The library felt different at night. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Jump City's glittering skyline, casting the reading tables in a soft amber glow. Hikaru rubbed his eyes, staring at the timeline Raven had drawn for him—again.
"Okay, so the French Revolution started in 1789, not 1798." He tapped his pencil against the notebook. "And the Reign of Terror came after, not before."
"Correct." Raven turned a page in her own book, legs crossed beneath her on the leather chair. "Now explain why it started."
Hikaru groaned, slumping forward. "Economic crisis, food shortages, inequality between estates—"
"The tax burden fell disproportionately on the Third Estate while the First and Second were exempt," Raven supplied without looking up. "Which created resentment among the bourgeoisie and peasantry alike."
"Right, yeah." He scribbled notes. "I knew that."
"Did you?"
"I did now."
The corner of Raven's mouth twitched—not quite a smile, but close enough. They'd been at this for nearly two hours, and Hikaru's brain felt numb due to the excess of unnecessary information he crammed inside. Still, the material was finally starting to stick. Something about Raven's methodical approach made it easier to absorb than Mr. Patterson's droning lectures.
"You're not as hopeless as I expected," Raven said, closing her book with a soft thud.
"That's high praise coming from our teams resident bookworm." Hikaru stretched, vertebrae popping. "Seriously though, thanks. I actually feel like I might pass this retake."
"Don't thank me yet." Raven stood, purple energy swirling around her fingertips. "We had a deal, remember?"
Hikaru's eyes widened. "Wait, now?"
"Unless you'd prefer to study longer?"
"Training room it is."
The training room floor glowed with ambient light, its adaptive tiles shifting to combat mode beneath their feet. Raven floated a few feet away, hood pulled up, violet eyes glowing beneath the shadow.
"No holding back," she said. "I need to practice maintaining control under pressure."
"You sure?" Hikaru summoned his wings, light sword materializing in his hand. "I don't want to—"
Dark energy slammed into his sword before he could finish, barely able to block as it sent him skidding backward across the floor.
"Don't patronize me." Raven's voice carried an edge sharper than any blade. "Fight."
Hikaru grinned, golden eyes blazing as the turned pure white. "Yes, ma'am."
He transformed into light, crossing the distance in a blink. Raven's soul-self manifested a black dome around herself, blocking his sword strike. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the training room.
They fell into a rhythm—Hikaru's light and adaptability against Raven's dark energy and versatility. She teleported through shadows, forcing him to track her movements while dodging energy blasts. He countered with various light constructs, using his light form to disorient her senses keeping her on her toes.
"You're faster than Kid Flash in close quarters," Raven noted, deflecting a photon beam.
"Different kind of speed." Hikaru ducked under a shadow tentacle. "He's got acceleration. I'm just light."
"Light as your attacks," Raven taunted voice still monotone. A portal opened beneath his feet.
Hikaru phased into light form, emerging behind her. "You're getting better at emotional regulation. No red eyes yet."
"Don't jinx it."
Their sparring intensified—neither giving ground, both adapting to the other's patterns. Raven's usually perfect composure showed hairline fractures as she pushed herself harder, maintaining offensive pressure while keeping her demonic power in check. Hikaru noticed her breathing deepen, fingers trembling slightly with each attack.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she whispered, centering herself.
"You good?" Hikaru lowered his construct sword.
"Fine." But she dropped to the floor, dismissing her soul-self. "That's enough."
They stood in silence, catching their breath. Sweat dampened Hikaru's hair, and Raven's hood had fallen back, revealing flushed cheeks beneath pale skin.
"You held it together," Hikaru said. "Better than last time?"
"Better," Raven admitted. "You're a good training partner. Unpredictable."
"I'll take it."
The training room doors hissed open. Donna strode in, already dressed in her full Wonder Girl armor, lasso coiled at her hip.
"Hey you two, doing some training?"
"Yep, just some light sparring."
"Oh? By the way…" She said, grinning. "You still owe me a sword fight."
Hikaru's wings folded against his back as he turned to face her. "Anytime, any place, Wonder Girl."
"Oh, confident, are we?" Donna drew her short sword, sunlight from the windows catching the edge. "We'll see how long that lasts."
Hikaru opened his mouth to respond—
BEEP BEEP BEEP
All three communicators went off simultaneously. Robin's clipped tone crackled through.
"Titans, we've got a situation downtown at the video store. Move out."
Donna sighed, sheathing her sword. "Rain check?"
"Rain check," Hikaru agreed.
Raven's eyes narrowed. "Did Robin sound off to you?"
"Yeah," Hikaru said slowly. "Yeah, he did."
They arrived outside the Video Dome, neon signs flickering erratically overhead. A crowd of panicking customers bursts out and breaks for cover. Robin and Kid Flash arrived via R-Cycle and super-speed just as a scream came from inside.
Robin led the charge fresh from his stay in Gotham, and clearly tense.
As they entered they found a fat guy with long hair and a receding hairline ,cosplaying as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a trench coat. Arguing with a clerk about something called Warp Trek Five, while some large thing with a bunch of long, sparking appendages, a large television set for a body cornering her.
"Let the girl go," Robin commanded, stepping forward.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my old arch-nemesis...ses...the Teen Titans! I'm not letting her go until she admits that Warp Trek Five, which reunited the entire original cast of the classic TV series, deserved to be on your Favorite Rentals list."
Beast Boy voices the teams shared confusion. "Um, yeah… Who is this guy?
Cyborg just shrugs before firing his sonic cannon at the monster.
Control Freak presses his remote and appears on all the TV screens as they simultaneously annouce, "I am the master of monsters! I am your darkest nightmares come to life! I am...Control Freak!"
He ends the monologue by hitting another button triggering a round of applause.
Raven clearly unimpressed, remarks. "A couch potato with a souped-up remote. I'm petrified."
"You will be. You will be."
Control Freak aimed his remote at various objects, video drop boxes, two cash registers, a set of shelves to life, a large cardboard cutout of an alien in samurai armor, and all the candy at the counter come to life as monsters. As a stream of coins begin to launch through the area like a machine-gun bullets.
"Spread out and get the remote!" Robin barked charging in.
The cardboard samurai swung. Donna blocked with her bracers, the impact surprisingly solid. Kid Flash zipped behind it, but the flat figure simply rotated on its axis, to become flat again.
"This is ridiculous," Cyborg muttered, charging his sonic cannon.
Control Freak pressed another button. The store's jumbotron screen tore itself from the wall, electrified cables sprouting like tentacles. VHS tapes launched themselves from shelves, ribbon tape extending into grasping appendages. A DVD rack transformed into a mechanical spider.
"Oh, come ON!" Beast Boy shifted into a gorilla, smashing a tape-monster.
Chaos erupted.
Starfire took to the air, starbolts raining down on the jumbotron. Its electrical cables lashed out, forcing her to dodge. Raven launched darkness wrapped movies at the reality warping fanboy only to have them sent right back.
Hikaru transformed into light, phasing through three VHS tapes before solidifying to slash them apart with a construct blade. "How is this even working?!"
"Don't question it, just fight!" Robin vaulted over a lunging DVD player, throwing explosive discs that detonated against the advancing horde.
Kid Flash became a red blur, dismantling monsters faster than Control Freak could animate them. "This guy's a joke!"
"A joke with decent tech," Cyborg admitted, blasting apart a stereo system. Then his face went green. "Oh no."
"What?" Donna punched through a possessed mannequin.
Cyborg's eyes went wide as rainbow-colored gummy bears grew to the size of basketballs, forming razor-sharp teeth from pure sugar. They swarmed toward him and began biting at him only for Cyborg to return the favor by biting off pieces of them. Sending the rest fleeing while screaming in fear.
Cyborg made it three steps before turning green, doubling over, and vomiting into a nearby trash can.
Hikaru blasted the stragglers with a photon beam. "Really? Your best idea was to eat them?"
"Don't—" Cyborg heaved again. "Don't judge me."
The battle devolved into controlled chaos. Starfire and Raven handled aerial threats while Donna and Kid Flash dismantled ground forces. Beast Boy protected the still-puking Cyborg from vengeful candy. Hikaru provided support wherever needed, his speed letting him bounce between fronts.
Robin stayed at the front destroying anything that got in his way. Before throwing himself at the next wave with borderline reckless abandon.
The monsters kept coming. Control Freak laughed maniacally from behind the store clerk, mashing buttons on his remote.
"We can't keep this up forever," Donna panted, blocking a cable whip.
Robin's eyes tracked upward. The fire sprinklers.
Without a word, he hurled three birdarangs at precise angles. They struck the sprinkler heads dead-center.
Water erupted from the ceiling in a artificial downpour.
The electrical jumbotron sparked and died. The cardboard samurai dissolved into mush. VHS tapes short-circuited and went limp. Within seconds, the entire animated army collapsed into soggy debris.
Control Freak's remote fizzled and went dark.
"No! NO!" He shook it desperately. "Stupid waterproofing budget!"
The store clerk broke free and ran. Robin crossed the distance in three strides, grabbed Control Freak, and slammed him face-first into the floor. He wrenched Control Freak's arm behind his back at an angle that made Hikaru wince.
"Robin!" Kid Flash gasped.
But Robin wasn't done he yanked him up and threw him against the wall. Control Freak hit with a meaty thud and slid down, whimpering.
"Stay down," Robin said coldly, securing zip-tie cuffs with excessive force.
Control Freak wheezed, blood trickling from his nose. "Dude... I'm just a fanboy..."
"You took a hostage."
"I wasn't gonna actually hurt her!"
Robin said nothing, just tightened the cuffs until Control Freak yelped.
The other Titans exchanged glances. Raven met Hikaru's eyes across the store. She tilted her head toward Robin. Talk to him, her expression said.
Hikaru shook his head minutely. Nobody spoke as police sirens wailed in the distance.