Anything, Anytime, Anywhere 03

Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You

Chapter Three
“Shoe-Worms and Shady’s Many Bosses”

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“Our plans set, I’m off.” Batman announced to Robin and Raven. “There’s no point in letting Shady become suspicious of us if we’re playing this out. I’ll be in my room; but I’ll be alert.”

And there was no need for another word from anyone. The Dark Knight was quick to make haste and disappear down the hallway in the direction of his room.

“What about you?” Raven asked. Her plans were the most obvious of all – she’d be in her room and she’d want to be undisturbed. She wouldn’t be doing the usual things in her room; but that didn’t change her opinion on company.

“I think I’m going to check on Star, actually.” Robin replied as he made up his mind.

“I don’t think Shady would start anything with her before he absolutely had too.” Raven’s hints to Starfire and Shady’s encounter in Titan’s Tower were clear.

“No, it’s not that.” Robin shook his head. “She can handle Shady fine by herself; she just seems too quiet.”

Raven allowed a small smile along with her dry wit this time. “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth boy-wonder.”

“Not all of us like it quiet.” This was Robin’s only comeback as he turned and headed to Starfire’s room. Raven was tempted to see what happened, but she did have something more important to plan. Now that they knew they were being lead into a trap, it was time to make sure all of the Teen Titans were on the same page about everything. Shady had his plans, and now the Titan’s needed one of their own. They were still going to go along with the trap; Robin was right, they couldn’t afford to lose Shady’s boss – but if you’ve got to walk into a trap, may as well be ready.

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

The silence of Titan’s Tower had already been shattered when Doug Miller had wrecked the house; but now the peace and quiet of all Jump City was in danger. Doug’s rampage of playing with the Titan’s things had spread to the garage and to one of the most dangerous possessions he could have gained access too was now in his reach.

The T-Car.

Aside from being Cyborg’s most cherished toy, and being fully-loaded with enough weaponry to destroy small neighborhoods in a single bound, the T-Car posed one more lethal threat to the harmony of Jump City – A stereo system second to none. And in the hands of a hyper thirteen-year-old with no experience behind the wheel and a lack of good judgment, it was the perfect means to deafen, flatter or blow-up anything in sight.

Providing of course he learn how to start it.

Doug was now irritated as he sat in the front seat, pounding on the dash and begging the car to start like his immature nature had suggested he would. Fortunately – perhaps – there was help being offered.

“Need a hand, kid?”

Doug’s first reaction at the voice was a loud yelp; his second was to realize that, in his mind, he could pass as a Titan and it was his responsibility to protect the tower. Doug whirled around to the passenger side door and whipped out a bird-a-rang from “his” belt, holding it as he thought he should. In all honesty he was holding it backwards and couldn’t have hit his target if he’d wanted too – but Doug’s luck was holding, somewhat.

“Whoa, take it easy.” Red X’s smooth voice flowed from behind his masked face. The intruder – the second intruder technically – didn’t take a step back from the T-Car but he did raise his hands. “I’m not looking for a fight.”

Doug was now accountable. He knew that Robin would be mad at him for demolishing the peace of the Tower, but he also knew that he could change that by catching a real-life supervillian – besides, it would be awesome! The notion that a real-life supervillian may be dangerous to him had escaped from Doug’s mind for now, and he was going to be a tough guy.

“Don’t give me that.” Doug boldly spat. “You’re in Titan’s Tower, and you don’t look like a Titan to me.”

Behind his mask X was undoubtedly grinning. “Funny, I was thinking the same.”

Doug flushed, but he didn’t waver. This was his big chance. If he caught this guy he could become a real Titan – he was sure of it! “I happen to be the youngest – and most talented – of all the Titans! Why else would they leave me in charge when they had to go on an important mission?”

“If you’re the best why wouldn’t you go on the important mission with them?” X replied at once, amused. Logic was every little boy’s weakness, after all. Doug’s face became pale.

“You shut up! Unless you want a face full of this!” Doug waved the bird-a-rang bravely, but his confidence was shaking.

“Cut the crap kid, you’re no more of a Titan than I am.” X bluntly stated. “But I do know how to start that car, and picking on kids isn’t my style, so why don’t we help each other out?”

If Doug had a response, he wasn’t given time to say it before Red X continued with what he hoped sounded like a good deal to this kid.

“When are the Titans due back?” X asked.

“W-Why?” Doug stammered, slowly losing any confidence he had.

“Because if I know that, I’ll know how long we can have our fun before Robin comes and catches us.” X explained, once again trying to convince the boy that this was all a harmless game.

“A month, Beast Boy said.” Doug confessed before the idea of stopping himself even crossed his mind.

“Now that’s the best news I’ve heard in a while, kid.” X could hardly contain his excitement. “Well, why don’t I start the car for you and you go do your thing. I’ll stay here and do mine, and we’ll just both promise to bring everything we take back and clean up before the Titan’s get back; what do you say?”

Before Doug could say anything, X had thrown a small X-shaped device onto the ignition of the T-Car. There were some sparks and a loud electric humming and a moment later the car’s engine roared into life. Doug knew in his heart that this was a mistake; but he couldn’t resist.

“You better not mess anything up inside.” Doug warned; his boldness restored.

“Wouldn’t dream of it kid.” Red X assured him before he took a step back from the car and proceeded into the house; his plans going better than he ever could have hoped.

And as for Doug Miller, the thirteen-year-old menace that’d been unleashed on Titan’s Tower for the past few hours? He sped off towards Jump City in the hijacked T-Car.

Slade had never honestly given a second thought to the welfare of Jump City when he’s lured the Titan’s away. This was personal for the one-eyed true menace. However he had endangered the populace of the city by the bay by luring the Titan’s away; whether he’d meant too or not.

Red X was loose in the Tower, Doug Miller was driving a dangerous weapon, and Slade was preparing for his own trip out of town.

Jump City had never needed the Teen Titans more than they did now.

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

“My head hurts.”

Shady was wide awake. And his head felt like he’d been run-over by . . . something big and heavy. The bald, colorless, downright irritating little alien hadn’t felt this bad in a long time. How much had he drunk? Shady sat up from the floor and looked around at the empty bottle. No, that couldn’t be right. He could hold his liquor better than that, couldn’t he?

And then in a tiny corner of his organized mind a light bulb clicked on and Shady realized that something was up. If there was one skill Shady was sure he wouldn’t have lost for no reason it was his ability to drink massive amounts of liquor and still maintain some consciousness. If he felt this bad it wasn’t from a single bottle of alcohol – even Tamaran’s finest. The Titans were up to something, which meant they knew he was up to something, which meant he was screwed.

“At least it can’t get any –” Shady’s bad mood was getting worse and before he had a chance to finish his venting, the small alien communicator went off. Shady snatched it up and answered it in the rudest tone he could muster. “What?”

“Don’t take that voice with me you incompetent fool.” Slade blasted back, not bothering to mask his fury.

“With all due respect boss, now isn’t a good time.” Shady held his own, for once; which was a mistake.

“With all due respect,” Slade replied in his most dangerous tones. “You let Raven play with your mind, and you let Batman play with your computer. Now you go find out what they know and how much they know about it before I lose my temper; do I make myself clear?”

“I’m the one taking all the risk.” Shady responded; but instantly he regretted it. His bad mood was gone and replaced by his usual weakness and fear. He’d crossed the line with Slade and he knew it. And much to his distress; Slade began to laugh over the other side of the communicator.

“You’re right Shadarias.” Slade replied calmly. “You’re the one up there taking all the risk, while I sit here safe and sound.”

Shady knew where this was going and he knew he’d have no luck in stopping Slade from doing it – but he had to try anyway. “Sir, I didn’t mean –”

“Shut up and keep your cover intact. We’ll discuss this matter further when I arrive on Tamaran.”

The communicator clicked off and Shady shut his eyes. Things were looking bad. His computer and his mind had been picked of information – what and how much he didn’t know – and Slade was now on his way to Tamaran. There was no way this could get worse for him. No way unless . . .

Shady closed his eyes. Slade said Raven had been in his mind? She had been looking for information on his employer. She could have found something on Slade and left; but she could have found the boss’s door; and she’d assume that “boss” meant Slade. And as soon as these thoughts crossed his mind, it must have triggered the connection because that’s when the “boss” – the other boss, besides Slade or the King of Tamaran – spoke.

“Why was Raven at my door Shadarias?” The demonic voice from Shady’s mind spoke to him.

“She was looking for proof that I’m a traitor.” Shady responded tiredly.

“A traitor to whom? The Titans? The Royals? Slade? Surely Shadarias, Raven does not expect my involvement in any of this?”

“I doubt it sir.” Shady answered honestly. “She knows I’m dirty, but there’s been no indication at all that you’re even vaguely connected to any of this.”

There was a silence from his mind for a long time. Then at length the voice from beyond his mind spoke once more. “Shadarias, we both know Slade is anxious to dispose of you; and the King of Tamaran has a temper that would never let you survive being proven a traitor in his eyes. I however can protect you; and you know it.”

“And why would you want too?” Shady asked. “Why would I even want to keep living a life like this?”

“Shadarias; through you and your recent mistakes I have access to something I’ve wanted for longer than any mortal like yourself can even imagine. I’m not going to let this chance slip away. You’re going to co-operate with me.”

“And if I refuse?” Shady inquired at length.

“Shadarias, I’m already connected to your mind; you can’t refuse me. And you’re far from my only means to accomplish my goal – you’re simply the most convenient.”

Shady suddenly realized, with much horror, what was being said by these subtle hints. “I, I could have rejected Raven’s powers if I’d been –”

“Been what? Awake? Sober? No you couldn’t have. Raven could have easily broken you even at your full strength; and if she can, just imagine what I can do.”

Shady sighed. Death was looking better and better every second; but it was out of his hands. He no longer had any choices about anything. He’d gotten in too deep, and he was tired of swimming. Everything was going to be out in the open in the not-too-distant future. Shady’s only real driving force anymore was just to see who’d be more surprised by it all – and to see who’d survive it.

Not that he expected to be one of them.

The boss from beyond his mind became quiet once more. And Shady went back to his booze drawer; deciding that one bottle of Tamaran’s finest wasn’t nearly enough. The strongest alcohol in the known universes, and Shady had a good supply.

And he’d be fresh out by morning.

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

Robin knocked lightly on Starfire’s door; mainly because he had no clue what she’d been doing or really where she was since dinner ended. And while Robin knew for a fact she could take care of herself against an enemy like Shady – and he knew Shady wouldn’t be crazy about the idea of taking on someone like Star – he couldn’t shake the feeling that the Tamaranian he’d fallen for was being too quiet for her own good.

Normally – if normal was the right word for them – Starfire was a noisy addition to the team. Raven could stay out of sight and sound for days on ends; the only indication that she was even alive being that her portion of the food would slowly vanished from the refrigerator. Robin was better about leaving his room; but he could be completely silent and cut off as well – especially when he was obsessed with something. Beast Boy and Cyborg were much louder and much more open with everything; but Starfire was literally noise in every sense of the word. From overreacting to simple, everyday Earth things as she experienced them for the first time to simply becoming easily excited; she did make a lot of noise. And now she was the quietest of all.

“Starfire?” Robin asked through the door.

No response. Robin opened the door and stepped inside, not too quickly incase it was nothing; but with enough haste that he’d know in plenty of time to become combat-ready. Unfortunately what he found only added to his confusion.

Starfire’s room was a wreck; the bed was turned over, there were blast marks from starbolts clearly evident, and in the middle of the room was a pile of blankets and clothing that was bouncing around. Robin drew a bird-a-rang from his belt and made his way quickly and cautiously over to the shaking bundle. He threw the top blanket off to find Starfire, wrapped up in her spare clothing and gagged with a boot.

“Star! Hang on!” Robin quickly flashed the bird-a-rang and sliced the bindings from her body as he simultaneously released the boot from her mouth. Starfire gave a terrified yelp and fled behind the safety of Robin’s cape, her hands glowing with starbolts as she did.

“Where is he?” Robin asked, feeling murderous as thoughts of Shady crossed his mind.

“The closet.” Starfire murmured.

Robin wasted no time. He hastily stepped forward and kicked the closet door in; which released the predator. Much to Robin’s mixture of astonishment and horror, it was not Shady. He didn’t know what it was. It looked like a large, pink snake; ten feet in length or so. Its body wasn’t made from scales but rather a substance that reminded Robin of a worn-out camping bag. Green patterns in the shape of rectangles went down its back and its eyes looked like large ruby-red baseballs. The snake tilted its head for a second looking at Robin, and then it opened its jaws to show fangs that looked to be too long for its mouth and too sharp for the creature to qualify as “friendly”.

Of course all of this happened very fast, pausing only for a split seconds hesitation before picking up the pace once more. The snake-like creature hissed and launched itself at Robin like a rocket; Robin jumped to the side and let his bird-a-rang sail from his hand with a snap and watched in satisfaction as it sliced down the side of the beast; while Starfire squeaked, flew directly upwards, and bombarded the creature (as well as everything around it) with green balls of energy.

Once the smoke had cleared Robin leaned against the wall at a genuine lack for words, and Starfire landed beside him not officering anything but a hug; though only a light one (which was actually a good thing; Robin reminded himself).

“Star? What was that thing?” Robin asked at length.

“A Tamaranian shoe-worm. And I am ever-most grateful for your help in killing it. I have had a fear of them since Blackfire put one in my room when I was still small.”

“Oh. Do you know how it got in here?” Robin wasn’t sure if now was a good time to bring up Shady and his reason for coming or not.

“I believe the ship is infested with them; I discovered its nest in my closet and there was only this one but room enough for many more.”

“Well, we’ll keep our eyes open for more of them. Listen Star, there’s some things you need to know.” Robin turned to her now, his eyes full of that serious look he’d inherited from his experience; and Starfire could tell it wasn’t good news.

“Yes?” She asked quietly.

“It’s a trap Star. The trials. I’m sorry.” Robin spoke softly and quietly; but he never stopped looking in her eyes. “Shady confessed. He’s a traitor, Batman and I hacked into his computer and Raven went through his brain. I’ll spare you the details, if you want.”

Starfire was taking it well on the outside, but Robin knew better. She had had her heart set on the Trials, and she had probably trusted Shady more than anyone else on board did. He didn’t have to see the tears collecting in her eyes, or notice the fact that her body was starting to shake to know how upset she was.

“So then . . . we are too withdraw from the trip?” Starfire asked.

“Starfire, Shady didn’t plan this himself. He’s working for someone. I don’t know if they wanted us to leave the city, or if they just hoped you and I would die in the trials; but I know we can’t catch them unless we do what they want and move forward as planned. And . . .” Robin paused. “I was looking forward to the trials anyway; so if you’re willing to risk it, we’re going to keep going.”

Starfire then did something that genuinely surprised the boy wonder. She laughed and hugged him gently; being too worn out for her usual backbreaker.

“The entire point of the trials is to risk it. We must keep going!”

Robin leaned back and grinned. “Then we’re all set. Raven can tell Cyborg and Beast Boy what’s going on, and Shady’s been taken care of; so we just have to sit back and wait to arrive on Tamaran.”

Starfire shook her head. “No, we must clear out the shoe-worm infestation as well. I cannot sleep knowing there are shoe-worms on the ship.”

Robin shrugged. Hunting down killer-shoe worms wasn’t exactly his idea of fun, but after how this had started and the many possibly ways it could end in his head; he wasn’t going to complain.

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

“Doooooo-ude!” Beast Boy burst through the door to Cyborg’s bedroom as quickly as a cheetah, as loudly as an angry grizzly, and sounding strangely like a hyper-active cow. While the green titan didn’t turn into any of these animals, it was still distractive enough to cause Cyborg to fall backwards in surprise with a yelp.

Which wasn’t something Cyborg wanted to do at any time; but especially when he’d been only three-hundred points away from breaking his high score on “Extreme Dirt Racing 3”. Cyborg rose to his feet, grabbed Beast Boy by the head, and showed that he too could be very loud.

“Dude! Do you realize I was only two kick-flips and a backwards spiral away from breaking my high-score!?”

Beast Boy and Cyborg arguing over video games was hardly anything new; but what Beast Boy said next was.

“Cyborg this is more important than video games!”

There was a few seconds ringing silence following those words. Cyborg looked at Beast Boy with a clear expression of confusion, and then suspicion. “I’m not falling for that BB, you’ll have too –”

“I’m serious.” Beast Boy responded, and for once he looked the part.

“Well, my timing seems perfect.” Raven’s usual wit was suddenly added to the room; Cyborg released Beast Boy as they both turned to find the half-demon floating inside.

“Raven!” Beast Boy suddenly went from serious, to seriously angry. He stomped over to her boldly and sucked in his breath to puff of his chest. Raven raised a eyebrow almost instantly.

“Yes?”

“Look, I know something’s going on around here! I saw you in Shady’s room, and I know that you guys are keeping something from us and I want to know what it is and I want to know now!” Beast Boy’s tough guy routine was fairly pathetic, but Cyborg took a large step back since he didn’t think pushing Raven’s buttons to be a good idea under any circumstances.

“Okay.”

“Don’t take that tone with me – what?” Beast Boy blinked.

“Whoa.” Was all Cyborg had to add.

“That’s why I came here.” Raven explained. “Forget it, this’ll be quicker.”

There was a brief confusion in which both Beast Boy and Cyborg looked as if they wanted to ask “What will be quicker”, but neither got the chance.

In one fluid motion Raven blinked her eyes from normal to pure white, extended a hand aiming towards each of the two, and shouted: “Azarath Metreon Zinthos!” The next thing either of the Titan’s knew they were on the floor rubbing their heads with Raven standing over them looking slightly too pleased by knocking them over.

“Hey, why’d you do that – Ahhh!” Beast Boy shouted. Raven had merely transferred everything she needed to inform them of directly into their minds; which caused them both to freak out.

“Whoa.” Cyborg repeated himself from earlier, flabbergasted.

“How did we miss all this stuff happening?” Beast Boy asked.

“It’s moments like these that make me wonder how anyone can ask me why I prefer to stay in my room.” Raven noted before leaving the two to their newfound understanding – and confusion.