Ships Adrift in a Strong Tide

Sticks and Stones

Cerdian was having a bad day. True, he wasn't Mar'i's favorite guy on a good day, but he was decent company and he had good taste in movies.

Today, though, he wasn't good company. He was crotchety. It was probably because of the oil spill he'd been helping his father and other Atlanteans clean up all weak.

Lian was the usual leader of the Titans. She wasn't in today, though, which meant that Damian took up the role. He'd probably be leader if it weren't for the fact that the west-coast base caused too many conflicts with his duties back in Gotham.

Maybe Cerdian was used to being in charge of himself and the other teenage Atlanteans without being ordered around at the spill. Maybe the fact that he didn't see eye-to-eye with Damian made it that much worse. Long story short, Damian told Cerdian to zig and he zagged. The zag messed with the entire operation and Gemini got away.

Jai, Iris, Jade, Luke, and Zatara stayed out of the way upon coming back to the tower, but Mar'i didn't want Damian to go too hard on Cerdian. Which is how she ended up in the middle of their argument.

"You not only screwed up a very basic, easy to follow plan, but you put the team in jeopardy."

"I could have frozen her on my own, you didn't need to throw your fancy gadgets around to do it." Cerdian scowled at the fifth Robin. "Besides, all your stupid bat-toys look the same, I didn't know it was an ice-'rang."

"You didn't need to know. All you needed to do was hang back. You couldn't wait for five seconds, and now there's a shape-shifting, psychopathic–"

"Aw, c'mon, D," Mar'i soothed, and both boys broke their mutual glares to frown at the half-Tamaranean. "We're not back home. The guys here need more direction from you in the field. It's not as though–"

"Shut it, you pupil-less alien freak," Cerdian growled. "I can handle Boy Asshat on my own."

Mar'i froze, the words of her friend stinging more than he could know they would.

"What did you call her?" Damian growled softly, the way a lion might growl before it goes in for a real roar.

"Wait, Damian, don't—"

Her attempt at peacekeeping was ignored by both boy's. Cerdian, having successfully stuck a nerve with Damian, raised his chin defiantly and clearly repeated, "No-eyed alien freak bitch sticking her–"

Before either Mar'i or Cerdian could react, Damian darted forward and sent two strong punches to the Atlantean prince's face. He grabbed the scruff of Cerdian's unitard and in the same soft but dangerous voice, he challenged, "What did you say about her?"

Letting blood from his damaged nose drip down his face, Cerdian sneered and said, "Fake tan skinned, slutty—"

With an angry shout, Damian pounded Cerdian face-first into the wall, smashing his forehead into the reinforced steel and punching him in the stomach.

"Stop it, Damian!" Mar'i shouted, using her alien strength to pull him away from the beaten boy. Cerdian leaned on the wall, wiping in an undignified manner at his nose and holding his stomach.

"Say something else, fish-breath, I implore you. I'd love a good reason to knock you around."

"That's enough," Mar'i hissed, pushing him behind her. He dug his heels into the floor but without using a weapon or tool to get the edge, he couldn't stop her from carting him around thanks to her inhuman strength. She pushed him toward the doors, grabbing a box of tissues as she passed it and throwing it at Cerdian before dragging the struggling Boy Wonder into the hallway and locking the door behind her.