The New Teen Titans [Next Gen]

[Elenaphant]

“We threw out the fridge.”
“Indeed we did, Mademoiselle.”
“We took it far away from this property.”
“Yes.”
“So why is THAT still there?”

The blue sludge that had infected the kitchen from before the reno was back in the corner of their nice, new one, and her green eyes narrowed upon its form. This stuff was part of Titan legend.

It came back whenever cleaning duties were neglected among the crazy teens. Nobody knew what exactly it was, but Nightstar was not having that health hazard in her Tower, thank you very much!

She snapped on a surgical mask, latex gloves, and scooped the screaming blue fuzz into a petri dish. “Ben, throw out all that food,” she ordered as she rose to her feet, lab coat already on.

“I’m going to take this to the lab. When you’re done cleaning out the fridge I’ll need you to go on a grocery run.”

It was going to be quarantined and monitored, and then she was going to create something to eradicate it. The fuzz was not anything she’s ever seen before—they might be dealing with a whole new life form.

There was, however, paperwork to do. So once it was properly contained and locked down she walked back to the livingroom where the three neat stacks of folders were on the coffee table, while her laptop sat on the large couch. The rest of the team was on patrol duty and kicking bad guy butt while she opted to be the one to stay back and do the administrative stuff. After all, she was the leader and she would have everything nice and orderly.

Oh yeah.

Serious business.

She’d be fine doing it on her own.

The fourteen year old Grayson had her hand to her hip, looking around the room. It was just her here, doing work, being a good Titan and getting things done…

It wasn’t like she was walking over to the stero and plugging in her mp3. Nope, perish the thought. She certainly didn’t start dancing wildly around the livingroom in a private moment, head banging and shake-shake-shake-shake-a-shaken-it and busting all sorts of moves.

Big Ben the Butler certainly wasn’t going to interrupt what was not-happening either, as he covertly set down the groceries he bought—and was he not going to record this either, no ma'am.

[Silv]

The unfortunate thing about bad guys: they just didn't get any smarter. The Titans had just finished kicking the butts of the latest bunch of lame-brains to join up with the HIVE and Damian had dealt with the police already. Now he was going home. The distress call had come in while Damian and some of the others were on patrol. It was just fine for the newest Boy Wonder, after all, he really would rather not hear about how awesome Lian thought she was. Honestly. His eyes rolled behind his green domino mask just thinking about the girl. She and her father were both incredibly immature. At least Grayson tried to-

Speaking of Graysons, the door to the common room opened and Damian wasn't exactly expecting the sight that stretched out before him. Mar'i was dancing to music, music that drowned out the sound of the door opening, and Ben was putting away groceries quietly. The youngest Wayne took a moment to appreciate the movements of the half-Tameranian before him. She was so graceful, and he knew that her hair smelled like-

Nope, not going there. The Boy Wonder set his face into a scowl and walked into the room. “TT” he clucked in a disapproving fashion that was also his speech tic. He didn't say anything else, instead he walked over to where the stereo sat and clicked the off button. The music ended abruptly as Damian gave Mar'i his most withering stare. “Finish the reports then, Grayson?” his voice was as snide as his comment but he didn't seem to take any joy out of berating her. His face was stoic, lips set in a scowl. “And why do we need so much food? We just restocked.”

The Boy Wonder's scrutinizing gaze flipped over to Ben as he put the self-same groceries away. He was the first Robin to not be considered a leader of the Titans and yet still a part of the team. It rubbed the sixteen year old the wrong way often, since he clearly thought he was better suited to the task than the girl in front of him. She had her strong points, he would give her that, but she was, overall, a vastly inferior hero compared to him.

[Deleted]

"There's never such a thing as too much food, Robin."

One moment he wasn't there, the next he was. An orange blur whizzed into view and peeped over Ben's shoulder, his eyes widening in delight at the footage the butler had caught of Nightstar. "A beautiful film, Big Ben. The Academy applauds your efforts," the young speedster teased. It was only later that he figured the Titans' butler was probably recording Nightstar's sporadic dancing without her knowledge, and that he probably would have appreciated it if he hadn't run his mouth off in front of her. Oh well. Jai West had never been one for subtlety.

He had been out patrolling with his sister, of course. There hadn't been anything unusual occurring when the twins took their lap around the city, so they had made the decision to head back to the Tower. Normally it was Irey who made it back first -- she was faster than Jai, a fact that made him more bitter than he cared to admit -- but this time he had managed to beat his sister. It was only a matter of time before she found the new shortcut he had recently discovered, however. For now, he was simply going to revel in his victory.

...And wonder how in blue blazes Robin had beaten him back home from his own patrol. Had the guy borrowed a bit of the Speed Force while he was out or something? The little killjoy.

"Nothing to report, oh Fearless Leader. The patrol was astoundingly boring -- I mean ordinary," Jai merrily chirped, zipping over to the stereo and turning it back on with a mischievous grin directed at Robin. "Why stop the party simply because sourpuss is in the room?" he teased, breaking out into a series of rapid dance moves on the spot. Brown eyes looked at Mar'i with a playful and completely platonic seductiveness. She knew she wanted to continue dancing with him.~

Plus, it was always too easy to make Robin's blood boil.

[Elenaphant]

She couldn't hear Jai over the music, but that was quickly remedied when it turned off and right beside her was Robin, seemingly out of nowhere. Mortified and shocked, she gasped, staggering back for some distance that was a reflexive defensive position (good to know her years of training kicked in) and she cursed in her alien tongue. Where did he ninja from?! Her cheeks were burning and she crossed her arms over her front.

"Mostly." she answered back with an annoyed tone, but it was less toward him and more toward herself for getting caught being so candid. She wasn't a reserved person by any means, but she had been dancing under the assumption there was nobody in the room. Thank goodness she hadn't heard that she had been recorded because then there would be burns all over the place and one butler would be in danger of having all his equipment smashed to smithereens.

Said butler was turning it off and tucking it away. He had only done so because it would be a shame for the young master to miss the show. Now that he was here its purpose was gone. Though, he had to school his expression when the speedster took initiative. He was well aware he made a terrible butler in the sense that his master's ire was all too amusing for him.

"We had to throw away the food due to the return of the blue fuzz. Miss Grayson has quarantined it in the lab and is working on a pesticide, if you will." Ben said as he came around to Robin's side, keeping his eye on Jai's antics. Okay, he really was terrible, because when Mar'i started dancing back his grin widened.

"If you need some cheering up, I did get footage of her solo performance--you know, in case you didn't show. Maybe you should ask her for lessons." Some friendly advice there. He was so considerate. What was that just now about being terrible?

The music turned on and Mar'i had looked to the source. Ah, Jai. Her mortification melted at his good nature and she figured there wasn't anything spectacular for them today. The police were doing a good job taking care of the common criminal, and they must be doing an awesome job as a team because the really bad guys were going quiet.

They could be planning something. Or, she was being paranoid. They'd have to see.

On lighter news, Mar'i was also a flirt. Platonic or not, she ate up the moment as she flashed him a smile, playing along as she began to dance again. Not as crazy and daring as she had been, but more to compliment what he was doing. "The party only started when you walked in~"

[Feathers]

"Did you see the look on his face?" Amethyst ( Am for short) opens the door to her home, the Titan Tower. "Oh okay, I know he was wearing a mask but..." Amber turns to her mentor, SilverWing with a smile. Now, walking down the walks hall, leading to the common room “Did you see the look on his mask?" She hinted her mentor the inside joke.

Radiate with a big smile on her face. Today, she manages to stop a bank robbery and team up with her mentor. Given the opportunity to call the shot, on-her-own, adding the icing to the cake.

Silverwing smiles. Amuse by her little Protégé. Remaining quiet and listening. Waiting for the Am enthusiastic fever to leave. Am pause when she saw the look on Kimber face. She gave a sheepish smile before saying..

"Alright calming down now. .." She started to let herself breathe.
"It's alright, Amber. You did a good job today. I'm proud so proud of you. Your mother would have been so proud of you...”
"Yeah..." Amber a shrug a little. Sometimes she wished her mother was still here with her. “What was my mother like?” She asked
“She was...” Before SilverWing could say a word, she was rudely interrupted by a loud music. Seemingly coming from the main room.
Amber pokes her head into the room. Surprise to see Mari and Jai dancing, much to Damien dislike and disapproved.

“Geez, really...” She cross her arms and looks at them. “Your guys are having a party without inviting Moi?” She looks at them with disapproval looks, but when her favorite song started to play. “Ooh, I love this song...” She joins the others and started dancing with them, all was forgiven.

Kimber just chuckles, despite being left in the dust.

“Something just never changes...” She smiles. Reminiscing about the good old times when she was younger.

[Silv]

Grayson Sr. had once told Damian that he ought to try acting like a kid. The sentiment, at the time, had been ill received and he was still fairly sure he would rather his cohorts simply grow up then to be subjected to their constant tomfoolery. His glare at the incoming West, knowing there would be another following shortly, said as many words in a look. Damian understood that speedster's seemed to have to be obnoxious and take in vast quantities of food. That didn't mean the youngest Wayne had to find it an endearing quality.

When Jai reported that the West patrol had been boring the young man couldn't help but make his signature noise. “TT” he glared at the West before turning towards their leader Mar'i. “I engaged the HIVE. You shall see the report shortly.” a pause. “Don't worry, I didn't kill anyone.” Six years of being Robin hadn't exactly mellowed the kid out. He was still the most likely member of the Titans to kill you as soon as look at you, and he was the one villains told horror stories about facing and surviving. But he was much better than he used to be. It'd been a few months since he'd attacked a teammate anywhere but the sparring area of the gym.

But it looked like that was about to change. Damian didn't so much mind that the music was turned back on, though the noise made him grit his teeth in annoyance. Didn't they realize how much easier it was to sneak up on people playing music? But then Jai had the nerve to flirt with Mar'i. Robin would have killed him on the spot if it weren't for six years of intensive we don't kill lectures from both Batman and Nightwing, though, the sudden movement of Ben between Damian and his target, the West boy, was also a deterrent.

Damian didn't care about the blue fuzz at that moment, though he would deal with it later when, inevitably, Grayson failed. He turned to look at Ben when the other boy said he had footage of Mar'i dancing, and while he didn't look particularly interested in the moment, he was going to confiscate it later. Such blackmail couldn't be left in the hands of a butler. It required...personal attention. He didn't let such things distract him, however, especially not when the unthinkable was unfolding before him.

Mar'i Grayson was flirting back with the West boy. This was an outrage to say the least. Damian went incredibly still, a trait his father also possessed when he felt the desire to murder someone. The difference between them was that the son would actually kill people. Even if he wasn't supposed to. If Damian possessed as many different types of vision as Superman, or even Mar'i's own abilities, the West boy would have been boiled alive in his own skin in an instant so dark was the glare Robin gave him. As it was, however, there wasn't much more Robin could do then glare if he still wanted Mar'i to talk to him later. And he wanted that more than anything, though he would never admit it.

The Boy Wonder turned abruptly, his movements clumsy with rage- rare for even this Robin, who was angry seemingly all the time, as he stalked past Ben and headed out of the common room. On his way he found Amethyst, who was with her mentor, Silver Wing, and gave them both a good sound glare. It wasn't that Damian hated everybody, and there were moments when he could be civil, but it should have been obvious to the entire team how he'd had his eye on the Grayson girl. Especially since he became far more surly when the other boys paid attention to her.

[Kenni]

"HiRobinHiAmberMornin'MizzSilverWingsorryforthedraft."
Robin's and Amber's capes flew into the air as a pouting ginger quite literally stormed her way past the Boy Wonder and his unfortunate glaring targets, seeking out her own. There was always a good time in messing with that guy, but Iris West had a one-track mind when it came to retribution for perceived wrongs done to her.

However, even in her annoyance at being beaten this time, West still let her brother's pet-name ring out first before the accusation.

"JAI-JAI, YOU'RE SUCH A CHEATER!"
To this day, she was fond of having her very own version of Jay Jay the Jet Plane around. Only, he was much quicker than a cartoon namesake.
Quick enough to find a shortcut somewhere in their patrol route and leave her stranded for over a minute!
A whole minute!

As the faster twin, Iris was indignant.

"You sooo saw that train crossing, and you just left me there!"
Jai had always been the more daredevil-inclined of the two, though his sister had been working up her nerve these days. She'd been practicing her phasing technique lately, sure, and it would have been effortless to accomplish...but gearing up to run perpendicularly through a train going at 200mph had still been rather psychologically daunting. Jai had also always been her security blanket, although she'd been trying to grow out of THAT too.
She wasn't about to ask him to slow down or anything, but it would have helped her nerves greatly if he'd been in sync with her and seen her perform the feat.

"I don't know how you skipped around it yet, but when I do, we're having a rematch, all trains off the tracks..!" she huffed in conclusion, emerald eyes dancing with light as proof she was quickly getting over it.
Kicking the other speedster in the butt as he shimmied, Irey sighed and cracked a smile, watching the others dance with and around him.
She couldn't stay miffed with Jai for long.
She also couldn't stay and dance with them at the moment.
All the false anger was making her hungry--but when wasn't she hungry?

Grinning at Ben, she was next to him in a flash, slapping him on the back in gratitude for the veritable feast on the counter and downing 2 whole cases of Oreos and half a gallon of milk. She hardly cared why there was such bounty on the kitchen counter and populating the--was it new?--refrigerator.
All that mattered now was depopulating it.

"Very good, sah!" giggled the girl, with a little bow, and affecting her best English accent, even making it a point to daintily dab at the corners of her lips at a human velocity so he could appreciate the gesture. It was in order to affect 'manners'.

Foreign concept, really, when on had no intention of sharing snacks.

"All quiet on the Western Front, Bosslady." she said between hyper-munching. There wasn't much appeal in long sentences when the girl was eating.
Irey offered Mar'i a smart salute and got back to chowing down.

She assumed the others had already briefed their acting leader on their nothing-to-report report, so it was more a convention of respect for her leadership role than anything else.

[Deleted]

Jai grinned roguishly at Mar'i as she returned his flirting with a few coy words of her own. "Of course it did. I just find it does the heart good to be courteous," the speedster bantered right back. He shimmied a little closer to her as she resumed her dancing, encouraged by her antics. Of course, this didn't please Robin one little bit; Jai could practically feel the guy stab him with his eyes. And of course, he only moved even closer to Mar'i and winked mischievously at Damian in return.

"Leaving so soon, Boy Wonder? Can't take the heat?" Jai teased as Damian stormed out of the room in a great show of huffing and scowling and TT-ing. Oh yes, the West twin was feeling rather relentless today.

Another voice distracted Jai mid-jive. It look about a nanosecond for his head to snap up and notice Amber, who had just arrived with her mentor, Silverwing. Ohsnapanadult. It was enough for Jai to half his dancing for a whole second, before he remembered that he was awesome shameless and went right back to it. "The best parties have no invitations, Amber. All the cool kids just show up," the speedster chirped, inviting her to join in on the dancing with a wave of his hand.

And then his sister dashed into the room in a fiery ginger tornado, with a mouthful of words to match.

"It's about time you got here, Irey!" Jai teased, only to stop dancing completely and frown like a petulant child when she brought up his little nickname. "Stop calling me Jai-Jai! And I am not a cheater! I'm just smarter than you," he retorted hotly, only to turn right around with a laugh and a smile as his twin came and kicked his ass. Fondly, of course.

Leaving the dance floor to Mar'i and Amber with a final booty wiggle, Jai zipped over to Irey and gave her a bop to the back of the head as she proceeded to drink half a gallon of milk. As soon as she set down the carton, he picked it up and polished the other half off. He then set about to make the best sandwich in the universe -- Scooby Doo style.

"Alright told the big boss about the patrol. You know. Because I beat you." Jai knew he was being incorrigible, but he couldn't help but rub his victory in while it lasted. Such an occurrence didn't happen often. In fact, it hardly ever did. But that didn't matter anymore, because his sandwich was ready.

Piled high with an assortment of meats, cheeses, veggies, and random paraphernalia that one wouldn't think would be in a sandwich, Jai proceeded to devour his snack with a gusto that would make Scooby and Shaggy proud.

[Elenaphant]

Don't worry he didn't kill anybody? Maybe for that comment as she withered inside and wanted to snap that shouldn't even be an issue after six years she felt a bit vindictive. When she felt his glare initially she just kept at it as if to say, hey, this is how teenagers and normal people do things. Watch and learn, but she realized he wasn't just normal angry--he was really angry. That got her attention, and she kept her eyes on him as he more or less stormed out with less control over his movements than normal. He wasn't angry he was raging and that was cause for concern.

What, was he jealous or something? She was going to leave him to do his own thing but now she figured it was best to go see for herself. That was thwarted by two events--Amber and her mentor returning from their session, and the arrival of Irey. When she saw that oh snap there was an adult she stalled even as Amber came to join them.

"Hi! We were just um, dancing." Yes, they were teenagers and it was nothing that you wouldn't expect to see in a tower full of 'em, but Mar'i's cheeks coloured in the moment. She composed herself and threw a smile toward Amber. “So, I take it that your mission went well?”

Damian was still nagging the back of her mind, as he had the tendency to do. Damn him and his attitude. She felt a bit weird leaving the group, especially in the presence of an adult guest, but she needed to check up on him. Addressing Amber again, she turned toward the female and gave her order. “I need to go take these files back and do a bit of damage control. Please attend to Silverwing if she needs anything.”

She gathered all the paperwork as if she was holding a pizzabox with one hand and floated over to the sliding doors. “If I don’t come back in an hour send back up!” she teased as she exited the doors into the hall. She was just joking. For everything that Damian was, he hadn’t hurt her outside of sparring yet. Though, the light tone hid her concern, and when the doors closed behind her she narrowed her eyes and searched for him.

She saw his yellow cape billowing from around the corner as he stomped away. “Hey!” she called out sharply, scowling a bit. She zoomed after him and tugged at the end of it so he was forced to stop for her. “What gives? You should know Jai is only doing that to get a rise out of you and it’s clearly working.”

Her grip loosened around the yellow material and she touched down on the ground again. “Walk with me so I can put these away, and explain to me what happened back there. That look on your face worries me.”


Ben watched the mockery with a grin. He did it all the time when he acted as a butler, though his accent was authentic while hers was adorable. “Thank you. I try.” he tilted his head toward her at her courtesy, and turned his eyes to the countertop. Damian was in an absolutely horrid mood, and being British the first thought at consoling him was through hot beverage and dessert.

“However, Miss West, I feel you’re missing something. Ah—yes,” he procured a tea-cup from the cabinet and faced her with a twirl. He folded halfway and in his white gloved hand held it out to her. “A cup to hold in your dainty hands like a true lady. Yet, it would be a shame if we didn’t fill it up with some tea. What is tea without sweets?”

He looked at the bag and gave a little tut. “I see the Oreos are gone. Biscuits would be better, but I was thinking maybe it’s time you two tried some of my cookies. Normally they are an exclusive treat for bats and robins but I’d like the opinion of gourmands.”

Ben looked up to Amber and their guest. “I’ll make enough for everyone. Ah, Miss Amber, do you have a preference in flavour? I will need the counter space, though.” He glanced slyly back at the siblings. “Do you think you can clear it fast enough?”

[Deleted]

Candy may be a girlie girl, but she has often been told by teammates and enemies alike that she fights like a boy. In the heat of battle the sweet and sugary hummingbird girl often turns into a cobra beating up all nearby enemies to a pulp using her lively hair. She did just that upon running into members of the HIVE FIVE during her routine patrol run only this time she had gone with Damian whom she believed was the team’s second and Beth. The fight was short, but pretty gruesome since neither she nor Damian held back. Once the fight was over and they handed over the idiotic jerky criminals over to the police, Candy informed her team members that she was not going back to the tower straight away. Instead, she stopped by a hair salon to have someone professionally fix up her hair since it got kind of dingy during the fight not that she minded too much being a superheroine and all. Still, she was more than a bit obsessed when it came to her hair and its upkeep. Needless to say, the hair salon is most pleased to have her business since her being a Teen Titan brought in more customers kind of like free advertising.

Once her hair was all fixed up and ready to go again, Candy left the hair salon and flew back to Titans Tower in a dreamlike state. She was doing the works, floating by while humming and not paying too much attention to where she was going. Finally, she landed on the couch where she proceeded to vainly file her nails. “Robin,” she addressed, “that was a most exciting workout. Please, when can we do another?” Hoping to impress him she purposely made fighting the HIVE FIVE sound like no big deal. That and her little vain act was all just a symbolic mask for what she was really feeling. In reality, Candy was a little ball of emotion where the smallest of things could set her off at any moment. She was angry with Mimic for having betrayed them all and she was mad at herself for not being more insistent on accompanying her parents on their dangerous mission to stop Mimic.

“Sorry, would have been here sooner, but you know how hair salons can be. Slow, but so relaxing. Speaking of which I think you could use a little something. Perhaps a relaxing massage to tide you over,” Candy offered Damian with a smile for she noticed he looked most angry about something. But then again he is usually like this, so what else is new? “Please, Robin, what troubles you?” she asked, concerned for the boy’s well-being. But then what does the little Boy Wonder do? Accept her selfless offer of help? Nope. Quite the opposite actually. He just stormed off in a huff ignoring her completely. Agitated by his rudeness, a low growl escaped Candy's throat while one of her lively strands of hair grabbed moodily grabbed a couch cushion snapping it in half in her vexation. "Why, that little shrimp! How dare he ignore me!"

Forcing herself to calm down since she sensed the others staring at her during her little rage fit she acknowledged the others in the tower and in so doing noticed the adult guest. She felt her face turn a bright red. “Oh hello Silverwing,” she said, shooting the adult female a wave.

“So, what did I miss?” she asked no one in particular while giving her arms a stretch as she remained on the couch. Candy’s animated hair was a firey red and it swirled around and moved all around Candy and her eyes a blue-green in color.

[Feathers]

Kimber returns a smile to Damien despite even his replies her with a glare. Ah, teenager-hormone -drama. She was a teenager once and it was easy to sense the high-tension drama dancing in the air. Like, how Damien liked Mari, but was too afraid to admit his feelings. Rubbing salt to his wound. Jai flirts with Mari. Knowing full well how much Daimien had his eyes own-his-girl.Teenager Drama.

Teenage Drama

It never gets old and it wasn't something she misses. She jumped when heard a sharp- pitching-fast-talking- voice speedster zoom right pass her. She replies with a nod when Iris and Candy greeted her. She chuckles when Amber and Damien cape flung over their face.

"Hey..."

Amber growl as she quickly tries to pull off the cape. Now, she knows why Kimber says having a cape was a bad-idea. Hearing Mari voice in-between the cape fiasco. She replies to her

"Yup, sure did..." Before tossing her blonde her aside. Remembering Damien speaking about the report. "Ooh, right report. Mari, I'll get my report to you later tonight..." It would take her sometime to write up one about the bank robbery.

As Kimber tries to tidy her hair, another speedster zooms right pass her and she decided to give up. It seems like a waste of effort, especially when there are two speed demon in the room. She then turns to Ben who announce about preparing tea.

"That sound lovely...." Kimber reply
"Do we any have Jasmine Tea, Big Ben?" Amber joins her before putting her head on her shoulder, before Kimber pats on her head

They were close like sibling to one another, despite not being related by blood.

[Emma]

[atrb=border,0,true][rs=3]Taking on HIVE was always fun. Teamed up with Damian and Candy it was like taking candy from a baby. Entering with a grin, Beth had expected the usual witty banter and dramatic posing, along with the odd monologue. But to her surprise, her squadies didn’t seem to be in the mood. Sure Boy Wonder was almost always serious and grumpy, but Candy? The duo held nothing back, beating the HIVE kids to a pulp in a matter of minutes. Beth barely had enough time to armor up and throw the odd punch before it was all over. Naturally, Candy departed for the salon. When your powers are directly related to the quality of your hair, it’s understandable that she’d be a bit of a neat freak about it. That left Beth alone with Robin for the trip back to the	[atrb=border,0,true]
[cs=2]Tower. The conversation wasn’t all that lively, Damian was infamous for keeping it short and sweet, and Beth didn’t feel the need to keep the chatter going with comments about the weather and the like. Arriving back at the tower Beth headed straight for the showers. She’d used concrete as her armor material during the fight. When it broke apart afterwards it left Beth covered in a layer of grey dust, and she didn’t particularly enjoy looking like a grey oompa loompa. Finally making her way down to the common room in her usual outfit of white pants and shirt, brown jacket, and red scarf, Beth almost ran straight into a murderous looking Damian and a hovering Mar’i. Yeah…. No way I’m getting in the middle of that one. Beth thought to herself, giving the pair a quick nod as she slid past them and hurriedly retreated into the common room where the rest of the team was gathered. Just in time to spy Candy snapping a cushion in half. “Geez I take a shower and all hell breaks loose.” She sighed to no one in particular, running a hand through her short black hair as she wandered over to take a seat on an as yet unbroken section of the couch. “Count me in for a cuppa Beno.” Beth called to the resident butler when she heard the unmistakable sounds of tea being offered. From the looks of it teenage drama was going to be the hot topic in the tower for the next few days, and she’d need all the tea she could get to keep from giving her team mates a “friendly” blow to the head to help them get their act together.

[Silv]

Damian wasn't the sort of person who took a tug on his cape lightly. He didn't know who it was at first, though the lack of footsteps should have allowed him to tell that it was Mar'i right off the bat if her yelling at him hadn't, but he was made stupid by rage. When he twirled to punch this interloper in the face he ended up stopping inches from actually smashing his fist into the youngest Grayson's face. His eyes widened behind the mask and his breath caught as she stared him down. Her scowl made him pause because it seemed so uncharacteristic, but what made him pause more was that he felt the bizarre desire to do whatever it would take to make her smile again. What on earth was wrong with him?

She was telling him Jai was just messing with him and that he shouldn't rise to the challenge but he was paying more attention to the way her eyes sparked when she talked in such an animated fashion, or the way a single strand of dark hair was moving against her cheek. “Of course Jai was trying to get a rise out of me,” Damian replied in such a matter-of-fact tone of voice he could have been relaying her statistics. The youngest Wayne was very well aware of what Jai had a tendency to do. After all, he had known the West twins for the past six years and had done his fair share of research on all the tower occupants. “Why were you flirting with him?” his tone was sharper when he asked this and though his face did not display it, this was clearly the source of the agitation.

Beth had chosen this unfortunate moment to walk past and Damian sent her a scathing glare, but she was one of the less abrasive of his teammates and would not suffer his ire long. His attention easily flipped back to Mar'i who was landing on the ground in front of him and asking him to walk with her. The Boy Wonder gave the girl Grayson a curt nod and fell into step besides her. “It is hardly a matter worth explaining.” he said with a small frown. “You recounted the story perfectly well yourself. My input is not needed.”

[Kenni]

What did Candy miss? What did Iris miss?
For their couch amenities to be so savagely tortured, there had to be deep-rooted rage.

Robin sure could inspire what he naturally exuded.

"That's my line." she snorted, taking a few steps closer to the imposing tower that Benedict was, for protection, in a pantomime of panic.
Iris watched Candy's dramatic entrance and Mari's played-down exit, popping cookies like they were popcorn.

"Domestic violence. Can't live with it, can't live without it~." was all the she-twin could muse, around a mouthful of Oreo, before going for the milk-jug again.

It was a good thing the city appreciated the Titans' aid so much, and that there were so many villains running amok; otherwise, providing these kids with milk-money among other food expenses would be seen as akin to some despotic tax.

West was soon smiling a shyer smile to replace the earlier grin. She curtsied before carefully taking the cup held out to her. Her eyes couldn't level with Ben's again until his gaze was on the aftermath of her cookie cravings.

Benedict could make even the most rough-and-tumble girl feel like a proper princess, and all from his posture; he didn't even have to open his mouth.

"O-Oh yes, a f-fine proposal! There's no time l-like tea time, a-a-and any cookies you bake for me--err, us, sound absolutely splendi--IFFFSHHHHHH!"
The magic was lost soonafter, however, with Jai knocking her in the head, causing (to her absolute horror) the milk she'd downed before to rocket straight out her nose into the teacup, which clattered to the floor from her startled, 'dainty' fingers.

"--I'LLKILLYOU!!"

How embarrassing!

"Ohhh Ben, who do you think you're talking to here?"
Of course they could clear this pittance of nourishment in a moment's notice.

"Now, I'm gonna beat you!"
She counted to 10 (in 1 second) to calm herself down, then tugged one of the butler-boy's gloves off, eyes burning holes in Jai's cheek before she used the glove to actually slap it.
Yes, in accelerated time.
He could take it.

"It's ti~me to du-du-du-du,dududududududuel!"
Irey pointed to the counter full of victuals, carrying her duelling-stance to the end by looking down her nose at her brother and taking her cartoon-reference very seriously. She dusted off the glove, draped it over Ben's shoulder, then reached for the fresh oranges.

It was so on.

She had a third of the counter-top eaten in a blink.

[Elenaphant]

She walked with him in the direction of the evidence room, which had a place in the back for their case files and reports. There were also archives that had everything of the previous Titans to use as a reference. It was one of the most secure places in the tower and had many fail-safes to make sure things didn't get damaged or stolen, and in the event the tower was compromised things got transported to safe-havens. False alarms were very annoying to deal with but Mar'i was happy to be safe than sorry in this business. Thankfully they've never had to deal with that situation yet, so she could worry her pretty head over other matters--like boys. Particularly her Robin.

So he was really jealous that she was flirting? There was that conflicting flutter in her chest because that meant Damian liked her, and the logical part of her brain that reminded her he almost threw a fist to her face. Violent and possessive? Wow, Mar'i, you sure know how to pick them. "I'm allowed to flirt if I want, Damian." she reminded him of her independence and snorted at the thought that someone would tell her she couldn't.

"It's not like I have a boyfriend," she stated--hint hint nudge nudge--"It's just all in good fun. Jai is like a cute bro, and he knows how to flatter a girl." Unlike some people. She entered in the security code to the evidence room and headed on in. "Besides," she continued as she unlocked the file cabinets, "There is a big difference between how I act with Jai and how I act with someone I'm actually interested in. There's nothing going on between us."

When the last file was put away in its proper place and everything was locked up nice ad secure again, she rounded on him a lot more seriously, not about to let him get away from this conversation. "My flirting wasn't the issue. Your reaction and what happened was disproportionate. You weren't paying attention, how angry you were, and you nearly hit me in the face after I called out to you. I think that needs some explaining because that kind of behaviour is unacceptable."

Again, she didn't think he really wanted to hurt her, or anybody on the team. He had anger issues and his upbringing was hard to shake off. At least now he was removing himself from the situation instead of acting on reflex. She still remembered that mission where within the first hour he had tried to kill Batgirl and Speedy with no regard for the consequences. The family had faith in his progress and so did she. He did stop himself this time.

Mar'i sighed, leaning against the adjacent wall in an exaggerated fashion, her hand to her forehead. "And still I find the fact that you're jealous adorable." She must be crazy. "And flattering. Next time just cut in and dance with me instead."

---

Poor embarrassed Iris. He pressed his lips together to keep from making a face of disgust, or laughing. He couldn't really decide. At least she was now occupied with clearing away the groceries. Ben made himself useful by grabbing a dust pan and a small towel. He made sure to sweep up the large pieces of broken glass, taking mind not to use his one bare hand. When the snorted milk soaked up he knew there was a hand vacuum in these cupboards somewhere, and apologized for getting in the way.

When the counter was clear and their floor de-hazarded the butler put on the kettle, set out the cups on one side upon a serving tray, and used the other side for baking space. "We certainly do have Jasmine. Does anyone else have a tea preference?" He would endeavour to remember them for future reference.

The oven turned on, and that's when the magic of baking happened. Ben moved easily between getting the tea ready and cooking in his wonderfully effeminate apron. He believed it was to embarrass him. Admittedly at the beginning he was miffed but now it had grown on him.