that they could handle ice and snow as easily as dry pavement. They, it seemed, would be Jump City's worst troubles today. Today was to be a very good day for most. A very good day, indeed.

A young man, almost out of his teenage years stood peering out a giant window in the afformentioned tower. He pressed his face against the glass, watching the snow fall. He saw every flake land in its place, and in the hour he spent there, the island around him had gained another inch of the substance. He stood back and put his hand through his hair. Rubbing his temples, he took a yawn as one would take after sleeping so long they couldn't sleep anymore. He closed his eyes a bit, took a deep breath, and yawned again. The couch looked quite comfortable now, sitting in the dark of the room, with only the dim light from the windows to guide one's way.

Robin took his seat on the couch and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He wasn't going to be able to sleep at all. He'd been trying to for two hours before he came into the living room. He wondered how any of his friends spent so many hours asleep. He needed to get up and get his day going. He needed to be productive, to be effective. Today, however, he was taking time to rest. Seeing the flaw in his obsession, he had wanted today to be simply empty. He wanted idle time. He didn't want to get anything done. H needed that, because there hadn't been a day like that since before Batman.

His head still resting on the back of the sofa, Robin opened his eyes. Starfire stood behind, watching him. She wore a smile, and he returned it. She yawned a bit, and he sat up, turning to see her.

“Morning, Star.” Robin's smile was calm and wide as ever.
“Good morning, Robin. Did you sleep well?” Her eyes were beginning to widen.
“I did. That is, I slept well until about seven o' clock this morning. I tried to go back to sleep, but I can't do that anymore.”

Robin stood from his seat and walked around the sofa. He met Starfire on the other side and put his arm around her. She grasped his hand on the other side.

“What should we do today?” Robin asked.
“I am not so sure that it is not too cold to do a lot of things. Maybe the theater is open today.”
“Well,” Robin shrugged his shoulders, “if you want to. I'm sure it's open. Everyone is out of school today. The city will love their business. Should I go see if there's anything worth seeing?”
“Mmhmm,” Starfire nodded.
“Ok. I'll be right back.”

Robin ran up the stairs nearby. He had picked up the paper earlier and had put it in his room. It was looking to be an enjoyable day already.


“Think we should wait for Star and Robin?”
Cyborg threw two empty large sodas in the garbage on his way out of the theater. The movie hadn't been very enjoyable. The bad acting and terrible dialogue that was rampant in most movies of the day had not been so obvious in this film. However, there was still that feeling that the script writers were pressured by a deadline. The movie felt very rushed, and Raven had fallen asleep near the end of it. She had apparently not enjoyed a majority of the story.

“I don't think they'd miss us,” said Raven. “Besides, I think we should leave them alone today. They're doing a lot better now, and I'd like to see that last.”
“Yeah, well what do we do now, then?” Beast Boy asked.
“I'm kind of hungry. Anyone else?” Cyborg pointed at Raven and Beast Boy.
“I just ate two whole plates of nachos, but I'll go with you guys,” answered Beast Boy.
“That sounds good. Didn't eat breakfast. Starfire tried to give me whatever that was she made.”

Cyborg shuddered.
“You know you really should try her cooking sometime. It's getting better.”
“You would know, Beast Boy. Do you ever stop eating?”
“Sometimes. But what's life without infinite supplies of tofu and nachos?”
“Sanity,” Raven answered. “Let's go. Chinese, Cyborg?”
“Sounds tasteh!” Cyborg rubbed his hands together, his tongue hanging out of his mouth in delight.

Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy made there way out of the movie theater. The restaurant was down only a few blocks from where they were. It was still as cold as ever in the ice and snow. The sidewalks were near death traps, and most of the way, Raven hovered a few inches above the ground in order to keep herself upright. Cyborg's metal was doing no good on the ice; his feet had slipped from under him more than once on the way here. He pressed a small blue button on his arm, and rubber soles wrapped around the bottom of his foot.

“That's the beneifits of being half-metal. I can always build myself a new part when I need it.”
“Fancy. Here we are.” Raven stood in front of a set of glass double doors. “The Chinese Buffet.”
“Well,” said Cyborg, “the name's not original, but the food sure looks good.”

The three teens entered the restaurant and took a seat at a table in the far left corner. Six or seven asian cooks were working in the kitchen, far back along the wall. They were yelling incoherent noises at each other and throwing food around like it was a baseball. Cyborg was beginning to drool at the smell of the food. His eyes were huge and red, his appetite was about to climax.

“Down boy,” came Raven's voice.
“Hello! Welcome to The Chinese Buffet. Here are your plates, and what would you like to drink?” This woman was completely and utterly American, unlike any of the other employees at the business. She was tall, blonde, but definitely not beautiful, with coke bottle glasses and a mole on her right cheek. Her smile was awkwardly set, and she seemed very unhappy, despite the cheerfulness she put on for her customers.

Cyborg grabbed one of the plates off of the table and darted off for the buffet.
“I'll have an iced tea without lemon,” Raven said.
“Okay, and you?” The waitress turned to Beast Boy.
“I'll have the same with lemon.”

Cyborg ran back to the table for a split second and said,
“I'll take a soda.”

Then he was back at the buffet line, piling so many noodles and wontons and rice on his plate that Raven was not sure she could eat them in three days. Raven took one of the plates from the table and stood.

“Sure you don't want anything, Beast Boy?” She gave him a look as if she was offering something that he might regret passing up.
“Yeah, I'm sure.”

Raven walked toward the buffet and left Beast Boy at the table to wait. The waitress brought the drinks, and as he added sugar to his tea, he remembered who it was he'd been thinking about during the movie. He an Terra had never gotten the chance to see any movies together. He hadn't thought about it when she was around. I just figured, he thought, that we'd do that eventually. It was not good for him to be thinking of her, least of all things he had not been able to do with her. He already missed her enough, so he didn't need something else to keep him awake at night.

In his head, Beast Boy ran the scenario through his head. He saw them buying their tickets to some movie that they probably neither of them would like. He saw them buying a soda and a large popcorn, sitting down in the theater, and awkwardly grabbing for popcorn at the same time. He saw both of them blushing as they pulled their hands away slowly. He saw Terra falling asleep on his shoulder; her hair fell lightly on his chest. He saw his hand slide around her from behind, playing with her hair a bit. She was waking up now, embarassed both at the awkwardness of her sleep and the placement of Beast Boy's hand.

She was smiling again. He removed his hand and grabbed hers. Around this part of his vision Beast Boy noticed where he was. Raven was sitting across the table from him now,, a plate of food in front of her, staring at Beast Boy.

“Beast Boy? Hello? Are you there?”

Beast Boy shook his head to regain consciousness.
“Um...yeah. Sorry. Cyborg back yet?”
“No,” Raven said, “he's already been back and he's gone for more food.”
“That guy can eat.”

Beast Boy turned to his right and saw Terra standing there, a pitcher in hand. His eyes widened. Why was she filling his glass? Why hadn't she said “Hello” before?
“Do you need any more to drink?” Terra held the pitcher above her head.
“Terra?”
“I'm sorry?”

Beast Boy rubbed his eyes and squinted. He shook his head again. He'd definitely gone mad.
“Sorry, uh...no thanks.”
“Ok.” The homely waitress walked away with her pitcher of tea.

Raven put her hand across the table.
“Beast Boy? You know you didn't just pull that name out of your head. You were thinking of her.”
“Yeah.” Beast Boy turned his head toward the nearest window. “I keep thinking about all the things we never did.”
“You can't do that. You'll get yourself in trouble. Don't purposely go hurting yourself.”

Raven stared at Beast Boy, waiting for him to turn back to face her. When he finally did so, he got the gist of her stare. He'd have to give her a little more information if he wanted to survive the next few hours.
“I was sort of daydreaming about her and I at the movies. Then when I came to, I thought...well, you saw it.”
“Yeah.”

At this point, Cyborg approached the table with a full plate. He smiled his wide smileand laid his plate next to Raven. He sat down and started on downing the food.
“What are we talking about?”
“Oh, nothing,” came Beast Boy's voice. His eyes were again staring out the window.
“Oh. Ok. Well then, BB, you should try some of this stuff. It's awesome!”

Beast Boy drifted away again as Cyborg rambled on about the food. Raven was pretending to listen to what he had to say, mainly to keep any attention off of Beast Boy. She gave the usual, generic answers to questions, asking many empty questions inbetween. She kept glancing back at beast Boy, waiting for him to show signs of wanting to leave. In the next twenty minutes or so, Cyborg proceeded in finishing his meal, and the Titans left the restaurant. Robin soon gave them a call on on Raven's communicator.

“Where are you guys?”
“We got out early, and cyborg and I were hungry. We went down the street to that Chinese restaurant. Figured we'd leave you guys be.”
“That's cool. Well, I think we're gonna go back to the tower for a while.” Robin looked over his shoulder to make sure that Starfire wasn't behind him. “I've got something planned, though. S just don't tell Star. I guess we'll see you back home. I think we're going to leave about seven.”
“Sounds good,” Raven said. “See you there.”
“Ok. Out.”

Robin turned around to see Starfire exiting the restroom. She walked up behind him and stood.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes I am. Let us go home.”
“Let's.”

Robin and Starfire walked arm and arm out of the movie theater, fans of the couple staring from all around, fingers pointg from every side. A young photographer ran up in front of them and snapped a quick picture. Both squinted and swatted at the man.

“Get out of here, doofus!” Robin yelled. “Nothing was special until we started dating. Go back to taking pictures of Katie Holmes or Jennifer Aniston or something.”

He swatted at the photographer, and he fell to the floor. As he fell, he snapped another picture, and Robin's anger grew further. Before he could make a show of the situation, he grabbed Starfire by the hand and stomped out of the theater. Starfire was annoyed as well, but she was more shocked at Robin's quick temper. As they pushed through the crowd, the glass door flew open, and they rushed through it. Cameras flashed their blinding lights from a thousand points outside of the building. The two covered their eyes with their arms and ducked as if to dodge the invisible shots form the cameras. They took off quickly down the sidewalk, and the paparazzis didn't dare follow them. They simply stood in their places, except for the brave few who thought it might be possible to keep up with them.

The pictures continues as they flew, in the most figurative sense, down their path. The two of them ducked around a corner and threw themselves against the brick wall of the building. Both of them breathed hard, taking a moment to cherish their escape. They looked at each other and their anger melted away as easily as it had come. They stared at each other, smiled, and laughed for a long while. Both of them chuckled heartily for a moment longer and then ceased. They smiled at each other again, and Robin's eyes became more serious. He leaned in toward her for the kiss he had wanted most in the past few hours he'd spent with Starfire. She returned the gesture, and the two stood on the streetside, holding each other.

“Where to next?” Robin began in a sigh after the kiss.
“I am getting very tired. I suggest we go back home.”
“Sounds like a good—”

An explosion set near the two, and both were thrown across the street. Starfire's head crack against the concrete, knocking her out cold, but Robin landed as neatly as he could, on his left side, and rolled into the nearest wall.

“Star!” he yelled when he heard the noise of her head smacking the pavement. He rushed over to her and held her head in his hands. She was bleeding, and a large area of swelling had formed on the back of her head. He patted her cheek in panic. “Star, Star, wake up. Wake up, Starfire.”

He looked over his shoulder to glimpse a familiar figure walking up from behind him. The staff on his back and tool compartments across his chest gave Slade's identity away like nothing else. Robin turned back towards Starfire. She was breathing heavily, so she was still alive, but he wouldn't be satisfied until he saw Starfire's eyes.

“Look at me, Star. Just look at me.” Starfire grunted a bit, and her eyelashes flickered open. She stared at him with half-open eyes before clsoing them again and falling unconscious. Robin was not ready to leave her there, but unless he did something, he'd be in the same position. Finally making his decision, Robin turned and extended his bow-staff.

“You told me to stay out of this, so why are you making me get involved?” Robin stared Slade down as if it was the first time they had met.

“No one said I couldn't live by double standards. I find it, one, amusing and, two, empowering to do so. The job title describes it all. Besides, how can you assume I'm here on the same matters we spoke of?”

“I guess I can't. But I can still kick your—”
“Ah, ah. Now don' be a naughty boy. It would ruin the fun, and by the way, I doubt you could.”
“Try me.”
“I will.”

Slade threw another explosive metal ball toward Robin, but he swung his staff at them, deflecting them toward the empty street. Robin jumped toward slade, his staff pointed down at the villain, but Slade grabbed a hold of the end and threw Robin over his shoulder. He landed, pressing the staff into the pavement and laying his right foot far behind him. The two ran toward each other, each swinging his staff in several different ways. Robin jumped over Slade's staff and swung his at the back of Slade's head. Slade's staff came up behind his back and blocked the shot and jabbed backward at Robin's gut. Robin backed up, sucking in his stomach and threw three bird-a-rangs at the man, all but one deflected by Slade's staff. The third grazed his shoulder but did nothing to harm him, as the metal armor he war protected him. The two jumped backwards away from each other, both gathering wits.

“Oh, this is as joyous as I remember it. I suspect our meetings from now on will be as amusing.”
“If I'm lucky enough, you'd be wrong.”
“That statement could go one or two ways for you. I'll lead toward a negative on your part, seeing as your little friend over there seems to be taking most of your attention.” Slade pointed his staff at Starfire, who was still unconscious.

Robin took a look over his shoulder. He shouldn't have left Starfire there alone. She was so vulnerable, so fragile.

Robin felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. Slade had struck his staff upon the back of Robin's skull while he'd been watching Starfire. He turned back toward Slade, putting his foot in his abdomen. Slade flew across the pavement.

“YOU DEVIL!”

As Slade stood, rubbing his abdomen he placed his retort.
“I do not believe in etiquette during battle. You honestly had any other expectation?”
“That was pretty low.”
“Why, thank you. Shall we go again?”

---------------------------------

Enjoy it? What about the snow scene? Any thoughts?

[Matt A]

This time, there's even more to think about than usual. In various ways, we have the oddities of real life abruptly intruding on the Titans' world, and the results are decidedly interesting.

Seeing as you mentioned the snow scene, I'll highlight that first. The description of the snowfall, and its effects throughout the chapter, was very eye-catching: it brought out the real nature of snow, in that it's both immensely beautiful and immensely dangerous. People usually focus on one or the other, so I feel it's noteworthy that you had the imagination to focus on both.;)

In the same way, the chinese diner sequence was very interesting. It was, first and foremost, one of those light comedy scenes so integral to Teen Titans, perhaps not key to the main plot but fun and worthwhile all the same. However, there was something else of even greater interest: Beast Boy, whilst not cracking up as such, still definitely not in the best mental health. I know the guy has Terra on the brain, but I get the feeling this is the start of something much more troublesome than his usual obsession. Which should be good fun.:anime::evil:

And I also liked Robin and Starfire's encounter with the photographers. One thing I'd always wanted to see on the show was the Titans having a run-in with paparazzi, so having that situation here definitely brings a smile to my face.:anime:

However, as good as all this is, still none of it matches up to the main event: Slade. Frankly, he was on even better form here than he was for most of his episodes: like his role in season four, he wasn't being just dark and mysterious, but a guy who actually enjoys his job. That, to my mind, makes him even more frightening...and gives him even better lines. His thing about "double standards", for example, was a spine-tingling masterpiece of villainous dialogue.:anime: 'Course, this makes the big question even more prevalent: what in the merry hell is his game? Even for this carefree Slade, trying to kick Robin's backside for the fun of it sounds a little too random. Still, this means it'll be even more fun finding out his plan.

Not all in life is wine and roses, though, so I might as well give my criticism whilst I'm here. My only real problem was the Robin/Slade fight scene, which felt more than a little difficult to follow: then again, when your two combatants have the same gender, the same fighting style and the same weapons, that's perhaps inevitable.:sad:

Still, that one bug-bear aside, that was a wicked chapter. I'm even more interested than ever to see where this is going.:anime:

-Matt A-

PS: I forgot to say this before, so I'll just say it now: I love your chapter titles. I can't quite pin down why, but they just sound so cool.:anime:

[TeenTitansGO!]

Though this is almost unneeded, thanks, Matt.

This time, there's even more to think about than usual. In various ways, we have the oddities of real life abruptly intruding on the Titans' world, and the results are decidedly interesting.

Don't you love it? So much of television/fanfiction could do with real world troubles. Sometimes people have normal lives...what a thought.


However, there was something else of even greater interest: Beast Boy, whilst not cracking up as such, still definitely not in the best mental health. I know the guy has Terra on the brain, but I get the feeling this is the start of something much more troublesome than his usual obsession.


Well, as you said, there's obviously something up. Now what that is, you're probably wrong about when it comes to ideas. It will be a challenge for me to weave this all together, but if I do, you'll understand.

Slade. Frankly, he was on even better form here than he was for most of his episodes: like his role in season four, he wasn't being just dark and mysterious, but a guy who actually enjoys his job. That, to my mind, makes him even more frightening...and gives him even better lines. His thing about "double standards", for example, was a spine-tingling masterpiece of villainous dialogue.

I'm starting to wonder if it's a bad thing that Slade is so sadistic. However, considering the last time we saw him...I think I may be on track. Also, you've got a thing for sick and twisted.:p

what in the merry hell is his game? Even for this carefree Slade, trying to kick Robin's backside for the fun of it sounds a little too random. Still, this means it'll be even more fun finding out his plan.


What a wonderful question.;)

My only real problem was the Robin/Slade fight scene, which felt more than a little difficult to follow: then again, when your two combatants have the same gender, the same fighting style and the same weapons, that's perhaps inevitable.

Honestly, I'm having a problem making things clear. Do you or anyone else have any ideas on how to clear that up. I keep getting the feeling that my fights/action sequences get muddled and redundant. So, anyway, any help would be appreciated in that area.

PS: I forgot to say this before, so I'll just say it now: I love your chapter titles. I can't quite pin down why, but they just sound so cool.:anime:


I wanted to try something new in that area. Basically, I just sit down and think sarcastically for a few seconds, and whatever words come to mind is what you get.

[The Kaiser]

Alright, I'm attempting to be a bit more involved in this site (With fanfiction, as the climate seems much nicer than some other places), so I thought I'd tale a look at your story, TeenTitansGo!.

On a whole, not bad. I very much like your details, they give you a good image of how the scene looks and such. The third chapter opening was I think the best in your descriptive qualities, and I hope to see more of it in future chapters.

Your fighting scenes, are quite alright as well. A little rough on the edges, but by no means bad. Here and there, you could have shortened or broken up certain parts to make the battle easier to understand (or flow better), but on a whole, they're pretty decent, and I enjoyed reading them. Multiple-party battles are pretty hard to pull off, so I congratulate you on that.

I think the weakest part of this story is the characterization. You definitely have Beast Boy down, aside from a sentence or two here and there, but the other characters... not so much. I'll focus on each of them seperately.

Robin: I think the biggest problems you have with Robin is with his dialog, and his obsessiveness. While we know that Robin can be obsessive, considering this is occuring after Tokyo and Season Five, his tendency to get like this should have been very much curbed. As we saw in Season Four, he didn't get stark raving mad like in previous seasons over seeing Slade. I think this is a problem with him in this fic; he's matured past this point; and while yes he should be dedicated to finding out what Slade is doing at the moment; he should be doing it more with his friends and such. The scene with Cyborg and the mask seemed to be an example of something at this point he shouldn't be doing; lashing out at his friends. Try to take Robin a bit more from his post-Season Four status and such, still with a little obsession, but not nearly as much as currently.

On his dialog, you need a bit of work. Every once and a while it's okay, but overall, it's not the swiftest. Robin... is a bit hesitant in speaking, a little cautious, so to speak. He's not going to get up and yell for people to be quiet. If anything, he'll get up and tell them to "knock it off", or at least "try to keep it down". For example;


“Can you all calm down back there?!”

It's sort of OOC for Robin to be yelling, as I said. Something more along the lines of;

Uh, Guys? Think you can quiet down?"

Or;

"could you guys keep it down?"

As I said, he's not likely to get up and yell, or "lash out" at people. Your scene at the movie theater when he calls the paparazzi a "doofus" sticks out in my mind as a big no-no for the Boy Wonder. He's a bit above using insults like that. If anything, he'd be going;

"Uh, no thanks, we don't take pictures."

Or;

"Excuse us, but we'd like to get through."

In idea, Robin is polite to towns folk, civilian, press, and military alike. Therefore, he's not going to come out and out and insult someone like that. Try to keep it in mind.

Slade:My major problem with your Slade are really just two lines in particular, but they're important to portraying his character.


“I tell you Robin. If you do anything to cross my path, I swear I'll take your stinking, rotting corpse of an existence through the incenerator.”

And;


“No one said I couldn't live by double standards. I find it, one, amusing and, two, empowering to do so. The job title describes it all. Besides, how can you assume I'm here on the same matters we spoke of?”

On the first one. Slade isn't big on threats like that, at least in my mind. Yes, in Apprentice Part II he threatened to destroy Robin's "Worthless friends", but that's a bit different with description than "stinking, rotting". The latter's a bit... less sophisticated, in insults. The thing about Slade is that you're afraid of him because of what he could do to you, rather than what he says he'll do. Therefore, direct threats aren't a good thing with him, unless he's a bit sophisticated with it. Not to mention Slade might still have an interest in Robin, unless in your fic, he doesn't. Eh. =/

On the second. I really, really like the first line in the quote. It is so I.C. for Slade, and I am very impressed by you writing that. Not saying you couldn't, but just how simple and yet powerful it is. However, it's somewhat soured by the next two lines. To me, they're not really necessary. I think the first and fourth would be much stronger absent of the two middle ones. Why? Well, we (and the Titans) know why Slade likes to mess with people already. He doesn't need to tell Robin that. The lines just... detract from the first and fourth, in my opinion.

Other than, good Slade.

Starfire

I don't have that much of a problem with how you handle her, truthfully, but I feel you make her a little *too* attached to Robin.


“Yes. But it is something more. It is not just that he is obsessed with his search, but that he is not interested in spending time with me.”

While obsession is never a good thing, if Slade is in the city, Starfire would not be annoyed that Robin's first and foremost concern is for the city and taking down Slade, and not her. It just seems, a little selfish, especially when compared to Season 1 when she recognizes Robin working so hard, even when it means he does not spend time with them ("Masks").

My only other Starfire complaint is really more just a slight objection to the Robin/Starfire in this story. Now now, I have nothing against the couple, I actually support it, but I feel in a story that seems to focus more on Beast Boy/Terra, or at least his dilemmas, a side plot with Robin/Starfire is not exactly necessary. Eh, just personal opinion here, take it with a grain of salt.

Cyborg:
Not a big problem here either. Really, there's not much of a problem of being OOC so much as not being precisely IC. A little confusing? Yeah, don't worry much about it. Just his dialog needs work a bit. Not much, but just a tad. Try to read some transcripts for him, maybe. They'll help.

Raven:

Again, my only problem really is with the dialog. I do feel perhaps that you're making her (and the others) a little more concerned with Robin/Starfire than they need to be as friends. Sure, they can think of the two and leave without bothering them, but thinking about how they need that time, or talking amongst themselves about it (even a tad) not jokingly really isn't necessary. It's not their relationship, so they shouldn't care that much about it, you know?

On her dialog, try to make her just a tad less outward. Things like suggesting the chinese restaurant shouldn't come almost automatically. Maybe after the other two (BB and Cy) argue on where to go she decides to "end" the argument and make a decision; but not automatically; you know? I'm not saying make her never make a suggestion, but just let the others do it first, and her doing it more out of annoyance than just wanting to (again if that makes any sense).

Out of characters though, just a few things I wanted to point out on writing.

bracing itself for the fall, fell into the sewer

You'll want to watch out for this sort of thing. Its term is "redundancy", which basically means you use the same word (Or very similar word) twice in a sentence, in the same or similar meaning. Instead of using fall and fell, try to think of synonym for fell, like... "collapsed", or something (can't think of one of the top of my head, apologies). Just look out for this in the future, because variety is very good in writing.

The movie felt very rushed, and Raven had fallen asleep near the end of it. She had apparently not enjoyed a majority of the story.

Being that we are told Raven fell asleep during the movie, we can pretty much deduce that she didn't enjoy it/was pulled in by it. Therefore, the second sentence is not needed as the idea is already conveyed by the first one.

I hope you don't take this review the wrong way. I don't mean my critiques negatively in any fashion, but in hopes that you can become better from them. I am of course going to stay with this story, and eagerly await the next chapter. =)

[TeenTitansGO!]

Welcome, Kaiser. I completely understand criticism. OK, when I argue with you, very seldom am I justifying my mistakes.

One of the first things about what you said. Redundancy. Trust me, I'm bad at it. I hate it. I shudder when I read it. Thanks for pointing it out, and if you'd continue to do so I'd be wonderfully happy.

Second, on Robin. Actually, Starfire and him. There is something going on behind the scenes that should become obvious soon if it hasn't already. Can't say much more, but there are a few things that can't be explained away. Also, remember the attitude of Robin in Tokyo, even though he didn't murder anyone.

On Raven. I felt that after season four, she changed a bit. I saw it in the movie a lot. I feel she's a bit more outgoing, maybe not as much as I make her however.

Cy, I see what you mean.

About the interest in the Robin/Star thing by Raven and Beast Boy, I feel that these people are not just partners but true friends. In other words, considering my view of Raven, they would be interested.

Ok, to Slade. There is definitely something more evil about...well...this Slade (not to say that there is more than one, just my Slade, in my setting). His threats are definitely over-done, but some of them will remain.:shrug: I hope you'll understand when the time comes to explain all.

TTG~Matt H. still writing chapter 4

[TeenTitansGO!]

I know for a fact that at least a couple of you out there know what it's like to be VERY busy. Hence why this chapter comes so late. I believe it's a month and a half now? Well, despite that, I hope this is quality enough. I don't really care for the beginning of this little part, but, we shall see how things work out. Um...really, just reply, and reply well. It's always better to rip my story apart with a sense of competency rather than praise it with ignorance.:anime: I love this forum, just thought I'd let you know. Well, let's see know what trouble a few of the Titans can get themselves into in one day.

Good day, and enjoy. Matt H.:D

Sometimes We Forget
Chapter 4—Something has Definitely Gone on Here


“Raven! Cyborg! Someone help! Can you hear me?”

Robin burst into the giant hallway inside the front door of Titans Tower, Starfire's head hung over his right arm and her legs over his left. On her forehead sat a large, red-colored lump, and her skin was torn in several places. Robin's already red shirt was darkened by the trickling blood of from her wounds. What no one was there to see were the tears he felt wetting his face.

“Robin? What's goin' on?” Cyborg bounded down the stairs just ahead. He layed eyes on Starfire and broke into a sprint toward her. Cyborg took her out of Robin's arms and darted back up the stairway toward the infirmary. Robin's eyes watched him for a moment before he followed as quickly as he could, weighed down significantly by the wounds from the battle. He'd only just been able to take the pain. Slade had allowed Robin to live by the absence of only a few well-placed blows.

Raven caught him stumbling on the way up and drew him into her shroud of energy. After unfolding into the infirmary, Raven ran toward Starfire, and Robin stood staring as well as he could through the film that was building up in his eyes. He hadn't even taken the time to look after her. Slade had come and had wanted to pick a fight for nothing other than pleasure, and he had let her lie there unconscious.

What tore him apart most was not that he had left Starfire alone or even that he hadn't taken Slade down. Rather, what pinched and bit at his soul was the state of his confused priorities. He had yet to be able to decide which was more important, taking out Slade or taking care of Starfire. He knew that somewhere there was an easy answer, but every time he found it, there was an excuse or an experience that threw his thoughts into a flurry of chaos. Slade was obviously more important, as he posed a problem to the entire city, yet he hadn't attacked the city in a long while. So he found himself cherishing Starfire's well-being when, all of a sudden, something would be reported and his mind would shift immediately to Slade. It was like the connection was hard-wired into the pathways of his brain. No matter who the criminal was or what they had done, lately, it had been all Robin could do to convince himself that Slade wasn't involved. It wasn't that he didn't see the obvious evidence to the contrary, but rather that he, quite literally, couldn't help attributing any bad situation to that name.

He would catch himself sometimes, in a daydream about the way he would catch Slade, or in half-way through a six hour training session he hadn't realized he'd started up. He'd wake up, and he would remember that there really was something else to the world than fighting crime. Then he would go in search of that, and just as evil was attributed to Slade, this feeling that there was something more was attributed in near full to Starfire. He would return to her, wherever she might be, and he would treat her like his world had nothing more. He would take her out to a nice dinner, spend the day alone with her. He would do all he could to “salvage” their relationship, and though she was hurt by his absence, she would come right back to him. However, just as he would feel so empowered and right in his actions, something would go utterly wrong. As the two would walk the park on the weekend, he'd suddenly have a bad feeling. As they sat in the movies, he'd have to go to the bathroom and splash a bit of water on his face to clear his head. In the middle of a kiss he would see something that would strike a bit of paranoia deep inside him, and the thoughts of Slade would come rushing back at him like torrents of rain, pouring animosity and revenge on his already cloudy mind.

What was sad was that Robin knew quite exactly what would happen after Starfire awakened. It would be exactly as it had been many a time. He would go back to trying to rescue something. It wasn't that he had hurt Starfire in any way she would know about, but the fact that he had left her there alone without protection weighed on him enough that this weekend was to be very special. He knew somewhere that his motives were off. He was supposed to do good things for her because he truly cared for her, not because he had screwed up, but that afformentioned connection between all things good and the name Starfire had taken control again. Already, plans were forming in Robin's mind for a very nice date in the days after Starfire's recovery.

----------

“Name, please?” The woman behind the short podium held an erasable marker in her right hand and smiled a intensely fake smile at Robin.

“Er...Robin. I should be on the list.”
“Ummm....Robin. Yes. Here you are. If you'll come with me.”

Robin took Starfire by the hand as the woman lead them toward their seats. She took them to a table in a small corner across the restaurant. Robin pulled out Starfire's chair just far enough, and she sat, straightening her dress as she scooted the chair forward. Robin continued around the table and took his seat. The two gazed at the giant, thousand-light chandelier hanging from the center of the room. The bright walls were lit by its radiance nearly none other. There were dim lamps hanging on the wall at each table, a vase with three roses set just slightly out of the way, and the perfect setting of silverware that Robin remembered seeing at dinners with Alfred.

A slick, black menu sat in front of each of them, full of dinners whose names Robin could have never pronounced. The waiter came by as each of them lifted their menu off of the table. He took their drink orders and bowed as he returned to the kitchen to fetch their glasses. Robin and Starfire gave a glance to each others eyes before getting back to their menus. Robin scanned the list of items. Before he could find anything even remotely suitable to his taste, he heard a distinct, “Psst...,” and set his menu down. Starfire was peering over the top of hers with a look of utter shock.

“Are you sure we can eat here?” asked Starfire, almost embarassed to be sitting in such a nice restaurant. She felt almost out of place. “According to what I have been told, the food here is very...”
“Expensive?” Robin filled in for Starfire. “Yes, it is expensive. Don't worry about that though, just get whatever you want. Tonight is for us.”
“You are sure?”
“Starfire, I'm very sure. Enjoy yourself. I tell you what. Why don't we go ice skating downtown afterwards. They've got the Christmas lights up already. We could go skating or walk through the park. We can do just about anything you want to do.”

A short, swallowed giggle came from Starfire as the waiter returned with two round glasses filled with iced tea. He placed them on the table and took a small pad of paper from his shirt pocket.

“What would you two like to order tonight? We have a wonderful steak special right here, and...”

----------

“Be careful!” yelled Robin as Starfire's feet began to slip on the ice. She was tilting backwards, and Robin was directly behind her, speeding up to try and catch her. She fell right into his arms, but Robin fell right down with her. Disoriented for a couple of seconds the two didn't speak. They each stood up, trying to balance themselves on the ice once more. Starfire was developing a grin when she looked at Robin, and the two burst into laughter. They glided over to a bench, hand-in-hand, and sat there as their glee died down slowly. They each sighed a couple of times, trying to catch their breath. Robin stretched his arms high in the air and let them drop clumsily to his sides.

“Isn't this fun? I told you tonight would be great!”
“Mmhmm...” Starfire nodded with eyes wide open. “It is,” and her eyes slowly began to close.
“Is there something wrong?” Robin shifted his position to face Starfire and took her delicate hand into his own. He placed a soft kiss on top of it, and a camera, unbeknownst to either of them, flashed from behind. “Star, what's wrong? I thought you were having fun.”

Starfire opened her eyes again and stared at Robin. She tried to smile a bit but found that she couldn't. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't make herself be happy anymore.
“It is just...that...that I do not know why you are being this way.”
“What way, Starfire? Just tell me.” Robin pleaded and shook her hand up and down.
“I cannot,” replied Starfire, shaking her head. “There are no words to explain what I am feeling.”

Robin smiled,
“I feel the same way about you. There's no one in the world I—”
“It is not a good thing, Robin. Although I cannot explain it, I know that I do not like this feeling. Maybe it is just that you do not have any reason for being so kind.”
“I have plenty of reason.”
“Then why were you not kind before?” Starfire's volume was raising.

Another picture snapped, and Robin turned, as he had seen the flash off of the ice in front of them. He saw a foot slide quicly behind a tree and heard a few rustling noises in the grass. He turned back to Starfire, determined not to get to caught up with the photographer.

“Starfire, I'm doing all that I know how to do. I...I...”

An image of Starfire's nearly lifeless body snapped fore in Robin's brain. Starfire somehow knew his split devotion. True, she did not remember his leaving her unprotected, but she knew that there was something keeping them apart. In fact, she knew quite exactly what that thing was, and she was about to call him out on it. She would never be easy enough for Robin to handle. He was weak. His heart lay on the edge of two separate issues and was about to fall into the crevice between them. There seemed to be no easy way out of this. He couldn't just follow the map, beat up the bad guy, and jail him up. He couldn't save Starfire. She wasn't in need of rescue, and he was ruining his chances of being with her at all. He was going to ruin himself. He was going to ruin her. He couldn't handle her.

“You can't handle her, Robin.”
“NO! You stay away!” Robin's voice was no longer one of sure confidence, but one of fear.
“You have a chip on your shoulder, boy, and it's getting in between you and her. Something is beginning to get under your skin. You're having a bit of trouble.”

Robin placed a hand on either side of his head. Slade's voice rung through his brain as if it were a cave. He felt the pinging sound of the world 'trouble' returning to and fleeing from him again and again. He was thrown into a literal darkness that covered everything but himself and his nearest surroundings. Starfire seemed to be nowhere. He wasn't sure just exactly what was going on, but he didn't like the thought of a missing Starfire while Slade was around.
“Go away!”
“Oh, I wouldn't plan on that, my boy. I'd like to stick around and be part of the fun.”

Standing just out on the ice was Slade, gliding toward Robin, unarmed. Robin saw something strange in Slade's mask, a slight smirk. The grill that served as a mouth for the mask had perpelexed him before, but he was even more frightened now, for not only Slade, but his costume now seemed to mock him. Slade glared through his mask as he approached Robin and stopped right in front of the young man, extending his hand.
“Would you like to dance?”

It was, to Robin, as if Slade was in seven thousand places at almost exactly the same time. One moment he was standing there, and two seconds later he was standing across the ice, one hundred yards away. A constant laughter rang throughout Robin's ears.
“Me or her, Robin. Choose one or the other. You can't have both.”

The laughing stopped and Slade disappeared from view. A sharp whisper came from behind.
“Over here.”

Robin whirled around to see Slade standing half way behind a tree, not moving. At a full sprint, Robin took at him. He covered the ground so quickly, he wasn't even sure if he'd been that far in the first place. Slade never moved. He simply stood, waiting for Robin to come at him, and that is exactly what happened. Slade took a very hard blow to the gut and fell to the ground, unmoving. robin stood over him, almost questioning Slade's reluctance to fight him, but before he could, he pushed the thought out of his mind. Robin reached down and removed the black and bronze mask from the villains face. He half-expected to see a small screen and a mass of circuitry. He was even prepared for the naked skull he'd seen in Trigon's virtual underworld. What he hadn't been expecting was an actual human face.

For about two seconds, Robin had the chance to see Slade. He didn't look as menacing as one would expect. In fact, he looked rather harmless, almost caring. Slade was supposed to be a villain, he was supposed to look dangerous. Sure, that was a stereotype, but the face Robin saw was completely different than anything anyone would have ever pictured for such a character. He knew that this was not Slade. Somewhere inside he felt that, and as soon as he did, the darkness that hovered around him collapsed through the invisible wall that was keeping it away.

----------

Robin's eyes flooded with light, almost blinding him. He looked down where Slade had been, but there was nothing there. The light was swirling, and it was not simply white. Rather, the excessively bright red and blue colors of a police vehicle lit the entire area with an uncomfortable hue.

“Get down! I said get down!”

A forceful hand pushed Robin onto the ground. He felt his hands being drawn behind his back and cuffed, as he had done to so many a villain before him. It seemed that only too recently the same thing had happened. Only then, there was a reason, a false reason, but a reason nonetheless. This time, he wasn't sure exactly what he'd done to merit his capture.

The same hands that had cuffed him, pulled him off of the ground and stood him upright. He stood, staring into the face of an angry policeman. His eyes pierced Robin's emotional shielding and dissolved any self-security he harbored. The officer took Robin by an arm and began to drag him toward the police vehicle. Robin felt the jerk on his arm and fell a bit in the direction he was being pulled. As he walked, he turned back to look at the bench. Starfire sat with her face buried in her hands. What had he done that was so horrible?

“Starfire!” Robin yelled. “Star?! What's going on? What's happening? Where's Slade?”
“Slade? What are you talking about, kid? Just shut up and get in the car.”
“Slade, he was here! He was right there behind that tree. I attacked him. I saw his face. You've got to find him!”
The cop smirked, “The only thing we've seen is a man named David Goss, and if you can kindly explain how in the name of John Wayne you don't remember taking him out, we'd be happy to listen.”
“What?” Robin cringed in confusion.
“Well, anyway, here he is.”

As the officer pressed Robin against the open door of his car, two paramedics passed in front of the two of them, carrying a long, white stretcher to an ambulance. As they passed, Robin tried to take a glance at the face of the victim. Sure enough, the face of the man on the stretcher was the same face Robin had unmasked from Slade's costume. He wanted to scream, “That's him! That's Slade!” but before he had the chance he noticed something he hadn't seen before. Around the man's neck there hung a large, black camera, set neatly at his side on the stretcher.

“No,” Robin whispered. “No,” his voice was becoming louder, and he shifted his vision toward Starfire. “Star! I didn't mean to! I didn't know! I—”
“Get in the car.” The officer pressed Robin down into the back seat of the vehicle. The metal grate in front of him was something he'd never wanted to see again, but yet he was here. How had any of this happened. Starfire and he had been there, Slade had showed up, and he'd missed. Yes that was it. He missed. The photographer had hidden behind the tree before. He'd missed.

“Starfire! It wasn't my fault! I missed! I didn't mean to!”

As Robin screamed, he could see Starfire through the glass, still buried in thoughts that he knew were overwhelming her. He wanted to be there; he wished none of this had happened. The police officer sat down in the driver's seat and started the vehicle. He turned and looked back at Robin with a cynical grin.

“Never thought I'd see this one. You've made history, kid. This'll be a story to tell my little boys. You know, they love you? They can't get enough of the Teen Titans. Wait until they hear what daddy did tonight.”

The officer turned back around and put the vehicle into reverse. As the car pulled out of the park, Robin stared out of his window. He looked at Starfire, and he began to get angry. Nothing was ever supposed to happen like this. The Titans were never meant to be criminals. All that effort to make things better between he and Starfire, Robin had ruined it all. Just as the car pulled away, Robin saw Cyborg running toward Starfire. As she trudged away with his arm around her shoulder, the officer turned onto the busy street, and Robin rode off to a virtual eternity of introspective thought.

----------

Video games had become quite stale. Beast Boy bounced the controller between his hands and set it down beside him. He sat back and wrapped his arms over the back of the couch. As he leaned his head back he yawned and let go of the sofa, massaging his temples. It wasn't that he was tired, but rather that he was bored. The day had been most uneventful. Robin and Starfire were gone the entire day, Cyborg was upstairs taking care of some paperwork for City Hall, and Raven had been out of the Tower, shopping for Christmas.

Beast Boy stood up and walked away from the couch and toward the kitchen. Just about the time he reached the refrigerator, the door bell rang. He rolled his eyes, as the front door was three stories below, and he was the only one home to get it. He strolled wih a sort of leisure to the stairs, preparing him self for three flights both ways. He wasn't all that worried about who was at the door or whether or not he made it before they left. He felt like going upstairs and going to sleep, simply because he didn't want to have to think of another thing to pass the time with. At least sleeping would free him from boredom.

As tired, or more rightly, annoyed, as he was by the time he took the last step off of the staircase, Beast Boy didn't quite care for the length of the front hall. He remembered planning this building. The city council had wanted something grandiose if they were to have a team of heroes taking up residence there. At the time, he was all for the giant mansion on its own private island, but after a few thousand ferry rides and only a couple of midnight snacks, he couldn't have cared less if he had lived in a small hut in the middle of the woods.

Luckily enough for Robin, who would actually care if Beast Boy didn't get to the door in time, the visitor kept ringing the bell. Beast Boy could see a slim figure from one of two small, distorted windows that were placed on either side of the entrance. He grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and pulled the abnormally large door toward him with a grunt. As it slid past his line of sight, he saw something he'd not expected.

A beaming Terra stood on the other side of the threshold.

[Matt A]

Now that was cool. Robin always seems to have a fairly precarious mental state, but I think that's the first time I've ever seen him have a full-on psychotic episode. And it really was quite a head-rush, both for him and us.:eek:

The interesting thing is, I can completely understand Robin's problem. He's a policeman by nature, and the villains he fights, Slade especially, have been such a big part of his life for so long that he doesn't know how to not deal with them. So, when Starfire comes along, and Robin subsequently finds himself in a relationship, he isn't able to stop being a policeman for long enough to be the decent boyfriend he wants to be. He knows this, he wants to change it, but despite all his best efforts, he can't.

And then this situation abruptly comes to a head, with Robin's emotional difficulties forcing themselves onto his perception of reality. In other words, he has a vision of Slade taunting him, and unknowingly beats the living snot out of a innocent man. As well as being thrillingly weird (in particular, Slade asking to dance was a brilliant moment), all this was a fascinating look into a man's sympathetic dillema. I mean, we all know what it's like to not be able to 100% commit to the things we want to 100% commit to. Add to that the not insignificant problem of Robin now under arrest for GBH (the cop's "you've made history" speech was another brilliant moment), and we have a cracking depiction of the Titans' leader cracking up.:D

Oh yes, and then there's the other cliffhanger. Based on previous chapters, and earlier events in this one, I'm not entirely convinced Terra has actually just knocked on the Tower door. But whether she genuinely wants to re-enter the life she'd so emphatically given up, or if Beast Boy is just also going crazy, this is yet another genius curveball. I can't wait to see where this one goes.:D

So, to put it simply, this was a particularly ace chapter. Be proud of it.:D

-Matt A-

[TeenTitansGO!]

Matt, you of all people will know what I mean when I say that I was going for an experience as equally as insane as moments with River Tam. You're never sure quite what's going on and what's not. You never know if there really is something external upsetting the situation. So, when I say not to trust your instincts, I'd assume you'd listen, at least as long as you want to be able to say you knew it all along.

Now, at the current moment, I'm working on some issues with your last question. You've got the current standings down to a "T" (or tee, i don't know how to put that one in text).

Also, because I feel like being melodramatic, I'll say that this board has given me so much material/inspiration to write in the first place. 2.25 years here have practically founded my experience in fiction. Much of that is from you, much of that is from another close friend of mine (JazzyChick), and the rest is from assorted members that are currently, or have been previously, active on this forum. Sounds like I'm writing a goodbye letter...I'm not. Just expressing my thanks.

Well, um...I hope this tides you over for at least a few days, as I think that will be only a fraction of the time between now and the next chapter.

TTG~Matt H.
ps I see you lurkers out there. You know you wanna praise me. lol.

[JazzyChick]

yay for snow days and chapters posted! (or rather, all the teachers telling us to go home early...)

really liked the chapter Matt H. I've been waiting for you to post it FOREVER so that we're not the only ones who knows that Robin is a few eggs short of a dozen (has a screw loose, the lights are on but nobody's home, or just plain crazy if you don't want to bother with metaphores).

AND i'm excited to see Terra some more...you have some great ideas for her and BB and I can't wait to see them in print instead of floating around your head.

Don't go insane yourself now, being stuck at home (ice storm...nobody in Oklahoma is going anywhere for a few days) and maybe post chapter 5 soon? :crying: please?

-JazzyC

[SecretNinja]

I agree with The Kaiser....BUT otherwise this storyline is pretty damn awesome. :)

[TeenTitansGO!]

Ok, I've got a question for you all. Eventually the decision is mine, but I'd just like some input on the subject. I feel my story kind of slipping away, as in I feel it dragging itself in it's own direction. That direction is very unlike the television show, and I'm wondering what you all think of that.

Would you rather this be very episodic or not?

Like I said, I'm the one writing, and that will eventually be my choice, it's just a matter I needed help dealing with.

Thanks

Matt H.

[Matt A]

In my experience, 9/10 Teen Titans fics are, tonally speaking, completely different from the kids cartoon show that inspired them. Especially mine.

So yes, in my view, you can write this story how you like.;)

-Matt A-

[dreyga2000]

I believe you should choose which ever approach will led to a better story. Personally I like the different tone in fan fiction allows me to view the chracters in a different light and is quite refreshing to see plots that don't seemed to be.... 'held back'.

[TeenTitansGO!]

A quick note, this chapter could confuse you. Just don't take everything too literally. You'll see obvious things where I blatantly say, "THIS HAPPENED," but you'll have moments where you don't know. Don't trust your first instincts...or you second ones.

Ah...basically that's it, so here's the midlogue and chapter 5. Thus we enter Act 2.




Sometimes We Forget
midlogue


Sometimes we forget. We mess things up. The world seems gone. We can't remember much, and what we do is distorted. There are lies we've been told. Truth doesn't exist anymore. Everything is fuzzy. Nothing is understandable.


Sometimes we forget. Other time, we lose our minds.




Sometimes We Forget
Chapter 5—Just Needs a Little Work


Seeing as Terra, the impossibly elusive blonde that kept leaving Beast Boy hanging, was standing right outside of Titans Tower, Beast Boy was no less than shocked. It was obvious, by the look on both of their faces, that there was about to be a very awkward conversation ahead. Beast Boy could attribute that oddness to neither the the status quo of he and Terra's relationship nor the fact that she seemed eager to speak with him. He closed his eyes, wrinkled his forehead, and blinked a few times as if she was just going to disappear if he thought about it hard enough.


“Wh...What are you doing here?” Beast Boy meant to take a more serious approach to this situation. Terra had said she wasn't interested in her life with the Titans, and he was going to assume she still felt that way.


“I remember, Beast Boy! I remember everything! Isn't it great?!” Terra bounced through the doorway and threw her arms around Beast Boy's neck. She squeezed him so hard he had to pry her off of him.
“Yeah...it's...great. Get...off.”
“Oh, sorry. I'm just so excited.”


Beast Boy gave Terra a half-smile before carefully trudging into conversation with her.
“Well, that's great I guess. I mean it's cool.”
“Just cool?” Terra chuckled, still not able to understand Beast Boy's feelings.
“Yeah, just cool. I mean, it's more than cool, but it really doesn't mean anything.”
“It doesn't mean anything? What are you talking about?”


Beast Boy shrugged, threw his eyes at the ceiling and stared for a few seconds.
“Quit avoiding eye contact, Beast Boy. Answer my question.”
“Sorry,” he said, only glancing at her now.
“Yeah.”


Looking Terra full in the eyes now, Beast Boy tried to explain his thoughts to her.
“Well, after us talking, I just assumed you meant what you said. Plus the last time we spoke you were trying to kill me.”
“Beast Boy that wasn't me, and you know that. I've left you here with out apologizing for so long—”
“Yeah, I got that.”
“— and I've been thinking about what you told me, and once I remembered, I knew how to use my powers. See?”


Through the still open door floated a few small pieces of rock, and Terra set them down neatly on the ground in the crude shape of a smiling face. She giggled a bit at her creation and looked at Beast Boy, almost begging him to understand the importance of their situation. She could justify his hesitance, but she wanted to bring some happiness out of him.


“But I thought you said you didn't want to be a Titan anymore. You told me to go home, and you didn't seem to want to remember anything about me.”


It had taken long enough for Terra to recognize the Beast Boy wasn't as apt to giddiness as he seemed to be, at least in this specific situation. There was only so much rejection he could handle before he became either broken about or apathetic to any further developments in his story. As Terra now saw it, Beast Boy had chosen the latter mental state, but what he would most likely never let her know was that he was truly as excited as he had ever been and that he was broken. It was a sign of his lack of respect for the girl that he hid that from her.


“Beast Boy,” Terra said lightheartedly, “honestly. I haven't said anything about being a Titan...yet. It's not necessarily top priority of things I want to do, and I definitely don't need to be a Titan. My life right now is too busy to add something like that. Besides, I came here because I thought you'd be happy. We can have fun like we used to! We can hang out, we can talk, and maybe we could go back and have some pie.”


Terra finished her sentence almost as if she was suggesting they go at that precise moment. She had yet to grasp how seriously Beast Boy was digesting all of the information she was providing.


“Now?”
“Mmhmm!”
“No, Terra. No, you don't seem to understand.” Terra's smile drooped. The last time Beast Boy had seen her wearing that expression, she had been struggling with the fact that she was supposed to destroy him. Of course, he didn't know that at that time, but the days that followed made the present moment very uncomfortable for the both of them.


“Terra, I'm not happy right now. Do you see me jumping up and down? Do you see a smile on my face?”
Beast Boy kicked away the rocks on the floor.
“No,” he finished, “I'm not happy at all. I could be confused if I wasn't so angry. You told me you didn't need the Titans, and I assumed that included me.”


“Beast Boy, you can't be serious.” Terra threw her hands up in the air. “You said we were friends, and even when I couldn't be one, you were still one to me. Besides, I can read between at least a few lines, and I knew there was something more. But now that I remember it all, you don't even want to be the person I knew before.”
“The only thing that's changed is you.”


“I'm going to disagree, but I don't mean exactly what you think I mean. I don't think you are angry, and I think that you are excited to know that I remember everything about the Teen Titans. I also think that, contrary to what you seem to believe, you are a very confused person. You think I don't know what I've done to you? I know exactly what I've done, and that's precisely why I came here in the first place. I wanted to apologize, I wanted to make up, and I shouldn't have thought it would be so easy. Besides, you can't blame any of this on me. The one thing that I actually had the decision to do was save you and the rest of the Teen Titans.”


“Yeah, and how do I know that wasn't just a fluke? How do I know you weren't just pretending not to remember because we weren't convenient with your schedule? You said your life was busy. So how do I know that I'm not just another priority to deal with?”


Holding his arms open in mock wonder, Beast Boy finished his last sentence at high volume. He had forgotten about everything but his immediate surroundings, and behind him, a few feet down the entrance hall, Cyborg was peeking out from behind a wall. Before Terra could come up with a retort, she noticed him and the two ran towards each other. She gave him hug equally as strong as the one she'd given Beast Boy.


“Hey, Cyborg,” she said. “I missed you! Well, at least now that I remember who you are.”
“Ha ha. It's so good to see you, Terra. Where ya' been?”
“If you can believe it, school.” She chuckled. “Well, I shouldn't stay.”


Terra turned around and faced Beast Boy. He was staring back at her with and “angry” glare, one that she knew was feigned only by his brokenness. If he really thought that they had once been closer than it seemed, then he would have understood that she could see right through him.


“You know, Beast Boy? You can stand there and look at me like that, pretending you believe all that stuff you just said, but I know you won't be able to keep it up for long. In a few hours or a few days, you'll realize what you've said, and you'll want to come find me. Don't. I won't be waiting up for you, I won't be sitting by the phone, and I won't be expecting you to come see me at school.”


After all the lies Beast Boy had told, Terra had begun her first. She was, in truth, acting just as Beast Boy was, and the truth was that she would be waiting every moment of her waking life for Beast Boy to search her out.
“Maybe, Beast Boy, we should forget everything again. Let's play a little game. It's called 'Pretend Like This Never Happened.'”


Terra took giant, forceful strides toward the door. Beast Boy's glare followed her there. She reached for the door and pulled it open, turning around as if to say something else. She stared back into Beast Boy's eyes, but this time, her expression matched his, and false animosity pervaded both of their minds. She didn't have the heart to say anything else. Instead, as she turned again to leave, Beast Boy screamed at her.


“Maybe your right!”


The door, surprisingly, didn't slam shut. Rather, it slid softly closed, as if to say that she meant no harm. Her actions whispered quietly what she could never say. She had, probably accidentally, provided an underlying conversation to the entire scene. Both parties knew it was a charade, but neither trusted the other one. Both of them had an agenda. Both of them saw not the other as the problem, but rather their flawed characters. As Cyborg trudged back up the stairs, Beast Boy walked toward the door. He placed his right hand on the door, and unbeknownst to him, Terra did the same on the other side. Both teens spread wide their fingers and hung their heads. They both turned and leaned their backs against the same surface. They slid down to sit on two separate pieces of ground that stood for feelings so much the same as each other.


Beast Boy opened his eyes and stared at the floor.
“Maybe you're right...” he whispered, “...about everything.”


----------


The hum of the flourescent lights was constant overhead, and the padding on the walls trapped the sound inside the room. The singularlyinterrupted silence was almost numbing, hence the sleeping teen, lying on the softest of beds. He laid on his side, breathing heavily into his pillow, and his arms were curled up under his chin. The room had been designed for comfort, not out of pure motives, but rather so that its occupants would be not only relaxed but harmless.


For the first time in three days, the door to the room opened, and a tall piece of padding swung back to reveal a steel door. As two heavy, dark boots stepped into the room, the door swung closed, and a metal clang reverbirated in the walls. The man with the dark boots stooped and looked in the boy's eyes. His eyelids were tightly shut and his hair was hanging loosely over them.


“It's nice to see you are getting some rest, Robin. Seems like you're always working these days.”


The man stood up and walked to the end of the bed, unbuckling his belt. He laid it in a corner, on the floor, along with the staff strapped to his back. Still bent down, he opened one of the compartments on his belt, pulled out a small item and sat back down on the end of the bed. He smiled a bit and chuckled.


“Not very protected in here, I'd say. Guess you're not the one that needs protecting.”


He patted the wall behind Robin, testing its cushion. He ran his hand down the wall, feeling the fabric slide past his fingers smoothly. He turned again, braced himself on the bed, and sat down on it. He inspected the mattress as he had the wall.


“You know, she's pretty confused about all this, your Starfire? Been keeping an eye on her lately. Don't think she's taking well to her Robin being locked up and all. I didn't expect she would.” The man paused. “Yes...I did say that out loud. My bad.


“Well, I guess it's time me and your mother told you what's been going on all along.” The man scoffed, almost at Robin, but meant rather to pride himself in his wit. “Well then. Where, should I begin?


“You remember my little Terra don't you? Well, about the time I realized I couldn't trust her, I sent her on a mission I knew was impossible. The idea was for her to gain your trust and then destroy you, however since she had already failed at the first part, I figured I might as well let her take a chance at the brute force approach. The best thing about it all was that she thought she was in charge of something special. Of course, that was never the plan. As usual, however, things didn't go the way I wanted. I was not expecting to have to get involved.


“Anyway, you know all about my death. It's quite difficult to recall much of what happened then. The next consious memory I have is waking up in that cave, staring at my bare-boned hands and thinking, 'What the hell did those kids do to me?'. I was then presented a bargain. The deal was that I was going to do a little of Trigon's dirty work, and he was going to give me my oh-so-precious life back. There was a little more to it, but it's not important right now. I went ahead and sought after Raven, seeing as that was part of the deal, but I secretly hoped that Trigon wouldn't get his way. It's not really destroying the most elusive teen super hero team if you don't do it yourself. So, I helped you out. Of course, there was the whole thing about getting my body back. That's where the rest of the deal comes in.


“When you left me to save your precious Raven, I was not only returned this masterpiece of a body, but a certain blonde-headed supergirl, grilled to my liking. I asked for the cook to shave off the few months before she met you, and I made sure it wouldn't shock her to realize nearly a year had passed since she'd last been conscious. I could have thought it out better, but when given the chance to have anything you want, you don't really take time to make sure you're making the smartest decision. Well, I knew Terra wouldn't be able to handle the change, even if she didn't know it had happened, so I made sure I could look over her, and when the time was right, I let her remember everything.


“You and she aren't too different, you know. You both, in your most desperate moments, sought after me for help. From your perspective, you might say that's not quite the right choice, but from where I'm standing it's wonderful. It allows me to dig a little deeper.”


He opened his hand and looked at a spherical item there.
“Brought this for you, just in case you've forgotten about me.”


The man took the tiny ball and placed it in Robin's white shirt pocket. He patted the pocket closed and smiled. The clothes Robin wore were standard issue where he was. They were the only thing he was allowed inside this room. His keepers would notice the addition.


“It probably won't stay with you very long, so I hope you get the chance to see it before they take it from you. Just remember what we talked about. It really could help in the long run.”


The man stood from his place on the mattress and picked up his gear. He slung the staff around his back, and buckled his utility belt. He checked to make sure he had everything with him.


“I'll be seeing you Robin.”


He turned around and left the room, shutting the door softly behind him. He looked in the window and waved goodbye before disappearing, around a corner. Robin snorted very loudly, and his eyes flew open. He turned his head back and forth and searched for the source of the click that had woken him. After three days of being locked away with nothing to his name but the clothes he wore, he easily felt the small metal object weighing down his pocket. He brought it out of his pocket stared at it. There were no markings of any kind, and it was too small to be of any significance.


Robin, oblivious of his intruder, stood, placing the metal ball on his bed. As he turned around, something interrupted the numbing hum of the fluorescent lights. Several beeps came out of the sphere behind him. He returned to pick it up, and as it lay in his hand, it flashed a single red light. He placed his finger on the small light, trying to understand the device's function. When nothing happened, he simply stared at it. With no notice, out of the device came what Robin recognized as Slade's voice.


“Remember me?”


The device flashed a giant red light, and Robin dropped to the floor. The alarms in his room sounded, and within seconds, orderlies and security guards had flooded his room. Out of sheer precaution, one of the orderlies issued a dose of morpine to him. There was no need for it, as Robin was out cold. It would only lengthen his torment.

[Oh look I'm...]

You know you wanna praise me.Whoa there, buster, overconfidence is one sure way to crash and burn, and I know that first hand from experience.:sad: Well, anyhooz, I thought I'd take a gander at this story, and so here I am with my thoughts on the first chapter. Your weird style of spacing caused me to forcefully print these darn installments out, which is something I rarely do. If you want to be proud of yourself for making me do that, go right ahead.:sweat:

The beginning paragraphs dragged on a bit, but they were a very nice way to introduce us—if we'd forgotten, anyway—to Beast Boy's powers. His emotional reflection on his past with Terra was nicely executed, but the description was definitely a little off at times. It was cool to see that Beast Boy still hasn't completely gotten over Terra; Raven's means of "shutting him up" was amusing too.;) :anime: As a whole, the misuse of grammar became unbearably painful to my eyes, but I will say that I was able to get through it. I wouldn't classify this story as "reader-friendly" so far, because you ask a lot from the readers and some of us with lesser intelligence can't always see what you're trying to convey. I personally think that the chapter would've had a much better effect had it ended when the Tower's sirens started blazing: the comedic moments between the Titans would've made this an enjoyably funny chapter to read, if left alone.

That said, the action scene was where I had a much tougher time keeping up. Granted, I understand that on-paper action is near impossible to write, so I won't go criticizing there. I will say, however, that, without a doubt, the dialogue needs work (I'm basing this thought mainly on Starfire's "OK!" which I've never heard her say in the show, Robin's "Gotcha", and Cyborg's ill-placed "Booyahs"). As a contrast, Raven's lines were the best of the bunch: the "And I don't high five" exhibited her sense of apathetic sarcasm perfectly. Anyhooz, the new villains were quite interesting to see, but it would've helped had you explained what they looked like when they were first on-screen, i.e. when Robin and the Titans first saw them on the Tower's monitor. Since you really didn't do that, I had no way of knowing what gender they were until the Titans were face-to-face with them!

For the most part, chapter 1 seemed really drawn out. You caught my interest with the scene in the Tower (with the air hockey and such, if you want me to be more specific) but then things might've gone downhill with the overly complex action, which wasn't really necessary. It could've been saved for later, but that's not really my call, is it?:sweat:

I'll be back soon enough with more reviews.

[Oh look I'm...]

Well, after completely trudging through the mess of chapter one, I finally built up the courage to tackle and review chapter two. Here goes...

It was my hope that this story would pick up in the second chapter, and I'm glad it did.:anime: The plot's definitely on a roll, and I can start to see the hints of where this story might go. I won't say too much on Terra's "return," partly because I wasn't really a fan of the idea of bringing her back completely, but I'll see how you handle it. Who knows? It might turn out well.:shrug:

The scenes with Robin were my favorite. His obsessive nature—somewhat akin to or shadowing of Batman's—was clear, which made it that much more enjoyable to read. He immediately assumes that Slade is up to no good just because the guy makes an appearance. I'm not quite sure if that is a crime in and of itself, but it was still amusing to watch Robin freak out about it, even in his dreams.

Grammar didn't really improve, actually, which was slightly disappointing,:crying: but I found the overall length of the chapter to be fitting and comfortable, at least for me. Oh, and nothing against you personally, but I've yet to see a selection of civilian clothes for Raven that didn't outright suck.:sweat: :sweat: :sweat: However, that's just my tastes; it doesn't really bode on your writing at all, when you think about it. By the way, you can ignore everything I say if you want to.

[Oh look I'm...]

Okay, peoples, onto chapter three. It's a wild one.

As with the previous chapters, I'm not wholly sure what effect you're going for when you write randomly descriptive stuff like the snow scene.:sweat: It was, nonetheless, an intricately smooth way of panning over to Robin. For a second, I thought it was Beast Boy instead. Didn't Robin scream at Cyborg that he'd be going out?:confused: I guess he must've gone and done whatever, come back to the Tower, sleep or something, and end up watching every piece of snow fall. All in all, that sounds like a bizarrely busy night.:eek:

I probably should mention that there is an interesting little parallel between Robin's issue and Beast Boy's.;) :D Much like before, however, I'm not seeing the point to the trio at the Chinese restaurant, if only to show Cyborg's "Tokyo appetite" and Beast Boy's continuous longing for Terra. I also didn't see any plot progress for that time, either.:( Things finally picked up when Slade "struck" again. Even though Slade's known to have a definite cockiness about him, he seemed a tad out of character: from what I've seen over the course of the animated series, Slade has been cool (in the calculating sense) rather than the teasing amusement-seeker you've depicted. It is my belief that Slade always had a motive, which was either selfish or destructive, but never really for pure enjoyment.

I guess I'm having a hard time enjoying this—at least, enjoying this as much as you want me to—because I see something very apparent: some of the characters don't really need to be here. Every time I think of Cyborg in this story, I picture him in the background... eating.:sweat: Starfire also has a somewhat limited role, other than complaining about Robin, who the story seems to really be focused on. Beast Boy should stay—it's all good there—because the story makes a point about keeping up with his occasional Terra-related reflections. I'm not too sure about Raven at the moment, though. My suggestion is to make the characters a bit more involved than "hanging out" and commenting on each other. Either that, or someone needs to be voted off the island. Although, now that I think about, axing a Titan might be asking a bit much. Sorry.:sweat: :sad:

[Oh look I'm...]

Finally! Some improvement! Thank you, God! I was really worried there, but you finally kicked ass.

The first part of this chapter was certainly interesting, and it had me wonder if you're writing an episode (as your style has dictated previously in the story) or if you've actually joined the rest of us (mainly Matt A, though :sweat: ) in writing literature. Seriously, the little ramble on Robin's priorities was some of the best and most intriguing stuff from you I've come across. I especially liked how you established the dilemma in Robin's mind as something of a schizophrenic disease or overall personality disorder than simply a fork in the road. However, it could've used a little more work and refinement to truly become gold, but I think you're really close.;)

Concerning the date between Robin and Starfire, I'll start by saying that I'm usually not a fan of fluff unless I'm writing it. One might surmise that the inner shipper in you was having a field day with this one, what with the romantic mix of feelings with the perfect atmosphere and all. You know, what was ultra cool about this chapter was that it evolved from a simple "What if Haunted happened when Robin and Starfire were on a date?!1!" to an escalated hallucinatory assault that might threaten to destroy the relationship between Robin and Starfire. For a moment, I actually thought that the cryptically-timed photograph (the first one, anyway) would lead to something ten times more sinister, but then it turned out to be an attack from "Slade."

And with that ending (the Beast Boy one), this story is finally getting exciting. I won't go so far as to say that the build-up you've taken so long to establish has finally paid off, but I will say that I'm satisfied at this point. Actually, the narrative itself was riveting enough to where I almost didn't notice the grammar mistakes. I suppose that is something to be proud of. Also, while many readers become intimidated with horrendously long chapters—this, by the way, is something I know all too well—I was surprised to find out, after finishing, that chapter 4 was quite a long one indeed. See, the writing captured my attention enough to where I didn't even look away. Good job, Mr. Horton.;) Keep it up.

You are so close, man. As of now, I'm most definitely impressed.

[Oh look I'm...]

Now, I've moved on to chapter five. Wow, those were quite some developments. I am in total support of where you're taking the BB/Terra relationship. Personally, I was never really opposed to it in the show, and it's nice to see that Beast Boy actually has someone. And while some might say that you took Beast Boy's "apathy" too far and that his attitude toward Terra was grossly out of character, I think it couldn't have been handled differently. Beast Boy's been known to act a bit differently than his usual self when his life goes for a spin—I think Aftershock and The Beast Within can attest to that—and you have managed, beyond all doubt, to stay strong in his characterization. Well done!:D

Again, Cyborg seems to have no purpose in this story other than to be a warm hug, literally. I suppose it was somewhat necessary—although I am in no way, shape, or form supporting this move—to have him there purely to solidify Terra's return as genuine. After all, it's kind of hard to play the "BB's nuts" card if Cyborg can see her too. I'm not sure if that's what you were going for, but whatever.

Anyhooz, the second part is where things got really weird. First, Robin can't spend a few days away from Tokyo without getting locked up again? Basically, I find his entire predicament laughable at this point, but that's not a criticism on your writing in any way. Second, why exactly didn't you say that the guy who walked in to Robin's cell was Slade? He talked like Slade, acted like Slade, referred to events from the POV of Slade, so what's the problem? Are you, like, writing with suspense? Don't do that, at least not that way, because it just comes off as you insulted our (or, at least, my) intelligence. Third, what was the point to Slade's little "this is how Terra came back" ramble? If it was there for more than him saying, "Just thought you'd like to know, Robin," you have to tell us. It's no fair when you don't.

Sidenote-wise, can I ask: was there a point to the hugely complex multi-manned fight in chapter one?:confused: Based on where the story has gone since then, I'm not too sure there was one. I kept looking for some kind of connection between Kitten's self-piercing fun in the sun to the reemergence of Terra and/or Slade. Um, am I wasting my time in doing so? It's not that big of a deal, but I'd like to know, all the same. Perhaps it was just there like KG Beast's appearance in the episode, Kid's Stuff, of Justice League Unlimited. Whatever; I digress.

So, there're my thoughts. The first part was fluffy teen drama, and the second part was total random exposition. I don't think this has quite hit the standard that chapter four set, but you haven't fallen far, either. Considering how far you've come, I'm fully confident that you'll be able to pick yourself up and turn this into greatness again.;)

Finally, in reference to the "writing in pseudo-suspense comes off as insulting my intelligence" rant, if I totally missed what you were trying to say, it only means that I'm as dumb as you think—which I actually am. Again, it's nothing against you; I'm really stupid at times. As Matt A can testify to, I have something of a tendency to misunderstand people's positions, on no fault of their own.

[TeenTitansGO!]

Well...I think you are a bit off your rocker.:anime: Just kidding. I see what you mean. The things is that you've got to understand that this is a story, and however much you want to know why something happened or if this mattered, you won't know until I let you. To keep it short and sweet, yes that first scene does have a meaning.

Also, just because I've got a new chapter on a new day, it doesn't mean that day is the next sequentially. So when you say he can't spend three days without being locked up...think like 8 months. The time from when he went "out" to when he was staring at the snow is like at least a month.

About the Slade dropping in randomly thing? Totally wasn't random...if you didn't notice, he left something with Robin that knocked him out. There's a purpose, but I'll get to that later.

Also, I describe things like crazy...my writing style. No apologizing there.

About not saying Slade's name: the scene was supposed to be numb and depersonifying, considering the characters' surroundings. Therefore I chose to leave out one name and rarely refer to another.

One thing that was actually insulting as opposed to being critiqued, was that you said I was a Rob/Star shipper! :D :anime: No, it's just needed for the storyline to carry out like I need it to.

Hey, seeing as I'm a grammar fanatic, I'd like to know what you mean about bad grammar. I'm not saying it's not there, but that I'd like to fix it.

On Cyborg: I have no clue what to do with the poor guy. However, I need him for at least 3 scenes near the end so he's gotta stick around.

A lot of times you see a scene as pointless or non-plot-moving, but in reality, it's meant to simply push on an emotion or an idea.

Also, never assume I'm insulting your intelligence.

Teen drama is a weakness of mine, so I'll try to work on it, but it's hard. Thanks for the critique though!:)

Matt H.

[Matt A]

First up, I have to disagree with one of Jack's points: personally, I like it when there's loads of unanswered questions. I mean, I'm a big-time Lost fan, and I've recently been reading/having lectures on Franz Kafka's The Trial (though, unlike Jack, I'll try to spare you my subsequent brain farts), so if I can cope with their ambiguities, then I can sure cope with yours.

And on that note, this chapter sure throws up a lot of questions. Considering all that she's done to them, why is Terra so desperate to throw herself back into the Titans' lives? Does she seriously believe that she can give herself a clean slate, regardless of how utterly impossible this is? Was that really Slade in Robin's cell? If not, then who is he, and why's he taken on that persona? If he is Slade, then why did he pay the visit, giving a big speech to someone who wasn't capable of listening? Why did he leave behind a device that would only conk Robin out again? Was any of what Slade (or "Slade") said even true, and if it wasn't, what is the truth? As I said to Jack not so long ago, asking so many questions is always a sign that they're important/interesting enough to be asked, so congrats to you for piquing my curiosity even more than usual.

This also throws up another interesting point. You said not to take things too literally: does that mean that some things weren't real, or that some people weren't honest? Or even both? I mean, there's enough questions to be asked when you just take things as read, but when you also factor in the possibility that some of these questions aren't even relevant...well, I think that kinda speaks for itself. As I said above, I consider this ambiguity to be a plus, so it's pretty cool that you're throwing out so many different possibilities for us to play with.

But even more than all the intrigue, what really makes this chapter stand out, I think, is the form of it. It's not often I place so much regard on presentation, so take this as a good sign.

The first half, though obviously firmly in the "teen drama" side of things, is always kept on a fairly realistic level, being more touching than overwrought. I mean, you've got Beast Boy's former love interest, who went from spy to traitor to statue to amnesiac, coming back totally out of the blue as if many of what went before hardly mattered, so obviously it's only so realistic...but you can understand and believe in their various reactions, that's more my point. This is a lot for Beast Boy to take in, after all, and seeing this is all just dragging up stuff he'd been doing his best to leave behind him (mixed metaphor, but whatever), it's understandable that he doesn't react in the way Terra expected. As an additonal bonus, your depiction of their shared attitude, that their desires and fears are both identical and contradictory, was near-perfectly done, especially the symbolism of them both leaning on opposite sides of the door. Wonderful momeny, that.

As for the second half...well, every time Slade, or even "Slade", puts an appearance in this story, it's just awesome. When he's present, the whole universe just seems to contract around him. Though Jack was annoyed about you not saying his name, I personally like it: the ambiguity fit with the very strange, almost dreamlike, nature of his appearance. And both in that respect and others, Slade's dialogue was absolutely spot-on, showcasing someone who is mysterious and manipulative simply because he enjoys it. I can imagine him saying "my bad" to be the most evil-sounding thing ever.

Well, there's a few more things I can say, but sadly, time is working against me, so I shall have to end here. Simply put, this was a grade-A chapter, giving us lots of interesting questions in a wonderfully written way. I can't wait to see where this goes from here.

-Matt A-

[Oh look I'm...]

Hey, seeing as I'm a grammar fanatic, I'd like to know what you mean about bad grammar. I'm not saying it's not there, but that I'd like to fix it.Trust me, dude, you do not want to get me started on finding grammar mistakes. While it's really more of an OCD thing, it'll probably come off as me tearing your work to shreds, which I don't think you'll appreciate.:sweat: So I think it's better for everybody if I don't point out the typographical errors and such. As a wise man once said...

...don't poke the bear.

[paranoidguy103]

TeenTitansGO!, your fanfiction story is very well written and creative. The last chapter left me with a lot of questions. Can't wait until the next chapter comes out. Keep up the good work.
Paranoidguy103

[r/s4ever]

i love your fanfic and think you should definately write more! in fact, the only reason i joined this website yesterday was because of your awesome story! :D

[TeenTitansGO!]

I'm glad people like this story. I will be finishing it, but just not right now. r/s4ever, I actually hate rob/star, it's just convenient for my story. haha. I'll be back with more relatively soon.;)

[r/s4ever]

:crying: your mean...just kidding!:anime: everyone has their own opinions!