My first Teen Titans fanfic, yay! Anyways, I like focusing on minor characters, and I like AU's, so a minor character AU just seemed appropriate for me... I think. I dunno. Anyways, criticism is appreciated, and I hope you enjoy reading about the AU life of Red Star!
Hail harshly pelted the blanket of snow beneath the man's feet, bombarding against the rusty old helmet the professor had supplied him with. Russia's grey-blue skies looked even duller than normal, and the area was void of all life except for him, the professor, and several other heavily clad men. The eerie silence of the tundra was only broken by the soft, unsettling whistle of the wind. Though he would never admit it, the silence unnerved him, which was a very rare occurrence. He was Captain Leonid Kovar, a super-soldier. And super-soldiers should be unmovable.
The professor scanned the group of men, all of which were also super-soldiers, each one broad-shouldered and built like a wrestler, polar opposites of the lanky, sickly man examining them. The professor's skin was reminiscent of the area itself; dead-looking and cold, as if reflecting his personality. Many would cringe under his beady-eyed, thin-lipped scowl that told you whether you would live to see another day or die at the hands of his command. To him, the lives of other people were meaningless; anyone that worked for him lived for him, whether they liked it or not. There was no second option.
Except for Kovar, the men, who were noticeably older than the late-teens captain, had been fidgeting and shuffling a little due to the increasing uncomfort of the situation. It was never good when the infamous Professor Chang took a group of his men out to a barren, snowy wasteland. He only did that when someone had disappointed him, or shown a weakness or fatal flaw. To the people who had disappointed him, well, their future was not very bright. Perfection was the only thing accepted around these parts.
A few other people were brought along with the one in trouble just to make them nervous, thinking that they did something wrong and that they would be getting escorted to the morgue on a gully. One shot from the toy gun slipped into Chang's lab coat would end up killing even the healthiest, strongest person alive. The pellets would normally just bounce off a person's skin, like a kids' toy was supposed to do, but the pellets Professor Chang's gun had were redesigned to be sharp enough to pierce through a sheet of iron with ease, and were loaded with a chemical compound created in his own lab that would gradually numb and destroy all of the body's systems once the pellet hit human skin.
"I suppose you all know why I have brought you here," said Chang in a rather outlandish accent to be found in Russia. He pulled out the gun slowly, as if adding to the dramatic effect, and the twisted grin of a sadist was plastered onto his face.
The men nodded, a few of them giving barely-audible murmurs of prayer. Kovar wasn't one of them. He was the Professor's prized possession, his adopted son who was actually never intended to be a super-soldier. When he was seven, he had wandered outside of their tundra base and came across the radiation plant where the soldiers were given their meta-human powers. Curious, young Kovar had sneaked inside and managed to get caught up in one of the experiments, having unpurified radioactive chemical touch his skin, giving him powers he could barely control due to the lack of "polishing" in the chemical. Somehow, Chang never got mad at him, never yelled at him whenever the other captains and soldiers did. Their bond had remained strong through all these years, and it was only Kovar who could cause a flash of warmth to appear in the professor's cold, black eyes. He knew he would never kill him.
And yet, he couldn't help a small shiver that traveled up his spine. This would be his first time witnessing a murder, a murder in which the killer would be pleased at the idea of taking down someone he deemed worthless. No matter how much Kovar tried to push that thought to the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think about it. It badgered him, wouldn't leave, and soon enough found itself permanently stuck in his conscience.
What kind of sick, sick person are you, Kovar? A guys about to be killed, and you're not even going to stand up for him? Point out how sick it is? You're supposed to be brave, confident, and strong. But right now you're just a wuss who can't even point out the travesty of this army! Get a grip!
As Chang continued speaking about his expectations for his super-soldier army, Kovar fought with himself on the inside, for he was a special case. While the rest of the super-soldiers had been given their powers and brainwashed into never defying Chang when they were simply two years old, though as Kovar would soon learn that those effects wouldn't permanently affect certain people, starting to actually get training at age eight. Once they were twenty, they would be going to war with the enemy, of whom Professor Chang had never spoke about the motive of or whether they were the good side or the bad side. No questions had ever been asked about it; it was all considered confidential, and that you would fight out of simple loyalty and gratitude for their "maker". But Kovar had never been brainwashed, had had time to grow and develop into a kind, humble person as a kid, and was always the first to stand up to an older super-soldier bullying a new trainee and the last to start a fight. But stand up to his father?
What a ridiculous idea.
After repeating the statement in his mind, he released an inaudible grunt and a "mind" face-palm. I'm such a hypocrite. If an older guy simply shoves a younger kid, I'm all "lay off!" but I can't even point out the inhumanity of the unnecessary killing of someone simply for not being perfect? What's wrong with me?
"But these are not the reasons I've gathered you here today," said Chang, causing everybody to perk up. "No, not at all. The reason you're all here is because you are all traitors!"
Gasps were scattered throughout the several super-soldiers, completed with gaping jaws and flushed faces. Chang dug the heel of his boot into the snow in an out-of-character frustration, clutching the gun hard enough to whiten his knuckles. But as his steely gaze traveled to Kovar, his expression softened.
"Except for my son, Kovar, of course, of whom I am bestowing a special honor unto. What did you think you fools were doing, conversing with the enemy, letting them into our boundaries, talking about my assassination! Did you not think I had eyes all over this place? Nothing is safe here, nothing is secret!"
False confused glances were shared between the soldiers, as if they really had no clue what the professor was talking about.
"Don't act like you don't know! Czovsky, Nikolei-you two were the leaders of your little late-night escapade with the opposition!"
Two of the men, both tall and wearing matching green and red army suits to symbolize their high rank in the super-soldier military, exchanged nervous looks.
Chang continued. "We are each members of the good side in this war and now it is your time to be dispensed. So who but my own dear son to do just that, hm?"
And it was at that moment Kovar's pulse traveled to an unhealthy rate, his vision blurred by the entire idea of killing the five people near him. Too many thoughts traveled through his mind, and he found himself resting two fingers against his temples to steady himself, nausea forming a barren cavern where his stomach should be.
What? Killing... killing them?
"Kovar, come to me."
Each step towards Professor Chang increased the queasy feeling in Kovar's gut, though he would never admit it. He could never just go up to his overbearing military professor father and say "Dude, killing is, like, totes wrong!". It was the equivalent of suicide.
Grabbing the gun, Kovar turned towards the soldiers, who were trying their best to stay stoic, hands clutched behind their backs in imaginary handcuffs. The rise and fall of their Adam's apple in harsh gulps gave away their nervousness, how they just wanted to run and never come back. Unbeknownst to Chang, the men had met up with the "enemy" of the war-to-come just to discuss what exactly the war would even be about, as Chang had disclosed nothing about it, to negotiate a peace treaty. It was going to work had two security guards not spotted them and reported them to the authorities, otherwise known as the professor himself.
Professor Chang smiled at Kovar and walked over to the snow-mobiles positioned near the snowy plot of land the soldiers stood on, a hand on one of the vehicle's handles, waiting for Kovar to blast the first shot before leaving back to the base. He needed not worry about the other soldiers overpowering Kovar; he was thirty feet away and carrying a gun with pellets that could out speed machine guns. The other super-soldiers were given pills that would diminish their powers the night before, tricked into believing they were just sleeping meds, and Kovar was still loaded with his unique blasts of radiation, despite their wildness. He just needed to make sure Kovar knew what he was doing, for he was his son, and anyone bred by him had to have the urge to murder in their blood... right?
Like a soft whistle, the first pellet was shot from the gun before Kovar was ready, the trembling in his hands causing the trigger to go off by accident. The pellet flew towards a lithe man garbed in olive-green known as Aleksei, and the reaction caused Kovar to cringe and recoil in horror. Aleksei's mouth gaped, pupils dilated, and all the color in his otherwise fair skin was drained until he was reduced to a white mass of bone and muscle on the ground, writhing and making spastic motions for at least seven minutes before he stopped moving.
I killed someone. I'm a murderer.
"Very good." And with that, Chang hopped onto a snowmobile, albeit rather uncoordinatedly, and drove off the, the whirring of the machine still echoing in the barren tundra. He would be back soon, though, in maybe an hour or two to check on the dead bodies and take them back to the base.
"I... I'm sorry," said Kovar, though his voice was barely but a whisper. "He... I..."
He received no reply from the remaining soldiers, though there was a dismal gleam in their eyes that betrayed their emotionless expression.
"I won't do this again if you don't want me too."
"Do it," demanded Czovsky. "We... we were traitors. It's what we deserve. If I go down, I'll be going down knowing it was supposed to happen."
Ivan and Sergei, two other soldiers, nodded, while Nikolei just looked speculative.
"Y-you... you... sure?" stammered Kovar, caught off guard. "I... you guys can run, leave, and I won't tell a soul."
"No matter what we do, where we run, they will find us," insisted Ivan. "There's nothing but snow and ice for kilometers upon kilometers. What could we possibly be able to do?"
Kovar sighed in defeat and raised the gun, eyes closed, pointing it at Ivan. "Sorry... forgive me in heaven, please."
A whistle followed by a distressed groan indicated that he had gone down. Kovar shook his head, a guilty feeling arising in his gut, and refused to open his eyes until the grunts of pain ceased. When they did, he pointed the gun at Sergei, then at Czovsky. Chhk! Chhk! Soon only Nikolei was left, and when Kovar shot the last pellet, only opening his eyes to aim his the gun towards Nikolei's chest, he could've sworn there was a distinct lack of groaning.
He opened eyes for a last time to see a Nikolei in squatting position, obviously refusing to die like this even if the others would. He had bent down while Kovar had his eyes closed, which was luckily during the time he pressed the trigger, so the pellet soared over his head. Kovar furrowed his eyebrows.
"Nikolei..."
"Kovar."
Nikolei walked over to Kovar with a determined expression on his face, as if he was about to do unto him what was almost done to himself, but instead kept his hands behind his back in a non-threatening posture. Kovar just stood their, immobilized in shock and dismay.
"Nikolei, what is going on?" asked Kovar as Nikolei rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Leave. Now. We are not the good guys, no matter what that psychopath of a professor said. I was brainwashed late, at five years old yet scrawny like two, and was on meds at that time, special power-enhancing meds that managed to block out most of the brainwashing. I was never affected. Our enemies are superheroes, do-gooders. We are the villains, the criminals. It doesn't matter if he is your father, if this continues, all superheroes will die out and chaos will overtake the world. Your father is a madman, a sadist, who's bent on villainy and dominating everything from Russia to Mexico."
"What-"
"Run, my boy. Run. I have a plan, a plan of my own, requiring just myself. You do not have to be a part of this evil man's scheme."
Kovar stared at the older man. "But... he's my father!"
"Barely. That accident to give you powers? Planned. Adopting you? Just to have you joined in his army. He was expecting the radiation 'accident' to give you regular powers, not out-of-control ones; he did not know unpurified radiation would do that. I overheard a conversation with one of his allies: Once the war is over and the superheroes are eliminated, the super-soldiers will be quickly dispersed. All dead. With you going first."
"And why should I trust you?"
He seemed to be pleading with his eyes. "You must. Chang said that he would soon be utterly brainwashing you, making you in control of your powers, increasing them by tenfold, making sure you do exactly as he says. You will be responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Why would I lie?"
"So-so where do I go? What do I do? Can I stop all of this?"
"Nobody else knows this-only I. How I know is none of your concern, remember that. There is a harbor ten kilos from here, southwards, follow the stars. Look for any fishing vessel, sneak your way onto it, go west to America or Canada, and find any superhero group you can. The one I talked with was lead by an electric man named Killowat, and several allies from him, and they are the only ones who know that Chang is going to be waging war on them slowly, killing each and every one of them. There are groups called the Titans... try for them. Warn them, make sure they spread the word and are prepared. Strike Chang before he strikes you."
The two stood there in silence, with Kovar trying to process the information.
"It's the only way. If you don't leave, you will be the reason for something that will be the equivalent of the apocalypse. Trust me, please... you're the only hope."
Slowly, gradually, reluctantly, Kovar nodded. "I will. I don't know if what you're saying is all correct, if Chang really is that evil, but it's not worth taking a risk."
A small smile grew onto Nikolei's face, and he took off his green helmet, revealing a buzz-cut head of blonde hair. He plopped it onto Kovar's head, over his close-cropped red hair, and said, "Take this and go by a different identity. Chang has allies all over the world. If the name 'Leonid Kovar' gets out, he'll know where to find you."
"Hmm..." Kovar tossed away the gun in his hand and took off the helmet, studying it in his hand. It was bulky, formed of rectangular shapes, and had a star in the middle, a red to contrast with the murky green, with a neon green visor that would shade over his eyes. "Star. Red Star. That will be my name." With that, he put it back on.
"Good. Now if you excuse me, I must be going now. I hope to cross paths again soon."
Nikolei look at the bevvy of snowmobiles near them and chose one to hop onto, driving away. Kovar took some time to recollect his thoughts, his breathing noticably heavier, before grabbing a nice blue snowmobile for himself and speeding down south.
Unbeknownst to Nikolei and Kovar, a figure was watching them from afar through binoculars, eyebrows furrowing in puzzlement.
"I thought Nikolei was supposed to be dead! And why's Kovar driving south? The base is north!"
The figure tapped his chin, then shrugged. "I should probably go tell Chang about this.