Current Events > Teen Titans CYOA: Romance Resurrected Part 18

(+) Yeah! (+)

C

"6 PM. I just want to make sure everyone has enough time."

"Six works for me," she says. "See you then."

"See you there," you say.

You hang up and put your phone away.

"Alright, we have a dinner date for six o'clock," you say to Raven. "Chinese food on 3rd Street."

"Oh, nice," Raven says. "Nothing too fancy, right?"

"I don't think Jump City Chinese Cuisine is that fancy," you say. "We can go with our best casual outfits."

The ride continues, and you've been on the road for an hour now. It's already past lunchtime, you'll have to get something on the way back. After another 15 minutes, and you finally see the prison.

"Finally," you say. "An hour and 15, and it's 1:30."

A) Head back into Jump City
B) Stick around while the metas are booked

B

B.

B

"Might as well see this all the way through."

You follow the prison trucks onto the premises. You and Cyborg park by the gate as a line of defense. You hop off of Shadowfax, Cyborg exits the T-Car, and Raven joins you and the officers in securing the trucks.

"They have male and female wings here, yeah?" you say.

"Yes, we do," one of the officers says. "Though, should we worry about the big guy here being in with the general population?"

"Probably," Raven says. "He's big, angry and kinda dumb."

"We got a lot of those in here," another officer says. "We'll definitely keep this guy in a special room."

The truck doors open, everyone's on alert as the five exit. You, Raven and Cyborg walk with them to the door to enter the building to a booking station. Like on television and in the movies, the five are finger printed and photographed.

"Hold on," another of the officers says. "Something's up with this one."

The Raven lookalike just went through the photo process, and the officer shows you the screen.

"That's the same weird static we saw on that Vegas security camera," Raven says.

"You're right," you say. "So then, she was the one with Lil the cheeseburger shirt girl at the station. What's causing that?"

"Hmm," Cyborg says as he stares at her. "I was wondering what that was. I've been seeing a light, it gives a bit of a lens flare to my cybernetic eye."

"I can't sense anything out of the ordinary with her," Raven says.

"I guess that makes me special," the lookalike says with a coy tone.

"Got ID's back on them," the other officer says. "The big guy here is Boot Unger, 17, from Steel City. The one with the weird picture is Alotta Lovers..."

"Sounds like an Austin Powers character to poke fun at James Bond girls," you say.

"She's 16, from South Beach," the officer continues. "Next, the floppy one. Yanna Bac... Backs... B-A-C-Z-K-O-W-S-K-I. 15, from Maple City, Canada. In the green tee, Nora Vervaat, 14, from Jersey City. And lastly, the little one, Lilian Benfatto, 13, from Windy City."

"Be careful Nora doesn't have physical contact with other metas," you say. "She was copying powers by just touching someone."

"And Lilian bites," Raven says. "Somehow, she erases her victims from other people's memories. A real nasty power."

"Got it," the officer says. "Thanks for seeing them out here."

"No problem," Cyborg says.

You three exit, going back to your vehicles. Raven rides with you as you hurry back into town.

A) Get lunch for everyone
B) Get lunch for just you and Raven

A

A.

A

A

"How about we get everyone lunch?" you ask.

"Even though we're still searching for the last one?" Raven asks back.

"Well, I think we would've gotten a call from the others about that," you say. "Now, I say we go with pizza. Veggie or cheese for Beast Boy, then whatever else for the rest of us."

"Guess that makes sense," she says. "About being called by the others, not about the pizzas. Actually, that makes sense, too."

"Let's try for Pizza Corner," you say. "Hopefully they're not too busy when we get there."

You drive back into town at 3 PM so it'll be a very late lunch. But at least there aren't that many customers here, you're able to go right to the counter. You order a large cheese, a large olive-and-mushroom, and a large Meat Lover's for everyone but Beast Boy.

A) Order to go
B) Order for here

A.

A)

A

You get it to go so you can bring it back to Titans Tower. It doesn't take too long, thankfully, and you're back on your way by 3:15. You make it back to the tower by 3:30 and Cyborg's already there waiting.

"Have you guys heard anything from the others?" he asks the two of you.

"No," Raven says, sounding worried. "That is a bit odd. They would've called, even if they didn't find the man with the Midas touch."

"Let's each call someone," you say. "I'll call Beast Boy."

"I'll call Star," Raven says.

You set the pizzas down on the counter and everyone brings out their communicators. You look for Beast Boy on the little menu and call. But like Cyborg and Raven, no signal goes through.

"Something happened to their communicators?" Raven says.

"There's not a jammer strong enough to block these," Cyborg says, "so they have to be damaged."

"Then how do we get into contact with them?" you ask.

"Don't worry about that," Robin says from the door. "We're back."

"Well that's good," you say as you look over. "Oh!"

The three of them are quite the mess. Robin's cape is gone, as is a glove and a sleeve. Beast Boy and Starfire are both missing their shoes, and then you realize Robin's cape is being used to cover Starfire's upper body.

"The gold guy made some of our clothes gold," Beast Boy explains in a flat tone.

"And he did not show remorse over it, either," Starfire says with a frown and a blush.

"But he did find our communicators, too," Robin says as he shows his. "They turned to gold, so nothing in it works properly."

"Can you guys do some kind of Alchemy trick on 'em to get them back to normal?" Cyborg asks you and Raven.

"It's not quite that precise," you say. "All the different materials in the communicator were turned into gold, and the goal would be to turn all the different pieces back into what they were. We'd have to take the communicators apart and go piece by piece, and I'd imagine it'd be faster to make a new communicator."

"Plus," Raven says, "if we could use Alchemy to undo the gold on the communicators, we could've just done that for Cyborg's leg."

"For now," you say, "how about we eat our late lunch? Raven and I have a dinner appointment at 6 to finalize my buying of a house."

The other Titans offer their congratulations, and everyone grabs plates and slices.

A) Talk about the metas you faced
B) Talk about the house

A.

(Not the same post)

bump

A

bump, been busy again

A

"We've got the names to put to the faces," you say as everyone sits down at the couch.

"Lilian Benfatto, who bites a lot and is heavier than she looks," you say as Cyborg throws up the mug shots up on the big screen. "Nora Vervaat, who can copy powers with a touch. Yanna Baczkowski, with her floppy body and fatigue inducing yawns. Alotta Lovers, who has physical strength but also something is going on with her appearance."

"She's just static and blurs in photography and videos," Cyborg says, "but she looked like a cross between Jinx and Bumblebee."

"What?" everyone else, including yourself, say.

"She looked more like Raven," you say.

"No, she looked more like Jinx," Raven says.

"She looked more like Terra," Beast Boy says.

"She looked more like my sister," Starfire says as Robin says, "She looked more like Starfire's sis- I mean, Starfire."

"Wait," you say. "We all saw different people looking at the same person. That sounds like some kind of high level Illusion magic."

"But they were all grumbling about not liking magic," Raven says. "Is it possible a meta could have such a power?"

"That seems very complex compared to the rest of these powers," Robin says as he reviews some notes. "And then there's big Boot Ungar, with his own physical strength and burning skin."

"And the man in white with the gold power," you say. "I believe his name is 'Aurum.' Alotta shouted it when she told him to run away."

"He's got the stone ore, too," Cyborg says. "They don't like magic but they steal rocks that have magical attributes?"

"There's also how they all come from different parts of North America," Raven says. "Yanna's Canadian and the others are from the US, but from very different cities and states."

"Them working together like this for magical stones is quite the puzzle," you say.

You do think of how each of the metas had a moment where they brought out an extra pair of eyes...

A) Bring it up to the group
B) Bring it up to just Raven later
C) Don't bring it up until Aurum is found

B) Bring it up to just Raven later

B

B

You're worried about how those eyes relate to Raven and her father, but you don't want to bring it up in front of everyone. The others might all suggest things before anyone really knows anything and that would muddy the waters. You'll just talk to Raven about it later on.

"We should get going," you say to Raven. "Our meeting with Ms. Snelpucker will be soon."

"Right," Raven says.

You two finish eating and then go freshen up. You also go to your phone, but then realize that if it's past 4 PM in California, it's past midnight in the UK. You probably won't be able to call your father on the phone, so you go with a text message instead.

My offer on a home out here was accepted, I will need 1 million USD asap.

You finish dressing but you don't get a response back. Hopefully you get one before dinner.

You regroup with Raven in the hallway and she's wearing a T-shirt dress.

"Are you sure you'll be alright in that on Shadowfax?" you say. "You'll have to side saddle."

"That's fine," she says. "This is supposed to be like somewhere between casual and formal, because of the occasion."

You and Raven go back to the garage and Shadowfax. You drive into town and have to deal with some heavier traffic. You find your way to 3rd Street and you manage to find parking in front of Jump City Chinese Cuisine. And still no response from your father about the million...

You enter inside, and you don't see Ms. Snelpucker anywhere. For now, you get a table for three.

A) Order for the table now
B) Wait for Ms. Snelpucker

B

B)

B

You wait for Ms. Snelpucker. No sense in rushing through this when you still haven't gotten a response back on the money.

You only have to wait another ten minutes before Ms. Snelpucker appears. You wave her over and she sits across from you and Raven.

"Welcome," you say.

"Thank you," she says. "Have you ordered yet?"

"No, we were waiting for you. Do you have any recommendations?"

"Well, they have more of a focus on preset plates," she says. "They have that 'no substitutions' rule, too."

"I see," you say as you check the menu.

Combintation Plates
A) Shrimp Fried Rice, Broccoli Chicken & Dry Fried Ribs - $10.75
B) Shrimp Fried Rice, Broccoli Chicken & Sweet 'n' Sour Pork - $10.75
C) Shrimp Fried Rice, 2 Egg Rolls & Dry Fried Ribs - $10.75
D) Shrimp Fried Rice, Fried Chicken Wing & 2 Egg Rolls - $10.75
E) Shrimp Fried Rice, Chicken Chow Mein & Dry Fried Ribs - $10.75
F) French Fries, 3 Garlic Fish & 8 Garlic Prawns - $10.75

Family Dinner

For 1 - $9.75
Chicken Chow Mein OR Fried Rice
Sweet & Sour Chicken
2 Egg Rolls
1 Soda

For 2 - $19.75
Chicken Chow Mein
Pork Fried Rice
Sweet & Sour Chicken
4 Fried Prawns
2 Sodas

For 3 - $28.75
BBQ Pork Chow Mein
Chicken Fried Rice
Sweet & Sour Pork
Broccoli Chicken
6 Egg Rolls
3 Sodas

For 4 - $36.75
BBQ Pork Chow Mein
Chicken Fried Rice
Sweet & Sour Pork
Kung Pao Chicken
Broccoli Beef
8 Fried Prawns
4 Sodas

To be fair, you probably won't be going for a dinner for four. And doing the math, they actually charge you 50 cents more for the dinner for two than if you got just two separate dinners for one. Meanwhile, ordering dinner for three actually saves you 50 cents.

A) Order the dinner for three
B) Order three dinners for one
C) Order a combination of dinner for one and dinner for two
D) Order a Combination Plate (and give letter of plate)

A

bump

A

A

"How about the dinner for three?" you say. "I think that should be enough for everyone."

"Yes, that sounds fine," Ms. Snelpucker says.

A waiter comes by and serves complimentary water. You give him the order, with cola all around for the drinks. And while you wait, Ms. Snelpucker brings out the paperwork for the house sale.

"Oh, well, alright," you say, "I suppose we can get business out of the way."

You skim through it but it seems pretty straight forward. You just aren't sure about the state of funds...

You check your phone, and you still haven't gotten a response. Even at eight hours ahead, the UK is only at 2 AM so you understand no one being awake.

"Well..." you say, trying to figure out how to delay. "How long did your great-aunt have that home?"

"Oh, uh, since like the 70s."

"Oh, wow," you say. "It's definitely in great shape just from looking at the outside."

"Yes, I made sure all the interior was in working condition and cleaned," Ms. Snelpucker says. "Freshly cleaned carpeting, the water heater works, and there's no faulty wiring."

"Very good," you say.

Well, that delay tactic didn't last long.

"I do have to be honest," you say. "I'm still waiting on approval of the funds. You know how it is with the time zone differences."

"Oh, of course," she says. "It's a million dollars, after all. What's the exchange rate of that?"

"About 750 thousand Pound sterling, I believe," you say.

"Well there's no rush," Raven says. "We can just enjoy dinner first."

"Right," you say. "A toast."

You pick up your glass of water.

"To the sale of the lovely Ledyard home," you say.

"Cheers," Ms. Snelpucker says.

You three clink glasses and take sips of water. The waiter returns and sodas are served in glasses. No straws, but that's not a big deal. You sip that and think of what to talk about now.

A) Interior details of the house
B) The neighborhood

B

A)

A

"Are there any interior details of the house we should know about?" you ask. "Anything about the rooms we should be careful about? Or maybe a fixture your great-aunt would want us to keep?"

"Oh, that's true," Ms. Snelpucker says. "You didn't even really see the inside. I should take you on a tour."

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised we didn't at first," Raven says. "I'd certainly like a tour."

"Yes, a tour would be nice. We can come by sometime tomorrow and have a look inside."

A) Have the tour early in the morning
B) Have the tour in the afternoon

A. Early morning

A

A

"Perhaps early in the morning? We wouldn't want to be in the way of your work schedule."

"Early tomorrow sounds great," Ms. Snelpucker says. "Is 7 AM too early?"

"No, that should be fine," you say. "We'll come by, look around, and hopefully I'll have an update on the money."

"Okay, then," she says. "We'll meet there around 7."

The waiter returns with your order of dinner for three and you thank him as he sets it down. Barbecue pork chow mein, chicken fried rice, sweet & sour pork, broccoli chicken and six egg rolls, plenty for all of you.

You and Raven use chopsticks to bring chow mein and pieces of pork and chicken to your plate, and of course use a spoon on the rice, but Ms. Snelpucker uses a for and spoon. Odd, since this was her choice of restaurant, but to each their own.

You dig in, starting with the sweet & sour pork. Very good sauce, and the pork is fairly tender. The pieces are a nice size, too.

The barbecue pork chow mein is an interesting choice, as chicken is the go-to ingredient. But the noodles seem just as savory and greasy as usual, as are the vegetables mixed in. The pork that's in the noodles is good. It's about the same quality as the sweet & sour pork in tenderness, but it seems a little dry without sauce.

In the broccoli chicken, the broccoli is soft, the chicken tender, and both salty from the seasoning. Could be a bit hotter, though. Maybe the broccoli chicken was made before the other dishes and hasn't been moving as fast. Then with the chicken fried rice, with peas, carrots and scrambled eggs mixed in, it's good, but starting to dry out. Similar problem with the broccoli chicken perhaps.

That's actually a good thing to think about for your own restaurant's food. If you have ready-made dishes, there's the problem of freshness not lasting. You can't just use magic to keep freshness going, but you'll have to research what dishes keep the best.

You almost forget about the egg rolls. The ladies have already taken their two each so you get the last two. The egg rolls look to be where Jump City Chinese Cuisine excels, with a flaky and crisp outside that isn't greasy, and properly cooked ingredients inside, from the carrots to the green onions, and even more pork. This dinner for three is practically a pork dinner platter.

After finishing up the meal, you double check the menu and see there is no dessert section. Seems a shame, but that's their choice.

A) Get dessert on the way back to the tower
B) Get dessert at the tower