The Forsaken Hero

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, or any of the characters in the show (just putting that out there…..)

Chapter 2: Ancestral Mystery

The streets of jump were completely unrecognizable to Alex as he left the orphanage. The somewhat peaceful, safe streets of his childhood were now shells of their former selves, marred by garbage, gangs, litter, and violence. Gunshots could be heard at every moment. "What happened to this place? How could everything have changed?" His thoughts were interrupted by screams of help from a nearby alleyway.

"HELP! NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME! AH- GET AWAY FROM ME!", screamed a woman..

"There's no one that can save you now", said her attackers, as they forced her into a corner and started to rip her clothes off of her body.

"NO! NO! no….Please…don't", whimpered the victim. But it was all for naught, as the attackers continued to force themselves on upon her.

Alex couldn't help but look on in disgust. Subject: Unknown woman currently being mugged by 4 men. Possible Actions: Save her or walk away. Suggestion: Walk Away. The odds are against you. There is a 85% chance that you will lose the conflict and will end up mutilated, or worse dead. "Damn it! I can't do a thing! If I leave, she'll be raped! But if I interfere, I'll end up dead. What can I do?" Dad wouldn't leave he alone like this…At least, I don't think he would…..Well…here goes nothing…..

He took out the piece of Xynthonium, and concentrated. "Come on! I need to focus!" The substance transformed into a wrist blade once more, and Alex jumped into the alley, prepared to strike at the attackers. Subject: muggers attempting to rape a woman. Status: Hostile, caution is advised. Situation predicted: Men will lash out against you if you charge in. battle will most definitely ensue. Possible Actions: It may be possible to sneak and pick off each man one at a time. Or one can simply charge in an hope for the best. Option 1 is advised.

As Alex looked on at the situation, he realized that he had no time to sneak around; he needed to act now. So against the advice of his mind, he charged in with his Xynthonium wrist blade, trying to make a difference. What happened next occurred faster than his mind could comprehend. He charged in, and impaled one of the muggers in the stomach. When another turned and tried to kick him, Alex raised his forearm up and blocked it easily. With his opponent left open, he quickly impaled the man and turned to face the others. The remaining 2 men pulled out guns saying, "Don't move you son of a bitch." But even before Alec could think of how he would get out of this situation, he subconsciously ducked, avoiding both gunshots, and lunged at the two men, leaving their lifeless bodies on the floor of the alleyway.

By the time that he was fully aware of what had happened, it was already done. His clothes, and body were stained with the blood of those he killed. He knelt down to the woman he "saved" hoping that she was alright.

"Mam, is….everything alright? Are you hurt?"

"G-Get a-away f-from me? What are you, you monster!", she replied as she backed away from him and ran off, leaving Alex to his own thoughts.

"She's right….I am a monster….. How would mom and dad think of me now? I'm…no hero like one of those guys in the comic books…No….I'm…. a monster…" As Alex stared at the bodies of the muggers, the memories of what happened came back to him, and he felt ashamed, ashamed of his act, his lack of self control, and most of all, of who he was. He sighed to himself, remembering what he had learned over the years. "What's done is done. I can't keep living in the past. I can't wish that things were different, otherwise my parents would still be alive and I would have never murdered those men. But I can learn from my mistakes. There's all this crime and violence in the city. I can atone for my sins by making a difference. Maybe …just maybe…that might be enough."

Despite the fact that Alex was now determined to become a true hero, he didn't know what to do next. He meandered down several streets, witnessing several crimes, rapes, and muggings occur, yet he feared that if he interfered with anything, then his actions would only cause death and bloodshed, as they had before. As he walked down several streets he noticed that no one was attempting to rape, mug, or even pickpocket him. "I seriously wonder why nothing is happening to me. I wouldn't really care if anything did though. But I need to find Dad…..What street was our apartment on? Hmm….maybe I can find some clues to where he's gone…."

Alex looked up at the street sign on the corner, and although it was painted black, blue, and yellow with graffiti, he could still make out what the sign said. Subject: Street Sign, covered with graffiti. What It says: McCadam Street. "McCadam street…wait that's where I used to live!" thought Alex as he raced down the street. Everything was there as he remembered it. The garage, although worse for wear, was still there, though it appeared that no one had used it or even had lived or worked here in a long time. As he walked up the creaky steps to his family's dilapidated tenement, he was surprised to find that no one was home, and just like the garage, it appeared that no one had been here for a while. A thick layer of dust covered everything. Alex turned to the table, hearing the sound of multiple footsteps. Subject: Unknown, working on determining what it is….. Clues: It appears that the pattern to the sound of the footsteps indicate that the subject is smaller than human—most likely an animal of some kind. Couple that with the layer of dust, and—Identity Confirmed: Either multiple rats or cockroaches. Relieved that there was no one coming, Alex wandered around the small rooms of his old home, careful not to step too hard for that would cause the floor to collapse. He couldn't help it if memories seemed to come back to him, no matter how much he tried to hold them back.

~~Flashback~~

"Dad, what's going on?", asked a younger version of Alex.

"Son…HAPPY BIRTHDAY!", said his father as he led him into the apartment.

Everyone was there—his mom, grandparents and friends, all of whom would later be dead. Everyone had a really good time. The scent of the food, the laughter, everything there was a surprise to Alex, but a surprise nevertheless. The day, probably the happiest in his life, went by so quickly. They played games, and ate delicious food. What finally ended the day was the birthday cake, homemade without a doubt, but meaningful to Alex. He had never had a birthday cake before, and he wondered why there was one for this occasion.

"Dad, why is there a cake today? I mean…I love cake, but we've never had one before. What's going on?"

"Son, don't worry about it…We'll talk about it tomorrow. For now, just enjoy your birthday, and….you better get ready to avoid the Tickle Monster!", said his dad as he suddenly chased after Alex, arms outstretched, until he caught him and started to tickle him.

"Dad! HAHAHAH, PLEASE! HAHAHAHAHA!"

~~End~~

Alex couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered that day. However, his smile soon turned into a frown as he remembered what happened the day following his 8th birthday.

~~Flashback~~

"Son, we need to talk."

"Why dad? What's going on?", asked Alex as he was busy solving a Rubik's cube.

"Son…..It's your mother….She's…She's going away for a long, long time. I don't know when she'll be back. It's just going to be you and me for a while, ok?"

"WHY?", yelled Alex as he broke down in tears, and ran out of the room.

~~End~~

He shook his head and wiped the sweat that had formed on his brow. "I've got to stop thinking about those times. They're too painful…..What's done is done….." He turned to go into his own old room, but then stopped himself. "No…I can't…..It's still too painful…I don't want to bring back even more memories…." He found himself staring at what had once been his father's old room. It had always been dark and mysterious to Alex, and he had never gone in there, even when he was younger. "I've always wondered what Dad's room looked like…..Well, here goes nothing….." Alex found himself slowly pushing open the door to his father's room and wasn't surprised with what he found. What he saw was a normal bed, albeit a dust covered one, a broken lamp, and a set of drawers. "I should've known. Dad's room's just like mine, except…maybe a little bit more dreary…." As he turned to depart from his dad's room, a sharp sound went off in his head, causing him to fall to one knee in pain. "Look beyond what you see….." The pain subsided as fast as it had originally come, and Alex turned again to look into his father's room. It was then that he noticed a patch of the wall that lacked the dust, which covered everything else. Subject: A plain, ordinary wall. There may be something concealed within it. It poses no threat to you. Alex walked over and placed his hand on the wall.

"Identity confirmed. Welcome Alex," said a voice as the wall receded, revealing a winding staircase that led down to who knows where.

"Well….that's strange…..I wonder what's in here….." Subject: Mysterious Stairwell. Status: Nonhostile, Possibility that dangers may wait at the bottom. Discretion is advised." Taking a deep breath, Alex descended down the mysterious stairwell, not too surprised that the wall slid close, leaving him with only one direction to go: forward.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, what he saw was not another dilapidated, run-down room, but instead a hi-tech room, like one he would have seen in a sci-fi movie. "Whoa, what is this place?" He was interrupted from his awe by a huge screen which suddenly turned on. On it was someone whom he never thought he would see again.

"Hello son. We need to talk."

End Chapter 2

Hope you guys enjoyed the second chapter! I originally wrote this before the prologue, and I'm going to be working on the next chapter (hopefully should be out in a couple days….) Anyways, I know it's probably predictable and everything, and my writing style isn't the greatest, but seriously, any feedback, good or bad, is appreciated. I'm not one of those people who get angry for no reviews. I honestly just want to know how you guys think I could make the story better.

Some important questions I still have to answer:

Who is Alex's father?

How does he get the suit?

Why am I still writing this instead of going on to the next chapter?

-Inatorinator