This episode was a big challenge but I definitely enjoyed it! It might be a bit confusing, though, because of all the mind control and that.
I squeeze my eyes shut before rolling over, freezing up when I find myself almost on top of another body. Quickly, I roll back, open my eyes, and sit up to see Robin next to me, thankfully still asleep. He soon begins to stir, groaning and sitting up as well.
"How did I... Hey! I'm hungry," he comments.
I rub the sleep out of my eyes as I wonder how I got here. This mystery is quickly overturned by my stomach rumbling, too loud for me to hear my own thoughts. The other Titans all stand up from their places too and begin to walk towards us.
"Me too," Raven chirps.
"Me three."
"Make it four!"
"But who is going to feed us?" Starfire questions. They all reach Robin and I, converging where we had slept.
"Hello, sweeties!" a voice calls merrily. I look up to find the familiar silhouette of Mother, no doubt smiling down at us. "Now that we've all had a nice nappy-wappy, what would my hungry little ones like to eat?"
"Pie!" Robin responds.
I smile widely and clap my hands in delight. "Pie!"
"Pie!"
"Pie!"
"Pie!"
"PIE!!" Cyborg shouts, holding up his fists.
With a nod and a small smile, Mother lifts her finger and six pies appear on the kitchen bench. My mouth begins to water as the smell calls to me, and I dash to greet it.
"Thank you, Mother Mae-Eye," we say in unison, before diving in. I hurriedly stuff the cherry pie in my mouth, still being careful not to spill it all over my face, clothes, and the bench.
Mother Mae-Eye almost cackles in response and begins to speak, and I listen hard to hear her over the hungry sounds of the Titans next to me. "You're ever so welcome, my children. And remember, Mother loves you."
~~~
My back rests against the kitchen bench and I try to sink into it, groaning as my stomach aches. Cyborg and Raven wolf pies down their throat on either side of me, with the occasional juice being flung onto my body. I scoop it up with my finger and lick it, washing my finger with a small, controlled flood of water over and over.
"Mmm... they're pie-licious!" Cyborg exclaims.
"Of course they are. Mother bakes them with love," Raven points out. I manage a feeble word in response before groaning once more.
"Yeah..."
"Now, children, eat as much as you like, but we mustn't be messy," comes Mother's chastising voice. "Cyborg needs his bibby-wibby. And little Raven has crumblies all over her face." She leans over and wraps a bib around Cyborg's face, before wiping the crumbs from around Raven's mouth.
"Thanks, Mother Mae-Eye," the pair respond. Our mother gives them a broad smile in response but my groaning diverts her attention.
"Mother, my stomach hurts," I whine, my eyes squeezed shut.
"Oh, not to worry!" Thankfully, Mother's voice gets closer and closer and I feel a glass in my hands. When I open my eyes I see a transparent liquid inside the tinted glass. "Mother's little Ember just needs a drink of water to make her feel better!"
I sip the water and feel the cool liquid rush down into my stomach, and I down the whole cup in a matter of seconds. "Thank you, Mother. I love you."
Mother's responding chirp brings a smile to my face and I watch as she walks off before closing my eyes in relief. Mere minutes pass and Robin, Beast Boy and Starfire rush into the room urgently.
"Trouble!"
Cyborg, Raven and I stand up and we all run towards the door, stopped by a cloud of pink mist. When it subsides, Mother is standing in the doorway, a disapproving glare on her face.
"And just where do my sweeties think they're going?"
"On a mission," Robin replies sternly. "We have to protect the city.
"It's our job," I add.
"Goodness, no. Too dangerous." Mother places a makeshift fence across the doorway. First, I eye the several other exits to the room, and then I hover in the air; my silent protest. "Mother does not approve. Besides, you don't really want to leave me, do you?"
"But..." Robin pouts, "no one's ever stopped us from going on missions before."
"Yeah," Beast Boy sighs.
"We've saved the city hundreds of times," Cyborg says sadly.
"And you never... ugh... you were never..." I look over to see Raven clutching her head, the colour of her eyes shifting from the familiar purple to a dark blue.
"Who wants pie?" Mother roars, and six pies appear above us. It shoves its way down my mouth and I moan at the pain.
"Ow."
My back slouches and so do the others' postures. Starfire appears from below, the pie stuck in her hair. "No. Our mission!" she whines.
"Oh, very well," Mother concedes, smiling brightly. "You can all go outside and play, but only once Mother says you're ready."
"Thank you, Mother," I say, and Mother walks over and grabs my cheek.
"You're most welcome, dearie," she replies, pulling at my cheek before walking off. I clutch the area as it turns red, smiling at Mother's retreating figure.
~~~
I fiddle with my thumbs as I stare at the ground; anywhere but in Mother's judging glance. The T-Car shines in my eyes, having been cleaned recently. I can't remember when. Next to me, Beast Boy looks around nervously and Mother clears her throat. I can hear Raven's slow, heavy breathing on my other side.
"Now let's see." At Mother's voice, I stand up straight and look up. "We'll need a woolly sweater in case Twinkle Star gets chilly." Mother waves her wand and a large, ugly sweater of red and green envelopes the alien girl.
Beast Boy begins to laugh but Mother's next words stop him abruptly. "A cute bunny suitie so Beastie Boo doesn't have to change into all those ugly animals." He frowns as a pink costume knits itself together on him, and I suppress a smile as Mother stands in front of me.
Mother hums and taps her thumb lightly, then smiles wickedly. "Thermals and gloves so my sweet Emby doesn't hurt herself or give herself a fever when using those nasty powers." She smiles at me and suddenly, an itchy material covers my limbs. I resist the urge to itch, knowing Mother will likely patronise me for it.
"And a pretty, pretty dressy-poo for Mother's little Rae-Rae." I look over to Raven, who wears a full outfit instead of her usual cloak: a small, yellow dress with matching ribbons in her plaited hair. "Just because you're evil on the inside, doesn't mean you can't look pretty on the outside." Looking at her, I find comfort in the thought that I didn't receive the short stick.
"I'm already dressed for if it rains, Mother," Cyborg says proudly. I clap for him and he smiles at me.
"Yes, dear, but did you remember to clean your room?" Cyborg's smile drops and he storms off, grumbling under his breath.
"The signal sounded fifteen minutes ago," Robin points out. I do a double take when I notice his neat, parted hair. "We need to get moving."
"What we need to do, young man, is get rid of all these dangerous toys." Mother waves her wand and Robin's communicator flies out of his hands, along with his birdarangs, smoke bombs, freeze bombs... I realise just how many various bombs he has when they're pulled out of his utility belt. "It's all fun and games until someone puts an eye out. There, now. Is everyone ready?"
Cyborg runs in and stands next to Robin. "Yes, Mother," we all say in unison. Mother claps her hands and gestures to the T-Car, and I smile as I dive in.
~~~
Mother drops us off at the mall before taking off, and I wave my goodbye. I look ahead to see H.I.V.E. staring with stunned expressions. "No way." They burst into heavy laughter, Gizmo even falling to the floor.
"Nice ears!"
"Love the hair."
"Who dressed you guys, your mother?"
On cue, the T-Car passes us once again, having taken a u-turn up ahead. "Play nice, dears! Mother will be back to pick you up in twenty minutes." Though I know she means well, I cringe at the bad timing, as do both Robin and Starfire next to me.
The second the door closes, Robin whips his hair back into its usual fashion. "Titans! Go!" he shouts. Gritting my teeth, I rip the sleeves of my thermals and leave them on the ground, my red skin from the itchiness showing.
"H.I.V.E. Five! Eat 'em alive!" Jinx calls, and the five of them jump up to attack us.
I fly into the air as Starfire does, but I already feel unsteady in the element. See-More grins as he runs towards us, flicking a button that changes the colour of his eye. I fall to the ground, allowing myself to land with a thud.
I look up as Starfire hovers above See-More. "You are not the only one with powerful eyes," she says forcefully.
See-More's smirk indicates me that his intentions aren't pure. "Yeah, but I bet I'm the only one with see-through vision!" he exclaims. His eye turns black and white and with a growl, I tackle him to the ground. My fist curls as my eyes turn brown, but no rocks form around it.
I don't let it get to me and sneer in his face, "Let's change that." I punch him in the eye three times before he gathers the strength to dodge my next blow. See-More's eye, still black and white from the see-through vision, venture down my figure and a kick that hits him below the stomach causes him to close this eye in pain.
Another figure pushes me not just off See-More, but against the furthest wall. I grimace and look up as Mammoth walks towards me. I hold out my gloved hands as my eyes turn red but the fire leaks through the opening at my wrists.
"What?"
Mammoth walks up to me and grabs me by the hair, whirling me around and smashing my head into the wall.
~~~
I shake my head frantically, pushing the headache away. Looking around the mall, my eyes widen. What are my friends wearing? I look down to my hands, seeing the yellow gloves that sit on them. Why am I wearing gloves?
When I look up, my priorities change drastically. Mammoth from H.I.V.E. stands in front of me, a ball of my hair in his fist. He whacks my head against the wall twice before throwing me to the floor.
I look up to see the other members of H.I.V.E. surrounding us, and I stand up before taking a step back. "Uh, you think they'd let us call time out?" Beast Boy asks, voice shaking. If the situation wasn't so dire, I would laugh at the bunny suit he's wearing.
"These children deserve more than a time out. They need a good sound spanking!" an old voice says from in front of me. I stand up straighter to see a green witch flying towards us. Her three eyes are accentuated by the thick, black brows that lie above them, and my eyes venture down as I take in her obscure clothing.
She sports a matching purple apron and hat, the latter also having black polka dots, each with an orange eye in the middle. A grey coat hides the purple winds behind her until she stands up. Her words only just register with me and I let out a nervous sound before ripping the gloves off my hands as I rise into the air quickly, backing away. The old woman only seems interested in attacking the H.I.V.E., though. Maybe she's on our team.
No. Run, my gut tells me, and I listen to it. Ignoring the other Titans' calls, I fly towards Titans Tower. I get about halfway before the finer details come into view, and I stop in the air.
"What the hell happened here?" I mutter. The tower more closely resembles the gingerbread houses we make every Christmas than our home. A large, colourful rainbow overhands, with lollipops sticking up from the ground. I blink furiously, but it seems I am not imagining it as the image refuses to disappear.
Sighing, I make my way towards the tower. When I reach it, I head inside and observe its interior. No lights fill the hallways, and I run my fingers over it to make sure I'm not hallucinating, tasting ginger when I put my finger to my lip absentmindedly. "How—?"
That witch. It had to be. Who else could have done this but an evil witch? The question of why she chose us didn't even float through my mind: if she's a villain, and we're heroes, it didn't faze nor surprise me that we were her targets. The only missing piece was the query of why she was attacking the H.I.V.E..
My time runs out. I hear a car in the garage but the engine quickly cuts out, and loud voices floated through the staircase and walls tell me I need to hide. Quickly. I run to my room and quietly close the door, letting out a relieved sigh as I lean against it.
My hands rake through my hair as it falls into my eyes. What am I supposed to do now? In order to save my friends, I first have to survive myself. Footsteps fill my ears and I hold my breath as they recede, releasing it when the sound disappears. A breath hitches from outside the door and my eyes widen as I back up from it.
The door opens and closes, and by the time it does Starfire is in my room. She holds her finger to her lips as she floats up and down, and my jaw drops as I grab her hand and pull her away from the entrance.
"What's going on?" I whisper harshly.
"The Mother Mae-Eye has the others under her spell and she is feeding them the enchanted pies that make their eyes purple and make them do what she says and she forbids us from going on missions together and—" Starfire rushes out quietly yet forcefully, showing no intention of stopping.
My eyes widen. "I'm sorry, what?!"
Starfire shakes her head softly. "I said, the Mother Mae-Eye has—"
"I heard what you said, Star. I just don't understand."
"I have a plan to save our friends. All you have to do is keep an eye on us and not get seen by the evil Mother."
"Not get seen by the..." I huff. "I don't follow, but I'll try my best. What's the plan?"
"Where's Mother's little Twinkle Star?" a voice echoes throughout the hall and Starfire looks back.
"I have to go," she says remorsefully. The alien princess begins to turn around but I grab her hand.
"No, you don't," I say determinedly. "Not yet. You have to tell me the plan, remember?"
Starfire's head turns unnaturally from me to the door, then back to me, then back to the door. It follows this pattern for quite some time until she bolts, and I am too slow to grab her. I know I can't shout after her but I'm so tempted to. I settle for creating a shield of water and earth around me and screaming my frustration.
Inside the shield, my hair flares and I allow myself to lose control quickly before calming down. Remembering what the alien said, I open the door and slink out, following the voices to find the others.
"Just look at 'em. So snuggly and warm." I creep down the gingerbread stairs and peer through the railing to see the evil witch that Starfire referred to as Mother Mae-Eye roll out dough and look inside an old-fashioned oven. "And they really do love me."
I catch Starfire's green eyes and shake my head furiously, in case she can see me. "Love, love, love. I love love. Love keeps children close, and love keeps Mother strong." The witch looks up and I duck behind the railing, praying that she didn't see me.
An agonising pause ensues, and then, "And now that they couldn't possibly love me more, I can extract all their sweet, nourishing affection by baking them with love." She finishes her monologue with a series of maniac cackling, and I grimace as my nails dig into my palms, my fists clenched tightly.
The witch whips around and I lift a rock into the air, ready to create a diversion. She grabs the dough, all rolled out, and places it in the oven before closing the door. I stare in confusion until it clicks: she's going to cook my friends.
I rise into the air and begin to pull the door open, and Starfire bursts through the oven's roof. "My friends are not pie!" she roars, shooting an abundance of beams through her eyes at the green woman.
"Starfire, stop!" comes Robin's voice from inside the furnace. I fly over Starfire and the witch, pulling the door open as I begin to reach it. It flies open and I move the alien princess out of the way before it hits her. "Ember? What are you doing here? Where'd you go?"
"Doesn't matter, Robin, but you guys have to listen to her." I point behind me to Starfire, just as the wicked witch glances at me. Her three eyes contort into a devilish glare
"Bad, bad little Emby! Mother's naughty girlie ran away from her family!" My limbs are tied to my body by sleek red ribbons and I am brought to the evil witch's face. "And Mother must punish!"
"Mother, wait!" Robin pleads. "She didn't mean to—"
"Nighty-night!" The sound of snoring surrounds me and I turn around as much as I can to see the four Titans in the furnace, instantly asleep. My eyes turn blue and I hold my palms towards them, hopefully creating a shield of water to protect them from the fire. It proves to be my last conscious action as Mother Mae-Eye whacks me across the face several times, the last one slamming my eyes shut.
~~~
"Well, well, well. Looks like you two naughty little girlies haven't been eating enough pie."
I open my eyes to find myself strapped in a green chair. I look over to see Starfire in the same position, already awake. A conveyor belt appears in front of me and the tape on my mouth disappears, per a wave of the witch's wand.
"You... zordmorking clorbag!" Starfire shouts, in between pies slapping both her and I in the face. "Your evil plans shall fail!"
"What evil plans, sweetie?" My eyes dilate as I veer my head to the left, the pie smacking the chair behind me. The largest pie yet appears on the conveyor belt and my eyes flare.
"No! You won't get away with—" My insults are muffled as the pie fills my mouth. I begin to choke, refusing to swallow it, but eventually I have no choice but to swallow the annoying delicious pie.
"Ember, no!" Starfire begs, and I close my eyes to shut her out, not bearing to disappoint her.
The witch smiles down at me and my perception of her flickers from a green, evil witch to a charming woman in pink. "Everything Mother does... she does out of love."
~~~
I smile at my mother. "Thank you for the delicious pie, Mother," I say. "I love you."
"Yes, Mother," Starfire adds, "I love you, too."
"That's my good wittle Emby and Twinkle Star," Mother says, beaming down at us. "Now you can have all the pie you like!" She disappears, and I grab another pie greedily.
"Never have I been so thankful to have nine stomachs," Starfire comments. I look over as an entire pie comes out of her mouth, undigested, and it hits the ground with a clatter.
"What are you doing, Starfire?" I ask curiously, stuffing more pie in my mouth as I speak.
"Friend Ember, please listen to me," Starfire says. "You have to stop eating the pie. It is damaging your brain and making you think the evil witch is your mother, but she is not—"
"Starfire," I chastise calmly, causing the girl to look at me. "I think I'd know if she wasn't my mother. She's yours, too."
Starfire breaks free of her restraints and tears mine off me. "Come on, Ember! Please!" she asks of me. "You have to remember! You have to—" She stops talking and thinks, before hovering in front of me. "Forgive me."
"Wha—?" Starfire covers my mouth with her hand before banging my head against the back of the chair.
~~~
I glance up at Starfire and rub my head, which hurts like hell. "Why does my head hurt so much?" I mutter to myself.
"I am sorry," Starfire explains. "I had not choice but to hit your cranium so that you would see Mother as the evil witch that she truly is."
"Where are the others?" I mumble, a soft groan escaping my lips with the words. Starfire grabs my hand and pulls me into the air before letting go, and I let out a short yelp of surprise before steadying myself.
"Please, be quiet."
"Well, you shoulda thought about that before you dropped me," I state. It occurs to me that Starfire avoided my question, intentionally or not, and I narrow my eyes. "Where are the others?"
"Mother has trapped them in a pie to bake," the redhead explains. "We have to save them!"
Starfire flies off, stopping before the corner. I almost bump into her but stop myself just in time, and peer around the corner. Mother walks off, humming a tune as she walks up the stairs.
"Coast is clear," I whisper, before zooming away to the others. In an instant, I reach the kitchen room and find the others. A blast from Starfire's starbolts cracks the furnace in half, and I slowly lower the top half to the floor so it doesn't make any noise.
Robin gasps, and I whirl around to face him. His eyes are purple and his hair is parted, and I note to tease him about it later. "You broke Mother's cookies," he whispers.
"Ohhhhh..." Raven and Cyborg muse.
"Please, friends, you must believe me!" Starfire exclaims, floating down next to me. "A bump on the cranium has allowed me to see Mother for what she really—"
My eyes turn brown and four rocks appear behind each of the Titans. Starfire cuts herself off when the rocks collide with their heads, resulting in each Titan rubbing their skull painfully.
"What did you do that—?" Robin begins to ask, voice cracking. He looks up, eyes white, and I smile and wave at him, my eyes still brown but fading to their natural colours. "Um, why am I in a giant pie?"
"Why am I in a bunny suit?"
"Why am I in a dress?"
"Who's been redecorating my Tower?"
"Uh, perhaps we could explain later," Starfire says fearfully, and I follow her gaze to an army of gingerbread men with candy canes.
"Because this day couldn't get any weirder, they said," I mutter, facing the army. Before Robin even speaks, the army is suspended midair. They wriggle about, with some even throwing their candy canes as spears, but I stop the weapons before they reach us and throw them to the back wall where they crumble.
"Titans! Go!"
Raven has the same idea as me, and as I continue the action with more of the gingerbread men, she does the same. It seems as though we're creating an avalanche of crumbs. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
The gingerbread men soon begin to run away from us, and Raven and I exchange a victorious smile. I watch, smile fading, as the army creates one large gingerbread man; the ultimate final boss, as Beast Boy would say.
We all turn to look at the shapeshifter, and, catching the memo, he transforms into a dinosaur the same size as the one-man army. With a loud roar, he takes a gigantic bite out of its head and turns back to human form, patting his stomach.
Before we know it we're walking out the door, the witch's creation well-and-truly behind us. "Dude! If there's candy everywhere, how come our house smells like old lady?" Beast Boy asks.
"I still don't get how we got into this mess," Cyborg remarks.
I don't react and continue to walk forward behind Robin, but Raven's words make us all stop. "I remember seeing Mother for the first time, right after Cyborg brought home a pie."
When Robin whips around, I'm not surprised by his sudden entry into 'interrogation mode'. "Where did you get the pie?" the Boy Wonder asks slowly.
"Um..." Cyborg scratches his neck nervously but one glance from Robin is all it takes for him to launch into his narrative. "I was walking past a dark alley at night and there was this weird, old gypsy who says, 'Mystical items are reasonable prices'. So I'm like, 'Cool! What should I get? Brain in a jar? Monkey's paw? Ooh, pie!' Seemed like a good idea at the time."
"When is that ever a good idea?" I ask, receiving a shrug in response.
"All right, Titans," Robin says. "We know how Mother Mae-Eye got into our lives. Now we need to think of a way to get her out."
"Oh. I'm afraid there is no way out, sweetie." I jump at the voice, glancing up to see the three-eyed, green version of Mother Mae-Eye that I'm sure is the real version. "Mother will always be here to take care of you... whether you like it or not!"
"Titans! Move!"
"You ungrateful little monsters!" Mother spits. "I treated you like my own children, and this is how you repay me?!" I roll away from a blast of her pink magic, but Beast Boy gets caught in it and is trapped in green jelly. I have no choice but to continue to avoid her blasts and take out the gingerbreads.
"I cooked, I cleaned, I slaved over a hot stove..." Starfire is turned into a magnet and stuck to the fridge, and I glare at Mother Mae-Eye.
"Yeah, before you threw them in it!" I spit.
"I tied your shoes and wiped your filthy faces!" Cyborg and Raven are trapped in jars, and one of them hits me in the back. The jars stop right before the wall and I scramble to my feet, moving over to Robin. We stand back to back, taking on the army around us.
"I took care of you, and I did it all because of love!" A string of candy reaches out to Robin as we split, and my jaw opens. I barrel towards the Boy Wonder, pushing him out of the way as the candy seizes me and carries me towards the others, who are tied up as well.
I watch as Robin grits his teeth and continues fighting. "I love you, children..." Robin is caught from behind with another piece of candy and brought up to the rest of us, squirming frantically, "and I'm gonna make you love me, no matter how much it hurts!"
Robin grabs ahold of a birdarang from his utility belt and saws through one strand of the candy. "Let us go, you crazy—"
"Sorry, dear. You didn't say, 'Mother, may I?' " Mother continues, seemingly unaware of Robin's birdarang. "Now open wide!"
A piece of pie floats from the entire concoction, before hurtling towards Robin. At the last second, he grabs it by the handle. "Lady, you're not my mother," he comments icily, before throwing the pie back towards the witch with all the momentum he can gather.
"Ow! My eyes!"
Mother turns away, allowing us all the liberty of freeing ourselves. I grab a sharp rock and it lands in my hand, allowing me to do what Robin did and saw through my restraints.
"That's it! You're all grounded!" the green woman shouts. She resurrects the gingerbreads, and I'm close enough to count their fanged, yellow teeth.
I raise both fists and hold them together challengingly in the direction of our adversaries. "Mother, may I?" I ask sweetly, before water leaves my fists. The gingerbreads fall flat on the ground, soaked, and just as the last one falls Robin grabs my hand.
"Ember, we have to go!"
"You don't have to tell me twice." I don't even glance once more at Mother before disappearing with the other Titans. My legs can barely keep up but I stick with running, allowing me to skid to a halt when Mother Mae-Eye appears at the end of the hall.
We all turn around and run the other way, and I thank my past self for destroying the gingerbread men when I did. Pink mist clouds the floor and I find myself falling. I close my eyes before halting the boys and myself in the air, which takes an excruciating effort. With a nod to Starfire and Raven, I am left with only Robin to take care of, and I lift us both into the air slowly.
When we meet the floor, I sigh to find no sign of the wicked witch. Quickly, I land Robin on the floor and fly down the stairs, finding a large candy cane and bolting the double doors of the entrance shut with it. A crash tells me that Mother Mae-Eye was guarding outside and heard the act.
"I never knew I could feel this much hatred for a pastry," Raven remarks, and I look over to see the other Titans sitting in the pie.
"Pie, pie, pie! I hope I never see another pie for as long as I live!"
"Actually, I could use a little pie right now," Robin says, diving into the pie and rubbing it all over his face. I share a confused glance with Starfire and lean over the edge, grabbing Robin's shoulder. He looks up at me and smiles, freezing up when he notices my frown. "What?"
"What are you doing?" I ask him, and he shakes his head softly.
"If pie is what got her into the Tower, then pie is how we're going to get her out," he explains determinedly.
We all stare at him curiously, and the silence is broken by Beast Boy grabbing a handful of pie and throwing it at Cyborg. The mechanic male shoves some of the filling in the shapeshifter's face, and I catch Raven rolling her eyes before applying the same red filling.
More hammers on the door cause me to dive into the pie head first, and Starfire does the same. Robin pulls us up and hands us both pies as the door breaks open.
"Oh, children! Come out, come out, wherever you are! ... Huh?"
I plaster on the fakest smile I can. "We're so sorry we made you angry, Mother," Beast Boy says.
"We don't know what came over us."
"But then we found some of your delicious pies."
"And now, we feel all better."
"We hope you can forgive us," I add, my cheeks hurting from smiling, before adding, "We love you, Mother Mae-Eye," alongside the others.
"Please..." Starfire says, standing up and extending her hands, "may I have the hug?"
Mother smiles, getting closer to us. "Of course, sweetie. Mother always has a hug for her little—"
"NOW!!" Robin commands. Beast Boy jumps up and covers Mother's face, and Starfire swoops in and grabs the spoon before she can use it. Raven holds the pie in place and Starfire throws the spoon to me. I grunt at the weight before performing a wand like motion, and the pie takes on the mannerisms of a black hole.
Mother Mae-Eye screams as she begins to get sucked in, and before I know it everything but her head is gone. "NOBODY LOVES ME!!" she roars, her final utterance before disappearing. The pie closes the black hole and sits on the ground humbly, and we all stare over it.
"So... she's trapped in the pie?" Beast Boy asks. Silkie walks up and sniffs the pie before walking away.
"Yeah, sure, why not?" Raven replies, sarcasm natural to the cloaked girl.
"And what are we to do with this evil confection?"
"We could eat it," Cyborg says. I look at him and he shrugs. "I'm just kidding! Mostly."
"I have a better idea," Robin states.
I look up at him slowly. "Does that involve—?"
"Yep." He grins at me and picks the pie up. "Hey, we can always intervene if H.I.V.E. show up to a bank robbery in dresses and bunny suits."
"And weird hair," I pipe up.
Robin tilts his head. "That was a cheap shot," he states, and I smile back as widely as I can without my cheeks hurting. This proves to be not far, and I settle for two more seconds of pain. "My point is, we won't let anything happen to them. Here you go, Cyborg." He places the pie in the mechanic teen's hand and I lean forward slightly so that he can look at both me and the pie at the same time.
"Don't eat it."
Raven nods from beside me. "That needed to be said."
Holy moly, fifty chapters is upon us, ladies and gents. Thank you all for your support—wouldn't be here without you. That was so generic but it had to be said. <3