"First Born, First Death" Ch 1
A/N – I am back! Well, trying to be, really. Ever since I took up RP'ing on Tumblr as Raven from Teen Titans, I've lost much motivation to write fanfiction. Recently, I even stopped RP'ing for a while. I just couldn't do it. Hopefully that major writer's block is gone now, and good ideas for this story and others will come through. Hope you enjoy this crossover between Cause of Death (by Electronic Arts; CoD is an iPhone game that I super recommend) and Teen Titans!
Please note that for the entirety of this story, Firstborn has NOT moved to England.
In a large room, dark as the night, a cell phone ringtone sounds into the darkness. The clear sound echoes for half a second after each shrill ring. In the middle of the third ring, a man with bandages tightly wrapped around his head picks up the phone, slowly placing it over his thinly covered ear. "Your killer speaking," the man greets, laughing freely afterwards. "Who is this?" he asks, an easy smile creeping onto his face as he speaks.
A rather chilling yet relaxed voice responds. "Hello, Mr. Firstborn. Glad you picked up the phone. I was beginning to think that you were far too busy."
At the unfamiliar voice, the bandaged man's smile turns downward, pulling the creases of the bandages tighter. "Hmm, that's the first time someone's managed to contact me without me calling them first," the man muses, switching the phone to his other hand. "So where do you know me from? The news? Radio stations? Or maybe I was that really good looking guy holding a knife that you saw." The man shrugs. "Could be any of those, really."
"Actually yes," the other man responds, "I did watch your little global broadcast the other day. You seem to be quite the narrator."
At the comment, the bandaged man breaks out into an easy smile. "I always knew I was good at that. Guess it's my backup career if killing everyone I please doesn't work out…though I am very confident that it will."
On the other end of the line, the man a black and bronze mask chuckled darkly, leaning back into his chair. "As am I. Though it hasn't exactly been the most successful few years where I am," the man sighs.
The bandaged man cocks an eyebrow, despite the other being unable to see his expression. "Unfortunate. And why is that?"
"There seem to be several heroes in my city that have been alive longer than I would like. I need them gone, Mr. Firstborn, in any manner possible, just as you need those two lucky law enforcement officers out of your way," the masked man states, his voice firm.
"Aah, I see you've done your research, or you just don't live under a rock," the bandaged man chuckles. "Let me quickly do mine." There is a dull thunk as the bandaged man puts down the phone and begins typing on what is presumably a computer. After a few short moments, the man picks the phone back up, a wide grin on his face. "Ah! Perhaps I was wrong! It appears that you do live under a rock! Several hundred feet of rock, that is!" he cackles into the phone. The masked man, on the other end, narrows his single eye at the accurate statement. "What are you doing down there? Come up to the surface and have some fun like the rest of us! Clearly that's the reason why you're not killing anyone successfully!" the bandaged man joked, still smiling widely.
The masked man appears less than amused, clutching the phone tightly in his right hand. "I have no time for further jokes, Mr. Firstborn. Let me make myself abundantly clear. I would like your assistance in eliminating my problem, and in return, I will do the same with your police issues," the masked man offers, the cold edge in his voice clear as day.
The bandaged man pauses, considering the offer. "Alright. I must warn you though, most of the people I work with end up dead once I am done with them."
The masked man's mind immediately jumped to a memory of his rocky underground lair, a teenaged girl eternally frozen in stone. She wears what appears to be a breastplate with a stylized 'S' in its center. "As is true for me," he says simply, the image gradually fading away.
After another moment of silence, Firstborn chuckles once, a small smirk evident on his face. "Perhaps we are indeed fit to work together. Though if we are to work with one another, I will need a name to call you by. I'm guessing 'guy who lives way too far underground' isn't going to cut it for you."
A dark smile appears under the man's black and bronze mask. "You may call me Slade."
"Well, Mr. Slade," the bandaged man remarks, "I look forward to wreaking havoc with you in the future. Stay in touch. Though even if you back out the last minute, I have ways to find you and make you pay."
In the noisy bullpen of the San Francisco police station, many officers and detectives mill about, discussing cases, among other things. A tall, slim brunette woman and a dark-brown haired, broad-shouldered man stand in the corner of the room conversing over coffee. As the man speaks to the woman, she laughs heartily, a warm smile spreading across her face. Not too far away from them are two other officers of the department. A young brown-haired man talks to a leggy blonde woman. On the other side of the area, another officer exits a room at the end of a short hallway, shutting the door behind him. "Hey, Mal, Natara!" he shouts into the bustling bullpen, "Anders wants to see you. Sounds important."
The brown haired man and woman both holding coffee turn at the officer's voice. "Thanks, Joe," the man says, patting the cop on the shoulder. "Anders giving you trouble for something?" he asks, having noticed Joe exit the room moments before.
"Nah, anything but this time. Talking about my upcoming promotion to detective," Joe Bartaugh says, beaming as he straightens his cap.
The woman steps forward, a smile also on her face. "Oh yeah, we heard about that! Congratulations, Joe! You've earned it."
"Thanks, Natara!" he says, tilting his chin up a little higher. "Maybe on the next big case, I'll be running around working with you guys on those big murder cases you always seem to get."
Mal, the brown haired man smiles sympathetically. "Looking forward to it, buddy. But right now, Chuckles needs us."
"Alright, see you, Mal, Natara." Joe walks off, a slight spring in his step as he heads off to somewhere else.
Natara nudges Mal with her elbow. "Come on, Mal, Anders isn't that bad anymore, is he? I'd even say that we've grown on him! This whole department has. You're still using that nickname for him?" she asks.
"Yep," Mal simply responds, tossing his now empty coffee cup away in the trash. "Once I give you a nickname, you're stuck with it."
"Oh, so your nickname for me is just 'Nat'? How original," Natara says, giggling softly as the two of them enter the room.
Captain Charles Anders, a stern, dirty-blonde haired man sits behind a desk, his gaze directed to the few hard copy photographs he is holding. "Detective Fallon, Special Agent Williams," he greets, nodding to each of them. "Have a seat." He speaks with a slight Texan drawl.
"Don't mind if I do," Mal says as he settles into a chair. "So, Chuckles, what do you have for us?"
After a short moment of stern eye locking with the detective, Captain Anders speaks up. "Ahem. We have reports of a strange man wearing what seems to be an electrified suit, robbing multiple businesses on Post Street." Anders tosses down the photos he is holding so Mal and Natara can see. The slightly unclear photo shows a thin, wiry man holding a large sack of what appears to be money from a Wells Fargo bank, evident in the distance. His outfit is rather strange. He dons a black suit that is generally skin tight except for his gloves and boots, which are both reinforced by some bulky white material. A single light bulb design covers the center of his chest. There is a large metal cylinder on his back, one that looks rather heavy by the way he is slightly slouched. A thin cap with a little yellow thunderbolt sticking out of the top finishes off the outfit. But the most startling thing of all is the sparkling yellow electricity surrounding his right hand.
"Whoa," Detective Fallon simply comments.
"Whoa is right," Anders agrees. "We don't know who the man is or where he came from, but we assume he is dangerous and needs to be stopped." Anders points to the picture Mal holds. "That's a shot from a witness' cell phone camera that was sent to us just over ten minutes ago."
"Son of a—" Mal exclaims, looking back at the photo. "That means he could still be in the area! We've gotta go now!"
Natara puts up a hand to quiet and stop Mal. "Mal, hold on." She turns to the captain. "Anders, I thought Detective Fallon and I were still actively searching for the dangerous individual called the Firstborn. Every day we don't find him is another day someone can die at his hands."
"I am aware, Agent Williams, but the leads we have on the Firstborn are coming up rather short, aren't they?"
Natara nods subtly. "…I suppose they are."
"That is precisely why I am reassigning you to this case while Amy and Kai work to find any clues down in the forensic lab." Anders points to the photo of the man with the stolen money. "Bring me back this guy alive. I don't want to spark Internal Affairs' case against you any more than you do. Understand?" he finishes, eyeing Mal in particular.
Mal nods, and then shifts his glance to Natara. "Understood. Now let's catch this guy."
The two of them jump out of their seats, immediately heading to Mal's patrol car.
"You know how to get to Post Street quickly, right, Mal?" Natara asks, slamming her car door shut.
"I have a very good idea." He looks over to his partner. "What, do you know a shortcut or something?" he questions as he buckles his seatbelt and starts the car.
"As a matter of fact, I do. Oscar took me to the Tiffany & Co in that area for my birthday when we were still dating…" she trails off, her lips pressing slightly together. "The bank is on the same block. There's a small street that opens up to the corner."
"You miss him?"
After a moment of silence, Natara opens her mouth again. "Sometimes. But only really as a friend. But let's save the rest of this conversation for later. Maybe lunch after we bust this guy, okay?"
Gripping the steering wheel tightly with one hand, Mal reaches over and grasps Natara's hand with the other. He smiles softly, looking at her for a brief second. "Sounds great."
Natara gently releases her hand from his grip to point at an upcoming intersection. "You'll need both hands to make this left turn up ahead, Mal. The bank is just a few blocks away."
With a quick nod, Mal jerks the wheel to the left, making the sharp turn. As they turn onto the new street, Mal's eyes brighten with recognition. "Oh! I see how we got here! Okay, now I know exactly how to do this if the guy's running this way."
"Yeah, running through the pedestrian mall!" Natara exclaims, now pointing straight ahead.
The man from the picture runs away from Mal and Natara's car, his arms full of multiple bags of stolen goods and cash.
"This has been an illuminating experience!" the man announces to himself. "I should have moved to San Francisco long ago! These pathetic civilians cannot fare against the brilliance that is Dr. Light!" With a brief and rather unsatisfactory cackle of glee, the man extends his arm, his hand lighting up in a ball of electricity.
"Crap! He's doing stuff! Let's go!" Mal immediately pulls up to the pedestrian mall, killing the engine.
Seeing a city police car approach the area, Dr. Light frowns, holding up his electrified hand. "Don't come any closer, or I'll attack and you'll never see the light of day again!"
Checking her magazine in her pistol, Natara turns to Mal. "It appears that he likes talking in light puns."
"No kidding. And they're terrible," Mal states, popping the car door open. "Try this. By the time we're done with him, he'll be out like a light!"
Natara stifles a quick laugh before regaining her composure. "That wasn't any better."
Mal takes a look out front and his joking demeanor falls away. "Yeah, well, forgive me for not working harder on making a joke when a criminal is getting away!" Mal steps out of the car, locking his sights and drawn pistol on Dr. Light.
Sweat dropping at the sight of the weapon, Dr. Light tenses up, releasing the ball of electricity at Mal and the car behind him.
Eyes going wide, Mal leaps to the side, rolling. The impact is quick and noisy. What sounds like a mini explosion rumbles through the air, sending vibrations around the site. A car's alarm goes off, a deafening blaring of the horn sounding into the air. Mal peers up, looking at the wrecked car. His partner is nowhere in sight.
"Natara!" he shouts, his mouth dropped open.
"I'm fine! Over here, Mal!" Natara is now several feet away from the smoking car, pointing at Dr. Light, who is now running away again. "He's getting away!"
As Natara starts after Dr. Light, Mal pushes himself off the ground, breaking into a sprint. "This better not be another Livewire situation…" he grumbles. Mal and Natara run toward Dr. Light, closing in. The thin man, already not the best sprinter, pants heavily, bogged down by the multiple bags he carries, not to mention the large cylinder on his back further weighing him down. One sack of jewels flat out tumbles out of his arms as he runs.
"Argh!" Dr. Light complains, pausing to bend down and pick up the fallen sack. His few moments stopped are just enough for Mal and Natara to approach.
Guns trained on Dr. Light, the two law enforcers encircle him. "Last chance to surrender, buddy," Mal states, his finger clearly on the trigger.
"I will not surrender!" Dr. Light immediately drops everything to the ground, and whips something long and sparkling out of the thick white material on the back of his right hand. It appears to be an electrified whip! Raising it high, he swings, the whip's tip sparking against both Mal and Natara's guns! They clatter to the far side of the street as the former wielders gasp in pain.
"Ow!" Natara exclaims, shaking out her hands. "Feels like I just stuck scissors into an outlet."
With the moment of distraction, Dr. Light picks up a few select bags of stolen goods and jets off again, panting heavily as he tries to get away once and for all.
"You get the guns! I'll go after our little friend here!" Mal calls to Natara behind him. Mal heads off again, digging deep to close the gap between himself and Dr. Light. Up ahead, Dr. Light skids and turns the corner, a few hundred-dollar bills flying out of his bags.
"You're not going to get away, you—" Mal's words are cut off as he runs straight into another person as he turns the corner.
"Ooof!" they both exclaim, falling down. As Mal picks himself back up, he hardly looks at the other before speaking and getting ready to run off again. "Sorry about that! I've got to—!"
Natara, having just rushed back up to Mal after retrieving their guns, remains standing, able to see whom Mal has just run into. A masked teenaged boy with spiky black hair and a red, green, and yellow uniform stands there, dusting himself off. Four other teenagers are behind him. "Hold on," Natara says, smiling, "You're Robin, aren't you?" Natara's eyes move over and behind him at the four others. "And you have a team. That makes you the Teen Titans!"
"Yeah, that's right," Robin nods, motioning slightly to the team behind him. "I'd begin exchanging introductions, but we're here after a criminal called Dr. Light."
Mal and Natara share a knowing glance. "You're after the guy with terrible puns too?"
"Yeah," the Titans' leader acknowledges. "He's originally from where we're from, Jump City, but we've discovered that he's recently moved to San Francisco, and was spotted in this area not long ago."
"So you're familiar with this Dr. Light," Natara says. "That'll be helpful."
"Let's keep going. We're already lost a minute of time now," Mal urges as Natara hands him his gun. "The guy just turned the corner before I ran into you, Robin."
"Hmm, we should have seen him then," Robin muses.
One of Robin's teammates, a shadowy girl with a dark blue cloak closes her eyes for a moment, and then turns around, pointing down a dark alley. "He went that way. I can sense him moving. Seems like he's getting tired though," she says in a soft, somewhat monotonous voice.
"Thanks, Raven," Robin nods, running into the alley. "Come on! Now's our chance to stop him!"
Mal remains standing still, his eyebrow cocked. "Uh, you can sense him?"
"Empath," she simply responds, turning to enter the alley as well. "I'll explain later."
"Hurry up, Mal! Follow them!" Natara instructs, heading into the alley after the blue-cloaked girl.
Sighing once, Mal breaks out into a run again. Up ahead, Robin runs alongside a teammate, holding a shiny red weapon in his green-gloved hand. His teammate, a tall, broad African American teen with a largely cybernetic body seemingly runs without a weapon of any kind. A tall redheaded girl wearing a conservative yet revealing two-piece purple uniform flies overhead. Behind the three of them, the cloaked girl slinks through the alley, her feet seemingly not touching the ground. A green hawk swoops in from above.
"There!" The flying redhead calls out, pointing a slim arm out ahead of her. Following her finger, Robin nods, tightening his grip on his weapon.
"Starfire's right. Titans, go!"
At the call of those two words, the four teenagers spring into action, each going separate ways out of the alley. Just approaching the opening of the alley, Mal and Natara momentarily stand gawking at the sight. Robin throws his weapon at Dr. Light's arm. The thin metal precisely clips his arm, causing the villain to drop the bag of money he holds in his right hand. With Dr. Light distracted, the cybernetic teen lifts his right arm, pointing it at the man. His forearm suddenly begins shifting, the metal parts changing around. After only one second, his arm has become something that appears to be a small cannon. A thick stream of blue and white energy comes shooting out, nailing Dr. Light in the chest. The stolen goods Dr. Light carries fall to the ground as he collides with a nearby brick wall.
"Ooof!" he shouts, grumbling as he fights to pick himself back up. "No one defeats Dr. Light! Not anymore!" He holds up his arms, a large brilliant ball of electricity building up between his hands. "Hrahh!" He chucks it at the flying girl, who has just begun closing in on him. The impact is sudden, catching her off guard.
"Eep!" she squeals, blown away by the attack.
"Ha ha!" Dr. Light exclaims triumphantly, thrusting up a fist.
The green hawk sails low to the ground now, suddenly transforming into a raging green bull. Dr. Light gulps as he sees the furious animal hurtling toward him. The bull tosses his horns up just as he makes contact with Dr. Light's stomach. Once again, the thin man flies up and smacks into a wall, collapsing to his knees. The bull transforms into the form of a green-skinned human wearing a purple one-piece suit. "Bull's-eye!" he shouts, snickering at his own joke.
All of this is happening rather quickly, and Detective Fallon is almost beyond words. "Oh my god, Natara! Are you seeing this?! That guy's arm totally changed into a badass cannon, that girl can fly, and he"—Mal points at the green-skinned boy—"can turn into animals!" Mal looks to his partner, whose steady face does not reflect the same amount of awe as his does. "Why aren't you freaking out about them like I am?"
"They're the Teen Titans, Mal," Natara simply says. "Of course they're amazing."
"That answers my question very minimally." Mal looks to the ongoing battle. "Should we help them? I mean, it looks like they're beating this guy into the ground…that is, without the actual beating into the ground part."
Natara nods briefly. "If you catch a moment that you can take without putting anyone in danger."
Mal takes his gun from his holster, cocking it. "Sounds good."
Natara raises her eyebrow expectantly at the sight of Mal's gun.
"What?" he asks her. "It's for, you know, intimidation purposes. Nothing else." After a moment, he relents, sighing. "Okay, we'll take this one easier. Maybe even hand to hand. It looks like it's that guy's style anyway." Both Mal and Natara look back to Robin, who is now sparring with Dr. Light.
"You know how this ends," Robin says between grunts of effort, "you back in custody where you belong!"
Dr. Light presses back against the metal bo staff Robin holds, his teeth clenched. "No! I won't go back again! It's horrible in there. Always so dark! Dark, I tell you!" He wheels around, sending a crushing kick into Robin's face.
"Ugh!" The Boy Wonder falls away, his staff clattering to the side.
Seeing an opening, Mal jerks forward, turning only his head back to Natara as he shouts, "I'm going in!" Catching Dr. Light from behind, Mal tackles forward, slamming the two of them into the hard asphalt. "Gotcha now, you—" Mal stops short as he registers the glowing hand in front of his face. His mouth drops open. "Uh oh." Pressing forward, Dr. Light sends a beam of energy into Mal's face.
"Mal!" Natara shrieks from across the way. Mal hits the ground hard, the back of his head smacking into the ground. Cocking her gun, Natara steps forward. "FBI! Freeze!" When Dr. Light turns and flees, Natara lets off three quick shots at his feet, deliberately aiming lower, as to not actually make contact.
At the reports of gunfire, Dr. Light jumps into the air, letting out a gasp. "Aigh! Bullets!" Little chunks of asphalt fly around before settling back on the ground. He bolts back toward the alley only to stop short at the redhead girl standing in front of him, her hands ablaze with glowing green energy. She whips her arms at him, sending the two spheres at him, hitting him center mass. He tumbles back, stumbling out of the alley. As Dr. Light pushes himself upright, Robin calls out. "Raven!"
Immediately, tendrils of swarming black energy leak out of the dark surface beneath and around Dr. Light's feet. Upon seeing them, the villain shrieks in horror, scrambling away. "Aaah! No! Get away, get away!" Behind the frightened Dr. Light, the cloaked girl emerges slowly out of the ground, her eyes glowing white. She stands quite a bit taller than she seemed earlier, reaching a height of eight feet. Her elongated cloak rippling with shadows, she approaches the now cowering man. "Dr. Light," she says sternly, her voice eerily low.
"No! I must fight the darkness! I must conquer it!" He jumps to his feet, scrambling to create a ball of light between his hands.
BLAM
Dr. Light flinches at the sound, the energy between his hands quickly dissipating. "Wha-?"
Natara stands off to the side, the barrel of her gun still smoking. The punctured power cell cylinder on his back sparks and dies, a gaping hole going straight through it. The cloaked girl shoots her arm out, and a black strait jacket of energy forms around his upper body, shackle-like energy around his ankles. He grumbles as he resigns to defeat, sinking to the ground. The task at hand finally completed, Natara rushes over to Mal, who still lies on the floor, out cold. "Mal, Mal!" She nudges him softly, tapping the sides of his face with her hands.
"Mmf," Mal grunts, stirring. "Ow, my head."
Natara sighs with relief. "You're okay." She extends her hand, slowly helping Mal to his feet.
"Nice shot!" Robin says, approaching Natara. "You alright there?" he asks Mal.
"Yeah, though I'll likely have an unsightly bump on the back of my head in an hour or so."
"Glad you'll be alright. I guess since we've got Dr. Light under control now, we can exchange introductions. Like you said, I'm Robin, that's Cyborg," he says, pointing to himself and then the African-American teen, "Starfire, Beast Boy," he continues, gesturing to the redhead girl and green-skinned boy, "and Raven," lastly pointing to the blue-cloaked girl standing next to Dr. Light. "We're the Teen Titans." He extends his hand to shake Mal and Natara's hands.
"Detective Mal Fallon with the SFPD."
"Special Agent Natara Williams of the FBI." After releasing Robin's hand, Natara points her thumb over her shoulder. "So is this Dr. Light a regular of yours?" Dr. Light sits on the asphalt behind them all, still stewing silently as Raven watches over him. "We haven't seen him before in San Francisco."
Robin nods. "We have encountered him a few times in the past, and we typically know what we're up against. But for us, very little is really regular."
Nodding, Natara motions to Mal and herself. "We completely understand. Each case is so different. Can't expect or assume anything, really."
Mal nods in agreement. "Yeah, not to mention most of the guys we've been taking down recently have had frequent rider tickets on the crazy train." He looks to Natara. "We'd better be getting him down to the station then, Nat," Mal says, nodding to Dr. Light. Briefly turning back to Robin, Mal asks, "Is he dangerous without the powered up suit? Would we be able to handle him if he's wearing an orange jumper?"
Now the tall African-American teen, Cyborg, speaks up. "As far as we know, Dr. Light shouldn't be anything too serious without a super powered suit. Do you guys have a facility for more severe individuals, or individuals with abilities?"
Mal stares at Cyborg blankly. "Uh, no?" We've kind of just got San Quentin Prison here. Not really any fancy thing. We typically have…strictly human perpetrators."
"Does your city have such a facility?" Natara asks, curious.
"Yeah," Cyborg responds," we have one that's conjoined with a more usual human prison. The really maximum security is for anything or anyone who poses more of a threat."
"Must be handy. Wish we could just toss all of the serial killers we catch into there." Under his breath, Mal adds, "if we could catch one alive…"
Natara sends a momentary glance at Mal. "Ahem. Anyway, I suppose in that case, we should be able to hold Dr. Light in our prison, though if you don't mind, I'd like to continue our conversation once we've brought him down to the station," Natara kindly says, a small smile on her face. "Perhaps over lunch?"
The Titans briefly look to each other, some shrugging. Starfire, the redhead girl, particularly nods with a smile. Robin turns back to address the two adults. "Sure, seems like we're all in."
Natara's brown eyes brighten slightly. "Great! What kind of food do you like? We've got a ton of selection here in San Francisco."
"We're alright with pizza if there's a good place around here," Robin suggests.
"Yeah!" Mal smiles enthusiastically. At the brief look he receives from Natara, he shrugs. "What? I haven't had some good pizza in a while, that's all."
Reaching into her back pocket, Natara takes out a small notepad, quickly writing something on it. She tears off the first page with a clean motion, handing the slip of paper to Robin. "That's the name and address of a pizza restaurant not too far from here. Do you have a GPS and an easy way to get there?"
Mal scoffs, laughing. "They've got a girl that can frikkin' fly. I'm sure they can get there."
"Did you think about the rest of them though?" Natara asks her partner.
"Thanks for the concern, but we do have transportation and a GPS." Robin points to Cyborg. The cybernetic teen simply smiles and raises his right arm, tapping something on his forearm. A few seconds later, a blue and white car screeches up to where he stands, stopping a few feet away. The car is a four-door sedan, sleek and very shiny. It's not any normal car, tricked out with a tucked in turbo booster at its rear. Cyborg then pulls up an onboard map of the city, projecting it into the air above his arm. A blinking green dot signifies the destination. "Done and done." He looks up, grinning.
Mal excitedly grabs Natara's elbow. "Whoa! We've got to get a system like his! Do you know how efficient we could be with a car that knows how to drive itself to us? Let me tell you. Very efficient."
Natara chuckles as Mal releases her elbow. She rolls her eyes slightly. "Men and cars!"
Mal ignores his partner's comment. "When we meet up at the pizza place, you have to tell me where you got that car and how you made it do that with the touch of a button."
Cyborg beams, holding his head up high. "Hey, thanks! First off, I actually made my baby."
Mal's jaw drops. "You made that car yourself? Wow, I'm impressed!"
Sighing lightly, Natara begins pulling Mal back to the patrol car. "Come on, Mal, you can finish talking about this once Dr. Light's in custody."
Mal relents, starting to walk away on his own. "Alright, alright." He turns back to Cyborg. "We'll finish this conversation in a bit."
Cyborg smiles, giving a quick wave. "Sure thing!" With Mal and Natara loading Dr. light into the backseat of the car, he turns to Robin. "I like that guy. Anyway, you guys ready for lunch?"
Beast Boy, the green-skinned shape shifter pipes up. "Only if we get a vegetarian option!"
"Relax, BB," Cyborg says, "you'll be fine. We've been to enough meals with you to know that you're a strict veggie eater. Now come on!" Cyborg jumps into the driver's seat of his car, revving the engine. "I've been hungry since I got up this morning!" As the other four Titans file in, Cyborg taps the dashboard and a detailed translucent map of the city pops up on the inside of the windshield.
"Hey! Nice upgrade!" Robin, in the passenger's seat says, looking at the map. "I've always wanted a projected map like this one."
"Thanks, man!" the cybernetic teen replies, now driving down the street. "The T-Car's better than ever since I installed some upgrades to a few of her systems."
From the middle of the backseat, Starfire watched the moving blue dot on the windshield. Cyborg turned the steering wheel to the right, turning onto another street. The dot onscreen also made the turn. "I do not understand. Is something following us?" she asks.
"That dot is us, Star," Robin readily supplies, turning his head sideways to look at her. He points to the onboard map. "See, this is us," he says, pointing to the blue dot, "and this is the pizza place, our destination."
Now comprehending, Starfire nods, giving the Titans' leader a smile. "Oh, now I understand. Thank you for explaining, Robin."
"Yeah, no problem," he responds, turning back to face the road again. "Let's see here." Robin reaches up and begins tapping several things on the map.
"Hey, hey," Cyborg says, turning his head momentarily to the boy. "Keep the opacity down, I still need to see to drive."
"Right, sorry Cy," Robin quickly apologized, sliding his finger on some settings. "Just trying to see the map a little better. It's a pretty bright day, despite being in San Francisco where it often has a bunch of fog." After adjusting the map a bit more, Robin puts his arms back in his lap. "There. Just a few more turns and we'll be there. This map is really useful! I can see how many streetlights there are. Did you link this to the national database?"
"I'm trying to. If they grant me access, I'll be able to view up-to-date statuses of what's going on around the city," he replies. "Lots of people to go through, of course."
Making a few final turns, Cyborg pulls into the parking lot of the small outdoor mall. "Here we are!" he announces, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Now let's go eat! I'm starving!"
A/N - Thanks for reading! This is actually the longest chapter I've posted here, surprisingly! Didn't know I had it in me! Did anyone get the title? Firstborn was pretty easy, but did anyone catch Deathstroke? No? Probably not. My little pun ehehe. Anyway, please review if you read and enjoyed it, hated it, or have something else to say! Reviews mean the world to me. I love you guys! Till next time!