--Author's Note-- Hey all! Not too many more chapters to go, but that doesn't mean that surprises aren't going to be popping up, lol. Anyway, another author's note will follow the chapter. Until then, enjoy the chapter, and please review!
Chapter 18 A Call Away
"Please, for the love of all that is good in the world, tell me you have a coffee maker," Sam groaned while entering the common room the next morning.
"Cough-ee maker?" Starfire questioned, looking up from the conversation she was having with Robin.
Robin shot Cyborg a questioning glance, "Do we have a coffee maker?"
"I don't think we do," Cyborg answered.
Sam's face seemed to wake from a state exhaustion into a glare of pure anger. "Someone get into the car right now. We're going to the nearest coffee shop," she ordered.
"Sam, what's wrong?" Danny asked carefully, walking over to put his arm around her.
She pushed his arm away, and took a couple steps away from him. "I need caffeine; why can't you people understand that?!"
"We don't have any coffee, but I have some tea you would probably enjoy," Raven told her, entering the room.
"Does it have caffeine?" Sam asked doubtfully.
"Lots and lots," Raven assured her.
"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Sam gushed, wrapping her arms tightly around the other goth girl.
The others broke into laughter at Sam's sudden affection as Beast Boy entered the common room. His eyes zeroed in on Sam and Raven. "Did I miss something?"
"Nothing too important," Danny told the green boy with a slap on the back.
Once Sam released Raven, the two girls headed over to the cabinets to make their tea. After they had their steaming mugs, and everyone had taken a seat around the table, Robin called for attention.
Sam's mind flashed back to the night before, and how she had gripped Jinx' hand tightly when they went to find Robin.
Jinx had managed to tell Robin everything, her voice only shaking slightly.
Once her story was finished, Robin began to pace in silence, leaving the girls to worry while he thought.
The only thing that gave Sam hope while they waited that long hour in silence was that there was no hint of anger on Robin's face.
Finally, he turned his attention back to the two girls.
"Blood's going to attack," Robin's words woke Sam from her thoughts as they echoed his words from the night before.
A mummer of questioning broke out from the others, and Robin had to urge them into silence before he could continue.
"It seems that Jinx didn't manage to get away as scot-free as we had hoped. Brother Blood had attached a microphone to Jinx in an effort to gather information," he explained.
"But what would he have found out about us?" Cyborg questioned.
"I agree, it's not like we talked about any upcoming missions, or plans of any kind," Raven added.
"It is not the Titans that Blood is interested in anymore," Sam cut in before Robin could explain.
"You mean…" Danny started, before trailing off.
Sam nodded, "He's after Danny and I. He probably thinks that he could use us against the Titans."
"And if he managed to get you into the ranks of the Hive, we would have next to no chance against you," Beast Boy whispered in dread.
"That's not true!" Sam cried, slamming her fists against the table. "The Titans are more powerful than we could ever hope to be."
"Beast Boy's right, Sam," Jinx conceded. "I fought you, and I couldn't even touch you. Every attack we could throw at you would have no chance of even hitting."
"While you may not have our strengths or our numbers, you have a better defense than we could ever hope for," Raven explained.
"So what do we do?" Danny asked with a sigh.
"We prepare to fight. I'm going to send out a call for any of the other Titans that can help to join us. Blood is not going to go down easily," Robin stated, taking charge once again.
Everyone around the table nodded with a sense of defeat, as if they had already lost the battle they knew was coming.
"And we try and find a way to get you two out of here before it comes crashing down," Robin told them.
"What?!" Sam cried out again, jumping to her feet. "We're not leaving you to fight Blood alone!"
"It's not like our leaving will stop him," Danny argued.
"I would rather we lose, than lose you to his ranks," Robin said, crossing his arms.
"If we stay, we have a better chance of winning," Sam explained.
Danny placed a hand on Sam's arm, urging her to sit back down. "Sam, we're not going to change his mind."
She dropped back into her sit with a huff of anger escaping her lips. "I don't like it."
"It doesn't matter if we like it; it's not our battle to fight."
"And how exactly do we get back?" she questioned now.
"If time travels between our two worlds at relatively the same speed, Tucker, Jess, and my family should know that we're gone by now."
"How does that help us?"
"By now, they have to have figured out what happened to us, and I'm sure they're working on a way for us to get back," Danny explained.
"You can't know that for sure," Raven told them. "Time may not be going to the same speed; for all we know you could so far only be missing for a few hours."
"Then, we're just going to have to get a hold of them," Sam stated, finally admitting defeat.
"Oh yeah. Lemme just whip out my cell and give Tucker a call," Danny said, his voice full of sarcasm.
"You know, if we changed the frequency, I bet you could do just that," Cyborg replied. "It might take some doing, but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts it would work."
Robin nodded. "Alright. Get that working and I'll put out the call," he instructed, rising to his feet.
Danny and Cyborg followed his lead and headed to Cyborg's workshop. Robin headed over to the main computer to put out the call for help.
Once the three boys had left, Raven took her mug and returned to her room.
"You guys want to play a video game?" Beast Boy asked after a couple of moments.
"Sure. I mean, what else are we going to do?" Jinx commented.
After Robin had put out the call, he joined Beast Boy, Jinx, and Sam. Unlike their normal games, this one was more sedated. There was no shouting or threats given in good fun.
It was a few hours before Danny and Cyborg returned to the common room. The pair placed some sort of machine on the kitchen table, as the others looked up from the game.
"We think we've got it working," Danny explained, as the others came over to the table, the game forgotten.
Sam wearily eyed all the wires coming out of Danny's cell phone. "Are you going to be able to undo that, or am I buying you a new phone when we get back?" she half-heartedly joked.
"I shouldn't have a problem undoing it all," Cyborg assured her before hitting some buttons on the machine. "Okay. Go ahead, Danny."
Danny found Tucker's number in the phone book and hit send. Everyone could hear it ring through the speaker phone.
Beast Boy shifted feet uneasily as the ringing continued.
"Maybe it didn't work," Jinx suggested, only to be cut off.
"Now you call us!" Jessica's voice shrieked. "You wind up in Jump City with the Titans, and it takes you four days to even think of calling us?!"
"Uhh," Danny tried as there were sounds of a struggle coming from the phone.
"You and Sam alright?" Tucker asked once the fighting had stopped.
"We're fine, Tuck. At least, for now."
"You found the microphone then?" Tucker sounded concerned. In the background Jess could be heard shouting and otherwise ranting and raving to herself.
"How did you know about that?" Jinx asked, finding her voice.
"Hey Jinx, I'm so sorry by the way. Who else is there?" Tucker asked.
"Sam, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Robin," Danny told him. "How did you know?"
"Jess found a fanfic with you guys in it. With all the similarities, we could only guess that it was true. But Blood planted it on Jinx to find out about you and Sam. He's got this mind control device and he's using it to form a small army of villains."
"All for us?" Sam asked.
"You guys may not be that strong compared to ghosts, but compared to humans you could certainly give them a run for their money," Tucker sighed.
"So we've really been gone that long?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, that means time is traveling at about the same rate between these worlds," Sam said, sounding like she didn't know whether to be relieved or not.
"Your parents are working on a portal to bring you back, if that's what you're wondering," Tucker supplied.
"Is it anywhere near being done?" Danny asked.
"It's really hard to say. Jazz says they've been working night and day on it, but it might still be a couple days. You guys can wait that long, right?"
"We can," Danny said with a nod.
"But what if Blood attacks before then?" Robin questioned.
"All we can do is fight with you guys," Sam stated.
"I don't like it," Robin told her.
"Don't even say it Tucker," Sam warned, knowing what their friend was thinking.
"What?" he replied, trying not to sound too guilty. "I was only going to suggest locking you guys up in the closet or something. From what I remember, you two like closets."
Sam and Danny both turned a bright shade of red.
"That's not important!" Danny stated, trying to calm his embarrassment.
"Yes. What is important is why is Blood only after Danny and Sam? Wouldn't it make more sense to go after us?" Robin wondered.
"Blood's already tried that, during your last fight. For some reason, it didn't work on you five," Tucker stated simply.
"How could that be?" Sam asked.
"Everyone that Blood has used it on has at least been partly evil, and the Titans aren't, at all. He thinks it might have better luck on you two because you aren't from this world."
"It could be possible," Cyborg conceded.
"Well, can you guys keep this phone open? That way I can report back to you when the portal is finished," Tucker asked.
"Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem," Cyborg told them.
"Good. I'll report in to your parents, and hopefully, they'll get it finished soon."
"We'll talk to you later Tucker," Danny replied.
"Later guys, and stay strong," Tucker said before hanging up.
"Well then," Sam sighed after another moment of silence.
Everyone went back to playing the video game that had been abandoned earlier and tried to muster some effort to make it enjoyable, but all they could think about was the dark cloud looming over them.
The sky was getting dark when the alarm sounded, signaling that someone had entered the Tower. All the Titans, Jinx, Danny, and Sam, stood ready for whatever it might be at the elevator doors. Their bodies were tense and their breathing slowed, preparing themselves for whatever it might be.
A second later, the elevator dinged with its arrival to the floor. As the doors slid open, the group moved to attack.
"Well, this is some greeting, y'all," Bumblebee stated with a grin on her face, causing the teens to stop in their tracks. Behind her were Aqualad, Speedy, and Mas y Menos.
"Dude, Aqualad! How's it been hanging?" Beast Boy asked, giving the boy a high five.
"Hola mi princesa hermosa," Mas and Menos told Starfire, with a kiss on the hand.
"So, we heard that Blood was making haste to take you all down," Speedy stated, getting right to the point of the matter.
"Yeah. Let's bring you up to speed," Robin said, ushering everyone into the common room.
Raven and Sam went about making everyone mugs of hot chocolate while Robin filled the Titans East in on everything that had happened since Danny and Sam showed up.
"Cuán triste..." The twins sighed at the story.
"So you are going back as soon as you're able?" Bumblebee asked.
"Yeah," Danny told her.
"We don't really belong here, and we can't just leave our friends, family, and our life," Sam added.
"Alright. I think I've fixed the system so we won't have another false alarm again," Cyborg said firmly, turning away from the control panel on the wall. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the alarm sounded again.
"What the—" Robin was cut off by the door to the common room opening to reveal a girl maybe a year or so younger than the rest of the group. She had long black hair and was dressed in a black tank top over a white and black leotard, long white gloves, fishnet stockings, and white boots that came up to her knees.
"Beast Boy!" she shouted, as she rushed over to him, pulling him into a hug and firmly planting a kiss on his lips.
Sam's gaze quickly turned to Raven, but the girl was still a blank slate without emotions.
"Beast Boy, who's this?" Robin asked his friend.
"Uh, this is Nudge. She joined the Doom Patrol after I had left for a while with her friend, Grunt, before they headed their own way," Beast Boy informed them, Nudge still hanging on tightly to him.
"Don't be so formal, BB," she laughed. "I'm his girlfriend."
--Author's Note-- Okay, now, before you start sending me hate mail about what happened, you'll just have to wait around until the next chapter. Also, Nudge isn't a made-up character, but I'm pretty sure that I'm not really following the character. She's from the Inter-Crisis Doom Patrol, appearing in JLA #94-99, roughly. For more info on that, check out this site ( www . mykey3000 . com / cosmicteams / cosmic / d.html#doom ) And scroll all the way to the bottom of the page. Hopefully that'll clear some stuff up for you, and there's also a picture of Nudge on there if you'd like to get a better idea of what she looks like. Hopefully I'll see you guys soon!