First Night

. . . | . . .

The night they had defeated the Gordanians had been an odd one for sure. Not to say that aliens landing on Earth to recapture their escaped prisoner and then announcing that they will destroy the city was not unusual, because it was. But it was more than that. That night, five strangers from completely different walks of life had met for the first time and decided to stick together. Or at least, that's what it seemed like so far.

Once the group of teenagers made certain the aliens had left Earth and were far away in space, they stopped by the hospital to make sure none of them were too badly injured. Cyborg insisted they do this, even though he had no need to get a check up. Koriand'r, the alien girl, didn't need one either since, as they quickly learned that night, she was much stronger and durable than she appeared.

Robin had asserted that Beast Boy be the first to receive a check up, with the reason being that if he was doing a terrible job of hiding his limp, then it must not be too good. The shapeshifter wanted to protest that Robin – THE Robin – should go first. Then again, his leg and side were in pain, and perhaps the masked boy wanted to make sure the people who helped him tonight were getting medical attention before he did. Besides, Robin – THE Robin, Beast Boy still had to remind himself incredulously – was telling him to go first so by golly he wasn't going to start disobeying him now. He really did not like hospitals, but he also did not want someone else to be frustrated with him. He had been made well aware of his tendency to be a nuisance and he was not going to screw this up with these guys.

Back in the waiting room, Koriand'r was munching on a snack. Cyborg had heard her stomach growl and offered to get her something to eat. He doubted her captors had been giving her enough food. They went to the vending machine out in the hall and she was mesmerized by all the different options. She ended up choosing one at random. M&M's, Cyborg had told her, they're filled with chocolate. She did not know what an M&M was nor had she ever had this thing he called chocolate, but as she saw the robotic man before her eat his own M&M's, she decided it was safe to consume. She tried a red one and, just like he told her, it tasted "good and chocolatey". That's when she decided another thing: he was trustworthy and… nice.

Cyborg had noticed how the red headed alien had only started eating her M&M's after he did. He didn't say anything; he wasn't offended. He supposed it was a smart move. It was true that they saved her, but she had only just met them. It seemed Earth was still very much new to her and he didn't know her past, or anyone else's for that matter. All he knew of Robin was that he was Batman's sidekick. What he was doing here in this city was anyone's guess. And that little green kid – Beast Boy – and Raven, had they always lived here? They were all kind of odd, and perhaps that was the reason why none of them had seemed terribly disturbed when his clothes were shredded and his true appearance was revealed. He wondered if after tonight was over, the only people who were not afraid of him were going to stick around the city.

As they waited for Beast Boy to finish up, the other four members of the last minute ragtag group did not say much. There were some comments on what a night it's been and how they hoped no one got too banged up. Aside from that, the only sounds in the room were the receptionist's phone calls and the muffled sounds coming from the back. Robin chalked up the quietness between them to tiredness. Luckily, there were no other patients waiting, so they had the room to themselves. He thought it was better this way; otherwise people would be sure to stare at them. He already knew Cyborg was self-conscious about his mechanized appearance. Raven had not seemed to like being in the spotlight and always hid her face underneath her hood. Beast Boy was boisterous and looked to enjoy attention, but he most certainly would not like being gawked at for being green. Robin glanced at the last one of the group as she ate her M&M's. It was probably best people didn't stare at her either, even if she wasn't as peculiar looking as the other three. He was glad that she seemed relieved at being freed, but she also looked a bit confused and hesitant in her actions. They still did not know her name; no one had asked her and she had yet to reveal it. He thought back to her kiss and...he shook his head. He was not about to inquire about that. But he did have questions about all of them, just as he assumed they did as well, however he wasn't about to prod them about their personal histories. He knew better than to do that.

Raven was second to go in. She didn't actually need to; she could heal herself after all, but Cyborg was quite adamant that they at least make sure everything's fine. She had never been to a hospital. Those didn't really exist on Azarath. They had monasteries with medical bays to take care of the sick and injured, and temples specifically dedicated as healing centers, but not hospitals. Raven felt a bit nervous, wondering if she would be treated with the same coldness as on Azarath, then immediately berated herself. She just finished fighting off a spaceship full of aliens. This is nothing.

Beast Boy had plopped down in the seat next to Koriand'r. The check up hadn't been that bad and he didn't freak out, although he had been sweating profusely by the end of it. He sighed, glad that it was over. He saw his new friend munching on candy and in a teasing manner, congratulated her on remembering to not eat the wrapper. Right after he said that, he got a little scared that she might blast him right out of the room – he had seen her in action and knew she could be volatile when she wanted to. But she just smiled in slight embarrassment and said that it would take some time for her to get accustomed to Earth. Beast Boy replied that if she could get accustomed to his being green, Earth shouldn't be too hard. However he realized he was talking to an alien and that maybe green creatures weren't an uncommon sight for her. Storing that thought to ask her about later, he begun recommending a number of other different candies to try. A type of fish, rocks that pop, cats named Kit, stars that burst, and bars made of Mars? Confusion was written all over the poor girl's face. Earth was indeed a very curious planet.

The moment Raven stepped back in the waiting room, Robin leapt up from his chair next to Cyborg to go in for his turn. Both of them seemed to have been in deep discussion, maybe something having to do with Cyborg's technology judging by the way the bigger guy kept glancing down at the circuits on his forearm. Whatever it was about, Raven didn't ask. If she needed to know, she would but right now she was fatigued. She slid into a chair. The nurse, while a bit put off by the empath's appearance, had treated her like she was any other patient and for that, Raven felt relieved. She wished her mother and the monks had let her visit Earth more often. It didn't seem like such a bad place. It felt more liberating here. Going through her thoughts, she noticed that beside her, Koriand'r and Beast Boy had already dozed off. Raven had never been one to sleep in public and considered staying up to keep Cyborg company. She didn't know what she'd say to him though. But glancing over at him, she saw he was busy tinkering with something and when she looked back at the two slumbering people, she knew her decision. A few minutes of shuteye wouldn't hurt and nothing bad would happen. She was among friends, right?

/ / /

A soft chuckle sounded from a few feet above.

"Aw, look at 'em. They're all tuckered out."

"I suppose it has been a long night."

Raven stirred and cracked open an eye. Cyborg and Robin were standing in front of her, smiling warmly. Before she could say something, she felt a weight on her left shoulder shift slightly. She turned her head and all she could see was red hair, but it was enough to know to whom it belonged. Leaning forward, she could see Beast Boy's head rest against the alien's arm. He seemed to still be snoring away, although one of his pointy ears flicked at the sound of voices.

While not one for physical contact, the empath simply waited for Koriand'r to wake instead of rudely shrugging her head off her shoulder. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long and heard a yawn along with bright green eyes opening up from sleep. That was immediately followed by Beast Boy's longer yawn, complete with exposed fangs.

Raven squinted at the light filtering in through the blinds. "What time is it?"

"A little after seven." Cyborg responded.

"Seven?" Beast Boy repeated. He was shocked, as was Raven. Koriand'r was not familiar with Earth's system for telling the time, but despite falling asleep sitting up, she still felt rather well rested and presumed they had slept for quite a while.

Robin was quick to reassure them. "Don't worry. I spoke with the receptionist. She knew we saved the city and said we could rest here for a few hours. Also, if you guys are ready, I wanted to go check out the pod the Gordanian ship dropped onto that island."

Was Robin inviting them to come along? The guy who said he was working solo wanted them to join him. Cyborg seemed to know what was up and they weren't going to say no after last night's events. So Robin thanked the receptionist for letting them rest here and led the group towards the island.

Once they landed on the rocky surface (Koriand'r had carried Robin over the water while Raven transported Cyborg on a surface of black energy), they walked up to the space pod planted into the island. The Gordanians had not left anything inside it; now the pod was just an empty shell of metal. Cyborg knocked against the surface and scanned it with his robotic eye. An empty shell of quality metal, he thought, could be good for making something out of it.

Robin had told them that the mayor believed the space pod disrupted the skyline and wanted it gone. Finding nothing else, he decided he could give the mayor the green light to dispose of the pod somewhere else. Standing by the water's edge and admiring the morning view, he waited for an opportune moment to bring up something with the others. He knew Cyborg was anticipating for him to mention it; he had been dishing the Boy Wonder side-glances since they reached the island. Him and Cyborg had discussed this at the hospital and the latter had only finished working on the tech well after the other three had fallen asleep. Technically, he could have brought it up earlier to the others, but he didn't and he knew why.

He came to Jump City for a new life and that new life had included working alone. But he hadn't accounted for what would transpire last night, and in just a few hours his plans had already changed, changed because of these four odd people he met only hours ago.

And then the pretty alien girl – Starfire, she told them – emerged in her new outfit and had asked them if she could remain here, on Earth. And Robin decided that now was as good a time as any.

He handed three round, yellow communicators to Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy, stating this would be a good way to keep in touch. Cyborg had proudly beamed that he made them out of his own circuits and that while these were still works in progress, they would do for the time being.

They turned the communicators around in their hands, familiarizing themselves with the equipment that would, unbeknownst to them, become an every day item they would use in the future. If Cyborg really did intend on refining these, then that meant they would all see more of each other and stick together? And what Beast Boy said was true – they did make a pretty good team.

Unsure of what to really do now that the whole Gordanian ordeal was over, they stood around awkwardly until Beast Boy spoke up, echoing his suggestion from last night.

"Anyone up for pizza?"

Raven grimaced. "In the morning?"

"I'm down." Cyborg patted his stomach.

Robin agreed. "Food sounds good."

"I do not know what pizza is, but I would be most willing to try it." Starfire said.

"Raven?" Beast Boy looked at her hopefully. "You in?"

The empath sighed, but nodded her head. "I can teleport us there." She wasn't sure she'd eat pizza at eight in the morning (and telling a certain someone that he was funny had made her a bit wary of him), but she also didn't want to leave her friends just yet – her first ever friends.

Beast Boy pumped a fist in the air. "Yes! I was thinking we could go that place Starfire accidentally kinda destroyed, the one with the yellow balcony."

"Oh, the Pizza Corner? I love that place. They got the best bacon topped pizza." Cyborg said, his mouth starting to water at just the thought of it.

"What non-meat pizzas do they have? Cuz I'm vegetarian."

Needless to say, that simple statement had caused a squabble that would definitely not end that day. As the two clashed on their meat VS no meat debate, Robin briefly wondered what he had gotten himself into and Starfire seemed amused at the sight of her two friends. The sounds of their bickering were drowned out as Raven's soul-self enveloped them for teleportation to a greasy breakfast.

In the end, all five of them were just happy to have found others who seemed to accept them as they are. Each of them were starved for friendship and now, they had found it. You don't strike gold and just walk away from it. They had struck friendship and intended on making it grow.

The night they had defeated the Gordanians had been an odd one for sure. Yet it had also acted as a catalyst for everything else that followed, and the newly formed superhero team was determined to make every moment together count.

The idea for this stemmed from me wondering how Cyborg made those communicators so quickly after the fight in "Go". It just didn't make sense to me (and it probably wasn't mean to be overthought about), so I decided to fill in the blanks for myself.

I hope you enjoyed reading my longer than intended chapter.

Let me know your thoughts!