She stumbled along the dusty road in a narcotic-induced stupor. The cars that drove by her on the near-desolate road either honked or ignored her presence. She flipped all of them off anyways.

The large storm clouds rumbled off in the west behind her, and the thick pillars of Steel City's skyscrapers rose up in the east. Soon, the rain engulfed her and the area surrounding in sheets.

Gasping with the effort, she collapsed, leaning her back against a large boulder by a worn billboard. With a weary huff, she curled up in the mud and tried to forget where and who she was.

………..

"Oy! Titans!" Bumblebee shouted from the kitchen of the Titans East's' tower. "Time for field training!"

Mas y Menos tore into the room, jumping up and down and speaking in Spanish. Aqualad glided up from the depths of his pool, perching on the edge, and Speedy strode in with an irritated look on his face.

"Now? In this weather?" he whined. "It took me two hours this morning to fix my hair. The rain's gonna ruin it!"

Mas y Menos mocked him with two equally whiny voices, until two suction cup arrows slapped on their mouths, turning their teasing into muffled cries.

"What's your deal?" Aqualad asked, toweling off his hair as he stepped out of the pool. "It's not going to hurt you. You know, the ancient Aztecs used to use water to-"

"That's okay." Bumblebee cut him off. "I don't know how long this weather is gonna last, and we need field practice in all weather."

The four boys sped, trudged and walked to the Titans East T-Car. Bumblebee got in the driver's seat and they sped off to their practice arena deep in the mountains.

The Titans East, being in the central area of Steel City, had no room for a practice area right in their backyard like the Titans West. After many complaints from Bumblebee, Cyborg finally came out one weekend and helped them build a secret area in the mountains. The team had never practiced in storm weather, so Bee wanted them to see what the terrain would be like.

………………………………..

"HAH! TAKE THAT!!" hollered Speedy as he caught Mas in a giant net. Seconds later he was blasted off his feet by a giant waterball as Aqualad stood on a nearby rock, his eyes blazing with excitement.

"Y'all haven't seen anything yet!" laughed Bee as she sped around the boys, zapping Aqualad in the back as she landed on a tree.

The Titans' fighting caused loud rumbling that echoed off the mountains, but since no one lived within fifty miles they were fine. They were free to cause as much damage as they wanted.

"Do you hear that?" Aqualad paused, a huge sheet of water held over Bee's head. A new rumbling was coming from the east. Rocks trembled and rolled off some of the nearby hills.

All of a sudden, an inhuman screech erupted from the source of the rumbling. As the Titans stood in horror, a giant eagle glided over the mountains and swooped over their heads.

The eagle was a brilliant scarlet red, with burgundy-red and white feathers on its underbelly. Its eyes were a piercing, almost human, blue.

It swooped over Aqualad, trying to rake its giant talons on his head. He ducked in the nick of time, feeling the wind of its speed as it went by.

"Titans!" Bee cried. "Titans-GO! Now!!" They got in their battle positions. Just as Speedy launched an arrow at it, the eagle landed and instantly shifted into a giant scorpion. It screeched as Mas y Menos ran through its giant legs. As they distracted it, Aqualad blasted it with a giant orb of water, and Bee shocked it with her stingers. With a final squeal, the creature collapsed and began to shrink.

The Titans stood at the ready as the scorpion continued to change. It finally laid still, a small(er) lump on the ground.

"Hold up," Speedy called out as stepped towards the creature. "It's a…..person!" he cried to the others. He knelt down and touched the person on the shoulder.

"AARGH!" they cried, jumping to their feet. It was a girl, tall, with her wet hair hanging in her eyes. "YOU RUINED MY REST!" she screamed. She lunged at Bee, hands outstretched to her neck. Mas y Menos sped behind her, grabbing both arms to contain her. She continued to scream expletives as Bee and Aqualad peered at her face.

She was about Aqualad's height (6'1) with short blond hair. She wore a black tank top and volleyball shorts (which are spandex), with no shoes. She also had a small tattoo of an "M" with an arrow coming off of it on her right wrist.

"Let. Me. GO!" she thundered, shaking her wet hair out of her face.

"I think she's sick," Aqualad nodded at the girl to Bee. "Look at her eyes. They're all red, and she's so pale." The girl snarled.

"That's not sickness, at least not the way you mean it." Speedy strode forward, staring into the girl's bloodshot eyes. "She's a shooter."

"A what?" Aqualad asked, confused, while Bee nodded with understanding. "She shoots things?"

"No," Speedy sighed, frustrated. "Horse. Black tar. Smack." He realized the Atlantean still didn't understand. "She does drugs! Heroin!"

The girl snarled again. "Let me go! Now!" She spat in Speedy's face to make her point.

"She's not in her right mind now," he explained to Bee. "We should probably take her back to the Tower."

Bee nodded. 'Get the car," she ordered the still-in-shock Aqualad. "We're gonna help you," she said slowly to the girl, who glared and tried to kick her. Bee sighed and shocked the girl at a pressure point to knock her out. Speedy grabbed her as she slumped in the twins' arms.

As he carried her to the T-Car, he whispered, "I'm gonna help you."