Author Notes:
HEY guys, what's up? Yeah, I've been kinda dead for a couple of months, but that's what college does. I'm sorry I took so long to come back.
But here's my new story! A few things about it:
- In this story, I hope to post longer chapters than the ones I normaly do.
- Mar'i is not an OC, but Connor is.
- The ships are: BBRae, Robstar, CyBee, Flinx, Oliver/Dinah. Members of the JLA will be often mentioned.
- Reviews and advices are very welcome!
- I really hope you like it ;)
Year 2030 - Jump City
"Hey, Birdy Boy-"
A sigh. "Years have passed, Cyborg. For the last time: NIGHTWING!"
"Whatever. There's something up."
"Where?"
"Here. It seems it's Time WarFp again."
Those were just voices, echoing through the metal and going into the girl's ears. The same ones who so much inspired the brave feelings inside her, were the same who blocked her way to the battlefield. That was something she could not understand. Still, on the other side of the door, Mar'i Anders Grayson listened to the whole talk. Her black hair fell on her eyes, so she put them behind her ears again, trying her best to listen as much as she could.
"Isn't this dude old already? He should take a break…"
"You forgot the guy travels in time, Gar."
"Friend Raven, I guess it's best if we-"
Raven waved her hands down at Starfire, gesturing for her to shut up. And she did so.
Some seconds passed by, but nothing was said by the team. Curious, Mar'i tried to put her ear closer to the door, to hear something in case they were whispering.
"Having fun?"
She jumped right away at this sudden monotone voice. Turning around, she spotted Raven.
"Jesus, Rae." She sighed. "You've got to stop with this, it's creeping me out already..."
"What exactly were you after?"
Mar'i rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"I... I don't know. Maybe a useful part in all of this."
"We've all talked about it more than once." Nightwing said, walking towards the two girls, followed by Starfire. When she saw her parents' disappointed faces, that same feeling of uselessness was felt again inside her chest. The alien titan nodded.
"It's too dangerous. Besides, we did not bring you here so that you could eavesdrop us."
"But when Gar joined the team, he was 14!"
Raven raised an eyebrow at Mar'i. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm 12! The same mental age he had at the time."
The titan smirked a little, and so did her teammates, but they didn't give up on their decision. Indeed, Mar'i was a smart girl; and the simple thought of not being able to do anything drove her mad.
"Okay. You're right about Gar's mental age... Well, mentally I'd say he was even younger." Nightwing said, with a hint of a smile on his face. "But I have to stand by the last decision. Sorry, you are not going to join the fight."
Her jaw dropped. "What- But- Mom!"
"Sorry, Mar'i..."
"But-!"
"And you will be at the lab with Connor." Raven added.
With arms still crossed, she looked away, stubborn.
"I just hate being useless! You guys go on missions, saving the city and I'm supposed to sit my butt on a great chair and wait till you come so that I can applaud you?!"
Nightwing raised an eyebrow. "You never applaud us."
"You know what I mean! It's like you don't trust my abilities."
And there they went again. Sighing, he got down on one knee and rested a hand on her shoulder, looking into her big green eyes.
"You know that I do trust them. Mainly because I trained you, so saying you're bad at combat is the same that saying I'm not a good teacher."
Mar'i glared at him, which made him laugh a little.
"Ok, I'm kidding. It's true that you fight well. But I don't think it's time for you to join us just yet. You're too young."
"I'm not a child anymore!"
"Yeah." Raven replied in monotone, mockingly. "Twelve years old, your wisdom shocks me."
She glared at Raven for a while, although she knew, deep inside, that the titan was just kidding. Finally, Mar'i took a deep breath.
"Fine..." She mumbled. And with no one extra word, she walked away towards the lab.
"You know, I'm trying not to be harsh, but it's getting difficult." Nightwing said quietly, so that his daughter couldn't hear his words. "She's so stubborn..."
Starfire smiled. "Well... She's your daughter, after all, Richard. But we must not change our minds."
"I never said I would..."
"Good." Raven said. "She has to learn how to be patient. It's part of the training, remember?"
Nightwing nodded, as he completed his friend's words. "As well as strength, strategy and loyalty."
"I believe that, as time passes by, Mar'i will learn that all we're doing now is what's best for her."
Nightwing smiled weakly, wrapped one arm around Starfire and kissed her forehead, nodding. Now Mar'i was just a silhouette at the end on the long hallway. She kept on walking, while the grown-ups stood there, their eyes following as she went around the corner.
The girl walked in the lab, angry and frustrated, mumbling things against the Titans; but she was the only one who could hear them. "Who do they think they are?... I'm not a kid, not a kid, not a kid..."
Connor smiled at her immediately, while playing his portable video game.
"Hey, kid."
"I'M NOT A KID!"
He jumped in shock and almost let the device fall, since he was able to catch it in mid air. He used the panel behind him as support, while sighing; and then put his dark purple hair back on its tuft.
"Ok, calm down, k-... Uh... Teen?"
Mar'i only sighed and walked towards him, sitting on a chair nearby. She glared at nowhere.
"Sorry, Con."
He laughed a little, as if trying to cheer her up; but not showing off too much emotion. "It's fine. But... What was that about?"
"My parents don't let me join the team..."
"Again?" He asked; and looked with tired eyes at her. That had turned into a routine for all of them. Stubborn as she was, that girl would not give up so easily, but he insisted upon trying to convince her anyway. "Why can't you wait? C'mon... They don't even let me fight for real, and I'm 15."
"But it's different. You don't want to. And Gar was pretty happy when you told him what your plans were..."
Connor shrugged it off. Indeed, fighting against bad guys was not his area. He preferred to follow his dreams and instincts, and become a game designer; a decision which made his father proud. Beast Boy was a gamer in soul, after all.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they would let me if I wanted to." He said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, it may seem crazy, but they're doing this for your own good."
"They know nothing about what's good for me!" She moved her shoulder abruptly, as his hand happened to slip away. He rubbed it down on his face.
"Mar'i, I-"
Suddenly, the Titan alarm started to ring, repeatedly, as red lights flashed at the same rhythm. Mar'i jumped and stood up, alert.
"Something's up! Do you think they found him?!"
He crossed his arms and looked away. "Heck, I don't know. But it's better if you just-" As soon as his eyes went back to Mar'i, she was gone. It took a while, but he spotted her on her way to the door; and being faster, he used his mother's heritage powers and materialized himself in front of her, blocking the way.
She took a step back and shouted in protest. "Hey!"
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you go there." He said, shaking his head. "It's not gonna end up well..."
"In which side are you?!"
After she said this, he sighed, rubbing his forehead, tired of trying. Mar'i looked at the ground, almost regretful.
"I'll be fine."
"You've got no idea about what you're gonna face over there. Be reasonable..."
"I said I can handle it, you just don't trust me!"
"This is not a simple game, Mar'i. This is real life, with real battles!"
"So what?! I can handle myself and I don't need your 'wisdom' or anything you gotta say to hold me back!"
Now all the patience he had left was gone. There were a few seconds of silence, in which he nodded in fake approval and looked at her, angry.
"You think you know what's best for you? Ok..." He raised his hands, as if surrendering himself. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
Mar'i felt a little guilty for talking to her best friend like that. But if it was the only way he'd let her go, she had to deal with it.
"I told you, I'll be fine. Now if you excuse me..."
"Oh, yeah, sorry..." He said, faking realization. The boy took a step to the left, gesturing towards the door with a reverence; irony written all over his actions.
Annoyed, Mar'i just walked, opened the door with the handprint reader and left the room, while Connor stared at the exit. Worried, he brought a hand to his head and closed his eyes.
The place was dark and quiet, different from what Mar'i had expected. There was a strong smell of sulfur; and the metal walls and stairs extended themselves in a long way. She walked around that abandoned hangar for quite a while; until she heard distant noises. Her eyes brightened.
Warp threw a blast of energy on Nightwing, who flew and hit the wall behind him. As a response, Starfire and Cyborg attacked the villain together, firing starbolts and plasma blasts at him, respectively. But the man made himself a shield, blocking it all.
Changeling was still unconscious from a blow, on the ground. Once she had healed her husband's wounds, Raven went over Dick to to the same. However, before she could do so, a strange feeling filled her aura.
That they were being observed.
Despite that, she touched her glowing hands on Nightwing's leg, until it was completely healed. But not many seconds passed by before it happened.
"AAAAAH!" They all heard a girl shouting, as a big piece of metal flew above them and fell on Time Warp. That woke both Dick and Garfield. Confused, but still knowing what to expect, the titans turned around.
There was a brief moment of shock and disbelief. Raven, Changeling and Cyborg turned their eyes to the parents.
"MAR'I ANDERS GRAYSON!" Starfire called, angry above all levels. Her eyes even glew. Nightwing, who was not less angry, stood up; and both walked quickly towards her. "I THOUGHT WE WERE CLEAR: YOU ARE NOT GOING TO THE BATTLE FIELD!"
Mar'i stared at them, incredulous. "But I just saved your a-!"
"The language, young lady!"
"How could you?!" Dick took his turn. "You were supposed to listen to us, we do what we do because we want your best!"
"Do you see what I just did?! I KNOCKED HIM OUT!"
"Uh, dude... Not yet..."
As soon as they heard Gar's words and their eyes aimed at the villain's direction, they saw he was standing again; and didn't hesitate before throwing blasts at them again.
Mar'i glared at him. That was the moment to show she could do something helpful, something brave. As an impulse, she ran towards him and grabbed his stomach, making both of them fall. Nightwing, desperate, tried to reach his daughter. Worthless, though. Time Warp pressed a button on his time-traveling device and made a giant portal open.
All of the titans felt the impact of this sudden wind storm, as the portal tried to suck them in. This moment lasted only a few seconds, but it seemed to last decades. Mar'i kept holding onto the villain.
"Mar'i!" Cyborg shouted. "LET GO! LET HIM SCAPE, FOR DIANA'S SAKE!"
But she didn't. She stayed there until the end. And just Raven was able to get a glimpse of what really happened. Her eyes saw everything, as the man grabbed Mar'i's arm, which caused the two of them to go closer and closer to the big circle as Mar'i fought against his grasp. Just before they were completely sucked in, Raven saw his face change quickly, into something else.
And then, the portal closed.
Stunned, they stared at where Mar'i once had been.
The silence was cruel to them, repeating the scene over and over before their eyes and inside their ears. She was really gone. For real. A big part of each one of the titans didn't want to believe; but they had to. And as it seemed, at least to four of them, it had been an accident. They couldn't do anything to stop it.
Starfire's eyes started glowing again and the ground began to shake, while she made two fists and was about to scream. Nightwing, who had tears in his eyes, was quick and embraced her trunk and head, resting his chin on her hair and not letting her go; even though she tried to. Soon enough her strength gave in; and the tears went down her cheeks in a long sob.
Cyborg punched a wall. Changeling sat on the floor, covering his face with both hands. But all Raven could do was to keep staring at that same spot; fighting against her own tears and only telling herself:
It was definitely not an accident.