I don't own Teen Titans, the characters, D.C. Comics, or Cartoon Network. I also don't own any of the additional characters mentioned here.
Give the plot a chance please. Understand this story is as much about Cyber-Trigger (my own creation), as it is about the former Titans. There is more character development to come, but the chapter ends with battle.
Are We Still a Team? The Sequel to Are We Still an Us?
A fanfiction story by Lar Lindor
Chapter Three: Musing and Museum Mayhem
"You should have accompanied me, Garfield," she argued.
"I'm sorry, Raven," he explained. "However, you know my feelings on the subject. I took so many human and animal lives on our last adventure. After that bloodbath, I cannot imagine doing the hero thing again."
She sighed, and combed back her violet hair. Then she went to their bedroom to exchange her old uniform for a light blue tee shirt and jeans. Minutes later, she came out to the living room where an upset Gar was listening to music on his MP3. Scowling, she pulled the earphones off his head.
"Yes?" he said, snarling a bit.
"I'm sorry, Garfield," she whispered. "May I tell you about my experience with Dr. Light?"
He listened patiently as she explained. Indeed, her tale was disturbing. Cruelty was second nature to demons, of course. Raven, however, was only half demon, and generally kept the demon side on her personality buried.
"May I suggest more meditation?" he asked after some thought. "I'm even willing to meditate with you."
"That is a good idea," she admitted. "I'd love to meditate with you, but not this time. I really need to get a grip on my emotions."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Richard Grayson's cell phone rang as the police hauled the powerless Arthur Light away.
"Yeah?" he said curtly.
"Point your talons elsewhere, Mr. Nightwing," Oracle suggested strongly. "I just got info on your foe."
"He's already defeated. Raven says she absorbed his powers," he explained.
"Interesting," she responded. Stopping to slurp her coffee, she waited for word from him to continue.
"What did you learn, Babs?" he asked gently.
"Some well meaning do-gooder tried to blank Arthur's memory of his crime life. It left him lobotomized, to be brutally honest."
"So we beat up a cognizant disabled man?" he demanded.
"You stopped a criminal bent on kidnapping a U.S. Senator," she shot back. "Yes, he's slower-witted now, but he's still a danger. Look at Cinderblock or Bizarro…"
"I concede the point," he sighed, "dumb ones can still be deadly."
"Raven probably did the sap a favor by taking his powers," Oracle insisted. "Maybe now he can go have a normal life."
"After jail," Nightwing corrected.
"Correction accepted," she grinned.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
"Daddy?" Victoria Stone spoke quietly. Her father, Victor alias Cyborg, grinned at his oldest child. She climbed up on his lap.
"Yeah, baby girl, what can I do for you," the gentle man asked.
"Do you ever wish you were still in the Tower? You could still be a superhero like Uncle Rich and Aunt Kory," the child asked.
"If I were doing those things I wouldn't have you and your brother," he assured her. "I probably wouldn't be married to your mommy either."
"So you are…retired like Uncle Gar," she suggested.
"Gar may not be Beast Boy anymore, but he's still a hero," the dark skinned man affirmed.
"He saved me and Deron," she recalled.
"I became a Titan again to protect my family," Vic insisted. "I'll do it again if I have to."
"Okay, Daddy," she smiled, cuddling up to the large man.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
"Professor Chang?"
"In the lab, Slangler," the man returned.
"How are you coming along with the suit?" the little man asked brusquely.
"Progress," the inventor answered. "The suit was badly damaged when I got it."
"Yeah, well, you can blame Cyborg and Robin for that," Slangler snarled.
"Understood. I have made improvements, and strengthened your defensive capabilities. The suit now has its own built in power supply," Chang boasted.
He continued. "The gloves house a sort of taser weapon. It shocks the central nervous system. It is far superior to the power bursts you had before. I also installed a force field. The second trigger activates a powerful laser. The third trigger reenergizes the power suit."
"This is better than I'd hoped for," the criminal cheered.
"Caution," the inventor urged. "I have little to counter the Raven woman. You need to take her down right away. Be careful with the energizing effect. It will draw energy from you eventually."
"Right, right, I get it," the super villain insisted. "I have your reward, Professor."
"Excellent," the professor grinned. He never saw the pistol in Slangler's hand. He hardly had time to feel the pain of being shot at close range. He was dead.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Two hours later…
The green skinned man found his girlfriend levitating in her room. Her face was a picture of tranquility. Her beautiful violet eyes gradually opened.
"Hi, Gar," she smiled. "Do you require anything?"
"No," he assured her. "I just came for my slippers."
"You feel guilty and uncertainty," she read. "Guilty because I caught you peeking in at me. Your uncertainty indicates that you are worried about my well being."
"Guilty as charged," he admitted. "Do you feel better?"
"Much better, thank you," Raven assured him. "I must return to morning and evening meditation. If you wish, you may join me in the evening session. I know how you feel about early morning anything."
He winked at her with a wicked grin. "I don't know, Raven. There are some things worth getting up for, you know."
"I am aware of that, Garfield," she smiled as she began to remove her clothing. "It is equally good in the evening, of course." He nodded.
One hour later the man called Garfield Logan was also much more tranquil. Tired, but tranquil.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Kitten's information was incomplete. She had located all the former Titans except for Cyborg. The suit was, though, was ready for action, and so was Cameron.
"Oh, well," he decided, "Cyborg will take the bait once I've netted the other four."
The recent murderer studied the information in front of him. He noted that there were two Titans in Bludhaven. He'd challenge the two of them first. Then he'd take on the two living in the mountains of Virginia. The attacks would draw Cyborg out.
Suddenly, the pain in his head worsened. Cameron had headaches constantly. That was the tumor, of course. Sometimes, however, the pains were intense. It was like someone driving nails into your temples. He fumbled for his pain medication.
[I had a tumor on my brain earlier this year. Mine, however, was benign (no cancer). The pains I describe were real, though. I'm fine after my surgery.
"I need to hurry," he decided. "I cannot die without having my vengeance."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
"Boyfriend Richard, may I ask you a question?" the golden woman asked.
"Sure, Kory," he smiled, as he reached for his Nightwing costume. "What do you want to know?"
"Why does this sick man wish to harm us? It will not make his cancer go away."
"He told our friend Fixit that he wants to be remembered," the costumed man answered. "He thinks killing us will make him famous."
"That is foolish. People should be remembered for good things like deeds of kindness, or how well you showed love to others."
Sometimes Kory was still naïve, but sometimes she was wise. Often, she was a little bit of both.
"Yeah, Kory. That is what we should be remembered for."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
One hour later…
Just as the two heroes began their sweep of Bludhaven looking for action
Rich's cell phone rang. He checked the called ID mid swing.
"Yeah, Oracle, what's up?" he asked.
"Slangler is at the museum on Fourth Street. He's taken hostages. He'll let them go when you and Starfire show up," the computer expert noted.
"On our way, and thanks for the tip," Rich sighed. He immediately told Kory. She grabbed his hands and took off at high speeds.
Ten minutes later the two arrived at the museum. Rich calmly spoke to the policeman in charge. The super heroes were going in.
"Slangler?" Rich yelled. "Starfire and I are here. Let the hostages go!"
"Gladly," said a voice from above. "They're on their way out now. Let's get down to this, shall we?"
Starfire soared up to where the voice was coming from. She found nothing but a walkie talkie. Slangler was nowhere to be found.
"Nightwing? Mr. Slangler is playing the hide and the seek game," Starfire frowned.
"I'm over here, Titans," the man challenged walking into the room.
"We don't have to fight, Cameron," Nightwing announced.
"Oh, but we do have to fight," the villain argued. "It's part of my plan."
Frustrated, Starfire flew right at him, firing star bolts. They bounced off Cyber-Trigger's new force field.
The flying woman paused just a second. The villain took his opportunity to attack. He fired the taser weapon at her. She barely dodged it. This gave Nightwing an opening. Smoke pellets struck the bad guy's armor. He pressed another button, and lifted off the ground. C-T could fly now.
No longer bothered by the smoke, the crook aimed his laser at Nightwing. The acrobatic hero back flipped out of the way. C-T fired at the woman, but she dodged as well.
"Rats," he thought, "they're too fast even for my new suit."
Time for Plan B. Smiling, he flew out of the room. Just as he wished, the heroes followed him.
"Leaving so soon, Mr. Trigger? We have not yet done the kicking of your butt," Starfire yelled.
The former Titans followed cautiously. It was obvious C-T had some sort of ambush planned.
"These Roman weapons are rare, I believe," the villain announced. "Shall I destroy them?" He pointed at the rarities, but didn't touch them. Still he could likely destroy them before the heroes could move.
"Can you take him out from here?" Nightwing whispered to his partner.
"It is possible that I would hit the weapons instead," she acknowledged. "That is undesirable, I think."
"I have also planted a bomb or two in the museum Titans," the evil little man cackled. "Surrender or I will bring the building down."
"You would die in a bomb too, Slangler." Nightwing threatened.
"I'm dying of Brain Cancer anyway! Do you think I care?" The stress was getting to him. Already, he could hardly concentrate due to the intense pain. He couldn't afford to waste time. He had to end this battle in a hurry.
Suddenly the holograph of the villain faded. The Titans looked up to find the real Cyber-Trigger hiding above them. He dived; firing tasters at both of them. Nightwing went down. Starfire fired her eye beams knocking her foe out of the sky.
Slangler shook his head. He pressed the button to reenergize the suit. The electrical force jump-started the suit just as Starfire went to punch the villain. She was caught in the backwash of power. The heroine fell at his feet.
"Two down, and three to go," the villain smiled. He picked up the bodies, and flew away with them. Kitten had arranged a place to keep the heroes. They would be entirely at his mercy.
Too bad, he had no mercy. Not this time. All 5 would die by his hand.
Next chapter: More plot development. In addition, Cyber-Trigger (whom I'll call C-T most of the time now) vs. Raven and the former Beast Boy.