Wherever You Will Go
By: AriesFalcon
Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Your royal craziness AriesFalcon is back! Okies, another one-shot, but pretty different from my other ones. Today I'm trying out a whole new category, coz this story involves ghosts (yeah, I think you already read that in the summary)! Just so you know, this was inspired by an episode of "Are You Afraid Of The Dark."
Don't be turned off, even though this story pretty much stars 3 OCs I made up, but it's RobRae alright! Now go read!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans… yet. Nor do I own the song "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling.
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The setting is Jump City, year 2065. Four of the five original Teen Titans are gone after a fatal accident that took their lives. The identity and location of the fifth member was unknown. The city council has transformed the Tower into an interactive museum. Enter twelve-year-old Nick Thompson, the son of the present owner of the Titans exhibit gallery. Recently, he asked his father if he and his friend, Mario Sanchez, could have the Tower to themselves for a night. Find out what the answer is in their conversation below:
"Hey, Mario, guess what?" Nick didn't even let his friend finish.
"My dad said yes to the sleepover! Isn't that awesome?"
He saw his friend on the hologram jump up and down.
"Mario, stop ruining the furniture!" His mom yelled.
Mario stepped down from the sofa, grinning sheepishly. "That's great, Nick!"
"Yeah, but there was a catch."
"What's that?"
Before Nick could say anything else, his four-year-old little sister, Katie, burst in.
"Hey Nick! Are you talking to Mario? Did you tell him about the sleepover? Oh, staying in Titans Tower for one whole day is gonna be awesome! I can't wait!"
Nick wearily rested his head on one arm. "Katie has to come along."
"Aw, that sucks! Can't you get out of it?"
"No way. My parents have to go somewhere for the night, and they can't find a baby sitter."
"I don't need a babysitter!" Katie protested, pouting.
"Whatever, Kats. 'Kay, talk to you later, Mario. We have a lot of planning to do."
"Right!"
Both boys clicked off the holo-phone simultaneously.
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"This is so cool!" Mario squealed as he pressed the button again. A figure of a half-robot man appeared on the screen.
"My name is Cyborg, and I am one of the original Teen Titans. I was a normal high school student named Victor Stone before a tragic car accident forced my father to replace the damaged body parts with cyberkinetic ones. I have a variety of built-in gadgets and weapons in my design, and I joined the Titans to put my abilities to good use…"
Nick stopped the video. The museum had made short visual animations of each of the Titans, enabling visitors to know more about the superheroes.
"Cut that out Mar! You've been playing the Cyborg one for too many times!"
"But Cyborg is my favorite! You didn't even let him demonstrate his sonic cannon! That part is…"
"I know, I know. So cool!" He mimicked his friend's voice, sending both into fits of laughter.
"Anyway, Robin's my favorite. Let's play his." He scrolled down for the name and clicked.
"I am Robin, the fearless leader of the original Teen Titans." Said a black-haired boy on the screen. What was most unusual about him was the simple mask on his face that covered his eyes.
"I was once called Richard Grayson, and I was part of a circus act called the Flying Graysons. A madman sabotaged the ropes my parents were going to use for a trapeze act, sending them hurtling to their deaths. The rich entrepreneur Bruce Wayne took me in as his own son. Bruce's alter ego was Batman, the legendary dark knight of Gotham City. He trained me in martial arts and everything he knew about detective work, and before long I donned the title of Robin, the Boy Wonder.
I stayed as his sidekick for awhile, but I moved to Jump City to create a solo name for myself. I founded the Teen Titans, a group of teenage superheroes that would protect Jump City for the remainder of our short lives. I fought the evil psychopath and my mortal enemy Slade for two long years before I finally defeated him. I will now demonstrate a few of my immensely successful crimefighting moves…"
The two tried to copy some of the combo punches and spinning kicks, failing miserably. They fell several times before the demo ended, and they just watched as the Robin on the video showed how his gadgets were used.
"See? Robin is way cooler that Cyborg." Nick boasted.
"He's not!"
"He is!"
"Is not!"
"Is to!"
"Don't you think they're equally cool?" A voice from the doorway interrupted. It was the sole museum custodian. Robot droids were available anywhere, but Mr. Thompson insisted that some jobs were better off done by humans.
"Wh—who are you?" Mario said timidly.
"Oh, don't mind me, boys. I'll just be cleaning up after you. Feel free to make a mess." The voice chuckled quietly, still staying in the shadows.
"Okay, mister. So you think they're both cool? Why is that?"
"Well, you'll think so too if you actually knew them."
"You knew the Titans?" Nick asked incredulously.
"We were good friends."
"Cool! Can you tell us more?"
"'Fraid not, little dudes. Gotta go clean up some more. Have fun."
There was an eerie kind of silence as Nick and Mario glanced in the other's direction.
"That was creepy."
"Oh yeah. But I didn't know the custodian actually knew the Titans before. I only heard that when some visitors passed by him occasionally, they see that his skin's this weird, greenish color. And sometimes people can hear him sneezing, then he'll be imitating animal sounds. Weird, huh?"
"Very."
"Hey guys! What are you doing? Are you playing the character clips? Play Starfire's! I like Starfire! She's the prettiest!" Katie popped out of nowhwere.
"Oh, fine, whatever Katie. Go play it. I'm gonna show you something really cool, Mario."
Nick led the darker boy to a big room, with a giant-screen TV, a long sofa, and other recreational things.
"Welcome to the Titans rec room!" He said aloud. "This is where we'll be sleeping. People usually have to pay to use these facilities, but my dad said we can wear ourselves out on 'em!"
"Sweet! Even Beastboy's retro video games?" Said his excited friend, sprawling out on the sofa.
"Uh-huh, sure. But check this! It's way cooler!"
Mario's eyes widened in surprise and delight. "An authentic 2005 stereo?"
"Not just a stereo," Nick said. "This is Robin's actual stereo! And these are his cds!"
He showed him a stack of mostly rock cds. Mario picked up one from the pile. "I can't believe stereos and cds used to be this big."
In the future, modern stereos with speakers were the size of today's iPods, and cds were reduced the little thumbnail-size chips that can be inserted into the hand-size sound systems.
"Wanna listen to one? He's got Linkin Park."
"Sure. I like retro rock."
Once Nick slipped the CD in, loud music blasted from the speakers.
"Hey," Nick tapped Mario, who was singing along off-key to the song. "Want something to eat?"
"Get me a caramel-nut ice cream bar. And maybe soda."
"I'll just get lots."
The two chilled out until the end of the CD.
"Don't worry, Mar. I'll put in a new one."
He whistled softly as he scanned the titles on the rack.
"Whatcha got there, Nick?" Mario looked at the case in his friend's hand.
"It's a burned CD. No title."
"Well, put it in anyway. See what's in it."
A slow melody began to play. The music was composed of a piano, a strumming guitar and what sounded like a violin.
"Aw, it's one of those love songs. Take it out." Mario insisted.
But before his friend can do so, all the power went out. A high-pitched scream was heard from the hallway.
"Nick! It's dark! Dark dark dark! Sooo dark!" Katie screamed as her frantic footsteps were heard in the room.
"Don't worry. The generator's gonna come on any minute now." Mario reassured.
"I'm afraid not. My dad programmed the generators to come on only during opening hours. Hmm, I didn't even hear rain. Maybe we played the stereo too loudly." He observed.
At that time, even the moon was relied on for lunar energy, and the heavenly bodies was where all power for electricity was taken. However, sometimes storm clouds rush in and block the moonlight from reaching the lunar battery cells.
"So we don't have electricity for the whole night?"
"Well, until the sky clears up, I guess not. I'm sorry, Mario."
"Oh well. I didn't even get to play the video games!"
"I guess we better go to sleep now." Katie suggested.
"No way," Nick turns on a lightstick, putting it behind his ear. . "Let's tell scary stories. Perfect time. You know, really dark while there's a storm outside."
"Yeah," Mario agreed, drawing out his own lightstick and twirling it in his hand.
Katie whimpered as Nick put the light under his chin, lighting only parts of his face while others where hidden by shadows.
"It was a dark and stormy night. A little girl called…" He paused, his face brightening up in mischief.
"Katie (he received a light punch from his sister for that) was sitting on her grandmother's lap, admiring a diamond ring on the wrinkled finger. She asked if she could have it, but her gran said no.
"Ten years later, her gran dies of… um, a very severe nosebleed." He said, for want of anything better. Mario snickered.
"Oh yeah, and Katie's sixteen now. Anyways, now that her grannie's dead, she tried to take the ring off her finger, but it won't come off. So she takes a chainsaw and chops off the finger!"
Katie gasped, while Mario doubled over laughing. "Man, haven't you got anything better?"
"Ssh. Let me finish. Sos, she takes the ring and let's fast forward to three years. Now, Katie's walking along when she comes to this really, really old house and there was a very old woman outside on a rocking chair."
Mario drummed his fingers on the floor.
"Then Katie sees that the old lady was missing one finger. So she goes to her and was all, what happened to your finger. Then the old woman said, someone chopped it off. And then she asked, who, and then she said…"
"You!" Nick pointed his finger at Katie, who squealed in surprise. She began to cry.
"Why'd you have to scare me like that? I'm telling mom!"
Nick and Mario hi-fived. "Well, that story wasn't that scary, but the look on Katie's face was priceless! Way to go, Nick!"
"Yeah, well, that's done. Pull out your sleeping bags, everyone!"
"But I don't have one! Can't I just sleep on the couch?" Katie whined.
"Whatever, Katie."
Mario and Nick laid their sleeping bags beside the couch.
"Well, too bad with the power and all, but getting to sleep in the Titan's Tower is really awesome." Mario said.
"Yeah, but you know what we're missing?"
"What?"
"I wanna see a ghost." He said, before he drifted off to sleep.
And as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.
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Nick woke up to the sound of playing music.
"Huh," he said to no one in particular, his brain still groggy from sleep. He saw the blinking red light of the stereo.
'If I could
Then I would
I'll go wherever you will go…'
He stood up, tripping over his sleeping bag in the process.
"Damn," He swore. How did the stereo turn on anyway? Wasn't there any power?
Suddenly, an odd figure in a white dress, the long train trailing limply behind it, emerged from the shadows. The air turned freezing cold, as what seemed to be smoke followed after the figure.
His breath seemed to die down, as his brain tried to process the event and come up with a logical explanation.
The figure removed its veil. What he saw next sent shivers down his spine.
The figure was a woman, with flawless pale skin and haunting violet eyes, her lilac hair falling to her mid-back. Her eyes were pleading, and sad, as one slim hand reached for the stereo. She held a bouquet of white flowers in the other. Her dress was a bridal gown, the edges ragged and the color was actually dirty ivory, but it was beautiful nonetheless. It was the flaw that brought out the beauty. When her amethyst eyes met Nick's blue one's, he realized what was so odd about her.
She was transparent; a hollow form in the thickness of the dark.
The room spun around him in an effort to make him believe; 'This couldn't be happening!' Was the only thought that would replicate in his head like a broken record player.
She started to go towards him, her feet gliding across the floor, one hand outstretched, mouth slightly open, as if she was saying something, but he couldn't make out what it was.
Time seemed top slow down; he couldn't move fast enough.
Without thinking, he ran to the stereo and repeatedly tried to press the 'off' button. The hairs on his arms stood up when he felt a cold hand on his neck before the song finally stopped playing.
He whirled around, suddenly out of breath, feeling a trickle of sweat drop down his back.
Then the power came on.
He stayed in that position for what seemed like hours, disbelieving. It was like the fear and excitement had paralyzed him. When he regained control of his muscles, he knelt down beside his friend and shook him awake.
"Hmmm… what's the big idea?" Mario yawned. "Hey, look, the power's back on!"
"Mario! Mario! I think I saw a ghost!" He blurted out.
Mario looked at him as if he was crazy.
"What? Maybe you had a dream or something…"
"No, no, she was real! I saw her!"
"Uh-huh." His friend's face was teasing.
"She—she was wearing a white wedding dress, and she had long purple hair and these really big violet eyes! And she was reaching for the stereo and… and…"
"Knock it off, Nick! I know you're making this up! And the weird thing is I'm starting to believe you! But wait a minute… purple hair? Wedding dress? Couldn't you come up with anything better?"
"No… no… I saw her… she was real! I know she's real!" Nick shouted, angrier now than scared.
"I believe you, dude."
The custodian's voice was heard.
"You—you do?" Nick asked stupidly.
"Man, I'm thinking you just saw Raven." He stepped into the light, a man who looked to be in his early seventies. Nick thought it was just the light, but he could swear the man's skin was green.
"Who are you?" Mario was getting jittery.
"Well, isn't it obvious?"
In front of their once-skeptical eyes, he transformed into velociraptor, gave a roar, and morphed back into human form.
"Ta-da!"
"Beastboy?" They couldn't believe it even when the word left their mouths.
"Wow, it feels good to be recognized, after all I've done for this city. Well, I don't think anyone can call me that anymore, but once, I was Beastboy. I'm only Gar now. Garfield…"
"Logan." Nick finished. "I know. But I still can't believe this."
"Are you kidding? I'm still trying to digest this. Can anyone explain this to me?" Mario demanded.
"Sit down, people. I'm in the mood to tell a story."
Nick and Mario sat down on the sofa wordlessly, and Garfield sat down beside them.
"I don't think anyone else would remember, but it was this day all those years ago that before the big accident, something else happened. Something wonderful. And it's still fresh in my head…"
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Richard was grinning widely as he lifted the veil
Rachel had a small smile playing on her lips as she leaned in and caught his mouth in a sweet kiss.
A hundred cameras clicked to catch the moment.
Richard nodded to Bruce and Alfred as he walked down the aisle, his new bride on his arm.
The maid of honor, Kori, had tears in her eyes as she hugged Rachel, beaming and happy for her friends.
Victor and Garfield smiled as Richard went to them.
Victor's little girl threw white rose petals around the couple as they entered the limousine, which would take them to the reception.
MINUTES LATER…
"Unca Gar, can wu cut thish for mee?" Little Victoria Stone held out her plate to him.
Gar transformed one hand into a tiger paw, and neatly sliced the meat. "There you go, Vicky."
Gar watched everyone at the table. Vic was chatting to Bruce, while his wife Andrea was talking to Kori as they ate the thick slices of cake on their plates. Rachel and Richard looked like they weren't even there, their minds drifting away in ecstasy.
Suddenly, the music changed to a slow song.
Richard stood up and held out his hand to his bride, an unguarded smile on his face. Gar picked at his tofu as he watched the wash of emotions that was so obvious on the couple's faces. Boy, they had it coming.
Just as they began to dance, a familiar beeping came from Richard's pocket. Everyone's faces dropped. The city needed them.
"Don't worry, Rae. We'll get our dance. I promise."
It wasn't fair, really. Having to save the city on your wedding day. But it was the life of a superhero, the life they all chose.
Gar saw Vic kiss his wife and daughter, saw Richard put the mask over his face again. Then just like that, they were Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Starfire and Beastboy again, the Teen Titans.
They wordlessly piled in the T-car, leaving the ceremony behind them.
"What is it, Rob?" Cyborg asked, as if nothing happened.
"A guy has taken a whole factory hostage." He managed to hide the disappointment from his voice.
"Can't the police handle that?"
"Not if he threatens to make the whole building collapse in five seconds."
No more questions were asked as they went to the venue.
"What is he demanding?" Robin approached a police officer.
"He wants the factory owner to give him all of the money he has. There are fifty workers inside. It's mostly automized."
"Can't
you assign a media negotiator to deal with it?"
"He has ten detonators at the weak points of the structure. A push of a button, and everyone inside dies."
"Isn't he inside too?" Beastboy piped up.
"Yes, but he has a secret escape route… at least, that's what he said."
"Sounds like a bluff. Titans, go!"
They all rushed in. The hostages were lying face down on the ground, some were sobbing.
"Raven and Starfire, escort these people out, then come back in to help us. BB and Cy, we're going to try to bring this guy down." Robin whispered.
The villain was standing on a tall machine. "Hello, Titans." Said an eerily familiar voice.
"Slade." Robin hissed. His companions didn't need to hear anymore.
Robin climbed on to a pterodactyl Beastboy and they flew to the top.
"What do you want, Slade?" It was more of a command than a question.
"Robin, it's a trap!" Raven yelled from below.
"Why, your little friend is right, Robin. But all I want is revenge. Goodbye."
They should have seen it a mile long. If Slade wanted to make the building collapse, he could have done it while the girls were taking the people out. They were stuck in a trap, and there was no way out.
The walls seemed to fall down around them, while the concrete grinded against each other in a piercing sound of mass destruction.
"Robin!"
"Raven!"
Their desperate cries were heard against the collapsing structure, before being stopped permanently.
"Woah. So what happened?" Mario asked, totally swept into the tale.
"Let me finish."
Beastboy was trapped under a pile of rubble, scathed, but fine otherwise. He waited a long while before transforming into a T-rex. He shook off dirt from himself before going back to human form.
"Guys! Cyborg! Robin!"
His anxious shouts rang out into the night. There was no reply.
"No, no, no…" he fumbled for his communicator and tried to contact his teammates. "Starfire! Raven!"
He hunted among the debris, before a horrible sight met his eyes.
Robin and Raven's bodies were a touch away from the other's. Robin's tux was dirty and ripped. Raven was sprawled out, dress tattered, eyes still open in shock and horror, mouth agape.
Beastboy decided not to look any further. He was too stunned to cry. He morphed into a bird and flew, not caring where, just as long as it was far away from that wretched place.
"So, where did you go?" Nick noticed tears in the old man's eyes.
"I ran away to a nearby city. Some people took pity on me and took me in for awhile. I got a job as a chef at a local restaurant."
"What happened to the others?"
"I watched the news. They all… died." His voice was shaking with remorse and regret.
"What happened to Slade? Did he get away?"
"They found his body. The secret passage he gloated about caved in too." He sighed. "Batman and Andrea took care of the funerals."
"Why didn't you go there too?"
"I was insecure… and ashamed. They all died giving their lives to this city, and I was the one who just had to survive."
"So, how did you end up being custodian?"
"I stayed in that city for thirty years. Then I heard that they made the Tower into a museum, and I begged to become a caretaker."
"Wait, I still don't get something. What about the ghost? Why did she appear?" Nick was getting confused.
"Remember what they didn't get to do?"
"The dance!" Mario cried out triumphantly.
Gar nodded. "Right. That's why the stereo played that same exact song, the one that was at their wedding…"
"Because Robin promised that they would get the last dance." Nick completed.
"But how did you figure this out?"
"I see her sometimes, wandering in her wedding gown. You know how spirits linger on earth because of unfinished business?"
"Yeah, but why only Raven? Why isn't everyone else there?"
"She's waiting for him."
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"Are you sure about this? She is a ghost, after all." Nick said nervously.
"Yeah. I'll even bet a whole refrigerator of tofu on it, if I had one." Gar replied.
Mario tapped him on the shoulder. "But Gar, why didn't you just play it yourself? You had all these years, after all."
"Yeah, but I didn't own it. Nick does. It's his property. His dad's, but still kinda his."
"Sure, okay. To put them at rest, right?"
"Uh-huh."
They had turned off the lights, and Nick was preparing to turn on the stereo.
He took a deep breath. "Well, here goes. Let's just hope this works."
"Yes. You know, kid, you remind me of Robin. A born leader."
Nick ran a hand through black hair. He knew the comment was said to encourage him, but he was about to see the ghost again, and couldn't help being uneasy.
He pressed the switch, and because he left the CD in, it automatically played.
So lately, been wondering
Who will be there to take my place
When I'm gone, you'll need love
To light the shadows on your face
The melody was too familiar, and for the first couple of seconds, nothing happened.
"Are you—" Gar cupped a hand over Mario's mouth.
The breath was knocked clean out of them as the smoke appeared gradually. Then she appeared, exactly as Nick remembered her. Haunting and beautiful.
If a great wave shall fall
It would fall upon us all
And between the sand and stone
Could you make it on your own
She looked at the stereo in awe, and once again at Nick, violet eyes no longer empty, but full of kindness. A bright light surrounded her, and when it faded, they saw that the dress was no longer ripped and torn but… perfect.
The smoke thickened as the room was transformed around them, the air turning chilly again, but this time, it wasn't freezing, but a nice, refreshing kind of cool.
Mario gasped as Gar stared at the scene in wonder.
If I could, and I would
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high, or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
Out of the shadows appeared a young man with black hair in a tuxedo, electric blue eyes filled with delight and anticipation. Raven glided towards them, throwing her arms in a hug around him. A red-haired lady and a half-robot man were behind him, smiling.
And maybe, I'll find out
The way to make it back someday
To watch you, to guide you
Through the darkest of your days
Gar was drawn towards them, but they spoke no words, only showing him merry faces to say that everything was alright.
If a great wave shall fall
It would fall upon us all
Well I hope there's someone out there
Who can bring me back to you
Mario and Nick watched in rapt fascination, all thought leaving their minds as Robin held out his hand to Raven, bowing slightly.
If I could, and I would
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high, or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
As they danced, the floated around, twirling gracefully in mid-air. Joy and happiness radiated from them in an orange glow, bathing everyone in the room in the strange light.
Runaway with my heart
Runaway with my hope
Runaway with my love
I know now, just quite how
My life and love might still go on
In your heart, in your mind
I'll stay with you for all of time
If I could, then I would
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high, or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
If I could turn back time
I'll go wherever you will go
If I could make you mine
I'll go wherever you will go
I'll go wherever you will go
The dance was over in mere minutes, but no one can tell the difference. The couple landed back on the ground, still locked in the other's arms.
The whole thing began to fade away, taking the enchantment with it. Raven caught Nick's eyes, and he could at least tell it was her way of saying thank you.
He blinked, and they were all gone.
Mario turned on the light.
"Wow," he said to his friend.
"Yeah."
"Hey, where's old Gar?"
They found the limp form at the spot where the others were seconds ago.
Mario turned him over. "He ain't breathing, Nick."
Nick could see the content expression on Gar's face.
"He left with them."
"I guess so. Hey, wait a minute! Where'd Katie go?"
Nick couldn't have been rattled enough. "Oh no, Katie! I didn't notice she was gone!"
"Nick!"
There was a shriek behind them.
"Katie!" He whirled around, and there was his little sister.
"Nick!" She ran to him, jumping and thrilled.
"Migod, Katie? Where've you been? You've been gone for hours… I think."
Katie sucked on her thumb. "Well, I couldn't sleep on the sofa so I went outside to look for mommy and it was cold then this really nice lady in a pretty white dress and her boyfriend brought me back here."
Nick sighed in relief. "It was her, wasn't it, Mar?"
"Uh-huh." Mario nodded.
He patted his friend on the back. "Well, I dunno about anyone else, but that was the best, most amazing sleepover ever."
Author's Note: So, whadya think? Yeah, I know the song ain't really slow dance material, but in this story it is. The lyrics just went perfectly! And what do you think of Nick, Mario, and Katie? Sorry if the factory scene wasn't that convincing, but it wasn't really the important part of the story… and Old Beastboy… hehehe… I tried my best to make the future, err, futuristic, but if you didn't like it, tell me. And if you think it went too fast, I know I should have posted this in chapters, but I was lazy. Anyways… Whatever you think of this story, just go and…
REVIEW!