Legends Never Die

By Talitha the Little Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, however the OCs are mine.

A Day in the Lives

"Rise an' shine, dearies!" Mama's cheery voice rang throughout the old house. "Today's gon' be a busy day! We goin' ter Child Services ta get y'all registered as my foster kiddies! I got yer breakfast ready, it's pancakes – a great way ta start a day!"

Logan had already jumped out of the bed upon hearing Mama's voice, and by the time she finished talking, he had put on clothes, ran downstairs, and was sitting impatiently on the couch. As usual, Danielle wasn't too far behind. Mama chuckled at the sight of the two.

"Oh, dearies, y'all could never wait! We gonna wait fer the others, though, an' after breakfast I'm gonna help ya put on matchin' clothes." At her words, Logan and Danielle looked down at their beautifully mismatched clothes and pouted. "Oh, don't be sad! Y'all did a great job this time! Almost got it right!" The woman grinned when she saw that her attempt to cheer up the two teenagers succeeded.

Humming, Mama turned back to the pancakes as Will and Rich entered the room, seating themselves besides Logan and Danielle. Mama piled the pancakes on the six plates; as she began ferrying the food to the coffee table, Caity appeared and immediately went to help Mama. "Oh, thank ya, dearie! Be careful, don't wanna be droppin' those an' hurtin' yerself!"

Soon, the six of them had finished their breakfast, for the clones quickly mastered the art of eating and drinking without creating too much mess, although Logan and Danielle still occasionally got too excited and spilled the food or beverage. Mama clapped her hands for their attention. "Okay, dearies! Only a few things ta do, an' we'll be ready ta go ter Child Services! Logan, would ya please go change yer pants? Put on jeans, an' yer lookin' great! Danielle, jest switch fer a green shirt! Dark green shoulda do it. Caity, I'll help ya brush yer hair, an' Will an' Rich, please find matchin' shoes. Rich, get some matchin' socks, too. Y'all getting' better with clothes, I'm so proud of y'all!"

The five teenagers grinned happily under Mama's beaming smile before they all ran upstairs: "Oy, no runnin'! Don't want y'all fallin' an' breakin' yer necks!" The elderly woman shook her head before she got up from her recliner and followed them upstairs.

"Ooohh…"

Five pairs of wide eyes stared at the glittering cityscape. Ever since Mama had found them a month ago, this was the furthest from the house the clones had ever gone and they were enjoying every moment of it: unbelievably tall skyscrapers that went on forever, hover cars zooming through tunnels made of magnetic force fields suspended high in the sky between buildings, and many, many, many people milling around on the ground! Amazing!

"Dearies, we be takin' the subway. I'll show y'all how ter pay an' everythin', jest keep an eye on Mama!" The woman gently nudged the straying Danielle back towards the herd before ushering the others through the stairs that led underground. The amazed clones gasped when they saw the zipping trains speed past them noiselessly over the magnetic tracks.

Mama guided them through the machines that ate up their dollars (wonderful!), and past the doorway that used to be a solid, glossy door (how did it disappear?), and towards the line for the ride to downtown. "Okay, dearies, when the train gets here, I want y'all ter stay with me! Stay real close, an' don't wander off!" Mama explained, and she pulled Will back as a train arrived, halting to a smooth and silent stop. The doors opened, and Mama immediately shooed the teenagers inside, guiding them to seats midway from the doors.

"It's a short ride ter downtown, an' from there, we goin' ta Child Services. About fifteen minutes. Jest sit tight, kiddies," but the clones were too busy gazing with wonderment at the other people around them to reply. Mama smiled as she sat back in her seat, keeping a sharp eye out should trouble arise.

The ride went smoothly, and before the teenagers had an adequate chance to soak in the new sights, the group ended up in the lobby of a brightly-light, well-cleaned, and largely empty room; all the hallmarks of a government building. "…Yes, I'm here ter register those dearies here as my foster kiddies. Already talked with Supervisor Chunn, cleared up stuff," Mama patiently explained to the secretary as the clones wandered around the room, peering at the paintings, observing the few people in the lobby, and loitering besides Mama, staring at the clearly bored secretary.

"Registering the brats, I see. Hmm–mhm. Okay, just go to room 212. To get there, take the stairs on the right. Ask for Mrs. Spinner." Mama nodded her thanks at the woman as she steered the teenagers towards the stairs.

Mrs. Spinner had a companion, which surprised Mama. "Who're you? Ain't met ya before," she asked the man, holding out her hand. The man nodded curtly as he shook her hand.

"Officer Ryan," was all he gave before he took his place behind Mrs. Spinner's seat. The elderly woman in question smiled upon seeing Mama.

"Oh, Mama, it's so good to see you again. I'm surprised, however, to get a notification from Mr. Chunn – you're fostering again?" Mama nodded. "Ah, I assume those must be the lucky kids. Would you please sit down?" Mrs. Spinner motioned towards the six seats she had set up beside her desk. The clones sat down, and Mama followed suit, carefully avoiding eye contact with the sour-faced officer.

"Okay, as you know, we'll start with the basics. Name and age?" Mrs. Spinner's hand hovered over a piece of paper as Mama cleared her throat.

Pointing at Logan, she answered, "That's Logan Brown. Twelve years old." The woman nodded as she jotted down on the paper. Mama turned to Will. "Here's his older brother, Will Brown. Will's sixteen," and after Mrs. Spinner finished writing, Mama continued, "An' here be the twins – fraternal, as ya can see – Danielle an' Caity Barker; they're fourteen years old. An' last o' all, Rich Johnson. He's fifteen."

Mrs. Spinner nodded. "Thank you, Mama. We'll be taking their fingerprints before continuing with the rest. Mr. Johnson, if you would please –" She stopped upon seeing Mama's confused expression. "Yes?"

"Takin' fingerprints already? Last I remembered, by now we usually be takin' health records an' other stuff?" The old woman nodded.

"Yes, however, due to an investigation, Officer Ryan here has requested a copy of the children's fingerprints, so we're going slightly out of official protocol now. I trust that won't be too much trouble." Mama shook her head.

"Oh, no, that won't be; please go ahead," However she didn't look happy. As Rich moved to stand up, Mama gently tugged him back down. He blinked in confusion, but didn't say anything. Officer Ryan stepped forward, his hand on the holster as he asked, "Ma'am, the fingerprints?"

Mrs. Spinner gave a small start as Mama smiled. "Oh, but ya already took them! Look, Alice's holdin' them! That's done, Officer? We goin' on ter other things?" Mrs. Spinner glanced down, confused, at the blank piece of paper she held. Officer Ryan simply parted his mouth, staring at Mama quizzically.

"Oh… my apologies, Mama. Officer, she is correct – here are the fingerprints." Mrs. Spinner handed the officer the blank paper as she stood. "Okay, everything's nearly done; we just need to check their health." Mama smiled as she motioned for the teenagers to follow her outside along with Mrs. Spinner. Officer Ryan blinked blearily at the paper before he shrugged, pocketed it, and left the room.

Heading down the hall, Mrs. Spinner turned towards the teenagers and Mama as she explained, "Only this to do, and everything's all set. We'll take their height, weight, heart rate, blood pressure, and a small sample of blood. All this you already know, naturally, Mama."

Mama nodded as she replied, "Of course, dear Alice! But why be we doin' that? We already did those! See? On their files, their information already there," she pointed at the unfilled papers. Mrs. Spinner looked down, obviously surprised.

"Would you look at that! My apologies again, Mama, I don't know why I spaced out so badly. Well, you said you already set everything else with Mr. Chunn?" Getting a nod from Mama, Mrs. Spinner continued, "Well, I guess that's it, then. Those kids are now in your charge."

Mama beamed as she clapped her hands. "Dearies, that's all done with! There be a shoppin' center nearby, we can go buy y'all new clothes! Alice, the way out's there, right?" She pointed down a hallway and Mrs. Spinner nodded. "Thanks, sweetie! C'mon fer a visit anytime! Mama misses ya!"

Mrs. Spinner grinned, "Of course! Though I may be slightly late…" Both women roared in laughter at the private joke as the clones stared, clearly bewildered about something. Mama hugged Mrs. Spinner tightly before herding her pack outside, waving merrily at Mrs. Spinner. Once they all were gone, the wrinkled woman blinked again, glancing down at the files.

"Hmm. I'm pretty sure I didn't fill out them, but they're already filled out…" Shrugging, she strode back towards her office.

After several (long for some, far too short for others) hours at various clothing stores – and being delighted by the huge crowds – the group found themselves at the food court. Rich cleared his throat, glancing at Mama. "Hmm? What's on yer mind?"

"Mama… back in there, with the lady…" Rich trailed off, hesitant. His foster brothers and sisters looked on, and he swallowed before continuing, "They didn't take our… fingerprints?"

"That's when they put ink on yer fingers – right here," Mama pointed at her fingertips, "An' press 'em down on a piece'a paper. It's ta keep track of people, y'see." Upon seeing the expression on Rich's face, Mama prompted him with a "hmm?"

The boy spoke, "The lady said she would… but she didn't. She didn't take our… height and weight, either."

Mama nodded as she answered, "Takin' yer height an' weight means measurin' how tall ya are in feet an' inches an' how much ya weigh in pounds. It's common information, y'see. Most people knows how tall they are an' how much they weigh – though many of 'em deny their weight." She titled her head as Rich's face grew serious. "That not the answer ya lookin' fer? What is it?"

The boy frowned. "The lady said she would… but she didn't, and she thought she did. But she didn't…" Mama grinned.

"Ah, Alice's gettin' old! She's almost seventy, y'know!" She laughed, but sobered up to add, "Don't be worryin', dearies! Less information they get about y'all, the better. Yer hologram bracelets ain't enough ter keep y'all secret! I don't wanna be thinkin' about what if they got yer blood!" Clucking, she shook her head and clapped her hands. "Now! Y'all hungry, dearies? I am!"

Getting a chorus of "yes!" from the teenagers, Mama led them towards a fast food building (a specific fast food chain which amazingly had survived the last three centuries) marked by two golden arcs.

After chowing down on a lunch of greasy hamburgers, salty french fries, and carbonated soft drinks (some things just don't change, even after three hundred years), Mama led the teenagers along a different route back home. "Okay, we'll take a bus, an' get off at another stop, an' we gonna board another bus there. I'll teach y'all how ter pay fer the ride," Mama explained as they waited at the bus stop. "Oh, here comes one! Get up – y'all have yer money? Good! Jest follow Mama!"

The hover bus came to a sudden, silent stop half a foot above the ground, and when the door opened, Mama led the clones onto the bus and showed them how to deposit their coins in the pay box, and then after bidding a good day to the robotic driver, she found seats near the middle. Naturally, the clones went straight for the seats next to the windows; Mama chuckled as she sat down beside Caity. "Hang on, dearies, we gonna enter a tunnel. It's illegal ta drive outside those tunnels, y'see. Those tunnels keep us from crashin' into each other, it's plenty safe."

The bus rose and steered upwards toward the mentioned tunnel; the magnetic field was also combined with light - because magnetic fields are invisible - and by shining coloured light into the field, humans could see them. As a result, the magnetic field looked like a thin wall of shimmering water, and when the bus neared it, the field split open wide enough to admit a large automobile. The vehicle neared it, waiting for a clear spot in traffic; as soon as one became available, the bus tore towards it. However, the hole in the magnetic field didn't close behind the bus; several hover cars left through the field and lowered towards the shopping center, before the hole in the field disappeared.

"Oooh…" The clones gazed in wonderment out the windows at the ground underneath them. The people were as small as pebbles! The bus smoothly weaved between the cars and huge trucks, taking left or right turns when needed, and the teenagers shifted their stare from the ground to the towering skyscrapers at their sides. Mama explained, "Tunnels ain't allowed ter go above the buildin's, y'see. That space be reserved fer airplanes an' space shuttles. Ah, we be nearin' our first stop, get yer bags."

The bus neared the wall of the field, and as before, a hole opened; the vehicle smoothly left the tunnel and hovered to a slow stop barely above the ground. "Kzzt – We have arrived at Titans Tower Bay, please embark or disembark as necessary. Have a pleasant day! – kzztt!" The robotic driver announced, and Mama led the group towards the door, helping them out of the bus; Logan was so little, Mama had to lift him down to the ground.

After additional passengers had boarded the bus, the door closed and the vehicle lifted up towards the tunnel. The clones stared at it until it had disappeared amongst the traffic. Mama sat down on the bench. "Our bus ain't gonna be here fer ten minutes, feel free ta take a look 'round, jest don't wander off."

Danielle and Caity immediately sat down besides Mama, their arms ladled with bags. Rich selected to stand besides the trio, and Will and Logan went to the fence behind the bench, staring at the ocean beneath. Mama turned around, and upon seeing the boys' amazed expression, smiled. "We're on a pier, y'see. Here be the bay… out there be all ocean, an' see that island? That's the Titans Island. The buildin' shaped like a T, that's the Titans Tower."

The three teenagers with Mama turned around to stare at the tower. For the next moment, it was quiet as the oceanic breeze ruffled their hair and clothes, as the waves crashed against the pillars, and as the seagulls screeched high above. (With the introduction of magnetic tunnels, bird accidents increased as the birds would smack against the mostly invisible walls of the tunnels and hover crafts as they entered or departed – every once in a while, an unfortunate bird would get trapped in the tunnels.)

Logan turned his head backwards as he asked, "Mama, what's so special about the Titans Tower?" The woman chuckled.

"Oh, that be the headquarters of the Teen Titans! That's a team of superheroes, y'see. Y'all know about superheroes, ya hear all about 'em on the holovision, don'tcha?" The clones nodded. "Yep, the Teen Titans be superheroes; a huge network, in fact. Teams in every country all over world… United States had five teams once upon a time! But thirty years ago…" Mama frowned as she continued, "Weird, really weird… every Titan – an' that's a lot, lemme tell yer – jest up an' disappeared! No Titan seen since. The cops tried ta get in that tower there, but it locked 'em out. Ever since then, people livin' near here been swearin' up an' down that the tower's haunted. Makes a terrible racket at night."

Will turned his head around. "All Teen Titans went away?" Mama shook her head.

"No, they didn't go away. They disappeared. I remember this one Titan, Tigra, she was doin' an interview on the holovision, an' before our very eyes, she disappeared in a flash of light! Hasn't been seen or heard from since." Again, silence rang as the group stared at the tower.

What? They're here? They're here! The Titans! The tower trembled with excitement. They had returned! Everything would be all right, and the tower would finally have somebody to share the secret with!

…Well? Why weren't they coming? They're just across the waters! W-what? They're entering that bus? N-no, wa-wait! Wait!

TITANS! COME BACK!

…

…

…They didn't hear…

Officer Ryan suppressed a groan. So far, the police department had failed to find the clones and their agents… weren't happy, to say the least. The junior officers shook violently as the more experienced officers either trembled along with them or settled for glaring at the purple-cloaked figure.

"The HIVE is not pleased," he snarled. "The clones cost… quite a bit, and you expect us to believe that you have been unable to find those creatures for nearly three months?"

The police chief swallowed before speaking up, "Sire, beg your pardon, but we are limited by rules. We have helped you all we could by allowing you to run the clones' fingerprints through the system and look through our blood samples, but I'm afraid that if nothing has been found, it's not there."

The cloaked man sneered. "Once we have located the clones, you may rest assured that we will cleanse this useless department and replace it with a more effective one." His threat hanging in the tense air, the figure whirled and departed swiftly through the door.

The police chief sighed before announcing, "Well, this investigation isn't off yet, but it's no longer our primary concern. Compare any new fingerprints or DNA samples against the clones, but that's all we can do." With that, the weary man got up and left the conference room. As the officers trickled out, Officer Ryan searched his pocket for a five-dollar bill – he was hungry, perhaps he could buy something from a nearby fast food place's five-dollar menu – and withdrew a piece of blank paper.

The man frowned as he stared, puzzled, at the paper. "What the…?" Turning the paper over, he saw that it was an unfilled fingerprint form. Why would I have a fingerprint form in my pocket? Officer Ryan stood still for a moment, but nothing came up. Must've pocketed it the other day and forgot. He shrugged, crumbled up the paper and tossed it in a wastebasket as he exited the room.

A woman let loose a groan and winced at the sound of her voice. So… hoarse. Her eyelids were so heavy, and her mouth felt so dry. How long had she been asleep? Or was she knocked out during a mission? She finally opened her eyes, and blinked blearily as her swimming vision slowly focused.

"W-where am I…?"

"My dear lady," the woman gasped and strained her head to her left to stare at the masked man, "You've been in deep hibernation for thirty years. Please allow me to be the first to welcome you to today."

"W-what? Th-thirty… years?" She managed to gasp out.

"Please don't stress yourself; your body has been frozen for thirty years. Allow it to awaken – or more accurately, thaw – before you can expect to be back to your usual shape." The man stood up from his seat on the top of the steel desk and moved over towards the two other casket-like containers that she hadn't noticed before. Sensing her unvoiced question, he answered, "Two of your teammates are in those sleeping chambers also. I believe they are waking up as well. Please rest as you deem necessary while I tend to them."

An hour later, the three confused friends had been awakened and thawed out enough to sit up and eat their first meal in thirty years. The masked man returned to his seat on the top of the desk in the middle of the cold, metal room as he continued. While he spoke, the woman gazed around the room. It was a small, windowless room, with three sleeping chambers, a large monitor above – apparently for tracking the status of the sleepers, the woman assumed – and a small steel desk on which the masked man was sitting.

"As I said, it has been thirty years since you three were put into hibernation," he began, but one of the two men cut him off.

"What? Put into hibernation? We didn't sign up for one! Last thing I remember, we were on a mission to receive a stolen artifact for the National Museum!" The masked man nodded.

"Yes, however during that mission, you were attacked, and I managed to recover your bodies, and... because of certain intelligence I had at the hand, I deemed it wise and necessary to place you into hibernation. My apologies for any hassle."

The trio stared at him. The man's masked face showed nothing, not even a quiver of a face muscle. It was perfectly still. "Is there a question you have?"

The same man who had questioned the masked man glared as he asked, "Yes, actually. Where did you think you got the right to put three superheroes into hibernation without our, and the government's, permission? And where is the rest of our team? They wouldn't stand aside and let their teammates disappear!"

The masked man bowed his head for a moment before he answered, "Yes. Yes… I'm afraid you won't find this to your liking. Shortly after I put you into hibernation – barely a day later – your team was murdered," His voice rose in volume only enough to be heard over the woman's gasp and the men's enraged exclamations, "And soon, not only your team was murdered, but every single Teen Titan in the world disappeared… or so the public believed. I know in fact that they all have been murdered – all except you three."

He gazed at the three stunned superheroes' faces. "That's right, you three are the last surviving Titans in the whole world."

Author's Note: Yes, I believe that McDonald's would survive for centuries. Love or hate it, McDonald's is a clever business which caters to the demands of the population. That is what keeps a company alive.

Some of you might not like how I'm portraying the police department in this story - rest assured, that is not my opinion of the police at all. My uncle is an officer himself, so I'm fully aware of the dangers our police officers brave everyday. Just keep in mind, this story is set three centuries in the future, which - sadly - gave the HIVE enough time to infiltrate and corrupt select cities' police departments. Unforuntately, this particular one happened to be amongst them.

Lastly, I would like to point out the chapter's title: A Day in the Lives. The fans of the Wolfman-Perez era (1980s) probably would recognize this - it is the name of issue 8, widely held to be the issue which helped launch the New Teen Titans to the top of the bestselling list for the next sixteen years. Quite naturally, I had to pay tribute to this - and it's such a good title!

I certainly hope you enjoyed the chapter, my dear readers!