Pairing Off by FreddyLloyd (PG)
Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: "Despite the title, basically no romantic content. They're fighters, not lovers. Of course, Conner and Cassie are just this side of PDA."
Length: 5,300 words
Author on LJ: freddylloyd
Author Website: profile on FF.net
Why this must be read:
A look at the team just after "A Kid's Game": Vic, Kory, Gar, Tim, Cassie, Kon, Bart. The characterization is spot-on and subtle. The action is both precise and exciting. The team dynamic is excellent. Everything that's great about Teen Titans is in this fic.
“Training time!” I called, banging my hands together for silence. “Morning session, we spar. One on one.”
I looked around at the Titans, trying to act like all the best football coaches I’d ever had stuffed into one can. Kory and Gar nodded back, ready as usual. And the new kids?
Bart was gazing around the gym, tugging on the folds of his new yellow costume. Cassie and Conner were peeking at each other and blushing when their eyes met. Robin was listening, I knew-he was always listening. But that damn mask gave no sign of what he was thinking.
I raised my voice and went on. “You all see this red line?” I walked along the circle painted on the gym floor, ten yards across. “Inside this line is the sparring ring. I’m gonna call two names at random. Those two Titans go into the ring. I yell go, you try to push the other one out. There are bio-sensors in the ceiling. When they beep, they tell me who’s out of the ring, and the match is over. If there’s any disagreement, the sensors are law, and I am God.”
“And I am dog,” said Gar, popping into the form of a green St. Bernard. Someday I will kill him.
“We understand, Vic,” said Cassie. Everyone else nodded, even Bart. Conner flexed his muscles.
“Sparring isn’t about showing off,” I warned. “It’s about learning strengths, weaknesses, fighting styles-yours and your teammates’. So when you’re not in the ring, you watch. At lunch we’ll compare notes. You all got that? No questions?”
Robin raised his hand. “Can we try to keep away from each other’s faces? If I get a fat lip, I have to make up a story to explain it, and I don’t like that.”
Dick had never made that sort of rule for the Titans. Back in football, anyone who asked for soft treatment would get ridden like an old mule. But this Robin’s friends just nodded.
Pairing Off
Pairing: "Despite the title, basically no romantic content. They're fighters, not lovers. Of course, Conner and Cassie are just this side of PDA."
Length: 5,300 words
Author on LJ: freddylloyd
Author Website: profile on FF.net
Why this must be read:
A look at the team just after "A Kid's Game": Vic, Kory, Gar, Tim, Cassie, Kon, Bart. The characterization is spot-on and subtle. The action is both precise and exciting. The team dynamic is excellent. Everything that's great about Teen Titans is in this fic.
“Training time!” I called, banging my hands together for silence. “Morning session, we spar. One on one.”
I looked around at the Titans, trying to act like all the best football coaches I’d ever had stuffed into one can. Kory and Gar nodded back, ready as usual. And the new kids?
Bart was gazing around the gym, tugging on the folds of his new yellow costume. Cassie and Conner were peeking at each other and blushing when their eyes met. Robin was listening, I knew-he was always listening. But that damn mask gave no sign of what he was thinking.
I raised my voice and went on. “You all see this red line?” I walked along the circle painted on the gym floor, ten yards across. “Inside this line is the sparring ring. I’m gonna call two names at random. Those two Titans go into the ring. I yell go, you try to push the other one out. There are bio-sensors in the ceiling. When they beep, they tell me who’s out of the ring, and the match is over. If there’s any disagreement, the sensors are law, and I am God.”
“And I am dog,” said Gar, popping into the form of a green St. Bernard. Someday I will kill him.
“We understand, Vic,” said Cassie. Everyone else nodded, even Bart. Conner flexed his muscles.
“Sparring isn’t about showing off,” I warned. “It’s about learning strengths, weaknesses, fighting styles-yours and your teammates’. So when you’re not in the ring, you watch. At lunch we’ll compare notes. You all got that? No questions?”
Robin raised his hand. “Can we try to keep away from each other’s faces? If I get a fat lip, I have to make up a story to explain it, and I don’t like that.”
Dick had never made that sort of rule for the Titans. Back in football, anyone who asked for soft treatment would get ridden like an old mule. But this Robin’s friends just nodded.
Pairing Off