Raptor patrolled the rooftops. It was her first solo patrol since joining the Titans -- indeed, her first solo patrol ever, since Xander didn't believe in solo runs if they could be avoided -- and she had yet to run into anything unusual.
She also had yet to use her grappler to swing around the way Robin and even Nighthawk used theirs, instead favoring running leaps. She trusted her slayer powers far more than she did the grappler, which had already failed her once.
She'd leave the Tarzan gig to them.
Right now, Robin and Nighthawk were working on some rumors linked to the gang war between Two-Face and Penguin back east in Gotham, leaving her to patrol alone, since the other Titans didn't feel the same need to keep a close watch on the streets.
But like with Xander, patrolling was in her blood, and like Xander, she tended to drift toward the cemetaries.
Currently, she was following someone. With the overcast sky, she couldn't identify who it was... but not many people lurked around on rooftops, and she'd already ruled out Robin and Nighthawk.
After all, they didn't have tits, and her prey had clearly been blessed with a very nice rack.
She was one roof away when the woman attached a grapple line to the edge of the warehouse roof and kicked off, swinging out and kicking in one of the windows with a spectacular crash.
Raptor moved.
*Okay,* Huntress thought as she smashed the head of her last opponent into the wall. *That takes care of that.*
Chak-chak.
*...or maybe not.* She looked around at the second wave of thugs. There were six of them, and one was hefting the pump-action shotgun she'd heard.
*Maybe I made a slight miscalculation...*
"Hmm," came a female voice from behind them. "Six guys, one girl. Looks like this orgy's missing one. Mind if I join you?"
Raptor grinned as the shotgun-armed thug turned. She wrenched the weapon from his hands and slammed its stock into his chin. She turned and brought it up to block the tire iron the next one wielded.
Xander had taught her well. They'd refined the use of firearms as melee weapons to a high art form, as she was demonstrating as she quickly disabled her opponent with a rib-cracking jab to his side.
Rule Two would've had her emptying the weapon at the crooks, ending the fight much more quickly, if it weren't for Rule Six: Humans are off-limits. Let the Boss handle them, and don't ask.
Huntress -- who she'd recognized once she got a good look at her --was easily holding her own, having quickly taken down her first dance partner in the moment of surprise Raptor's appearance had offered her.
Raptor smirked as her opponent backed away. She reached into a pouch and hurled one of her shuriken -- little more than a pair of sharpened rods joined at the center to form an X -- burying it in his arm, causing him to drop the baseball bat he was carrying.
An overhand strike with the shotgun, powered by slayer strength, smashed into his arm, obviously breaking or shattering it, and impacted his skull.
She looked around.
"There!" Huntress pointed. Both vigilantes drew their crossbows and fired, but whether he was lucky or just that good, the man managed to avoid both shots, yanking open a side door...
BLAM!
...and falling back away from it, clutching his shoulder and screaming in pain before passing out. Standing there was Nighthawk.
Xander silently criticized himself for rushing the shot as he holstered his Colt and stepped in. He looked around, noting the remnants of Huntress's earlier fight, including at least two with crossbow bolts embedded in their throats.
As he continued to approach them, Robin emerged from behind him, making a beeline toward Huntress, "What are you doing here, Huntress?"
"I don't remember having to ask _your_ permission to be here, Bird Boy," she shot back.
Raptor looked at Xander and grinned. "I like her," she said, keeping her voice down.
Xander rolled his eyes, "You would. Just remember, she's a bit old for you right now."
"Lose two years, and all sorts of doors close on you."
"Don't pout," he said. "It _really_ doesn't suit you."
"Great job, Huntress," Robin said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You just ruined two weeks of hard work."
"Excuse me?" she replied, offended. "I just busted up a smuggling ring that was running merrily along right under your nose."
"We didn't take this place out because there's a shipment of Soviet arms coming in," Robin explained, "arms that Mandragora's going to sell to Two-Face and Penguin in Gotham to fuel the gang war there. Now, thanks to you, we've lost it."
"Hey, I didn't know," Huntress said, holding her hands up defensively. "Besides, it's just a few more guns on the street."
"Not just guns, Huntress," Robin said. "At least two dozen RPG-7s were going to be in that shipment."
Xander rolled his eyes again and walked up, "So, we do it the old-fashioned way." He leaned over one of the conscious thugs and grabbed him by the shirt front. "What ship are they coming in on?"
"No way!"
Xander pressed his knee to the smuggler's crotch and applied pressure. "I'm not a cop," he warned. "Police brutality regulations don't apply to me. I've already put a bullet in your friend, and believe me when I say I can get _very_ creative. Now talk."
Huntress looked at him admiringly and said to Robin, "He's certainly rougher than your usual friends. I like him."
"You would," Robin snorted.
"Don't worry about the shipment," Xander said as he entered the operations center. All the Titans -- sans Starfire -- were present, as was Huntress.
Robin looked up, "Nighthawk, where have you been? We've been trying to..."
"I told you, don't worry about it," Xander repeated. He nodded a greeting, "Hey, Huntress. Enjoying your visit?"
She snorted, "I'd enjoy it a lot more without the Boy Wonder here on my ass."
"And what a nice ass it is," Xander said with a grin. "You wear spandex well."
Huntress made a point of looking him up and down, "I can see one more who does too."
"Well," Xander said, "to be fair, that's only _one_ more because _some_ of us," he shot a look at Raptor, "prefer leather."
"Don't hate me because you look like a Goth in it, Boss," Raptor shot back.
"...and what's wrong with Goth?" Raven asked with a frown.
"Nothing, if you don't mind not having a life," Raptor shot back.
"Hey, hey," Xander protested. "Goth isn't the issue. I'm sorry, but to me, leather pants equals undead, and I _refuse_ to copy Sir Broods-a-lot."
*Especially with the whole Lolita factor that he and I seem to share...* he added silently. *Oh, God, I _am_ turning into him. God? Please kill me now. Pretty please?*
"Um... Batman doesn't wear leather," Robin said, confused.
Xander shot him a look and said, "Uh, no. Believe it or not, I actually know someone who broods more than the Bat."
"Is that even _possible_?" Huntress asked skeptically.
Xander shrugged, "Not humanly. He's a vampire. Doesn't need as much sleep."
"I thought you killed vampires?"
"Special case, Rae, and trust me, if I'd had my way, he'd've been dustbuster food _long_ before he became a problem."
"So why shouldn't we worry about the shipment?" Cyborg asked, trying to bring them back on topic.
"Uh, well..." Xander said. "That's, uh..."
Beast Boy chose that moment to turn on the television, from which the news reporter's voice came, "...and here I am, live, from the burning wreck of..."
Robin stared at it for a moment, then turned to Xander, "You _didn't_."
"They're carrying a lot of explosives, Rob," Xander reminded him. "Accidents happen." He turned and headed for his room, "I'm gonna go find Star."
"'Accident,'" Raptor deadpanned to his back. "Riiight, Boss."
Huntress smiled. "I _really_ like him."
Xander knocked gently on the door, "Kori, you in there?"
"One moment please!" came the muffled reply. After a moment, the door opened, and he immediately noticed the hat.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
"Certainly," she said, stepping back.
Xander stepped in and said, "Kori, um, what's with the hat?"
"Nothing!" she said quickly. Too quickly.
"Oh, wait," he said. "You've got a really huge lump on your head, don't you?"
She gasped, "How did you know?"
"Otherworld knowledge, remember?" he reminded her, tapping his temple. "Don't worry about it, Kori. You'll be going through a lot of changes over the next few days."
"I will?" she asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Xander said. "It's your transformation. Eventually, you'll enter a chrysalis for a while." He took hold of her shoulders and stressed his next words, "Don't. Worry. When it's all over, you'll emerge as beautiful as ever. I promise."
"Truthfully?" she asked, blushing furiously. Given the dim light and her naturally orange skin, Xander didn't notice.
"Have I ever lied to you?"
"Thank you," she said, pulling him into a hug.
He returned the hug, stroking her hair comfortingly.
"Anytime, Kori, anytime."
Raven hesitantly knocked on the door. Raptor's comment about Goths had reminded her of Nighthawk's words weeks ago, and she'd started to wonder.
The door opened, and he looked at her, "Raven?"
"Nighthawk, can I come in?"
"It's Xander, Rae," he replied as he stepped back, silently inviting her in. "You should know that by now."
As she entered, she found herself in the middle of a confused mess. It looked like a tornado had hit the place... _after_ picking up a comic shop, carpenter's workshop, and occult bookstore and ramming them together first.
"What's up?" he asked.
"I... thought about what you said a few weeks ago," she said. At his confused look, she elaborated, "About living."
"And?" he prodded.
Raven sighed and slumped her shoulders, "I don't know how."
"Don't know how to what?" Xander asked, now thoroughly confused.
"To live," she explained. "By your definition, anyway."
Xander stared at her, then smiled, "Okay, I think I can help."
Raven made her way down the hall. When he'd finally let her go, Nightha-... _Xander_ had told her to stop by later. They had talked well past midnight about all sorts of topics, many of which she failed to see the point or relevance of.
Which, in retrospect, may have _been_ the point.
She thought back to one of the more memorable part of their conversation...
* * Flashback * *
"...why is there a half-finished chair in the corner?" Raven asked.
Xander looked up questioningly, then looked over, "Umm... well, actually, it _was_ finished, but I kinda took it apart to get its dimensions."
"...you are very weird."
"Hey!" he said defensively. "I wanted to make another one, so I needed the measurements. Besides, you're hardly one to talk about 'weird.' But I've never had much time for normal people anyway."
* * End Flashback * *
Shaking her head at the memory, she knocked gently.
She heard a faint response from within. It sounded something like, "Mrph?"
Thump!
Raven winced in sympathy at the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the floor. A moment -- and a string of half-heard curses -- later, she heard the rattle and clink of at least seven deadbolts, two chains, and -- was that a chair? -- disengaging. Then the door opened a crack.
Xander blinked at her, then smiled, "Hey, you're up early, Rae."
"I'm always up early."
He rolled his eyes. It was at this point that she took in his sleeping attire: socks, sweat pants, and no shirt.
For some reason, she felt a peculiar urge to lick her lips.
"...c'mon in, Rae," he said, seeming to force the words past his lips, and swung the door wide, revealing the disaster area that was his room. He made a beeline for the east-facing windows and opened the drapes wide.
Raven flinched a little at the sudden increase in light. She preferred the dark.
"Gahh," Xander shielded his eyes. "Whoever said 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' deserves to be dragged out into the street and shot."
Raven arched an eyebrow at this, "Excuse me?"
"Vamps," he explained. "Hate sun. Me too right now. That 'enemy of my enemy' thing might be true, but some friends are too damn friendly."
Xander pulled on a sweat shirt, not noticing the frown that flashed across Raven's face (but then, neither did she), and headed for the door. "Wait here. I've got to go wake myself up."
And before she could blink, Raven found herself alone. After a moment, she began looking around, taking a closer look at the room. She wasn't normally this curious -- after all, she certainly understood the value of privacy -- but Xander was a maddening enigma to her, one that had nearly driven her insane with fear.
And was now threatening to just plain drive her insane.
A very small smile quirked lips as she realized how easily he had replaced Beast Boy in that respect. She shook her head in resignation. Contrary to what they had all expected when he first arrived, he'd since become a permanent fixture in their lives.
Her gaze swept across the dismantled chair -- and now that she looked, she saw the parts for its mate that he'd made -- and to his workbench, where a small box rested. For some reason she couldn't identify, she felt compelled to investigate further, and she carefully picked up the box and opened it...
...and gasped.
The box contained wooden carvings, scaled to roughly six inches tall. Two blocks were barely started, and she could barely identify one as Raptor, for the head -- in all its striking detail -- was finished. Half-finished were carvings of Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Robin, and she could make out traces of every printed circuit on Cyborg's mechanical half.
But it was the two complete carvings that took her breath away.
The carving of Starfire had her in a triumphant pose, her arms spread, and so detailed, Raven could almost count the hairs on her head. Somehow, Xander had captured her essence, the pure joy of living every minute of every day of her life that guided the Tamaranian's life.
And the carving of Raven herself was with her cloak open, her hood thrown back, her head held high with a confidence and inner strength she had never felt or seen in herself. The wooden replica stood confidently, eyes closed, ready to face whatever the world had to offer.
*Is this how he sees me?* she wondered as she held the figure up in amazement.
The door opened, and she turned, "Uh, Xander. I-I'm sorry, I..."
"Found those, did you?" he said with a smile.
Raven nodded wordlessly and looked back at the carving of herself.
"It- it's beautiful," she finally said.
Xander shrugged, "It's you."
Raven swallowed and turned to return it to the box, but a hand gently grabbed her wrist. She looked up, and he smiled, "Keep it."
"I... I couldn't..." she protested, shaking her head.
"I was going to give it to you anyway," he countered. "I was just going to wait until I finished all of them. Besides," he shrugged, "I can always carve more."
"Th-thank you," she said softly, holding the carving to her chest. *Get a grip, Raven!* she mentally berated herself. *What is _wrong_ with you?*
"Now that that's settled," he said, "it's time we get started. Today, we live. And a day in life must begin with this."
Raven raised an eyebrow at the object he held up, "And this is...?"
"This..." Xander said reverently, "...is a Twinkie."
"A Twinkie," she repeated dubiously.
"Yes," he nodded. "Observe." With that, he tore the wrapper off and stuffed the entire snack cake into his mouth.
"That's... revolting," Raven said.
"Sez vu," he replied through a mouth full of unpronouncable ingredients. Once he swallowed, he tossed her another one, which she caught out of reflex. "Your turn."
"You cannot be serious."
"Raven, scarfing a Twinkie is not something serious people do," Xander said reasonably. "Your problem is that you're _too_ serious all the time. Sooo..."
She gave the Twinkie a skeptical look, then shrugged, "I suppose it's worth a try." After forcing it into her mouth, she began to cough as she choked it down. After a moment, she took in a deep breath, having finally managed to swallow it.
"Okay," Xander frowned, "I guess it's back to the basics. Go change. Into something _besides_ that cloak-and-leotard combo." He gently pushed her out of his room. "Borrow something from Kori if you have to, something bright. As much as I like cute girls in spandex, you'll need to wear something more casual for this. I'll meet you out front." He closed the door.
Raven raised an eyebrow at the door.
"'Cute'?"
Leaning against the door, Xander replayed what he said to Raven and groaned, resisting the urge to slam his head into the door.
"Deadboy, if I ever see you again, I am _so_ gonna kick your ass, just on general principle alone..."
Shaking his head, he headed for his closet and began picking out his clothing. Once he was satisfied, he kneeled and pulled out his hidden arsenal. A sinister laugh echoed within his room as he picked them up.
"Time to load these babies."
"Whyfor do you require clothing?" Starfire asked.
"It's... kind of a private thing," Raven answered. "I need something... more casual. For Earth. May I?"
"Oh, certainly, friend Raven."
Raven sucked in a breath as she looked at herself in the mirror. In the end, she'd borrowed a tie-dye T-shirt from Starfire and paired it with a pair of shorts. She also learned that she was not quite as slender as Starfire was, and the question that was running through her mind was decided by her difficulty breathing.
Pulling off the shirt for a moment, she unhooked her bra and levitated it back to her drawer. She pulled the shirt back on and posed in front of the mirror.
"Much better," she smiled, then frowned. *But maybe I should go on a diet...*
Why she'd suddenly started caring about her looks was a question she'd overlooked.
"That shirt..." Raven trailed off.
Xander looked up, "Yeah?"
"It's..." she searched for the right word and settled on, "nauseating."
It was a Hawaiian print in a clash of painfully bright orange, neon green, and sunflower yellow. The splashes of color was dizzying and almost painful to look at.
"That's the point," he grinned. "Who'd connect Nighthawk with _this_? And on that note, you look great."
And she did. With the baseball cap concealing the gem she wore at her Ajna chakra, the tie-dye T-shirt and shorts combo accentuated her lithe figure and made one think of a track runner, or a swimmer, or maybe a figure skater. Her reaction to his shirt certainly added weight to that last impression, considering how the only ice skater _he_ knew had reacted to similar shirts.
A far cry from her usual somber and distant beauty.
Now if only she'd just smile.
"Th-thanks," Raven blushed slightly, offering the most tenuous of smiles as if on cue.
*God, she _is_ beautiful,* Xander thought, momentarily stunned by the difference it made. *As beautiful as any slayer... and that's saying something.*
"One last thing before we go," he said, tearing his eyes away from her.
Raven blinked, "What?"
"No powers today, unless it's an emergency," he replied. "And leave your communicator behind. Don't worry, I'll have mine."
"But... _why_?"
"Because," he said, looking back at her, "today, we're going to be teens, not Titans."
Raven wasn't paying much attention to where they were going. Xander had led her to a motorcycle and tossed her a helmet. It had taken her a few minutes to recognize the now-unadorned N-Cycle for what it was.
Apparently, it had a "civilian" mode.
Right now, though, her mind was occupied by other thoughts, like why she was feeling so warm clinging to Xander's back.
No, not warm. _Safe_.
She hadn't felt safe around him since... since he'd first appeared in the Tower, oh so long ago. It was a little unsettling. How could she feel safe around a man who'd told her himself that he'd been making preparations to kill her when -- not if, in her mind -- the need arose?
Maybe that was it. More than anything, she feared what she would do when... when _that_ time came. And though it might cost her her life in the process, Xander would make sure that would never happen.
No matter what.
With that riddle solved -- as bizarre as the answer was -- Raven tightened her grip and rested her head on his back, snuggling in closer and soaking in the feeling.
And somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized something else. She had _never_ felt safe before, not since she first learned of her destiny.
Xander knew the perfect spot. He had the perfect plan.
Raven would have fun today if it killed them bo-... nonono, better stay away from phrasing like _that_.
After all, Red Raven probably knew how to have fun, but not in the good way.
Raven was oddly silent as he led her through the park. Well, maybe not that oddly for her, but even as he jabbered on about anything that came to mind, she remained stubbornly silent, apparently content to follow, listen, and stare.
It was the staring that was starting to bug him.
He really should have been more attention to _what_ he was talking about, rather than mindlessly trying to fill the silence. If he had telepathy, he would probably started running, as her thoughts were pretty much along the lines of: *Mmm... Speedo..."
"...so, here we are!" he said hurriedly, gesturing at the isolated little vale. The trees around it were more numerous and closer together than usual, combining with a thick ring of shrubbery several yards across to cut off the vale from the rest of the park -- indeed, the rest of the city -- and created a circle of... well, maybe not quite paradise, but darn close, in his opinion, in the middle of the metropolis. A single stone bench was the only intrusion of civilization into the vale.
"So... now what?" she asked.
"Now," Xander said, "we live. Here, catch."
"Huh?" Raven caught what he threw at her and blinked at it in confusion. It looked vaguely like a gun, but it was made of plastic and colored in bright yellows, greens, and oranges.
Was that tank filled with water?
Pssh!
"Hey!" Raven sputtered as her face was suddenly introduced to a pressure-driven spray of water.
"Gotcha!" Xander grinned and ran off.
"Why you!" she snarled as she charged after him, pumping her own watergun, unable to keep a grin from her face.
Xander grinned, crouched hidden in a tree. The perch was -- as so many other things today so far -- perfect. It provided him with an excellent field of view while allowing him to keep himself hidden, and he could climb up to it -- and back down to the ground -- quickly and easily.
So far, despite repeated attempts, Raven had only managed to score a single hit, a graze to his shirt sleeve, while he'd managed to thoroughly soak her, head to toe.
"Oh, come on, Xander!" Raven called as she walked into view, looking for him. "Gimme a shot! Don't you think I'm wet enough by now? I'm dripping here!"
It was also at that very moment that he got his first good look at her since the watergun fight started.
*She's not wearing a bra...*
"Urk!"
WHAM!
"Ow..." he muttered as he looked up... and straight at the muzzle of Raven's water gun.
"Gotcha!" Raven grinned.
"All right, all right, I surrender!" Xander sputtered as the stream of water sprayed his face, then tracked down to his chest.
Pssh!
"Truce?" he tried.
"Truce," she agreed, offering him a hand up.
Raven watched as Xander stripped off his shirt and squeezed it dry. After a moment, he turned and tossed it at her.
"Here," he said, "put this on."
"What?" she asked, surprised. "Why?"
"Umm... well..." he coughed and pointedly looked away.
She looked down, then put the offered shirt on, then calmly walked over to where Xander stood...
...and slapped him.
"Pervert."
"What?"
"You're the one that sprayed me."
"I didn't think you'd go bra-less," Xander shot back defensively. "Besides, it's not like I looked."
"You looked long enough to notice," Raven growled. "I borrowed this from Starfire. I could barely _breathe_ in this thing with my bra on."
"Sorry, sorry!"
She frowned, "...and why _don't_ you look anyway? Is... is there something _wrong_ with the way I look? I mean, Starfire certainly thought so, back when we switched bodies..."
"No!" Xander snapped. "No. What on Earth got you on this tangent, Rae? You're beautiful." He walked up to her and brushed her bangs aside, "And believe me, I know beautiful."
"Thank you."
He sighed, "But this does prove my earlier point."
"Huh?" she shot him a quizzical look.
"Your emotions," he said. "You're not used to dealing with them, so you're going to extremes."
A wolf-whistle shattered the silence, "Woo hoo! Lookin' good, Boss-man!"
They jerked apart and looked over to see the other Titans in civilian clothing. Even Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire -- Garfield, Victor, and Koriand'r -- looked like perfectly ordinary humans.
"We figured we could all use some time off," Dick said.
"How...?" Raven asked.
"Holographic projectors," Vic explained. "We're still the same underneath, but now we can blend a little."
"So, Boss..." Abbey said, and Xander suppressed a groan at her tone of voice, "why's little Rae-Rae wearing _your_ shirt?"
Raven's cheeks burned at that.
"Well, uh, I got her wet, and..."
"I'll just bet you _did_, Boss," Abbey grinned. She shook her head, "Damn it, Boss, I thought we burned all of those gawd-awful..."
Pssh!
"Eep!" she shrieked and tried to cover herself.
"Oh, come on, Ab," Xander grinned, "what's with the sudden shy streak?"
"This shirt is white," Abbey growled, "and I'm not wearing a bra. Looking sexy is one thing; flashing the entire f***ing city is another."
"If the entire city were really doing that, do you really think they'd care?" Xander taunted.
"Oh, come on. Not even for _Dick_? Or should that be 'Dick's dick'?"
All eyes turned to Raven in shock, and her triumphant smirk faded.
"What?"
*Oh, God,* Xander thought. *It's contagious. Faith, I'm going to kill you.*
For her part, Raven felt her face redden as she considered what she'd said.
*Xander was right,* she thought. *I _can't_ handle my emotions properly.*
"Good one!" Abbey gave her an enthusiastic slap on the back that sent her stumbling. "There's hope for you yet, you little Rae of sunshine."
"Ouch," Xander shook his head. "Damn, Ab, that was bad."
"What, you're the only one who can make a bad joke?" the slayer shot back.
"Of course not," he replied easily. "That's what Gar's here for."
"Hey!" the shapeshifter snapped. "My jokes aren't that bad... are they?"
Crickets chirped.
There had been a second watergun fight, but Xander and Raven both decided to sit out this time. As Raven had so eloquently put it, they were both quite wet enough. Raven was content to watch while Xander busied himself with the grill Vic had brought.
An array of burgers, hot dogs, ribs, and steaks -- along with one area for tofu burgers as a concession to Gar -- were sizzling merrily the grill. Xander had added an extravagant chef's hat and a large apron to his attire, but he still remained shirtless.
By now, the Titans had emptied the waterguns and swapped them out for a frisbee.
"Xander?"
"Hmm?" Xander turned. "Hey, Kori. The food'll be ready in a few minutes."
"I wish... to talk to you," she said. "What you said before... I cannot thank you enough."
He shrugged, "It's only the truth."
She stroked his cheek and smiled, "You... truly believe that."
"So, how much longer?" Raven asked, breaking the silence, and Xander sent her silent thank you.
At least _Raven_ wasn't after him. With Jinx and Kori already ready to tear each other's throat out, he wasn't sure he'd survive if Raven joined them... or if Kara had taken the flirting seriously.
"Just a few more minutes," he answered, turning back to the grill.
Kori frowned at Raven, who met her gaze.
Challenge... accepted.
Raven shivered as they approached the vehicles. Xander had already reclaimed his shirt, and as night fell, it was starting to get cold.
"Here," Xander said, pulling out his jacket from the N-Cycle's small cargo compartment.
"Thanks," she smiled.
"Hey, I'm cold too," Abbey pouted.
"And you've been colder," Xander replied. "Or have you forgotten that frost demon in Zaire?"
"Yeah, I remember that," she said with a nostalgic smile. "That's when we pierced Janice's nipples."
"Against her will, as I recall."
"Aw, c'mon, you saw the way they were sticking out, Boss. Her nips only ever got that hard when you..."
"_Don't_ go there, Ab," he glared.
"So, what now?" Raven asked. "Do we head home?"
"Nope," Xander shook his head. "We're gonna go hit a nightclub and relax. Y'know, dance, drink, hang out, hunt vampires..." he paused and frowned, "...uh, wait, strike that last one."
"You call hunting vampires relaxing?" Dick frowned.
"Hey, as long as they aren't plotting an apocalypse, there's really nothing special about vampires back home," Xander protested. "They're everywhere. They're like... like roaches. No big deal, really."
"Boss..." Abbey slung an arm around his shoulders, "take it from me. You _really_ need a vacation. Either that, or you need to get laid."
"Let's just go," Xander said, ignoring the look on Kori's face.
He was just glad Jinx wasn't around. He doubted he could take much more of her... "attention." He didn't like to admit it, but she was wearing him down, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could resist.
"Xander, would you like to dance?"
Xander blinked at Raven dumbly. "Dance? Me?"
"Kori and Jinx both got dances out of you," she pointed out, an innocent smile on her face. The smile set off a few alarm bells in Xander's head... but then again, he _did_ bring her here to teach her to enjoy life...
"Sure."
It was a good thing Kori's transformation wasn't quite complete, otherwise the death glare she was sending at Raven very well might have killed her.
Xander, naturally, missed it completely.
Raven, for her part, was trying not to laugh. Xander had a... unique dancing style to the fast song that was playing. As the song ended, he drifted back to the table the not-Titans had claimed for themselves, but she yanked him back to the dance floor and settled herself against him.
This time, it was a slow song.
"Ack!" They were soon joined by Abbey and Dick... and Dick didn't look particularly happy about it either, judging from the looks he was shooting back at the table and the fact that it was _Kori_ he'd asked to dance.
Xander was suddenly very self-conscious. Here he was, in full geek-out mode, slow dancing with _Raven_, uber-hot half-demon. Okay, so the demon part wasn't new... and really, neither was the uber-hot part... but the fact that he knew she wasn't going to try and sacrifice or eat him at the end of the night was... well, _that_ was different.
The whispered comments he was trying to ignore didn't help much.
"Damn, how'd a geek like him score a babe like her?" uttered an envious male voice.
That was immediately followed by a grunt of pain as a female voice shot back, "Geek or not, he's a hunk under that awful shirt. _Look_ at those muscles."
Raven blushed as she leaned into Xander. At the not-Titans' table, Kori fumed.
Another male voice snorted, "I guess the Dorkus Maximus look is in or something."
"Hmph," came another female voice, "he obviously has no taste if he's with a slut like that."
Raven frowned at that... and frowned even further as she felt Xander stiffen, and they danced toward the last voice at his lead.
He swung his hand -- clasped with hers -- back in a sweeping motion that struck the haughty woman across the face. They spun, and his other hand smacked her across the other cheek. A moment later, they were dancing back onto the dance floor.
"Now that," someone commented, looking at the swirly-eyed woman, "she had coming."
Dick was extremely uncomfortable. Now he had an idea what Xander must've felt like while dancing with Kori and Jinx during that prom last week.
It probably would've been less embarassing if Abbey hadn't decided to use him as a stripper's pole.
The glares Xander was shooting his way while silently mouthing "shovel" certainly weren't helping either.
Never before had he been so glad to hear his emergency communicator go off.
Plasmus had attacked a football stadium. Xander wasn't even going to try and speculate why a game was being held this late, complete with a band, but he was glad there were no spectators... or that the spectators had already left.
So far, nothing the Titans were doing was accomplishing much. Even Starfire -- who was concealing her transformation with a slight tweak to the holodisguise -- could only blast the sewage- and toxic-eating monster apart for a few seconds before he reformed, this time with pockets of sewage scattered throughout.
Luckily, Xander had a plan.
"Cover me!"
He charged, avoiding the pieces of itself Plasmus threw, and dove right into Plasmus's body.
A moment later, Plasmus dissolved, and Xander brushed the the remnants of Plasmus from his cape. "Yecch," he said. "Remind me not to do that again."
"What did you do, Nighthawk?" Robin asked.
Xander held up a syringe and said, "Phenobarbitol. He only turns into Plasmus when he's awake, so I figured a sedative was worth a try." He looked down, "I just hope none of Plasmus got in him when I injected him."
"Good job."
"Well, that was a fine way to end the day," Raven said sourly as the entered the Tower.
"It's not over yet." She looked at Nighthawk, who explained, "Now, we change into some comfy sweats, grab some junk food, and watch a good B movie." He held up a DVD and added, "And tonight, I'm gonna introduce you to one of my childhood heroes: Ash Williams."
"'Army of Darkness'?" Raven read the cover, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"That... explains so much," Dick concluded as he looked at Xander, trying to ignore the way Abbey was draped over his side.
Xander merely grinned and shrugged as well as he was able --considering that Raven and Kori had both apparently decided he made a good pillow and were now sound asleep -- and said, "Well, it's not like I had room for a twelve-gauge or chainsaw."
"Hmm," Vic mused, "chainsaw..."
An old man looked at the Tower and grinned, rubbing his hands together gleefully.
"You won't stop me this time, my duckies. None of you."
Xander was waiting when Kori emerged from her chrysalis.
"Xander?" she blinked. She looked down at herself, "I am... normal."
He grinned, "I told you everything would be all right, didn't I?"
"Yes," she smiled, glomping onto him, "you did."
*God?* Xander thought. *The usual request?*
Story downloaded from
http://www.grandt.com/XanderZone/stories/read.php?story=TheNighthawkChronicles-12-TeensNotTitans.html