Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or F.E.A.R., they belong to DC Comics and Monolith, respectively. I'm wondering if I should change this to just a Teen Titans fanfic since there isn't going to be much F.E.A.R. elements aside from Alma and, in later chapters, Armacham will play a huge role. What do you think? Please let me know via private message or review, whichever is convenient for you. The action is heating up, and tragedy is about to strike. Welcome to the next chapter of… Blood Sisters!
The day after Canyon left, Alma went on a bike ride throughout Fairport. It was another sunny day, with a gentle gust of wind blowing. Alma decided to go swimming in Lake Loktòrr. After a couple of hours, Alma went home and made lunch.
Harlan trudged in the door not long after Alma. He'd just stormed out of Armacham Technology Corporation Headquarters after a long, tiring, seemingly endless argument with Genevieve Aristide on the subject of Alma. Harlan knew what was coming next, he just hoped Alma would be safe.
"Olive?" Alma offered, nearly startling him. Harlan smiled as he grabbed a couple of olives from the plate. Alma sat down next to her father and put an arm around his shoulders. "You look tired," Alma remarked as she scanned her father's face.
"Very long day," Harlan replied, putting an emphasis on very. "There's going to be a meeting here tonight, do you have anywhere you can go or hang out for a couple of hours?"
"Kera's been wanting to go skateboarding. We could do that for a while then probably go play basketball."
"Ok. Call and make sure Kera can hang out."
"Way ahead of you." Alma replied. A few minutes later, Alma gave her father a thumbs up.
Harlan gave Alma a hug as she left. Unknown to Alma, there was a sad look on her father's face. Harlan told her to be home between 10:45 and 11. Alma wondered what the meeting was about, but kept the questions to herself.
6: 45 P.M.
Alma and Kera met up at the skate park and took turns practicing Ollies and other tricks on the half-pipe.
8 P.M.
Harlan slowly sipped his coffee and sighed. He was staring at a picture of his missing wife, a woman by the name of Arella. She said that she would return after helping her other child. Speaking of that other child…
"Just now, the Teen Titans have captured Triton, and are escorting him to prison. The fight between heroes and villain started about an hour ago, and left most of Jump City unharmed." The news reporter said. "This is the most recent attack in a stream of attacks on the Titans that started in upper New York last month. It has been reported that a couple of days ago, two Titans were kidnapped during a battle at their Tower in Steel City. The Titans have not responded to any calls. All we know is that something big is going down, and the Teen Titans will be there to stop it."
Harlan took another sip, finishing his coffee and tucking the photo of Arella in an envelope, along with a picture of her holding Alma during her sixth birthday party, three weeks before she disappeared. He then inserted a flash drive into the side of his laptop and started writing.
10 P.M.
Alma and Kera had decided to take part in a small skateboarding contest, which was nearing its end. Only a couple of competitions remained, and then the ceremony, which would take about 20 minutes. They were entered in the tag-team trick portion, and were in the finals, against, of all people, Chenisce and Ryan. Once they won, it would prove that popularity isn't everything.
The door flung open with a bang! Replica troops flooded in, surrounding Harlan, who relaxed into his recliner. "So it's come to this, has it, Vaneck?"
"Where is she, Harlan?" Vaneck asked, aiming his submachine-gun at him. "Maybe you didn't hear me," Vaneck said after Harlan gave no reply. Walking over to where Harlan was sitting, he dragged Harlan to his feet and punched him in the gut with the butt of his gun.
Harlan collapsed on the ground, clutching his chest and gasping for air. "Never," he said, trying his best to stand. A foot collided with his face, breaking his nose and causing blood to splatter everywhere.
"Where is she?" Vaneck asked, a sick grin plastered on his face. "C'mon, Harlan, I have respect for you, so I'll make you a deal. Tell us where she is, and you will suffer no more."
"Never!" Harlan yelled as he leapt up from the floor and took a swing at Vaneck, who seemed surprised that Harlan was standing. The punch connected, sending Vaneck stumbling backwards, but causing Harlan to fall forwards.
Harlan heard his ribs crack as Vaneck kicked him a couple of times. "Where is she?" Vaneck asked, pressing the cold steel barrel of his gun against Harlan's head.
Harlan looked up at Vaneck with a defeated face. "Asia, she's in Asia."
"Asia?" Vaneck asked unbelievingly. "What is she doing there?"
"She wanted to live as a monk for a few years. I'm not sure where she went, only that she's happy with what she's doing."
"Thank you," Vaneck replied, pulling the trigger. "Let's go, men. We got a girl to catch."
10:55 P.M.
Alma and Kera won first place. Chenisce and Ryan were pissed, but walked away from the competition honorably. Alma looked at her watch and frowned. "I'll see you tomorrow; I've got to get home. Night!" Alma yelled as she jumped on her skateboard and left. Luckily, she'd get home a little later than her dad had asked, but the meeting would probably be just getting out anyways, or they'd be kicking back and catching up…
The watch read 11:05 P.M. when she got home. The door was open, and there was only one light on. That was a sign that the meeting was out, and somebody had forgotten to close the door. Or it was so warm that the door was open to let some cold air in. What awaited inside was worse than she could have expected. There was complete silence, and a mess everywhere. The T.V. was left on, just some late night news, and the forecast for next week, which seemed to remain sunny for a while. It wasn't until Alma stumbled over a lump on the floor and fell to the ground that she screamed.
In front of her eyes, her father's corpse laid still, blank eyes staring into the roof, blood protruding from the bullet hole in his forehead. She wept, shaking in misery, cradling the body of her father in her arms. She wanted to call the police, but couldn't move. Even if she got the strength to move, there was a lump in her throat that only allowed whimpers and sobs to get through.
Time was irrelevant and stood still as Alma finally got the strength to move. Gently, she laid her father's corpse on the ground, and closed his eyes, putting the broken glasses on his face one more time, as if it might bring him back. Slowly, Alma moved towards the phone. However, the phone lay in ruin, the cords having been cut. Beside where the phone was lay an envelope, unsealed, with her name on it. She picked up the envelope and looked inside, searching for what she hoped would be a clue as to who did this. Inside were two pictures and a flash drive with a note.
Alma, the note said, check file Icarus. Love, Daddy.
Inserting the flash drive into the computer, which was near where her father's corpse lay, Alma opened up the drive and clicked on the Icarus file. A small video popped up, with what could be the last moments of her father's life.
"Alma," he said gently, taking the glasses off and rubbing his temples, "there's no easy way for me to explain this. If you've gotten this message, that means I'm dead and you found the envelope. Besides the flash drive and note, there are two pictures, one with your mother, Arella, and another with her holding you on your sixth birthday. These are the only pictures of your mother that I could find. I'm sure there are more in storage, but leave those alone for now."
"I think you should know the truth about your mother and what happened to her. She was born and raised in New York City. After running away from her abusive parents at the tender age of fifteen, she ran into the devil's cult. The devil being Trigon. They tricked her with promises of a family, and through their treachery, your mother was raped by Trigon and your older half-sister was conceived. Arella tried committing suicide, but was stopped by Azar, who promised to help her. After giving birth, your mother was separated from her daughter and stayed for two years to silently watch over her."
"Desiring to come back to Earth, your mother was allowed to come back to Earth, and the rest is history. Not long after we met, we married and you were conceived. Flash forward to three weeks after your sixth birthday. Your mother had been contacted by Azar, who needed help teaching your half-sister. Arella said she would be back, even if it took a couple of years. That was the last I saw of her. I don't know whether she is alive or not, but I know her older daughter is."
"As for me, Armacham was my destroyer. They want to use you for telekinetic warfare experiments. I refused, and they decided to kill me. Avoid any Armacham personnel, with the exception of Bill Moody. He was against it, but said nothing. He might be able to help you. Don't contact him yet. Let the situation die down. Most likely Armacham will probably have cleaned my body up by now and listed me as 'missing'. If not, they will be at our home soon, and you need to listen clearly to this next part."
"Your half-sister may not know you exist. However, she is on Earth. Travel to Jump City and seek out the Teen Titans. Tell them that your mother was Arella. They'll be able to help you, though how much I'm not sure. Let them know about Armacham, about Project Harbinger, which is on this drive. Stay safe. There are tickets for you to board the Yoeseff Monorail tomorrow at noon. It will take you to Jump. Until then, stay out of sight. In your room I've packed some clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, some books and CDs for you in your Legolas suitcase. Be safe butterfly, I love you."
The video cut out, and Alma had a tear falling down her cheeks. Armacham killed her father, the Teen Titans would help her find her sister. All she had to go on was her mother's name. Arella… she'd get to Jump City, find the Titans, and find the sister that, until now, she never knew existed. Taking the flash drive out and storing it in the envelope, along with the note and two pictures that were already in there, Alma bolted for her room, found the suitcase, and left. She was in the bushes across the street when a van with the Armacham logo pulled up. They didn't see her, and she watched as they went into the house with a body bag, mop, and bucket. They came out with the bag full, the corpse of her father stored inside. The mop was dark red, and she suspected the bucket was red with blood on the inside.
That night she slept under a lunch table at the park. At first light, she left, heading towards the train depot. Hiding out in an abandoned tool shed for a couple of hours, she crossed the road to the depot at 11:25 A.M. and boarded the train at 11:30. The train arrived in Jump City around 3:45 in the afternoon. Alma got off the train and headed out of the depot. During the trip she had tried her best to conceal her misery, to great effect. Nobody looked at her or asked if she was okay. She had cried herself to sleep last night, and was drained of energy by the long train ride. In her suitcase, she found out, her dad had stashed some bank information, as well as a thousand dollars hard cash. Keeping that fact to herself, Alma had bought a big breakfast on the train, the proceeded to read Shadow of the Giant, a book by her favorite science fiction author, Orson Scott Card.
Back to her situation: she was in Jump City with only the name of her mother, two pictures, a note, and a flash drive. She didn't know the way to Titans Tower, just that it sat in the middle of the bay. Taking a right, she headed down Clark Street and off into Jump City. After running into some friendly strangers, she was informed that she was heading in the wrong direction for the bay. Retracing her steps, Alma took a right on the corner of Clark and Burke, crossed the road at the walkway in between Burke and Roosevelt, and kept heading forward, passing shops, restaurants, and a park where some kids were playing football.
People started screaming and running the opposite way. What's going on? Alma wondered as she stood, cementing herself to the ground. Maybe some villain was attacking, and the Titans would show up? An explosion confirmed her theory, as a large man, covered in a red suit chuckled and said, "What's wrong? Is Adonis too much for this pitiful city?" his voice full of arrogance. He growled seductively and licked his lips as he spotted Alma, who nearly puked in revulsion. "Hey pretty, want to have some fun with Adonis?" He walked forward, closing the distance between him and the disgusted Alma.
A bird-a-rang flew out of the sky and knocked Adonis in the head. "Leave her alone, Adonis!" Robin yelled, his bowstaff extended. Alma looked and saw the Titans lined up on a roof, glaring at Adonis. Alma looked for one particular face…
"Alma?" Canyon asked as he got a better look. "Distract Adonis, I'll get Alma." With that, he jumped off the roof before Robin could say his catchphrase. The others, though wondering what had made Canyon decide to take charge, attacked Adonis while Canyon got Alma out of harm's way.
"It's a nice surprise, didn't expect to see you so soon. Are you okay?" Canyon asked.
"No," Alma's voice trembled. She then proceeded to inform him of what happened.
Meanwhile…
"Where's Canyon?" Cyborg asked. "He's never this long," he commented as he shot Adonis in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Turning his gun back into a fist, Cyborg lunged forward and delivered an uppercut to Adonis's jaw.
"Maybe she was paralyzed with fear at the stupidity which is Adonis?" Raven replied seriously, eyes narrowed in thought. "On the other hand, she might have fainted and Canyon is taking her to the hospital." Adonis wrapped his arms around Raven.
"Do you like how I feel, baby?" Adonis asked, sniffing Raven's neck.
Raven, disgusted by his perverted tone and thoughts, she'd unfortunately read his mind, broke free and continued to vent her fury on Adonis, who ended up cringing away in fear as she continued.
Robin came in with a flying kick, sending Adonis down the street, where Starfire blasted him with an energy bolt and knocked him out.
"Nice one, Starfire," Robin complemented his girlfriend. "Canyon!" Robin yelled out. The Titans went quiet for a moment and heard sobs. Following the sounds, they found an unexpected sight.
The lady, who was wearing a dirty, green long sleeved shirt and tan shorts had her face buried into Canyon's neck and was crying. Hard. Canyon's arms were wrapped around her tightly, and the Titans heard Canyon whisper, "You're safe here. They'll pay, I promise." He sounded grave, but strong and protective. "Let's go home," Canyon said, "hold on tight." Noticing the Titans, he asked, "Can one of you get her suitcase? Meet you back at the Tower."
"What just happened?" Beast Boy asked. "Who was that girl? How'd Canyon know her?"
"I don't know, Beast Boy, but we'll find out. Let's get Adonis to jail then get some pizza and head home."
Back at the Tower
"Alma, the guest room isn't ready yet. You can have mine for now."
"W-what about you?" Alma inquired.
"I'll sleep on the couch for now. You can't convince me otherwise. Take a nap, I'll explain things to the Titans when they get back. Put the envelope here on my desk, top drawer. It'll be a good way to keep track of it. Sleep well, Alma."
"I will, Canyon." Alma replied as he headed out. After the door closed, Alma took a deep breath of relief. She plopped herself down on the bed, not even bothering to get under the sheets. It was so warm, so cozy, so soft, unlike the dirt she had previously slept on. Even for one night, that had been horrible. She drifted off to a dreamless sleep, one thought floating through her mind. I'm safe.
Alma didn't know how wrong she was.