Not in Kansas [Open]

[Deleted]

New things were always fun. New clothes, new toys, and especially a new town. And for Charlie Rudolf, that was exactly what Jump City was. Albeit she had been to Jump a few times before for summer get-aways with her brother, so it wasn’t a completely new area. Then again she had heard that vacationing and living somewhere wasn’t the same so she took that as a cue to look at Jump City like a tourist. With clear eyes and not a clue what to do. 

So...

“WOW IT’S THE BEACH!!!” Charlie exclaimed from her balcony. The lovely ocean view beach house was nestled on a hill above a private beach but what was the fun in it being private? Maybe she could change that. How did one unprivatize a beach? Bah she’ll think about that later. Right now it was a clear day in a new(ish) house with a beach! Is it too cold to go swimming? She thought as she rushed back to her luggage.

While digging in one bag for a bathing suit a flurry of golden furry tackled her to the ground. “Gah!” Charlie was pinned as an outbreak of slobbery licks attacked her face. She laughed and failed in every attempt to cover her face. “MAB! Okay! Stop with the kisses, I’m gonna be soaked before I even get to the beach!” Finally she pushed the dog away and sat up while wiping her face with her shirt sleeve. The golden retriever sat and watched her owner, tail wagging behind her.

“Fine, food first and play later right?” Charlie got up and brushed herself off before making her way to the kitchen. It had been a while since she was last in the house so she wasn’t entirely sure there was any dog food left and after opening the large pantry she found her suspicions proven correct. Her stomach growled at the thought of food, yet the cans of fruits and vegetables didn’t seem all too appealing to a teen with a high metabolism.

'She looked down at Mab who stared at Charlie expectantly with her chocolate brown eyes. “How’s about we go gets some food Mab?” The golden retriever tilted her head to the left. “We are going out Mab,” she said a tad slower to the dog. In moments her golden ears went up and she dashed away to return with her green leash. Charlie smiled, “Good girl!” She took the leash and scratched behind the canine’s ears before clipping the tether to its collar. Mab pulled her human to the door and waited impatiently for it to be open. The blonde girl laughed, you would think I never let her out.

With a click, Charlie latched the other end of Mab’s leash to her belt and took a breath. Then she opened the door and let loose the yellow tornado, Mab took off with Charlie stumbling behind. “MAB SLOW DOWN!!” She cried with a loud laugh. Pretty soon she found herself in a completely different neighborhood and quite frankly, lost. She managed to pull the dog to a stop and scanned the area.

“Mab I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” Charlie remarked. Mab responded by tackling her to the ground and attacking her face with kisses.

[Elenaphant]

"STARFIRE SLOW DOWN!"

Cyborg didn't know why he kept agreeing to let Star behind the wheel. If it were Robin or BB, he'd have no qualms yelling at them about treating his car with respect, but maybe there was that bit of old-school chivalry in him that kept him from losing his temper with girls completely. Then again, it may just be he was too afraid to be angry. He clutched the handle of his door, hearing his joints squeak with the effort. He didn't know if he was more afraid for them in the car, the old ladies crossing the street, or the car itself. 

Starfire was a completely different picture. She was calmly looking out, only wincing every so often when she hit a firehydrant--whoopsies!--and would listen to Cyborg's frantic instructions not knowing what was wrong with him. She was forgetting not everyone, or everything for that matter, could survive collisions with metal. Surely she was not doing so badly. 

"Eaaase your foot off the pedal. We're approaching a red--okay, we passed a red light... Just try and slow down before the next one, now pull that handle there to signal you're turning...and turn the opposite way, okay, okay we'll work on that..." 

Starfire glanced around. "I do not believe I recognize this area. We were supposed to be at the arcade."

"If you followed the directions the GPA gave you, we'd be out of these hoods by now."

"These what?" Starfire took her eyes off the road to look at the houses and the passers by, forgetting not to apply so much pressure to the gas pedal. Just as she saw someone, she had sped past the girl and her dog. Many meters away, she came to a screeching halt. "Oh no, I wished to ask her directions!"

"We really don't need to--what are you doing? You're not thinking--you can't do that."

Starfire blew hair out of her eyes and pivoted her body to look at the back window. "You are merely exhibiting the male need to avoid asking for directions. The feminine magazines warned me of such and issue." Silly Cyborg. She sped in reverse, returning to the position where the girl and her little dog were.

She rolled down the window, revealing her chipper face and Cyborg's terrified oh god please help me face behind her in the passenger seat. "Greetings! I have come across your neighbourhood--" bulldozed it more like, "--and I do not know how to leave. What directions will take us back to downtown Jump?"

[Deleted]

Ever since Nos the freaky vampire-looking dude had stolen Brocks gift to her AND proved his strength by lifting her car, Maggie had done what she believed would be best: Gone to the library and studied all she could on those with super powers and strange abilities.

And there was literally near to nothing on them, only a few published case studies done overseas that she had printed off while at the library. It was one of those days that Maggie was actually thankful for her odd little gift with languages, for she highly doubt that she would ever be able to understand some of these languages that she had glanced at for mere moments until her ability kicked in.

She would of probably of needed a person who understood Korean to translate for her. Or was it Japanese? Some Eastern language. Or she would need google translate, but those where horrible translations.

I am surprised there haven't been more studies done, Maggie thought as she walked home, looking over some of the papers with a frown on her face. The information she had gotten was rather pothetic, the people interviewed and studied being those with less than ideal abilities. They make mine seem like flight or electrical manipulation. Seriously, super eating? Maggie thought, a bit fustrated at the lack of true information. Such as the why question. Why do they have these abilities? Why do some people have some abilities and others other abilities? Was it related to genetics? Was it to make up for any weaknesses the person may possess?

Maggie had a theory surrounding this, but seeing as this was simply a theory she was keeping it to herself. Besides, people tended to get mad when you make theories about them.

Maggie was brought out her thoughts by seeing a girl and her dog, looking a bit lost. "Howdy there! You alright? Your looking a lil bit lost," Maggie called over, about to cross the street to her when a car come speeding down the road and past the girl and her dog before screeching to a halt. Is that the Titans car? Maggie thought as she looked at the girl, eyes wide as the car suddenly went into reverse to where the girl and her dog were.

Instantly her phone was out and she snapped a picture, for what if someone had stolen the Titan's car? It would explain why it was speeding around in such a way, especially in a neighborhood that could have kids playing close to the roads. And so Maggie moved closer, as though to take some better pictures of those behind the wheel when she recognized who exactly it was in the car and driving it.

She had only met her briefly at school, but you tend to remember the first time you meet Starfire, one of the five founding members of the Titans. Oh my Georgia, Cyborg is with her. There are two founding Titans in my neighborhood! Maggie thought happily as she put her phone away and started to simply walk over, looking both ways before crossing the road and approaching them.

"Seems likes everyone is getting lost in my neighborhood today." Maggie said all friendly-like, smiling at the girl and her dog then at Starfire. "Um, hi Kory- I mean Starfire. I don't think you remember me, we only met momentarily at school. I was with Dick Greyson? I mean he was helping me figure out my schedule and you know what? Nevermind. Um, so what can I do to help?" Maggie said, mentally smacking herself in the forehead for her inability to talk to Starfire. She could feel her face turning red at her awkwardness.

Sure, she could talk to other, newer titans well enough but to one of the originals? Nope, can't do that without looking like an idiot. And what possibly made it worse was the fact that it wasn't just one of the original Titans, but two! Im doomed, Maggie thought, wishing she could just disappear.

"Downtown Jump? No problem. And where are you needing to go?" Maggie asked as she looked at the girl and her little dog, who was utterly adorable. Maybe they're heading in the same direction, Maggie thought, wanting to get them to where they are needing to go so she could get back to her readings. [/i][/i][/size]

[Silv]

The way she was staring at him made Robin slightly uncomfortable as the young teen bent over to fist bump the little boy in crutches. Maybe it was because it looked like the woman was on the verge of crying, or maybe it was because on some level she reminded him of his own, long dead, mother. Robin tried hard to avoid her gaze. The mask made it easier. “Keep up the good work, Ryan,” the Boy Wonder told the smaller boy as their fists met before the tiny hand went back to steady himself on his right crutch. The other kid was balancing easily on his uncasted leg. “Remember, you don't have to be super to be a hero,” it was pretty much Robin's motto. They were standing outside a surburban house. In general, Robin wasn't too sure what to think about the suburbs. It was a strange, almost alien landscape. The city he understood, he'd been to enough of them to know that they were fundamentally all the same. The country, well, it was used for traveling between cities. Settling down in the suburbs? That was something this circus boy would probably never get. But he was here. He was checking up on a little boy he'd saved from a monster attack who had sent him a letter asking for a visit. Robin didn't respond to most of his fanmail. In fact, he didn't even read all of it, but this one he had and so our favorite traffic-light clad super hero had just made a little boy's day. He'd spent a few hours that morning at the kid's house. The boy, Ryan, had been excited at first asking about what it was like to be a superhero. During the course of those few hours Robin had come to the conclusion that he and Ryan weren't terribly different. They both wanted to make a difference in the world. They both didn't quite feel like they fit in. Robin gave Ryan some advice when it came to dealing with bullies, and told the boy about some of his problems when he first came to public school. The kid's brown eyes had widened in surprise to learn that the fearless Boy Wonder had once been a (technically still was) victim of bullying. That was in the past, however, in the here and now, there were goodbyes to be had. Robin didn't do hugs, but when the little boy flopped forward out of his crutches after the fist bump (which apparently wasn't enough) the young leader had no choice but to catch the kid. He wrapped his arms around Robin's skinny waist tightly. “Thank you!” the boy said softly. “For everything. You're my hero.” It was touching, of course, but not something Robin was entirely sure how to deal with. He settled for an awkward sort of grin as he knelt down to be at the kid's level. “It's people like you,” Robin told the younger boy, “that are my heroes.” As he left, the near-weeping mother insisted he take home the box of cookies she had apparently baked (man had she baked) while he had been talking with her son. He tried to refuse them, but in the end, he was stowing the box of baked goods into his motorcycle and pulling on his helmet. He waved goodbye to the mother and son as he drove off down the street on his way back to the tower. In maybe two turns he saw maybe the last thing he ever expected to see. The T-Car was parked not twenty feet away, and the driver- Robin's eyes widened to epic proportions- STARFIRE? was leaning out the window and talking to a vaguely familiar form as well as another one with a dog. He kicked his feet off the ground and motored over towards them, maneuvering the R-Cycle to stop directly in front of the T-Car before jumping off and hitting the kickstand. “Did we get a distress call for this area?” Robin asked his teammates, moving around the side of the car and smiling at Maggie and Charlie as he did so. He peered past Starfire to look at Cyborg. “And why is Starfire driving?”

[Deleted]

She was about to respond to the nice brown haired girl and say that she was in fact lost, when a car sped past Charlie then backed up and stopped next to her and Mab, Charlie nearly had a heart attack. It was the freaking T-Car, with freaking Starfire asking her for directions! Along with Cyborg looking completely terrified. Her blue eyes widened and she could barely control her self, “HOLY COW! You’re the freaking Teen Titans!” She would have said more but the nice girl from across the street had apparently crossed the road.

The girl was talking to the Titans, as in casually talking and about school none the less! Was this what Jump City was like? Sure Star City had Green Arrow, Speedy and Black Canary but they never asked her for directions! When the brown haired girl asked her where she was going Charlie smiled and opened her mouth to respond only to be interrupted by her stomach growling. “Ha, anywhere with food works for me and Mab here,” she said with some color pooling in her cheeks. Mab responded by jumping on the nice girl.

When a someone looking very much like Robin pulled up Charlie nearly started bouncing. She would have if Mab hadn’t decided the motorcycle was the most fascinating thing ever. “MAB NO!” Charlie shouted and nearly tumbled forward but caught her footing rather quickly. The golden retriever nearly jumped on the bike but Charlie tugged the leash before she got a chance. “Sit!” She commanded and was proud to see Mab actually sit.

This isn’t embarrassing in the slightest, she though to herself and scratched Mab’s ears. “Mab and I agree that you have an awesome bike,” Charlie smiled in a friendly manner. Yeah, good save! She looked back at the T-Car, “Is Starfire not supposed to drive? I though she was doing pretty well.” Then again Charlie didn’t even have her license but driving looked like fun!

[Elenaphant]

Yes, they were indeed the freakin' Titans! Starfire smiled at the star-struck female, used to this odd reaction. There was not one girl, but two, and one whom she vaguely recognized. At the mention of Dick her eyes grew wider, as did her smile. "Yes! I do remember," and while she was going to ask if her and Dick were friends of any sort, there was the sound of a motorcycle and the appearance of three colours Starfire had largely been ignoring while driving. "Robin!" she exclaimed, pleased to see him, while Cyborg gave a sigh of relief. 

"Starfire is driving because I'm teaching her how." He said this with the look and sound of a man who had seen the end and lived to tell the tale. 

When the girl with the excited mutt had the audacity to praise Starfire on her lack of skills, Cyborg's metal jaw went slack. "You're kidding, right?"

"Why thank you! And no, dear Robin we have not been called to distress. Have you?" She glanced down and noticed he had something with him.  "What is that you have there?" she asked and then leaned in to take a deep sniff. "Mm, they smell like the sweets that bakeries make."

"Cookies?" Cyborg perked up, and then leaned over Starfire to snatch the container. "Yoink!" He needed comfort food. Omnomnomnomnom. "Hweh, thehe ahe phwettee good." 

He swallowed and considered the two civillians, and the dog. It looked cleaner than BB could be. "I think drive-with-Star time is over, so if you want I could give you ladies a ride." He said it in his 'lady killer' voice and flashed a grin, while having crumbs on the corner of his mouth and chocolate between his teeth. He was so smooth, just like the top of his bald head. 

[Deleted]

Well, looks like i'm not the only fan around here, Maggie said with a smile when the girl stated that they - Cyborg and Starfire - where the Titans. And yay for no geeking out! Brownie points! Maggie thought as she smiled, though when Starfire stated that she did remember her a small little squeak escaped her, a giant grin on her face. That grin remained when the little dog jumped on her, and Maggie couldn't help but kneel down and pet the dog, cooing.

And then the sound of a motorcycle caused her to stand back up straight, her eyes widdening when she saw the one, the only....
Robin.

Oh my gosh, i'm meeting THREE titans! Im meeting the LEADER of the TITANS! Oh gosh i'm not ready! Oh no, i'm going to act like a complete idiot and they'll never like me and- Maggie was surprised she wasn't hyperventalating as she looked him over while he spoke to Cyborg and Starfire, honestly wondering how he was able to fight crime while being soo skinny! Hes probably just as skinny as Dick! Okay, Dick might be a little bit more skinny, but they're still both skinny. Must be a Gotham thing, cause Sterling is on the skinny side too. Maggie thought, proving that she wasn't as smart as people think she was.

In hearing that Cyborg was teaching Starfire how to drive, Maggie couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him. He was teaching her how to learn to drive in the T-Car? "Might want to go with a minivan next time. Not as much power," Maggie advised, remembering how to learn to drive in her aunt Ellies minivan. Fun times. And apparently there where some fun times involved with Cyborg teaching Starfire, for the look on his face when the girl said that she had thought Starfire had been doing well. Note to self: Never let them drive my car unless i'm being fired at by some villains. Then their driving may come in handy.

At the mention of sweets brought Maggie out of her thoughts, and she smiled when she saw the cookies. Well, what she saw of the cookies until Cyborg snatched the container and downed them. She couldn't help but giggle at Cyborgs attempt to flirt with them with cookie crumbs in the corner of his mouth and chocolate between his teeth. "Um alright, but you might want to clean yourself up a bit." Maggie laughed, indicating that he had food on his face.

Which somehow reminded her that she had been ignoring Robin, the leader of the Titans, who had no idea who she was. I am an idiot! Maggie thought as she quickly turned towards him, holding her hand out for him to shake. Nothing made a better impression than a smile and a firm handshake. "Excuse my manners, i'm just a bit overwhelmed with seeing and meeting three of the founders of the Titans in my neighborhood but i'm working on just being whelmed. Um, so anyway, i'm Maggie Blythe and its a real honor to meet y'all." Maggie said, then lowered her voice so that, hopefully, only Robin could hear her. "And, um, if you ever run into a guy name Dick Greyson, please don't beat him up unless he does something illegal but i'm pretty sure he'll never do something like that because hes a really nice guy, okay?"
[/size]

[Silv]

Robin was used to people shouting that they were the Teen Titans, so he didn't miss a beat when he shot Charlie a smile before turning his attention back to his team. “Hey Star,” he smiled at the redhead in the front seat charmed, as always, by her cheerful nature. Cyborg was explaining about teaching Starfire to drive, proving once again how brave the mechanical teen actually was, when he nearly got jumped by a dog. The boy turned around and smiled when he saw the creature that had sat at Charlie's command, reaching out a gloved hand to pet the dog much like Maggie had done. “He's okay,” Robin reassured Charlie. He barked a short laugh and grinned, “Thanks. I take it this is Mab?” he asked the dog as much as the person. “You're a good dog,” he said with a smile, this time to Mab. “I have a dog back in Gotham.” But then Cyborg was taking offense to the praise of Starfire's driving skills and the Boy Wonder's attention was diverted from the canine friend. He smiled at Charlie. “She's allowed to drive. It's just....Cyborg usually doesn't let people even look at his “precious baby” T-Car. I can barely believe he's letting her drive it.” He laughed again, straightening to nod to Starfire when she said there was no sign of trouble in this area. That had been exactly what he wanted to hear. And then the cookies were noticed. “Hey-!” Robin protested when Cyborg leaned over their teammate and plucked the cookies right out of his arms. Though, the kid couldn't help but laugh as his friend downed them. “Next time get your own fan appreciation cookies!” the young leader said, though he wasn't really serious, the grin on his face made that obvious. Cyborg was flirting with Maggie and Charlie. Robin couldn't help but smirk because of the crumbs on his friend's mouth. When Maggie mentioned he should probably clean up first, the boy couldn't help but laugh again. Man, he was in a good mood! Then Maggie was introducing herself. “Pleased to finally meet you face to face!” he told the girl, in irony, reaching out a green gloved hand to shake hers. His handshake was firm, ten times less awkward and timid then Dick's. When she leaned in to quietly tell him not to beat up Dick Grayson, Robin couldn't help but smile. “You know,” he replied softly. “You're the second person who's told me not to beat him up. But don't worry. I won't unless he breaks the law. Not believing in my ninja abilities isn't a crime,” his smirk turned wicked. When he pulled away he went on as though he hadn't said anything, walking over to Charlie and also reaching out a hand. “I've met your dog, but I don't believe I've met you. I'm Robin.”

[Deleted]

She smiled brightly at Maggie and then to Robin who pet the happy golden retriever. Mab smiled and wagged her tail when the Titan pet her and licked his face in response to his complement. “Yep, named after some character in a Shakespeare story my brother liked, a fairy I think, and she has her obedient moments.” Charlie felt a little twinge in her chest when mentioning her brother, she missed him but kept a smile on her face.

She got curious when Robin mentioned having a dog, “Really? What kind? Did you keep it at home or in the Batcave?” Charlie asked with a joking smirk.

“Ah, right. Some guys have this thing with their cars,” she looked back to Cyborg. “Sorry dude, hope she doesn’t wreck her,” Charlie said sympathetically. When she saw the cookies Charlie was about to ask for one, until Cyborg devoured them all in no time flat. But she forgave him after his messy attempt of flirting and giggled, “Sure. And you do have just a little something here,” she said after Maggie’s comment and pointed to the corner of her own mouth. Charlie’s old friends did the same thing to her when she had something on her face and now she was doing it to a Titan! Who’d of thought? “Oh! And share next time!” She scolded with a pout. “Some of us haven’t eaten today!” Mab barked in agreement.

“Right!” Charlie took Robin’s hand and gave it a strong shake. “I’m Charlie! And I know who you are, all of you really. You guys have a few fan clubs in Star City! There was even a debate between your fan club and Speedy’s about who would win in a fight.” She got a distant look on her face when she started to remember the cat fights and screaming, girls could be crazy. “It was a terrifying year...” Her voice was faraway and she paled a little when recalling the entire ordeal.

Her grumbling stomach snapped her out of traumatic memories, “Oh, yea.” Charlie turned to the T-Car’s owner and driver. “Know any good places with food? Our house didn’t really have anything worth eating and I haven’t been to Jump City since I was a kid!” She said as cheerful as ever. Mab barked, “And a place where I can get food for Mab.” Charlie knelt down and scratched the dogs ears affectionately.

[Kenni]

Speak of the Speedevily.

"Oh, what? You have gotta be k-kidding me.." grinned the East Titan that Ms. Rudolph had just mentioned (but had of course missed the entire conversation, especially the end where his name had been dropped, amidst the roar of the engine), swooping in from around the corner on a borrowed motorcycle, and aiming his incredulous tone at none other than Starfire in the driver's seat of his supposed mark.

"They were all in a panic downtown at the station about some hijacked vehicle careening through the streets. None of the officers would touch the chase-call, saying that it looked eerily similar to your ride, Cy." Speedy set the kickstand, flipping up the visor on his helmet as he sauntered over to the T-Car's driver's seat, trying to hide his laughter before giving in altogether and continuing the explanation between short bursts of snickering.
He was sure to greet Robin too, if not silently, with a passing hip-bump.
Their fearless leader deserved at least that much acknowledgement.

"Somat about not being sure whether the hijackers would set off 'those superweapons that that Titanbot-brat's packing in his ride'. Were they talking about the T-Car's offensive inventory...or did...they catch a glimpse of Starfire on the speeding cams?" he asked, jabbing Star in the shoulder lightly with his elbow and ending his passive interrogation with a sympathetic smile at Cyborg for his horrors spent in the driving-student's company.

Star and superweapons, though.
What was the difference?

"Now then...who do we have, here?" Speedy removed the helmet, and shook out his hair which was a dumb thing to do; gelled hair didn't exactly flow in the wind like Grayson's might in a L'Oreal commercial, then flashed a smile at both as-of-yet-assumed civilian girls and their puppy-plus-one.

Speedy flourished grandly, bent forward now in a bow reminiscent of Aqualad's completely serious flare, before peeking back up at the girls.

"I'm Speedy. You've heard of me. I haven't heard of you yet, so it's a pleasure to meet you both~."

After introducing himself as pompously as possible, he followed his bowing motion all the way down to his haunches, and made to shake Mab's hand in greeting.

[Elenaphant]

Cyborg did have a 'thing' about his car. That much was true. Though, after what him and his baby had been through it put real 'danger' into perspective. He laughed, and unlocked the doors for them to enter, signaled by the 'click'. "If a dog could wreck my car, we'd be in trouble," he pointed out, while proudly stroking the steering wheel. No, his baby was built to withstand the toughest of road conditions, inside and out. He spent hours on her, making sure that she was near indestructible. It was necessary work, given the last time he had been in a chase down Slade had made him crash and lose consciousness. When that mess had been cleared up he took the moment as a learning example for modifications. 

His smooth-rider mood was ruined with the arrival of Speedy, who was joking about a harrowing experience to a very unamused Cyborg, and then had the gall to move in on his game. He saw these ladies first AND they had agreed to go for a ride with him. There was no need to bring up Starfire's driving. "Ahem, actually we were just about to leave and--"

"Why are you being asked not to hurt Dick Grayson?"

Speaking of Starfire and super weapons...

She was eyeing him with the glowing eyes that signalled 'danger ahead'. Surely, if people were asking for the second time, he had done something to instill such a fear. Was it a threat? Had he met her friend and done something unfriendly...or worse? For what reason should the boy's associates have to fear physical violence from her leader toward the wonderful boy? 

"Aww Starfire, relaaax, you know how these things get blown out of prop--"

"Dick would never hurt anyone," Starfire cut in, unbuckling and opening the car door to stand in front of him, crossing her arms. "He is a lawful, kind boy who is a victim of one too many ghastly members of his same sex, and should I learn that you have been in any way harmful to him..." she leaned in, "you and I will have much to discuss between us." 

Cyborg had taken the opportunity to slide over to the driver's seat, where he belonged and life felt okay. "That boy makes you go crazy in the head, doesn't he? You come home from school and talk about him like he's your favourite subject." 

Starfire turned on her heel toward Cyborg, hands on her hips. "This is a lie, he is a dear friend and I wish to protect him."

"So what is Robin, chopped liver?" 
"Robin is supposed to be a responsible hero who does not antagonize civilians." 
"Says the girl who just ran through two red lights a moment ago!"
"I am learning." Starfire huffed in defence.
"Signs are not comparable to people."
"They're there for a reason we've discussed--and why did you want to learn to drive anyway?"

Starfire dropped her arms, looking of to the side. "Oh... for my own knowledge..." 

He gave her a look. 

"That is what it is..." she rubbed her arm. 

Cyborg raised his eyebrow.

"Very well! I know human boys have a fascination with shiny metal land vehicles and I wished to give Dick a ride so that I may establish a pleasant association! Are you satisfied now?!"

"AHA--I knew you were crazy for him--wait... WHAT?! I was teaching you to drive so that you could take some guy on a joy ride? No, no no no no no."

"But--!" 

"Absolutely not! Let me give you another lesson, it's called Boys."

"Cyborg--"

"Boys are goal-oriented; they're going to say things to get girls to get them to like 'em, and then throw in a bunch of lovey-dovey player things to mess with your head, make you feel all special, and then when you get down to it they just want to eat pizza and play video games while you're still crazy over them. No, boys are trouble I tell you--and I won't have that particular boy in my car or under my roof for that matter."

It was Starfire's turn to be unamused, narrowed eyes at Cyborg as he went on. She even threw a look at the two other females, wondering if they agreed with this. Certainly, Dick was not at all like this and was nothing but honest. Perhaps he was talking more about himself? "Hmph," she harrumphed in her characteristically dismissive way. That was the end of that discussion. 

Cyborg threw his own little grunt back, then as if forgetting everything he just said, looked toward Maggie and Charlie with a bright, charming grin. "So, did we say Beach?"

[Deleted]

Now he doesn't seem so bad. Seems to be in a rather jolly mood, Maggie thought as Robin grinned and laughed, saying hello to Mab in a way that reassured her that he was a nice guy. After all, dogs had a way of knowing the character of a person. At least Sophie, the Blythe bloodhound, did. "You do? What kind?" Maggie asked, curious on what kind of dog a superhero would have. She was guessing German shepherd or one of those police dogs, though fought against some giggles as she suddenly pictured him with one of those tiny dogs. Now that was funny.

Maggie grinned as Robin stated that he was pleased to finally meet her and shook her hand. It was a good, firm handshake, which made sense for he was Robin, the leader of the Titans. Of course he would have a good handshake. However, that grin disappeared and Maggie's eyes widened to the size of teacups as he revealed that yes, he had somehow overheard their conversation about his ninja abilities at school. "Son of a biscuit, you do have cameras and microphones everywhere! I knew it!" She gasped, trying to remember their full conversation to make sure she hadn't said anything wrong.

Maggie was pulled out of her thoughts by Charlie and Mab, who had stated that they hadn't eaten today. "You haven't eaten yet? Maggie questioned, mentally make a list of foods that were fast and easy to make. Because in the South, you don't let anyone go around hungry. Maggie listened as Charlie stated that she knew who all of the Titans present were due to them having fan clubs in Star City before getting a distant look on her face, as though having some sort of flashback. "Our house isn't too far from here, and I can quickly whip something up for everyone." Maggie said kindly, and smiled down at Mab with affection. "We also have some dog food for Mab." She added, thankful that the Blythe household was constantly stocked up on food.

Their little group was then joined by a boy on a motorcycle in a uniform that stated exactly who he was. Speedy. "Do you both know when people say your name!?" Maggie whispered to Robin, for hadn't Charlie just now stated his name? This was crazy! Maggie listened as Speedy talked about how the police had been worried that the Titans car had been stolen, a bashful grin forming on her lips. After all, hadn't she thought the same thing and even taken a picture of the car before realizing who was driving? I would be terrified too if I was them, Maggie thought, stuffing her papers into her bag before she lost them. She had hardly realized that she was still holding them in all their foreign language glory, but realized that now would be the best time to put them away. Especially since Speedy was looking at her and Charlie. His hair didn't move an inch, Maggie observed as Speedy took of his helmet and attempted to shake out his hair, giggling as he flashed them a smile and bowed to them. 'Nice to meet you too, Speedy. I'm Maggie, Maggie Blythe." Maggie introduced herself, laughing as he shook Mab's paw in greeting.

However, all traces of laughter left when Maggie saw Starfire and her glowing eyes of doom. Uh oh, Maggie thought, taking a step away from Starfire and to the side, so that she was hiding somewhat behind Speedy. When she realized that it had been her asking Robin not to beat up Dick Grayson that had caused Starfire to become defensive like this, Maggie quickly stepped in to put things straight. "Starfire, its not what you think and don't get your feathers in a ruff. Dick, Sterling and I had been talking at school about silly superhero names and Dick had said something about feeling sorry for the sap who inherits Batman's name. I had told him that he shouldn't of said that because I thought Robin here has cameras and microphones all around the city, which I now discovered is true, and how he had ninja training and knew when people said his name and stuff, which may also be true for both Robin and Speedy here." Maggie quickly said, then took another deep breath to keep on speaking, motor-mouthing everything. "So, worried that Robin might of overheard us, Dick got worried that Robin would kick his butt for making fun of his mentors name or whatever, even though I told him that if Robin did that I would give him such a scowling that would keep him from doing it ever again." Maggie took a deep breath, hoping that she was able to calm and reassure Starfire that all was well. "And I think he has a giant crush on you because when you left he couldn't stop staring at you and he couldn't stop smiling at you!" Maggie blurred out, eyes widening slightly. She hadn't meant to say that, but once she was motor-mouthing sometimes words kept spewing from her mouth. Oops.

When Cyborg started talking about how boys are goal-oriented and how they're trouble, Maggie couldn't help but frown and put her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed. "Not all boys are like that and Dick certainly ain't like that at all! Hes shy and meek and rather unassertive but hes kind enough to help new students and funny and makes fantastic word puns!" Maggie felt the need to stand up for Dick, even though she probably wasn't doing the best job at it. "And may I ask what you do when not fighting bad guys and working on this car? Should I make the educated guess that it involves pizza and video games?" Maggie questioned, a smirk on her face.

[Silv]

Maybe it was the dog that had caught him off guard. Maybe it was the meeting earlier with the little kid that left him feeling lighter then he usually did. Maybe it was even Starfire's presence. Whatever it was, he answered their question even though he really shouldn't have, "A German Shepherd. His name is Ace. He's a retired police dog. I left him with Batman," the teen's expression fell at the mention of his mentor. "He probably hasn't gotten a treat in months." Charlie's handshake was strong, and her demeanor friendly. He wasn't surprised to hear that she knew who they all were. He also wasn't surprised to hear about the fangirls. It was a really good spot of luck that the Tournament of Heroes hadn't actually been televised. Or else the world would know who would win. And they would also hate Robin a little more for it. He smiled easily as Speedy pulled up asking about whether or not the T-Car had been hijacked. Robin's smile when Maggie proclaimed that he had secret cameras and microphones everywhere bordered on villainous. It was that unfortunate moment after, however, that Starfire decided the entire situation required more righteous fury. And he was pretty sure she was going to starbolt him in the face. She had gotten out of the car, a testament to exactly how serious this moment was. Maggie and Cyborg both tried to diffuse the tension. Robin matched Starfire glare for glare unflinchingly mostly because he couldn't give away his secret. His secret that they were fighting over him. The boy shared a look with Speedy, the only one present who knew both of his personas, before frowning at the surrounding audience. It was incredibly difficult to control himself. Half of him wanted to blurt out the truth, while the other half wanted to blush knowing that Maggie knew he had a crush on Starfire. And now knowing that Starfire reciprocated. If he were Tameranian, or even a bird, he would fly. But he wasn't. He was Robin. The famous Boy Wonder. And he was stoic while he waited for the others to finish complaining or explaining things with his alter ego. "Starfire," he said, his voice bordering on stern but with a compassionate softness to it mostly reserved for her. "I would never go after a civilian unless they did something criminal." it was something she should have known, and the hurt in his voice and posture was something only a person who had known him for a long time, or someone who was incredibly perceptive would pick up. "I promised you that I would leave your friend alone, and I will keep that promise and make sure the others respect it, whether he stays a friend or…" he trailed off with a shrug and turned instead to the conversation Maggie and Cyborg were having. The set of his shoulders still showed obvious tension but he was able to relax a little at Cy and Mag's bickering. He kind of wanted to know what was wrong with playing video games and eating pizza like a champ.