For those of you actually interested in the Author's note…not many but I'll take what I can get I'd like to take care of a few things, first as a disclaimer for the entire story I do not own Teen Titans nor any other copyrighted characters, places, ect. Next I would like to ask anyone who reads this story a few questions, if you would leave a review I will send you a PM regarding this story, I'd like as much feedback as possible. And while I know a vast majority are waiting for me to update Alone I stand, Together I shatter, I regret to inform you it may be awhile my Grandfather passed away and too many plans are up in the air. Finally I'd like to thank Lunahras for giving me a great many ideas (too many actually) and OMG Pterodactyles and Broconi for bettaing this story for me…I promise this will the longest A/N of this story…everything else is free game.
The creature that crawled out of the hole that suddenly appeared in the ground could by no means be called human. The people around it simply didn't know what it was. It was vaguely human-shaped… vaguely…ish. But as for what it really was nobody could tell. It fixed it's eyes on them. All twenty-nine of them. Four eyes traced each side with the final one sitting vertically between the four pairs and extended to the very tip of the nose, this format was repeated three times with another elongated eye sitting between each set. The eyes went completely down the face and could only do so with no mouth on it's face. And no ears, seeing as how a set of eyes took the sides of it's face as well. The only thing on it's head that wasn't covered with eyes was the back where long jungle green hair hung in a loose ponytail.
But that was only the head of this strange creature, it's body was covered by a long flowing brown wrap the only opened where it stood by some hidden means and where it's hundreds of arms stuck out from it's multitude of shoulders that traced up and down it's sides each with a single human shaped hand that ended in either perfectly manicured blunt nails or a meat hook excuse for a talon.
Each group took a step back as it clapped every set of hands together at once, a near sonic boom that blasted even Superman off his feet and flat on his back. Suddenly each of their minds were filled with uncountable voices of every conceivable age, gender, language and inflection.
One voice, a gravely, deep, rich female voice "Stop it, they aren't used to Mungu Kusema" and suddenly the voices were gone. Though no other audible sound was heard they assumed the creature continued talking as the familiar voice spoke again "Well then you're just going to have to speak in a human voice"
Raven stood before them, a few years seemed to have made a difference to the Titan, she was taller, had longer hair and many males in the room huffed as they realized a set of loose dark blue cargo pants had been added to her usual uniform. She was surrounded by three girls that none of the other heroes recognized. The first was fourteen year old dressed in sooty black, a loose long sleeve leather jacket and matching jeans with steel toe boots and bright blue hair more at recognizable as the shade of blue an intense fire would have and marvelously matching eyes that bore into each of them with unadulterated hate she turned to Raven and the other two before growling out in a seductively deep voice "Let's get Capt'n set up for the big change" she turned to face the creature before her voice took on a soft tone "The quicker you change the faster we can get some food and aspirin into you" and she held out a hand and two of the creatures gently cupped hers before she led it to a room that Raven pointed out, the two others followed her in before the Goth closed the door.
Raven looked at the other guests and lifted one elegant brow, every hero who's name she knew was here. And her own group who consisted of the Creature, the three girls and… "Wade, if you don't get out here this second he's not going to be happy"
The former merc walked out head down "Hey Ravie…can we see him?" this was punctuated by weapons, energy beams and a multitude of other things being pointed at him. He countered with a cheery "Hey Guys! Batsy! I didn't know you were here!" and he suddenly appeared behind the bat and poked the grim defender's cheek.
The Flash covered his face with his hands and sobbed quietly "God hates us"
Raven cleared her throat and Deadpool immediately hopped to her side with a goofy grin and an almost girlish giggle. Suddenly his happiness faded "Where's the boss?"
"Changing back, Calypso, Surt and Artio are with him"
The merc sighed in relief while Superman blinked hard and stared "You brought, an immortal demigod who can never leave her island, the Fire Giant who destroyed the world and the Celtic bear goddess here?"
The Merc with a Mouth shot out two fingers to the Man of Steel and beamed "ISH!"
A girl walked out of the small side room, she was probably twelve and she had on a black cloak similar to Raven's but her short cut dark hair and pale skin made sure she wouldn't be mistaken for the other, her eyes were covered by a veil of mist that seemed to cling to her no matter how she turned her voice was very soft and pleasant "Raven, he's changed back…"
Raven nodded before looking at Wade "Get him some food and do it fast…" he nodded and raced off before planting into a wall.
This time it was Aquaman who covered his face, this time before muttering "Why us?"
In the room pain, unholy pain painted his body. And suddenly it was gone and in it's place the void. An emptiness that he never wanted to experience. But the gentle clack of someone setting down a tray caught his attention and he nodded his thanks to the red and black who nodded and placed a caring hand over his forehead as his commander blinked away the blood that flooded his eyes.
Outside the final girl appeared, roughly sixteen, she had a green Celtic cross made of ivy tattooed on her left cheek that was large enough to cover almost the entire area and blazing red hair with freckled tanned skin that accentuated her brilliant green eyes, her dark brown leather gloves that were hidden under a matching jacket with fur lining the top, open so that the white shirt could be seen and her skin tight gray pants blended perfectly into her boots. She stalked out with perfect confidence and spoke to the second in command of the team in a boyish tone "Capt'n wansta talk to ya" she said with an Irish accent. Quite a few of the younger male heroes sighed as she turned around and the cheeky smile she threw over her shoulder had them melting.
Batman looked over at the new Robin who had a dumbstruck expression on his face before looking at this newest girl and rubbing his eyes and looking hopelessly at the Green Lantern who shrugged.
Raven entered the room to see him finishing the meal that constituted a snack after that draining form, he looked up at her with a haggard face "Is it time?" she nodded and swiftly held him up on one side as Deadpool got the other and Calypso got the door, Surt and Artio physically moved those who wouldn't move on their own out of the way and off the couch.
When Nightwing refused to move things nearly got out of hand, Surt's hands blazed with a pure white flame and her hair started to float up as her sclera turned red and the rest of her eye transformed into a blazing fire, Artio hunched her back and growled deep in her chest she lifted her hand to swipe at the insolent man as the dark blue form of a bear's arm surrounded her own. One word diffused the situation "Stop," the second one brought them to his side "please" suddenly the two girls that were about to kill the hero darted to help the man that was only walking by the grace of the two people holding him up.
The leader of the Titans chuckled "Why don't you just carry him? It'd be faster that 'walking'" he air quoted.
The barrel of a Nuthals 220S appeared in the hand of the merc not holding up his boss "Say something like that again and I'll see how far you heal" he growled, the three girls growled in agreement.
Raven looked at her old friend "Nightwing, please move, he's exhausted and we came after fighting for hours."
Shocked that Raven was asking he complied and for the first time took a look at the man that was sitting on the couch.
The leader of the newest group looked at the A-list members, The Justice League's Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Aquaman, Superman and Batman, though the last brought the new Robin with him. All of Titans East was there as was Starfire, Cyborg, Nightwing, and Jinx, there were a multitude of other heroes there but they stayed back, allowing the others to handle things if they got out of control especially with the half-demon daughter of Trigon and the Unkillable and irritating Mercenary. Somewhere deep, deep, deep inside him smiled at the thought before he faced the group and took a deep breath.
Deadpool, not seeing him get ready to speak stood up and announced "BOW DOWN YE MORTALS BEFORE THE AWESOME MIGHT OF KIKAO!" and he threw his hands into the air like an idiot. The trio was caught laughing at their friend and Raven shook her head with an amused smirk.
Cyborg blinked his human eye "Wanderer?"
The merc shrugged and crossed his arms "Eh, things sound cooler when nobody knows what they mean"
But Batman cut in as he studied the Wanderer "Who are you?" and her certainly looked the part, around him was a light brown, dusty hooded cloak, even from where he was the detective could see his chest heaving with exertion, to be honest it worried him, this new leader hadn't even shown up for five seconds before throwing everyone on their ass and later reappears near passing out.
"I'm somebody who's reliving some very…intense moments of my life at the current" the detective noticed how Raven and Deadpool both stayed remarkably close and when the latter waltzed off for a second the half-demon sat down close enough for her thigh to touch the man, his musings were cut off as a voice cut through the thicket "Robin, if you touch Artio's ass I will have your arm" said appendage of said boy was held up in a surrender pose.
The girl in question laughed before she said with loving sarcasm "Thanks Dad"
Robin's now very pale face turned to him "A-are you her dad?"
With a light chuckle he responded "Heavens no! I'm too young to have a sixteen year old!"
Raven caressed his cheek "Don't play with them any longer, they wanted to find out about us" she said in an almost perfectly apathetic voice, but those that knew her could have told you that there was an nigh impossible warmth in those words.
The hood was allowed to fall back and before them was someone they hadn't expected to see since he was kicked off the team seven years ago "Beast Boy?"
Deadpool sobbed "Why does nobody listen to a word I say?" Surt patted his shoulder fondly
He looked tired-bags underneath his jade eyes marked that but other than the age, he now had a hardness to him that the others saw in his eyes. "I went by that name once" but there was a certain venom that came out
Wonder Woman blinked "We asked all the groups of heroes to be here…and since the Doom Patrol is currently on a high priority mission I'll ask you to formally introduce your group" she said it rather kindly all things considered.
Still sitting he nodded and the youngest girl stepped forward "My name is Calypso, I specialize in confusion and disorientation spells" she whispered before she backed up.
Surt stepped forward with a grin "Surt, I have dominion over fire"
Aquaman asked "What's dominion?"
She smiled "Absolute control." in her hands a small ember went to a great blaze before returning to nothing "No fire can hurt me and I can use any fire…even if it's waiting" and suddenly the stove let out a gout of flame that should have burned the ceiling tiles but didn't even blacken the surface.
The woman in the fur-lined jacket stepped forward "The name's Artio, powers are the same as the goddess, power over wild animals, bears are the specialty" behind her the merc nodded frantically "and minor fertility spells, mostly used to aid in the growing of things" she added as an afterthought.
As he stepped forward he grinned behind the mask "Deadpool, former mercenary with the healing factor stolen from Logan, well, you would know him as Wolverine" he saluted before taking his place beside the former Beast Boy.
Raven took his place "Most of you know me, and for those of you who don't I am Raven, formerly of the Teen Titans."
Cyborg looked helpless "Formerly?"
She nodded with a bit of sorrow "You guys will always be my family but there are those that need me more"
This time the leader stood, a head taller than Nightwing and more imposing than Batman and Superman if they shared the same body "I am Kikao-the Wanderer, formerly known as Beast Boy of the Doom Patrol, then of the Teen Titans, then freelance as Changeling." his hands clasped behind his back "Commander of Nightmare Guard and head of the Order of the Fallen Graces"
Nightwing shook his head "You? Head of an order? Fallen Graces?" he looked at Superman who's face had paled.
The indestructible man shook his head "Nightmare Guard…Beast-Kikao, why would you start that of all things?"
The green man closed his eyes and held them that way "I follow the law, same as everyone else, though my laws are written on bone, blood and are as eternal as life itself"
The Green Lantern rumbled "What law is that?"
The green eyes pinned him and said nothing, making the message clearer than glass. The hero felt his stomach drop "O-oh"
Everyone moved back to chatting in small groups after they realized that Kikao wasn't moving from the sofa, questioning Raven, or the three girls he convinced to go associate with other heroes, Deadpool ran off chasing Samantha, the chimichanga lady convinced that his boss had gotten enough strength back to at least turn into something that would get him away from any potential danger. Surprisingly it was Bumble Bee who walked up to the morphling first.
Seeing how uncomfortably she was he patted the cushion beside him that she gratefully took "H-How have you been?" she stammered.
He smiled genuinely at the woman "I've been better but I met more people important to me, you?"
"I'm- uh, lost…" he looked at her before patting the hand that was on her knee "I-I just figured you did something after…after that" she whispered and she saw him wince, it wasn't a good memory for anyone, there were things that got so out of hand and tempers flared…each Titan had to live with the guilt of what they did to one of their own.
But he grew strong. Strong enough that the Justice League, Doom Patrol and the conglomerate that the Titans had become were worried about six people. Essentially the entire Earth's super-defense wanted to know who was shaking them up so badly.
But that was wrong.
He didn't grow strong, he grew vicious, feral. A wild beast amongst men with teeth and claws to shred humanity. She didn't see it, but she could feel it.
The man squeezed her hand lightly "It's okay to be lost, just remember what's important to you-" he clenched his eyes shut and stood up before the glass shattered around him.
The crowd turned to see the head and body of Deadpool fly into the window only seconds apart, nobody responded quicker than Kikao…that was still the strangest thing to them, they had known him for years as Beast Boy, four men jumped into the room and held guns at the various members.
At some unknown signal the Nightmare Guard did what they do best, one man holding a shotgun, looking down the barrel, had a round set on his wrist. Surt lit the powder and watched as the capsule sprang the two inches to hit him in the cheek bone hard enough to knock him out.
The second was nailed by Calypso and Raven working as a team, the girl twitched her hand and the man shook his head as bright flashes marked his vision before a black aura around the grips of the gun jerked it out of his hand and the butt encountered his head-another one down.
A giant spirit bear towered over the third, a dark blue form, as if fashioned from the night sky, sparkled as the micro stars shined and faded in it. The short-faced bear, the largest to ever exist at a standing height of fourteen feet stared down at him with every intent to maul the foolish human who quickly surrendered and it put a foot down on the dropped gun letting it shatter with a satisfying crack. Artio patted the bear's shoulder as it lowered itself to a laying position to receive it's master's praises.
The final man got the shortest, angriest stick in the history of the short stick saying. Kikao could hit with a force that would have battered the Man of Steel, though he didn't use it on this normal human it felt more akin to getting hit with a small asteroid than a fist. Still facing the group Kikao elbowed the man to his right in the solar plexus before flicking his knuckles up and shattering the man's nose ending with grabbing the man by the throat and throwing him over his elbow and headfirst into the ground right at the changeling's feet.
Within seconds these four attackers were rendered incapable of any more attacks. Surt and Artio bumped knuckles while Raven put her hand on the youngest girl's shoulder, their leader was helping Wade put his head back on straight from where it had been blasted off.
Nightwing took the lead on getting the four to the authorities while Batman looked around "I guess that concludes tonight's festivities"
Kikao handed Bee a card, simple with only an address and a phone number "If you ever want to talk, if I can do anything to help you out just give me a call. If you need help I'll be there, I only ask that you don't judge us" he said motioning to the group of his that was winding their way out side where they could portal jump in safety.
Three days later Bee couldn't stand it. Kid Flash had dumped Jinx to go out with a civilian and Jinx went dancing back to Cyborg who instantly took her back, granted his relationship with the Titans East leader was slow going. Now Jinx and Cyborg had come to the East building to redo the electronics after a massive EMP hit hard enough to fry every circuit hidden under feet of concrete.
Ripping her communicator off her hip and snapping the case open she jabbed in the numbers quickly "Superman, you wanted me to let you know when I was going to head to Dios' Cradle. I'm calling right after this" and the man on the other end barely had time to nod before the end button was smashed and the new set of numbers entered.
As it rang she mused on the nature of Dios' Cradle, a small town settled in the 40's now a large city right in the middle of the country. Crime used to be at record breaking levels before Nightmare Guard called it home. Now the city boasted one of the best safety records in the world.
When the communicator was picked up she was met with Kikao's hooded face "Hey B-Kikao…I was wondering if I could come over tomorrow?"
The green man nodded "Of course, when you get in town call me and somebody will pick you up and bring you to our home"
Bee blinked, in all honestly she had been expecting to be treated with either distrust or hostility. It was normal procedure for one group that wasn't trusted to be drugged or blindfolded before being taken into the base. "Um, Superman saw you give me the card and wanted to know if he could come…"
Kikao looked off screen and Raven's voice sounded as she brushed a hand over his shoulder "Sure, I'll just have to get more groceries, I don't trust Artio after what happened last time" the mercenary grumbled and the man talking to her nodded and as they said their goodbyes she could see him clench his jaw with all the inhuman strength he had.
After hanging up he retreated to his room to meditate, underneath the surface rage burned though him like magma below the planet's crust. His body seeming swallowed itself as he traveled to the one place where even his almost infinite powers could be used without repercussions.
The being there was hidden in a deep green cloak that cover it's entire frame from head to toe. What's the matter, my heart?
Slowly he sat on the ground head held between his hands "She still loves him"
The creature walked to him before wrapping thin arms around him You know that. You knew that and you still went. it 'said' with a comforting calming tone.
"I didn't know, I only hoped not" he sobbed, emotion choking him in a way that nothing else had before, not the death of his parents, not the years living alone in the jungle as…something inhuman, not the loss of the Doom Patrol nor the loss of the Titans.
Behind the cloak the creatures eyes widened I'm so sorry, sweetling. I-I forget that you can't see that far yet…it pulled him even closer as he sobbed violently. It burned that nothing could be done for the shape shifter.
Every touch of the empathic girl was a flood to his senses. To someone who hadn't been physically touched or truly felt emotion since his parents death it wasn't just a touch. It was a drug, one powerful enough to burn itself into his mind and beg him for another hit.
But she was denied to him. The growling deep voice grieved "It's all him…it always was. You were right nobody can love a short green fanged…monster" he struggled with the word.
I said the ability to love is beyond a monster, not that you are- it stopped and gnashed it's teeth, it had, inadvertently called him a monster. Worse than that. The master of the realm tried to comfort him but every world seemed against him, each one brimmed with images of joy while he wallowed alone in his self-hate.
In the real world Raven mused at the nature of their visitors "Garfie-" she stopped and looked around "Where's Garfield?"
Artio shrugged "Dad went to his room right after he finished talking with that chick"
Raven went stock still and her mouth fell open. Deadpool, being the eldest, sensed something in the air was wrong and coming from him that meant something "What happened Raven?"
"I-I touched his shoulder…"
Artio paused her session of 'Shadow of Mordor' to turn "And that's important why?" Surt and Calypso stopped their game of chess to stare at her as well.
Raven hated to even admit it to herself but she had to. They trusted her far more than they should given she was part of the group he left "I-I was thinking of Nightwing…as more then a friend"
Deadpool crossed his arms and pinched the bridge of his nose while the three girls were screaming and generally raising Hell. He summed it up rather quickly "Jesus Christ Rae, you may be family but you really did fuck up"
Raven blazed past them before wrenching open the door. She sighed in relief the instant before his voice hit her "Shut up and get the fuck out" it was whispered but it still managed to push her out and lock the door leaving her stunned.
He didn't leave his room for the rest of the day.
Bee and Superman touched down in the North part of town and the woman sent him a text. Getting one almost instantaneously saying Raven was on her way with Deadpool.
What they didn't expect was a military grade humvee painted black pulling up to the curb with Deadpool driving and Raven sitting the passenger's seat. She clipped out "Get in" and they were on their way. Bee opened her mouth to question the tension but the glare she got from the two up front and the kryptonion hand on her arm stopped her.
They pulled into a four story estate right outside of town, plenty of property and they saw at least one horse running around. There were a few other cars in the garage but the one that stuck out to both Bee and Superman were the more unusual ones, another humvee, a small plane and a few bikes, behind a closed door was a separate garage that had only three cars.
But each one was a hell of a car.
The man of steel gasped "These aren't even out yet!"
Deadpool sat on the hood of one and ran a hand across his torso, down his outer thigh and across the hood trying to be sexy "You like? Boss has his ways…" the first car was the Laraki epitome corvette, a deep red with black accents that gave off a shine at the near full sun. the second was a 2014 Lamborghini Veneo Roadster with a dark silver main and red accents that made the car look almost indestructible. But the car that sat on a slightly raised dais was the 2000 Lotus Elise, bright silver with the top down, there were signs of rework, the wheels, for one, were much wider and the entire chassis was lowered until it barely hovered off the ground and the bumpers and siding were replaced to more curved and flowing lines.
The door opened and a person in a welding mask and other protective gear with a very pronounced limp in her right leg spat out in a coarse voice "And if you touch it I'm sure he'll gladly beat you to death, better head on up now there missy, he's going to see John soon"
Raven nodded "Thank you Hephaestus" the woman grunted in acknowledgement and limped past them to the main room where she could work in peace.
Bee made the remark as they sat in the elevator "Nice woman" she smarmed.
Raven turned back "Heph is our Cyborg. She works day and night to keep things running, but yes she is a bit…rough, not that I'd blame her"
Superman blinked "Okay, what's with the god names?"
Deadpool smiled brightly "That's for the Boss to say!"
Artio, Surt and Calypso met them in the main room and waved to the group before they went back to playing Mario Party. Bee looked around in awe, the were obviously outrageously funded and unlike the Titan's Tower or East's Headquarters this wasn't an ops room doubling as a living room but the other way around, the entire North wall was made of glass looking over the rest of the property and part of the city while the other three were decorated with pictures, flowing drapes, and ivy growing up trellises surrounding a giant TV that was at least equipped with a game cube and the play stations. There was a three large dark brown couches that formed a U shape with their gentle curves and the entire room was cozy and directly behind the couches was an old fireplace made of gray stone. Branching off there was a home kitchen and a table that sat eight people but the bar and couches seemed to be where most of the eating took place if the plates on the coffee table and the cups on the bar could be taken as proof. While everything was, once again, cozy no expense had been spared and everything was top of the line.
They saw Kikao step out of a door with a fitted tuxedo on, looking at the ground he walked past them and Karen took the moment to stare "What's up with him?"
Raven looked at her feet before looking at Artio who was taking a break and letting the younger girls duke it out "Can you tell them? I'm rather…yeah" and she darted off and Wade happily jaunted off leaving the eldest girl to try to explain to them what happened.
Artio pulled them into the kitchen before leaning over the bar "Surt, Cay, either turn up the TV or put in headphones 'kay?" the duo nodded and turned it up. Artio looked back, now only in a set of loose jeans and a t-shirt obviously stolen off Kikao she smiled "Is there anything I can get you to drink?"
A soda and a glass of water were procured and Clark reminded her "So why isn't he speaking to anyone?"
Her smile dropped "Um, it's a complicated internal matter…" and she sheepishly scratched the back of her head.
"Your boss used to be a Titan, I think that makes us, me a Titan and Clark here part of the JL, kinda insiders. So spill"
The girl was torn. Her guest was right but…"A'ight, I'll tell ya'" she rubbed her eyes "But if Dad get's mad I'm blaming you. Here's all I know, Dad's got more empathetic senses than Raven if your touching him and for some reason he really doesn't like Nightwing and he's rather soft on Raven. Well, when you called Raven ran her hand across his shoulder and was thinking about…" she blushed, in anger or embarrassment they couldn't be sure "rather adult things to do with the black and bitch-I mean blue. As you can tell that went over real well and now he's going to see John"
Superman held up a hand "Who's John? I've heard his name twice now"
Their host rubbed her hands looking nervous "Um, John is a veteran of Vietnam…and, uh, not really with us…we use it as a euphemism for going to the cemetery to see all the headstones"
Bee lifted a brow "Does he go often?"
Artio shook her head "Only when he's really upset"
The black girl gnawed her lip fearfully, this was much like whe- that event seven years ago. She had banned that incident from her mind. All of the Titans had. It really was worse than anything any villain had ever done.
The voice of the bear-girl pulled her out of her musings "So what are you here for?"
Superman went first seeing how pale his companion was "Part of the Justice League's responsibilities is to watch over all the groups, kind of a watch organization-"
Artio snorted harshly "Well, we ain't playing by your rules." she growled, the determination burning deep in her eyes "You don't make the calls you need." the alien opened his mouth to counter but the deep sadness in the Celtic girl's eyes wasn't directed in self-pity but the two still playing games, so he only took the stinging rebuttal.
Bee met the girl's eyes "I can't take being at home right now…I guess I'm in his boat too." she shrugged and the Celt nodded before walking over to the phone and hammering a number, a quick chat later and the girl told them "Wait right here. Heph wants to talk to you guys about meeting Cy…"
And sure enough within two minutes said woman was standing in front of them practically bullying her way to the Tower and the Station to see their equipment and talk to their engineers.
Artio was only partially right. He did go and see the headstone of John Miller. But when he continued past he saw the funeral of another friend. The children of the 86 year old hugged him tightly as they cried at their father's death. He stood stalk still as the pastor asked God for the blessings needed for the soul to accent. Quietly he slipped away after to stand on the hill and see the miles of headstones that marked this area like too many morbid flowers. Going back to his friend's grave he placed his own fresh flowers before kneeling and pressing his forehead into the soft grass.
Glancing at his watch he noticed that he had been gone four two hours. Long enough for Bumble Bee and Superman to feel at home. Slowly he wandered back to his Elise and took his time getting back to his home. It wasn't like he didn't feel like an outcast there either.
Bee caught Artio's attention with one question "How come you called him Boss and Captain at the meeting but now you girls call him Dad?" and indeed every conversation here between the three the man in question was called Dad.
Immediately the eldest whistled and the two playing the game stopped "Superman has this great trick with his eyes that he wants to show you" her own never left the girl and the hero took the hint and showed them his eye lasers.
"What was that for?" the black girl asked.
"They had been half paying attention and this is a conversation that I don't want them thinking about before he got us. At all." Artio sat on the bar stool beside Bee "All of us he saved off the streets, I was the first I had been…making living off the streets and none of us want to remember that life. What else do you call the man that raised you?"
The door opened and Kikao again walked past them his black gloves waving only once as he disappeared into the hall. A moment later he showed back up in jeans and a long sleeve black shirt and his always present gloves. Deadpool and Raven had followed him into the room, the dark woman radiating worry. "Raven, Deadpool. Take the girls to the barn and let them ride. I have business with Bumble Bee and Superman." the tone brokered immediate compliance. Raven rushed to get them out as Kikao's eyes bored through the glass and across the landscape with hands clenched behind his back. He turned to them and gestured to the bar where the two superheroes sat as the green man poured himself a few fingers of amber liquid.
Taking the minute of silence as approval the overseer started "Why did you form the Nightmare Guard?" before him sat a pad of paper and a pen along with a recorder, beside that slid a bourbon made just how the alien liked it and Bee's elbow was touched by the chilled glass of her own favorite drink, a mint julep. She couldn't help but smile fondly, Cyborg had always said she had an old man's taste for drinks.
"Because I needed a front for the Order. One that would allow me to force the authorities to look the other way"
Bee set her drink down "That doesn't sound like anything a hero would do"
The green one downed the rest of his drink before pouring another and staring pointedly at the Man of Steel "What I say next stays in this room" the recorder was shut off and the heroes nodded "I'm not a hero anymore I'm a vigilante. And this is the part that won't ever leave this room except by me. The Order of Fallen Graces isn't so much an order as it is a divine witness protection." he peered at one then the other "Everyone that's part of the order is the offspring of a mortal and a god. No matter the pantheon, nor disposition, nor powers they're welcome."
Superman rubbed his forehead as that sank in before he felt his mind spark out in utter terror "They're named after their parents…"
"No, they take on their parents name as their hero alias, Surt's name is Winter, ironically enough" he said closing his eyes and covering his mouth with bridged fingers as his elbows rested on the countertop.
Bee continued on that line of though "So you are too?"
He blatantly ignored the question until Superman asked hesitantly "What happened to you? Why aren't you a Titan?"
Kikao opened one eye that spiraled into dozens of copies spiraling within the same white orb and growled so deeply that the drinks started to ripple "After I was thrown out I traveled the world for about two years. During that time I ran into the girls and managed to see exactly how many demigods are on earth" he paused and glanced out the window to see something far in the distance.
Clark shuddered, if there were more as powerful as the three at his side he would have to be more on guard than ever "How many are here?"
"What do you mean 'here'? They are more human than you or I, this is their home, as for a number…I'd estimate probably close to…2050 if I had to wager a guess, we're not all that many but there are quite a few of us. Mostly the other stay out of trouble and we have to find them. A few get into our trade and far fewer get on the other end. We actually travel to find them and get them to come here"
Superman looked at him and tried to pin down what it was that chilled him so "I know you don't acknowledge us as your allies but the Justice League needs to know that you aren't our enemies. I know this is pushing it but please tell me what happened"
"Like I said I wandered" he caught the man's eye and the message was passed Titans are off limits "I went to Ireland, there I met a nine year old prostitute, needless to say I obliterated the ones who controlled her…services" he growled "I didn't know what to do with her. I couldn't hand her to the authorities-she was too traumatized by what she had been through to trust men. I left to get supplies when someone broke into the hotel room I was staying in, she summoned the bear and that was that. We went around Europe for awhile and met the other two. I discovered the pantheons, I knew about mythology but didn't apply it so much until it smashed into my face. Slowly I gathered all of them I could, they were just like me- looking for acceptance. Many of them were orphans or battered by society. I settled them here, I thought if anyone could accept them it would be the war veterans who fought beside men of every race and creed. In this city those that are not veterans are demigods are the minority."
Superman blinked "What about normal non-vets?"
"Less than five percent, we do want them to live here but the city…more accurately this building is built on the intersection of the five leylines of greatest power called the Gaia-lines. Something in the power makes normal humans wary of moving to the city but it doesn't hurt them, the vets have been exposed to little magics even if they didn't know it and are far more accepting of it than regular civilians."
Bee, more and more interested in the story by the second interrupted "Okay, after you moved here what happened?"
"We moved here and the authorities started digging around. Using the Order as a scholarly group I managed to get them to study from a distance. Then I made the Nightmare Guard to interweave the city's infrastructure with us. After that I managed to find Deadpool. A minor son of Athena had bitten off more than he could chew and picked a fight with a corporation that hired Deadpool to kill the boy. I managed to catch him off guard by turning into a snake with paralytic toxin, it got him interested enough to stick around. When he got here he found a battered group that welcomed him even with all his insanity and deformities"
Bee shook her head with a disbelieving smile "You guys are really, really tolerant aren't you?"
The straight-faced answer got her sitting up straight "We are. Unlike some" but he continued "Then I managed to find out exactly how the pantheon worked, gods and goddesses can come over because they reside in a different realm we managed to find a way to find out who is crossing over and how long they stay." the host started rubbing his chest right above his heart
Bee muttered to herself "I remember hearing Deadpool was stateside…wasn't that when the Ti-they sent Raven to find out the reason for the influxes?"
Kikao nodded "They sent Raven to do that…or more accurately they gave her two missions, to find and stop the inter-dimensional rifts and to stop the person or people responsible for it. When she found out that Trigon was part of the pantheon and that, if helped, he could cross over at anytime she saw a reason to stay here. That was two years ago and I tried to keep the Nightmare Guard under wraps but that failed. Now here we stand"
Everyone knew there were things he was hiding. Big things, more massive than the secrets that even the Justice League, S.H.I.E.L.D. and any other organization had. Superman wanted to press but understood that he wouldn't get anything else. He simply nodded, thanked the man and returned to the Watchtower.
Kikao now looked at Bee "And now for why you're here…" he mused.
Bee looked at the floor more ashamed of her problem after hearing about him. She felt like a girl telling her dad who just got fired about finding her boyfriend texting her best friend behind her back. "I-I needed to get out of the Headquarters since Cyborg and Jinx are there…"
Looking at the ceiling forlornly he gave a tight smirk "We were both the second choices, you had the man you wanted for some time…better than…others"
Bee gave a disheartened chuckle "Guess it's time for the two heroes to get drunk?"
"I'd love too…but my responsibility says no…"
The girl laughed "In all this world I think that's the first time you said responsibility"
He looked at her for a long moment before whispering "Stay here" moments later he reappeared holding four papers, scraps in his mind.
Bee looked at one before carefully setting the framed document on the counter, then another, then the next and finally the last one. Bee stared at him for a full minute "Doctor?"
"They mean nothing to me besides telling the world that I do indeed know what I am talking about"
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" she couldn't believe her eyes, the dates were from many years before, before the Titans even.
"Why? What good would it have done? Nothing I could say on the subjects would have done any good. I know nothing of technology and what I do know of science is limited to exactly what those papers say: Biology, Genetics, Biochemistry and Theoretical DNA Studies. None of those were of any help to anyone but me"
She slowly moved them to the table, almost afraid that drinking even near their frames would somehow destroy the work "We all thought you were…well, you"
He tilted his head to the side "Then all of you are blind. I haven't felt real emotion, before the incident at the reunion, since I was five and with my parents"
Bee covered his hand with her own and saw his eyes flinch out of the past "Tell me about your teams powers, how scared should we be?"
With a dry scoff he broke her expectations "Be terrified. Each of them could end worlds, with Deadpool all he has to do is spill his blood into a drinking supply and everyone is dead along with making thousands of clones of himself, Raven simply could open up her soul self and envelope the planet, Calypso could trick every living thing into believing it's dead and the souls would leave, Artio could summon up Ursa to eat the planet and Surt can release a blaze that could instantly consume our sun. It's all well within their powers."
Bee took all this in stride, she knew that they weren't human, she didn't realize how much so "What about you? You didn't tell Superman but you're one too. You said everyone in the Order was a demigod"
He was silent for a long time before asking "If I tell you will you not speak of it again?" she nodded "There is a reason I will never fight in the form you saw at the reunion. If I moved wrong I could destroy creation as we know it"
Bee stopped before swallowing the lump in her throat "T-That bad, huh? Then who was your…parent?" he didn't respond to her question.
But what he did say brought a deep seated fear into her "Do you ever just wish the world would die…" he wasn't looking at her or even anything, it was a stare out into the reaches of his mind "it's just so…unfair" his voice cracked and for a minute he fought back tears. He started to fail then remembered his company.
He would never cry in front of one of them.
He bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood and centered himself.
Beyond the door, hidden to even his senses the other six of his team held perfectly still. None of them had known that he was that much smarter than he let on, none of them knew the full extent of his power. And yet he wasn't done.
"How is it that no matter what we do none of us get noticed?"
He blinked at her question "You got noticed, he dated you for awhile but you played second. When Jinx offered him what he wanted he took it. I never got noticed. I wasn't-" he turned away from her as she heard a crack and looked around for a moment until another shocked her. It was his teeth.
Karen never could claim to feel emotions like the man in front of her or Raven. But even she could tell when fury radiated off someone. She spoke "Kikao, it's okay to be angry, it's human" he turned back and took off his gloves. It took her a full two minutes to realize how wrong she was.
Each of his fingers was tipped with a retractable talon that out a half inch from the finger tip, with the other still up in the air he slowly traced one razor over the cutting board and moved half one way and the rest of the mauled board the other.
Then she noticed the other part- each finger didn't have three joints. It had six. "T-that's freaky"
He slowed down as if pondering each word before he said it "Every demigod is what you would call a modified human. Except me, I wasn't born human. I looked it and I thought I was. Until I found out about the pantheon I didn't realize I was about as far from human as I could be."
He walked away leaving all of them in deeper confusion than before.
Bee had eaten breakfast, cooked by Kikao and Deadpool-fruit salad and waffles by the green and bacon and sausage by the red and black before she called Titans East. Aqualad's face popped up "Hey Bee, what's going on?"
"Since we've been on a down slope for awhile do you think you can handle things without me for a few days?" it was true, recently the crime rate had gone down, if patterns held it would be down for another few weeks before picking back up.
Glancing around the fish boy nodded "We got this, Cy and Jinx left yesterday so whenever you're ready"
She beamed "Thanks!" before shutting down the link and looking to see the only other person at the table give her a 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' smile giving a wary stare she asked "What's up Artio?"
"Nooooothing…just a little birdie told me you didn't want to just sit around all day"
"Yeah, so what?"
The girl stood up and pointed a finger straight at the yellow and black "I challenge you to paintball!"
With a grin the leader of T.E. shouted "YOU'RE ON!"
The teams were evenly split, Raven, Surt and Bee on one and Deadpool, Calypso and Artio on the other. The thought was that two of the elder titans could compete with the merc and that Surt could keep the other two busy while that happened. As they geared up Bee looked at the leader who sat on the side "You're not playing? Ever since I've met you you'd play anything you could get your hands on!"
A small smile played on his face "I had to grow up…and my fingers don't do well on the trigger, they sit on a joint and it's not exactly comfortable." she nodded and pulled on her mask before Kikao shouted "GO!" and made his way to the ref chair.
The speedball course was actually the training field that could change at the flip of a switch into an obstacle course or any other sports field they wanted and was directly attached to the gym and the indoor/outdoor pool and hot tub. Bee dodged behind a inflatable as forty-some odd balls pelted the fabric, she for once, envied Deadpool, he was the only one using twin hand guns, the rest were using standard issue markers. The entire match was done in less than five minutes and everyone who participated was covered in a sheen of sweat, "Damn that was fun" Bee panted "I see why you guys got all the stuff here, it'd be expensive to play too much of this anywhere else"
Surt nodded as she drained a water bottle "Yeah, and it's a great work out"
Their leader interrupted them "It is, play a few more games, I want you guys to have fun today. Tomorrow I need to do some sparring." at their looks of despair he granted "I'll invite Ares, Odin, Thor and Huitzilopochtli. Sound fair?"
Deadpool was the one who sobbed "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA ON WHAT YOU DO TO US!?"
Without changing expression he responded "I just work out, I'm training you so that if anything happens to me you don't have to worry about anyone." he glanced at the sun "I'll be back in a few minutes, got to grab my communicator, we'll start then" and he shifted to a bald eagle and flew off.
Bee saw all the moping "It sounds like he cares for you a lot" there were disbelieving stares at her "Well, I mean if he's that worried about you then he wasn't you guys to be stronger than him. It's like how lions throw their cubs off a cliff, he wants you guys to be strong enough to be safe without him."
Raven, uncharacteristically, countered "Still hurts like hell though"
Artio held up her hands "Okay, let me put it this way, we have four gods of war, a god of human sacrifice, the sun, lightning, wisdom and brute force. None of them want to train with him. NONE OF THEM"
"Huh…it sounds like your dad's quite the badass"
With a chuckle Surt nodded "Of course"
Then the alarm went off and things took a turn for the worse.
Nightmare Guard and Bumble Bee arrived at one of the private laboratories of the city to find both Mumbo and Punk Rocket and the former managed to see them out of the corner of his eye "Rocket! Look, there's where the green brat's been hiding!"
Rocket's response was "Quite the uniform on 'im ain't it?" and well Bee had to agree with the villain, Gar's uniform was a deep malevolent purple long-sleeved made of yocto-fibers, one ten to the negative twenty-fourth meters thick but with the strength equivalent to a full Kevlar vest, with black tracing his every bone, from his spine to his ribs that stuck to him like a second skin with matching gloves and slightly baggy black pants held up with a black belt with a buckle that looked exactly like the communicator sitting behind his left hip, the NG stylistically pointed into a lightning bolt shape made of dark purple with black letters, to complete the outfit was a set of black boots and a black metal mask that fit tightly to the bridge of his nose and down to his shirt, the six slits running down each side of the mask let occasional flashes of his skin though but any expression would he shadowed.
Both villains waited for a 'something GO!' phrase that the Titans always had. It wasn't coming. Silence and then the Guard sprung into action. The amount of breakable private property had Deadpool reaching for his swords rather than his guns, but none of them got a chance to attack. In his years of petty crime the magician found a way to manipulate a trip line to bind those attacking him into a group the instant they crossed it's boundaries.
Every hero was caught in the simple trap "NOW ROCKET!" came the near hysterical old man. The supposedly unbreakable bond was straining as Kikao and Deadpool each grabbed a length and started to pull. Between them the otherworldly thread was fraying before a sound powerful enough to cause glass a mile away to shatter roared into their ears as Mumbo readied another spell.
The sound died and they suddenly found themselves in a pure white space. Mumbo was smirking triumphantly and chanted something. A feeling of embarrassment went over all but two of the heroes faces, and the old man smiled to his cohort "That spell was probably my best, an embarrassment spell. Now all of you have to deal with your own dirty laundry while the rest of us get to sit and watch!" the women felt a deep sinking in their stomachs. It wasn't a clean fight but an effective one. Provided they didn't fly into a rage at it. "Which one should I start with?" he asked the guitarist.
Suddenly unsure of the plan the boy stuttered "Uh…I-I don't know about this…"
With a huff the other rolled his eyes "Okay, then lets just start with the little girl!" around them they saw the 12 year old curl into a ball in her Dad's side, only to wake up half an hour later by her Dad gently picking her out of her puddle. "You wet the bed? At your age?" the veil covered her eyes but her cheeks flamed red.
Surt snarled "You sick bastard! What type of fight is this!?"
The spellster smirked "So angry at being tied…but since I'm feeling generous I'll just tell you, my magic isn't all that strong after breaking through the vault and if I do something like kill one of you the Justice League could come after me and I'd rather deal with you pip-squeaks then them" he cast his spell again this time on the flame-witch. The little woman was told to kill the man and the only way she could pull off killing the overweight sweaty pig was her powers. But surrounded by so many the only way she could get away with it was a kiss. Even the memory of it made her stomach turn.
Glancing sympathetically at Surt Artio gritted her teeth knowing she would be next. He didn't disappoint. The girl walked up to Kikao with confused expression on her face "Seriously? This is pathetic! I got more when I was working as a who-" her face flushed as she realized her two sisters had walked in with her dad. Her shame had died many years ago, but back with people who cared with her saw to it's sudden resurrection. She growled "When I get out of here I'm going to kill you" her bright red face made her threat less than imposing.
"I wonder what our magical girl here has for her own embarrassment…" if her pride would have let her she would have begged but Rage made herself known for the first time in years 'If you beg I will hijack our body. And I'll never give it back'.
But when the spell fluttered over her Rage wished she could have done something to stop it. Anything. Even beg. A much younger Raven sat on her bed, looking around with her senses she noted nobody close. Then she pulled out her prized possession, a picture of Robin, as he was then known, getting out of the shower with naught a stitch on and something had caught his interest as he walked out at attention. Slowly she dipped her hand into a drawer to pull out a toy before pressing it into herself . She didn't hear the knocks at her door nor the voice "Hey Rae, it's time for-" She made eye contact with Beast Boy, the most annoying boy who she knew had a crush on her, and immediately threw her blanket over herself, her voice was far more than angry "If you tell anyone I'll gut you like a trout" and her powers blasted out, throwing the boy at least a dozen feet. He crashed into a wall hard enough to make an imprint and the back of his head leaked out copious amounts of blood. She knew the sound wouldn't be investigated, the team would simply believe he did something to annoy her.
Mumbo paused, this was quite the treasure trove "Poor little Beastie got beat up for being sociable" he mocked. But for Raven it became much worse Calypso and Surt stared at her in shock while Artio seethed in anger at her role-model's action. Bee and Deadpool were incarnations of wrath for a different reason. They now knew that Raven was and had been aware of Beast Boy's feelings. And how she threw them back at him, how she cut him down at every chance. But they didn't have a chance to do anything when Mumbo continued and cast the spell on Bumble Bee.
Her own moment was burned into her head. She had just gotten a boyfriend, a guy she adored since she had met him two years ago in her final year of middle school, things were perfect. Her parents wouldn't be back until the next day and she had gotten him to come over with the intention of relations of a more intimate type. He had proven an adept kisser and quickly pulled her shirt off before stopping "What the hell are those?!" he screamed jumping back in horror. Her wings had come out and as she tried to give an explanation he tried to rush off until the door opened before him and hit him hard enough to bust his nose. Her parents were home early…
The old man laughed "Poor, poor naught Bumble Bee, trying so hard to be a grown up" without remorse he cast the spell on Wade, when nothing happened he growled and cast the incantation again before hissing "What the hell's going on?"
His target answered for him "Oh, don't worry, it's just I've done way too many things you would call embarrassing…but I don't!" he beamed "Like the time I played checkers in the nude in Central Park!"
Punk Rocket, who hadn't enjoyed any of this and was seriously regretting partnering with Mumbo threw up. Nobody blamed him since Raven, Bee and the girls were trying to as well.
The thief of a magician targeted Kikao "Now to see what our little leader is hiding here!" he tittered with sadistic glee.
Like Deadpool nothing appeared and the magician went on a rampage cursing the world black and blue. "I can tell you why it didn't work, you pitiful excuse for a hack" the leader sighed.
"And what the hell would you know of magic you stupid under ripe excuse for a boy?" he growled in response.
"I do have a major knowledge of it" all parties looked surprised except for the speaker and Deadpool who was smirking psychotically behind his mask "My mother invented magic and decided that I should know some as well" when Mumbo just stared at him blankly he continued "There are two reasons that it won't work, the first is something I'd rather like to avoid saying but seeing as we've already come this far…" he sighed "mentally I'm even less stable than Wade here and second, I haven't ever felt embarrassment, I was four when my parents died and I killed almost all of my emotions to survive what happened after. In fact there is really only two emotions I've felt since then. Humiliation and rage. Never embarrassment but full out humiliation."