Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, it belongs to DC, etc etc, you know the deal.
Pre-read by KrabKakes.
Well, as promised, her is the Prologue and the first Chapter of The Despair Game, the sequel to Homecoming. I couldn't be bothered posting them separately, because really, the Prologue isn't all that long. These chapters are going to be longer than the chapters in Homecoming because I have a lot more ideas for this one. Anyway, enough of the boring Authors Note - enjoy.
The Despair Game
Prologue
Somewhere on the outskirts of Jump city, inside one of the many abandoned warehouses, stood a tall, muscular, dark figure. Next to him was a smaller figure, slender and beautiful. These two figures were Master and Apprentice.
Slade Wilson, the tall, dark figure, was an aging man of around 40 years. He had short grey hair and a black eye patch covering his eye socket where once, a long time ago, his eye resided.
He is one of the deadliest men alive today.
In his youth, Slade was one of the armies most decorated soldiers. One day, he was approached and agreed to be a test subject for a medical experiment in resisting truth serums. However, what he didn't know was that the experiment was in fact a government attempt to covertly create meta-humans. After the experiment Slade was left bed ridden for quite some time, but eventually he recovered.
The experiment, unbeknownst to anyone but Slade, gave him enhanced strength and heightened reflexes. Also, instead of using the normal ten percent of his brain - like any other human – he is capable of using ninety percent, making him a master tactician. Indeed, Slade Wilson is a force to be reckoned with.
The slender figure, his Apprentice, was a young teenaged girl of around seventeen. She had the most gorgeous, long sparkling silver hair and the widest, sweetest smile one could ever imagine. Her slender body was agile and she was an expert in martial arts and the use of a Bo staff. She was Slade's new Apprentice, and with his help, would become a very talented fighter. Even more than she already was.
"Very good." Slade murmured, turning to face his Apprentice. "You have remarkable speed, agility and strength. Very good indeed. I'm proud of you."
"Thank you." His Apprentice replied, bowing to him.
"You will be more than a match for the Titans." Slade announced, stepping closer and closer to the mysterious girl. "Have you been studying them like I instructed my child?"
"Yes sir."
"Good." Slade stopped before her, holding up his hand and stroking her face almost lovingly. She closed her eyes and leant into his touch, almost savouring it. "Then it is time. Time for you to become what you were meant to be."
Slade raised a hand, pointing to something hidden in the darkness.
"Kill him."
"Yes sir." His Apprentice left his side, disappearing into the darkness.
"Kill him and take your place at my side." Slade continued, not even turning to watch his Apprentice. "Your rightful place at my side…"
A terrified yell came from inside the shadows, followed by harsh breathing and eventually the slumping thudding sound of a dead body hitting the cold hard floor, echoing throughout the warehouse.
The sound of footsteps, approaching Slade, and his Apprentice came into view again, carrying a dark piece of black cloth in her hand. She held it up and Slade inclined his head, smirking.
"Very good." Slade turned to face her. "You are ready. You know what to do."
His Apprentice raised the dark cloth and pulled it over her head, tying it in place. The mask was completely black; the eye lenses a haunting crimson red. It fell short of her mouth, leaving the lower half of her face open. Her dark red lips pulled up into a wickedly sweet smile.
"You are the Ravager now my child." Slade approached her, tilting her face up to look her in the eye, through the red lenses, smiling. "And you have made me very proud."
"Thank you father."
Chapter One
Garfield Logan sighed and rolled over in his bed, stretching out all four limbs and groaning to himself. He kicked his sheet away from him and sat up, rubbing his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. Inside the late teens room, and indeed, the rest of the Tower as well, the heat was swelling and growing irritating. Gar sighed once again, fanning himself with one hand and shuffling out of bed.
"Too hot." He groaned to himself, getting up and walking over to the door. A late night snack and a cold beverage should do nicely. And if that failed, a good glass of cold water over the head was sure to cool him down some.
He was practically naked, save his boxers - which had little red hearts on them - as he made his way down to the common room and the kitchen area. He didn't even think to put something on top. For one, it was way too hot for that. He was even sweating wearing nothing but his boxers. No sir, he was not going to be putting a top on any time soon.
As he traversed the tower Gar let his mind wander. It had been a week since he had discovered Terra's secret, and the blonde haired girl still did not know of her origins. And if he had his way, it'd stay that way. He didn't want the poor girl beating herself up over something that no longer mattered to him. Plus, he had no idea how his fellow Titans would react. Raven especially.
Raven.
Yeah, he was still infatuated with the girl. How could he not be? How could anyone not be? She was amazing. She was strong, beautiful, kind (in her own way) and just plain amazing. It was hard to explain. Something about her just drew him to her. He couldn't help it. Maybe it was the way she kept control of her emotions all that time, just so that the world would be safe. He couldn't even imagine what that must be like. How do you deal with something like that? That was why he thought she was the strongest person he knew, both in body and mind. That was why he loved her.
He vowed to himself that he would do everything in his power to make her happy. He tried to make her smile, to see her wonderful smile. It was one of the most important things in his life. Making Raven happy - even if she couldn't show it. He wanted to do anything he could to make her happy, to make life better for her. That's why he would always be by her side, no matter what. That's why he went inside her and destroyed the Trigon Seed so that she could feel again. He would give his life for her - without a doubt.
It was a busy day for the Titans tomorrow anyway. They had a new team member arriving. Bart Allen, aka Impulse. He hoped Dick didn't want them all to be involved in Impulses first training session. He didn't know if he would be able to stay awake, not after this hellish night. It was just too hot to sleep.
Gar pressed the switch to open the door blocking him from the common room, and more importantly, the kitchen. After dark, Vic shut of all of the Titans systems down, except the security ones of course, which meant that all the automatic doors were no longer automatic. Hence pressing the switch.
As he made his way into the kitchen he didn't even notice the floating figure over by the Tower's main window. He went straight for the fridge, opening it and spilling light into the darkness of the room. He pulled out a carton of orange juice and some tofu before turning and plopping it down on the kitchen's counter, shutting the fridge door with his foot. He began to go to work on making himself a Tofu sandwich when a voice announced the other person's presence in the room.
"Hello Garfield."
Gar let out a terrified squeak and jumped, dropping the knife he was holding and raising his arms to cover his head. A soft laugh, almost not a laugh at all, came to his ears and he lowered his hands to take in the sight of a smiling Raven. He blushed.
"Raven." He rubbed the back of his neck, grinning with embarrassment. "Dude, you scared me."
"Really." Sarcastic - as always.
"What are you doing up this late?" he asked, trying to lead her away from his embarrassment. She wasn't going to let him off that easy.
"Not much." Raven was still smiling. "Do you need to go change those?" She motioned down to his boxers.
"No!" he shot back, covering himself and shooting her a mock glare. "You didn't scare me that much!"
"Yeah." Raven made her way over to the stove and began to boil some water for her Herbal tea.
Gar went back to making himself a sandwich, still blushing. Damn Raven and her sarcastic remarks, he thought. Need to change my shorts, yeah right; I'm not a baby. He shook his head. She didn't mean anything by it. Just wish I could get the better of her just once.
"So what are you doing up?"
He almost jumped again, not expecting her to start up a conversation with him.
"Uh…" Gar blinked, and Raven gave him an impatient look. "Sorry. Ah, I couldn't sleep. It's too hot, you know?"
"Mmm." Raven had her back to him, making her tea, and he watched as her hair brushed against her cloak as she went about her business. Even the back of her head was beautiful.
"You didn't answer my question." Gar said, turning back to his own task. "What you doing up?"
"Thinking." Raven said, simply. Gar was silent for a while, and Raven decided to continue. "It's nice at this time. Quiet. It's good for thinking."
"What were you thinking about?" Gar asked, unable to hide how curious he was.
"That's private." Raven replied.
"Sorry."
Stupid Beast Boy! He mentally slapped himself. Sticking your nose into her business.
"It's okay." Raven interrupted his mental berating. "So…you didn't see me on your way in?"
"Oh." Gar put the finishing touches on his sandwich and took a seat, taking a small bite before replying. "No. It's dark in here, and you don't exactly wear bright colours."
Raven smiled to herself. "Yeah."
"You saw me?" Gar asked, around a mouthful of tofu.
"I didn't need too." Raven brought over her cup of herbal tea and sat across from him, cupping the hot beverage and inhaling its scent. "I could have felt you coming a mile away. Your emotions are like a fog horn."
"Oh." Gar blushed. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Raven assured him, taking a sip. "It could be worse. You could be Kory." Raven mock shuddered. Gar laughed.
"Is it bad?" Gar eventually asked. "Feeling emotions I mean."
"Not all the time." Raven replied, after thinking about it for a while. "Depends. Kory is mostly happy, so it's not that bad. It gets a little weird when she's with Dick though." She shuddered again, with a smile this time. Gar laughed. "Vic's mostly calm, but sometimes he can get out of hand, mostly during fights, when his emotions take control. I'm normally too busy fighting myself to notice though. It's your emotions that are the weirdest, I have to say."
Gar frowned.
"No." Raven took a sip. "I didn't mean it like that. It's like everything about you is instinctual. Your animal side is always affecting everything. Your emotions are kind of jittery. It's strange."
"Erm." Gar rubbed the back of his neck again. "Sorry."
"It's not your fault." Raven tried to ease him. "It isn't that bad. Just sometimes it's a little…it sometimes gives me a headache."
Gar frowned again.
"Don't worry about it though." Raven continued. "It's okay. I've learnt to handle it."
Gar wasn't assured. He was giving Raven headaches? Why was he just finding this out now? He didn't like it. He wanted to help her, but instead he's been hurting her? Not good. Wait, she didn't mention Dick…
"Wait." Gar looked up from staring at his half eaten sandwich. "You didn't mention Dick."
"Dick's different." Raven replied.
"Different?"
"Yeah," Raven paused, thinking, and taking a sip of her tea. "I don't feel his emotions."
"Why?" Gar was curious. Very curious.
"He's learnt how to keep his emotions suppressed." Raven finally replied. "It's like a mind block, but with your emotions. He's like a blank slate to me. It's soothing, really."
"Oh." Gar was feeling a little jealous now, but he tried to suppress it. He didn't do very well.
"You're jealous?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.
Gar blushed. "Well, you see, I…" The conversation would have to be delayed though.
"Mornin' Y'all." A boisterous voice announced the arrival of Victor Stone. He walked with a loud clunk on each step over to the kitchen counter, leaning over Gar's shoulder and sniffing at the half eaten sandwich, before his face twisted into a grimace. "Eww man. When are you gonna eat some real food?"
"Real food?" Gar fumed. "Tofu is real food! It's better than those poor animals you're always eating!"
"Oh can it you little grass stain."
"Me? Why don't you can it ya over grown tin can!"
"Tin Can? Oh dawg you done it this time!"
Raven just sat and watched with a small smile as the friendly fight between Gar and Vic escalated further. By the end of the morning she had forgotten all about the surge of jealousy in Gar.
(----)
Jump City's train station was flooded with people, both boarding and disembarking. Some even waiting for friends and family to arrive. One particular teenager was moving gracefully between the crowds, or trying to. A rough shoulder smashed into his side and sent him reeling, where he was knocked backwards by another.
This particular teenager was short for his age, had unkempt brown hair that was around mid length and fell all around his head in every direction. He had the strangest golden eyes - like an eagles – and big feet. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans and was currently shouldering a rucksack and attempting to drag a suitcase full of clothes behind him.
His name was Bart Allen, aka Impulse.
Bart sighed and sagged onto a nearby railing as he finally got outside the busy train station, taking a few deep breaths. He looked at his watch and then off into the distance, where Titans Tower stood tall and majestic. He was late. No surprise. If only he didn't have to drag this stupid suitcase with him, he could have just run all the way here. Now he had to find a taxi to take him to the Titans underground transport system that would get him to the island.
"Great." He muttered to himself as he began to once again drag his suitcase behind him, holding out a hand to call a taxi.
Thankfully it didn't take him long and he finally arrived at the underground transport building. He entered and made his way down the cold stone steps. A small hand sized scanner was attached to the wall by a blue door, which was locked. He pressed his hand to the scanner.
"D.N.A. scan complete." A metallic voice chimed. "Bart Allen, you have been cleared for access to Titans tower."
"Finally." He muttered, walking through the now open door. A large metal pod was waiting for him on the other side, the door sliding open just as he entered.
"Please step in and buckle up, thank you." The same metallic voice chimed. He gave the ceiling a mock salute and stepped into the pod, the door swishing shut behind him. A churning sound followed by the whoosh of water rushing past him and he was on his way.
Reaching the other side, Titans Island, the door swished open again and he stepped out. He proceeded to make his way up a similar set of stone steps until he finally reached another door, one that opened onto the rocky island of the Titans. A small path led up to the front door. He made his way there.
He stood outside the front door, wondering if he should just knock or walk in. Raising his hand, he prepared to knock, when the door opened and a golden angel almost collided right into him. He jumped back with a cry. The angel did the same, charging up two emerald balls in each hand.
"Uh." Bart smiled shakily. "Sorry."
The angel – or on closer inspection, girl – dropped her hands and dissipated the two emerald orbs before looking down at him (for she was considerably taller than him) with a confused smile. She had long flowing Auburn hair and her skin was a strange orange, almost golden, colour. She was wearing a purple one-piece costume that consisted of a bikini style top and a very short mini skirt, connected in the middle, covering her belly button. Her hands where covered by gauntlets and thigh high boots adorned her very long legs. In other words: she was a goddess. He only knew her by the name Starfire.
"You are Bart Allen?" she asked in a soft, angelic voice. Defiantly suits the appearance, he thought with a blush.
"Uh." He nodded, words failing him. She smiled.
"Wondrous." She clapped her hands together, beaming. "We were beginning to think you had gotten lost. Come." Starfire grabbed his hand and suitcase (lifting it like it was nothing but a feather!) and dragged him into the tower.
She flew so fast he didn't even have time to take in his surroundings until they eventually stopped in a large rectangle shaped room with a very large window. In fact, the whole wall was a window. Nice. A kitchen area was to his right and a large round table and a few chairs where situated on his left. Before him was a large T.V screen and circular couch, where the two other teens currently sat.
"Friends." Starfire called, moving over to where the two other teenagers sat playing what looked like the newest racing game for the Gamestation X. He wasn't a fan really. The two teenagers paused the game and turned to look at them.
The one on the left was the shortest. He had forest green skin, matching hair - just a slightly darker shade – and green eyes. He was obviously wearing his costume – a tight fitting white outfit with purple sections around his neck, upper arms and waist. Bart couldn't see his footwear but he guessed they were purple too. He was right. Bart also knew that this was Garfield Logan, aka Beast Boy.
The boy next to him was Victor Stone, aka Cyborg. Most of his body was composed of metal parts, the blue circuitry showing through in some areas. He was an African American and had a short tuft of black hair growing on the right side of his head – in other words, the human part. Bart knew him from when he came to see him a few weeks back.
"Hey Bart!" Vic greeted, giving him a smile. He smiled back.
"Hey." Bart dropped his rucksack down onto the floor and approached them. "This that new racing game…what's it called?"
"Total Speed Vol2." Gar supplied. Bart grinned, yeah, he was right.
"Yeah." Bart leant over them as the two turned back to the game, watching as they went back to playing. "I prefer the new X-box console."
Gar made a funny noise in the back of his throat and mock spat to the side. "Traitor."
Bart laughed. "Wish I could have brought it with me." He said, almost jumping as Starfire appeared at his side without making a sound. He looked down. Yup, she was hovering.
"Why don't ya just go pick it up later on?" Vic suggested. "Should only take ya a sec right?"
"Yeah." He shrugged. "Probably will."
"Friends." Starfire eventually said. "I shall go inform Dick, Raven and Tara of Bart's arrival?"
"Sure Kory." Vic said, not really paying attention. "Go ahead."
Starfire nodded and flew out of the room.
"That's weird." Bart commented.
"What's that dude?" Gar asked, mashing the control on his joy pad as Vic took over him.
"The hovering." Bart answered. "Doesn't it scare you? I mean, how you supposed to know she's there?"
"Ah," Vic leant to the side as his virtual car bashed into Gars, grinning all the way. "You get used to it. Plus, you'll soon find out Kory isn't always the quietest person. Ha! I got ya now you little grass stain."
Bart laughed as Gar's car wiped out, tumbling head over heels (figuratively speaking) and coming to a halt on its side, smoking.
"Dude." Gar moaned.
"Man, you suck." Bart commented.
"Let's see if you can do any better then huh?" Gar challenged, throwing the joy pad back at him. Bart caught it easily and hopped over the back of the couch to take a seat between the two Titans.
"You're on!"
A few minutes later and Vic's car was left in much the same fashion Gar's was previously. Bart grinned. Vic clenched his teeth and tried with all his might not to crush the joy pad under his enormous strength. He was saved from trying by the sound of a new voice.
"Hey," the voice called. "Everyone gather over here."
Bart looked over to the speaker and found himself looking at a tall, well-built black haired teenager. He had his hand draped around Starfire's waist and was wearing a black skintight uniform with a blue bird emblazoned on the front. An equally black mask covered his eyes. This was the former Boy Wonder Robin, or Nightwing as he was now called. Bart didn't know his real name. Not many did.
"Come on." Nightwing pressed. Bart hopped over the couch and the next second he was standing in front of Nightwing, who nodded his head. "Fast."
"Fastest." Bart grinned.
"Perhaps." Nightwing held out his hand. "Welcome to the Titans Impulse."
"Thanks." He took the offered hand and shook it. "Call me Bart."
"Okay." Nightwing nodded. "You can call me Dick then."
"Sure Dick." Bart's grin widened.
"Yeah," Dick swatted him on the head. "Get it out of your system."
"Dick, Dick, Dick, Dick." Bart sang, his grin getting wider. Eventually: "Okay, I'm done."
"Good." Dick motioned over to another figure that had just entered. "This is Terra."
Terra was a cute blonde haired girl with sparkling blue eyes. She wore short blue shorts, a brown jacket over a black t-shirt and finally a pair of goggles atop her head, resting on her forehead. She held her hand out.
"Tara." She said, simply.
He took her hand and shook it. "Bart."
"And finally…" Dick pointed to a girl standing just behind Tara. "That's Raven."
He couldn't really see any of Raven's features, as he hood was currently up and covering most of her face. He could see that she had nice full lips and a pretty nice figure though. She wore a dark blue cloak that fell around her shoulders and underneath that a black spandex suit and fingerless gloves that reached up past her elbow.
"Hey." He said, giving her a smile. He hoped to coax her into lowering her hood so he could get a better look.
"Hi."
He failed.
"Well," Dick said, bringing the spotlight back onto himself. "That's all the Titans. You've already met Vic and Gar I think." Bart nodded. "Right then. If you'll come with me, I want to see what you can do. The others will take your stuff up to your room and I'll show you to it after we're finished."
"Now?" Bart asked, frowning.
"Yes." And Dick made his way out of the room, expecting Bart to follow. Bart sighed, gave a mock bow to the others and took of at top speed to catch Dick. In other words, he was with him in a less than a second.
(----)
Bart's training session went well, the speedster showing skill and potential. He was a little impulsive, Dick decided, but altogether he would be a welcome addition to the team, as Vic recommended. Funny though, Impulse being impulsive. Dick shook his head to clear that thought and turned his attention back to his girlfriend.
Kory was sitting next to him, her head resting on his shoulder and one of her fingers was idly tracing circles on his shirt, which had rode up a little. They were in his room, lazing the day away. Dick turned his head to look at her and found she had her eyes closed. He could have sworn she was asleep. Obviously she wasn't though, so he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and leant his own head back against the wall, thinking.
As was expected of the sometimes over obsessive teen he had done momentous amounts of research into the ware bouts of Slade and had so far come up with nothing. Zilch. Nadda. Every lead he found led to a dead end. Every source he had came up with either nothing or something of little importance. He'd even – reluctantly – contacted Bruce, and not even his mentor had found any leads on Slade.
He's keeping a low profile, Dick thought. And he's planning something big. I just wish I knew what. Damn.
"Dick?" Kory's voice cut into his mental conversation. He looked down at her, finding her eyes on him.
"Mm?" he murmured in reply.
"You are thinking of Slade again?" Kory continued.
"Sorry Kor'." Dick said with a guilty half smile. "It just drives me nuts not knowing what he's up to."
"I know." Kory turned to face him proper, cupping his face with her hands. "No matter what it is, we will stop him. You do not need to worry."
"Yeah." Dick smiled at her. "You want to take my mind of it?"
Kory grinned. "And what did you have in mind Mister Grayson?" she asked, her eyes batting flirtatiously.
"Well," Dick pretended to think, but before he replied pulled her close for a long kiss. When they finally broke he said. "How about showing me that Tamaranean dance you kept mentioning last week?"
"Oh." Kory kissed him briefly. "And what makes you think you deserve to see the Dance of Limber?"
"This." And he once more brought her lips to his own, kissing her passionately, forgetting all about Slade and his usual troubles. As was usual for all their make out sessions nothing mattered to him but Kory. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to last…
Swish.
"Oh. Ah. Sorry."
Kory and Dick broke apart and both turned to face the blushing (if that's even possible for a guy with green skin) Gar Logan. He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned at them with an embarrassed look.
"Forget to knock?" Dick asked icily.
Gar gulped. "Sorry. I'll come back later." He turned to go.
"What is it?" Dick asked. Gar paused.
"I just wanted to talk to you about something." Gar said, turning a little to look at him. "Forget it. I'll just see you later."
"Wait." Dick called out again, and once again Gar stopped. "Kory." He lowered his voice, whispering in her ear. "You go to your room. Get ready for that Dance. I'll be there shortly, okay?"
Kory smiled and nodded before rising into the air and taking off, calling back a farewell to Gar. Gar turned fully to look at Dick, smiling sheepishly.
"Sorry."
"It's okay." Dick said, taking a seat on his chair and motioning for Gar to join him. Gar did. "So what's the problem?"
"Well," Gar paused, still looking a bit sheepish before finally continuing. "I was talking to Raven earlier, and she said that, you know, when she's around me my emotions sometimes give her a headache."
"Okay?" Dick said, raising an eyebrow, obviously wanting to know what this had to do with him.
"I know what you're thinking," Gar went on. "What's this got to do with you right? Well, Raven also said that when she's around you she doesn't even feel your emotions. You, like, block them or something, right?"
"Yeah," Dick confirmed. "Bruce learnt it a while ago from J'onn and he taught me how to do it. It's pretty much the same as a mind block. It's easy, if you know how, really."
"Yeah?" Gar asked, his face lighting up. "Well, do you think you could teach me?"
"To block your emotions?"
"Yeah." Gar nodded vigorously. "I mean - I don't want to be giving Raven headaches. I don't mean too, and if I can do something about it, I want too. You know?"
"Yeah," Dick nodded. "I'll teach you then, if you want."
"Sure." Gar beamed. "That'd be great dude. Thanks!"
"So," Dick paused, thinking, and then went on. "You really like Raven don't you?"
Gar gulped. "Like her? Sure, she's a great friend…"
"I meant as more than a friend Gar." Dick said, his tone serious. "You know that." Gar opened his mouth to protest. "Don't bother trying to deny it. Besides, I think it's great."
"Ah." Gar blinked. "You do?"
"Sure." Dick said. "Raven deserves a cool guy like you. I think you two would be great together."
"Really?" Gar grinned, but then his face suddenly became downcast, and he lowered his head. "Oh who am I kidding? Like it matters anyway. She wouldn't even look at me twice."
"What?" Dick leant forward in his chair. "Don't be stupid Gar. You'll never get her to realise how much she likes you if you act like that. Be confident."
"You think she likes me?" Gar asked, confused.
"Yeah," Dick nodded. "She's just not looked at you in that light yet. She sees you as a friend, but that doesn't mean it cant change. I'm not stupid. I've seen the way you look at her, how you're always there for her, no matter what. Vic too. Even Kory sees it. The only people who don't see it are you and Raven. You're too wrapped up in self doubt to realise how much Raven does like you and she's been to preoccupied with…something else, to even put much thought into it. But, once she does, I'm sure she'll figure it out. When she does, you have to be ready, got it?"
"Yeah." Gar nodded, still looking a little sceptical, but smiling. "You really think that she likes me?"
"I do." Dick stood. "We'll talk more about this, and your emotion blocking lessons, later, okay? I've got a date with my girl." Dick grinned.
Gar grinned back, nodding. "Yeah."
"See you." Dick left without another word, leaving Gar to think about all that was said. Gar sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
Raven like him? Garfield Logan?
"I sure hope so."
(----)
Victor Stone was busy working on his ever-precious T-Car when Tara came to pay him a visit. It was getting to be late afternoon and he was almost finished checking over the Car's engine when the skinny blonde haired girl made her presence known.
"Hey Vic."
Vic looked up, peering over the bonnet of the car to find Tara standing at the bottom of the steps that lead back up to the higher levels of the tower. The garage of Titans Tower was – like most other garages – a total mess. Dirty oil rags clogged up the workbenches, and while Vic tried to keep it clean, it was always hard work. Currently, the T-Car was situated in the center of the room, covering most of the space.
"Hey." He mumbled, before going back to work.
He really wasn't all that thrilled to see her. It was a confusing thing, having a person you thought dead - and that had betrayed you too - come back into your life like nothing had happened. He didn't hold it against her, as this Terra was not the same one that had betrayed them, but all the same, it was difficult and very uncomfortable.
That's why Vic had been mostly avoiding the girl.
"How's everything?" Tara asked, making her way over to him.
He busied himself in his work and mumbled his reply. "Fine."
"Oh," Tara sighed. "Good. I'm glad."
A long silence.
"Did you want something?" Vic finally asked.
"I just…" Tara stuffed her hands in her pockets and shrugged, her eyes downcast. "I was just wondering if you would like some help? Maybe?"
"Nah," Vic stood, cleaning his hands with one of the dirty rags. "I've got it covered girl. Almost finished."
"Oh." Tara turned her back to him. "Okay." And began to walk away. She stopped at the door, turning her head to see Vic looking at her. "Look. I know it must be hard, but I'm sorry okay. I know you don't like spending time with me. I understand, but I want to regain all of your trust - every one of you. It's not just Gar or Raven; it's all of you. So I'm sorry, and I hope someday we can talk like we – you – used to with Terra." She turned her back again and left the room.
Vic sighed and went back to work with a lot more on his mind from when he started. Indeed, he had a lot of thinking to do.
(----)
The Titans were in the middle of having dinner at their favourite Pizza place – as a welcome to Bart – when they first noticed the plume of smoke rising into the sky not far from them. They quickly hopped into the T-Car and it didn't take long for them to pull up by the kerb, not far from the gathering of Fire trucks and the burning building. Nightwing quickly ran over to the chief fireman whilst the rest of the Titans went to help out where they could.
Beastboy took the form of an elephant and started spraying water all over the burning, seven story hotel.
Raven used her powers to trigger all of the nearby hosepipes and directed the water flow at the building.
Starfire and Terra flew up into the air and started helping out any trapped hotel employee's or customers that happened to be by the windows.
Cyborg charged into the building, his lungs not needing all that much air anyway, seeing as most of his body was mechanical.
Impulse was quickly carrying the rescued over to the paramedics and – in some cases – to the hospital itself.
After a brief chat with the chief fireman Nightwing went into the building to help Cyborg with anyone trapped deep inside the burning building.
All in all, it didn't take long for the Titans to have the problem fixed. As the crowd cheered Nightwing approached Impulse and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey," Impulse looked up. "Why don't you do a good check through the building, just in case we missed anyone?" Raising his voice to the rest of the Titans. "And then we can get back home to our dinner."
The Titans nodded and Impulse was gone in a flash.
Inside the building Impulse was having to travel in short burst around the building, so that he didn't collide with any of the fallen and burnt debris. That wouldn't be good, after all. He finally reached the top and came to a stop, looking around the last floor. He nodded to himself. It was clear.
Time to get back to the –
Fft!
Impulse froze. Literally. He couldn't move. What the? He thought, trying desperately to move his body. Nothing!
"Your metabolism will break down that tranquilliser in less than a minute," a cold, hard voice stated. "But that's all I need. I have a message for you. For you to give to the Titans, in fact."
Impulse felt the clunk of a heavy object hitting his knee.
Oh no.
"Tell them this…" a pause. "Slade wants them to know. The Game has begun. Watch your backs."
BANG!
(----)
Piccolo999