DC Infinity Presents

Titans East

"Ride Along"

Part 1

Issue 4

Titans Tower

"Okay!" Red Arrow clapped his hands together, and had a smile on his face that made his entire team suspicious, "we've got a mission later today, but that can wait. Right now, we're going to do combat evaluations."

The entire team was packed into a small room, overlooking their training room.

The training room had packed to the gills with all kinds of technology and weapons. It could mimic the vacuum of space, tropical jungles and even the surface of the moon.

More than that, it had weapon systems that could create steel like force fields, guns that could fire a hundred rubber bullets a second and so much more.

But right now, the training room was nothing more than a steel room that contained something even scarier than all that combined.

Red Star tapped his foot impatiently, sighed and crossed his arms.

Miss Martian attempted to peer out of the glass, but she snapped back when she saw the Russian hero turn his head towards her.

"Remind me why I need to bother with this?" Damage huffed.

"Because I said so," Red Arrow replied, "look, I know not everyone here is a rookie…"

"Least not when it comes to being a hero…" Steel muttered under her breath. Captain Boomerang pretended not to hear, and Ravager just sneered.

"…but as your leader I need to know where you stand in terms of ability," Red Arrow finished, "more than that, you guys need to know where each other stands, so when the time comes, you know what you can expect from our teammate."

Batgirl turned her head, and silently glared at Ravager.

"Hey!"

Batgirl said nothing.

"Don't start with me!" Ravager protested.

Batgirl said nothing.

"Roy…!"

Red Arrow stepped between the two, "Enough, ladies. Save it for Red Star. So…! Who wants to go first?"

Aqualad

Aqualad tensed as he stood across from Red Star. He was confident of victory, except for one small fact…

"Attack already," Red star said, "I will not use my flame."

Aqualad drew his water-bearers, and created two hard water batons. He shot at Red Star like a cannon ball…

…and his bare feet squeeled against the floor as he struggled to stop as Red Star became living flame. Before Aqualad could regain his footing, or even think of another tactic, Red Star assumed human form and sucker punched him in the stomach.

Aqualad doubled over, coughing.

"You…cheated and lied!" he protested.

"If that's all your enemies do to you, be grateful," replied Red Star, "next!"

Son of Vulcan

"Alright," Vulcan's hands trembled as he held his sword, "surrender…or I'll cut you open!"

"When this is over, see about combat training with Ravager or Batgirl," Red Star said, "you hold your sword like a bat."

Red Star stalked forward, and Vulcan activated his wrist shield.

At least present a challenge! Hissed Praetor

Vulcan didn't reply to the voice in his head. He knew it was a distraction he could ill afford, but as it happened just ignoring the voice was the best thing tactically he could come up with.

Vulcan hoped that his wrist shield could protect him, buy him enough time to think of a respectable strategy to, if at least not win, not embarrass himself so badly.

But Red Star pressed against the shield, which pushed Vulcan backwards…where his butt hit the wall.

"A few more pounds of pressure, and you're crushed," Red Star said, "fight and think, not think then fight."

Captain Boomerang

Owen took a calming breath, and the second he took a step inside the training room, he let loose with two explosive boomerangs that hit Red Star dead center.

"Excellent way to seize the element of surprise," Red Star didn't even blink, "but how do you adapt?"

Red Star threw his arms out wide and cast a wave of fire around Captain Boomerang, surrounding the former Rogue.

"So now what?"

Captain Boomerang raised his hands in surrender, and Red Star's eyes narrowed.

"That's not it."

Steel

Steel activated her boot-jets, and immediately flew away from Red Star. Her scanners ran over Red Star with a fine tooth comb, while her HUD brought up his file from the Titans database.

"Smart," Red Star said, "you respect your enemy, and your tactics reflect that."

"You ain't getting inside this armor," Natasha Irons said, "I've just looked up your stats, Red. You can dent if, but you are not cracking it anytime soon."

"I don't need to."

Red Star shot into the air, and threw his arms out wide, and released a wave of flame.

Steel wore one of the most sophisticated armors on the planet, but she was still human under. She hesitated, and Red Star used that to tackle her in mid-air.

Red Star placed his hand over Steel's mouth, "Dead. I've just poured a gout of flame down your mouth."

"Crap," Steel muttered.

"You need to know more than your enemy's strengths. You need to know your own weaknesses."

Batgirl

Cassandra Cain, Batgirl, studied Red Star for a moment. In the back of her mind, she replayed all his battles, studying his techniques, his mindset.

Red Star waited a full two minutes, preferring to allow Batgirl to make the first move. But when it became clear that she wouldn't, Red Star summoned a burst of flame to his hand, but before he could release, he found his hand encased in fire-retardant foam.

Batgirl moved like a cat, leaping over Red Star and boxing his ears in one fluid motion.

If Red Star even felt it, Batgirl couldn't tell. The second she landed, she braced herself with her hands, and lashed out with her feet, striking the back of Red Star's knees perfectly.

Red Star didn't fall.

When the Russian hero spun around, Batgirl hit him square in the face with an explosive batarange. Once again, Red Star didn't flinch, but he also didn't notice the gas grenade she rolled just a foot behind him.

It exploded in a cloud of gas, but before it could enter Red Star's lungs, his body became fire itself.

Over the course of ten minutes, Batgirl threw literally everything she had at Red Star.

She couldn't so much as scratch him (and she only brought her general weapons, nothing specialized), but at the same time, he couldn't touch her.

"Enough," Red Star said finally, "I think you've demonstrated your skill well enough. Excellent job."

Batgirl bowed respectfully.

Ravager

"Kiss up," Ravager muttered as Batgirl walked past her.

The Daughter of Deathstroke looked Red Star up and down, and pulled her katanas with a smile.

"Okay Red," Rose gave a vicious smile, "lets go."

Miss Martian

Miss Martian couldn't help but wince as she saw the battle below, and in less time than it took to tell, it was her turn.

Red Arrow placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "You'll do great. Red Star's really just a teddy bear, promise."

Miss Martian squeaked and nodded. She phased through the booth, and down to the floor below.

"Brace yourself," Red Star said.

"Okaygottagobye!" Miss Martian phased.

Roy rubbed his forehead with a sigh, "Okay, one last evaluation. Grant? You're up."

Damage

"You know, I'm not so green as to not know what the hell's going on," Damage cracked his knuckles.

"Then enlighten me," said Red Star.

"You old hats beat us up, try to show us why we should respect you," Damage said, "just one problem with that. Know what it is?"

"What?"

"I'm no damn rookie, and I've been looking for an excuse to cut loose."

Red Arrow looked down from his position in the control booth, looking at Red Star, then to Damage.

"Then may have been a…"

The building shook as if the Gods themselves had lifted it up into the sky, and then dropped it.

Red Arrow, knocked on his ass despite shielding that would have given a Green Lantern pause, groaned.

"Yep," Roy muttered, "didn't think this through."

The building shook again, and Red Arrow felt the eyes of his team fall upon him.

"Grant's really cutting loose!" Ravager said, "could we even reach him?"

"They'll hurt each other!" Miss Martian said.

Roy gritted his teeth, "I know, but…"

Miss Martian could see that Roy was struggling to create a plan, and could sense the anger that came off of Red Star and Damage in waves.

Without saying a word, Miss Martian phased through the control booth, and swept down into the room. She sucker-punched Red Star and Damage before they even knew she was there, and then telekinetically sent them flying in opposite directions, pinning them to the wall.

"Enough!" Miss Martian snapped, and then, "…please?"

oooOOooo

San Francisco

"So, Mr. Tetch, how do you think that the Power Company can help your firm with it's security?"

"Well, as you might be aware, there's been a two percent uptick in violent meta crime in Northern Africa. Now, I run a company that provides transportation for several local blah, blah, blah…"

Stryker Z tried his best to focus, but it wasn't exactly easy as their potential client, multi-billionaire conglomerate founder Ronald Tetch rattled off reasons why he wanted to take out a long term contract with Strike Z's team, the heroes for hire known as The Power Company.

Stryker Z wasn't an idiot, but the nuances of contract negotiations, and Per Diem rates were well beyond the once stuntman. Why the man insisted on him and Sapphire was a mystery to him.

Stryker Z glanced at his teammate, Sapphire. She controlled a magic gem that encased her body in a stronger strong armor that she could shape to her will, and even enabled her to fly.

And at the moment, she was beginning to snore.

"Damn it Sapphire," Stryker Z muttered. He started to kick her chair, and hoped their client, so engrossed in his explanation, wouldn't notice.

"Oh, don't mind her," 'Ronald' said, "the gas just knocked her out."

"Gas…?"

Stryker Z turned his head just in time to see a fist flying at his head.

Years of experience as a stunt man took over, and Stryker Z pushed himself backwards, the punch just missing him.

"You're quick!"

Stryker Z was on his feet in a heartbeat, but it still wasn't quick enough. 'Ronald Tetch' became a brunette in all black, and she leapt over the table like an eel through water, and wrapped herself around Stryker Z like a noose.

"Your electric powers aren't so good against rubber, are they?" she said, "name's Gemini, honey, and it's already over."

Stryker Z struggled, but he couldn't breathe or reach his snap-on weapons. He passed out in seconds.

"Well," Gemini allowed the unconscious hero to drop to the floor, "easiest fifty grand I ever made."

She walked over to the desk, pulled a burner phone she'd been given and dialed the only number on it.

"It's done. Yeah, I rigged the office with those receivers you gave me. Plug and play, right?"

"Correct," said the voice on the other end, "one moment."

Gemini blinked, and suddenly she, Sapphire and Stryker Z went from being in a mundane office, to inside some sleek, metal room.

"Huh," Gemini remarked, "well, I didn't need an extraction, but thank you."

The young villainess looked around, and found that she couldn't see a door.

"Mind letting me out?"

"Yes," said the voice, "you see, I'm not done with you just yet."

"Hey!" Gemini threw herself against the metal wall. Her fists expanded to the side of watermelons, and she began pounding against the steel, "I didn't sign up for this! When the Brotherhood hears of this…!"

"…it will be too late. For all of you."

oooOOooo

Titans Tower

"Alright, now that we're all awake, we have a mission," Red Arrow said. Flamebird along with their liaison, Amanda Byrne, stood behind him, "so ears up and eyes forward."

"So after kicking our ass and telling us how much we suck, we're going to go pick a fight," Ravager summarized.

"Love the attitude," Damage said.

"They didn't kick our asses," Vulcan said weakly.

"Ha! Keep telling yourself that!"

A paperclip bounced off of Rose's head.

"I'm sorry, but could I continue?" Roy said, "thanks. Now, the mission itself isn't that complicated. The DEO has two shipments of confiscated weapons that are scheduled to be destroyed. We're going to split the team in two, each taking one shipment."

"So we're one step above rent-a-cops," Ravager said.

"Our duty is our duty," Aqualad replied.

Ravager rolled her eye, "Boy scout."

"Oh come on, you guys," Flamebird said, with a chipper smile, "you know routine missions are never routine!"

"Yeah," Damage offered, "we could all get killed. Happened to my last team."

"…or, everything could go perfectly," Miss Martian countered.

"You guys are gonna be the death of me," Red Arrow said with a sigh, "ladies, you're with me and Agent Byrne. Guys, you're with Flamebird."

"What, the Russian bear isn't joining us?" Captain Boomerang said

"Red Star's…busy…," Roy said.

"Yeah, lets not let that dog off the leash," Steel said.

oooOOooo

Elsewhere

The former Titan returned to consciousness slowly. His head felt as if it were stuffed with cotton, and just opening his eyes felt as if he were lifting a car.

When his awareness returned, he remembered that he'd been at home, watching TV when he smelled…something. Now he found himself in a sterile medical room, the room smelling of ozone and disinfectant and himself restrained.

Mostly.

"When I get out of here…," he knew they were listening. The villains always listened, "I'm going to…"

"You can leave anytime you want," interrupted a voice. It sounded electronic and feminine, but beyond that the Titan didn't recognize it, "after you hear my offer."

The Titan bucked in his restraints, "Offer?! How about you hear my offer?! Where I rip your head off, and…"

"I can make you whole," the voice said, "more than whole, I can make you better."

"I don't need…"

"Tell me, have you heard of Deathstroke?"

"Name me a Titan who hasn't?"

"I have the formula that made him," said the voice, "and my people have adapted it to your system. As the cliché goes, I can make you stronger, faster, better than before. And I don't even need your consent."

The former Titan felt a bead of sweat trickle down his brow, as a surgical team filed into the room.

"I can bend you to my will. I can think of a dozen ways to make you mine. A control chip from the Mad Hatter. Hiring Psimon. Brain surgery. Drugs."

The former Titan gulped despite himself.

"But I don't want that."

The restraints on the chair came loose.

"I want you to be my right hand. My enforcer, as I wage a war unlike anything this world has seen. I will make you rich, respected and powerful."

"I…"

"Make your decision quickly, Titan. For the game has already started, and at the moment you are not even a pawn. But if you join me, I will make you a knight."

The Titan stood up. He looked over the scientists, and thought back on what remained of his life. A car crash looked appealing compared to how he lived how, how he hurt…

"What say you?"

"Alright," the former Titan climbed on the medical table, and laid back "lets do this thing."

oooOOooo

Washington DC

"Cold guns, Red Rocket motherboards, power staffs," Red Arrow whistled softly, "almost a shame to see it all go to waste."

"Yeah, and some idiot got their hands on this?" Amanda Byrne shuddered.

The two were in the back of an armored transport. Miss Martian and Steel flew alongside outside like birds of prey. Batgirl rode in front on her own motorcycle, while Ravager sat on top of the transport, wind blowing through her hair.

"I don't even want to think about it," Roy muttered. He glanced at Agent Byrne for a moment, and then held out his hand, "earrings. Gimmie."

"Don't worry," Agent Byrne smiled, trying to hide her embarrassment. Earrings were expressly banned by the dress-code, but she put them on for personal reasons and usually took them off before it mattered, "they're clip-ons."

"I figured as much," Red Arrow said, "unless you called in a favor from Superman. Gift from your daughter, right?"

"Yeah," Amanda nodded sheepishly.

"Give 'em here," Roy said, "trust me, you don't want to bring anything sentimental into the field."

"Okay, okay," Amanda handed them over, "just don't turn them into improvised weapons, okay?"

"Scout's honor," Roy slipped them into a spare pouch.

"Umm, Roy?"

The anxiety in Ravager's voice made Red Arrow take notice.

"We have a problem."

A few moments earlier

Ravager sat lotus style on top of the transport, eye closed and wind blowing through her hair. The rush of the air blowing past her was deafening, but in its own way, was a kind of silence. The roaring white noise covered Rose like a blanket, and as comforting as any, in it's own way.

But that comfort was torn away when Rose felt an odd humming sound that tickled her teeth. She'd felt it before, when training with her father and the Society. It was a signal that someone was…

Ravager opened her eye, and saw her father, Deathstroke the Terminator standing in the middle of traffic ahead of them. And he was holding a modified rifle.

"Umm, Roy?" Ravager tapped her radio, "we have a problem."

Several things happened at once.

The DEO agents driving the transport saw Deathstroke ahead of them. Batgirl slammed on her brakes. And Deathstroke pulled the trigger.

Batgirl watched in horror as the gun spat out a small missile that cut through the air, slid under the front of the truck, and then exploded perfectly underneath the transport, lifting it several feet into the air before dropping it down back to earth like the scrap metal it now was.

Ravager thrown straight up into the air, but made it through with the grace of a cat, and unsheathed her swords as she came back down.

"Oh, Deathstroke," Steel muttered as she and Miss Martian came up behind Ravager, "that's your old man, isn't it?"

"Not just him," Ravager said.

"What do you mean?" Steel said. All she saw was the world's greatest mercenary, and frankly, that was enough for her.

"They came through a portal or teleporter," Ravager said, "wait for it…"

There was a flash of light, and suddenly Deathstroke was flanked by Shrapnel, Sledge and Multiplex.

"Oh. Great."

"Well, at least things have to be going better for the guys," said Ravager.

oooOOooo

Elsewhere

Damage punched through three inch thick steel of the transport like it was tissue paper, and peeled it open like it was wrapping paper.

"Aqualad!" Damage snapped, "get up here! Vulcan, shield up!"

"Everyone get ready," Flamebird said as the Titans stepped out of the ruined transport. The opposite side of the transport was engulfed in flames, and everyone had been rattled by the crash, "let's see who made it…to the…party…"

The list of villains made Flamebird's heart skip a beat. Cheetah, Giganta, Silver Swan, sparring partners of the deceased Wonder Woman. Girder, Trickster and Tarpit of the Rogues. Mammoth and Gizmo. Major Force. King Shark. Bolt.

"Anyone bring any party hats?" quipped Damage.

"Torn to shreds," Captain Boomerang muttered, "it's how I always wanted to die…"

"You'll have to wait your turn," Cheetah said, "because some of us are here for the little boy who robbed us of our kill."

Vulcan gulped.

"You will have him only over our dead bodies," Aqualad created two hard water machetes, "and a pile of yours."

oooOOooo

Red Arrow and Agent Byrne stumbled out the back of the transport, still trying to gather their wits.

"Oh crap, that's Slade, isn't it?" Red Arrow muttered. He saw the mercenary strolling down the highway, as behind him Miss Martian and Steel engaged his strongmen while Multiplex walked behind him like a marching army.

"Oh shit, that's Deathstroke!"

Agent Byrne removed her service weapon and rushed to the front. She barely saw Batgirl and Ravager standing side by side, bracing themselves to face one of the deadliest men in the world.

"Byrne, wait!"

All Agent Byrne could think of was how she had to protect these young women. The fact that they were so much dangerous than her, because acting on adrenaline, all she could think was that they were kids, and she was an adult.

"My, the cannon fodder is eager to die today," Deathstroke observed.

Amanda barely even saw Deathstroke move. She didn't see him slide past both Batgirl and Ravager. The one second they hesitated about how to react to her presence was ample time for Deathstroke to get past them, something she only realized when the man had his hand around her throat, and a gun to her head.

"Damn it…" Roy muttered. He removed two explosive arrows from his quiver, "let her go, Slade!"

"Not happening, Harper," Deathstroke said, "look, we're not here for blood, so how about a trade?"

"Not happening," said Roy, "besides, what do you care? All the technology on that transport is generic. The Society can replace that tech in days!"

Deathstroke said nothing, but Roy could feel him smirking.

"Hired gun," Red Arrow said, "guess things come full circle, huh?"

"In our defense, it's a lot of money," Deathstroke said, "but not enough that it needs a dead body. Stand down, I'll call off my thugs, we'll take what we came for and no one gets hurt. You have my word, Harper."

"There was a time when that meant something," Red Arrow said, "not anymore. Not after what you did to Bludhaven. Amanda?"

"Yeah?" Amanda Byrne tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice.

"I really am sorry."

Red Arrow released his arrows.

Next issue: A big, big fight and some scores get settled!