Author's Notes

To jovanchin2013, Omen will be seen again in a few chapters - her role in the story is far from done.

To mannu227, the story is going to get a whole lot more interesting in the next few chapters.

Now, let's continue the story.

The Jump City Police Department sent over a transport bus to enable the Titans to haul in the captive PRA soldiers for questioning, including Patrick Youngblood.

On the weapons carried by the soldiers, Ravager ran a ballistics check and found that the majority of the weapons had been unused and none of them matched the serial numbers on the weapons stolen from Colin Vance. Ravager surmised, "We have a lot more people to deal with than just Vance. Someone else has been giving the PRA weapons."

The Titans checked the make of the weapons and found that all of them had been smuggled to the United States from Senegal, but unlike the weapons stolen from Vance, these weapons did not come from Pakistan - they came from Markovia, the home nation of one particular Teen Titan.

After learning this, Raven went to the main ops room and initiated a video conference with the Titans East, who were closest to the Eastern European nation of Markovia.

Beast Boy greeted Raven with, "Hello, Rae. It's been what, two months since you last called? Well, Terra and I expect to see you at the wedding in October."

Raven replied, "I didn't call to speak with you. I need to speak with your fiancee. She may have information that may help us track down a radical militia movement."

Beast Boy yelled, "Terra, Raven needs to talk with you."

About five seconds later, Terra was at the video screen, but she was definitely anxious with what Raven would likely ask of her.

Terra asked, "Why did you need me, Raven? Did I do anything wrong?"

Raven responded, "We believe that weapons are being smuggled from your home nation of Markovia into Senegal and from there into the United States. Do you know of anybody that would be producing these weapons or acquiring them?"

Terra answered, "There is only one group in Markovia that is allowed to make or own firearms - the Markovian Military, and they generally go with HK416 rifles and P99 handguns. However, I have heard that ten years ago, Vandal Savage was running guns through Markovia. The League busted him and now he is cryogenically frozen up with Zatanna."

Raven asked, "Terra, can you get in contact with your brother Geo-Force?"

Terra said, "With some difficulty. What do you need?"

"All associates of Savage and everything on the League's case then. I'll request the files from the League. We need everything that could lead us to whoever is sending weapons to our militia movement over here."

"The People's Redemption Army?"

"How do you know them, Terra?"

"The man Slade saved me from, was a member of the PRA. I have had a few run-ins with them in my lifetime, especially before I became a Titan. Slade warned me to avoid them as he said, and I quote, 'that they are nothing more than ambitious, sociopathic, destructive bastards that have no desire for redemption, only chaos'."

"Guess he was right on that account."

"True that. See you Raven, hopefully at the wedding."

"See you there, Terra."

With that, Raven cut the feed. Now, she had to interrogate Youngblood to see what he had to hide.

The PRA guards captured by the Titans were interrogated by Hustler, with the general message being that they were hired to protect Youngblood and kill anyone that attacked him. They were paid from a Zandian bank account a payment of $100,000 per duty. They went through the names of the guards, and found that most of them were just street hires, nobody that was true evil or muscle. Many of them knew nothing about the People's Redemption Army, which they surmised was probably on purpose.

Youngblood was brought into an interrogation room, with a temporary power suppressor on him and was handcuffed to his chair, which was bolted onto the ground and his ankles also locked to the chair.

Raven walked into the interrogation room, with Ravager, Jinx, and Kid Flash all on the other side in observation. Raven opened the interrogation with, "So, Mr. Youngblood, I hear you have impersonated one Ra's al Ghul. Immortal head of the League of Assassins. He is not a pleasant man to be around, I know. And when he finds out you have been impersonating him, he'll want your blood."

Youngblood scoffed, "Tell him to come and get it."

Raven continued, "We have you on impersonating countless public officials and at least one homicide. We got your prints on file and they matched a bank robbery in Dallas, Texas. Three million dollars stolen and one guard with a three fifty seven in his neck. You've always gotten what you wanted with your forms, but they're not going to do you shit here. You've got a lot to answer for. I suggest you start answering."

"What do you want to know, you demon bitch?"

"You know who I am, and I suppose you also know that I am an Archfiend of the Infernal Provinces. That's kid's talk for hell. And I have the power to select people to bring to my realm. If you don't give me what I want, I will extract it from you, painfully and brutally before sending you off to my Province to suffer until the end of eternity."

"I will not tell you who Black Bear is."

"Won't or can't, Mr. Youngblood? I can tell you are lying. Do you want me to go through your mind?"

"I don't know who he is, and Black Bear happens to be everywhere. Those who know his name are kept under his watch every second of the day. His name is spilled and that person will not see the next moment."

"Are there any other members of the People's Redemption Army you can tell me about? Particularly any of the top ten members?"

"Colin Vance, but you already know him. Angela Light, Stanley Ryan, Lucien Descartes. All productive members of the movement but none are leaders."

From observation, Jinx became wide-eyed at the mention of Lucien Descartes. Kid Flash asked Jinx, "Do you know him?"

Jinx said, "Lucien Descartes murdered See-More."

Ravager muttered, "Kyd Wykkyd." Kyd Wykkyd was a member of the People's Redemption Army, so Jinx could only assume that he wasn't the only HIVE member that joined the movement.

Raven asked in the interrogation room, "Can you get us in contact with Mr. Descartes?"

Youngblood replied, "Black Bear is the only one that contacts Descartes. He comes and goes, he works alone, and he is very deadly. Watch your back."

"Any teleporters you happen to know of, other than Mr. Descartes?" Raven knew that Wykkyd was Descartes, having sensed it from Jinx and Ravager behind the glass.

"Just Descartes. He is the only teleporter in the movement and the only one Black Bear sought to recruit."

"Thank you for your time, Patrick. Your cooperation will be noted in court."

After last night's operation, Jericho was currently in Titans Med Bay, recovering from his possession of both Ryan and Youngblood. Ryan was not the problem for Jericho - possessing a shapeshifter was always exhausting for Jericho. That's why he always avoided going into Beast Boy, because it was so tiring. He was trying to regain his strength after falling unconscious.

Jericho had exited Youngblood before falling unconscious in Ravager's arms. After cuffing the PRA soldiers, Ravager had put Jericho in the T-Z back seat, where Kole was next to him the entire time.

Jericho found out the problem with possessing shapeshifters about a year earlier when he was chasing down one that was terrorizing Toronto. While he got in, he fell unconscious almost exactly afterwards. It took Jericho roughly two days to wake up, and Kole never left his side. While she knew it probably wouldn't be two days, maybe a few hours as his body was better prepared for it. The first time is always the roughest, isn't it.

And much like last time, Kole was still with him as Jericho laid unconscious on the bed, peacefully resting. Kole always loved being with Jericho, especially watching him sleep. She had yet to take the next step in their relationship, and after what happened last night, with Jericho being made, she feared she would lose him.

Jericho finally came to, roughly sixteen hours after falling unconscious. Jericho opened his eyes to see Kole, who said "Hello there" to him.

He responded, "How long have I been out?"

"Sixteen hours. You possessed Youngblood and knocked him out, but it knocked you out as well."

"Where are we?"

"Still at Titans Central. I was waiting until you woke up before returning to Titans North. Anyway, I was thinking about us."

"What do you mean?"

"We've been going out for what, two years now?"

"Slightly more than that, Kole. Why?"

With that, Kole went down on one knee and gave Jericho a ring with a crystal on top. She said, "Joseph Wilson, will you marry me?"

"Oh my God, Kole. I did not expect this. Where did you get the crystal so fast? It looks a lot like yours."

"It is one of mine. There was another reason why I came here. Raven has been teaching me to create constructs out of my crystal."

"How long have you known you could?"

"A few years. I first learned when I met Raven. She has been teaching me how to do it for a few years, to extend my crystal self to creating constructs. I never expected I could at first, but I can. So, Joseph, what do you say?"

"Kole, I don't know what to say."

Before Jericho could continue, Hustler came in and whispered, "Say yes, Joey."

Jericho snarked at his brother, "Way to ruin the moment, Grant."

"It's a big moment, our little brother getting engaged."

"Our?"

Ravager came in and said, "We saw you regained consciousness and came in."

Jericho grabbed Kole's hands and uttered, "Yes. Kole, I will marry you."

In the main ops room, Raven and Jinx were trying to figure out a way to track down Kyd Wykkyd. Jinx suggested, "Back at the Academy, Kyd had a thing for Angel. I'm willing to bet that if we get her, we can lure Kyd out of hiding."

Raven threw in, "All we need to do is find Angel and we can get Wykkyd."

Ravager soon came into the room. Raven continued, "Rose, did you access Wykkyd's fingerprints?"

She responded, "I've been stonewalled by the HIVE security in the network. For being defunct, they have quite the security protocols. I've called in Gizmo to help break in. And that's not all."

Jinx asked, "What is it?"

Ravager said, "Kole proposed. Joseph accepted."

Raven commented, "A double Titan wedding. Jericho and Kole, and Beast Boy and Terra. Hard to imagine how love flies with superheroes. Tell Grant we need him undercover to help us get Angel."

Hustler came into the room and added, "You can tell Grant yourself. What am I calling her for?"

Raven said, "Be creative."

Hustler then said, "I need Angel's number if I am to get her."

With that, Jinx threw towards Hustler a card that had Angel's number on it, which she kept from her time at the HIVE Academy.

Hustler went to the Tower's undercover line, which they could use to disguise who is calling as just about anybody. Hustler dialed the number and said after he knew Angel had picked up the phone, "Is this Margaret Barkley?"

Angel answered, "Yes. Who is this?"

Hustler said, "I am Professor Evan Vaughn of Dark Way Prep. You have been requested for a guest speech. I'd like to negotiate terms, Miss Barkley."

"When do you want to meet?"

"Are you available now?"

"Let's meet at the Poster Club in thirty minutes. I'll see you there."

"See you there."

With that, Angel hung up the phone, heading her way to the Poster Club, a daytime club for people that needed to meet secretly. Unfortunately, Poster Club had confidentiality rules that prevented the Titans from getting in. However, while they couldn't do surveillance, they could get Grant in, and get Angel out of the club. They knew that Angel would be in disguise, so they needed to know which one was Angel, aka Margaret Barkley.

Margaret Barkley walked down the streets of Jump City, with short blond hair covered by a red beret, a black skirt with a blue blouse. It wasn't anything like her old HIVE uniform, but it was practical for civilian life. Her long white feathered wings were hidden, as Brother Blood had helped her learn how to hide them. She hadn't brought out her wings in months, trying to maintain as low a profile as possible.

On the outside, Poster Club didn't seem too extraordinary, which was exactly the purpose to keep it hidden. The interior, however, greatly resembled a 1990's style retro cafe with an almost all-black interior, purple tables, and red chairs. Raven had never been inside of Poster Club, mainly because its founder was a member of the Church of Blood, who had since been arrested on narcotics charges, but if she did chose to go inside, she would not find it too discomforting.

Hustler, now wearing a blue suit and yellow tie, was effectively disguised as Professor Evan Vaughn for his meeting with Angel. Beforehand, Jinx had given Hustler a crash course in Dark Way Prep, so he knew enough that he could pose as a teacher at the school, even though he wasn't.

Hustler walked into Poster Club and saw Angel had already sat down at one of the last tables available. Every day, hundreds of people tried to get into Poster Club, but only a few dozen were able to, because it was simply so restrictive. Angel had gotten in because she bribed the door guy with a promise of oral sex. Hustler had a VIP tag that enabled him to get in, which Raven had negotiated with the new owner of Poster Club after the old one had been convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison.

Hustler sat down in front of Angel, and he said, "Greetings, Miss Barkley."

Angel replied, "Hello, Professor Vaughn. How goes things at Dark Way Prep? Is Principal Boltanisky still there?"

"No. He died two years ago. Of complications due to arsenic poisoning." That statement was true, of course, since the Titans had investigated on Jinx and Gizmo's request. They discovered he was murdered by one of his old students - Jade Nguyen, also known as Cheshire. Jinx believed that Cheshire was working on a contract when Boltanisky died, but has been unable to prove it.

"It's a goddamn shame. How long have you been teaching at Dark Way Prep?"

"Four years." Angel had graduated from Dark Way six years earlier, in the same class that saw Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, Billy Numerous, See-More, and Kyd Wykkyd graduate as well.

"What do you teach at Dark Way?"

"Evasive psychology. How to avoid fitting police profiles." That was a class at Dark Way Prep, which also happened to be one of Angel's major classes.

"What do you want me to speak about?"

"How this skill comes into usage in the real world."

"Okay Mr. Vaughn. I have one issue, though. I checked Dark Way records and your name isn't on the full-time teacher roster." Unfortunately, because of the time constraints, they couldn't get "Vaughn" into the system as a full-time teacher. However, they did get him onto the staff roster, just barely.

"It's an IT mistake. I'm on the staff roster, probably under miscellaneous. I teach four days a week this season. Five when it gets time for fall."

"Okay, then. I would believe that, but it just so happens that Dark Way Prep downgraded to four day weeks during the fall. Surely a teacher at the school would have known that. Or are you not a teacher at Dark Way, Mr. Vaughn?"

"I am a teacher at Dark Way Prep. I'm telling you. I just forgot about the new calendar."

"Did you Mr. Vaughn, or did Jinx not know, Hustler?" That was the last straw - Angel had figured out Vaughn's true identity.

Angel pulled a NAA Guardian on Hustler who in turn pulled a Smith & Wesson Model 460V on her, both sides in a Mexican stand-off. While there was no killing allowed at the club, guns were permitted, however, just as long as a brawl did not come out. The last thing the club needed was it to become a crime scene.

"This doesn't have to end violently, Angel. We just need to ask you some questions about an old classmate."

"What does this have to do with shit? Can't you use some computer magic and locate this so-called friend of mine? What makes you so sure that I am necessary to this task?"

"Because you were the student that knew him the best. You were in love with him while you were at the HIVE. You might know something. And he murdered one of your other classmates as well."

"What makes you think that I will tell you anything?"

"If you don't, you will be under arrest for accessory to murder and interfering in an investigation as well as aiding a threat to the world."

"My record's got enough stains on it. I wanted to get out of the criminal world, and I can't afford to get back in. I'll come with you, Hustler. But I'd rather not be cuffed."

Hustler grabbed a temporary power suppressor and attached it to Angel, preventing her from flying. After looking back at her shocked expression, Hustler said, "I didn't cuff you. Come on, Raven's got questions for you."