Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Soul-crushing guilt clawed at her brain.

Raven groaned and rolled over in her bed, trying to get back to sleep. Sudden outbursts of intense, painful emotion were really not her ideal method of waking up, and she wasn't sure whether it made it better or worse to know that this one came from an outside source.

…Okay, so she should probably be a good friend or something and see what had gotten her teammate so upset. She was still groggy, so she couldn't quite pinpoint who had awoken her. Whoever it was must have been right next to her room, for her to sense the emotion unconsciously.

Raven sat up and stretched for a moment before reaching over to grab her cloak. It was probably Beast Boy, heedless of her space as usual and running around worked up over… something. Or maybe Starfire. She had certainly been through the wringer last night, and though she had nothing to be ashamed of, it wasn't unheard of for her to fret so much that she forgot herself and projected those extra-strength Tamaranean emotions where Raven could pick them up.

But as Raven cleared her mind and made for her door, she realized that neither guess was correct. She was sensing Robin.

…Well, that explained the guilt.

Raven slid open her bedroom door, expecting Robin to be just outside. The hallway was empty, though, and when she knocked on the door of the bathroom next to her bedroom, she found it unoccupied.

Strange. That was the only room adjoining hers, and she shouldn't have been able to sense emotions from any further away. For that matter, she shouldn't have nearly this strong a bead on them unless the source was right next to her. Had her empathy somehow grown more acute over the night?

Raven wandered the hallway, searching for her team's leader. He wasn't in his bedroom, or his office. But as she made her way down the other end of the hall, she finally picked up on a pair of low voices coming from Starfire's room.

"No, it's not all right. Starfire, I hurt you."

"Robin, please, do not worry so much. You did no real damage by grabbing me, and it was only under the influence of the dust. In truth, I was more surprised and concerned than anything else."

"I wasn't just talking about physical pain."

Raven's stomach twisted. She really wasn't comfortable eavesdropping like this, but she wasn't sure whether it would be worse to interrupt them or whether she should leave and go looking for Robin again once he was finished talking.

And there was something else. She hadn't sensed Starfire's emotions (concern, care, a lingering sadness) until she was right in front of her door.

"Did you hear that?" Robin asked suddenly.

"Hear what?"

"I… I don't… know, but… I think someone's outside."

Raven's blood froze. She was certain she hadn't made a sound since coming to hover outside the room, and there was something unsettlingly familiar about Robin's confusion.

It took all her willpower not to phase through the floor and disappear when Robin approached and opened the door. He looked exhausted, and still a little rough from the previous night, and behind him she could see Starfire sitting on the edge of her bed, her arms folded in her lap as she looked to the doorway.

"Raven?" Robin asked in mild surprise. Some of Raven's worry must have been showing on her face, because he straightened up a little while Starfire stood and made her way to the door.

"Raven, what is wrong?" she asked.

Raven didn't reply for a moment, her eyes fixed on Robin. She now had a firm idea of what was going on, and she really didn't want to have it proven right.

Not much else she could do about it, though.

Robin frowned and shared a concerned look with Starfire. "Raven?" he asked again. "We can't help you if you won't tell us what's going on."

Raven blinked and finally found her voice. Her hands twitched toward the hood of her cloak, but she kept them down. "I need to talk to Robin," she said. "Just… find me in my room when you're done."

She started turning away, but Starfire reached out a hand. She cast Robin an uncertain glance and offered, "If this is truly important, perhaps you two should speak now. We can finish our talk –"

But Raven was already shaking her head. "No, go ahead. I need some time to… gather my thoughts anyway."

With that she left for her room, walking a little more briskly than was necessary. She gave in to temptation and pulled her hood up over her head, both mentally and physically burying her emotions behind its concealing barrier.

Robin stood a little stiffly by the door out of Raven's room. It was rare for her to allow anyone entry, and even though she had been the one to insist they talk in her private quarters, he still felt like he was intruding.

Raven herself was pacing the floor, silent except for her soft footsteps and the low swish of her cloak. She had been doing so since he had first knocked on her door and been beckoned in, several minutes ago now. He almost swore he could feel the agitation rolling off her.

From someone who normally kept her emotions tightly in check, it was more than a little unnerving.

Finally, Raven paused in her circuit and glanced over at him. She ran her fingers through her hair and hissed, "Damn it."

Robin straightened up a fraction – he didn't think he'd ever heard her swear before.

"Raven," he ventured carefully, taking a small step forward, "I know you said you needed time to think, but it might help if we talk through whatever's going on."

Raven let out a heavy sigh and nodded. "I know. I just…" She looked directly at him, for the first time since she'd brought him in, as she said, "I don't think I can fix this."

Robin frowned. "Fix what?"

Raven ran a hand through her hair again. "I… Last night, when you were hallucinating Slade and I sent my soul self to you, I think I left something behind. Have you noticed anything… off since then? Like you're sensing something you shouldn't?"

Robin blinked at her odd explanation, and then frowned thoughtfully in response to the equally-odd question. He thought back to when he had been talking with Starfire, how he had suddenly known that someone was just outside the door. He'd had a feeling that person was upset, too, but it had been such a vague and unusual sense that he assumed he must have just heard something.

Now that he really considered it, the bead he had on Raven's current emotional state was somehow more tangible than he'd thought. It wasn't just what he could see in her behavior and hear in her voice. It was as if he really could feel her anxiety, but in a detached and impersonal way that didn't affect his own emotional state beyond making him worry for his friend.

He looked back to her in wonder. "I see what you mean. Are you saying you gave me an empathic sense?" He tried to remember if he'd noticed anything like this when he'd been with Starfire earlier, or around the rest of the team late last night.

But Raven shook her head and folded her arms. "Not entirely. It's more of an empathic bond between the two of us. You can sense my emotions to some degree now, and my sense of yours has gotten stronger than normal."

Robin marveled for a moment at that, but Raven's current feelings still concerned him. "And you're really bothered by that," he noted. "Why? I mean, sure it's… pretty weird to think about, but you've always had your senses. Is this really that different?"

Raven looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "You're telling me you're not freaked out by this? It was bad enough that I went rooting around in your head –"

"To save my life," Robin interjected.

"– but now it's going to be harder than ever for me to leave you to your privacy. Not to mention we both have to worry about how distracting these senses can be." Raven let out a low sigh and rubbed her temples. "I've had my normal abilities my entire life, so those are at least something I've learned how to ignore when I need to. And I still have to get away for time to myself sometimes."

"…Oh." That explained a lot about the sanctity Raven had placed on her room, now that Robin thought about it. The realization made him uncomfortable to be here all over again, and with that explanation, some of Raven's nervousness regarding this empathic bond was starting to rub off on him.

He shook his head and clamped down on those thoughts. He could freak out later, but for now, one of them had to keep a level head about this and Raven was anxious enough as it was.

"Okay," he said simply, "so you said you can't get rid of this bond. That leaves learning how to work with it. What do you recommend?"

Raven stopped for a moment, just looking at him. Her expression relaxed a fraction as she said, "You know, you're probably the best person this could have happened to."

Robin started at the sudden change in tone. "I am?"

"Of course. Starfire and Beast Boy's emotions are too strong; they wouldn't have mixed with mine well. Cyborg wouldn't have been as bad, but he still tends to be pretty open about what he's thinking, even when he doesn't mean to." She smirked – probably the first smile she'd worn all day. "But you've already got a knack for what we need to keep from driving each other crazy."

Robin frowned. "I do?"

Raven tapped on the side of her head. "Mental shields. I could tell you were trying to block out your own worries just then. They're not perfect, since you're not trying to psychically block someone, but with some training and a little practice figuring out when to use them, we can keep some privacy." She took another deep breath and muttered, "Azar, I was so busy panicking like a hormonal kid that I didn't even think about that."

Robin winced – he was pretty sure the kind of 'mental shields' Raven had mentioned were part of what had gotten him into last night's mess in the first place. What would Cyborg or Starfire say about him making stronger ones?

Raven must have picked up on this, because she wryly added, "Proper psychic shields are much more elegant than just metaphorically shutting people out. Trust me, I'm aware that's a bad habit we both need to work on."

Robin took a deep breath and nodded. Raven seemed to be getting back to her usual self, and he took that as a good sign. "All right. Where do we start?"

Starfire frowned a little to herself as she made her way up the stairs from the common area to the Titans' living quarters. She walked rather than flew; she was still a little emotionally drained after the turmoil of the night before, and in any case the physical exercise gave her a chance to organize her thoughts.

At least Robin seemed to be doing better. He had been terribly upset that morning, apologizing profusely for his behavior while under the stress of the dust-induced hallucinations. That guilt alone had been, admittedly, an odd sort of relief. It was a sign that he truly was clear of mind now, and back to his normal self. Still, it had taken her the better part of the morning to assure him that she forgave him, and that she had known from the beginning that something must be terribly wrong for him to behave that way in the first place.

Starfire had not seen him since. She could only assume that he had gone to make peace with the others after responding to Raven's odd summons. But she had seen Raven, and was now in fact responding to a summons of her own.

Joint meditation was a standard but somewhat uncommon bonding activity for the two girls; Raven usually preferred to do so alone, while Starfire was too keyed toward embracing her strongest emotions for clearing her mind to be of much use. But when the right mood struck, taking those moments of quiet contemplation together could be exactly what they both needed. Perhaps this was one of those times, for Raven to suddenly appear and invite Starfire into her room for a brief session?

She would be finding out shortly, because she had just reached Raven's door. She knocked softly, calling out the sorceress' name.

In a moment, the door opened to Raven's usual neutral self, devoid of all signs of agitation. It also opened, to Starfire's surprise, to a view of Robin sitting a little awkwardly back by the foot of her bed. He shot her a wan smile.

Starfire returned the smile and glanced from him back to Raven. "Robin will be joining us today?"

Raven waved her hand in a so-so gesture. "Honestly, it's more like you'll be joining us. I need to teach him a few meditation techniques, but he keeps getting distracted and you're the best at calming him down." She shrugged. "Besides, I could use a meditation partner I'm used to, and I think you could use a session anyway. Call it a win-win."

Starfire frowned thoughtfully as she stepped through the threshold into her friend's room. "All right. Is this what you needed to speak about earlier?"

Robin offered up that awkward half-smile again. "Sort of. It's… kind of complicated, so I'll explain after we're done." He glanced at Raven. "If you're okay with that, I mean."

Raven just shrugged, and Starfire hesitated half a second before nodding her concession. She burned with curiosity over what exactly had happened between her teammates… But it was their business to share when they were ready, and if they all needed to avoid extra distraction now, then so be it.

It was strange, she thought as she and Raven chose their spots and dipped into a low, sitting hover. Raven and Robin had always gotten along well enough, but they'd never been especially close – the tendency for both to guard their privacy rather than reaching out to others, she supposed.

But just from the past couple minutes, she could tell that something had shifted. She could see it in the equal parts curious and trusting look Robin gave Raven as he shifted his posture to better match hers, in the little silent nod she gave him in turn, in the wry joke he offered both girls equally about how he couldn't really match their positions without being able to fly. Starfire did not yet know what had happened, but she hoped it would result in a strengthening of their friendship. It was like they had formed some sort of camaraderie, a common ground.

A bond.

Chapter Text

Beast Boy narrowed his eyes and stared at his hand. He was alone in the common room, sprawled out on the couch with a forgotten comic tossed to the side.

The Titans had recently returned from their first-ever trip to Tamaran, and it had certainly been… an experience. A good experience in the end, mind you, but the whole wedding thing and Starfire being a princess and Blackfire having at some point taken over the planet and then the wedding thing being a trap that they stopped and Starfire kicking her sister's sorry butt and taking the crown… It had all been kinda overwhelming.

Pretty cool though. Even if Beast Boy still couldn't figure out how half the furniture on that planet worked. Was that what Star had felt like when she first came to Earth?

Anyway, point was, so much had happened during their little space trip that he had almost forgotten something cool he'd learned about himself. Now that he remembered, though, he couldn't get the thought out of his head.

A low whoosh signaled the entrance of another Titan, and Beast Boy's ears pricked. He sat up and looked over the back of the couch to see Starfire floating through the doorway.

A wide grin split his face. "Hey, Star! You got a sec? I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

Starfire perked up at the sound of his voice, and she made her way over. "What is it?"

Beast Boy started bouncing in his seat. "So, you know those giant freaky Tamaranean guard dogs?"

Starfire blinked. "Guard do- You mean the gloorgs?"

"Sure, the gloogs or whatever. Point is, when we were trying to crash your wedding, I was able to morph into one! How cool is that?"

Starfire's eyes widened a fraction, and she sat down and scooted closer to him. "Fascinating. So, you wish to learn more about Tamaranean wildlife so you may better wield their forms?"

Beast Boy shook his head, still grinning. "Not exactly. See, sentient lifeforms like humans are just really smart animals, right? So if I can turn into Tamaranean animals, then I should be able to turn into a Tamaranean. How cool is that?!"

Now, when he had pictured this conversation in his head, this part had led to a lot of gobsmacked awe and maybe a call for celebration over the sheer potential of his newfound power. Tamaraneans were, after all, a plainly powerful race – and not the only one, either. With a little effort, he could probably morph into a Martian, or an Atlantean, or even a freaking Kryptonian.

He could be ALL the superheroes.

Instead, Starfire's response was simply to clap once and smile at him. "Oh, that does sound interesting! I would be quite happy to share more of my heritage with you, if that is what you wish."

Well… That wasn't quite the expected level of enthusiasm. Beast Boy deflated a little, but he shook it off. She probably just hadn't considered all the ramifications yet.

"Okay, just sit tight," he said instead, adjusting his position. "I'm gonna try it."

Starfire nodded, and Beast Boy squinted and tried to focus. His shapeshifting was more-or-less an instinctive thing, but he needed a firm grasp of the animal in question to do it. He was too used to thinking of Star as just another person with powers, rather than a whole different species.

After a few moments, he pinpointed what he wanted and stretched. That was the only way he could ever think of to describe it, even when he was shrinking his form.

It was a… bizarre sensation. He was used to changing shape completely, his flesh warping around itself in a way that was a lot less unpleasant than it sounded. This time the shift was much more subtle – little more than a vague tingling sensation and a few more noticeable shifts in his face and gut. That was… probably a good sign?

Not sure what else to do, he held up a hand and looked at it again, flexing and curling his fingers. He couldn't see any difference, but no real surprise there. Still…

"Hey, do I look any different to you?" he asked her. "Taller, maybe? I feel like Tamaraneans are all really tall."

Starfire looked him over and hummed in thought, then smiled. She zipped over to the kitchen and rummaged around for a few moments before returning with a large metal platter and holding it up to him.

Beast Boy squinted at his reflection. It took him a moment to notice what with all the green already on his face, but then his eyes widened.

The whites of said eyes weren't so white anymore. Also, his eyebrows had shrunk to little dots.

With a triumphant cackle, he leaped up on the couch. "Dude! It really worked! I'm a Tamaranean now!" He started punching the air.

"Okay, when do I get to start chucking starbolts at bad guys?"

Starfire set the platter down and commented, "I very much doubt that you will be able to do that."

Beast Boy froze mid-punch. "Huh? Why not?"

Starfire leaned back on her hands. "It takes a significant amount of power to generate enough stellar energy for ranged use. It bears similarities to training the muscles to increase your strength." She shrugged. "I required several years of training to use starbolts with any consistency."

Beast Boy frowned. "Oh. I guess that makes sense."

Well, bummer. Still, he wasn't about to be deterred. Hopping down to the floor, he asked, "So what about flying then? I could still fly around and punch stuff and not have to worry about my arms getting tired!"

Starfire perked up. "Oh, that is much simpler! For that you must focus on the unbridled joy of flight. If you feel flight, and allow that feeling to buoy you, then it will come to you naturally."

Joy? Piece of cake. Beast Boy squeezed his eyes shut and pictured himself zooming through the air, doing loop-de-loops and punching through walls and all the other cool stuff he'd seen Star do even when she wasn't hurling glowey green lasers around.

It was going to be awesome.

With that last thought, something clicked in his head and he felt his feet leave the ground. His eyes snapped open to find himself halfway to the ceiling.

"Ha-hah!" he shouted, pumping both fists in the air. "Behold the mighty Space Boy! I am invincible! I am –"

And that was when he smacked his head hard against the ceiling.

"So that's how I learned that stopping and steering with weird mental flight powers is a lot harder when you haven't grown up doing it."

Beast Boy, human again, held an ice pack against the back of his head as he finished his story. From where she was meditating a few feet away, Raven cracked an eye open and turned it on him.

"Did you really hit yourself hard enough to need that?" she asked.

Beast Boy shrugged. "Eh, not really. Tamaraneans are pretty tough." With a grumble he added, "And now I know why."

He pulled the ice pack away and frowned at it. "Also, apparently they need to focus on something to make super strength work, too? What is even up with that?"

"Considering Starfire can tear through solid concrete with the muscle mass of a bean pole, I'd imagine a lot."

Beast Boy's eyes slid over to her, and a smirk made its way to his mouth. "Buuut, you know what does make sense as something you need focus for?"

Raven opened her other eye and narrowed both at him. "I don't like where this is going."

Beast Boy jumped to his feet and started bouncing on his heels. "Seriously! You're from, like, another dimension, right? And your magic kinda works on its own, so it's gotta come from whatever species you are instead of being something you have to study for like a wizard. Tell me I'm wrong!"

His companion simply crossed her arms. "I'm half human."

"Really? Oh, well, the other half then." He gasped. "Or maybe I could actually be a hybrid! Why did I never think of that before? I could mix together all the best species and become some sort of ultra-beast!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Hybrids don't work that way." Sighing with the air of defeat that said she'd never get her meditation done now, she swung her legs out of the lotus position and stood up.

For his part, Beast Boy shook his head. "Right. One thing at a time." He returned his full attention to her.

"Sooo, spill the details. What do I need to know about your super-cool interdimensional magic half?"

Raven looked suddenly very uncomfortable, for reasons he couldn't quite place. Looking back on the conversation later, he'd come to conclude that it probably had something to do with the freaky giant probably-not-the-human-parent "father" he'd once seen in her mindscape (and much later he'd understand that it had everything to do with him). But for now, all he knew was that she was avoiding eye contact and hesitating as if looking for an excuse to change the subject.

Finally, she shook her head and settled on a simple, "Forget it. It's way too dangerous, and if you couldn't handle Tamaranean powers then there's no way you'd be able to handle mine."

Beast Boy deflated. "Aww, how come? Your powers are a straightforward 'think a thing, make a shield or whatever,' right? No special physical training or weird emotion games."

Raven let out a long-suffering sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "First off, it's not that simple. But more importantly, let's put it this way. You remember the incident with the Puppet King, when Starfire and I had to save you with our bodies switched?"

Beast Boy shuddered a little at the memory. "It's kinda hard to forget."

"You might not have noticed considering your… condition at the time, but the differences in our training and emotional states meant we both had trouble with each other's powers. In my case, I had a hard time accessing her powers because of the emotional energy they required."

Beast Boy snorted and muttered, "Yeah, no wonder," under his breath. Raven turned a withering glare on him, and after a few moments of squirming he cleared his throat.

"Uh, sorry. Go on."

The sorceress just kept her warning look on him as she continued. "In her case, she was in a constant struggle to keep from accidentally blowing us up."

It took him a few seconds for that to fully sink in.

"…Oh."

"Aww, come on, you gotta have something!"

Hot Spot let out a low sigh over the communicator. "I don't know what to tell you. I was raised by human parents, my powers and the ones the other hybrid kids have are all different, and I haven't exactly taken the time to study H'san Natall biology. For all I know, you wouldn't get any new powers at all."

Beast Boy groaned dramatically and flopped over on his chair. "Duude, I'm having like no luck with this!" He huffed. "Thanks anyway."

Hot Spot gave him a flat look. "Yeeeeah, next time you want to learn more about the vicious alien invaders who secretly sired and later kidnapped me, just feel free to hit me up."

After a moment's thought, he added, "Have you tried Aqualad yet? You guys are buddies or something, right?"

Beast Boy chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Yeah, turns out like half of his powers are some kinda magic that doesn't come with the species."

There was a long awkward moment where neither hero knew where to take the conversation. "So, is that everything?" Hot Spot finally asked. "Because if you didn't need anything else…"

Beast Boy sighed. "Yeah, that was it. Talk to you later."

The line went out, and he looked morosely over his list of non-human Titans. It wasn't too short considering there were only five core members and a handful of honoraries, and he'd been so sure he could find something that worked. But Hot Spot had been his last hope. Maybe he should just try morphing into a H'san Natall and see what happened?

He tried that, squeezing his eyes shut and focusing on what he knew about Hot Spot. He strained for several seconds, but nothing clicked, nothing stretched, and in the end, he probably just looked like an idiot.

Well, nuts. Either he couldn't do hybrids after all and Hot Spot wasn't enough to give him the full species, or whatever had let him morph Tamaranean didn't apply here.

Technically, he could still ask Robin to hook him up with the Justice League's alien members. But if he couldn't even work out how to mimic his own teammates, what was the point?

With nothing else to do now that his little project had failed, Beast Boy found himself heading toward the garage. Cyborg was there, making yet more upgrades to the T-car.

"This is delicate work, don't touch anything," he said by rote as he saw his friend enter.

Beast Boy sighed again and plopped down on a workbench. "Yeah, I know."

Cyborg looked up from his work. "No luck with 'Space Boy,' I'm guessing? Because I hate to tell you, but I don't think robots count as a species."

"You heard about that?"

"The girls filled me in." Cyborg switched tools and got back to work.

Beast Boy flopped back on the bench. "You know what's really nice? Animal instincts. Not having to work out how to fly, or pounce, or use your teeth and claws, because you just know."

Cyborg raised a brow at him. "You have to train with your animal forms all the time."

The shapeshifter frowned. "I guess. But they still make more sense than starbolts or magic."

Cyborg snorted and wiped his hands off with a cloth. "Coulda told you that." He frowned thoughtfully.

"You know, maybe you've been going about this all wrong. That Tamaranean guard thing was impressive. Have you tried anything new other than sapient beings with complex powersets of their own?"

Beast Boy's ears perked, and he sat up slowly. "I guess I haven't really thought a lot about it yet. You think I could do more alien animals?"

Without another thought he shifted back into a gloorg. Cyborg yelped and ran around to shield the car with his body, but the now-alien creature just shifted his weight a little and trotted in place, testing out the new form.

Morphing back, he hummed in thought. "Not too different from some of my dinosaurs, but I still don't know all of its tricks and there's a whole planet of probably terrifying animals to explore. I gotta talk to Star!"

Cyborg glared at him, still pressed against his baby. "Please don't experiment like that next to the delicate machinery."

Beast Boy waved off the comment, barely registering it. "Yeah, sure thing. Ooh! Maybe I can do hybrids, like a liger or something. Would that be any better than a regular tiger? Oh! Or what if I go the opposite way? Maybe I could be an amoeba. It'd be the perfect infiltrator!"

Peeling himself off the car, Cyborg frowned. "Does that even count as an animal?"

"Not according to modern taxonomy, but neither should alien creatures, so who knows!" Beast Boy cackled and started vaulting up the stairs to the tower proper, two steps at a time. "Space Boy, AWAY!"

He couldn't see the look on his friend's face as he ran off to find Starfire again, but as much as he wanted it to be awe and maybe a little envy over his mad skills, he knew it was probably something more akin to pure bafflement. That was okay. As far as he was concerned, Beast Boy had a whole world – no, a whole galaxy of options just waiting to be tried. He didn't know how many of those options he'd end up using on a regular basis, but that was okay too.

Because whatever happened, it was going to be awesome.

Chapter Text

It was an ordinary enough night in Titan's Tower. Cyborg and Beast Boy had settled in for a long – and noisy – Smash Bots gaming marathon. Raven had settled in with a steaming mug of tea and an old grimoire she was studying, and years of practice allowed her to drown the boys out as she worked. Silkie had curled up against her at some point, and as Raven flipped pages and took notes, she would occasionally reach down to give him an absent stroke on the head.

For a while, that odd disjointed rhythm – the flashing lights on the screen, the mechanical grunts of virtual robots beating the snot out of each other and shouts of their players exchanging smack talk, the sedate scent of herbs and lavender – filled the common room.

Then Robin and Starfire fell past the window.

Cyborg cut himself off mid-sentence with a panicked yell. He practically threw his controller to the ground and ran up to the big bayside window, Beast Boy following close behind. Their commotion snapped an otherwise-occupied Raven to attention.

"What is it?" she asked, making her way to the boys with long strides.

Beast Boy peeled his eyes away from the window for just a second to glance at her. "Raven!" he shrieked. "Quick, you gotta phase through the window and… Oh, wait, never mind."

He watched as Starfire shot back up past them, her hands tightly grasping those of the team leader.

Cyborg scratched his head. "Shoulda known Star had it under control. What were those two doing anyway?"

The three of them watched as their teammates… continued flying. Starfire pulled Robin along in arcs and twists, going so high that it was hard for the others to see them through the angle of the window.

One more arc and they were suddenly in another freefall, but this time the others realized it was intentional. Starfire drifted back a foot or so, grasped her partner's hands, and gently pulled them into a slow spiral. They rushed past the window again, and the faint sound of laughter just managed to drift through.

Beast Boy's face lit up, and he cackled. "I can't believe it! They're doing a death spiral!"

That grabbed his friends' attention, and they turned to him. "A… death spiral?" Cyborg asked skeptically.

Beast Boy was grinning like an idiot now, and he backed away from the window to address the other two. "Trust me, it is every bit as adorable as it is badass. See, when eagles are courting, they kind of…" he clasped his hands together to demonstrate, "lock talons and go into this spinning freefall. I think it's for like testing their compatibility or something? But anyway, that is totally what Robin and Star are doing right now! I mean, just look at them and tell me that isn't a couple thing!"

Cyborg frowned thoughtfully and glanced back out the window, just in time to see his teammates fly back up. "…Huh. I guess Robin really is a birdbrain."

Raven shook her head. "Interspecies relationships are weird."

Beast Boy let out a longing sigh and rested his hands against the window, watching the couple as they continued their nighttime dance. "Man, I wish I had a cool flying girlfriend."

Silence. He looked back at Cyborg and Raven to find them staring at him.

"…B, you can fly."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, by turning into a bird or something. Which isn't exactly romantic unless I somehow find another shapeshifter to date." He considered that line of thought for a moment.

"…Although that would make it even more of a death spiral."

Raven just shook her head again, though she glanced back at the window with the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips. "I'm going back to studying," she said, turning back toward the couch.

Cyborg lingered a little bit longer, looking out as well. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "A courting ritual, huh?" he said to himself before letting out an I'm so teasing Robin for this chuckle and returning to the couch himself.

Outside, the couple of the hour were drifting past again. Starfire happened to catch Beast Boy looking her way, and he could swear he heard a soft "Eep!" as she froze in place for a moment before disappearing with her partner.

A little smile quirked at the side of his mouth. Well, he still thought it was cute.

On Tamaran, they called it bak'nor. A partnered flight, in which said partners wove around each other and followed one another through arcs and dips and dives as they saw fit. It was reserved for lovers, who buoyed themselves and each other with the warmth of their bond and transformed the joy of flight into an intimately shared experience.

For many, bak'nor was how they announced to their neighbors an intent to marry.

It was a little different for the two of them, of course. Humans, at least in this part of the world, held a more drawn-out courting process than on Tamaran. Partnered flight suited this "dating" stage well, as it turned out. The dance itself also had to be modified, since only one of them could actually fly.

That was all right. Exposing each other to new experiences, and tweaking them as needed, had always been a rather exciting quirk of their relationship.

In any case, Starfire and Robin were laughing as they descended the Tower's stairwell.

"I did not even realize we were flying that low," the former admitted, swallowing her mirth. "I cannot imagine what they must have thought we were doing!"

Robin shot her a grin and a playful jab in the side. "Considering how you reacted? I'm not sure I'd want to know."

A light blush made its way to Starfire's face. "I panicked! It caught me by surprise, that is all."

She cast him a pleading look with that, as if begging him to forgive her for the abrupt end of the flight, but it dissolved as they both descended into giggles again. There was no room for regrets in bak'nor.

By the time they reached the common room, they had managed to regain their composure. Raven seemed to be studying a book of some sort, but she spared them a glance in silent greeting. Cyborg and Beast Boy, just finishing a round of Smash Bots, turned as they approached.

Beast Boy grinned and pillowed his head on his hands. "Sooo, how was your flight?"

Starfire kept her smile even. "Very pleasant, thank you."

Cyborg smirked and waggled his eyebrows. "And should we start planning the weddin' now, or…?"

There was a beat as Beast Boy snorted out a peal of laughter. Now, not so long ago (and likely even now, under different circumstances), that comment would have earned a solid round of furious blushing, stammering, and unnecessary denial from Robin.

So the two boys were a little confused when all he had to offer was a light blush. He took his girlfriend's hand and muttered "Told you," to her before leading her off to the kitchen to continue their conversation.

Robin and Starfire were even more confused when Beast Boy turned back to Cyborg and said, "See? Totally a death spiral."

Chapter Text

Starfire was in the kitchen when Cyborg entered ops one morning, elbow-deep in some kind of pink sludge and humming gently to herself. He recognized the tune: one of her Tamaranean folk songs, which he had to admit sounded nice when not being customarily belted out at the top of the singer's lungs. She caught his eye and offered him a small smile, but otherwise remained absorbed in her work.

Cyborg walked over to the kitchen and leaned his arms on the counter across from her. "What's cookin'?" he asked.

"Zorbrian nut pudding," Starfire replied, pulling her arms carefully from the concoction and wiping them down. "It has a rather high viscosity at this stage, and so requires an especially direct touch."

Cyborg hummed and nodded along. Just a few months ago, Starfire's presence in the kitchen was an automatic warning bell to stay away lest he be volunteered to try her latest alien concoction. But her attempts to feed her teammates had been gradually waning lately, and just because he couldn't handle her bizarre foods didn't mean he couldn't appreciate a fellow chef at work. He didn't think he'd ever tried "Zorbrian nut pudding" before, though the vaguely acrid scent drifting from the other end of the counter told him he didn't want to.

"I confess I will not know what to do with it all," she went on, "but I needed to use the kemberries in something before they spoil. Zorbrian nut pudding is intended for groups to share, but… Well…"

She gave a little bashful blush as she trailed off, but Cyborg swore he caught a hint of sadness in her eyes. He winced. It wasn't like Starfire was a bad cook – at least, he was pretty sure she wasn't – but humans and Tamaraneans had very different tastes. The flavors in her food were overpowering, often in bizarre combinations of sweet, spicy and bitter, and "charring" was apparently a legitimate method of preparation. It certainly gave her own strange twists to Earth foods some context, and it had him convinced that she was far from a picky eater to like any normal Earth foods at all.

Still… it was no fun for a chef's dishes to go unappreciated, that much Cyborg knew firsthand. Why did Beast Boy think he kept wanting him to try his delicious meals?

(Okay, so maybe it was a little unfair to keep pushing meat dishes on a vegetarian. Beast Boy said it was a shapeshifter thing, but weren't most of his favorite forms supposed to be predators? Cyborg didn't get it.)

(And no, BB's own concoctions didn't count. Tofu was not the answer to everything, and it was most certainly not meant to go into pastries. Honestly.)

Anyway, point was, Starfire was disappointed with the state of her artistry and Cyborg could not stand for that. Before he could think it through, he blurted out, "I'll try some."

Starfire immediately perked up. "Truly?"

Cyborg was already starting to regret this, but he nodded anyway. "Sure. I mean… as long as it's not going to make me sick like, uh, some of the Tamaranean stuff I've tried. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Starfire's eyes widened, and she clasped her hands in front of her and shook her head. "Oh, I would never wish to risk such a thing! I have become very careful in determining which ingredients are bad for humans, and I can assure you that this has none."

Cyborg grinned and clapped his hands together. "Well then, I don't see anything wrong with at least giving it a try. Lay it on me!"

So, the good news: Starfire was right about the pudding not making him sick.

The bad news: it tasted almost as bad as it smelled.

Beast Boy had wandered in while she was finishing the recipe, and he was now playing a video game from the couch and pretending not to watch the event with morbid curiosity. Cyborg twirled his spoon in his fingers, trying to distract himself enough to choke down his latest bite of the vaguely grainy pudding.

Starfire took another eager bite of her own serving. "How do you like it?" she asked, a hopeful note in her voice.

Cyborg tapped his spoon against the table a couple times. "It's… umm…" He searched for the right word. "Bitter."

As he'd hoped, that comment made his companion beam. "Yes!" she chirped. "The bitterness of the kemberries is truly brought out in this plate, is it not?"

"I think you mean 'dish,'" Cyborg said, stirring his pudding absently. "But, uh, yeah, it sure is."

Starfire didn't miss the hesitation in his voice. Her expression fell. "You do not like it."

Cyborg winced, sighing as he put his spoon down. "I'm sorry, Star. I guess bitter's just… kind of a hard sell for a lot of people, you know?"

Starfire pushed her bowl away and slumped over, resting her chin on folded arms. "Your Earth tastes are most frustrating. I only wish to share some of my culture in return for all you have shared with me, and yet there is always something wrong with Tamaranean foods."

Her mouth twisted in a grimace as she added, "And then when I simply try to make Earth foods, they are wrong too! What tastes perfect to me is always over-seasoned, or too bitter, or 'burned.' Are our senses of taste really so different?"

Cyborg leaned over the table and rested a hand on her arm. "Hey, it's not your fault," he said gently. "I bet you're a great cook by Tamaranean tastes! And I've got to imagine it goes both ways."

Starfire remained in her defeated position, but she frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose I am what you would call an 'adventurous' eater, but… I must confess that I still find many Earth foods somewhat bland." She let out a small huff. "Mustard was the tangiest beverage I have been able to find, yet you insist it is not a beverage."

"Oh, come on!" The sudden shout startled Cyborg from his seat, and he turned back to glare at Beast Boy for interrupting them. To his surprise though, BB had paused his game and was instead looking their way.

With a grin he added, "You can't hate all our stuff that much. You totally downed that Thai food we tried the other day!"

Starfire blushed a little and sat up. "That was very good. Especially with the lime juice."

Cyborg grinned as well. He remembered that night – it was right after he got over his little computer virus mishap, and he'd wanted to order something extra spicy to help clear out his sinuses. He was pretty sure Starfire had managed to coax the lime wedges off half the team's plates, but that was honestly pretty tame as far as ways she'd tried to doctor up her meals.

"See? There's gotta be some overlap," he pointed out. The gears in his head started turning at that thought, and he started tapping his spoon on his bowl again.

"You know, there's a couple Tamaranean foods I've liked too," he added. "Like that wiggly spotted black stuff they had at your engagement feast. You know what I'm talking about?"

Starfire visibly brightened at that. "You liked the sputlinks?" She clapped her hands together. "Oh, I knew you would! Why did you never tell me? I know the recipe, and I can procure the ingredients without too much trouble."

Cyborg snorted with amusement. "Sorry. There was kind of a lot going on." He pointed his spoon at her. "But see what I mean? All we gotta do is figure out what kinda foods humans and Tamaraneans both like, and boom! Everyone's happy."

Starfire squealed and bounced in her seat. "Yes! Come Cyborg, we should begin experimenting straightaway!"

With that she floated out of her chair and grabbed Cyborg by the arm, pulling him gratefully away from his remaining pudding with a strength that nobody else on the team could hope to match.

Beast Boy watched them return to the kitchen with a bemused look on his face. "…Well, you're welcome for the inspiration!" he called after them.

The kitchen was a regular hodgepodge of interplanetary foods. Starfire and Cyborg had spent the past week suggesting, preparing and sampling dishes from both their own and each other's worlds, discussing them in depth and taking meticulous notes on what worked and what didn't for each of them.

Now, both parties had laid out some of the more noteworthy ingredients from their experiments. The kitchen counters were covered in spicy peppers, citrus fruits, thick bars of dark chocolate and any number of sauces and spices, several mustards included. Alongside these were several brightly colored Tamaranean fruits, knobby (and in one case wriggling) fungi, and strange-smelling liquids that Cyborg could only guess the origins of, many of these ingredients freshly delivered but a few cultivated by Starfire herself. The other Titans had quickly caught wind of their teammates' recent project, and it was no coincidence that the two currently found themselves alone.

That was fine. Not everybody had the stomach for this kind of experimentation, and Starfire and Cyborg would present them with the results when they were good and ready.

Cyborg leaned back against the far counter and popped a deep maroon berry into his mouth. "You know, these kemberries aren't half bad on their own," he mused aloud. "They kinda remind me of grapefruit. With the right amount of sugar, I bet they make a great dessert!"

Starfire hummed in thought as she nibbled on a habanero pepper. "You did seem to prefer them in the sweet glorg. Did you have anything specific in mind?"

"I'm thinking some kind of citrus bar. Well, not citrus technically, but you get the idea." He eyed her pepper. "You know, I'm not sure whether to be impressed or terrified by how easily you can eat that."

"It is very good. I would like to find more recipes which use them." She cocked her head. "But I do not believe Tamaran has anything like your citrus bars."

Cyborg grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Now see, that's the next step of our little project. I've been thinking, now we know what kinds of fruit and spices and stuff work for both of us, but actual recipes still tend to be a little more on the extreme side of human versus Tamaranean tastes, right?"

Starfire pursed her lips. "I suppose."

"And it's not exactly the easiest thing to get regular orders of ingredients from halfway across the galaxy, not to mention the gasket Robin's gonna blow if we keep up those extra expenses."

Starfire narrowed her eyes a little. "Is this meant to make me feel better about my cooking?"

Cyborg put up a placating hand and shook his head. "I promise I'm getting somewhere with this. My point is, maybe the easiest way to enjoy both of our foods is to use the ingredients we have together and get creative. You know, fusion cuisine!"

"Fusion… cuisine?"

"Yeah, it's when you take foods from different cultures and combine the ideas together. You know, like Tex-Mex." He took a moment to look around at the spread on the counter before continuing, picking up relevant ingredients as he did.

"Like, we could make tacos, but instead of lettuce, tomato and salsa, we chop up some of these fruits and maybe make some strips of this mushroomy thing. And to season the meat, we marinate it in this."

Cyborg paused as he picked up the small bottle of clear yellow liquid. "What is this stuff anyway? It's the real spicy sauce you used in the relmak yesterday, right?"

Starfire nodded. "That is Zorbrian spider juice."

Cyborg's train of thought screeched to a halt. "Zorbrian… spider juice? They have spiders on Tamaran? And you make juice with them?"

Starfire bit her lip and suddenly found the computer console on the other side of ops very interesting. "They are similar enough to Earth spiders to translate. The juice is… something that I gather humans may not appreciate knowing the process behind."

Cyborg just blinked at that, but then shook his head. "Okay, so call it a secret forbidden recipe then. Point is, it's good stuff and I wanna use it to marinate chicken."

A tiny smile quirked at the corner of Starfire's mouth. "It would be nice to have some familiarity when trying Earth recipes… Could we attempt something with spaghetti? I think I know of a few sauces that would pair with the noodles well."

Cyborg threw an arm around her shoulders and gestured dramatically with the other. "Star, we can make all the spaghetti your alien heart desires. Watch out, culinary galaxy! The Titan Chefs are about to make history!"

It could never be said that Cyborg lacked a flair for the dramatic, but that was what made these projects fun. Starfire giggled a little at the display, and it wasn't long before the two of them were reabsorbed in their work, shouting ideas to each other as they planned out the next step of the experiment.

It was another week before Robin, Raven and Beast Boy tentatively sat down at the small dining area by the kitchen. Cyborg and Starfire stood next to a kitchen counter piled high with a variety of foods, looking immensely pleased with themselves.

Beast Boy raised a hand. "Is this another one of those Tamaranean feasts?" he asked. Smirking, he added, "Does it mean Starfire got engaged again?"

Everyone dutifully pretended not to notice as Robin stiffened at the thought, eyes widening slightly, and then turned a not-so-subtle glare on him. Cyborg merely shook his head.

"Not just Tamaranean! Ladies and gentlemen, what we are about to show you is a feat that nobody outside this tower has ever witnessed! A culinary creation that dares to take flavors from two very different worlds and blend them in delicious harmony. Tonight, we present –" here he stepped aside and flourished toward the spread, "– Tamaranean fusion!"

Alas, his grand announcement didn't bring in quite the level of enthusiasm he'd been shooting for, but Robin did perk up with obvious interest. Beast Boy and Raven still looked a bit skeptical, but flashes of intrigue crossed their expressions.

Starfire took over as she and Cyborg started setting out dishes. "We wanted to start with something relatively simple and flexible," she explained, "so this meal is based on Mexican tacos. You will see a variety of traditional topping options, as well as sliced ginga cap, crushed ri'a nuts and a sweet salsa we derived from Tamaranean fruits. The meat is plainly seasoned, but you can add Zorbrian spider juice to it if you wish for something spicy."

"The ginga cap can also be used as an alternative to the meat," Cyborg cut in. Eyeing Beast Boy, he added, "Don't ever tell me I never think of you."

Beast Boy gave the bowl of greyish-brown strips a wary look. He pulled it over and sniffed at the contents. "I dunno, I think Star's talked about this stuff before. Isn't it some sort of fungus?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "You know mushroom's a fungus too, right?" She started spooning ground beef onto a tortilla and eyed the Tamaranean salsa curiously.

Cyborg nodded. "Raven's right, it's like an extra-savory mushroom. Anyway, that brings us to sides: I made some fresh tortilla chips to go with the salsa, and Starfire made her sputlinks. Those, ah, do have meat in 'em."

"I knew it," Beast Boy muttered to himself as the bowl of wiggly black sputlinks were placed on the table. He gave it a wide berth, but still grabbed a slice of ginga cap to try out.

Robin took a handful of chips and spooned some of the Tamaranean salsa onto his plate. "I have to admit, I was kind of nervous about the idea, but this all looks really good!" He used a chip to scoop up a hearty portion of salsa and popped it in his mouth, humming in contentment. "It is really good!"

Starfire beamed at the compliment, stars practically in her eyes as she sat down beside him to prepare her own plate. Cyborg recognized that feeling – the same sense of pride and satisfaction in his work was swelling in his own chest, after all. He had to say, he really looked forward to finding out what else he and Star could make together. For now, though, he took his own seat between Beast Boy and Raven, and it wasn't long before all five Titans were chatting and laughing over a meal well underway.

Chapter Text

The private karaoke room wasn't as crowded as the main bar outside, but that didn't make it any less full of energy. Seven young heroes filled the space, alternately nibbling on snacks they'd ordered, flipping through songbooks in search of a fun and familiar piece, or taking their turns at the mic (with varying degrees of skill).

The karaoke bar was a humble establishment in the Chiyoda City ward of Tokyo. It wasn't planning to remain humble for long – not when it could boast having the attention of a visiting superhero team that was currently very popular – but the important thing was that it had good food, an impressive music selection, and a chance for the aforementioned superhero team to get some privacy.

Right now, Cyborg had the mic. He had an impressive singing voice when he put his mind to it, and most of his teammates were busy enjoying the show. Beast Boy was among them at first, but it rarely took much for his mind to wander.

The sources of his distraction were seated on the couch across from him. It was by pure chance that the core Titans had run across Thunder and Lightning during their impromptu Tokyo vacation, but the seven of them had enthusiastically agreed to take advantage of their mutual trip and spend some time all together. Lightning was currently poring over a songbook, while his brother looked over his shoulder and occasionally suggested possibilities.

Aside from Starfire, they were the only ones who could read the Japanese entries.

Beast Boy couldn't take it anymore. He leaned forward and said, "Okay, spill. You said you guys are actually from here?!"

The two brothers started and looked up. "Well…" Lightning considered. "Not here exactly, but we hail from the general region, yes. Why?"

Cyborg had finished his song and passed on the mic to Starfire, who was busy trying to coax Raven into joining her for a round. He wandered over to join the group as Beast Boy went on.

"Why? Maybe 'cause you never mentioned it before! So, what, you decided to take an extended vacation and one night you just… pop down and go wild on some bridge in California? Why'd you suddenly decide to go mad with power on another continent?!"

Thunder winced and started twiddling his thumbs. "I would not call it 'mad with power.' Honestly, we were very… naïve in those days."

Cyborg sat down and raised a brow. "Ya know, that only raises more questions. I'm kinda with BB on this, you two sound like you have an interesting story. Feel up to sharing?"

Thunder and Lightning shared an uncertain look. "You really would not believe us if we told you," the latter said.

Cyborg and Beast Boy just smirked at each other. Cyborg turned and pointed at Starfire, who had given up on her ladies' duet and was now singing solo from the group's designated 'stage.'

"She's the princess of an entire planet, and she was actually its empress for a few hours once after she won the crown from her tyrannical sister in single combat." He moved his finger to Robin.

"He literally grew up in the circus, but he can't tell us much more than that because he has to keep his adoptive dad's civilian identity secret. Mostly 'cause said adoptive dad is Batman."

On to Raven. "Her dad is such a powerful demon that a lot of people consider him a god of evil, and she was pretty much born to be an Antichrist. We all dealt with that issue last year."

Cyborg turned back to the group and leaned back into the couch, folding his arms with a smirk. "You get the idea. Me and B here probably have the least weird backstories, and just look at us. You really think we can't handle it?"

Thunder and Lightning just stared at them for several long moments. Lightning muttered something under his breath that Beast Boy couldn't quite hear, but he thought it was something like "Why did we ever think we could fight these people?"

Thunder cleared his throat. "Well then, I guess you do have some… experience with the unexpected. Brother?"

Lightning sighed and fidgeted. "Oh, all right. Still, to understand us, you first have to understand how the powers that be work around here. Tell me, are either of you familiar with Japanese kami?"

The nice thing about living in a sky castle built for storm deities: lots of sturdy, damage-resistant construction and designs. The downside to living among such durable surroundings is that they don't do much to impart a sense of caution.

Raitaro, son of the storm god Raijin, watched silently as his own sons got into yet another excessively noisy sparring match. Lightning and thunder crashed together quite literally, shaking the building to its very foundations, but not a piece of furniture toppled, nor were any delicate ornaments even available to be smashed in the chaos.

"Look, Father!" Raitoningu called in the slightly antiquated Japanese typical of the family. He jumped up, his shining yellow body transforming into his namesake lightning and crashing into the opposite wall quicker than the eye could follow. As he re-formed, he boasted, "Grandfather has taught me much in the ways of travel!"

Almost playfully, Raitoningu followed this up by volleying a few bolts of electricity at his brother. But Sanda proved ready, a small dense cloud forming beneath his feet and lifting him clear of the attack. His laugh was a low rumble that rolled through the room.

"That is nothing. Look how skilled I have become with the cloud spell Great Uncle Fujin taught me!"

Raitoningu cackled. "That cloud spell is slow and weak, brother. Lightning is faster than sound and wind alike!"

Sanda responded by clapping his hands together, sending another shockwave through the castle and pushing its main force forward to knock his brother over. "That does not matter if you do not think fast enough to avoid me!"

As the two of them continued their battle, Raitaro let out a low sigh. "Boys," he started, stepping forward.

No reaction. Raitaro's eyes narrowed, pulsing light, and his voice boomed outward as he again said, "Boys."

That got their attention. Sanda dispelled his cloud, and he and his brother both dropped lightly to the floor.

Raitaro frowned thoughtfully. "It is good that you are both learning, but have you thought to use these powers for anything other than showing off or disturbing the household?"

Raitoningu puffed out his chest. "You wound us, Father! You know that we have been using our powers to help Grandfather make the most magnificent storms."

"Yes, but only storms? Have you ever thought to grace the fields and towns with a gentle shower, or perhaps a heavier rainfall that brings the Earth much-needed water without excessive amounts of wind and thunder?"

Raitoningu just scoffed. "Where is the fun in that? We are mighty gods of thunder and lightning, not gentle rains."

Raitaro let out a tired sigh. Beckoning his sons to follow, he said, "Come. You two are of age now, yet it seems you have acquired only your grandfather's most destructive impulses. I believe it is time for you to make the same journey I once did, and live and learn among the mortals for a while."

The three of them made their way to the castle ramparts, and Raitaro gestured out over the wall and down to the Earth far below. "Tell me, what do you see?"

Sanda and Raitoningu leaned over the wall and peered down. "A city!" the latter cried out. "And a big one, too."

Sanda grinned. "Magnificent." Turning toward his brother, he added, "Just think of what fun we could have in such a place!"

Raitaro frowned. "That is… not what I meant."

Raitoningu ignored him completely. "Yes! Father, we must travel down to the human city where we may continue practicing with our gifts."

"I… That is only one option. I was going to show you four different places from which you can choose to live and learn."

Sanda and Raitoningu looked at each other. They communicated their thoughts though expression alone, in the way siblings sometimes do.

"No, that is fine. We most definitely want to go to the city," Sanda said.

The streets of Tokyo were eerily quiet when a massive lightning bolt struck down unexpectedly from an overcast but otherwise calm sky. Sanda and Raitoningu scanned their new home eagerly.

"What strange colors and sounds!" Sanda marveled as he scanned up and down the deserted road, from the streetlights and neon signs to the faint music still filtering in from a few hastily closed shops. "I wonder where all the humans have gone."

"What does it matter?" Raitoningu retorted, striding forward and charging up his hands. "This will be an excellent chance to see what we can do in this realm."

With that, he flung a pulse of electricity into a nearby pedestrian light. Sparks danced up its metal pole, and the lights flashed brightly for a moment before a fuse blew and they darkened completely. He cackled.

"Most amusing! You try, brother."

Sanda grinned and held out his own hands. Before he could bring them together, though, the ground around them shook and a deep rumble filled the air.

Raitoningu clapped. "Impressive! This city will be great fun."

Sanda just frowned. "That was not me."

In that moment, a sudden wind buffeted the pair from behind. No sooner had it settled than their shadows became blotted out by a much larger one as the ground shook again. They turned around to find that a massive, two-legged dragon had landed in the street behind them, huge wings draped over nearby buildings and one of its two growling heads craned to peer at the intruders.

Sanda recovered from the intimidating sight first. "Forgive us, but I do not believe we have met," he said, bowing respectfully. "We are Sanda and Raitoningu, grandsons of the Mighty Raijin. Perhaps he is a friend of yours?"

In response, the dragon head roared and lunged at him, jaws snapping. Sanda yelped and dove out of the way, and Raitoningu took a reflexive step back.

A moment later, though, the latter's eyes narrowed. "I do not care who you are, beast," he declared. "Nobody attacks my brother!"

With that, he threw the most powerful bolt of lightning he could muster at the dragon. The bolt punched a hole clean through its shoulder…

…Which then proceeded to seal itself in a rapid series of flashing colors. All that Raitoningu accomplished was to draw the attention of both heads on himself.

The two brothers froze for a half a second. Then Sanda put a hand on Raitoningu's shoulder.

"Brother? We should probably go."

"The injury resealed itself? It sounds as though you came across one of the Commander Daizo's creations."

Beast Boy jolted at the sudden interruption and turned to see that Starfire had joined their little storytelling group. Robin was on stage now, but Beast Boy had been so engrossed that he hadn't even noticed the change.

Thunder (Sanda? Whatever, they never used Star's Tamaranean name either and it wasn't like the boys had asked to be called anything other than Thunder and Lightning) shrugged. "That seems likely. We did not know it at the time, though… We mostly just thought we had angered another kami."

"Some of them take the form of dragons," Lightning clarified. "…Although come to think of it, this would explain why he looked so odd."

Cyborg rested his chin on a hand. "So, I take it the dragon scared you off and that's why you didn't just stick around Tokyo?"

Lightning blushed a little. "Mostly. Although of course, we did not want to admit that."

Raitaro let out a low sigh. "I hope this has taught you two a valuable lesson in practicing caution and respect."

Raitoningu huffed. "Sanda did show due respect to that rude fellow. He was the one who attacked us."

Raitaro frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose that is true, to an extent. Still, perhaps now you will consider taking more time to decide where you will go on the Earth?"

Sanda's and Raitoningu's faces lit up. "Oh, but we already have!" the former said. "We wish to travel abroad, to experience the entire world! And we will begin by journeying across the mighty ocean to the east."

"We will settle on the first great city we see there," Raitoningu jumped in. "It will be such fun."

Seeing the look on his father's face, he hastily added, "And quite the learning experience too, of course."

"…That is still not what I meant." Raitaro's frown only deepened. "And it is a long journey. I would need to call in a few favors to help you two cross the ocean."

"We can help with that," Sanda offered. "Please, Father, there is so much we have yet to experience of the Earth."

Raitaro considered both of his sons for a long moment. The eagerness on their faces was clear, and for once it was an eagerness to explore and learn, not simply to show off or spread chaos. Perhaps, he must have thought, they could still gain the wisdom they needed from such a trip.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to the boys, he nodded. "Very well. All I ask is for you to remember that this will not be our family's domain. Do not anger the locals."

"And… Well, you all pretty much know the rest," Lightning finished.

The now much more crowded couch was silent for only a moment before Raven spoke up. "Yes. You successfully made it to our city and the first thing you did was anger the locals."

Lightning put up his hands. "In our defense, I think our father had been referring to the sky's locals."

Thunder elbowed him in the side, and he cleared his throat sheepishly. "But it was still wrong of us. And I suppose we broke his rule – entirely by accident – later in any case. Thunderbirds can be surprisingly territorial."

Beast Boy just grinned. The fact that his friends were less 'metahumans' and more 'sky spirit-god-guys' should probably have shocked him more, but that was before Trigon happened. So instead he merely said, "Sweet."

After a moment's thought, though, he turned in his seat. "Hey Robin!"

Robin looked over from where he'd managed to squish in next to Starfire. "Yeah?"

"You do realize this means you can't ever lecture me about responsibility again, right? Because I was the one who taught responsibility to these guys!" he said, pointing to Thunder and Lightning.

Thunder pursed his lips. "It is rude to point."

Beast Boy's grin turned sheepish as he put his finger down, but the exchange set off a small wave of laughter in the group.

"I think you have your answer," Robin said wryly.

Cyborg took a moment to look around and then clapped his hands together. "Well! This was certainly fun and all, but I think we've been leaving that poor microphone alone just a little too long. What do y'all say we start on that duet contest?"

There was a general murmur of agreement, and the group started breaking off into pairs to pick out what they were going to sing. Beast Boy grabbed a music binder and started flipping through it while he waited for Cyborg to finish ordering more snacks, but he couldn't help but smile to himself when Thunder and Lightning suddenly high-fived, apparently settled on a song.

From what he had seen of them, their little learning experience hadn't turned out bad at all.