Speedy's Room

[Kenni]

"Now then."
He leaned back on the door to his breezy Red and Yellow checker-flag themed room, his bed the frame of an orange sportscar like a 6 year-old's dream set, tubs and tubs of hairgel gracing his dresser, the blinds open to let in the view of the softly glowing sunset, casting a slight purplish light on his sweat-band, hand-weights and Lego-littered floor; this guy was still a kid at heart. Several dartboards hung from the walls, each with a blindfold handy on a peg below for the boy's random target practice. Although a kid at heart, he kicked a few unsavoury magazines under his firey Corvette of a bedframe, hurriedly, hopefully before Babs could see them as she'd been leading and entered first. The lock was left unclicked; Robin, that paranoid prickly porcupine head had had this place constructed of sound-proof material anyway, so why would be he expecting anyone to pass by unless invited? They weren't usually left to relaxing in their bedrooms with so much crime going on daily in Jump, so everyone allowed everyone else at least that much luxury, and when someone disappeared down the bedroom corridor all else knew they were probably beat and made it a point not to disturb them.
"Now then, it's prolly pretty obvious that I've a soft spot for the lovely Azarathian by now. What I want to know," he trapped her against the wall, arm stretched out, other hand in his pocket. Speedy peered down at Babs' face, their noses maybe a foot away from each other's.
"..is whether or not that bothers you, whether or not you really have something for me."
He didn't mind playing around, or being played with. But it was better to know when it was going on to save the guy's own selfish heart from getting hurt. What was it that made Robin so frantic when it came to this girl, anyway? Was he going to have a chance to find out?

[Aly]

After pulling him into the room, she surveyed it while Speedy shut the door behind them. It looked like the room of an eight-year-old with the car-framed bed and the overall racecar theme. The whole thing caused her to giggle a little bit, but that may have been from the nerves. Why was she nervous? Well, that may be because she had never been in this kind of situation before....

When he spoke about having a 'soft spot' for Raven, she cast her eyes downward. He hadn't told her about Raven, and that would probably be a big wrinkle in her plans. She didn't want to turn half of the team against her. Looking back up at him under her mask, she touched his cheek gently. "Speedy..." She swallowed before continuing. "I do really like you, but you didn't tell me about this thing with Raven. How am I supposed to compete with that?" Sighing, she retracted her hand before linking them both behind her back while looking up at him.

[Kenni]

"..."
There is was again, confirmation of her feelings. And she had willingly followed him down the hallway after all. Maybe he could trust that there was a little something good going on here? He'd never gotten involved with anyone to the point where he'd used them in such an experiment as he had done Raven, however. His conscience was slapping his heart all over the place; he wondered if Barbara could hear it. When she made contact with his face he didn't freeze up first like he would usually with Raven. This girl was...comfortable. That was the word. He was comfortable with this girl, this Batgirl. Was it because she reminded him of hanging out with Robin? Ahh, Robin. It was best not to think about Robin at a time like this. He should've been thinking about Raven however, but instead with the advent of Sonic the Hedgehog's masked, scowling face creeping up in his mind's eye he banished all thought of anyone else altogether and focused on the task at hand; sorting himself out.
"I know, I know. It didn't occur to me at all to mention her when you began to approach me so I..." he paused, thinking it through.
"...I think...it didn't occur to me because I must not really...like her like I think I do." Lies, lies. He was crazy about Raven. Could be be crazy about Barbara too? Could he just be crazy?
"I must not...if we're here, like this. Right?" Now he was asking HER opinion? The pocketed hand reached for one of Batgirl's behind her back, lacing them with his fingers. His trapping arm moved to take her other hand, and laid her palm against his chest.
"Because if we're here like this of our own free will then there must be something here. You said..you like me? Then you must feel the things I feel right now, with you."
Who knew Disney could be so romantic.

[Aly]

She was feeling guilty about using Speedy like this, but the way he took her hands in his made her heart skip a beat. She longed to be close to a guy, but that guy just wasn't Speedy. Or was it? Was he enough? She loved Robin to no end, but Speedy just might be able to fill that hole that Robin made in her heart when he left. Or at least Speedy could fill part of that hole. Maybe not make her whole again, but just enough to patch her up. Like a band-aid.

With her hands on his chest, she could feel his heart galumphing beneath it, quicker than it was supposed to. Was he really telling the truth? He liked her back? That was unexpected. Maybe a little flirting here and there, but she hadn't expected him to actually like her. And when he spoke of not liking Raven... it was almost too much for Batgirl. She swallowed nervously, as she seemed to always do in times like these. She felt bad for Raven, stealing Speedy away like this. "I couldn't feel it before, to be honest." She averted her eyes for a moment before looking him straight-on agian. "I never could have thought that you liked me as much as I like you. I've liked you for a while now, but I've just been afraid to show it."

[Kenni]

"I want to know..can you show me?"
The Disney thing was getting a little ridiculous. Somehow, one could picture a young Roy Harper sucking up all he could from those movies as a child, eyes glued to the television screen and hugging the cases to his chest. He would gaze at the lovely princesses from every part of the world presented and later be prompted to attempt to woo them with the onset of hormonal activity, puberty and those early influences of purity gone skewed.
"Surely, one of the great Bat protegees can't be under much trepidation at this sort of thing!" he laughed weakly. But it was understandable; he was plenty afraid of what he was doing at the moment. His head said no, his heart said maybe and his body screamed yes from his eyes to his lips to his flushed red cheeks.

He leaned in and pressed his forehead against Barbara's. He'd done so with Raven, thinking by doing so often enough the meditationist could develop an ability to read his mind at a moment's notice. Now, with Batgirl, it felt wrong. He sighed and pulled back reluctantly, still holding their hands. Now lacing both their hands with each other's, he couldn't stand it anymore. It might be confusing but it was a surefire way to distinguish real feelings from false (at least, to see if there was a spark).

"You've taken on countless villains. Can you handle me too?"murmured the confused archer. He held his breath. He breathed once more.

He kissed her lightly, beginning at once to pull back within the 2nd second.

[Aly]

The Disney lines should have been corny, but Barbara found them endearing. She could tell that he had definitely studied his Disney movies as a kid, but then again, so had she. She had loved the princesses and once told her father that was what she was going to be when she grew up. Of course, she liked Ariel the best, identifying with the red hair. Next came Mulan, the fighter. She liked how even though she was a girl, she wasn't afraid to stand up for what she knew was right. That was one of the reasons she had followed Bruce into this and become Batgirl.

"Show you? I don't know how to do that other than-" Her words were cut off by his kiss. It was hesitant and questioning, but she returned it gratefully. It was like a little spark between them. Something like electricity, but stronger. Not nearly as strong as when she had kissed Robin all that time ago... she let her mind wander to the times she had spent alone with Robin and done this very thing.

When he pulled back, she blinked in surprise. She sure hadn't expected that to happen. "I'm sure I can handle you." Barbara's eyes narrowed meschievously as she lightly shoved his shoulder. "I could beat you easily. What makes you think I couldn't handle you like this?" Without waiting for an answer, she leaned in and kissed him this time. She pulled back a little longer than the last kiss had lasted, however, and looked into his eyes as she pulled away.

[Kenni]

Electric shock down his spine.
"!!!"
They'd gone and done it now.
"..."
There was a sharp intake of breath on the return kiss she initiated; only later Speedy realize it had been him. What was he going to do about Raven, actually? The two-timing game he'd been toying with in his mind suddenly became very real and infinitely more dangerous now that he was playing for real, and definitely not playing nice; Raven had no clue. Raven, Raven, Raven. He was with this enchanting girl right now and all he could think about was another one? Memories of macking on Raven flooded to his memory right back to the training room when she'd refused to let him sit by her; right back to when her powers had wiped out the Tower light fixtures from a single kiss from him. Where had his parents gone wrong! No, it was probably television to blame. He shook his head out and opened his eyes to what was right now, chest pounding.
"You may be able to but I can't handle..th-this at all! Beat me? Lemme play your villain, then."
He wanted to kiss her again. He wasn't rough, but deep. Her face was the only thing anchoring him to the waking world; his arms helped a little though, wrapped around the small of her back and pulling her with one decisive effort towards him.

This time he held contact.

This time he didn't let go.

OoC; Ennnter Raven at your leisure Brycecream~|

[Bry]

"Well. Isn't this just freaking adorable."
Raven leaned in the doorway, having heard the last ten minutes of this affair on her way to her own bedroom. Now, her eyes glowed white and were almost literally shooting sparks. Energy, black as night, amassed around her hands, begging to be let loose on something--someone--and little tendrils of it spiraled up and down her arms in anticipation.
"So sweet."
Raven stared unwaveringly at Speedy, the first guy to steal her heart since.... She hardly cared to remember. She watched him holding Batgirl close, so close, and her anger swelled. Hadn't just an hour ago she been fantasizing the same thing...?
Something in her head threatened to snap but she paid it no mind.
"You two-timing, lying cheat," she seethed at Speedy, in a low and deadly voice, taking a step into the room and sending a few of the magazines on the floors flying. "With all your fancy words and lacey thoughts...."
/And I fell for it.... WHY did I fall for it?!/
"You're no better than the villains we fight to protect the world from. Except they at least have the decency to attack strangers. You instead toy with the hearts of those who called you 'friend'."
Her voice cracked, and she tore her gaze away from Speedy and settled it instead on Babs, almost begging this to be just a stupid mistake. "And you," she accused. "Did you know...?"
/Please, say you didn't know.... Please./
Snap!
She felt it, in her head, something broke loose and within a second she knew she'd lost her precious control.
/No..../
Yes, Raven.
/No!/
She clutched her head, seemingly random, and her eyes clenched shut before she fell to her knees. In the darkness, she could she four glowing red eyes, pleased with her reactions.
/Go away!/
Let me out, Raven....
/No./
Let me out!
"No!" she shouted, this time aloud, and opened her eyes. They were now four, glowing a despicable scarlet and settling irrevocably on Speedy and Batgirl. Slowly her powers flowed from her hands, into the floor, into the walls, across the room, and with a sharp crack, the three of them were no longer in the Tower.
They were in the middle of a rock shelf, floating amid nothing but burning red and silver stars and silence. Inside Raven's mind.

[Aly]

Barbara laughed as Speedy spoke of being her villain before she met his lips It seemed like she was melting in Speedy's arms as he kissed her back deeply. A million thoughts crossed her mind, most of them being about Robin. He was so distant from her now. How would she ever win him back? Did she want to, even? Speedy was so kind to her and he was an amazing kisser. She didn't want to hurt his feelings now.

Batgirl was the first to break the kiss as a voice sounded from behind them. /Oh no. Please, no./ It was Raven. She quickly disentangled herself from Speedy. She stood by while Raven lashed at Speedy, looking at him with concern. Maybe once she found out about Raven, she should have backed off. Now she was hurting one member of the team while plotting to hurt the other one. She knew she was in big trouble as Raven rounded on her.

"I..." She stammered, swallowing nervously yet again. "I only guessed. I saw you two on the couch, but I had no idea you were in a relationship before that! And he kissed me first!" She scrambled to defend herself, afraid of what Raven might do. Raven had power. A LOT of power, while Batgirl just had her nifty little gadgets and weapons, coupled with some martial arts.

Within seconds, they were transported to a different place. She looked around wildly, not knowing what to do.

[Kenni]

Her laugh, her twinkling laugh. It really did bring him to a comfort zone. Like when they were kids..
Still, flashes of memory back to those times he would meet Robin to hang out as children. Sure hadn't been thrilled to see her then.
'You brought your girlfriend again Robber?' Yet the jealousy he'd felt when those two had gotten along better than he did with either one of them alone..growing older, watching them grow closer, not sure whom he was more jealous for..present day; now not sure exactly how long he'd been conscious of Babs. This was a much deeper connection and problem than it had appeared.
'...freaking adorable..'
She'd broken away. What was that voice? It didn't matter; he clutched her back to himself again, wondering why her face looked so horrified.
He sniffed an armpit. Nope, Axe-fresh, like usual. Did he offend in some other way? Hands too low down the small of her back?
'..two-timing, lying cheat..'
Why were they stopping again? He only had eyes for the now cowering Batgirl at the moment.
'..you're no better than...villains...'
Was there something wrong? Of course he was her little villain; hadn't he just said that? This girl needed to pay attention. He was grateful for the break however; his knees were about to go under from how emotionally draining all this was.
'...'friend'... '
Finally the past few utterances dripping with pain culminated in that heart-breaking crack in the voice. The voice of the 'other woman'. He froze, neck stiffly turning to face Raven, blanching, feeling his throat bunch up and shame drop to the pit of his stomach. He recognized it now. He recognized Raven's voice again and all her utterances were now burned into his mind. What a shame, what a shame. They'd been so sweet together.
"R-Rae..! Raven, I'm--...!"
I'm what? Glad to see you? In the middle of something?
In-like with Babs? Insane?
...sorry?
It was too late to be dropping lame apologies, and too early since he wasn't completely sorry. He wanted to say something, anything. He could only watch her crumble to the ground, holding her head, inch towards her, backtrack, inch forward again, now he was beside her trying to snap her out of it. Babs was selling him out; great choice he'd made here, eh? What a keeper. He didn't have time to Robinesque-scowl.

Because now...where were they?

Maybe he could stop this. The guilty ginger waded through the air, as it seemed they were all floating. He couldn't quite find Barbara though, but Raven was in plain sight. Had her subconscious landed her close to him to beat the living daylights out of him? He wasn't sure if she'd even done this, based on the crazy eyes that had appeared on her before. Robin and Beast Boy had been taking their turns telling him about this 'otherworld' Raven had within her. Was he..trapped in her mind? That was..impossible! Stranger things had happened, though. He reached out and grabbed Raven's arm, then let go completely, then grabbed both her arms at the wrists, pressing their foreheads together. There was a coldness there he didn't like. If she had developed any link with him beforehand helping her to read him like he'd wondered before, he'd surely severed those bonds by now. He held on tight, teeth gritted, anything to get out of this place. It was giving him the most horrible feeling being here, among the red and silver nothingness. Something was about to bubble over even more here and he really didn't like it.

What on earth had he done?

"Raven I'm.."
Nothing.

He'd made himself, nothing.

[Bry]

Raven's eyes, all four of them, remained closed. She was horrified with herself, of course, and scared of what she may be capable of, but there was that other part of her. The one that was thrilled with the turn out. The one that, even as Speedy watched, drained her cloak of blue, instead bleeding a hateful red into it. To match her demonic eyes.
Here he was, holding onto her, so close. He held her, not Barbara, now.... But could she possibly.... She couldn't.... If it happened again.... If he did it again....
Raven's eyes flew open and she wrenched herself in his grip, to no avail.
"Get away from me!" she snarled, her voice becoming ten, a legion, and none of them sounding happy. "Leave me alone!"
Around the fists that Speedy held so close grew masses of energy, of power, and she shot it straight into Speedy's chest, knocking him away from her and sending him down onto the rock.
/No!/
Shut up.
Raven stood there, standing over him, looking down on him, and grinned evilly.
/Stop! Let him go!/
Hush, Raven. I'm doing you a favour.
/Abusing my frien.... Teammate.... Is not a favour!/
Don't you want vengeance?
/Well, yes..../
Exactly.
/But.... Not.... We can't.... I can't..../
Slowly, Raven reached down and seized Speedy's throat, her Hate giving her strength she'd never have had before. She knelt beside him, her hands tightening, leaning into him....
/No..../
Choking him....
/Stop!/
.... .... ....
/STOP!/

[Kenni]

Raven's eyes weren't opening. Could he pull her back to their dimension in anyway? This was all so awkward; all he could think about was if Babs had made it to the asteroid below them alright or not, not snapping Rae out of it. He was hurtling towards said asteroid within seconds. His back arched once as he hit a protruding boulder, and after a yell and his spine realigned itself, now straight and still on the ground, he fought back tears at the unsuspected pain. Brought upon him by a friend. Someone who had trusted him. More though, than just a friend. So much more, and he'd blown it. It had only taken one wrong thought to hold out a hand to Babs; to look in her direction; to entertain thoughts of her after her questionable outfit made an appearance.
"Can't blame you, Pr--hkkk~!"
Air.

He needed air.

Tapping out with his palm against the cold spacesoil laden spacerock formation now, eyes bursting into a myriad of colours behind his domino mask.

Speedy know he deserved it, but he didn't want to.

He didn't want to die.

He didn't want to die.

'It's not gonna be alright, is it...Princess?'

He thought at her, desperately. He thought at her how much he believed in her better nature. You're better than me. Remember page 174 of my little black book? I wrote it there. You're far better than me. Better than this, Princess.

[Aly]

As Speedy clutched Barbara closer, she fought harder to break away again. She really did like Speedy... she was just afraid for their lives right now. Both of theirs. Raven looked like a demon with her four red eyes trained on both of them now that they were somewhere else... on some rock of some sort.

When Speedy got over the shock of Raven standing there and loosened his grip, Batgirl slunk away from him several steps in the opposite way from Raven. The demon-like girl was scaring her. She hadn't meant to hurt anybody! Well, maybe Speedy at first... but now she didn't know what to do. That kiss had awoken something inside of her. Something warm that flooded her body when the kisses started.

A tear slowly made its way out of her eye and under her mask as Speedy immediately went to Raven, holding her close like he did to her before. Putting his forehead to hers as he had done with her just moments earlier. Then suddenly Raven had blasted Speedy back and he was laying on the ground. Before Batgirl could make it to him, Raven was there, holding him up by the neck.

"No!" She exclaimed as she ran straight at Raven. At the last moment, she leaned back and kicked Raven right in the side of her ribcage, attempting to get her off of Speedy.

[Bry]

Raven relinquished her hold, opened her mouth to speak.
"Speedy, I'm--"
And was nailed in the rib cage by a yellow boot full of force. She flew to her side and hit the rock hard, the breath getting knocked unceremoniously from her lungs. Just as her eyes had fallen back to violet, they were four and burning again, and trained solely on Batgirl.
She screamed, something evil, otherworldly and hardly understandable, and dove for Batgirl, black tendrils of energy wrapping themselves suffocatingly around her legs, around her arms. "You're a lier, just as he is," she seethed, her voice again more than one, more than ten.
/Aaaahh!/
"You deserve the same. You both deserve to stay here, together in an eternity of nothing...."
/NO! Not here, not forever, I can't.... Let..../
Let it be, Raven! This is right!
/Not here.... No, not here..../
Raven growled again, ready to take Batgirl apart, ready to kill, to taste blood....
With a sound like a thunderclap, a shock waves burst from her chest. Existence darkened to nothing, brightened back to reality.
And Speedy's room was in shambles, windows shattered, fuses blown, walls cracked and dented in. Nothing was in place, and Raven was on the ground, away from either of them, staring through purple eyes at the ceiling and gasping for breath.

[Kenni]

He'd missed most of the violent interchange between the girls. Speedy could see the proverbial light, as it were, and was mentally kicking tooth and nail to stay away from it. All too soon he was weakly shaking out his head, gulping down air, crumpled in a heap in the middle of a storm of his prior-to-affair completed Lego Pirates of the Carribean 'Black Pearl'. Ironically, his model of the 'Princess' ship was well intact, contrasting sharply with how Raven was doing on the floor there, a few darts having thunked dangerously close to her neck from the dartboards on the walls of his bedroom. His bedroom?

They were back home.

Speedy scrambled over to Batgirl, checking her for various scrapes and bruises the descent from wherevertheheck sector of Raven's consciousness they'd been in. If he thought he had been afraid of the girl before, now it was only magnified. His concern outweighed his immediate apprehensions however and once Batgirl was accounted for as not having taken too much damage (she HADN'T been on the receiving end of any vicious kicking; getting your limbs squeezed was a slight bit less traumatizing), he was scrambling over with an apologetic but resolute look to Batgirl, to make sure Raven wasn't dead.

At least, it looked like she was breathing. Well, trying to. He lifted her gingerly into a 45 degree angle, knowing though that he was the last human being on earth she'd want touching her at this moment and for a long time. Maybe he'd get lucky and this would've all been a bad dream? For her? Blocked out of her memory from the shock? Wouldn't excuse him from explaining what he was doing with Babs later, though.

"...that's it, slow breaths. Raven, listen alright? I can explain everything."

He didn't know where to begin.