Chapter Two
The Titans exited Titan tower, where they all watched as Viktor walked ahead of them, his rifle slung across his back. Robin frowned slightly, then called out to him,
"You know we have a boat that can take us to the city, right?"
"I know," Viktor called back, "I saw it when I landed. Honestly, though, I prefer to fly."
"Oh, watch this," Blackfire said. "He has a cool way of transforming."
The titans watched as Viktor stopped just ahead, then began to glow. In an instant, flames sparked across his entire body, spreading to everything he had on him. Robin was about to intercede when Blackfire stopped him. "Don't," she told him, "This is his way of shifting to his dragon form."
Robin watched in shock as the flames consumed everything; then, his body disappeared, but the flames remained, but began to spread outwards, shaping the form of Viktor's dragon body. When the flames and ashes disappeared, a large, crimson-scaled dragon stood where Viktor had been. The dragon turned to face the Titans, where it became obvious that Viktor still retained his sapphire-blue eyes after the transformation. Blackfire approached the now-massive Viktor, who lowered his head to her level in response.
"Beautiful, isn't he?" Blackfire asked. Everyone remained silent. Everyone except Starfire.
"In all my life," she said, "I have never seen such a majestic creature; I have heard of Dragons in ancient human mythology, but never did I think I would ever see one with my own eyes."
"Think it's possible I could turn myself into a dragon?" Beast-boy queried.
"No, tovarishch," Viktor answered, "Such a power is a power that, to my knowledge, is only held by my people; dragon-shifting isn't a power you can acquire... you have to be born with it."
"A unique gift, to be sure," Starfire said. "How... how did your people come to be?"
"Dragon-shifter history is a long, complicated topic, best discussed at our destination," Viktor said, "But suffice it to say, we dragon-shifters trace our existence back to the founding of the Dragonarian Empire."
"Feel like having company in the sky?" Blackfire asked Viktor. Viktor chuckled, with a loving smile on his face as he looked to Blackfire.
"Don't I always? I'm not the cynical loner I was when you met me, anymore," Viktor replied. They both shared a soft laugh, after which, Blackfire leapt onto Viktor's back, and Viktor took to the sky, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the neck of his vessel.
"It still seems... odd, Blackfire being so much in love with someone like him," Robin commented. "She really has changed."
"We're going to be late," Raven pointed out. "They won't hold our reservations all day."
That said, the rest of the Titans boarded the boat and headed off into Jump City...
The titans arrived in the city in short order, with Viktor flying the skies and Blackfire riding on his back. When the Titans arrived at the bar, Viktor dropped out of the skies, where Blackfire got off his back before Viktor shifted back to his normal form.
"Hey, Viktor – what would happen if you shifted to your normal form while Blackfire was still on your back?" Beast-Boy asked.
"I don't know," Viktor admitted, "And I don't want to find out."
"More than likely, it wouldn't be pretty," Robin commented.
"That's what I would assume," Viktor said. They entered the bar, where Robin approached the hostess. While he talked with her, Starfire noticed a change in Viktor's facial expression. His eyes were closed, and his face was in a slightly-worried frown. Blackfire noticed this, too, and she asked,
"Viktor, are you alright?" Viktor said something in Russian to her, and she frowned. "What? What is it?" Viktor again responded in Russian, and Starfire was now curious.
"What is he saying?" she asked.
"He's sensing something's wrong, but he can't discern what," Blackfire whispered to her sister. "Only time that ever happens is-"
"Okay," the hostess said, "If you all will follow me, I'll show you to your table." As the titans followed the hostess to the table, Viktor whispered something in Russian to Blackfire, who nodded in agreement.
"What'd he say?" Starfire asked.
"I can't say; the most I will say is keep your ears open," Blackfire answered. The titans sat down at their table, set on a balcony overlooking the sea. In the distance, Titan Tower could be seen, with Viktor's ship sitting near it.
A waitress came and asked, "What would you all like to drink?" Everyone ordered different drinks, and when the question came to Viktor, Viktor responded,
"I'll have a glass of Corellian Ale, if you have any; if not, I'll just have a Coke." The waitress wrote down the orders and left, where Robin noticed Viktor's demeanor.
"Are you alright, Viktor?" he asked.
Viktor hesitated, then responded, "I'll be fine – but keep your ears open; something feels... out of place."
"What do you mean by 'out of place'?" Cyborg inquired.
"He's right," Raven said. "I sense it, too."
"But what's out-of-place?" Robin asked.
"I'm not sure," Viktor responded. "Call me crazy, but somehow... it feels familiar."
"Well, if you sense anything you think we need to know," Robin requested, "Tell us. Last thing we need is to get caught flat-footed by whatever it is you sense."
"Will do," Viktor said. He looked to Blackfire, then said something in Russian to her. She responded in the same language, and Robin looked to Cyborg.
"Can you translate what they're saying?" he asked him.
"Sorry, Rob," Cyborg responded, "I didn't include Russian in my translation centers, and the only place for me to get software for Russian-to-English translation is back at the tower."
If only to enjoy their time for relaxation while they still had it, they continued as though the conversation never happened. They all ordered something to eat, and it was brought to them in record time. It wasn't until halfway through the meal that Viktor's expression changed again. He frowned, then looked up toward Titan Tower. His frown deepened, and he exclaimed, "Everyone, quiet! Listen!"
The Titans suddenly quieted, and Robin could hear it: The rapid thumping of rotor blades against the air. The more the Titans listened, the more louder the sound got.
"Uh, guys... what are those?" Beast Boy asked, pointing to two helicopters in the sky, headed to Titan Tower.
"What the...?" Robin murmured.
"Hinds!" Viktor exclaimed, "I knew it!" He hit a button in his gauntlet, and yelled in Russian into a comm device. Starfire looked to her sister and asked,
"What did he say?"
"I don't know," Blackfire admitted, "He spoke too fast for me to get the whole message – all I got was something about readying the JX70s."
"What's a JX70?" Cyborg asked.
"Dragonarian advanced assault fighter," Blackfire answered, "The ones Viktor's got are run on remote by his chief AI, Clara."
"Why's he launching-" Cyborg started.
"Look! Over there!" Beast Boy exclaimed, pointing to two more helicopters headed directly toward them. Viktor looked and spotted them, then told the Titans,
"Get out of here! I'll cover you!" He then leapt onto the roof of the restaurant they were at, where he bellowed an earth-rumbling metallic roar. It became apparent that he shifted to dragon form, because shortly thereafter, he flew over the titans, heading for the helicopters. One of them fired a nose cannon, and it became immediately clear that these Hinds were hostile. Viktor avoided the shots, then grabbed onto the Hind. The pilot lost control, and Viktor threw it to sea. The other Hind continued toward the titans.
"Robin, what do we do?" Beast Boy demanded. "We're not equipped to fight attack choppers!"
Robin just watched as the Hinds were either blown out of the sky by the JX70s, or torn apart by Viktor. When the titans met back up with Viktor, he was panting heavily, holding a piece of charred metal with a logo of a targeting reticule around a red, baleful eye. He set it at their feet and asked between breaths, "Recognize... that logo?"
"Robin, that's-" Starfire started.
"The Terrorists we dealt with six months ago," Robin affirmed before his wife could finish. "They're back." He looked to Viktor. "Will you help us in this matter?"
"There is... little choice... for me," Viktor panted. "I... sensed a... a threat... that was familiar... to me. These attackers... are a... a symptom... of the real threat."
"You think the real threat is someone else?" Raven queried.
"The real threat... has yet to show itself," Viktor answered, finally catching his breath. "Something tells me you're going to need all the help you can get."
"Then it begins," Robin said solemnly...