Last time on the Mighty Teen Titans!
Ace, the psychic project from a Black Ops Organization of the US Government known as Cadmus has spent the last several years wandering the country. During her time developing her skills, evolving, she began to sense a great unease coming for everyone. With nightmares of a certain death for all those that live on the Earth, she determines that she alone must stop the menace; along with the help of a team of her own choosing, that she can trust and help with her own abilities.
Having recruited Tim Drake, the third generation Robin, and his long presumed dead friend Annie, the self-aware copy of Clayface she is now heading to another select individuals she selected from Batman's memories. Ones that she deems as particularly vital candidates. Will they join? Find out, in the Mighty Teen Titans!
Chapter 2 - Marvels, Geniuses and Archers
Mary Batson was restless. A lot of things happened in the ensuing past few years. She learned of her twin's existence of living a life in a alter ego fueled by magic from the great wizard Shazam and the six deities who give him respective abilities. In a frightening altercation that threatened her life, Billy saved her and in the process connected the two to the Wizard as she became a new addition to the "Marvel Family" as Billy put it.
Mary Marvel was her new identity and would transform as an adult when speaking the magic word. It was exhilarating, terrifying, freeing and also difficult. With her needing to conceal her secret from her adopted parents it felt like she had a lot to handle on her plate. She knew her brother had it out with his guardian and that he didn't have a problem keeping the secret between her and him, but living with parents who were ignorant was a true pain.
"Ugh, and it's not like I can talk to anyone at school. Most people would just freak out or spread the word," She grumbled to herself, rolling to and fro over her bed while occasionally kicking with annoyance. Grabbing a plush pillow to cover her mouth, she sighed, eyes staring up at the stars painted on her black smooth ceiling. "I'd love to just have a friend or two, to confide with. Billy isn't enough. I gotta get out and meet anybody, just so I can have somebody to talk to about this superhero shtick."
Her musings, however personally pressing, were interrupted by a sudden whisper in her head. And while she ordinarily think it was just a thought of hers, or perhaps -not even that strangely- her twin brother attempting to contact her through some fantastical means. No, it was an actual whisper that was comprised of a young girl's voice in the most blunt manner possible.
"Mary. Mary Batson, are you awake?"
"If I'm not, then you just woke me up, you rude...uh?" She replied with a set of blinks, arching her head in different directions while scrunching her brows with annoyance and confusion of equal measure.
"Call me Ace."
"Like...an ace shot, ace pilot, an ace of a deck of cards?" Mary raised with her further inquiry.
"Just Ace. Now please, come to the window. My friends and I are outside. It'd be more appropriate if we discuss this vocally instead of-"
"Through my brain waves?" Mary thought with a deadpanned tone.
"Precisely."
"Well, let's see," She sputtered, walking towards the window with a hint of caution. As much as she didn't want to admit it she could easily turn into Mary Marvel in a snap. If she could avoid scaring the daylights out of her adopted parents, she would.
Approaching the window, she got a view of her telepathic callers not on the ground looking up but looking straight at her through the glass barrier between them. It almost caught her off guard, stumbling back and raising hands up defensively.
"We mean you no harm," Ace intoned as sincerely as she could.
"What she said," Robin said in a muffled voice, thumbing towards her.
Annie tried to nod convincingly in return, though still was a bit shy at meeting this complete stranger for this even stranger mission. It was all still new to her, but she tried her best to be supportive.
Whatever the case was, it was enough for Mary to pitter-patter quietly to the window and slide it open.
"Just be quiet," She held up a finger to her lips, whispering as she nodded to the closed door behind her. "My parents are asleep and I rather not have to play a comic routine of 'hide the unexpected guests in my closet'."
"That would be awkward," Robin chuckled softly, deposited awkwardly in with Annie who caught him by the hand. Grins were exchanged between the pair, their hand hold separated as the stoic Ace passed between them. Averting an embarassed glance, he looked up at the blonde with a sheepish grin. "Sorry for us barging in here. I would've just waited till tomorrow if I remembered how late it was."
"It's fine, it's fine," Mary played it off, shrugging as she waved a hand in dismissal. "As creepy as it was for somebody just poking around in my head, I realize you're legit with the Boy Wonder with you and...uh," Looking at Annie, which made her shrink a little with discomfort, she arched a brow at Ace and Robin. "Miss Plain Jane?"
"M-My name's Annie," She announced, trying to regain her calm as she placed her hand on her chest. "I'm kind of alive thanks to these two. Where they go, I go."
"An indentured servant, eh?"
"It's not like that-!"
"Hey, you don't need to tell me what you do on your spare time. I won't judge, much," Mary said with a brief all-knowing air with a haughty turn of her head. On emphasizing the last word, she snickered at Robin's plea for understanding and then held her belly as she burst into laughter. While Robin and Annie began laughing at her joke, knowing the punchline's context, only Ace stood around and looked blankly with apparent confusion. Wiping the tears away from her eyes, she looked over her shoulder and sighed at no parents being woken up. "Jeez, I almost messed up big time. Okay, so what's the deal? Why did you call me at ten till midnight?"
It didn't take long for Ace to explain the situation. The vision of an impending doom, feeling a sense of unease in her waking hours and her distrust of the adult heroes was empathized by her. Still, the fact she came directly to her could only mean one thing; she knew about her brother's alter ego, or her own.
"So, guessing how you went straight to my house of an allegedly ordinary teenager," Mary quipped, swiveling a hand for emphasis as she wryly grinned and cocked a brow a tad. "I'm pretty sure you didn't come to me cause you know I know about you-know-what?"
"I know that you're Mary Marvel, much like your twin brother, Billy Batson is Captain Marvel."
"She's wha-mph?!" Robin exclaimed, almost shouting before he felt Annie's hand quickly latch over his mouth with a look of alarm. Widened eyes closed with understanding and she let go, looking away with a blush while he cleared his throat and looked at a slightly miffed Mary. "You're THE Mary Marvel? I thought she was...and Captain Marvel is...wow. You're both magic super-people."
"Yes, though why you had to blab that is beyond stupid," Mary snorted, looking with a questioning glare at Ace who just looked ahead with a nonplussed expression. "Tell me, do you have the understanding of what subtlety is?"
"This isn't the time for dancing around an issue. I rather we, as they say, have all of our cards on the table," Ace explained in a serious tone. When she heard Robin snicker, she ignored him and continued to speak. "Mary Marvel, our mission is dire even if the threat is vague. It is coming, we just need all of the expertise we can to figure it out where and when it will strike first. Keeping secret identities between ourselves is both asinine and a waste of all our time."
"Alright-Alright," Mary sighed, raising her hands to concede with a more serious expression on her young adult face. "Count me in. It's my job description to deal with the ominous and the magical. If what your mental-jumbo is dead on the money, we'll need all the help we can get."
"Good, then if you could join us-"
"I'll only do it when it's tomorrow after school," Mary told them with a slight grimace on her face. "I have to grind a bit of homework but I think I can manage. Can you communicate long-range or should I give you my number?"
"Just think, 'I'm ready, Ace,' and I'll hear you," She replied with a nod.
"Good. Then, good luck with your...uh...hero scouting?" Mary questioned with a tilt of the head.
"That seems to be what we're doing," Annie nodded with affirmation along with Robin.
"Do you have any suggestions? People who can keep a lid on it and not immediately turn us down or try to discourage us?" Robin added with a tinge of hope in his voice.
"I know my brother would love to help, when he's not being busy around town OR with the League," Placed her hands on her hips, looking at all three. "But I may be able to dig up something when the thought crosses my mind. I'll see you later, but for now," She then inhaled, and then stared at them wide-eyed with seriousness in her hushed voice. "Get out of my room so I can sleep, you nocturnal weirdos!"
"Geez, it's almost like she never stayed up late before," Robin commented, gliding through the air with Ace and beside Annie. Getting used to his gliding, he turned to look at Annie and asked with his left eye looking at her turned face. "Hey, are you doing okay? I mean, if you need rest, we can stop-"
"I don't think I need sleep," Annie intoned, her bangs hiding her eyes as she didn't look Robin in the eye. "I think my fath-...Clayface never slept. So the same applies to me."
"So, do you feel hungry right now? Thirsty?"
"I don't want to think about it," She shook her head, looking over with an assuredly forced smile for his benefit. "Let's just find some more friends to join up. I'd like that a lot more."
"Yeah," Tim acknowledged, his voice becoming quiet as their travel became a bit more solemn. He knew the brief time they shared was only in passing and in ignorance. When the truth was revealed, he didn't change his mind on who she is rather than what she was. But now that the immediate danger is passed, what did that make her and what now that define their friendship?
He hoped they could spend some quality time together when the night was over. There was a lot he wanted to talk to her about that nearly three years has happened back then. Even though she may never be like any ordinary girl, he wanted to make sure that whatever happens, they wouldn't be separated.
"Never again," He convinced himself silently as he stared into the horizon over Ace's right shoulder. "I'll never put her through sacrificing herself for my sake again. Whatever it takes, I want to make sure she never forces a smile for me any longer."
It didn't take them long for them to draw closer to their destination. Whether it was due to the time spent in deep thought or Ace had secretly upped her speed over the course of their travel, they appeared over a large building with bright neon letters outlined in gold with red inner lights shining through. Made out as, "Quickstart Enterprises," Robin furrowed his brows, thinking it sounded familiar.
Lowering down to the conveniently flat roof where a news chopper presided, Ace turned the other two to explain.
"The woman we're looking for here is Jesse Chambers. A young genius she's around sixteen years old and helps run her father's company, the latter of which co-opts as the chairman of the board for them. She'll help us with more monetary necessities to aid in our mission."
"I feel a 'and' coming along," Robin intoned with his arms crossed over his chest, domino mask expanding with his rising right brow. "Spill it. She a superheroine too?"
"Not that I know of," Ace answered truthfully. "Your mentor didn't have anything on a dossier that I could tell. It seems he was more impressed by her intellect and good business skills than anything resulting in hero duty. Her father is, however, one of the original speedsters along with her mother: Johnathan and Libby Chambers, also known by their identities as Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle."
"Oh right!" Tim snapped a finger, a smile on his face. "I heard about them. They were part of a group that happened before the Justice League, but retired in the late 80's. The Justice Society of America if I'm not mistaken."
"It's possible she has powers, but what we need is a way to use resources without having to rely on another League alike organization or one under the government. Her company is substantially wealthy for its advertisements, media coverage and promotions for new health related products. But what she really specializes in is science, mathematics, and studies on the meta-gene most heroes possess; hence the genius title," The blank eyed girl stated factually. "In any event, she's also an enthusiast for heroes of present and past, so she'll have a higher liklihood of hel-"
"So," A voice suddenly sounded, making all three turn towards the door, seeing a young woman in a red tee with a pair of intricately designed black wings with a jagged lightning bolt running vertical up and down the insignia. With yellow shorts, boots and gloves, her eyes were covered by a domino mask akin to Robin's. Long blonde hair drawn down to the middle of her back, she stood in front of them as if she had been there the entire time, tapping her left foot with an upraised smirk. "You rang, yet I'm fairly certain you were expecting me in another suit?"
"Uh," Robin gawked and Annie just blinked with surprise, turning her head back and forth to see where she could've come from without opening the door to the roof. Scratching the back of his head, he thumbed towards the unsurprised Ace who just blinked at the slightly older young woman. "She did the calling. We're just here for the ride and moral support, I guess?"
"Jesse Chambers, I did not know you had-"
"Superpowers? Pffft, please," She snorted, rolling her eyes as she waved her hands nonchalantly. "I cracked that formula when I was twelve. Dear old dad has been mentoring me in secret though I've done some solo hero'ing for a while. Probably nothing to put on the big news, but I do it, if only for exercise and practice sake," Finishing with a shrug, she looked at them skeptically. "So what does a trio of teenagers need with my family's company money?"
"Actually make that four. She had to sleep in for school tomorrow," Robin blurted out, receiving an incredulous look from Annie and an inquisitive stare from Ace. Looking between them, he waved his arms. "What? Did we not have this conversation of the need for no dancing around the issue?!"
Sighing, the blank-faced girl turned to address Jesse once more in as serious as she could manage under circumstnaces, "Averting a world ending crisis. The threat-"
"I'm in."
"-should probably be explained?" The psychic cocked her head to the side, almost as perplexed as the other two were at her sudden sign-up.
"What? Does 'end of the world' need explaining?" She questioned with air quotes used by her hand quotes.
"Well, it is kind of vague and a bit ominous," Robin intoned with a shrug and an awkward smile.
"All the more reason I should sign up!" She urged, a broad grin and her fist extended towards the three. "Real name aside, I go by Jesse Quick. Easy to remember, especially if you have to shout it during the middle of a crisis."
"You're a little too excited about this," Annie noted with a look of bafflement across her face.
"What? My parents have helped save the country, the city and the world multiple times back in the old days. It's time I get a leg up and do it before anyone knows what's up! Plus," She continued, suddenly her face dropping and her body hunching forward with a belated sigh. "I'm...really...really...really bored."
"So heroics is just a hobby to you?" Ace asked in a dry tone.
"Hey! A hero for fun is just as effective as a hero for serious, kay!" Jesse snapped, her finger pointing at the shorter girl.
"...given the reputation of the Flash, I could buy that," Tim spoke with understanding under his breath.
"So, when do we get moving? Are you all on some tour of Keystone, or am I just part of the stop you kiddies are on?" She asked with a cheeky grin. "Cause I need to stretch my legs pulling an all-nighter in the biz, I can tell you that. Much as I love playing big-wig manager and science developer, it's just way too slow for my liking. At least, not if I want to be caught, that is."
"The next member is somebody who has been an honorary member of the League and has at times formed a brief team not too different from ours with Nightwing and a few others. He's usually on the move, but he should be easy enough to find," Ace informed the three, looking to Jesse in particular. "I assume your company has access to recent sightings or news reports on anything related to one named Speedy."
"Oh, you mean Green Arrow's ward? Pffft, yeah, he's out hunting some goons around the East Coast. Let me check that!" She decided, her body suddenly disappearing in a flash of gold. In the gust of wind that lapped the rooftop, they could see the faintest of sparks run across the building and majestically enamor the vista of Keystone. A couple minutes had passed and they were about to decide on their next action till she reappeared in another flash of light, startling Robin and Annie while Ace simply blinked. Saluting them, she grinned proudly as she gestured over her shoulder. "I just checked most of the East Coast. Faster than searching the net. And guess what?"
"You found him?" Annie blinked with wide eyes.
"H-Hax!" Robin coughed into his hand.
"It seems he's taking on a gang of creeps harboring illegal migrants. Now, that's normally not a big deal, the law usually weeds out undesirables in due course." She dropped her volume, her voice ebbing with a serious edge as her arms cross her chest. "Unless said human traffickers were planning on using them as collateral for the underground slave trade, or some other misbegotten plan."
"That definitely is warranting of his attention," Ace nodded with affirmation. "I assume you left him alone?"
"He seemed to be staking the area out, and I don't like being a buzzkill for guys who aren't as fast as I am. I'll let the man work, if only I get to watch," She smirked, thumbing over her shoulder for emphasis. "Want to follow? I'm sure it'll be a blast to see what this guy is made of."
"Understood," Ace proclaimed, lifting both Robin and Annie up once more with her to take flight, while Jesse paced herself so they could follow her to the place of origin. The night was young, after all, and they still had time.
Time which Ace hoped could be spent preparing for this pseudo-prophesied evil coming for them.
It was a cool night, near the exchange point. Everybody was tense, always on the look-out. In a world full of freaks, aliens and cyborgs no one could be too careful. The thugs were numbered up to fifteen, all heavily armed and armored. Even a few had protective masks, designed in a way to put fear in the poor illiterate people they were smuggling to another organization. Whatever happened to them, it didn't matter, so long as they were paid.
At least, they would've been, if not for Roy Harper tailing them for the past week and a half. Between roughing down has-beens, paying some informants and tracking them through stealth, guile and deception he managed to find this place. It was an abandoned truck stop, a few kilometers west of Gotham's city limit and easy enough to circumnavigate to avoid watching eyes.
With the trucks haul, he counted somewhere between a hundred or so being ferreted in the truck. The most despicable thing was the fact they didn't have a disparage of age and sex; they were mostly young men and girls, with even a good number of them being children. He didn't want to consider the possibilities what got them separated from their parents, nor did he care.
Decisive action was necessary, right when the buyer would show.
And show they did, heralded by an armored tank of a transport with specialties outfitted with it to make it almost as impressive as the Batmobile. With the doors opening, a number of burly men came out with weapons only their builds could hold. The person who opened the more leisurely backseat quickly stood aside for a man of enormous stature and with armored coils feeding to what looked like a chemical tank on his back, leading to his head and siphoned from his right arm. The unforgettable skull-like mask, black shirt that stretched over such a pronounced musculature and custom-made pants with army boots made him realize who this buyer was.
"Bane," He sneered.
"I trust that all went well, gringos?" The established hit man and mob boss of equal infamy inquired with a slight glare aimed at them.
"Yes, we got all of the cargo like you needed," The leader of the traffickers, a slightly shorter but intimidating in his own way. Armed with a grenade launcher in his hand that he held casually over one shoulder, he held out the other hand expectantly. "You may count your chickens if you wish, but I propose I see the authenticity of the payment?"
"Of course. I am a man of my word," Bane nodded, snapping his finger to one of his men who delivered a large briefcase. Grasping it between his two fingers, he presented it with an opening fashion that allowed the trafficker and his men to see glowing contents. To their satisfaction, it was all there; two dozen vials of purified Venom, with its own injection gun to boot. "I trust that everything appears to be in order?"
"It is," The trafficker nodded with a leering grin. Just as he was about to grab it, a sudden whistling sound could be heard. Only the bigger of the two could see the arrow right as it hit the opened case in one of the canisters. Startled, he found himself awash as a flash-bang was released from the modified tip, spraying him with the drug that burned his eyes and his nostrils through his mask.
He screamed, and Bane snarled at his ruined purchase. Looking over his shoulder he saw a bright red flare rise up into the sky, painting all of the standing shoulders in an overcast of crimson. Amidst the blaring light, several more guards were incapacitated from unseen projectiles, pinning them either to the vehicle or straight-up shocking them with contact.
"The Arrow will pay for this!" Bane snarled, retrieving a large hand cannon to aim at something.
Hearing cries of the men from within the lot, he turned to see the initial attack was a diversion. The truck full of adolescents and children was suddenly assaulted by the outline of somebody in red and black. Using quick acrobatics to vault around them while firing arrows like someone out of a fairy tale of old folklore, Roy Harper twisted about and landed on the last of the guards he had taken off guard while landing on a crouch.
"Hey big guy," He chuckled, noticing the ire of Bane had been incurred as he notched another arrow from his quiver to his bowstring. Drawing it back to his ear, he saw him stomp once and then leap with surprising fury. "You're fast, I'll give you that."
"I'LL KILL YOU!" He roared out, his frame getting hit by the arrow but still kept a rapid sprint. The cold vapors followed by rapidly freezing agent took hold over his muscles. Artificial ice spread over him, burning his skin to the touch, while encroaching up his neck and his hands, covering his boots down to the toes. Despite the overwhelming numbness encroaching him, he growled and focused, the adrenaline burning through as his muscular being snapped apart his confines, releasing a hail of icicles all about him. "You'll have to do better than that, niño!"
"That's fine," Roy quipped, nimbly dodging a wide swipe, a powerful kick and knife-hand slash each barely missing him due to only his training and reflexes. Landing a short distance away, he gestured towards Bane, letting him see a trio of what looked like magnets that stuck onto him. Notching the next arrow from his quiver, he saw him look at him questionably which he cared to answer. "What happens to a person when they become a magnet to a metal tipped arrow?"
Letting loose, a sudden acceleration transpired from the naked eye. Tendrils of the electromagnetic spectrum lanced out, coming into contact with Bane's stick-on magnets. The result bolstered the velocity, homing in and crashing with concussive blunt trauma straight into his torso.
Coughing up flecks of spit and blood, Bane was sent skidding backwards, but remained standing. Laughing, he wiped his mouth and glared with beady red eyes from behind his black mask, "Impressive, niño. You know how to hit hard. But," Touching the dial on his right wrist, he began to bulk up and oddly contort as the Venom pumped in higher dose to make him larger and stronger than before. "I can always hit. Much. Harder!"
"Bring it, you sack of garbage!" Roy barked back, threading an additional three arrows, just as he saw Bane move. It was a titanic wall of muscle blurring forth, even faster than he was before, if possible. With only instinct to propel his body, he reflexively ducked and spun on his right heel, his shoulder only scraped by the man's assault on his person. Turning around, his face along with the rest of his head was grasped and lifted in the air.
"How are you liking your chances now, little arche-"
Letting loose his taut string, he let the magnets do the rest as they struck Bane's groin and two kneecaps. Despite his bulk, the acceleration of the trauma had put him through a drastic amount of pain. Rearing back guttural sounds of agony and rage, he looked down too late. With the archer tossing aside his bow, crimson tendrils spewed from Roy's right arm, the more armored of the two to reveal something of a synthetic augmentation was made into the gauntlet and metal itself.
"Here's MY hard hit!" He shouted, gut punching Bane and fully twisting his fist to unleash a potent shockwave against the superhuman brute. The force tore the shirt from the man, his network of chords broken and his link to the Venom ripped away. Even as he began to un-hulk, Roy pulled his hand from the swollen bruise he left behind and turned away, just as Bane's white-out eyes looked upon the concrete his face crashed into.
In just a few minutes, Roy had bested them all.
Realizing he had a sense something wasn't right, Roy toe-flipped the bow up back into his grasp and placed another arrow in the string and pulled it towards the shadows not far away from his vicinity. He knew he heard breathing, if not something akin to voices. He hadn't been fighting this long to know when he was being watched.
"Okay, we're coming out! Don't shoot!" Robin exclaimed, his hands in the air as he moved around one of the truck stop's posts. Followed by him was the meek Annie, the deadpanned Ace and an annoyed Jesse.
One that turned and immediately raised her hand towards Robin as Roy just stared at them with confusion.
"Hey! Why did you ruin our dynamic reveal?!" She shouted.
"I saw what he did to those guys. I'd rather not be hit by his arrows, thank you," Tim retorted with his hands remaining upright.
"Put your hands down, you're so not cool at the moment," Jesse huffed, flashing away to be in front of an aghast archer. "But you! Man did I love watching you work. I combed all over till I saw you and wow, I must say I like the new get-up! What aboutthearm?WheredidyougetthatandthewayyoubeatupBanewassocool-!"
"Stop! Stop talking like that! Also, does personal space mean nothing to you?!" Roy exclaimed, finally getting the speedster's attention, much to her sheepish chagrin. Backing away, she joined the others as he got acclimated. Sighing, he ran a hand over his face as he compacted his bow and holstered it over one shoulder, placing the arrow back in its quiver. With his hands on his hips, he narrowed his eyes at them, getting a good look at each one. "I'm guessing you didn't just come here admiring my work. I'm solo for a reason, so if there's something you need, make it quick. I gotta get those kids out of the truck and someplace safe."
"We can help with that," Ace proffered, her eyes staring straight at his domino-masked eyes. "For a price."
"Then you better keep waiting, cause I'll do this myself," He replied with a dismissive wave, already leaving them as he walked towards the truck. "Hasn't stopped me so far."
"C'mon! We could use someone as skilled as you!" Robin insisted with a boisterous raise of his fist. "There's something important we have to do, and we can't do it alone."
"I'm sure you could manage. You don't seem like entire scrubs. Besides, what part of me working alone do you not get?" Roy harshly rejected, not even bothering to look over his shoulder.
"The world is in danger! People will die!" Annie insisted with urgency in her voice.
Stopping for a second, he looked over at her and then the others with an unimpressed expression on his face, "And? Isn't that what the Justice League is for?"
"You were with the League, once. What happened to you, Speedy?" Robin asked, only to find that was a sore spot.
"Don't call me that!" He snarled, looking a bit menacing at Tim and the others. His right arm twitched, an ache surrounding his arm that he clung to with a grimace of anger. Closing his eyes, he exhaled and he calmed himself after a few seconds. Looking back at them, he spoke as plain as he could. "I'm Arsenal now. You obviously came for the wrong man."
"Batman trusted you," Ace intoned, making the archer narrow his eyes with suspicion. The nigh emotionless girl continued to speak now she had his attention. "The night I met the Dark Knight, I was met with a will so strong that he wasn't driven into madness like everybody else I unleashed my psychic cry to. In that haze, I connected and I saw you, among others in his memories. Fragments, like sill pictures with bits of information scattered about. Among those in the League he trusted you to get the job done and watch his back. That is why I decided to bring them with me to help convince you that your abilities are required; essential to saving this world from total annihilation."
"How do you know for certain? What proof can you give me that the League or anyone else on this world or out there can't stop what you preach is gospel?" Roy asked with an outstretched hand, clenching it with hardened emphasis.
"I'm a psychic, I can unravel the tapestries of one's mind and sift through it like it's words and pictures in a book. I can drive people mad by simply tearing out pages or rearranging words and pictures in different orders, even adding new information that doesn't belong to make them perceive something else entirely. Altering the environment with my mind and reading thoughts is what I do, but this future I see in my dreams and feel in my every waking moment," Ace breathed, her eyes dilating and her breath becoming strained. Sweat appeared across her pale face and her black lips spread to reveal her clattering teeth as her hands wrapped around her head. Even now, she could imagine the thousands of piles, burning with recognizable faces; one of which had the faces of her friends among the charred, broken bodies hidden by ghastly flames. "This terrifies me! A terror that I know is coming, and worried that I cannot beat this alone. Yet doing nothing makes me feel worse than allowing others to thwart an unknown. I cannot allow Batman, the Justice League or anyone else to do this.
"No, it has to be us. We have to stop this, or else the world will fall to ruin and the Earth will become a field of ash with thousands of piles of its populace burning in funeral pyres. Among the dead, I saw not only the League...but yours, Roy Harper," She looked up, still shaking while everyone looked aghast at the new information being revealed. "You, the League. I could make out everyone's features as clearly as if painted in front of my eyes. Do you understand?! Whoever did this will destroy all life and make this world a barren wasteland! One that I, in the small chance I live, will wander alone and see all of the people that could've lived if I had done the right thing and not been alone!"
It was a damning silence that followed that declaration. If there was ever time for a second thought, it was now. Before it was simply a notion of a vague threat, and that it could destroy everything they new. Now? She confirmed seeing the faces of the Justice League among the dead, while she remained alone and alive. The loneliness among the dead terrified her, and her quest seemed much clearer now.
"I was expecting a sob story, not something straight from a Lovecraftian horror," Roy quipped, his stern and usually serious tone exchanged for a slightly drier one. Seeing her stop shaking, she looked up with wide curious eyes of trepidation and hope. Groaning, he palmed his face with his right arm and mumbled to himself, "Gonna regret this," before finally looking confidently at Ace and her alone. "Alright. You help me get these people to safety, and we'll talk tomorrow. I want a clear head after some rest from this endeavor of mine. Been awhile since I got my eight anyways, so that should help."
"Fantastic!" Jesse air pumped, going around to high five the almost as enthusiastic members of the team, jumping about and grinning ecstatically. "This is badass! We got ourselves a bona fide archer! No we just need magician and we'll be a complete set of awesome!"
"Isn't Mary technically magic?" Robin inquired with a raised brow.
"I think saying a magic word doesn't qualify to be a mage. Or a wizard. Or a sorcerer. Or-"
"I get it, she can't cast spells. Though it's freakin' epic that she can bench press a planet!" Tim giddily imagined Mary holding the world over her head.
"Can she? I think you're imagining something impossible there," Jesse countered.
"Hey, I think she can do whatever she puts her mind to!"
"Ohhhhh! Are you crushing on our resident heavy lifter?" The speedster winked with a cheeky grin. "How daring of you, even when you have such a pretty girlfriend."
"Hey! That's not fair," Tim exclaimed, deflating a little as he turned with embarrassment to look at Annie as she just blinked in confusion. "It's not that like-like her, or anything. I just think she's a cool superhero that can tangle with Superman or Captain Marvel or whatever! It's got nothing to do with our friendship!"
"Why would it? You just met her tonight," Annie stated nonchalantly.
"Oh. Right," Robin twitched, turning to look at Jesse who was already bouncing around an annoyed Roy as they began to unload the children from the truck. "That girl, I swear."
"She just likes to press buttons. I don't mind. I think she brings a little light around our gloomy mission," Annie proclaimed with a happier, sincere smile that caught her friend's eye; one he readily returned.
"I'm...hopeful," Ace whispered, catching the pair's attention as she regained her stoic composure. Looking down at her hand, she turned it into a fist and looked up at the two with her usual blank stare. "But it's too soon to be sure of anything. Once we finish our part helping here, we will meet again tomorrow, after Mary and Roy are freed up. Then, we will talk and see what comes next."
"Right," Robin, furrowing his brow as he became lost in thought. "Hey, do we have a name for what this team of ours is?"
"About that," Ace turned, looking at the children being helped down from the truck, one of them hugging Roy exuberantly while crying into his waist. As he looked compassionately upon them, talking to them and helping them gather together, she finished speaking. "Roy was part of a team, like I said before, that the now Nightwing was a part of. They split apart, but I don't see a harm in taking their name."
"What's that?" Annie asked curiously, with Robin looking equally enthralled.
She smiled, turning towards them with her hands on her hips, "The Teen Titans."
A.N: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand, that's a wrap!
Really enjoyed writing this chapter. Got a lot of chance to develop them as they were introduced or set things in motion with every person joining the ranks. Given not a lot happened in the previous chapter, I dedicated this action highlight to Roy and his brief yet awesome tussle with Bane and a bunch of armed goons. Those of you worried, no, he'll not ditch his boy and become all Frank Miller gritty gruesome; he's much more akin to the Young Justice equivalent than the comics, I assure you.
And with the team (mostly) assembled, we have ourselves quite an array of powerhouses. The adept and adaptable Robin who is team leader. The wise and blunt Ace. The kind and down to earth Annie. The wise cracking yet lovable Jesse Quick. The snarky yet laid back Mary Marvel. Along with the grim realist who is Roy Harper, a man of too many names for me to care to list.
Will there be more members in the future? What is this threat that wipes out the League? With a threat becoming more and more fearsome with every gleaming hint of revelation, our heroes are in for a long hard fight. Find out what happens next in the next chapter of The Mighty Teen Titans!
