TTG2: Hide and Come Seek

by PulpAddiction

The second generation of Teen Titans: a cat, a schitzo, a psychic bodybuilder, an ex-super-villain, and a kid w/no face.

TT: G2 –by Richard Van Johnson

TT: G2: by Richard Van

The sun rose over the Titan Tower, the usual signal for them all to wake up and resume keeping the city safe. Fortunately, it was Saturday, the least busy day of the week. A day on which it seemed even hard-core villains needed time to kick back and relax from a week's efforts. Everyone was in their usual sleeping areas: Southpaw was in some ventilation tube. Steel Flash was floating above his metal mattress. Catrina was curled up in a basket in Moonshine's room, the largest room in the tower. Moonshine had begged and pleaded and kicked and screamed and shouted until they had given in and let her have the largest room and bed. Last and certainly least was Blank, who was asleep outside the tower on a park bench. He slept with yesterday's paper on his face so as not to scare away the birds. The headline read, "New Titans: Better Than Before?" It was one of many articles that had a rather one-sided debate on whether the new Titans were better than the old Titans. They were equal for the most part, but this particular writer, Knumba Wunfan, strived to make the new Titans look bad so the old Titans would come back. Of course, this was impossible. Robin, who had become Nightwing, had moved to Gotham with his wife, Starfire. Batman joined the Justice League and allowed Nightwing and Starfire to take over as the city's new protectors. Cyborg, along with Aqua Lad, Honey-bee, Jynx, Plus, his brother Menos, Beast Boy, and Terra had gone off on some space mission. Raven was elsewhere.

The city's citizens had no choice but to welcome their new guardians with open arms.

At the exact moment the Earth tilted towards the sun to make it 10:00 am, Blank woke up. That always seemed to be his only power- perfectly balanced circadian rhythms. There was that, and ignorance, and he therefore wasn't very much liked. After all, there was a reason he slept outside.

Anyway, Blank awoke at exactly 10:00 am. He walked up to the door of the tower and hit the buzzer on the intercom. Catrina, who was easily awoken by small noises, answered the door with a growl.

"What do you want?"

"To come in," Blank said.

"What for? I hear birds chirping. It must be a nice day. Why don't you just stay out there," Catrina told him, smiling to herself.

"Someone seems awfully catty this morning." Blank loved making jokes about cats with Catrina.

Catrina mewed and opened the door. Blank walked past her and thought about waking up the others.

After thinking about it for exactly two seconds, he realized that it would take ten minutes out of his day. That's ten less minutes of TV, he thought. He resumed his usual spot on the couch in front of the TV. His favorite show, Jerry Springer, was on. While the audience yelled, "Fight! Fight! Fight!", Southpaw was in the kitchen trying to make a bowl of cereal while he was still asleep. Having foreseen that he was going to spill the milk and break the bowl, he gave up and let everything fall to the floor. This just caused him to spill the milk and break the bowl as he had foreseen. As soon as the milk hit the ground, Catrina ran over and began licking it up. Southpaw looked down at her and smiled. He always felt that she was the easiest one to relate to considering they both came from a history of stealing. Of course, they didn't steal any more.

Or at least not as much.

Southpaw couldn't lie to himself though. It wasn't their similarities he found the most attractive. It was her body. Think Jessica Alba in black leather with cat ears and a tail. Catrina looked up and batted her large pretty eyes at Southpaw. He flinched. She usually only did that before kicking some bad guy's ass and scratching a large C in his chest with her diamond fingernails. While Southpaw had always toyed with the notion of starting a relationship with Catrina, the whole concept of the idea made her cringe. After all, she thought, Why give a man the honor of calling me his girlfriend? I'm no man's possession. Catrina's dignity was closer to her than the catnip she kept in her bra. She was in love with her individuality and independence. The only person she felt was equal to her greatness was her mother, the original Catwoman.

"Oh, God! That was the most unbelievable sleep I ever had! There is no doubt in my mind that I am beautiful. Alright! Who's ready to eat my famous blueberry waffles and go fight crime?" Steel Flash had an ego that easily outdid Catrina's. While her ego was based on vanity and feminine independence, his ego was centered on superiority. Feeling like he was the most powerful member of the group, he saw himself as the leader. Unfortunately for him, Catrina wasn't willing to work underneath a man, Moonshine was too much of a free spirit to be a follower, and Southpaw wasn't too eager to be working for someone younger than him, so the team didn't allow him any authority. Blank didn't really care. He never made it to the battles anyway.

"An oversized ego is beyond necessary. It is essential," Steel Flash had told the group plenty of times and was telling them again, "It's what keeps me smart, strong, and confident."

"Yea, anyway. Is anyone hungry? I'm hungry. Steelio's probably gonna make his 'famous blueberry waffles'. Hey buddy! We don't want none of yo stinkin' waffles. Who wants Tamaranian pancakes? I do! I do! Does anyone know where I put the recipe my mother sent? I don't. Starfire's surprise! Yummy, yummy!"

Everyone took a deep breath and sighed. Not only did Moonshine talk faster than the sound of her own voice, but she suffered from extreme Schizophrenia. She was Nightwing and Starfire's child, but Raven had taught her all the black magic she knew. Therefore her mind was torn between blissful ignorance and dark sarcasm. She either expressed love, joy, peace, and happiness or expressed a passive aggression that would turn a lemon sweet. Right now Moonshine was in a good mood. Her alter ego called itself Moonshade.

Southpaw looked at Steel Flash. "Someone's at the door."

"Who's at the-"

The buzzer sounded. Steel Flash looked at Southpaw. His foresight ability tended to be annoying. Steel Flash ran over to the door and opened it without bothering to use the intercom. He never felt like he needed to. He thought he was invincible anyway. And to be honest, he pretty much was. Being a living magnet, he was buIIet-proof and could use cars, streetlights, and other metallic objects as weapons. He could also repel himself off of metal to fly or use super speed. A fifteen year old in torn jeans, a white t-shirt, and a blue Disneyland poncho stood in the doorway. He wore a yellow baseball cap and had no face. It was Blank.

"How'd you get outside? I thought you were on the couch," Steel Flash wondered.

"I'm not."

"You're not what?"

"On the couch."

Steel Flash slapped his forehead. "Obviously. I'm not blind. I can see that. How'd you get outside?"

"I walked."

"Why'd you go outside?"

"To take a nap."

"You don't have to go outside every time you sleep."

"Yes he does," Catrina chimed in, licking the back of her hand. She was the only girl from here to Metropolis who could do that and still look pretty.

"No he doesn't. He could sleep on the couch." Steel Flash said, still standing in the doorway.

"Sometimes I sleep there."

"Fine, Catrina. Whenever you sleep on the couch, he'll sleep in your laundry basket." Steel Flash smiled. She can't argue now, he thought.

Oops.

"Men think they're so smart. I got your number buddy, right here." She put her hand up to her mouth and blew him a kiss. She usually only did that before strangling a man with her whip and forcing the back of her heel through their testicles. Blowing a kiss was her way of saying, "Death asked me for your address and I told him not to worry. I would take care of it."

Everyone looked at Steel Flash. His skin had gone from cappuccino tan to whip cream white faster than the time it takes the sun to get hot every morning. Moonshine and Southpaw ran over to catch him before he fainted.

Too late.

He hit the ground and unlucky for him, he wasn't wearing his armor. While Southpaw and Moonshine tried desperately to wake him up, Blank stepped over him and went into the kitchen. He grabbed the bowl of light green and purple batter that Moonshine had started to make Starfire's recipe in. He sat on the couch and turned on his second favorite TV show, Judge Judy. He attempted to eat the batter, but remembered he didn't have a mouth.

"Damn, I'm hungry." He turned the TV up.

--

When there's trouble you know who to call…

Teen Titans!

From their tower they can see it all…

Teen Titans!

When there's evil on the attack,

You can rest knowing they got your back,

Cause when the world needs heroes on patrol…

Teen Titans Go!

With their superpowers they unite…

Teen Titans!

Never met a villain that they liked…

Teen Titans!

They've got the bad guys on the run,

They'll never stop till the job gets done,

Cause when the world is losing all control…

Teen Titans Go!

1, 2, 3, 4 Go!

Teen Titans!

Teen Titans: Generation 2

Episode 1: Hide and Come Seek

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey! Let's go Steelio!"

Steel Flash woke up. Moonshine was holding him by his shoulders. The emergency lights on the ceiling were flashing red, on and off.

"Will someone turn those lights off? I'm getting a headache. Why am I sleeping on the floor?"

Moonshine looked like she wanted to laugh. "I'd tell you why, but you'd probably faint again."

He thought about it, and Catrina came to his mind. He started to turn pale. Moonshine sighed.

"Oh c'mon! She's not that scary! I can't believe you guys are scared of her! Oh, and about the lights- Something's going on in the city."

Steel Flash stood up. He was completely awake now. "Moonshine, go get everyone else and let's go!"

"They already left silly billy!"

"Oh." He reached down to his belt and activated the button that wrapped his body in metal nanomites. It had been a good luck present from Cyborg and a replacement for another outfit Steel Flash had kept put away for a long time. An outfit he hadn't worn since his past as Slade's apprentice. The thought of having anything to do with such a dark past made him shiver.

"Hey, Steelio, maybe it's just me, but shouldn't we take off now? You know, what with the city being in danger and all."

"Yeah, let's go." You don't want to fight with a distracted mind, he thought, Slade's gone. That nightmare is over. You killed him yourself. He's dead.

Unfortunately, death never stopped Slade before.

Moonshine and Steel Flash landed near Southpaw, who was fighting off an army of robots. The robots were all black, with the exception of their faces, which were orange with a large, black dot in the middle. He had ripped off one of their legs and was using it as a baseball bat.

"Good thing you're here. There's more than enough to go around." Southpaw swung the leg into the head of a Slade-bot, sending it flailing into the back of a car. He grabbed another one just as it tried to grab him and threw it into a group of them trying to sneak up on Catrina.

Catrina's whip cracked as she wrapped it around a Slade-bot and sent it spinning into the others. She ducked as another Slade-bot attempted to punch and stuck her heel through its stomach. It dropped, crackled, and didn't move.

Moonshine hovered above the Slade-bots. Her eyes lit up and turned electric red as red energy flowed around her hands. She threw starbolts all around her, destroying as many as she could before getting tired. Still more came. She floated back down to the ground and put up a bright, red energy shield around herself. A Slade-bot balled its hands into fists and banged on the outside of the shield. The shield sent red energy through its body and it blew up. Moonshine laughed.

Steel Flash just stood there watching.

These robots. They're Slade-bots, he thought to himself, over and over, Slade-bots. Only one person has Slade-bots. His stomach turned over. He kneeled over, holding his stomach. To the outside eye, it would have looked like nausea. But he wasn't sick. He was pissed off.

The alarm on a car near him started going off. Steel Flash looked at it. The alarm stopped, and the hood caved in. The windshield cracked. The parking meters along the street blew open and began spewing out their contents at the Slade-bots like bullets. One Slade-bot ran towards Steel Flash in the defense of its comrades. Still bent over, he stuck out his hand. The robot flew back and stopped in midair. Its metal exoskeleton peeled away from its frame, then its limbs removed them selves from its body. Two other Slade-bots approached Steel Flash, planning on attacking him from behind. For what seemed like no reason, they just stopped working and didn't move. Steel Flash stood up. Slade-bots continued to freeze in place as they got near him. He started to cry.

"You want me to lose control Slade? Huh?" He started to raise his voice. "Fine, Slade! You got your wish!"

"Oh, shit."

Southpaw, who heard Steel Flash talking to himself, knew what was about to happen before he foresaw it.

"Moonshine! I need you to fly me and Catrina out of here! Now!"

Moonshine had gone from nice mode to bad mode sometime during the battle. "My name is Moonshade and if you need to leave, I suggest you do it the old fashioned way. Its not my fault you're crippled and you can't fly. Otherwise, leave me the Hell alone."

"Look smartass, we don't have time for this. If we don't go, something bad will happen to all of us."

Moonshade knew she should take Southpaw's word, but she looked towards Steel Flash anyway, just to be spiteful. She knew something was wrong as soon as she looked. Deep within her mind, Moonshine saw it too.

Steel Flash was standing in the midst of hundreds of Slade-bots, the ones closest to him standing eerily still, frozen in their positions of attack. The nanomites from his suit had attempted to get away, but had frozen in mid-escape.

Catrina ran over to Southpaw. She was rubbing her hands and neck. Her rings and necklaces were missing. "Okay, Mr. Psychic. What's going on?"

"Moonshade, we have to go now! Please!"

"Calm down, it's me. C'mon." Moonshine grabbed their hands and flew off. "Where are we going? How far do we go?"

"Keep going until I say stop."

A low-pitched hum reverberated through the air.

Southpaw said, "Here it comes."

Moonshine stopped flying.

"Keep going Moon-"

"I can't. My skin. Or my muscles or bones or something. I don't even know what it is, but something hurts."

Catrina, as well as Southpaw, felt it too.

The low-pitched hum became a high-pitched screech like metal scraping metal. Moonshine blacked out for a second and let go of Catrina and Southpaw. They fell for a moment before Moonshine woke up and caught them. They had blacked out too, and didn't notice they had fallen. Moonshine looked around and noticed that all the buildings were bent slightly outward from the direction they had come from.

"Whoa."

--

Steel Flash woke up. He was lying in a pool of something thick and red. He noticed that it was more brown than red. It looked like a puddle of rust.

"Great. That's twice today I've woken up on the ground. What's that smell?" He looked at the puddle around him. The black clothes he wore underneath his armor were soaked in it. He raised his arm up to his face and sniffed it. He turned around and threw up. "Oh, God. That's my- "

"Blood."

Steel Flash knew that voice. He'd known it since he was almost fifteen years old. From the day of his own birth, to the day he killed him; from the day of his own fifteen-year imprisonment in a cryogenics chamber until his release; there was no mistaking that calm, emotionless voice. It was the voice that haunted him today, as a sixteen year old, in his nightmares. The voice that had almost made him kill Robin, and had succeeded in making him vanquish Raven to the Realm so many years ago, when Steel Flash had been a true teenager. Not an adult trapped in a teenager's body. He knew that voice better than he knew his own.

"Slade, go to Hell." He meant it.

Slade walked over and stood in front of Steel Flash. "Been there, done that. When you killed me, that was my what? First? Second? Third time dying? I've lost count now. Doesn't matter."

Slade looked around him. Pipes from sewage and electrical systems stuck out of the ground, spewing and spitting garbage all over the street. The cars that had lined the street were now sticking out of remains of buildings and had somehow maneuvered to point away from Steel Flash. Light posts, parking meters, stoplights, street signs, mailboxes, and every other metal item in that part of the city had bent over and leaned away from him. Either that, or it had been blown away. The Slade-bots had been obliterated. The only evidence showing that there had been any were the imprints on the side of buildings, cars, and the street. Steel Flash could only imagine what the people in the buildings looked like.

"It's beautiful, isn't it Magnus? The destruction. The notion of such power!"

Steel Flash grinned his teeth. "My name is Steel Flash. Not Magnus."

"But it used to be, didn't it?" Slade put his hand behind his back and began pacing in front of his ex-apprentice complacently. "Those were the days. Defeating the Titans countless times, dismantling Cyborg time after time, sending Starfire to the hospital every week to see Robin, who just kept coming back for more. Forcing Beast Boy and Terra into submission so they would quit the Teen Titans. It makes my mouth water. Personally, my favorite was sending Raven into the Realm. That was the best. Sure she escaped her apocalyptic destiny that way, but you should have seen the look on your face. You loved her and now you can never be together. She lives in another universe and you've been sixteen almost fifteen years longer than most people. Ha," Slade got quiet for a few seconds and resumed talking, "The only thing that was equal to your power was your intelligence. You do know why I had you destroy all those Slade-bots, don't you?"

Steel Flash could barely think. He had so much on his mind now that Slade was here. Raven, God I miss her. How did the Titans ever forgive me? How did Slade come back? Why me? Why me? He sat down. He couldn't think straight at all. I wouldn't survive a fight with Slade. I used all the power I had when I lost control. I'm completely helpless. Southpaw knew what to do. He got the Hell outta here. Then he realized something else.

"You had me fight all those Slade-bots so you could make sure I got rid of the others. You wanted me to get rid of all my power so while I was alone and defenseless you could beat the shit out of me for killing you."

Slade smiled behind his mask. "Exactly."

Something was bothering Moonshine; she felt that Steel Flash needed her help, but Southpaw wouldn't let her leave.

"What if he's in trouble? We have to help!" she said.

Southpaw was kneeling on the ground. "Not now. Its not safe."

"How do you know?"

"I can't tell you."

Catrina spoke up. "I think the whole keeping a secret thing is cute and all, but I think you'd better tell us something."

They were sitting on the roof of a building just outside the area Steel Flash had affected. Catrina was sitting on the edge of the building waiting for an answer. Moonshine was restless. She didn't like waiting. Especially if she didn't know why she was waiting. Southpaw stood up and brushed dirt off his knees.

"I'd like to tell you, but I made a promise. I have to honor that promise." He looked at Catrina, knowing she would speak next.

"Oh, please. Honor? You used to steal for a living."

"I used to steal for charitable reasons."

"Charitable my ass. It's stealing regardless of what you call it. It wouldn't kill you to break a promise."

Southpaw looked at the ground. "But-"

"She's right," Moonshine said, "It's an emergency anyway."

Southpaw knew that he wasn't going to win this argument.

"Fine," Southpaw conceded, taking a deep breath. He sat with his legs crossed in front of Catrina and Moonshine. He didn't know where to start. He was quiet for a few minutes and decided that he'd only tell them what they needed to know now. That way, he thought, I'll still be keeping my promise. "I understand you want to go save Steel Flash, Moonshine, but-"

"Uhhh, Hello? She's not the only one with a heart."

"Catrina? Please don't interrupt me. Keep your mouth closed for at least a few minutes."

She crossed her legs and frowned at him.

"Anyway, the reason we can't go down there is because Steel Flash lost control of his power. And I know you're wondering what that has to do with you, because he just has power over metal. But let's not forget that there's metal in your body too. That attack he used attracts metal towards him, reverses its polarity, and repels it so fast it goes to another-" He stopped. He couldn't say anything else without saying more than he meant to.

Moonshine frowned. "Another what?"

"I forgot. I lost my train of thought."

Catrina eyed him suspiciously. She started to speak, but changed her mind.

"As I was saying, there are various metals in your body besides iron. Potassium, Nickel, and Sodium are some. That's why you were hurting Moonshine. If we had stayed, the pressure would have caused us to explode. We have to stay here until I know the effect has worn off."

Moonshine scratched her head. "Oh, Okey-dokey. How do you know all this?"

Southpaw threw his hands in the air. God, please don't make me tell them!

Just as he finished his thought, Catrina hissed. She was looking at something down the street. She leaped up on the edge of the building and hissed again. "It must be safe to go down there now, because someone is beating the Heaven and Hell out of Steel Flash."

Moonshine flew over the edge of the building and tried to see what Catrina was talking about. "We're too far! I don't see anything! I'm going down there!" Moonshine took off.

"Wait!" Southpaw stood up, but was frozen in place. He had a bad feeling that ran from the top of his braided head to the bottom of his bare, calloused feet. "Catrina, who do you see beating him up?"

She was getting ready to join Moonshine in helping Steel Flash. "He's wearing black with metal plates all over his clothes."

"Is he wearing a mask?"

"Yeah, its black on one side and orange on the other."

Southpaw nearly had a heart attack.

"Slade."

Steel Flash was taking the beating of his life. The only thing keeping him from losing consciousness was excruciating pain. His muscles, veins, bones, organs, and skin were all screaming. His skin was raw after his pores had ripped open and allowed the metal to leave his body. He felt like he was wearing tights that had been woven in Hell. All the something thousand blisters and brand new holes that had opened up on his body felt like they had been filled with acid. He had lost more than half of the blood in his body and Slade throwing him into half demolished cars and buildings wasn't helping. Slade was using him as both a punching bag and a trampoline. He had never shown mercy in his life and he wasn't showing it now.

"You're going to regret ever betraying me," Slade said, punching Steel Flash in the stomach, then throwing him into the side of a half missing fire hydrant, "You're going to feel the complete opposite of all the joy and ecstasy my death brought you Magnus."

He's going to beat me within an inch of my life, Steel Flash thought. Slade seemed to have read his mind.

"I'm not going to beat you within an inch of your life. I'm going to beat you until the Grim Reaper comes to take you away. Then I'm going to take his scythe, cut off your limbs, and remove your bones."

Holding Steel Flash face down, he began rubbing the skin off of his face. He dragged his limp, nearly lifeless body over to a telephone pole. He put Steel Flash's knee against it and forced his calf around one side, and his thigh around the other.

"Aaaaahhh!" There was an easily audible crack as his leg stuck out at a backwards, right angle. Slade laughed.

"Remember doing that to me? It hurts, doesn't it? You haven't even felt the worst yet."

Slade pressed his foot down on Steel Flash's stomach. Steel Flash coughed up blood. Slade kept pressing. He pressed harder. He pressed even harder. He kept pressing his foot down until he broke three of his ribs. Steel Flash couldn't scream. He just let out a sad rasp and tried to suck in a breath. It was near impossible. Slade picked him up by his neck and began punching him in his face. Steel Flash squinted at Slade through his swollen eyelids. He let out a small moaning sound.

"You've realized it, haven't you Magnus? Your friends aren't going to save you. They would have been here by now. You did it Magnus. You sentenced them to a fate just like all of my Slade-bots. Just like pretty Raven. You sent their atoms into the Realm, Magnus. Southpaw. Catrina. Even Moonshine. They're all gone."

"You might want to rethink that last one."

Moonshine was floating above Slade, her hands and eyes overflowing with bright, red energy.

Slade threw Steel Flash on the ground. "You missed one, Magnus. I'll take care of her for you."

"He missed all of them actually." Southpaw and Catrina were standing behind Slade, holding Steel Flash between them.

"I don't know how you managed to escape, but it won't happen next time."

Southpaw yelled, "Get him!"

Catrina attempted to grab Slade with her whip. Moonshine threw starbolts at him. He dodged the starbolts, grabbed the end of Catrina's whip, and swung her into Moonshine. They both fell into a bed of flowers outside of a flower shop. Slade pulled something out of his pocket and threw it to Southpaw, who was holding onto Steel Flash. Slade backflipped into the air and disappeared.

Steel Flash said, "That was a new trick."

He looked over at Moonshine, then at Catrina.

"You didn't hear anything he said did you?"

They looked at Southpaw, who was slowly shaking his head.

"No, we didn't."

"Good." Steel Flash then blacked out for the third time that day.

Moonshine walked into the medical care room, which was located in a part of the tower that unfortunately was used often. It was in this part of the tower that anesthetics, bandages, and other medicinal supplies were kept. It was also this part of the tower that Steel Flash was being kept in.

She walked over to a vase sitting on a dresser next to Steel Flash's bed. She opened a window and threw the flowers that were in it out. They had gotten old and wrinkled. She filled the vase with cold water and put a small bouquet of mountain laurels in it. She smiled and sat on the edge of his bed, so as not to disturb him. "I remember when I was in here. Blackfire had escaped from prison and thought she could take me on. I won, but barely. You traveled all the way to Tamaran to get me White Glasnacks. And you made sure they were the ones with red stems. You could have gotten purple-stemmed ones for free or the cheap orange stemmed ones. But you got the rarest, most expensive flower on the planet. I know they cost a fortune. You got a letter in the mail today saying that you just finished paying off your debts yesterday. The fight with Blackfire was about a month ago." Moonshine pulled out a comb she had gotten from her father Nightwing as a birthday present. It was red and yellow, and was made to resemble one of his old birdarangs. She started combing her long, black hair. "Look. I know you're hiding something from me and Catrina. Southpaw knows about it, but he won't tell us."

Moonshine looked at Steel Flash. He was still sleeping, his chest rising and falling with each breath. He was frowning as though each breath caused him unbearable pain. His tan skin was unbelievably pale. An IV full of synthetic Iron and other metallic substances was being pumped into his veins, and an IV next to that one was pumping blood. His body was rejecting all the metal in it and around it. The synthesized materials in the IV were just temporary replacements, until his body accepted natural metal and replaced them. The needles connected to the IV, the springs in the bed, as well as the railings around it were all fiberglass. The only metal in the room was the machine keeping track of his pulse.

God, I'm so worried. It's weird knowing something's wrong, but not knowing what it is weirder. I wanna wake him up and ask him, but he needs to rest.

Wake him up anyway. Moonshine jumped. Moonshade was speaking to her.

"No. He needs to rest," she whispered, careful not to wake him.

And you need answers. Wake him.

"No, Moonshade. Leave me alone."

I can't leave you alone. I am a part of you.

"No you aren't."

I am and you know it. Now wake him up.

"No."

Wake him up.

"No."

Do it.

"No, Moonshade."

Yes, Moonshine.

"Leave me alone."

Wake him.

"Stop."

Wake him.

"Please, stop."

Wake him.

"No."

Wake him up now!

"No, Moonshade! No!" Moonshine slapped her hand over her mouth and a voice laughed in her head. It sounded like her own voice, but it wasn't. She looked at Steel Flash.

He turned over on his side and moaned. He lay on his back and moaned again, this time opening his eyes. They searched around the room until they landed on Moonshine. She gave him a smile that showed compassion for him and embarrassment for her self. Through his immense pain, he managed to smile back. "Mountain Laurels? I appreciate that."

Moonshine still had an embarrassed, yet compassionate smile on her face. "Yeah. Those are your favorite." She sighed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. I'm just worried about you, that's all."

"Moonshine, look me in the eyes."

Moonshine looked. There was so much pain and grief behind them she wondered how she never noticed it before. "Moonshine, I know you better than anyone else in the tower- "

"I wish I could say the same," she interrupted. She had blurted it out. One side of her was happy she had done it, but another side of her knew she hadn't said that on purpose.

"So… I guess it's safe to assume you did hear what Slade said."

"All I heard him say was something about sending Raven to another world, or realm or something."

"That's all you needed to hear." Steel Flash turned his head away from her. He stared at the wall in silence.

"You don't have to tell me-"

"I do have to tell you. Because if I don't, Moonshade won't let you forget that I'm hiding a secret from you. She'll keep reminding you and keep haunting you day and night until you slowly develop a quiet dislike for me. A small glimmer of hatred. And that's all she needs to take control."

The small room got quiet. The only sound heard was Steel Flash's wheezing and the rhythmic beeping of the heart meter. The heart meter's green light was reflected on the walls of the dimly lit room. Moonshine was bothering her fingernails and Steel Flash had his eyes closed, wondering how much of the truth he'd have to tell her. He took a deep breath.

"Moonshine, I'll tell you later. I'll tell everyone later. You, Southpaw, Catrina… even Blank."

"Whatever it is, Southpaw already knows about it."

"How do you know? What did he tell you?"

"Nothing. He just explained that huge attack thing… I think there was more to the attack than he told us though."

Steel Flash shook his head dismissively. "He doesn't know everything. There's a lot to tell."

"Well, you don't have to tell me everything- "

"No, I will. Just not now. When I'm better I'll tell all of you everything."

Moonshine sighed. She wanted to know now. She remembered what he said about Moonshade taking control. She started to say something, but changed her mind and started to leave. Steel Flash went into a coughing fit, each cough sounding like an 18-wheeler with a cat stuck in its muffler more than anything else. Despite his pride, he couldn't help but let a small whimper escape his throat every time he coughed. Moonshine felt sorry for him, but she wasn't going to run back and care for him if he was going to keep secrets from her. She continued to leave, with the door open and one foot in the dark hallway.

Steel Flash licked the blood off his lips and called Moonshine back.

One side of her wanted to fly over and lay down in the sheets with him and share his pain; sympathize with him until he felt ready to tell her his secret. Another side of her wanted to strangle him with the IV until his eyes turned blue, his skin turned white, and he told the truth. Both sides were hoping he didn't use Moonshine's affection for him as a means of supplying a subtle apology.

"Can you bring me one of those flowers? If you're leaving, I'd at least like to have something beautifulkeeping me company."

Moonshine reluctantly walked over and grabbed a small group of flowers. As she started to remove them from the vase, she noticed something she hadn't seen when she had been changing the water for the flowers. It was an old Titans communicator with a note attached to it. She removed the note and read it out loud. "Before you passed out, Slade threw this to me. I figure there's something recorded on it. Assuming the message was meant for you and not me, I haven't heard it yet. Southpaw." Moonshine pulled the paper down from her face and looked at Steel Flash.

He wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the communicator.

She was hurt. The only thing on his mind right now is keeping me from hearing whatever's recorded on here. It was true. The last thing he wanted was for Moonshine to hear what Slade had recorded. He wanted to keep his past from her for as long as time permitted. He was hoping time permitted him eternity.

"I don't want you to stress over this, Steelio. Why don't I just take this to my room and- "

"No!" Steel Flash coughed and said, "Uhhh, no Moonshine. That's okay. Leave it in here. I'll look at it later."

"No, I don't mind. I'll take it with me."

"No, you won't. You'll leave it in here."

"I'll take it with me, Steelio. I told you I don't mind."

"I don't care whether you mind or not. You're leaving it in here."

"No, silly. Look I'll take it with me," she said, dropping the communicator into her pocket, "And you won't even have to worry about it."

"Maybe you didn't hear me, you psycho. You're not fucking taking it with you." Steel Flash held out his hand and used what little power he had regained to draw the communicator towards him. It ripped through the denim of her black jeans and he caught it in his hand. He breathed a mental sigh of relief.

Moonshine just stood there, shocked. She wanted to yell at him, but after all, she told herself, he had good reason to get angry. I was invading his privacy.

Invading his privacy? Moonshade screamed in her head, You think it's okay that he yelled at you? He had good reason to curse at you? Call you a psycho? Good. I'm taking over.

Steel Flash watched Moonshine's eyes change from electric red to amethyst purple. "Moonshade?"

Moonshade rolled her eyes. "No, Moonshine learned how to change her eye color. That was a nice thing you did, calling us psycho."

"I wasn't talking to you. Just her."

"Ooooh, even better. I'm responsible for the flaws in Moonshine's psyche. So if you call her psycho you're talking to me, not her."

Steel Flash didn't know what to say to her. In the short while the Titans had been together, he had only met Moonshade a couple times, none of which had been picnics in utopia.

"At a loss for words? Let me help you. Azarath… Metrion… Zenthos!" Moonshade used her black magic to cover the vase with a dark veil. She was using her telekinesis to throw it at his head.

"Sohtnez… Noirtem… Htaraza!"

The black veil over the vase disappeared. Moonshade was stunned, as was Moonshine. Steel Flash had canceled out her own curse by saying it backwards. Moonshade couldn't believe it. Not only had he effortlessly spoken her curse backwards, but he knew black magic. Moonshade knew that the only way to have learned black magic was to either commit to decades of self-teaching, be taught by a powerful tutor, be born into them, or have them willingly given to you. She doubted that he fell under any of those categories.

"Fine. Have your privacy for now. We'll talk later." Moonshade left the room.

Steel Flash was shocked himself. He had meant to use the cancellation curse, but he hadn't really expected it to work. I haven't been able to use black magic since- he shook his head and averted his attention to the communicator in his hands. It was round, yellow, and it had a large, white 'T' in the middle of it. It was covered in small dents and scratches; it obviously had been through hundreds of battles. Steel Flash took a deep breath. He opened it and pressed one of the buttons, turning it on.

An image of Slade from the shoulders up appeared on the screen. He lifted one of his gloved hands and waved. "Hello, Magnus. I enjoyed trying to kill you today. I hope you enjoyed the pain as much as I did- the cracked ribs, being thrown around like a rag doll, having every molecule of air choked and beaten out of your lungs, and suffering from so much pain you feel as though death would be as sweet as sugar. Because I can at least pretend to have feelings, Magnus, the next time I see you I'll allow you to defend yourself before I kill you."

Steel Flash's power began to return with his anger. The heart meter flat lined, then shut off all together. As the communicator screen began to blur, he realized that his magnetism was ruining the screen's resolution and loosened his grip. The screen came back into focus. Slade still stood there, his emotionless eyes seemingly staring right at him as though it wasn't a recording.

Slade said, "What's wrong? Catrina got your tongue?"

Steel Flash blinked. He retightened his grip on the communicator, blurring the screen again. "This isn't a recording?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

Slade ignored his question. "When you were imprisoned in that cryogenics chamber, what did you think about more: What you did to Raven or what I was going to do to you when I came back?"

The heart meter caved in on itself. "I never expected you to come back."

"That's amusing. When Terra killed me and turned herself to stone, Trigon resurrected me. When I died and he was defeated, I came back and found you, Magnus. There's a name for what I am: Immortal."

"You're not immortal, just stubborn."

"I'm glad you have some form of humor left after being frozen for ten years. As intelligent as you are," Slade said, "I know you've taught yourself not to dream anymore. Attempting to hide from all the injustice you've done? You can't escape, Magnus. They say death is inescapable- I can't even escape life. There is no escape. There's something you should know about the past, Magnus. You can hide from it, but it will seek you out and become your future."

The screen went black. As he closed the communicator, an invisible gas came out of it, and without noticing, Steel Flash inhaled it. He put the communicator on the table next to his bed, and went instantly to sleep. A cold, impassive voice whispered from inside the closed communicator.

"Sweet dreams."

Southpaw was sitting on the living room floor, his legs and arms crossed and his eyes closed. He was meditating. Catrina was rolling on the floor playing with a blue yarn ball she had gotten when the Titans had defeated Clothra. Clothra was an elderly woman who had attached a quilt to her arms like a glider and flew around destroying clothing stores with her knitting needles and yarn bombs. Catrina had kept one to play with at home. Blank sat on the couch, watching "Adolescent Avengers", a show about five teenage superheroes living together in an 'A'-shaped house.

Catrina stopped playing with the yarn ball and looked at Southpaw, who she noticed had stopped meditating to watch her. "When's Moonshine getting back?"

"She's on her way down the hallway now. She- " He stopped talking and grabbed Catrina's foot.

"What're you-"

"Shhh!" He pulled off her heel and through it down the hall. Catrina heard someone say "Ow" and fall to the floor. She ran to see who it was.

Moonshine lay on the floor with a large, red knot on her forehead. Catrina stood over her, frowning, and put her heel back on. Southpaw came up behind her.

"You wanna explain why you knocked her out with one of my Raphael Vangelo black, cross-strapped heels?"

"Moonshade had taken control. I had to hit her with something to bring back Moonshine," he said, massaging the knot on her forehead.

"Fine, I understand that. But with my 4000- "

"Why do you care about the price? You've never bought anything from Raphael Angelo's anyway."

"First of all, it's Raphael Vangelo and second, are you kidding? This entire outfit is Raphael Vangelo. The heels, these pants, my top, my bra, even my- "

"You've still never bought anything from that store."

Catrina smiled. "Oh, I get it. Nevermind, I guess you're right then."

Moonshine woke up, and Southpaw and Catrina helped her to the living room couch.

"Are you alright?" Southpaw asked.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be? Fine. Great," she answered, faking a smile.

She's not fine or great, Southpaw thought, and it's obvious.

She saw him studying her and said, "I don't want to talk about it and I'm not going to."

Southpaw sat next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Sure?"

"Yeah. Thank you anyway."

Catrina rolled her eyes. She had never been the overly emotional type, nor the type to get involved in someone else's emotions.

Southpaw looked at the ground and took a deep breath. He looked back at Moonshine. "I need to tell you something about Steel Flash."

"I don't want to hear anything about Steel Flash."

"It's important."

"I don't care about- "

"I'm going to tell you anyway."

"No! I said I don't care!" Moonshine's eyes started to turn purple.

"Moonshine, if we don't get Steel Flash some help, he could die."

Her eyes began to shift left and right, up and down, as though she was searching for answers. "What? But I just talked to him. He didn't seem like… He can't be-"

"There's too much internal bleeding. That attack affected him alot like it would have affected us."

"But the way you explained it on the roof made it sound like he'd done it alot."

"He's done it a few times, but under different circumstances."

"What circumstances?"

"Its not my place to tell you. You need to ask Steel Flash."

"I already did. He said he'd explain it all later."

"Well, understand that if we don't get him help, there won't be a later."

Moonshine buried her face in her hands and started to cry. Catrina stood up and knelt in front of her. "We need to find him some help. We've been discussing it, but we haven't been able to come up with anything. Do you have any ideas?"

She lifted her head from her hands. "Are there any superheroes with healing powers?"

Catrina shook her head. "We've gone over them all. Superman, Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, Supergirl- We can't think of any. At least not any that could be here in the next couple of hours."

"That's all he has? A couple hours?" She started to cry again. She laid her head in her hands again, sobbing slowly. For a moment, the only sounds in the tower were her sobs, occasionally interrupted by sniffs, and Blank clicking the remote, which Catrina snatched from him and threw across the room. Suddenly she looked up from her drenched hands and started jumping on the couch.

"Oh my God! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she screamed, wrapping her arms around herself and jumping up and down. Then she stopped, no longer standing on the couch, but floating in the air beside it. Southpaw looked at Catrina, then back at Moonshine. "Wait a minute, why are you helping us?"

Deep inside Moonshine's head, Moonshade smiled. I don't want him dead anymore than you do.

"Since when do you care?"

Ever since I realized his secret might be of some value to me.

Southpaw, Catrina, and Moonshine stood outside of a rundown building well outside of their jurisdiction. They were still in the city, but this portion was protected by the Cruds, a generic, lower class version of the Titans. The Cruds' territory was overrun by gangs, crime, and poverty, and was frequently used as a villain safe haven. The building had once been a crackhouse that Poison Ivy had turned into a warehouse for Tiger-nip, an illegal, human-useable, extreme version of catnip. The Cruds had supposedly put a stop to Poison Ivy's drug operation, but rumors said they had only hidden the crops and taken over themselves. Catrina wrapped her arms around herself, her teeth chattering in the cold, night air. Southpaw attempted to put his arms around her, but she smacked him and kicked his shin.

"So why are we here again?" Catrina asked. The thought of being in this kind of neighborhood made her nose turn up. On top of that, she was regretting wearing such a tight and somewhat revealing, leather outfit.

"Moonshade told me there was a healer here. All we need is a few tablespoons of her saliva."

"I can only assume she won't just give it to us." She yawned, rubbing warmth into the goosebumps on her arms. "Let's open the door already. Hopefully it's warmer in there than it is out here."

Southpaw stepped forward, smiling. "Allow me ladies." He leaned against the door and pushed it off its hinges.

The door hit the ground with a soft thud, landing on a hybrid of grass and red algae. Moonshine led Southpaw and Catrina through the lobby of the building, which was crowded with various shrubs, fruits, vegetables, and small and large trees that were alien in appearance. Catrina and Southpaw gaped in wonder at the beautiful, yet potentially dangerous foliage. Moonshine had seen a lot of similar-looking plants on a visit to Tamaran, so she wasn't amazed. She led them to a door that said 'Basement' on it and into a hallway that would have been dark had it not been for the large vines and mushrooms giving off an iridescent, blue glow. Eventually, the concrete and metal frame of the hallway ended and became the moist, dirt walls of a tunnel. As they walked down the long, underground passageway, Catrina tapped Southpaw and pointed up at the curved ceiling where roots were hanging like a thin web of stalactites. She motioned towards something that had been following them since they entered the basement. Southpaw squinted and shrugged. He couldn't see it. As Moonshine continued to lead, or as Moonshade led considering she was giving directions, they came to a point where the tunnel split into two separate tunnels. She looked down the left passage, then the right passage. Neither looked inviting. When Catrina and Southpaw stopped trying to study what had been following them, they noticed Moonshine looking distant and uneasy.

"Uhhh… Moonshine, we're not- we're not lost are we?" As soon as Catrina finished asking she looked back at the ceiling.

"Shut up for a second. I'm talking to Moonshade," she said, fanning away her question.

"Yea, I guessed that much by your vacant expression," she snapped, taking her eyes off the vine and mushroom free and therefore dark ceiling, "but if you and Moonshade don't mind I'd like to get moving."

"So would I. But Moonshade doesn't know which hallway is the right one."

Southpaw shrugged. "Maybe the right hallway is the right one."

Neither Catrina nor Moonshine thought it was funny, but the Venus Stalker Trap on the ceiling must have, because it chose that moment to swoop down and get stuck in Catrina's hair.

A universe enveloped in Darkness. An infinitesimal reality swallowed by Black. A void ulterior to our own, spawned by Hatred, Fear, Death, and Sin; It stretched on for a non-existent unit of measure. The very anti-thesis of Love, Hope, Life, and Honor; here Darkness reigned dominant, stifling out all Light.

The Realm.

A dark and powerful figure stood, or rather existed, on a large platform of hardened Dark matter. He was clothed in black, with dull metal gray plates on his shoulders, knees, and elbows. His boots were the same dull metal gray, as were his gloves. His mask was black on one side and a dull gray on the other; it covered his entire face except for two holes revealing his deep brown eyes and four slits over the area where his mouth was so he could breathe.

His name was Magnus, and the Realm was his domain, his source of power when magnetism was insufficient.

The Realm did not reject his using it; he had killed hundreds, injured thousands, and devastated millions, and not at any point had his blackened heart felt a glimmer of remorse. Sympathy was alien to him. He thrived on Hatred, instilled Fear, brought Death, and knew nothing of Sin; Hope, Life, and Honor were just words, and the same went for Love, except when it came to her.

Magnus reached over and held the hand of the only being he had ever loved. She pulled off her hood and ran her fingers through her long black hair. She looked up at Magnus, but couldn't see his face through the Black. She was waiting for his signal, which he had promised he would give her when it was time.

She waited.

In what felt like hours, Magnus held up his powerful hand, and using the dark magic that flowed between him and his lover, he illuminated the Black. The darkness that swirled around his wrist and palm was considerably brighter than the Darkness around him; their understanding of Darkness paled in comparison to the Evil of the Realm. Nevertheless, she understood its meaning.

It is time, Raven.

Raven held up her hands and chanted, "Azarath… Metrion… Zenthos." And as she continued to repeat it the Dark matter around them reverberated, becoming attracted to the archaic spell she was reciting. She emitted a black, miniature coliseum sized dome around them, using the Dark matter they were "standing" on as the bottom. The space in the interior of the dome was lit with black light, and while it was noticeably brighter than the Black around them, they couldn't see.

This is fine, Magnus thought to Raven, This will suffice until they arrive.

Southpaw and Moonshine walked behind Catrina, suffocating their snickers as well as they could. Catrina walked ahead of them in silence, her dignity completely shattered. They had incidentally gone down the right tunnel; Catrina had ran frantically down it, crying and trying her best to remove what looked a lot like a Venus Fly Trap with legs out of her semi-curly blonde and brunette hair.

They had been walking down the tunnel for at least a half hour when they came upon a large, underground cavern. It was vast, yet apparently empty. Even the stalactites seemed to be shrunken into the ceiling. The only thing they could see was a table on which stood a pot with a small, red flower. As Catrina, Southpaw, and Moonshine approached the flower, they heard a voice coming from it. Having been caught off guard by a talking flower, they waited for it to speak again.

"If you want to see the healer," the little, red flower repeated, "You will have to get through me."

Moonshine held a bright, red starbolt threateningly at the flower. "Fine then. I will."

Southpaw put his arm in Moonshine's path, stopping her from getting closer to the flower. "Hold on a second." She flashed her eyes threateningly at the small, red blossom. "It's a trap. It wants-"

Catrina walked over to the flower and put her hand around it. "Oh, please. It's just a flower." She tried to uproot it, holding it by its thin stem and pulling up as hard as she could. "God, It's really in there." She gave it one last tug, cracking the pot by accident. The plant remained in the pot. "Well that didn't w-" She stopped as the ground started to shake.

Smiling sheepishly she said, "Oops, sorry. It wants what?"

"It wants you to hurt it. But nevermind now."

The pot broke and the flower's roots reached out at them like tentacles. The roots then planted themselves in the ground, growing as they did so until they were as large as tree trunks.

"Thanks, Catrina," Moonshine said mockingly.

"Mmm, the hard way- my favorite," Southpaw mocked in agreement.

Catrina rolled her eyes and removed her whip from her waist. "Forget you both. I said sorry."

"Come with me. I want to help you."

"I don't want help. I don't need it."

"Look at what you've done. You don't even know how you did it, do you?"

The young child slowly shook his head. "I don't even know whether what I'm feeling right now is regret or admiration. Some of the children here decided to call me their friend and now…" The child's voice trailed off as he stared at what appeared to be the aftermath of a massive terrorist attack. The surrounding area had been completely destroyed. Buildings, cars, and people had unmistakably fallen victim to some great, destructive force.

"You should be admiring your work. You are better than them- stronger. I can help you control your abilities. You'll become even more powerful."

The child winced as he said this last part. While the man in the black and orange mask did seem to want to help him, despite his youth, the child wasn't an idiot. The man had his own agenda in making him more powerful and the child wasn't going to be indebted to him. "What's in it for you?"

"Have you heard of the Teen Titans?"

"Yes."

"I want you to kill them. All of them."

The child said nothing.

"I will help you control and increase your power over magnetism. You can destroy and kill all you want and all I ask is that you kill Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven."

"I don't want to be your errand boy."

"You will be my apprentice."

"Apprentice? I'll be working underneath you?"

"We will be something along the lines of partners. But think about it- You've had no purpose, no reason to live- and now you have one."

"I'm very powerful… I always thought I should be a superhero…"

"You're a villain. You have powers that belong to evil. Look at what you've done. Superhero's don't do this. You belong with me."

"I-I-I don't- but I couldn't-" The child looked around at the destruction he had been responsible for. "Fine. I will become your apprentice."

"Excellent."

The once empty cavern was now overrun with guillotine-sized thorns and a jungle of vines that writhed like dark green tentacles. Southpaw rolled underneath a vine three times as wide as he was and leaped over another. He put his hands in the dirt and rolled it along as though he was making a snowball. He rolled it until he had a boulder-sized dirt clod, and using his superstrength, crushed it into a rock. He threw it the air as though he was serving a ball and punched it, causing it to explode in a shower of spikes. The vines around all around the cavern were cut, pierced, and sliced open, and for a moment, Southpaw caught a glimpse of a little red flower in the midst of the vines.

"Catrina! Moonshine!" he yelled to them. "Help me get in to the middle. That's where the red flower is."

"Alrighty then," Moonshine said, joining Catrina next to Southpaw.

"Have you ever snuck past a DT-92 Infrared Laser system?" he asked Catrina.

"Of course. That was a rush. The lasers were programmed for random movement. Like finding hay in a needle stack, right?" Catrina stretched her fingers, then her arms, and slowly started stretching the rest of her body.

"Yeah, like that." Southpaw sat on another self-made rock. "I'm gonna give you both telepathic directions. Stay quiet, listen, and keep your minds open."

"Alrighty then," Moonshine said again.

They walked up to the tangle of vines that looked like snakes trying to constrict each other and got ready to make it to the middle.

On the count of three, I want you to throw starbolts at the vines, Southpaw thought to Moonshine.

After Moonshine clears a few vines away, jump left, right, backflip, twist left, and jump. Okay? Catrina repeated the directions to herself over and over.

On the count of three. One… Two… Three!

The vines reached out and grabbed Moonshine and Catrina, then reached past them and grabbed Southpaw who had foreseen it, but reacted too late to escape.

"Okay, new plan," Southpaw said, unable to move in the tempest of vines.

"Wait, I have an idea. Sorry, Moonshine." Catrina grabbed Moonshine's shoulders and head butted her, causing Moonshine's eyes to change from red to purple.

"You're lucky Steel Flash's life temporarily means something to me. Because if you ever bring me out like that again, I'll kill you. Now if you excuse me…" Moonshade said. Easily freeing herself from the vines with unspoken black magic, she floated above the mass of vines. Her eyes turned white, her body was surrounded with a black aura, and her clothes started to move as though an invisible wind was around them.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zenthos!" Moonshade parted the sea of vines, exposing the little red flower in the middle. She surrounded it with a black veil and started to pull it out of the broken pot when Southpaw yelled at her to stop.

"Don't! You have to go through it. You need a stick or something."

Moonshade looked for something she could push through the flower and found a small needle on the table next to the pot. It floated in the air and stopped next to Southpaw. "This?" Moonshade asked.

"Yeah, that."

She pointed the needle at the red blossom and forced it through the flower. The vines let go of Southpaw and Catrina, who had began to be strangled by the vines, and were sucked back into the ground like spaghetti. Southpaw stood up and helped Catrina stand, who pushed him away and dared him to touch her again. Moonshine landed next to them and rolled her eyes.

"You know better than to touch Princess Catrina. She doesn't like that. Only when she dreams about you its okay."

"What the Hell? How did you-" Catrina leaped forward to strangle Moonshade, but crashed into a dark black shield.

"I know that hurt. Sorry, Princess. I tend to venture into other people's minds when I'm trying to escape this happy little chatterbox." She looked at the ceiling as though absorbed in thought. "The things I saw in there… All those poor men… Its not their fault you're beautiful, Princess."

"Shut up."

"No, hold on. You've stolen some nice things. I'll give you that. But don't feel guilty. Right Southpaw? Cause if anyone's done some crazy shit; it's you, huh? Stealing for 'charitable reasons'. That's insane; huh, Moonshine? Can you kill for charitable reasons too?"

Southpaw's usually calm demeanor was diminished. He was about to use his psychic powers to remove the shield Moonshade had put up so him Catrina could attack her when a bright green light lit up the room.

On the other side of the cavern, a bright green light was descending from the ceiling. It landed on the ground and took the form of a female, and as it walked towards them it left flowers growing in its footsteps.

"The Healer," they all said.

She was wrapped in a green shawl that looked like a sheet of light. As she got closer to them, they realized that she was beautiful and were stunned by a faint, unrecognizable flowery smell. All the violence in their minds was dissipated. Moonshade turned back into Moonshine, and they all felt happy, optimistic, and clean. They all smiled when she stopped a few feet in front of them.

"I am the Healer. You all are here to save someone? Or are you here to resurrect someone?" The Healer's voice was kind and gentle, like air passing over the surface of water.

"We are here to keep someone from dying," Southpaw said. He took the responsibility of talking since he was older than both Catrina and Moonshine.

"Why are they dying?" The Healer asked.

"We were surrounded by enemies, and in order to save us and the city, he used an attack that destroyed all of them. He ended up hurting himself."

The healer's gaze passed over Catrina and Moonshine. "This is true?"

Well, that's the easier to swallow version, Catrina thought. "Yes," they said.

The healer sighed. "You are deceiving me, but I will help you. His life plays a large role in your lives."

"How do you know?" Moonshine asked.

"My dear," she said touching Moonshine's face and causing one of her eyes to turn purple and the other red. The expression on Moonshine's face suggested that her mind was finally at peace. "When someone saves a life in exchange for their own, whether intentional or otherwise, their fate is forever entwined with yours until your own death." When the Healer removed her hand, the expression on Moonshine's face disappeared and her eyes turned red again.

"We need your saliva," Moonshine said bluntly. She seemed not to have noticed that for the first time in a long time, her mind had been one personality.

The Healer dragged her finger along the inside of her mouth and rubbed her finger on Moonshine's lips. "A present from me to you," she said smiling, "You deserve it. Help your friend. Good-bye all of you."

"It's Slade. I was wondering when you'd show up again. This time we're more than ready," Robin said, pulling out his retractable staff and spinning it around his back.

The figure in front of them said nothing.

"Dude, Slade's got new weapons? Chains? He's got chains now? And folding disc thingy's? And what's in the bag?" Beast Boy said, pointing at the small bag on the figure's waist. "What's in there?"

"Something tells me we're going to find out," Cyborg said. He pointed at the figure. "His mask's a different color too."

"So, Slade's got a few upgrades. Big deal. We took him down before, we'll do it again," Terra said optimistically, hiding the fear and anger in her voice.

Beast Boy grabbed Terra's hand. "Terra, you took him down."

"And died doing it." Cyborg added.

"If Robin believes we can defeat Slade again, then we can," Starfire said, "We will just work together."

Raven spoke up. "That's not Slade."

Everyone except Robin looked at her. He kept his eyes on the menacing figure in front of them. "What?"

"His aura's different. It's not Slade behind that mask."

"You mean Slade's got a new apprentice?" Terra asked.

"Yes."

Everyone looked back at the figure in front of them.

"Who are you?" Robin asked.

The figure held his hands out and floated towards them. He re-crossed his arms and studied each of the Titans. Then the figure smiled behind his mask. "My name is Magnus and you're right, Raven. I'm Slade's new apprentice."

"So what was so special about you?" Cyborg asked.

"Be patient. You'll find out. Although, I think you'll love it the most."

Cyborg turned his arm into his signature sonic cannon and pointed it at him. Robin put his hand up and said, "Wait." Cyborg lowered his arm.

"How did he convince you to work for him?" Terra asked.

"Threaten to kill your friends?" Robin asked.

"Tell you that you didn't have any?" Terra added.

"He helped me control my power," Magnus said.

"We can do that, man. Let us help you. We helped Terra control her powers when we brought her back. We can help you too," Cyborg said.

"And he told me I could kill and destroy all I wanted-"

"I don't think we offer classes for that," Beast Boy said.

"-And the only string attached is that I have to destroy all of you." The chains on his chest started to slither around his shoulders, across his chest, and around his back.

"Please. We do not have to fight. Slade is a monster and you are not. We can help you if you want us to," Starfire offered.

"Well, when I want you to, I'll let you know." The chains reached out to grab Robin.

"Titans, Go!" He yelled, wrapping one of the chains around his staff. The chain broke his staff and threw it over the edge of the building as the other chain wrapped around his ankle and threw him over the edge of the building after it. The first chain snatched his bird-hook gun out of his hand and crushed it, leaving him no way of preventing his fall.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zenthos!" Raven said quickly, catching Robin before he fell.

Starfire meanwhile was throwing starbolts at Magnus and Terra was launching boulders at him, but he was blocking them both with the discs that had been folded at his side.

Beast Boy turned into a rhino and tried to ram into Magnus, but he simply side-stepped, causing Beast Boy to fall off the building and go through the window of the building behind that one.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zen-" Raven started chanting, but was hit across the face with a chain.

"If only you didn't have to speak to use your spells," Magnus said.

"I don't," Raven said back, "I've gotten better." An empty school bus floated over Magnus's head, but didn't touch him.

"Come on, Raven. Hit me."

"I'm trying, but you're blocking my powers somehow."

"Why don't we ask Cyborg? He might know."

Robin and Starfire, who had been fighting to get closer to Magnus but were held at bay by his chains, stopped and looked at Cyborg. He hadn't moved.

Beast Boy was a baboon, his hand inches away from the bag hanging from Magnus's belt. Magnus looked down at him. "Uhhh, heh heh. I'll go stand over there now," Beast Boy said, standing next to Raven.

"Alright Cyborg," Magnus said, "Tell them what's wrong."

Cyborg stayed silent and unmoving.

"What's wrong? Talk to them," Magnus said, "Why can't you speak? Why can't Raven and her friends hit me?"

Starfire stood closer to Robin. "This is not funny," she said, "What have you done to our friend?"

"Oh, no. Look." Beast Boy pointed to a small metal box next to Cyborg's leg.

"That's his CPU unit," Robin realized, "but you never went near him. How did you remove it?"

"Telekinesis maybe?" The chains continued to slither around Magnus's torso.

"It's magnetism," Raven said.

"Muy intelligente, Raven. I'm proud of you."

"The chains, the discs, and whatever's in that bag. They're all metal."

"Yes they are."

Terra stepped forward. "That means his powers are a lot like mine. Let me handle this."

"No," Beast Boy said, "We're a team."

"Terra, we can not let you do this by yourself," Starfire said.

"If anyone should be taking care of Slade's new apprentice by themselves, it should be me," Robin said, "I was his first, and I should have finished Slade along time ago. But as his apprentice, I realized that I couldn't do it alone. I needed the rest of-"

"Robin," Raven interrupted, "We should let her try this on her own, then-"

"Great idea, Raven. Then you and the others can work out a strategy while Terra fights me."

"You want us to work out a strategy?" Beast Boy scratched his head. "Don't you want us to lose?"

"I can't resist a challenge. A little one-on-one with Terra while the five- oh, excuse me- four original Titans work out a fighting plan," he said casting a glance at the immobile Cyborg. "Sounds like fun to me."

"Fine. You get your challenge," Terra said, rubbing her gloved hands together.

Cyborg's CPU unit floated into the air and joined the contents of the bag on Magnus's waist. "After I defeat Terra, the other four of you must last at least seven minutes. If I'm not impressed, you don't get this back. Understand?" The bus above Magnus's head had remained just as immobile as Cyborg, but it suddenly launched itself at Terra.

"Terra, look out-

The Healer set this up this way, Steelio- not that I honestly mind- but I'm gonna kind of have to kiss you.

Steel Flash awoke to find his lips touching Moonshine's. He would have pulled away, but his body wouldn't move. He couldn't speak either, but if he could he would have told Moonshine to get the Hell off him. The Healer's magical saliva had long since passed from her lips to Steel Flash's lips, but taking advantage of a long waited for opportunity, she continued to press her lips against his. When she finally pulled away, Steel Flash looked like he wanted to strangle her.

That was lovely, she thought. "See you in the morning, Steelio." She jumped off of his bed and skipped out into the hallway to join Southpaw, Catrina, and Blank in the living room.

The next morning, Steel Flash walked into the bright sunlit upstairs living room, where Catrina and Moonshine sat in deep conversation. Blank was watching Southpaw cook in the adjacent kitchen, giving him tips he had gotten from the cooking channel. Southpaw was usually an excellent chef, but Blank's tips were doing more harm than help because he never spoke more than three words at a time.

"Good morning," Steel Flash said to everyone. As usual, he was in an excellent mood in the morning, "Everybody get some sleep last night?"

Catrina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. I tried. I wish I had got some rest. Lord knows I need my beauty sleep."

Southpaw laughed. "I didn't get any either. You?"

"I had a few bad dreams while you were gone," Steel Flash said. "After Moonshine woke me up I didn't sleep at all."

"Neither did I," Moonshine said, "Well, I dozed off for a moment, but then I started having this really naughty dream where you kept-"

"Spare me."

"Alrighty then. You're probably right. Although, I think it gets kind of interesting."

Blank looked up at Steel Flash. He had raw egg spattered over the area where his mouth should have been. "Like a baby," he said.

"While we stayed up last night," Southpaw began, turning down the stove so he could turn around and talk, "We discussed some things. But the most urgent of the things we discussed is who our team leader should be. Now, we know you think you should be the leader, because you've seen more than we have as far as battle and technically, you're thirty-two. But all of us- with the exception of Moonshine and Blank- put up a pretty good argument on why we should be the leader."

"What was wrong with my argument?" Moonshine demanded.

"You kept voting for Steel Flash to be the leader," Catrina said.

"The thing is, Steel Flash, she put up a pretty good argument for you. So, I meditated on it a little bit and we've arrived at a decision."

Steel Flash looked over his once badly injured body. Did he owe them the right to make that decision? Who were they to decide something so important while his body healed and he lay helpless in a hospital bed? They must have risked their lives to help me, he thought. Do I owe them? Do I need to lead? Southpaw would make a great leader. So would Catrina. But if that's true, why am I feeling so much resentment towards them, right now?

Steel Flash swallowed the lump in his throat and forced his self to speak. "What was your decision?"

"We're making you temporary leader until we take down Slade."

"And after that?"

"After that it'll depend on what's happened. We might have new members… members might leave… We'll see. But until then, you're our leader." Southpaw turned around and flipped the pancakes he was making and signaled for Blank to roll over his sausage links.

Steel Flash looked at the palms of his hands, then balled them into fists. He was lost in a world that was fifteen years ahead of his own, but it was fine. Living in a new future helped him escape his past. Or was it as Slade said- You can hide from it, but it will seek you out and become your future? A game of hide and come seek, Steel Flash thought. Bring it on, Slade. I'm up for the challenge. I'm a different person now. I'll never be who I was. Never.