Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Heroes ❯ Photographers, Tiarets, and Comedians ( Chapter 2 )

Blowfish: Bet you weren't expecting to hear from me again so soon, eh? Well, I had this other chapter inside me, and—

 

Link: Blowfish the Monkey Tamer?

 

Blowfish: Link! What the hell are you doing here?

 

Link: You need to update your Zelda karaoke fanfiction.

 

Blowfish: Can we do this later? I'm trying to do an author's note here…

 

Link: OK, but don't say I didn't warn you. The X-Men are going to be here soon too.

 

Blowfish: Just leave right now, OK? I'll get to it!

 

Link: (grumbles and walks away)

 

Blowfish: Sorry about that. Anyway, review responses! I, for one am surprised. It took me a much longer time to get four reviews for my other fanfictions. (OK, not that long…)

 

lil LIK Star: Thanks! I really do think Robin and Starfire belong together, and it seemed to make sense that they would be dating.

 

Ellen uur: Thank you as well! I'm glad you agree with me on the “Star vs. Kori” thing. (I was afraid comic fans would flame me for it!)

 

WolfPack4: There might be a little angst here and there, but not much. I did some research before writing this (I never actually read the comics), and Garfield Logan was BB's name in the comics, and everybody called him “Gar” for short.

 

Darby: Thanks, I was hoping people would like the way I did it. I thought the jobs made sense for the most part. (Except Star as an actress O.O; I'm not sure where I got that from.)

 

Bowling-For-Neon-Salmon: Thanks very much! You have a cool name.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. If I did, Cyborg would be a lot cooler.

 

“talking” `thinking' #%scene change#%

 

Blowfish: All right, here's the next installment of “Heroes”!

 

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Rae walked into the bustling office of Warren Connery, the editor-in-chief of the Jump City Herald. She was hoping just to drop off her article and get her money for the last one she had written. Alas, that would not be the case. She slipped in quietly, hoping to simply do it fast enough that he wouldn't ask—

 

“Roth!”

 

`Shit.' “Yes sir?”

 

“What the hell was that article on Nightwing you turned in the other day?”

 

“Well, I thought the public deserved a second—“

 

“He's a menace. But good job anyway. As long as it sells papers, I won't fire you.” He handed over her money.

 

“Errr…thank you?”

 

At that point, a skinny boy who looked no older than 18 or 19 stepped into the room, looking rather nervous. He had auburn hair, brown eyes, and rather crooked glasses that had tape holding them together.

 

“Who the hell are you?” Connery spat.

 

“I-I'm the n-new photographer,” the boy said, shaking. Then, he seemed to gather his courage. “The lady downstairs said I needed to come up here to see you.”

 

“Oh yeah, I remember something about a new photographer. Suppose you need to know what to take pictures of… Roth!”

 

Rae jumped. She had been trying to sneak out, to avoid the situation she knew had been coming. She sighed. “Yes sir?”

 

“Has Harold got pictures for your new article yet?”

 

She sighed again. “No, he's working with Larry right now.”

 

“Well…errr…what's your name, kid?

 

“Terry Quinn.”

 

“Well, Tommy, Ms. Roth here is gonna be showing you the ropes, and you're gonna get her pictures for her article.”

 

“But—“ Rae protested.

 

“No buts, Roth. You don't have pictures, and I'm not gonna baby-sit this kid. Go. Now. Buy the kid some coffee or something, just go away; you're both giving me a headache.”

 

Rae couldn't believe this. She came in to collect her money, and got stuck with some newbie photographer.

 

“Uh…Ms. Roth?”

 

“Call me Rae.”

 

“Rae…I'm really sorry you got landed with me. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He kept his eyes glued to the floor the entire time he said this.

 

Rae suddenly felt a wave of pity for the young man. She knew what it was like to feel unwanted. She smiled at him.

 

“Nah, it's no trouble…I'm just not a morning person. And don't worry about Connery…he's a jerk, but you'll get used to it.”

 

“You actually can say that? The guy's your boss, he could fire you!”

 

“Ahh, everybody around here says it. The trick is not letting him find out.”

 

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Rae and Terry sat in the crowded café next door to the building where they worked.

 

“So,” said Terry. “What's your article abou…” His sentence ended, and a look of pure shock and awe spread across his face.

 

“Terry?” she waved her hand in front of his face. “What's up with you?”

 

“S-Star…”

 

“What?”

 

“The l-leading lady in th-that play…”

 

“OK, you've lost me.” At this point, Rae noticed everybody else in the café was also staring in the same direction. Rae turned to find Star Anderson standing in the doorway, apparently looking for somebody.

 

“Oh my god…” Terry whispered. “It's that actress from the paper…there was an article on her—what the hell are you doing?!” he said as Rae waved, beckoning Star in their direction.

 

Star spotted them and smiled. She ran over and caught Rae in a death-lock of a hug.

 

“Rae! It is wonderful to see you again! It has been so long since—“

 

“Air, Star! I need air!” Rae choked out. Star blushed and let go of her friend.

 

“I apologize, Rae. I simply was quite excited to see you. How long has it been? Two years?”

 

“I'd say that's about right.”

 

Terry was in a complete state of shock. Rae, a seemingly plain journalist was friends with a leading actress. A newspaper-worthy leading actress!

 

“This is unacceptable! We must have some time to `catch up'! I will not grow apart from my tiaret!” Star cried.

 

Terry raised an eyebrow. “Tiaret? What's that?”

 

Rae looked a bit embarrassed. “It's complicated…”

 

Star cut in. “A tiaret is a friend that you feel close to in a way such as you would feel toward a brother or sister. When you wished to be recognized as a brother or sister in this way in my country, you perform a ritual that must also consist of at least two witnesses, usually family members or close friends.”

 

“So…you two are kind of like sisters?” Terry asked.

 

Rae nodded. “That's the general idea.”

 

“Wow…your country must be a very happy place; where are you from?”

 

“Tamaran.” Star replied.

 

“I've…never heard of that country before.”

 

“It's quite secluded; a small island in the Pacific Ocean.”

 

“Ah. So do many of your people have tiarets?”

 

“Some. It is a deeply personal thing.”

 

“Do you have any real siblings?”

 

“A sister…but she and I do not…get along very well. I have not seen her in quite some time.”

 

“Oh. That's too bad.”

 

“Yes,” Star said sadly. “Quite regrettable.”

 

“Is she back in Tamaran?”

 

“Yes.” Star hated lying, but she'd rather not think about where her sister really was. Rae saw this, and decided to change the subject.

 

“So, how are things with Dick going?” she asked.

 

“Well…he wishes to take me out to dinner after the performance next Sunday.”

 

“That's great! Where are you—“

 

“WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! Stop for a second! Do you mean Dick Grayson?” Terry asked, looking flabbergasted.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“`Corporate-manager-at-Wayne-Enterprises' Dick Grayson?!”

 

“Bingo.”

 

“Holy crap…”

 

“What?”

 

“Well…it's just that…Damn, you've got friends in high places!”

 

Rae laughed. “I guess I do.”

 

Star stood up. “I must go now, but do you wish to `catch up' more some other time? Perhaps…Tuesday?”

 

Rae smiled. “Tuesday would be wonderful.” Star gave her another hug.

 

“I shall see you then, Rae!” she said, exiting the café.

 

“Wow…” said Terry. “I just got to meet Star Anderson! I can't wait to tell my mom!” He reddened slightly at his own words.

 

“Yeah,” Rae laughed. “So, back to the article…”

 

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Gar was very tense. There had been a change of plans, and his big opening show was tonight, instead of a week from now. A lot of important people would be there.

 

“Damn it to hell,” he muttered.

 

Despite his nervousness, he smiled. He was famous. Even in his youth, he had always attempted to steal the spotlight. And now, finally, he had it. He sighed. `I can't be serious today! I'm a comedian!' he thought. He paused for a while, and then something hit him. `Oh my god! I forgot to invite her!'

 

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Gar yelled, running to the phone. He was about to dial her home phone, but then realized she was probably working. So he dialed her cell phone instead.

It rang a few times before he heard a voice on the other end.

 

“Rae Roth speaking.”

 

“Rae! It's Gar!”

 

“Gar? Hey, how are you? It's been a while.”

 

“Yeah…hey, I've got a show tonight. I was just wondering…”

 

“Gar, I don't have a ticket. Nor do I probably have the money for one.”

 

“I could get you in for free.”

 

“I couldn't…that'd be taking money right out of your pocket.”

 

Gar paused. He really wanted her to see him. No, that wasn't right. He wanted to see her.

 

“Rae, I've got enough money. A little cash out of hundreds of dollars would be no problem. Really.”

 

“…Are you sure?”

 

“Positive. Besides, like you said, it's been a while.”

 

“All right. I'll be there.”

 

“Thanks so much, Rae!” he practically yelled before he could stop himself.

 

“Errr…your welcome?”

 

Gar chuckled nervously. “Sorry. I just wanted everyone to be there.”

 

“The others are coming?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Are they paying?”

 

“Errr…Dick is. But you know him. Won't take charity from anyone.”

 

“Yeah. Well, see you then.”

 

“Bye.”

 

Gar hung up. He suddenly let out the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. He was happy that everyone was coming, but he was still incredibly tense. `No,' he thought. `It's nothing. You do not feel that way, you can't…' 0 But if he didn't “feel that way”, why did his stomach flip every time he talked to Rae?

 

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Vic made his way through the crowded comedy club, trying to find his table. He finally spotted a hand waving at him. He went to the table, and greeted Dick and Star.

 

“Hey guys. Where's Rae?”

 

“Dunno, but Gar said she would be here,” said Dick.

 

“She will certainly show up soon,” said Star cheerfully. “Do you wish to take a seat?”

 

“Yes, thanks,” said Vic, sitting down. “Nice table. Great view of the stage.”

“Those tickets were overpriced,” grumbled Dick.

 

“You should've had Gar pay for you like us. You need to accept people's charity more.”

 

Dick grumbled more, muttering things under his breath. Vic just laughed. A dark figure came up behind him and tapped his shoulder, making him jump.

 

“Guess who.”

 

“Rae! Hey, how ya been?” asked Vic, hugging her.

 

“Fine. Did you get your grant?”

“Yep. Project Cyborg is set to go.”

 

“Great.”

 

Suddenly, the lights dimmed. Rae sat down as the stage lights came on, including a large neon green sign that read, “Gar Logan”. At that moment, Gar walked out, running his fingers through his blond hair. He grabbed the microphone and waved to the audience with a toothy grin.

 

“Hey, everybody. Nice to be back here, alma mater, ya know?”

 

The crowd cheered.

 

“Thank you, thank you. Anyway, yeah, I came back here for the show. I even invited my old college roomies, the ones I'm always talkin' about,” he said, winking in the direction of his friend's table. “I remember this one time, my buddy Vic made what must've been, I dunno, two metric tons of bacon, and I made about, I dunno, five metric tons of tofu.”

 

Everybody laughed. “I remember that,” chuckled Vic.

 

“So Rae, Star, and Dick come in, and you should've seen the looks on their faces. Man, Star sat down willingly, but we had to tie down Dick and Rae. They were terrified. So Vic and I ask, `Which do you wanna eat?', and they're freakin' out. I remember Rae saying, `And if we don't want either?', and Vic said, `C'mon, it's not like there's anything else', and they stare at us. About this time, they all realize we've chucked all the other food, including Rae's tea. Big mistake. She went ballistic. Kicked the crap outta both of us, I kid you not. Two guys, one 4'11”, the other 6'0”, and a 5'1” girl kicks the crap outta the both of us. And it was scary, man!”

 

By now, people were laughing hysterically, except Rae, who was looking a bit miffed. “He should've known better than to throw out my tea,” she muttered.

 

“Oh come on, Rae, you did kick the crap outta us,” Vic said.

 

“And if you think our cooking sounds scary, you should've seen the stuff Star concocted,” continued Gar.

 

Star blushed.

 

“Some of it was good, but man, when it wasn't, whoo!” he said, holding his nose. Star's face became a much deeper shade of red. “Actually, it suited some people's tastes just fine. I remember going out with this girl…” he paused, his eyes glazing over. He hadn't thought about her in a long time. Vic noticed that Rae was sinking deeper into her seat, looking very uncomfortable at the mention of Gar's “college” girlfriend. Gar bounced back quickly. “I went out with this girl, Tara. She was over in our dorm this one time, emptying out our fridge.” A ripple of chuckles went through the crowd. “Yeah, I know. Anyway, Star made this stuff from her country called `Glorp'. Before any of us could stop her, Tara swallowed it all in one gulp. She said, `Tastes like sushi mixed with ice cream. Is there more?', and then Star said, `I shall go cultivate the fungus!'." The crowd went wild. Gar pulled on the collar of his shirt, looking very relieved.

 

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The rest of the show went without any further bitterness. At the end of it, Gar's friends were waiting outside for him.

 

Vic slapped him on the back. “Great show, man.”

 

“Thanks. Hope I didn't offend any of you guys.”

 

“It was all in good fun,” said Star wisely. “We knew that you were most likely to talk about our `college days'.” Gar nodded, and turned to Rae, who hadn't really said anything.

 

“Did you like it, Rae?” he asked, trying to act casual.

 

“Yeah,” she said, smiling. “You've gotten a lot funnier since then.” Gar grinned.

 

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Gar said.

 

“Forgot what?” Dick asked.

 

“You know how I was supposed to go on tour again in a few weeks? There was a change in plans.”

 

“You mean the same kind of change that moved the show to tonight? You almost gave me a heart attack, it's just lucky I didn't have to work right now,” said Dick.

 

“Well, I'm actually not leaving on tour for a while. I'm taking my vacation early.”

 

They were all a bit stunned. “Your manager doesn't mind?”

 

“Nah, as long as we rake in enough cash here, he doesn't really care.”

 

“Oh. That's good. Maybe we could do something.”

 

“Sounds good,” Gar said. Vic looked at his watch.

 

“Crap! I gotta go feed Sparky.”

 

Gar raised an eyebrow. “You have a dog?”

 

Vic glared at him. “Yes, I do, and I gotta go feed him. See y'all later.” He zipped up his jacket and left.

 

“I should go back and pick up those papers at the office,” Dick said.

 

“And I must review my lines,” Star chimed in.

 

“Goodbye,” they both said at once. They went their separate ways, leaving Gar and Rae quite alone.

 

“Well,” said Rae, shifting nervously. `What's wrong with me?!' “I gotta go. Poker with Adrian and the guys.”

 

“Oh…OK,” Gar said, looking a bit sad. Then, his face brightened. “Do you need someone to, say, walk you home?”

 

Rae looked surprised. “Errr, no, it's only a few blocks.”

 

“Nonsense, mademoiselle,” said Gar, turning on the charm. “I cannot let such a beautiful lady walk home without an escort.”

 

Rae's face went from its usual paleness to a vibrant shade of red. “I…I…I…”

 

“Come on,” he said, smiling. “Please?”

 

“…OK, I guess.” Was he hitting on her?

 

They walked quietly down the bustling, moonlit streets. Gar seemed comfortable, but Rae was sweating bullets. Guys never hit on her, or offered to walk her home. `And this isn't even some random guy. This is Gar! We're friends, for God's sake,' she thought. `This is crazy! Is he actually attracted to me, or is he just goofing off like usual?'

 

They arrived at her apartment building. Rae thought Gar would leave then, but he asked if he could take her inside. Incapable of speech at this point, she could only nod stupidly. As they made it up the stairs, Adrian, Jim, and Deiter spotted them. Jim and Adrian looked ready to dish out the catcalls, but Deiter, ever the romantic, covered both of their mouths. When the pair passed, he let go. Jim was quite ruffled.

 

“What the hell was that for, man? Rae finally brings in a guy, and we don't even get to say anything about it?” Adrian nodded in agreement. Deiter simply shook his head and smiled.

 

“Have you ever been in love, mein freunds?” he asked. Both of them shook their heads. Attraction, maybe, but never anything one could call love. “Then you vould not understand.”

 

“Who said they were in love? We could be wrong. They might just be friends,” Adrian pointed out.

 

Deiter laughed. “Ahh, but did you see zee look in zeir eyes? Love, if I ever saw it.”

 

Adrian paused. “Hey, wait a sec! How would you know unless—HO HO! Someone's got it bad!”

 

As his friends laughed, Deiter blushed rather deeply.

 

Meanwhile, on the floor above, Gar and Rae had reached their destination. The hallway was completely empty, except for them.

 

“Errr…guess we're here,” said Gar.

 

“Yeah…” Rae replied, avoiding his eyes. Finally, she made herself look at him. She knew this was how Gar looked to everybody else: blond hair, healthy pink skin, green eyes; but she longed to look at him and see the person she knew. “Gar…could you…show me `you'? I haven't seen the real you in a long time.”

 

Gar recoiled slightly at the request. `The hallway's empty,' he berated himself. `And Rae wants you to…' He took out a small device that resembled a microphone and pressed the button on the top of it. The image disappeared, leaving only one color in its place.

 

Green.

 

Green hair, green skin, the only thing that stayed the same were his green eyes. Rae smiled, putting a hand up to his face.

 

“Much better,” she whispered, giving him a peck on the lips and going inside her apartment, leaving a rather stunned man outside her door. He put his hand to his lips.

 

“Wow…”

 

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Blowfish: Long chapter, eh? I didn't realize it was going to be quite that long, but what the hell. A bit of a treat for all you BBRae fans out there, I hope. I'm sorry if that was boring, it'll get more interesting next chapter or the one after, I promise! That'll be when the real plot starts. That's it for now, though, because—

 

Rogue: Blowfish the Monkey Tamer?

 

Blowfish: Crap.

 

Rogue: You need to update your X-Men: Evolution spoof.

 

Blowfish: I'M GETTING TO IT, OKAY?! Can't you find something else to do?

 

Rogue: NO! We're bored, and Kurt's eating all the snacks!

 

Blowfish: Damn that fuzzy elf. Anyway, I'll update as soon as po—

 

Rogue: Ahem!

 

Blowfish: …I update my other fics. Seeya!