Vapor Trails and Titan Tales

Chapter 1: The Ghost, the Alien, and the Fishpeople Part 2


Daniel had no idea what he was doing.

Because what he was doing at the moment seemed suspiciously like full-blown hero work.

He robbed people and places as casually as most people decided what to have for lunch.

So he asked himself again:

What, oh god what, was he doing even considering getting further involved with this crashed-landed alien fiasco? After New Mexico, Daniel had sworn off getting involved with people. And what was he doing now? Getting involved.

When he looked between the simmering alien and the makeshift militia formed against her, that was hunkered down behind and overturned bus, a thought occurred to him.

He could fly away.

It was that simple. No one would or could stop him. Daniel could avoid anymore of this mess, and forget it ever happened.

Briefly, blissfully, he considered the idea.

And then instantly dismissed it. You see, he had these tumorous…parasitic…nagging little things called hero tendencies. They didn't rear their ugly heads often, but when they did

Well, trying to ignore them was like playing an endless game of whack-a-mole; no matter how much he smacked them down, they'd just spring back up again.

He sighed. Against every instinct that he had ingrained into his head over the years, Daniel decided to glide over to the bus. Sweat-Clothed Guy, Beast Boy, and Robin glanced his way, the latter eyeing him with mild suspicion. Of course Daniel knew who the domino mask-donning side-kick was. He and his batty mentor were the main reasons he never attempted any heist near the northeastern coast- though he had to wonder what Robin was doing so far from his nest. Had Bird Boy gone solo? And if that was the case; had he left, or had Batman kicked him out?

Huh. It was something to think about, at least, when everything boiled over.

Daniel shook himself. What was he doing again? Oh right, helping. "So…is hiding Plan A? Because I don't think that's going to help."

Robin looked at him, unamused. "We need to distract her to get close, but those energy blasts-" a stray bolt of green energy hit the bus and made it rock dangerously.

"Whatever we plan to do, we gotta do it fast. She's gunna tear up the whole city if this keeps up!" Dude-in-Sweat-Shirt said. Daniel really wished he knew the guy's name.

"Distraction is a no go," the ghostly teen added. "Unless you wanna end up like swiss cheese."

Daniel knew he could get up close to her, but the less he showed off in front of Robin the better. Being around the side-kick of the world's greatest detective had him on edge. He wouldn't put it past the guy to somehow connect his robberies back to him once everything was over.

"Have any better ideas?" Nameless Guy asked.

"Hey, I'm not the one with experience here," Daniel said, defensively. He looked over at Robin. "I'm with the big guy. Got any better ideas?"

"Just one."

And with that, Robin sprinted out from under cover, metaphorical guns blazing, toward the alien. Nameless Guy and Beast Boy shared a look before following after. Daniel rolled his eyes so far back that they probably brushed his frontal lobe.

"When I said 'better ideas,' that did not mean 'full frontal assault,'" he murmured, but followed as well.

Alien girl readied for another round, but just when the two groups were about to clash, a giant, raven-shaped wall of dark energy surged between them. Daniel felt his skin twitch strangely, but didn't have time to think about the sensation.

"Maybe…fighting isn't the answer?" a voice ventured from behind them.

A girl walked out from under the shadows of a nearby alley. She was dressed in a long cloak, and seemed leery of actually speaking now that all eyes were on her. Her violet eyes swept over the scene, the raven dissipated, and her gaze landed on the alien. The red head in question, surprisingly, wasn't moving to attack, just watching everyone closely. It almost seemed like…

Daniel didn't know what to think. Like the alien wasn't there to fight. When Daniel thought about it, she probably couldn't understand a word they were saying. Maybe she was confused, and defending herself now her outer cuffs were off?

So…that left another question: was she an escaped convict, or an escaped prisoner?

Absently, Daniel wondered why he was putting so much thought into this. As soon any immediate threats were taken care of, he was splitting.

He looked back at the alien, having gotten lost in his thoughts, and saw Robin had approached her. She shouted more gibberish, but Robin somehow withdrew a screwdriver…soldering tool…thing from his hammerspace of a utility belt, and held it up in a pacifying gesture.

"Easy," he ventured, taking slow, deliberate steps. "I'm just here to help, see?"

The ghostly teen wondered if Robin had ever had to defuse situations like this before. Like, hostage situations and stuff. He looked like he knew what he was doing.

"Trust me," he said simply, and the girl actually compiled. She lowered her glowing hands and allowed him to work away at her remaining restraints. When they broke off, she rubbed her chafed wrists. Robin smiled. "See? Now if-"

And then alien girl grabbed the back of his head and planted one right on his lips. Like, a no holds bar, full contact, smooch. Daniel stopped mid hover. If that was a 'thank you' on her planet, he might just reconsider going hero if it meant visiting sometime.

After a five second lip-lock, she none-too-gently pushed him away and said, in somewhat stilted English, "If you wish not to be destroyed, then you will leave me alone!" and flew off.

No one said anything for a full half minute. Robin seemed too stunned to get up at first, just staring off in the direction she had went.

"Uh," Daniel said, dumbly. "Score?"

Still Nameless Guy seemed just as confused. "Girl sure knows how to make an impression."

"That's one way of putting it," Daniel replied, wondering just what he was supposed to do now. The girl was gone, so maybe now was the time to leave? Before something worse happened, that is. "Too many mixed signals, if you ask me."

"I think we made a pretty good impression," Beast Boy chirped. "Crazy space girl's gone, and the city's saved. Mission accomplished! Right, sir?"

"Seriously. Stop calling me that," Robin shook himself and stood.

"Roger."

Boy Wonder turned to leave. "Looks like we're done here. I appreciate the help."

Nameless Guy called after him. "Where are you going?"

"Are you going to track down the alien?" the cloaked girl asked.

"I need to know if she's still a threat," Boy Wonder replied.

"That or see of he can get another kiss…" Guy-In-Sweat-Gear added under his breath.

Beast Boy spoke up. "Maybe we should-"

"Sorry, I just went solo," Robin cut him off and kept walking. "I'm not looking to join a team."

Beast Boy visibly drooped. "Need a side kick…?"

Daniel began to float away, and everyone else seemed to have the same idea. Beast Boy didn't want to have any of it, though. "Hey- wait! Do you guys wanna get a pizza?"

It was almost sad to watch. The cloaked girl looked away. "I shouldn't."

Daniel was just about to turn invisible when the green guy's eyes shifted to him. "Hey, what about you? You could show me that cool trick you did before- you know, with your hands and-"

That's what she said was on the tip of his tongue, but he refused to joke. He would not get close to people and not make friends. He had to nip this in the bud. "Sorry. I've got things to do."

It was the lamest excuse ever, but he ended the conversation by exiting the visual spectrum. He didn't fly off though. No, he watched Beast Boy attempt to get Nameless Guy's attention, a giant tug of guilt weighing in his chest. The kid was practically crying of for some friends- or heck, just someone to interact with. The albino knew more than a thing or two about loneliness.

Nameless Guy did his best to just ignore Beast Boy, though the shapeshifter didn't seem to notice.

"So it's just you me, huh?" he said with a grin. "Cool. I haven't really had anyone to hang out with since I quit the Doom Patrol- this is gunna be fun! Do you play video games-?"

Nameless Guy stopped dead, whirled around to stare Beast Boy dead in the eye, and threw back his hood. Daniel certainly hadn't been expecting what he saw. The guy's face was half metal and techno-looking, his one eye glowing red and his various circuitry glowing blue.

"There! Take a good long look!" He practically shouted. "I had an accident, and now I'm a monster, alright? A cyborg!"

The showy exclamation had probably been meant to scare Beast Boy away. Unfortunately, it did the opposite.

"Cyborg?" Stars appeared in his eyes. "Cool! You're like robot-man 2.0!"

"…you're a weird little dude, you know that?"

"Haha, you called me dude."

Well, Daniel thought, at least he had a kinda-name for the guy now: Cyborg. Not that it mattered. He readied himself to bolt when-

Well, a spaceship appeared over head, landed on the single little island on Jump Lake, and the holographic form of what could only be called a fish-alien-man-thing addressed the city as a whole.

Sure.

Why not? It was just that kind of day.

Daniel subconsciously floated back to the ground, where everyone else seemed to be gathering back up again.

"Looks like space girl has friends," Cyborg said.

"Or enemies," Robin countered, eyes narrowing.

The hologram began speaking. "People of Earth. We come to your planet hunting an escaped prisoner. A very dangerous prisoner. Do not interfere, and we will leave your city with only minimal damage. But if you attempt to assist her, your destruction will be absolute."

And the message flickered away, followed by dozens of aliens being let loose from the ship and ascending on Jump. Apparently, their version of "looking" meant tearing everything in their way apart at the seams. Now Daniel was sure there was more to this story than what they knew.

"That's a big ship," Cyborg said tensely.

"And those are some scary looking aliens," Beast Boy added.

The cloaked girl, who had been silent up to then, spoke up. "They told us not to interfere."

Robin remained silent. Daniel sighed. He was already in the water- might as well take the dive. He allowed himself to become visible again. "Yeah, but I've never been one for following orders. Stubbornness issues, you know."

Beast Boy jumped. "Ah! Don't do that!"

Daniel blinked. "Oh. Right. Invisibility- sorry," he looked over at Robin. "I know I can't be the only one here who smells something rotten about this mess. I have a hard time believing the guys ripping apart cars have the moral high ground."

Robin paused, then nodded. "Well, I suppose I can team up- just this once."


(A/N): Final part up soon. Sorry for the wait- please drop me a line and tell me what you think!

*EDIT* Guys guys guys! When I say "final part" I man the final part of this introduction thingy. NOT the final part of this story all together. Oh no, that's way far off. Sorry for the confusion, lol.