Current Events > Teen Titans CYOA: Romance Resurrected part 5

(+) Yeah! (+)

C
---

randomize!

C

You, Cyborg and Robin put up scissors, which are beaten by rock, as played by Beast Boy and the girls.

"Rock, paper, scissors shoot!" Beast Boy directs as they go again.

His paper loses to their scissors.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Starfire says.

Starfire wins, rock over scissors.

"Starfire goes first, followed by Raven, followed by me," Beast Boy summarizes. "We still need to see who goes last, and that's between the three of you."

"Rock, paper, scissors shoot!" you say.

Your scissors conquers their paper.

"Rock, paper, scissors shoot!" Robin says.

Cyborg wins with paper over Robin's rock.

"So the order is Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, Rorek, Cyborg, me," Robin says.

"You may roll when ready," you tell Starfire.

She steps up to the one end of the 15 foot long court and reels back as she aims at the posts. She takes a couple steps forward and rolls the disk!

The disk rolls down towards the magical construct posts, and cleanly slips between them.

"I did it!" Starfire says. "I did the 'ulu maika!"

"Wait how does scoring even work?" Raven asks.

"I think it'll work more as elimination," you say. "If you miss or hit the posts, you're out. Last person standing wins."

Raven takes aim, but then just tosses her disk for it to flop on the ground.

"Oh no, I'm out," Raven says flatly. "Is the steak ready?"

"Well, that was a waste of an 'ulu maika puck," you say as you pick up hers with magic.

You dissolve the puck back into water, and then toss the water over the side of the building.

"Alright, let me check the beef," you say as you go back to the grill.

You check the underside while Beast Boy takes his turn.

*TONK* "Darn it," Beast Boy says.

You flip the steak over.

"Give it another few minutes and this one should be ready," you tell Raven before returning to the kahua. "My turn."

You hold your puck, aim, and roll!

*CLATTER* Your puck hits a post and then rattles between the two!

"Aahh...!" you groan. "So close."

You step aside and Cyborg steps up. He rolls, and the disk slips through the posts cleanly.

"Booyah!" Cyborg says with a fist pump.

Robin takes his turn, and he also slips through the posts cleanly.

"Alright," he smiles.

"So it's only Starfire, Cyborg and Robin left," you review as you rotate the chicken. "Which is fine, dinner should be ready any minute now."

"Who do you think will win?" Beast Boy says as he scoops up rice to go with his tofu.

"Can't be sure," you say. "Too close to call."

Starfire takes her second turn, taking aim at the posts again. She rolls the disk, and it slips through the posts again.

"Hooray!" Starfire cheers for herself.

Cyborg rolls again, but his disk skips off of something, and then *CLAT* hits a post.

"Aw man what happened?" Cyborg says.

He picks up his disk, then checks the kahua.

"Something chipped my puck," Cyborg says as he picks up that something. "I think this is a chunk of someone else's puck."

"What color is it?" Robin asks.

"I think it's dark blue," Cyborg says.

"Oh, that was Raven's," Beast Boy says. "Probably from when she just threw hers down."

"Oops," Raven says as she's already chewing on steak.

"Well it's partly my fault then, for not making them tougher," you say.

"Too bad, Cyborg," Robin says as he steps up. "Maybe next time."
---

Robin rolls his puck, and *TONK* it hits posts.

"What was that about next time?" Cyborg says, leaning towards Robin with a big smirk.

"I have won the 'ulu maika!" Starfire cheers. "Now let us eat!"

Everyone walks up to the table, and fills their cups with a mix of orange and mango juices. You pick up a plate, set of silverware, and a strip steak for yourself. As everyone eats at the picnic table, you

A) Have the Titans tell stories of their adventures
B) Tell the Titans some of what you did in Hawaii
---

B
---

B.
---

B.
---

B

"Well, as for us," you begin, "we hit quite a few of the supernatural hotspots local to the island of Oahu."

"We started kinda small," Raven says. "A haunted office space, then a museum."

"We did enjoy the museum itself, though," you add. "Great planetarium show. That's where the ghost was that night, actually."

"Nothing that spooky," Raven says. "Just a simple bit of wishing they could always be in the museum, I think.

"Then things ramped up a bit, because we went to this lookout, where spirits of tribal warriros recreated one of them shoving the other off the cliff. But we didn't get to see the spirits hit the ground, though..."

"Only Raven would be disappointed in that," Beast Boy says.

"The last place we visited was the best, though," Raven brightens up. "We saw a ghost, and it totally scared us both so bad! It was hilarious."

"Not in the moment," you say, "but yes, after we were safe, it was something we could laugh about."

"Please tell me you enjoyed the beaches, too," Beast Boy says.

"Of course," you say. "Quite a few beaches, and even some pools."

"Sweet," Beast Boy smirks and nods.

You two even fist bump under the table.

"I even bought Raven sunglasses and high heels so she can walk around in style," you say.

"Basically Rorek threw a lot of money around during this whole trip," she says. "Big room service breakfasts, Louis Vuitton items for me, renting the $30,000,000 plane, as just some examples."

"Don't act like you didn't like any of that," you say. "Especially the Louis Vuitton items."

"I think you liked those a little bit more," she smirks.

You share a chuckle with her.

"We also got this coffee," you say, showing everyone the bag of coffee beans. "Special order at this nice local restaurant, Kalapawai Market. It's a great dark roast blend and the sales for it go to supporting the Rainforest Coffee Initiative."

"Really?" Raven says. "I don't remember that part."

"It was explained in the little pamphlet menu. Anyway, if everyone wants, we can have some dessert coffee."

"Dessert coffee?" Beast Boy says. "That's a thing?"

"Yes, of course," you say. "Coffee sundaes, spiced coffees, cappuccino souffle, all sorts of things. I learned about them from a boutique bakery in Paris."

"Sounds good to me," Robin says.

"I'll go get changed back into my usual stuff," Raven says. "Meet you guys back in Ops."

Raven heads downstairs first, you help the others clean up before heading down yourselves.

"Alright," you say as you put the bag of coffee beans on the counter. "Let's get started on..."

A) Cappuccino Souffles
B) Coffee Ice Pops
C) Coffee Sundaes
---

Cartridge88 posted...

C) Coffee Sundaes

---

A) Cappuccino Souffles
---

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

C) Coffee Sundaes

---

A
---

coin toss!

C

"Coffee sundaes."

You bring out the things you'll need.

"Okay," you say as you recall the recipe. "We need to take some of these coffee beans to make them into a finely ground powder. Just enough so that we get two tablespoons worth."

Cyborg uses gadgets from his cybernetic arms to crush and grind coffee beans.

"Meanwhile, we mix one tablespoon of sugar with heavy cream," you say, "mixing them together until softly whipped."

Robin takes care of this, using the electric mixer.

"Back to the coffee powder," you say. "Mix that with 1.5 teaspoons of hot water so that it dissolves into coffee, as in the drink."

Cyborg measures out the 1.5 teaspoons and puts it together with the coffee powder in a glass, Beast Boy mixes it for him.

"We're going to mixed that with the sweetened condensed milk," you say as you hand them the 3/4 cup.

Beast Boy pours in the milk and it combines with the coffee to make a sort of coffee-chocolate-milk. Robin has finished with the cream.

"Wait, what were the peanuts and caramel for?" Robin asks.

"They're the toppings," you say as you melt the caramel and mix in the peanuts. "Makeshift peanut brittle to be sprinkled atop the vanilla and milky coffee."

You scoop vanilla from the pints, drizzle on the milk-coffee syrup, crumble on the peanut brittle and dollop on the whipped cream.

"And voila!" you say. "Coffee sundaes for everyone."

"Hooray!" everyone cheers.

You finish by giving everyone a spoon, and hear the door to Ops open.

"Raven, there you are," you say as you turn to look at her. "What do you have behind your back?"

"Well, umm..." Raven says, shyly standing there in her leotard. "Apparently, there's been a change to my wardrobe..."

Raven points out her shoes, and then reveals that she was hiding one of her cloaks.

"They're lighter!" you say. "A lighter shade of blue!"

"Yep," she says as she walks over.

"I didn't do it," Beast Boy says quickly.

"I know you didn't," Raven says. "My robe--and by extension, my shoes--are reactive to my emotional state. You saw them, Rorek, my 'Emoticlones' with the colors. When I've been in moments of complete focus or harmony, I become 'White Raven'."

"Okay," you nod. "But this is more Sky Blue Raven. Or maybe more Cerulean..."

"I was going to explain," she says. "But, it relates back to Malchior, so I was hesitant."

"Oh..."

"The bottomline is," she continues, "it was a gradual process, so at points, I was 'Cerulean Raven' or 'Sky Blue Raven'."

"And... what're you saying?"

"What I'm trying to say is... we're on the right track!"

Raven smiles and puts her cloak on, then gives you a quick hug before picking up one of the coffee sundaes.

"Oh," you say. "Alright."

You shrug and join the others on the couch.

"So what would Cerulean Raven like to do now that she's home?" you ask.

"Um, maybe just a movie or something on TV?" she says as she scoops ice cream.

"Movie sounds nice," Cyborg says as he picks up a remote. "One of the Halloweens? Or Friday the 13th's?"

"Actually, what about something like Hotel Transylvania?" she says.

"Yeah, we could-- Wait, what?"

Everyone looks at Raven with confusion.

"Kidding," Raven chuckles. "Go with a more classical horror, like an early Dracula or Frankenstein."

"I'll admit, you had me for a moment there," you say. "This Cerulean Raven is going to take some getting used to."

Raven chuckles again as Cyborg starts up the 1931 edition of Frankenstein, with the one and only Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster.
---

"When did you want to start my advanced Arcane training?" Raven whispers to you.

A) First thing in the morning
B) After breakfast and dance rehearsal

darn character limits

also, I suppose it's coincidental but I did notice the votes would spell caca.
---

Rofl.... Who knows.

B
---

B.
---

B
---

B
---

B

"We can wait until after breakfast," you say. "And some dance rehearsal."

"Right," she says. "Dance."

"Don't say it so glum," you say, "you're really good. This next week will just be about polish."

Raven nods, and then turns her focus to the film. You all watch quietly as you eat your sundaes.

"Wait, Frankenstein is the scientist?" Beast Boy says.

"Yes," Raven says.

"He always was," Robin adds.

"Then what's the monster's name?" Beast Boy asks. "Frankenstein's Monster?"

"Yes," Raven says again.

"He always was," Robin adds, again.

"Common misconception," you say. "But since 'Frankenstein's Monster' is so much to say, and the story and films are almost always named for the scientist, people generally just call the monster 'Frankenstein' anyway, even if that's not 100% accurate. Sometimes Frankenstein's Monster is referred to as 'The Creature' per Mary Shelley's original novel."

"Huh," Beast Boy simply says before going back to his sundae.

Dr. Henry Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz--not Victor Frankenstein and Igor as in other versions--have already confiscated and assembled corpse parts to make their large, back-from-the-dead human. However, it needs a brain, so Frankenstein sends Fritz to the university he learned medical science under Dr. Waldman. Fritz steals a brain from the lab, but in his clumsiness, drops the jar! The glass shatters and the brain is ruined, so in a panic, Fritz takes the brain of a psychotic criminal!

Meanwhile, Elizabeth, Frankenstein's fiance, is getting worried over his peculiar behavior. Not only does he seclude himself in the abandoned tower, but he refuses to see anyone. She and friend Victor Moritz visit Dr. Waldman to ask he help in getting through to Frankenstein. Waldman tells them that Frankenstein has been working on creating life. Elizabeth, intent on rescuing Frankenstein from his obsession, arrives just as he is making his final tests.

Frankenstein tells them to watch, claiming to have discovered the ray that brought life into the world. They watch as he and his hunchback assistant raise the dead creature on an operating table, high into the room, toward an opening at the top of the laboratory. A terrific crash of thunder, the crackling of Frankenstein's electric machines, and the hand of Frankenstein's creature begins to move.

"It's alive~!" Frankenstein shouts.

"Oh, Cyborg should be Frankenstein's Monster for Halloween," Beast Boy says.

"Hmm... I will if you be the Wolfman," Cyborg says.

"Deal!" Beast Boy says.

"I could be a vampire~!" Robin says as he puts on a "Transylvanian" accent.

"And I shall be... a female vampire!" Starfire says, copying the accent.

"Where does that leave us?" you ask Raven.

"I dunno," she says, "just don't choose mummy for yourself. You'll just look like paper body Malchior..."

"You could be the mummy," you say. "And I'll be the archaelogist that discovers you."

Raven giggles.

The movie continues, and The Creature has killed young girl Maria by accident, as he is not intelligent to know humans can't just float on their own. The mobs of angry villagers search everywhere, and in the process, Frankenstein is separated from the others. He encounters The Creature, is knocked unconscious, and then carried away by the Creature.

This leads to the signature scene, where Creature and creator are trapped inside a windmill as the mob surrounds it. The Creature angrily throws his maker out but the vanes save Frankenstein's life. As the Creature rages against the world he did not wish to be part of, the mob sets the windmill on fire, and the monster dies amidst the falling, burning debris.
---

The film finishes with the Frankenstein family gathered at their castle estate, Baron von Frankenstein toasting the marriage of his son and the coming of a grandchild, completely unaware of the injustice they served Henry Frankenstein's first creation of life.

Raven sighs, the movie having provided satisfactory entertainment.

"Alright, we should probably turn in," she says as she stands up.

A) Stay up a little longer
B) Turn in with her
---

B) Turn in with her
---

scubasteve42 posted...

B) Turn in with her

---

b
---

B.
---

B

"I'll turn in, too," you say.

You finish your sundae and rinse the bowl in the sink. You and Raven head for the Ops door.

"See everyone else in the morning," you say.

"Night," Robin and the others say as you two exit.

You and Raven go to your rooms, or rather, you go to her door. She spots you and stops you with a hand.

"No, no, you go to your room," she says. "We both need our rest."

"Alright," you say as you shuffle towards your door. "Good night, Raven."

You take her hand and give it a good-night kiss before going to the door. She smiles before entering her room, then you enter yours.

You change to sleeping clothes and go into your bed, and fall asleep.

You wake up Monday morning and hop out of bed. You shower and dress quickly, then head to Ops.

You decide to make breakfast for everyone again, and go with pancakes from scratch. That means flour, baking powder, salt and sugar with milk, eggs and melted butter. You oil up a griddle and get it hot while you blend the pancake batter.

"Mmm," Raven says as she enters the room.

"Good morning," you say as she walks over. "How many would you like?" you ask.

"Just two."

"Alright," you say as you flip them all over. "Just a few more minutes, then."

You prepare glasses and pour milk for the two of you. You take a sip then flip the pancakes onto plates. Raven has two, you have three, and you put on butter and syrup.

"These look extra fluffy," she says.

"I used your barrier magic idea to make them more like hot cakes," you say. "Japan loves making pancakes thick but fluffy."

"I like how they look," she says as she notes the soft curve of the edges. "It's almost like they're not really pancakes."

You cut into the thick stack of pancakes, and see the insides are almost like regular cake. You and Raven eat as the others file in.

"Whoa, those are some fat pancakes," Beast Boy says.

"Give me five of those!" Cyborg says.

You pour out more batter and make as many as the griddle will allow. You manage seven, and while five are for Cyborg, the other two are for Beast Boy. You make another batch of seven, which finishes off the batter, and those seven are divided between Robin and Starfire, three and four respectively.

You and Raven finish eating first, you rinse of your plates and put them in the dish washer.

"See everyone later on," you say. "We'll be doing dance rehearsal and magic training."

"We'll call if something comes up," Robin says as the others munch on the pancakes.

You and Raven exit Ops and go to the elevator.

"Oh, hold on," you say to her. "You should probably get your sandals. The ones with the heels."

"Seriously?" she says. "You didn't get enough of me in those while in Hawaii?"

"No I didn't, but that's not why I'm suggesting it," you say. "I want you to try dancing in high heels."

"Why?"

"Because you'll be dancing in heels when we're at the party," you say.

"Seriously? Then why didn't you start me off in heels or something?"

"Because you needed to learn the steps and the pacing first," you say. "Also did you even have heels to wear?"

"No..."

"Well go on and get your heels and we can begin."

Raven pouts as she goes to her room and fetches her Louis Vuitton "New Wave" shoes. You two then ride down to the training room. Raven switches from her boots to the heels. You take her hand in yours and put the other on her waist while she puts her other hand on your shoulder.
---

"I do like being taller," she smiles.

"Alright," you say. "Let's begin."

"And, one two three, one two three, one two three."

As you lead, Raven follows, stepping and turning on a 45 angle.

"Very good," you say. "Great balance. Let's make the full circle."

You step and turn, step and turn, all the way around and at a good pace.

"Well, hold on," Raven says as you keep going past the full circle. "What are we doing about a dress for me to wear?"

"Oh don't worry, we can get that once we're there," you say. "Custom fit and to your liking. Much easier than trying to find a dress here and then have to worry about it in transit."

"Your family has dress makers?"

"Yes," you say. "They're called my mother, grandmother, and sisters."

Raven giggles while you two slow to a stop.

"Is that all for rehearsal or do you have other things you want to teach me?" she asks.

A) Yes, on to magic
B) No, time to try dips and spins
---

Cartridge88 posted...

A) Yes, on to magic

---

B
---

A

magic
---

scubasteve42 posted...

B

---

coin toss!

B

"Not just yet," you say. "I think we should learn to spin and dip."

"Wait, really?" she says.

You use your right hand to twirl her around, then bring her in to hold her from behind. She looks up at you with a surprised smile, then more surprise as you give her a quick dip to bring her up facing you again.

"Wow," she says, looking you in the eyes while slightly biting her lower lip. "So you've done this with other girls before?"

"Yes, if you must know. Dance lessons with a handful of the suitors, those who lived closer to home. Those suitors are therefore the better dancers among the suitors."

"And where do I stand?" Raven asks.

"Well you're still a bit new to this," you say, "but you're about middle of the pack."

"Then let's keep going," she says. "I want to be number one in everything."

"Alright, hold on," you say. "We'll start off with the regular waltz and then we'll transition. Sound good?"

"Mhm," she nods.

You readjust your hands and feet, count down and then start the three-step, keeping the 45 angle. You make the first quarter of the circle then spin into the twirl and then return to the three-step. You keep going, trying another few twirls, one clockwise then back anticlockwise, then back to the three-step.

"Oooh, very nice," you smile. "You're a fast learner in so many things."

"Thank you for noticing," she smiles back.

"Let's try and up the difficulty," you say.

You continue the three-step a few more times to then twirl Raven, put your hands on her hips, and lift her up for a big spin. You hold hands on your right to turn to your left, then swap, another twirl, you are behind Raven now and dip her to your left, and stand her up with your hand on the small of her back and her arms draped over your shoulders.

"Tell me you've never done that with someone else," she smirks.

"Totally original arrangement, just for you," you say.

"Good," she smiles. "Now, magic?"

"Yes," you say.

You two take a step back from each other, you bow and she curtsies.

"Do I still need my heels?" she asks.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt," you say.

She smirks again as she takes them off to put her boots back on.

"Okay help me perfect copying your magic charges," she says as she steps closer to you again.

A) No no, that's for later
B) If she insists
---

Cartridge88 posted...

B) If she insists

---

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

B) If she insists

---

scubasteve42 posted...

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

B) If she insists

---

SSBBSB posted...

scubasteve42 posted...

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

B) If she insists

---

B

"If you insist," you sigh. "Do you remember how it goes?"

"Japanese Godai as the core, Arcane energy woven around it," she says. "I tried it again last night, after meditating. It popped in my face like a balloon."

"Yes, I remember those days," you say. "Inventing this technique was even trickier than copying it, because there was nothing to go on. Try it again."

Raven creates the Godai quickly yet accurately, then takes her time with the weaving. However, it seems to be a step too slow, and the Arcane threads end up with kinks and bends in them.

"Oh c'mon!" Raven gripes.

"I believe you were closer the first time you tried, back in Hawaii," you say. "You can go faster with it."

Raven starts over, and while her pace is good, you can see the threads seem loose. Just as they did the first time in Hawaii, they unravel and fall away. She grumbles again as she undoes it all.

"Hold on," Raven says. "There's a better way for me to get this."

"How so?"

"A mind-link. I can just have your knowledge help me get this right."

"No, no, a mind-link is just cheating. You have to learn this yourself or it won't be authentic."

"Oh c'mon, it's already not my own original spell, so what does it matter if you hold my hand through the process?"

"Because as I said, you won't learn it for yourself," you say. "Like being given the answers in math class. Just because you know five times eight is forty doesn't mean you know why that is. You have to feel it out, learn for yourself what it feels like to get it right."

Raven grumbles again, but then sighs.

"You're right," she says. "But, can I use an alternative plan?"

"And what is that?"

"I'll use my Empathic ability to sense how you feel when you create the charge. You surely must recreate the emotional state you were in the very first time you successfully built the magic charge. If I can recreate that feeling in myself, then I can have an easier time with the charge."

"Hmm... That does seem a logical work-around. I will try to drag it out as long as I can so that you have the best chance of reading my emotions."

Raven nods and you begin, taking it slowly.

"Yes, I'm reading you loud and clear," she says. "I think I can manage that level of emotion."

Raven focuses again, and she gets much further with the magical charge than she has before. In fact, she gets it completely encased!

"Yes!" she says excitedly. "I did it! I made the charge!"

"Yes, you made the charge," you say, "but will it work? This is the second phase of such a creation."

"Okay," she says as she nods. "So, I'm guessing you fill it with arcane energy, like powder in a firework bomb."

"Yes, good analogy. Then you throw it and designate the element in the Japanese. Obviously it works best with the elements you have affinity for."

"So water and wind," she says.

Raven looks at her charge, and you can tell she's filling it with energy. She then grips it and throws it up towards the high ceiling.

"Wait," you say quickly.

"Kaze!" she shouts.

*Pfbfbfbfbf* The charge less explodes as pops and deflates with a bit of flatulence.

"I was going to instruct you on the hand signs," you say. "Those will help amplify your connection to the Godai and the elements within."

"Why didn't you say that before I threw it?"

"You didn't give me time. You filled it up and tossed it. But at least you already know the words."

Raven recreates another one and then looks to you.

"Okay," you say. "Wind's hand sign is Tori, the bird."
---

You put hands together so the fingertips touch, but then fold in the ring fingers and make sure the thumbs point at your heart.

"Make sure these angles are all precise," you say as you help Raven position her hands. "The thumb goes to the chest, where your breath comes from, to represent the wind."

Raven nods, then practices putting the hand sign up from having her hands at her side. She then brings the charge back up and fills it with energy before throwing it in the air.

"Kaze!" she says with the hand sign.

*BWOOHH* The charge explodes and sends gusts of wind in all directions.

"Very good!" you say as the wind gently blows your hair around. "You nailed your first execution."

"How do I do the razor wind version like you've done?"

"With practice," you say. "It's another subtlety of this original art of mine. Now, let's go ahead and move to the other Arcane magics, the ones you need to focus on. Let's start with..."

A) Imbre
B) Flumen
C) Melleo
---

Cartridge88 posted...

C) Melleo

---

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

C) Melleo

---

bump before going to bed
---

scubasteve42 posted...

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

C) Melleo

---

C

"Melleo. It is blunt force attack good for disarming an opponent with weapons, and knocking them out without doing too much surface damage. In contrast, Accudo is sharp and can pierce with enough power behind it."

"How does that work?"

"Think of it like throwing rocks at someone. Or perhaps a dodgeball. Allow me to demonstrate."

You take aim at the wall.

"Arcana Melleo!"

You blast Arcane magic and it rebounds off with some heft. Raven nods before putting her own hand out.

"Arcana Melleo!" she repeats.

She fires one off and it not only bounces off the wall but slightly dents it.

"Impressive," you say. "You should aim for a little less power than that. A normal level Melleo needs to be more a surface hit, no evidence of the impact."

Raven tries again.

"Arcana Melleo!"

Another shot, and the blast of energy rebounds on a new spot, no mark left behind.

"Very good," you say. "Melleo will be a good spell to have in your duels. You'll disarm and incapacitate your opponents without leaving lasting injuries."

"At just this level, though," she says.

"Yes," you say. "Pumping more energy into Melleo can make for a powerful blunt-force trauma attack, and could even pulverize the target."

"So is that all to Melleo?" she asks. "Extra force?"

"Not at all," you say. "There are tricks to Melleo to make it more than just 'aim and fire'. As you saw on the demonstration with the wall, Melleo can bounce. With training, you can make your blast last longer, so that it can make trick shots for the purpose of misdirection and passing through defenses.

"Arcana Melleo!" you say as you swipe to fire another, bouncing it off the ground and then the wall to hit the ceiling.

"Well alright," she smiles. "And what's the secret to that?"

"All in the wrist," you say. "But also, you need to imagine an elasticity to the energy."

"So even more like a dodgeball," she says.

"Yes, exactly."

Raven focuses energy and takes aim.

"Arcana Melleo!"

She throws the ball of energy, it hits the wall first and goes down to bounce off the floor and dribbles back towards her.

"Good," you say. "But you can put more into the throw with your magic, you know. And if you do it just right, you can catch it to throw it again."

You throw another Melleo at a corner, hitting on the right wall to bounce off so it will bounce off the left and then bounce off the floor, you run up to snag it and then throw it across the room, where it bounces off the floor again to dribble into the other corner before it dissipates.

"Alright," Raven says. "Time to play wall ball."

Raven makes another Melleo and throws it, it goes a bit wonky and Raven chases after it with an awkward bit of jogging.

"You're rather adorable running around all uncoordinated like that," you tease.

"Shut up," she pouts. "It's not like I run much..."

"We might want to work on that," you say.

"If you work on your hula hooping," she says.

You grumble as she chuckles.

A) On to Imbre
B) On to Flumen
---

Cartridge88 posted...

A) On to Imbre

---

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

A) On to Imbre

---

scubasteve42 posted...

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

A) On to Imbre

---

A

"On to Imbre," you say to change the subject. "You saw this in action during training, so you know it is a scatter shot attack to hit many targets at once, or hitting one target a lot at once. Watch closely at where the energy comes from.

"Arcana Secundus, Imbre!"

*PAP* You shoot the energy up into the air.

"Did you see?" you ask.

"Yeah, the energy came from all five fingers, and the palm," she says, pointing to those spots on her own hand.

"Exactly," you say. "You need to balance the energy between all six points."

You demonstrate the charging of all six points, and Raven copies.

"For the sake of practice, shoot into the air like I did," you say.

"Arcana Secundus, Imbre!" she shouts as she aims straight up.

*PAP* She fires from all six points, but the fingers seem weaker than the palm.

"Try and hold your hand flat, all the way to the fingertips," you say. "This will keep the force behind the energy balanced as well."

"Arcana Secundus, Imbre!" Raven says as she tries again.

*PAP*

"Much better," you say.

"But, when you used Imbre, you had more points of attack," she says.

"Yes, that comes from using a higher level form of Imbre. Primis and Secundus have the six points of attack. Tertium, Quartus and Quintus bring in the four knuckles here, for ten points. That is where I tend to stay.

"Sextus, Septima and add the thumb's knuckle and the heel of the palm. Octavus and Nonus add various, almost countless points along the palm, and eventually, you have almost every single point on your hand under Decima."

"Wow. So you've done that before?"

"Only once. It is an intense amount of force."

Raven holds up her hand again.

"Dec--"

"No!" you say quickly. "Don't just jump from second to tenth!"

"But I'm already capable of Quintus with Arcana," she says.

"That's overall," you say. "And even then, jumping five levels is still too much."

Raven grumbles.

"Arcana Quintus, Imbre!" she says.

*PAP* The ten points of attack fire energy.

"Good," you say. "Balanced energy, superb force, wide spread."

"Thank you," she smiles.

*HONK HONK HONK*

"I almost forgot about that alarm," you say.

"Titans!" Robin says through the PA. "Trouble!"

You and Raven return to the elevator and go back up to Ops, where you regroup with the others.

"Who is it?" Raven asks. "Did another villain break free from the deep freeze?"

"Yes," Robin says. "But, it might not be as bad as I thought..."

"How is it not that bad?" you say. "Who broke out?"

"Control Freak."

On screen is a stout man with neckbeard and receding hairline and unibrow, not to mention notable acne. His wardrobe looks like a cross between various iconic characters from equally iconic sci-fi franchises.

"Strange," you say, "I would've thought he was the skinny geek type, not the chunky type. Any idea how he returned home when you have his special remote?"

"He might have made a new one," Cyborg says. "Despite how he looks, he is a genius with electronics and technology."

"Hey!" Control Freak shouts into the sky. "I know you can hear me, Titans! I'm not here for you, I'm here for that geezer who stole my stuff! Without my remote, I can't even turn on my television!"
---

"Well, obviously we're not letting Mad Mod out just so Control Freak can not beat him up," Raven says.

"And we're not giving him back his stuff," Beast Boy says.

"But we cannot allow him to wander the streets," Starfire says. "He might cause trouble, or assemble the parts to make a new remote when we refuse to give him his old one."

"All fair points," Robin says. "He hasn't done anything worse than disturbing the peace, maybe we can reason with him."

"Well that shouldn't need everyone," you say.

A) Volunteer to meet Control Freak
B) Return to training with Raven
---

A) Volunteer to meet Control Freak
---

Cartridge88 posted...

A) Volunteer to meet Control Freak

---

Malcrasternus posted...

Cartridge88 posted...

A) Volunteer to meet Control Freak

---

A

"Raven and I can go down to talk this out with him," you say. "Then we can go get lunch after."

"Alright," Raven shrugs. "See you guys in a minute."

"We'll be keeping an eye on him out there just in case," Robin says.

You and Raven go back to the elevator and rise down to the garage. You hop on Shadowfax and ride out to the mainland.

"I think he was this way," Raven directs as she checks her communicator.

You drive around and find Control Freak staring through store windows at a display of televisions.

"Aww..." he whines. "I missed the newest episode of the new Ben 10..."

"Oi, Control Freak," you say as you pull up.

"Huh?" he says as he whips around to look at you. "Who're you?"

He then spots Raven as she dismounts.

"Raven?" he blurts out. "What happened to your cloak?! And who's the guy with rockstar hair?"

"A lot happened while you were in that ice box," she says as she smooths out her cloak. "This is Rorek Null VII. We're dating."

Control Freak looks very confused, like he's trying to do complex calculus in his head.

"No, that can't be," he says. "Raven? Dark, gloomy, reserved Raven... dating some... some random nobody?!"

"I'm right here, you know," you say.

"And your cloak changing colors," Control Freak continues. "No, this isn't right! You're changing the status quo!"

"Um... Sorry?" Raven shrugs, complete with hands up.

"Oh, you will be!" he says. "You will be...!"

"Did you really just quote Yoda?" you say.

"Sh-shut up, you British Gary Stu!" he whines.

"I'm not sure I understand the insult, but I can tell it's an insult," you say.

"Control Freak, why don't you just go home," Raven says. "Or at least to a comic book shop out of town. Rorek and I have important magic training to do, we don't have time to waste telling you what you already know. You're not getting your gear back."

"You're right, I did already know you'd tell me that," he says. "Which is why I brought this!"

He then reveals a compact device at his hip, which stylistically resembles the remote control! Before you can react, he fires something at Raven! She tries to stop it, but can't! It clamps onto Raven's head and takes the form of a big helmet! The weight of the helmet causes Raven to fall over, with a *clunk* as the helmet hits the ground.

"Raven!" you say as you hurry over.

"I'm fine," she says, her words echoing inside the Control Freak helment. "This thing weighs a ton!"

"Just under a ton, actually," Control Freak gloats. "Y'know, I never got to show this baby off against the Titans East because they didn't have anyone quite like you. In fact, this is probably the best of my five Anti-Original-Titans devices."

You and Raven are clearly both trying to pry the helmet off of her, but it holds tight at every seam and bolt!

"Before you ask me why your magic can't open my 'Control Helmet'," Control Freak says, "it is made of a hybrid between Nth metal and carbon fiber. This particular blend is not only highly durable so that none of the other Titans can break through, but resonates at a frequency that nullifies any kind of energy's effect on it, magic or scientific."

"Let's just see about that!" Raven says. "Azarath Me--"

*BZZ* "OW!"

"What was that?!" you snarl at Control Freak.
---