Chapter 32: The Teen Titans
Being taught how to wield a gun by an expert who had more years than you lived on it was probably the best learning experience I have ever had.
Also, when it turns out that a gun feels like it was meant to be there in your arms when you were just a fetus, it scares the shit out of your very gun-phobic father who already suspects your sanity, you are in for a vacation of a year or two in Jump City away from the developing warzone between gangs that is Gotham.
Gotham right now was a powder keg tethering on the edge of becoming a firebomb, again.
Seriously, there were three attacks on Joker's Redouts, just last week.
At least the ride to Jump City was comfortable and my PC was coming with me (in pieces, but still). Besides Damien was with me, my favorite (gullible) older brother who taught me how to jam a shuriken up someone's arse hard enough and with enough precision to reach out of the other end of the gastrointestinal tract.
All that to say I was having fun learning. And since I was here with Damien, I knew who to suck dry for knowledge.
This was going to be fun.
But with the face, I was making it did not look like that, "Big bro you know I am getting shafted due to you right?" It was a grumble laced with annoyance as I leaned towards the window away from him.
"Shafted huh? Well, it was not all me, you were way too enthusiastic to go hunting with your guns," He shook his head as he pointed out the pair of Degale look-alikes in the middle of our seats.
"Oh please, they just felt utterly too comfortable for me to not use, like a third arm. I might be in love actually," I said with a bright cheer as I caressed my babies. I mean the sheer power they supply is…ugh, yeah baby.
"And that's…" Damien looked very disturbed and after a pause, he added, "...why you are going to JC with me."
I pouted at him, pulling my cute little sister act to the maximum.
He sighed, "Come on Mira, you know he was not going to let you stay in Gotham with the powder keg it's becoming. Besides those things that…he's worried about you."
I let the air loose from my cheeks and exchanged gazes, "As much as he is about you. Let the anger go brother."
His teeth clenched up, "I stopped a mind-washed villain from tearing up Metropolis' harbor, and I get to be sent to some kiddy program for it."
"Brother we both know that was not why you got shafted and besides if father did not want me to use the guns he won't have let me bring them," I said as I kicked up my seat and did not reply further.
From the driver's seat of a very heavily modified Batmobile Nightwing commented, "Damien getting along with someone? Never thought I would see the day. And Mira, don't lie, we know how much you begged."
I turned my head to the guy, "If you really are as popular as Barbara says, you really must be good with your tongue."
"What!?" Nightwing choked as he lurched forward and Damien bit down a cough.
"When did you learn that?" Nightwings voice came with a tone of utter bafflement.
It took me a moment to realize what they got from that sentence, "Gutter brains. I was talking about how you present yourself to others not kissing or licking," I barely bit back a laugh at the faces they made.
"...Aren't little girls shy when talking about stuff like that?" Nightwing said with a hint of resignation and I shrugged, "I have a PC, an internet connection. You. Can. Not. Stop. Me."
He smiled at that, "From what everyone was telling me, I was expecting an intelligent cute sister who had a few spots on her perfect Angel checklist, clearly that was a lie."
I looked at Damien, he shook his head and I turned my eyes to the liar, "You know, I am almost certain you are lying."
"No, I swear!" He said as one of his arms pinched his neck, "Barbara loves that she has someone to talk computers with. Tim just loves that he can talk to someone who is not busy twenty-four-seven. Jason loves how he has someone who understands guns like he does whatever that means. And Bruce is…Bruce."
"Constantly worried?" He grunted in agreement, I shrugged and then an impish smile grew on me, "What about brother Damien?" He coughed loudly enough to make Dick remember he was there and he had swords on him.
"Right, he is very happy to have a little sister," I chuckled because he did not add much. He was well aware that the seats would not stop a katana.
"By the way brother Damien since you will be my teacher during our stay, teach me how to use that rapier," I said as I dug out the box, it was unused because as basically everyone agreed, I need to be a good martial artist first.
"I forgot you have a rapier," Dick added and I snorted, "This is the first time we have properly talked. Of course, you did."
"Hey it's not my fault, I have a girlfriend and she needs—" I pulled my sheathed rapier to his back, "Finish that sentence and I will have unvirginized this rapier. Despite what I know, I am a little girl."
"Yep! Yep! Now get that thing from my back," I was smiling at his panic, "Jesus I was kidding, the thing is not even out of its sheath."
"Anyway it looks like we are there," He said a massive 'T' shaped building came into view, the Teen Titans and as I am pretty sure the start of TT vs JL. Hopefully,y that was it and this was not a dark universe AU, cuz fuck me then.
"My punishment," Damien said and I nodded but our driver disagreed, "A few years in a team will do you both a lot of good."
"Teammates are a…" I took out the bag from behind us and started to ignore them.
I did not have many negative thoughts about joining a team, it was much safer for one and Bats won't disagree with homeschooling because of it. One downside though: I was going to live with teens.
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One thing about the four-seater Batmobile I like over the original is the exit strategy, and doors. Yes, I do appreciate not having to jump out of a window after a long drive, thank you Batman for thinking of a pooled transport for the family.
"Well, Mira, Damien we are here," I nodded as I admired the vista from where we stood. We were a bit outside of Jump City, in the 'C' curved bay that we were in with the 'C' being a protrusion out of the land. If the city was at the edge of the 'C' that was connected to the ocean we were at the other end of it, just a short flight away, or maybe a swim if you are into that sort of thing.
Still, despite it being quite the location and while having a decent harbour it was not a busy place, really just a bit too out of way for any real trade to land here. Still, it was maintained just in case with all the superhero nonsense going on.
I turned my eyes away from the Geological survey when I was tapped by a hand on my shoulders, "Hey! My name is Garfield, others call me Beast Boy," As I turned to face the annoyance who liked to forget about a thing called pants I was greeted by a small boy of green skin. He reminded me of…himself.
"Mira. Not a hero yet." I said as I turned to grab my stuff out of the car. Only the Guns were out of their boxes and I belted them and their holsters pretty quickly.
"Need help?" Damien asked as he put his hands on my PC box—the components removed and repackaged and stuffed into a larger box—and I nodded, he had a small sports bag slung around his shoulders as he picked it up. I took the rest of the stuff as we walked off toward where Nightwing and Starfire were making hearts with their eyes.
Damien was not saying a word so I took the lead, "Hello."
Our host quickly snapped out of it and turned to us, "I am Starfire the leader of the Teen Titans," The red-haired orange(?) woman that stood over twice my height said.
"I am Mira and this is…" Damien had walked off, "Meet you later." I said as I fell in line with him.
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"Too much power in the thrust," Damien said as pushed the rapier through the projection of a faceless humanoid mounted by the training rig.
The rig was in an odd place, it took us an entire floor of the longitudinal section of the 'T' tower, it was stuffy and it was closed off. The mechanical ventilator kept the whole place from smelling like shit, and you had to go back up to your room to shower although there really should be a washroom here.
I guess having gotten used to learning in the Batcave had a disadvantage.
I pulled it back as the figure disappeared, "So keep it moderate?" And I stood at rest in front of Damien.
"No, the targets you are fighting are not real, they can hardly take punishment so conserve your strength. In endurance matches you need…" Damien was cut off by a mohawk cut black haired boy, Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetles, "You guys have been at it an hour and a half, give us a turn."
"Jamie is right, you two should let others have their…" I intercepted her before Damien could, "Each member is allotted one hour, me and brother are just taking ours simultaneously."
"Now," Damien had a very clear smirk, "Back to it," I saw the figure already in stance as readied my rapier and waited for it to move as it lunged…it all vanished. I turned to the control panel. Blue Beetle, "Oops something must have happened."
Damien was about to aggressively persuade him to fuck off but I stopped my brother with my hand. After all, as I set myself up, I was someone who preferred words, and if they did not work? Then action.
"What's the issue Blue Beetle?" I was dead neutral in my tone. He stepped back from the panel, "You guys can't take advantage of the rules…"
"I asked, what is the issue? My brother has been hard at work teaching me how to use a rapier so I can be more useful to the team," My voice did not even hit an octave as I spoke.
"Look a little girl on the…" Damien threw his version of the Batrang, it slipped through the air in what looked to be a thousand turns, it was fast, it sliced the air, an untrained human would be hit before he could move but Beetle's suit reacted, tendrils blazed into blue haze and burned the rang out of the air.
"Dude, what's your problem?" The leader intervened, "Stop it you two!" Robin did not listen, "Heard his bug was fast," Beetle did not like that and if I heard that growl correctly, neither did that scarab, "Careful little man." And it escalated.
Swords formed from the blue alien metal, blades that looked very human in shape or function, for a moment I wondered why not just make a thousand needles and fight. Then I remembered that it probably required a mental capacity no one had.
I watched as the two met, katana to blade and steel to whatever that was. Robin was skilled, outstripping Beetles by a chasm. Beetle had power that left Robin a few planets behind.
But every blow exchanged was on Robin's terms. Those tendrils shot out and he dogged, blue blades rushing out, he paired. But Beetle had to take it. Robin was landing a hit each time even if he did not land critical, "Is that you fighting or the bug?"
"You better hope it is me," Then his little marble-shaped bombs flew, the suit did not shoot it out, it was explosive after all instead preferring a dodge but the legs which were not completely covered by the thing did not react in time, the explosion tossed him like a ragdoll to the wall.
Beetle groaned as gravity kicked in and pulled him to the ground and his sides felt the impact.
Robin perched over it, standing tall, "That's the difference between you and me," He paused as a smirk overtook him, "You wield a weapon, I am a weapon."
The bug's displays went red, a very literal touch to the term as his chest plates parted to reveal a massive spinning plasma projector.
Robin was looking over the back of the Beetle on all fours, the instant the man turned towards Robin it ripped through the air in a blue stream hitting Robin straight in the air and tossing him metres back. If I stood still I would look like a psychopath or someone in shock, neither option appealed to me, the first made me look like I needed treatment and the second made me look weak and I did not want to look weak to teammates.
My feet broke into a run as I quickly cleared the distance between me and Robin and the Blue Beetle was not late, he was there as he pulled his glowing blue blaster to him and I pulled my gun on him.
"Move an inch and I will make you unusable as a host," My voice was just as icy as I had hoped. Making me look super protective.
The thing did not like my warning as he levelled the thing to me and I readied to unload but a green stream of energy stopped the both of us, "Enough!" The princess was ready to fight.
The Beetle stopped and I kneeled next to Damine's body, half of his face was spotless the other was charred. I stood up and my right arm went for my gun.
He was breathing but it was weak, my hands went to the telecom, "Oracle!" I screamed then Raven came running, I pulled my gun on them, "Come closer any of you! And there will be bodies these are not rubber bullets," My word was clear as they took a step back, and my coms came to life, "I need medivac…" Raven raised her hands and said, "I can help him, let me."
I still kept my gun at her, then Damien groaned, I bit my lip and said, "Do it, but no one else comes close."
They nodded as Raven stepped forward and placed her hands, "Oh, mother of Azarath…"
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Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone