DEATH OF THE BRAVE...

A new hero appears after an iceberg fully melts in front of Titan's tower. What secrets could he hold of the cruelty of America, what roll does Slade play, and what will happen when this hero falls in love with Raven?

Writers notes:

I have had a serious writer's block lately and have found this a good idea. This story references Nazi-Germany, Soviet-Russia, and the Cold War. It mainly focuses on the Vietnam War and secret projects conducted by the U.S. and Russia. This story will also reference Call of Duty; Black Ops, as I use the idea of Nova 6. So if you read and think of these things, you get the point. Please enjoy!

The Iceberg Approaches.

Titan's Tower,

2004

Raven stirred awake from a loud bang in the hall. She sat up and looked around. She then saw the clock on the wall; 1:31. She pushed the covers off of her torso and began to uncover her legs when she heard Beast Boy say in front of her door: "Man, I can't sleep." Beast Boy had been sick for a while at that point. He had a serious cold that was too deep for Raven to clear. Raven got out of bed as she heard him walk down the hallway. She walked to the door and opened it.

Looking around, she walked off towards BB's room. When she knocked on his door, he moaned "Come in." He sniffled, making Raven feel somewhat sorry for him. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his forehead. "You're warm." She said in a dry and lifeless voice. BB looked at her and nodded his head. "I know, I tried an ice pack from the fridge, but it didn't work." He moaned to her. He was in pain, but nothing could help. Robin had said that the best thing to do was to leave him alone overnight and see how he feels in the morning. Raven, on the uncommon hand, felt sorry for him. She couldn't help but hope for him. After all, he did save her from Adonis and helped when her father came to destroy Earth.

"Do you want me to get you some soup?" Raven asked, trying to lighten her dark tone. Beast Boy just sat there and looked at her. In his head, he was admiring how beautiful she was. Although he could never tell her this, he always thought it. Since Terra left and betrayed the Titans, he wasn't himself as he normally was. He, on the other hand, seemed to take comfort in Raven and felt different about her as he used too. Raven began to sit awkwardly as BB stared at her.

"Well, are you excited about the iceberg drifting this way?" She asked trying to break him from his trance. "Huh? Oh, ya! It's going to be the coolest thing I ever…" He began, but stopped. He held his breath trying not to sneeze in Raven's face. He finally sneezed into a tissue he pulled from a tissue box. "Seen!" He sneezed. Raven stepped back from him. "Sorry, Rae." Beast Boy apologized.

Raven walked towards the door. She looked over her shoulder and said: "I can't get sick. Good night."

She really couldn't get sick. A single sneeze could send Jump City to its knees. Her powers are unbalanced unless she meditates and extremely deadly if a side of her grows too big, such as love. She feared trusting anyone, but she couldn't help but feel. She didn't understand why she felt anything at all. She was part demon, but part human as well. She walked back to her bedroom and lied down in her bed. She couldn't help but feel like a jerk for abandon BB like that. But she did and she knew you could not rewrite the past. But she began to wonder if it was possible as she drifted to sleep. That morning, she awoke slowly as the sun beamed in her eyes. Raven sat up and looked around. After what happened she just didn't feel comfortable. She felt something was to happen today, but what? She couldn't help but think that today was special. All that was going on was the iceberg passing…

Somewhere in Antarctica,

Same day as iceberg drift, 1974

He stood at a cliff of snow and ice as the British commandos hooked a line attached to a Nazi ship to a stationary pole. He was an American soldier that was put into a project called the "Beta Soldier". He was the one and only subject that survived the surgeries and mental conditioning. He was formally a Marine that was sent to Vietnam, a South-Asian country that was Communist during the Cold War. The southern portion of the country began the Civil War as America was pulled in.

As he walked over to the leader, he looked out to the ship. Inside, a deadly chemical was being shipped to the Nazi fronts of the Soviet side in World War Two. They believed that it would bring them to their knees, but it was locked in ice and never heard from again. And there it sat, frozen in time. The Soviets were after it for the mass killing of millions of U.S. troops and anyone else in their way.

"Master Sergeant Raven," the leader of the British, Major Jacob, said to him to get his attention: "I see you are in a deep train of thought. I mean, you are wearing dressings from Vietnam in this bloody cold weather. Can you not feel the breeze that cuts like knives?"

MSG Raven didn't know what to say. First he is taken from his friends and the battle, then the tests, and recently his own wife didn't even remember him. He wanted to cry, and yet he wanted to tear any Soviet apart. He even longed to escape it all. Either way he saw it, America sold him out to the British for a hefty price, and only for this one mission. His own country gave him away after abusing him. 'I was drafted to serve.' He would think to himself. 'Not to be a test subject.'

As the troops attached their hooks to the line and began to ride down like a zip line, Jacob looked back at Raven and said in an evil voice: "You'll be fine. As long as you keep that trap shut and fight for the king." with an evil grin on his face as he rode down as well. Raven attached a hook on, but took a picture out of his chest pocket and looked at it. He remembered the day he got it. It was after he was tested on. It came with a box from an unknown sender. In the box were the picture and a message on a note card:

"Dear MSG Raven,

This is a picture of a girl in 2004. Her name is Raven. Hold it close to your heart, because you will see her sooner than you think…

Sincerely

Slade"

He didn't understand what it meant. And who was Slade in the first place? He carefully placed the image back into his chest pocket and rode to something he never saw coming. But whoever Slade was, he was right…

The Dream

Titan's Tower

2004

As the sun began to descend from the sky, Raven closed her book. She had finished yet another chapter. She then recapped the day in her head. Beast Boy stayed in bed all day, Cyborg ate meats and played "Beat-O-Bot" for three hours strait, Robin left to help Titans East fix their training course, and Starfire continued to babble about the iceberg. Raven had sat at the table the entire morning reading her book. She then walked past Cyborg asleep on the couch and went to the roof to meditate. She then passed by BB's room and stopped. She felt bad about not saying anything to him since early that morning. But she continued to the roof.

She had sat at the edge of the roof where she meditated and cleared her head. She felt better when she realized the sun was just setting. 'Closer to the iceberg' She thought to herself. She looked at the communicator and read the time: 7:08. Robin hadn't returned until 8:12. He had trouble fixing the firing bots that tested the team's speed and agility. But the iceberg was to drift by at about 10:30. BB had crawled out of his room and was better, but he was still sick.

They all gathered on the roof at about 9:56. Robin and Starfire sat at the edge, their feet dangling. Robin didn't really care for the iceberg, but he wanted to sit with Starfire. Cy and BB were joking and carrying on as they played with flash lights like they were sabers. Raven just sat away from them all and meditated. She still couldn't shake the feeling in her gut something was going to happen. She fell into a deep train of thought as her mind became her eyes.

She was in the middle of a battlefield that was littered with dead bodies that had two different symbols on them. Also, tanks were scattered and blown to bits. She realized the two different symbols. One was American the other was… She couldn't tell. But she saw a weapon. It was a clearly not a gun from 2004. She looked around once more, but a new figure was stumbling its way towards Raven.

It was holding its left arm with its right hand. Blood had run down the left arm and the wound was covered by a cloth held by the hand. It was limping as it struggled to make it to her. She could see the figure grit its teeth, but it wore a helmet that covered its eyes, nose, and the upper part of its cheeks. Raven decided it was a guy, by the shape. Whoever it was had light cloths on, a camo jacket and pants. When he was right in front of Raven, she saw everything on his face. His eyes were blue and the white of his eyes were red and dry. The man was extremely tan and his beard hadn't been cut in a few months. He had bags on his eyes and sweat everywhere. He looked Raven in her eyes and spoke softly, but his mouth was dry: "Master Sergeant Raven of the U.S. Marine Core. I have wandered this field for days and have found not a drop of water. Do you have any, ma'am?"

Raven stopped when she saw the American symbol on his shoulder. She looked around and found a small puddle by a burning tank. She pointed at it and made sure he saw it. "Thank you, ma'am. Would you like to join me? You must be thirsty." he said. Raven then noticed she was thirsty. "Sure." she said suspiciously. He held out his hand to her. "I'll help you down the slope." he smiled at her. She slowly took his hand as he held on softly. He slowly but carefully helped Raven down the slope and to the puddle.

When they reached the puddle, he took out a canteen and scooped out as much water as he could. He then handed Raven the canteen full of water and smiled. "Ladies first. Do you have a container before I clean this off?" He motioned to his arm. Raven felt the blood run to the surface. "No, I don't. Please, go ahead."

He then took the cloth off his arm. The wound was a deep red color. He then got a pair of tweezers out a pouch on his belt. "If you want, you can look away." He informed her. Raven nodded as he brought the metal to his arm. He looked, and caught something in his skin and pulled at it. He grunted in pain. He then gritted his teeth as he pulled out a fragment of metal from his arm. He then washed his arm off again as the blood streamed slightly more. He then washed it off and set it on his leg. Raven watched in shock. She couldn't believe he just removed the metal from his arm, much less be a gentleman to her.

He then wrapped the cloth on his arm and pulled out a pack of crackers. "Would you like one, ma'am?" he asked Raven with a soft voice. She shook her head. He looked down at the package and pulled out a knife from his boot. He then cut the packet in half and wrapped one in a secure pouch like holder. He then gave Raven the wrapped pack. "It is yours if you get hungry. Saltines weren't really my favorite." He joked. Raven giggled and took the pack. He began to eat his slowly. He was hungry, but he didn't want to pig out in front of her.

Suddenly, she fell onto the hard concrete of the tower. She raised her head up to see Beast Boy who jumped back. "What?" Raven questioned him angrily. "The iceberg is here." BB said in a low and shaky voice. She got up and rubbed her elbow. She looked out to the sea to see an iceberg float across. It was the size of a two-story house. Raven felt something weird about the iceberg. She felt something was inside, but what?

That night, Raven sat on her bed. After everyone saw the iceberg and got bored, they all went to bed. But Raven couldn't sleep. She thought about what had just happened. She finally lied down and fell asleep. She then found herself back where she was earlier, but she was lying on the ground on a cover or sheet. She looked around. It was dark outside as she felt an arm around her. She looked over her shoulder, she saw the man. She was about to freak out when she heard him mumble "You fell out from a heat stroke. When night fell, you continued to shiver. So I thought I keep you warm the only way I knew how.

Raven stopped and thought for a moment. 'He does this, but why does it feel so, right?'

"Here, I'm sorry." He apologized and got up. He then moved to where he had removed the metal from his arm and drew his rifle. He watched out into the field. He sat on a box from a tank and watched all around. Raven then settled back onto the cover and pillow. She didn't mean to make him feel awkward, but he had no business doing that. 'At least,' she thought 'he cared to try.' She watched him as he sat watching. He would occasionally look at her and smile. "You know," he once said, "I've never seen a girl as pretty as you." Raven blushed as he eyed her with compassion. It was as if he was really there.

Every now and again loud shots would ring off. The first shot made Raven jump and nearly spring to her feet when he assured her "It's out going artillery fire." Raven didn't sleep that night. She was too troubled about what he had done and was worried he would do worse, but he kept to himself as he watched. He was worried about something. But what? She tried reading his mind, but couldn't. Finally when dawn began to rise, he looked at her and spoke softly "I am on the beach, look for me…"

Raven slowly opened her eyes to the bright sun beaming through the window. She tried to understand what just happen as she walked down the hall to start the day with her warm tea.

Curiosity

Titan's Tower

2004

Raven opened the door to see a surprising site. No one but Beast Boy was in the kitchen/living room. He sat at the table with his hands on the sides of his head. He was eating his tofu. Raven calmly walked to the tea pot and began to make tea. BB slowly turned to see Raven. He was worried about her. He didn't mean to scare her last night but it was his fault. Raven moved to the table and sat down next to him when she filled her tea cup. She was still trying to figure out what the man meant when he told her he was on the beach. BB noticed her confused look and asked her:

"Thinking hard?"

"Ya. It's just a dream keeps replaying in my head. I don't really understand it." She replied.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know," She began, "[sigh] whatever."

She told him everything from her dream about the guy she encountered. BB sat at the edge of his seat at the beginning and gave a painful look when she told him about the metal in his arm. He even gave a surprised look when she told him about where he was lying when she went back into the dream. She even apologized about yelling at BB. He blushed, but it quickly went away when she told him what he said. Beast Boy stopped to think about it for a moment. "Do you want to look at a bunch of symbols and see what the other one is?" he finally asked her.

She nodded as they ran to the computer and activated their search engine. BB stopped and thought of an input: 'Military symbols'. A large collection of symbols dating back to Spartan times popped up. As they scrolled through, Raven stopped Beast Boy. "That one." It was golden and red with a star in the center, on the bottom had the country's name that shocked them both: 'Vietnam'. Raven and BB shared a look of confusion.

"Well, your boyfriend is a murderer!" BB joked. Raven didn't answer. She was thinking about what this meant. She then came to a farfetched conclusion: the soldier was her in this time after the Cold War. BB watched as she thought hard. He knew she couldn't predict the future, but it seemed like it. He put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "You wanna go look on the beach?"

After walking around for half an hour on the warm and sandy beach, they found nothing. Beast Boy had found several sea shells, but no soldier. The iceberg had fallen into pieces and some even drifted to the shore. BB laughed when he saw one run into another. It reminded him of when he beat Cyborg in a game of Racer's Track: Evolved. Finally Raven sat on a towel BB had brought out with them. She was burning up as the sun blared down on them.

The beach wasn't very big, but it had great shade areas near the grass. Raven enjoyed coming out and just sitting. She thought the sea water was cold and the people annoying, but not many people were out as it was the annual park sports events. Cy, Robin, and Starfire went, but BB stayed to help Raven look for the guy she thought would be there at the beach.

Beast Boy walked over and sat next to her. "Water?" He asked her. Raven nodded and BB got her a cold water bottle from the vending machine. She sighed. She thought it was real, but why did she think that? Something wasn't right about any of this. An iceberg had washed ashore and sat on the sand. It sweated, but didn't crumble or fall over. BB looked at it and then to Raven. "You know, that ice doesn't look too tough." He joked. Raven rolled her eyes. "Why don't you go kick it?"

"Good idea!" BB exclaimed as he took it in a playful way. He got up and carefully walked over to it; he tried not to throw sand at Raven with his shoes. When he finally stopped an inch away from it, he took a rock and marked an x on the ice. "Bet you can't hit it!" He dared Raven. She snickered; "You'll be shown wrong." She used her magic to pick up a rock and threw it directly at the ice and it hit dead square on the cross area. It cracked deep within the ice as it started to creak.

Suddenly, the area she hit burst to pieces. And, which shocked them both, a hand had shown its self as the ice broke and fell. Raven gasped in fright as BB stood in shock. Raven then knew it as it was the hand over her in her dream. It didn't move. Beast Boy then came to his since. "We need to get this person out of here!" Raven sprang to her feet and used her magic to help break the ice. BB went gorilla and pounded on the ice. Finally, the top portion crumbled to pieces and fell, revealing the rest of the body. It was the guy from Raven's dream! He was stuck in a position that resembled falling. He had a bullet wound on his chest and a wound on his arm. He had a pistol in his holster on his waist and a rifle on his back.

They had drug the ice holding the body to Titan's Tower. They took it to the medical wing of the tower. Slowly, the ice melted as his arms and legs flattened on the table next to the window. When he finally lied flat, Raven placed a heating cover over the body. BB had measured his heart and brain functions. Cyborg had left him a note saying how to do it. When he returned to Raven, he told her simply; "He is alive, but barley." She just turned to look back at the man. He didn't move at all. His eyes were closed and his face was in a puzzled and confused face, but slowly had turned into a neutral look. Raven saw a tag on his shirt: "Raven".

After two hours of waiting for any sign of physical life, she saw that his right hand was open. She then saw it start to close into a slight fist, and stretched out. Her heart started to race as she sprang to the bed. His head started to turn as his eyes squeezed tight. He let out a grunt as he moved his arms to wipe his eyes off. He sat up on the bed and slowly opened his eyes. He was looking at his legs and suddenly his eyes got wide. "Major Jacob, he betrayed me! He shot me and I fell from the 'Schwimmende Wahreit'! Where am I doc?" He yelled as he threw his head to see Raven. She stepped back in shock and surprise. He nearly fell of the bed as he backed away as well.

"Am I in Nam? The states, or am I in the USSR? Tell me, what is your language?" He asked Raven. She was too surprised to speak. "Oh, um… Chto takoye vash yazyk?" he seemed to ask her. She backed away more when BB burst into the room: "Raven, he's awake!" "Thank god! I'm in America. Tell me, lad, is the war over? Did the Soviets win?" He questioned BB. Beast Boy's mouth dropped open at the voice that entered his ears. "Um… What war exactly?"

"Nam. What happened in Korea? Did the Soviets win? Is the wall still separating Germany?" BB just stood and nearly fainted. Raven finally found her voice, but it was shaky and nervous: "Who are you?" "I am Master Sergeant Raven of the U.S. Marine core. I am the one and only troop who was in the Beta soldier project. I now have the strength of ten men, the speed of a horse, and the will of a survivor. And you are?" He exclaimed and asked Raven.

She couldn't speak, neither could BB. He finally stopped and reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a picture. He held it next to Raven and studied her and the image. "You are Raven?" He asked her. She nodded. "Well," he started as he placed the image back into his chest pocket, "my full name is John Lance Raven. Please call me John. I got a message from some guy named Slade that I would meet you with and image of you. Do you have the slightest of what that's about?"

"Slade?" Beast Boy repeated the name in a ghostly tone. He then sat down and fainted in the chair next to the door. Raven continued to stay in shock when John got up and stumbled to the wall to hold him up. Realizing what she was doing, she went to help carry him. "Thanks," he began, "but I can do it. I just need to… Ah!" Raven didn't notice until he grunted that his leg was gashed open. The blood had covered his leg and died his leg somewhat dark pink. She carried him to the sofa in the living room and sat him down. She started to lift his leg up to rest it on the table when he moaned in pain. Never had Raven seen a scar like that!

She placed his leg back on the ground when he stopped her. "No, I'll live, just force it up." He told her. She tried to do it, but couldn't knowing the pain he was in. "It's okay," He said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "I understand how you feel." He slowly raised his leg gritting his teeth, holding back the pain. Finally, he rested his leg on the table. He sighed in relief, but then knew what to do. "Do you have a cloth I could use for this?" He asked Raven in a calm voice. She nodded and ran to the closet. She then got a hair towel and ran back to him. She handed the towel to him. He took it in a kind manner and wrapped it around his leg. He then looked to Raven, a look of thankfulness as he spoke clearly and romantically: "Thank you."

She began to blush when she felt her heart beat race. 'Am I falling for him?' she thought to herself as she sat next to him, making sure he wanted his space. Instead, he smiled and patted the cushion next to him showing her she could come closer. "If there is one thing you must know about me, it is that I do anything for a lady." He seemed to assure her. She scooted closer as he continued to smile at her. "Now, can you tell me who won the war?" he asked in all seriousness. Raven thought of how to tell him. "It was, kind of, a draw." He sighed at her words. He wanted to win the war, but couldn't. "We, pulled out, didn't we?" he asked in a sad voice. "We pulled out of Nam. I should have known. We got our asses kicked over there."

Raven was surprised by the words he said. She sat only inches from him, yet she could feel his sadness and pain. He had rested his hand in the space between them. 'We blew it.' He thought to himself, 'We really blew it.' He continued to stare at his wounded leg. 'All the scars, the pain, for nothing?' He felt tears begin to fill his eyes as one trickled down his unshaved cheek. Raven didn't know what to do as the tear reached his chin and hit the ground. She wanted to cry, scream, even die and never have to feel the sadness any longer. Her eyes then rested on his hand. She thought about what she was about to do. She then placed her hand on his; making his hand slightly tense up, but relax.

He looked deep into her eyes as he turned to her. She forced a smile as he began to smile too. He then moved his hand to hold her palm and placed his fingers between hers. She then noticed the wedding ring on his finger. She gasped as she pulled away from him. He then looked to what she was eyeing when his smile faded to a cold and dead frown. "Oh," he sighed, "that." More tears flowed down his face as he watched Raven get up from the sofa. "It only holds more pain and agony." He replied to her stare that spoke the words he read clearly: 'What is that?'

He then forced his leg to the floor and stood up. Holding back the pain he began to walk to the door. "If it means anything," He began when he stopped at the door, "I'm sorry." He then stumbled through the door and closed it behind him.

This Is Me, A Monster…

Titan's Tower

2004

He stumbled down the hallway as he walked farther from the living room. He couldn't take the pain of his past coming to haunt him, especially in front of Raven. He finally stopped when he found the garage. He didn't want to snoop, but he had to see the technology level this time was. He opened the door and walked in to see the T car. His mouth dropped when he saw it. He walked around it and took it all in. "Sleek and arrow dynamic." He spoke aloud. "Ya, and if you touch it, you'll be wishing you were never born." A new voice chimed in. He then looked to see Cyborg with his arm cannon aimed at John. "My god!" he awed at Cyborg. "Test project 112-7, also called the cyborg project at the Pentagon. A half human, half robot hybrid that had armor that proved undestroyable by bullets, and hard to pierce with shrapnel."

Cyborg lowered his arm cannon to eye John with a puzzled look. "Who are you exactly?" John didn't answer until a few moments after he looked back at the car. "John, Master Sergeant Raven of the U.S. Marines. Love the car, by the way." he answered. Cyborg then had a joyful look as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh its nothing. I did build it though." John's eyes grew, "Alone? Amazing job, man!"

Raven sat on the couch, her eyes stayed on the small drop of blood on the table. She wanted to clean it up, but it made her think about John. 'I haven't even known him for a day and you're falling in love with him.' she yelled at herself. She didn't move, even when Robin and Starfire walked in, talking about how they won the three-legged race.

When they got to the sofa, they noticed Raven staring at the blood. "What happened, Raven?" Robin asked almost immediately. Raven just looked at him with a dead look. "I think I am in love." She shuttered at the thought. Starfire sat next to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Who do you love, dear friend?" Star asked her. Raven only mumbled: "A soldier." Robin's heart nearly stopped. 'She didn't know any soldier.' He thought to himself, 'Who could it be?' Nearly on cue, Beast Boy burst through the door and yelled in surprise: "Raven, that soldier dude isn't in the medical wing! His leg is cut open." Raven only sat and didn't move. Robin and Star looked at him. "What soldier dude?" Robin asked aloud. And then Cyborg walked through the door John walked out of. "You really carried him from one tip of Vietnam to the border?" he asked aloud without noticing the others. "Yes. Daniel was the only black skinned person in the regiment, and he was my friend to the end. I had too." Replied John as he walked in behind Cy. They both then stopped to see everyone eyeing them.

Raven jumped up as she saw John. He smiled at her as she ran to him. She wrapped her arms around him as he stepped forward. Everyone was stunned by her actions. John then looked at the others. He eyed the ground for a moment and then looked at Raven as she brought her head from his chest. She couldn't control herself; she was too in love with him. A jar began to float up and exploded. Raven pulled away from him when it blew. John didn't notice the explosion as everyone else did. He stared at Raven with a sad look as she ran to her room. He began to follow, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "It's not worth trying that." Robin told him. He stopped and sat back onto the sofa.

He then began to cry into his hands. "What's wrong?" Robin asked him. John looked up and began telling them his story. He told them about how he faked his age to go to war. He was only eighteen, not twenty two. He also told them about his two greatest friends, Daniel and Noah. Daniel was the only black man in the regiment and was disrespected for this, but John had stuck up for him as did Daniel when he was messed with. Daniel was once caught in Northern Vietnam one time and John and Noah went to save him. They were shot down in their helicopter, but made it back home. John had carried Daniel on his shoulder the entire walk back to the boarder. Noah was a white man who also had black friends. Noah used to be a heavy drinker before he was drafted, but John helped him out of drinking his fears away. They were the three musketeers of Vietnam as Noah referred them to.

He then told them about how he was taken from the battle field and put in the Beta Soldier project. He told the Titans about the tests and surgeries they performed on him. They had cut him open many times and placed weird drugs in him to make him stronger and faster. He also mentioned he was the only person in the project. He then told them about what happened when they let him loose to prepare for his mission in the Antarctic. He started slowly: "When they let me go, for the day, I went straight home. I knocked on my door and saw my wife open it. She stepped back as I greeted her. She then asked the words that haunt me forever, 'Who are you'?"

John had stopped. "She didn't recognize me. My daughter came up behind her and saw me. 'Daddy!' she cried as she saw me. I held out my arms to hug her as my wife pushed her behind her legs. She then stared at me with disgust. 'I don't know who you are, but you will stay away from me and my daughter, you monster!' she yelled and slammed the door in my face." He stopped again. He tried to control his tears, but they flooded his face like a dam had broken. He opened his mouth to speak, but not a word escaped his lips. He then stood up and forced a sad and shaky voice: "Do you have anywhere I can be alone?" Robin nodded and pointed to the stairs; "You can sit on the roof if you want." "That will be fine." He responded and limped up the stairs to the roof.

Starfire had burst into tears when she heard what John said. Robin couldn't help but feel depressed. Cyborg had stood and nearly fell over by the depression the story brought him. BB only laughed; he thought John was telling a fairy tale. They all stared at him angrily. "What?" he laughed, "He was joking! Wasn't he?"

"NO HE WAS NOT!" Raven yelled at the top of her lungs when she burst through the door. She stomped over to Beast Boy and smacked him on the head with all her might. He nearly went flying. He sat up and yelled at Raven: "What was that for?" She stopped and calmed down. She didn't know what was happening. She fell in love and now anger has overcome her. She stopped and sat on the couch. "I'm sorry." She mumbled. She had been standing in the door way the entire time John spoke. She covered her face with her hood and looked away from the other Titans. "I'm sorry"

On the roof, John had stopped crying, but was still moping. He didn't want what happened to him happen with Raven. He loved Raven, but why did she pull away? He then took the ring off and threw it as far as he could. Suddenly, a voice rang from over the side. "I see you dropped something." Over the edge, Slade floated up from a platform that hovered over the tower. And behind him were many of his robot troops. He then tossed the ring back to John. He caught it and balled his hands into fists. "Now because of you, I can easily take Raven. I am the Slade that gave you that message, and you helped me weaken Raven." He said in a dry voice with no emotion.

He then pointed to John, and the bots jumped onto the roof and went to grab John. When they were only inches from him, he threw out his fist and destroyed three by a punch in the face. Two came from both sides and reached to grab him, but he grabbed their heads and smashed them together. Bots began to pile on him, but he sprang from his crouching position and flung them all directions. Slade then jumped down and walked past his destroyed force. "You are strong, just what I need in a man." Slade then punched John in the face, sending him back. He then got to his feet and started to punch Slade, but he blocked all the throws. He finally caught John's hand and slung him over his shoulder and over the edge.

John went flying through the living room window and landed hard on the control panel in the center of the room. He sat up and rubbed his head. Glass has pierced into his arm and leg, but he didn't seem to notice. Everyone was still in the living room and eyed John as he sat up on the panel. Raven stared in horror as she watched him bleed. Suddenly, Slade dropped onto the edge of where the glass was and snickered. "I've seen rats do more than that." He taunted John. "Now if you don't mind I'll take the girl and leave."

He walked towards Raven with an evil look in his eyes. She was too stunned to move. Robin tried jumping at him, but was stopped by a force field that seemed to form out of nowhere. The Titans tried to break it, but couldn't. When he was right in front of her, he grabbed her arms and said evilly: "It's all over now." John saw him pull at her and slammed his fists onto Slade's head. He fell over and rolled for a moment. Raven then grabbed onto John and held tightly.

Slade slowly rose and looked at John. As he walked closer, he was stopped when John pulled out an Olympia, a shotgun. "Come any closer, you will feel my fury." John warned him. Slade chuckled and took a single step. "No, John, don't!" Cyborg yelled to him, but John then aimed with one hand and pulled the trigger. A cloud of gunpowder formed followed with a loud boom. They all looked at Slade as they saw many holes in his armor. But oil leaked out of the suit.

"It's a robot! Not the real person." Robin told John. Raven had covered her eyes and buried her face in his chest. He breathed, and finally dropped the gun. He held Raven closer, even though many objects near him blew up. He looked at her face, tears covered her sad face. "I am a monster." John frowned as he softly pushed Raven away, and walked pasted the others and through the door. Raven fell to her knees and sobbed. 'I'm a killer.' John thought to himself.

'Useless American'

Schwimmende Wahreit

1974

He put the picture back into his chest pocket and rode down the zip line. He finally stopped when he stopped himself by holding his feet up and landing on the hull. "You have to use your ice picks!" MAJ Jacob yelled to him over the loud winter wind. John then pulled out one and stabbed the hull with it. He then unhooked the hook he rode with and fell, but was stopped by the ice pick. He then got another and pulled up and pierced the hull with that one. He then pulled the other out and pulled up and pierced the hull once more. He did this until he reached the side when his hands slipped. As he began to fall, MAJ Jacob grabbed his hand and him to the deck.

"What are you trying to do, get your bloody ass killed? Useless American." Jacob yelled over the winds. John stood up and glared at him. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Jacob had never spoken in this tone at or even around John. The words repeated in his head. 'Useless American.' Jacob then signaled the troops to move forward. As they neared a door, John pulled out an explosive charge, as he was told to. Jacob grabbed his shoulder and swung him around to eye him. "Are you stupid? Do you want to sink this bloody vessel?" This even got the attention of the other British troops.

"Sergeant Ramsey, weld the door open." Jacob ordered. The troop hesitated, and then began to weld the door open. John had turned to watch the door. Jacob had never done this. What was going on in his head? When the door fell open, troops flooded in and found the steps to the storage. "Remember troops, we will defend the American as he puts the charges on the Nova 6 containers. The Russians must be exterminated!" he reminded his troops. John only sat still. When the door was kicked open, Russians had yelled about the sound as the British began to shoot at them. Blood flew everywhere when the Russians came fully into view.

They were outnumbered, the British and John; 3:1. But the British quickly took out most of the Russians. John quickly ran to the first target. He placed three charges of C4 onto the tank. He then crawled to the next. There was enough cover to finally crouch as he quickly got to the next. He then also placed three charges of C4 on the tanks. He then saw the last tank. It was in the far back near some testing rooms. They had captured a British troop and forced him into the chamber. "No!" John yelled as he pulled out his M14, a rifle, and shot the Russian at the control panel.

The man moaned, and fell over. The remainder of the enemy ran to the line. John quickly took out eight with the last of his ammo. He then pulled out a grenade and unplugged the pin; he then chunked it over his head towards the enemy. "What are you doing you bloody American?" Jacob yelled over the fire. The grenade landed in the crowd of Russians, and blew up. The blast killed the last of the Russians with a single explosion. Many moaned in pain, and died afterwards.

As John ran to the chamber, Jacob stopped him. "No, he will die honorably!" he yelled as he hit the control panel. Suddenly, gas had poured over the man inside. He ran to the glass and started to beat on it. John tried beating the glass with the butt of his M14, but it only cracked. The man then stopped, held his throat, gasping for breath. His eyes then rolled to the back of his head, and his body fell on the glass. John continued to beat on the glass, even though the man was dead. All the British troops backed away and began to mumble and whisper about what just happened. When John stopped and looked to Jacob, a gun butt hit him in the face, and he passed out.

He awoke from the winds of the Arctic hitting his face. He then noticed he was being drug by someone. The person then threw him at the edge, his head hanging off. He then turned to see Jacob holding a gun to John's head. John then grabbed the gun and tried to throw it to the side, but Jacob forced it to John's chest. "Useless American." Jacob muttered as he pulled the trigger. John stopped, he couldn't breathe the pain hit him that hard. He then fell to his knees and looked at Jacob. He was chuckling.

"Don't you get it? You were sold out to your own country. And sell outs don't deserve to live." Jacob said to the dyeing John. He then found a voice, weak and raspy: "Well, if I go, you go!" he yelled as he placed C4 on Jacob who tried to pull it off. He then looked at John with a puzzled look on his face. John merely stood up, the detonator in his hands, and fell backwards off the ship. While in midair, he pushed the trigger as explosions went off in the hull and on the deck. He watched as he let the detonator go and fell. He didn't close his eyes as he prayed to god: "Please let though bring me in, shelter thy who come into your land. Watch out for Rosie, my daughter, and my wife, Angelica. They don't need me anymore."

Finally, he fell into the water, freezing slowly into the position he was in. His eyes didn't close as he watched the clouds lighten to see what he thought was god's gate, letting him in. Everything then went white as he froze into place. 'I have done my duty,' he thought, 'make the world safer for my girl.'

Raven had watched this memory she had seemed to remember when she hugged John. It was three days after he left, and he had yet to return or be heard from. "All he wanted was to be normal, but it didn't work out." She said aloud. She still felt his warmth on her as she felt the only thing that was found of him; a tear from his suit. She kept it close to her, as she thought it would be a sign he would return.

Raven walked into the living room to see Robin monitoring street cams and siting reports. Cyborg was making sausage watching Beast Boy suspiciously as he was worried something was wrong. Starfire watched curiously as Robin searched. And finally, Beast Boy was sitting at the table, playing with his tofu. He felt bad about what happened to Raven, but in a way, he was sad about John leaving. He didn't look up from his tofu the entire morning. Raven walked over to the tea pot and began to make hot tea. "Any luck?" Raven asked Robin as he browsed through. "Not even a finger print. It's like he vanished."

"He might have well did." She responded as her eyes sank to the floor. She walked to the couch to watch Robin frantically search for the missing soldier. She blew on her tea before taking a sip. She had cried in her room for an entire day and didn't come out for anything. While she did, many things blew up all over Titan's Tower. No one did anything that day but sat and mopped.

Starfire sat next to Raven to comfort her. But Raven scooted away. She remembered when John had sat where Star was and couldn't help by cry. The tea pot had exploded as she buried her face into a pillow. Star looked to Robin to meet his gaze. They didn't know what to do. BB had looked up to see Raven cry. He then moved over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Rae. You get used to losing someone special." He sighed as he thought of Terra. Raven didn't bring her head up, but only turned it away from BB. He sighed and went to his room. "Let's give her some time, guys." Cy said finally. They all nodded and left. Cy placed a hold on Raven's shoulder and spoke clearly before leaving: "Hope you feel better, Rae." She sat, her face in the pillow, for a while. She then got up and went to her room to sleep.

That night, she sleep restlessly as she sat in her bed. She tried moving to different areas of her bed, but only to feel even more restless. She sighed as she looked to the clock; 8:47 Pm. She then decided to get up, go to the kitchen, and make something that would help her sleep. As she walked down the hall, she heard a shower start. As she went to the bathroom, she wondered who it could be. Beast Boy didn't take showers, Cyborg was part machine, Starfire didn't like the way the shower spayed her in her face, and Robin had his own. 'So,' she thought, 'it's a ghost.'

When she finally reached the bathroom, she knocked on the door enough to allow anyone inside to know someone was there. The shower then turned off and she heard a towel being pulled off of the shower curtains' rode. She then heard footsteps come to the door and the door handle turning. She then stepped back to allow whoever was inside to see her better. But she was surprised to see that it wasn't any of her team mates, it was John, wrapped in a towel. He had some hair on his chest, and hadn't shaved his face. He had poked his head through to see Raven. "Raven!" he whispered as he eyed her with a puzzled look.

He then looked up and down the hallway to make sure none of the others were there. He then leaned closer to her and whispered in a serious voice: "You can't tell anyone you saw me." She looked at him awkwardly. "Oh," he began when he noticed she was staring at his chest, "I had a little, issue." "Get dressed and come with me." Raven whispered too him. He shook his head and disappeared behind the closed door. She heard him slip on his cloths and walked out. She then took his hand and pulled him to her room. She then made sure no one was watching as she slid the door shut.

John was standing behind her as she turned to look at him. She then placed her hands on his chest. He sighed in pain, making Raven pull her hands back. "No, it's okay. You aren't hurting me." He assured her as he took her hands and put them on his chest. She had blushed when he did this. She didn't take her eyes off of him as he smiled at her, she hugged him. 'Why are you doing this?' Raven thought to herself. John hugged her back, soft and pleasant. She then pulled back to look at him. "Why did you come back?" she asked him.

"I didn't want to leave you venerable and sad, but I couldn't let the others see me. They think I'm a murderer. Especially Beast Boy." He told her as he picked Raven up. She was still in a hug when he picked her up by her legs, holding her comfortably in his arms. She blushed and tensed up, but quickly calmed down and placed her head on his chest. "So, you came back for me?" she asked him as she turned to eye him. He only smiled and leaned closer. He kissed her cheek and continued to hold her. She watched him and then placed her head back on his chest, a smile on her face. She then slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When he noticed she was asleep, John placed her on her bed, and covered her up to her collar bone. The smile on her face did not vanish. He then sat on her bed, but over the covers. He lied on his back, his left arm under Raven's head. She then turned and snuggled up onto him. He smiled as he took one of her hands, wrapped his fingers between hers, and fell asleep, feeling Raven's love radiate. Without him noticing, many things exploded. Books, lamps, even things in the other rooms exploded. But he didn't seem to care at all. "I won't let anyone hurt you." He whispered in her ear and fell asleep.

The sun shined brightly in his eyes as he opened them. He looked over to Raven who was still asleep, her hand on his chest and snuggled up to him. His and her hands were still connected. He took his hand and brushed back the hair that fell in Raven's face. She slowly cracked her eyes to see him. She smiled at him as he smiled back. She didn't care if he was lying next to her; she just wanted to be near him. Suddenly, the door opened as Starfire appeared, a smile on her face. "Good morning, dear Raven! Will you join me in eating my home made pancakes? They may be hard, but they are amazing…" She slowed down as she saw John in the bed next to her.

Her face turned into a ghostly stare at him as he looked at her in a confused way. Raven stared at her angrily as she motioned for her to leave. Starfire slowly backed away, not taking her gaze off the two. She then closed the door and ran down the hallway. Raven sighed and buried her face into John's chest. "You'll have to forget her." Raven sighed. "It's okay. I mean, I was in the shower last night when you found me." He chuckled.

"Oh, that's awkward!" they heard Cyborg say aloud. They also heard Beast Boy and Robin chuckle from behind the door. Raven buried her face deeper. John only placed his right hand on her head to tell her to look at him. She did as he told her softly; "Their just jealous I have you." He smiled. She smiled back and held him tighter. He watched as a fly flew close to them. 'Funny,' he thought, 'I've never seen a green fly. He swung his hand and smacked Beast Boy. BB went flying clear to the door and under it to the hallway. "He's got some strength." He moaned turning back into himself.

You What?

Titan's Tower

2004

Raven and John had been in Raven's bed for several hours since the night had fallen. It was only a day after they were caught lying in her bed and the guys were giving John the hardest time, even worse than when he dealt with Jacob. The guys would give snappy comments after he said something, even if it wasn't to them. They would give him nasty and disgusted looks. Beast Boy, predictably, gave him the worst time. BB would ram shoulders with John in gorilla form, simply for no reason. He would purposely sit in between the two when they sat together, and even moved Raven away from him by dragging her.

Finally, after a long day, they had time to themselves. Everywhere they went that day, BB would follow them. John sighed as he thought the day over. Raven, who snuggled upon him, noticed his sigh. "What's wrong?" she asked as the darkness seemed to blanket John. "Just, thinking." He replied in a depressed voice. He didn't understand why her friends were acting this way. 'They may think I want to take her away from them.' He thought. But sighed again and turned to Raven. "'I'm going to go get some milk, want some?"

As he walked down the hallway, he continued to think over why the male Titans, especially Beast Boy, were acting this way. Cyborg had the same respect for vehicles as he did; Robin valued strength and honor over fame as John, and Beast Boy. They didn't have much in common. 'Maybe except for a single love…' he thought as he neared the kitchen. Then he quickly remembered what Raven wanted; hot herbal tea.

When he entered the dark room, he looked to the cabinet to pull out a coffee mug. He then opened the pantry and pulled out everything he needed for Raven's tea. He then sat it down next to the stove and found the teapot in the cabinet next to the plates. He then saw, from the corner of his eye, a figure shaking their head. He turned to it as he flipped the stove light on, and there stood Beast Boy. "I knew you would come." He said, trying to sound like a detective. "How did you know?" John asked sarcastically. Beast Boy's eyes seemed to lock on John like a sniper. "Some say I can be a fly on a wall." He responded. "You can be a fly on a wall." John said, making BB eye him funnier.

"Well," he began, "I don't think you should be around these parts anymore." BB raised his voice. "John looked at him in a puzzled look. "Why?" BB then turned, his full body facing John. "I think you are using her!" he nearly yelled. John just chuckled and sat the teapot on the burner. "Listen kid, I would never do that to her. She is," he stopped and looked at BB, "what makes my world spin." Beast Boy yelled at him nearly at the top of his lungs: "I don't believe you, you retarded VETERAN!" John stepped back from him in complete shock. "I am not done serving." He remarked BB's statement, but Beast Boy continued.

"The war is over you crazy FREAK!" BB slammed his hands over his mouth. He didn't mean to say any of that. He was too moody for anything because he couldn't sleep. "Well," John began in a low voice, "then I guess you guys got what you wanted." He finished and walked to the staircase. By this time, everyone, except Raven, was coming out of the hallway after listening to the commotion that just went on. "Smooth one, B." Cyborg told him. "That was not 'smooth', that was mean and self-centered." Starfire added. Robin just shook his head at Beast Boy. Finally, Raven walked in, rubbing her eyes, and yawned: "What's wrong? Where is John?"

"Good luck explaining this, Beast Boy." Robin told him as he herded the other Titans out. Raven's face grew anxious as BB's voice squeaked as he explained what happened. Raven's face sank faster than the Titanic. She slowly turned to the hallway and looked over her shoulder back at BB; "You got what you wanted, a lonely girl." She muttered as she gloomily walked into the hall. "No! Not lonely, but… 'Safe'." He tried telling her, but slowly sank into a chair and buried his face in his hands. 'What have I done?' he thought to himself.

Jump City

2004

He walked up and down the empty streets as it was 1:00 am. He drug his feet as he walked, thinking what he knew and what he felt over and over. He decided to do what he must, to prove what he must to the males of the Teen Titans. He slowly approached the building as he read the sign nearly a thousand times before entering; '24 Hour Marines Core Enlistment'. He opened the door to hear a ringing of a bell. A man looked at him from behind a counter. "Well, hello there, sir." The man said to John. John looked at the man and simply said "I would like to enlist, I have nothing left to trust."

The man gave him a nod as he pulled out an enlistment form and a pen and gave them to John. "Have you served in the past?" he asked, observing John's ACUs. "Vietnam. But you probably don't believe that." He muttered in response. "The man then got a face that looked as though he remembered John's face. "John! It's me, Noah!" John then fully noticed the features of the old man. "Noah? Is it really you?" he asked as he lowered the pen from fully filling out the form. "Ya! It's me! Um… Remember that time Daniel was caught over enemy lines and we went to save him?" Noah sputtered out to help John remember.

"Yes, we got shot down our selves!" John reminded him. Noah laughed and held out his hand. John took it and shook his hand; "Welcome back to the Marines!" Noah congratulated him as he handed him the boot camp form. "Your bus leaves tomorrow at eight here. Don't be late, although you could just run there!" Noah chuckled as they started telling each other what life has done to them.

A Few Hours Later…

Raven cried slowly into her pillow as things exploded all over the tower. She couldn't believe he left. 'It is Beats Boy's fault!' a part of her yelled at herself. The other Titans felt bad for her, especially Beast Boy. He didn't mean to send John away, but he did. He slowly looked out the window of the living room and watched the boats float cross the ocean. A boat seemed to drift closer.

He shook his head and looked to the others who stared at him in anger and frustration. He gave a cheesy smile as he slowly got up and walked out of the room to Raven's. He knocked on her door; "Rae, I'm sorry. It's just that, I thought, he wanted to take you away." He managed to spit out as the door cracked open. Dried tears had run down her face as she looked at him in anger. "You did this," She said to him in a shaky voice, "you got what you wanted. Now leave me." She slammed the door in his face. His face sunk as he walked back to the living room.

He had come up the back stairwell as he walked silently until he reached Raven's room. He knocked to hear her say in a tearful voice: "Go away." He then pried the door open and walked in. Raven watched in happiness as he walked into the room. John stood in front of her in digital ACUs, which a soldier would wear today. He shut the door as she jumped into his arms. He held her by her legs as he did before. She held his head as she saw the symbols and nametag he wore.

She noticed that he had cut his hair on his face and had a military buzz cut. She placed her hands on his soft cheeks as they leaned in for a kiss. Their lips met half way. Raven wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed back. After a moment, they pulled back to stare at each other, their eyes gleamed with love as John stood, holding Raven. "I'm leaving tomorrow to go to boot camp, so I won't be her for twelve weeks." He sighed as Raven's face sunk too. "Well," Raven started, "I want to make the best of this time." She whispered into his ear as they smiled and met in a kiss once again.

"Something's up," Robin spoke to the Titans still in the living room, "things are still exploding, but not as often." If it was one thing they learned from this, Raven's sadness makes more things explode than any other emotion, aside from anger. Robin walked to the door to the hallway as he turned to the others; "I'll check on her." The other shared looks as Robin walked to her door. Robin listened for anything, but nothing. "She's asleep." He said aloud as he heard her sigh. He listened even closer as he heard her laugh and stop. He cracked the door open to see nothing. He then looked as far as he could, and noticed that Raven was being held by something.

He then opened the door farther to see John holding her by her legs as she rested her head on his chest. A frown covered his face as she fell asleep in his arms. Robin then backed out of the room and shut the door silently. 'That was weird.' Robin thought as he walked back to the living room. "What is she doing?" BB asked him impatiently. "She's," he started, "asleep." He wanted her to be happy, so he left the matter alone and gave a yawn.