Author's Notes
To guest, as I said in the last chapter, Murder, Vandal Savage is Black Bear, the head of the People's Redemption Army. Bumblebee will live, albeit without a leg from the amount of damage sustained on her by Kyd Wykkyd and I don't know if Gizmo will live, but it is official he will be out of field duty for the rest of his life.
To shadowyshadow, thanks for the explanation why. Your comments got me thinking about Kyd and I sort of wanted to do something where someone was killing the HIVE (inspired by Outside85's Raven Rising series - look at Book 2 - Scars chapter 30, and you'll see my inspiration for killing off Angel, Mammoth, and so many others). This story is going to become a lot more intense once Savage's motives are revealed, which odds are will be in this chapter or next. The Titans may have more to lose or may not - I can tell you that Ravager will become a person of interest for the PRA.
Remember to vote in the poll on my page if you want to decide the ending to my other story, Second Chance.
Now, let's continue the story.
Raven and the other Titans had now realized that they were going up against Vandal Savage if they were to bring down the PRA. They knew instantly that he had a lot of manpower focused on them in preparation for the group's original intention of "redeeming" themselves for the sins of the government, which would involve overthrowing it and placing Vandal Savage in charge.
Hustler noted, "We are in some deep shit here, people."
Ravager agreed, "It's bad enough Kyd Wykkyd is after us but we've got to contend with him of all people, we're doomed."
Raven barked, "We're not doomed. We've faced a lot harder odds before and still came out on top. We need a strategy."
Kid Flash commented, "We need Wykkyd. He's the only one that knows where the base is. He's the only way we can get there."
Jinx responded, "Well that would be easy if he wasn't trying to kill me and Rose. I never thought Kyd was so violent, he was always so quiet in class."
Raven added, "Slade did once tell me, 'it's always the quiet ones, isn't it' on my birthday when he branded me with the Mark of Skaath. Not incredibly surprised that Kyd wound up a hardened killer."
Hustler inquired, "So how many HIVE alumini are left?"
Ravager answered, "Just us, Bumblebee, Cyborg, Gizmo, Kyd, and Cheshire."
Raven asked, "Cheshire?"
Jinx replied, "Jade Nguyen. Vietnamese girl obsessed with the Cheshire cat. Her mask is based on it, which enables her to go invisible until she smiles. She also has killer claws. If Kyd wanted her, he'd have his work cut out for him. Jade is a hitman."
Hustler commented, "She killed Larry Boltanisky a few years ago. Angel told me in Poster Club. She's a ghost. Even if Savage wanted her dead, she'd be impossible to find unless she wanted you to find her."
Kid Flash added, "Maybe Savage has found her. Maybe she's working for him."
Inside the headquarters of the People's Redemption Army, Vandal Savage was seated inside of his control room, where he was watching Lilith Clay squirm around inside of her cell, unable to escape. It had been about two days since Kyd Wykkyd abducted her and murdered her adoptive parents, and she couldn't take much more.
She shouted from her cell, "Black Bear let me out of here! You don't need to keep me! I want to go home!"
From his office, Savage responded, "No chance Lilith. I need to see if your hand-picked team can best the Titans Central. If they succeed, you get to stay here forever. If they fail, I will kill you."
Lilith spat, "Better than this hell you're trapping me in."
Savage commented, "Oh, I have endured much worse than this, dear girl. And I guarantee you, so will you."
She said, "The Titans will find you, Vandal Savage. They will kick your ass and rescue me."
Savage asked, "Will they, Lilith? Is that your precognition or just your hopes and fantasies?"
Savage turned off the feed as Kyd Wykkyd came into the room.
Savage asked Wykkyd, "Did you get them?"
Wykkyd replied, in a relatively shallow British voice, "Angel is dead, sir. But the Titans know about the side killings you have commissioned me for. They know I have been after the HIVE. Bumblebee survived the attack but she is permanently wounded. Gizmo, I hit pretty bad, but I don't know if it was good enough."
Savage added, "You may have missed your targets this time, but the Titans will fall. It's only a matter of time before they meet their demise."
Wykkyd asked, "What is my next assignment?"
Savage answered, "Ravager. Lucien, however, I do need her alive."
"Why, sir?"
"Her blood contains the last remnants of the super serum experimented upon in her father forty years ago. His blood is all gone. Her brother got none of the serum whilst hers had all of it."
"And if I encounter Jinx or the other Titans?"
"Other than Ravager and Raven, if you come across a Titan, kill them. Raven, avoid her at the moment, for once we have Ravager, we will have the key to fighting her. You remember the Sword of the Hallows?"
"Rumor has it that the sword is the only weapon capable of slaying a half-demon. Supposedly vanished after Raven used it to kill Sebastian Blood, my former Headmaster."
"Well, it is in my possession Kyd. And you will get to be the one that kills Raven, that sends the bitch to the worst circle of hell to suffer for all the good she's done."
"What about her Infernal Province? I am no demon nor a member of the Church of Blood."
"Not yet, but you will. You get her province and I get the globe. Sound like a deal?"
"Deal."
Now, the Titans were trying to figure out where in the woods Savage could possibly be. They had tracked Kyd Wykkyd to somewhere in the forest after he abducted Lilith Clay, but they were attacked by Sinclair.
Kid Flash asked, "Any trace on the teleportation jumps?"
Raven responded, "Kyd is a piece of work. He used satin powder to cover his teleportations, making it impossible to get an accurate trace of where he went. I can't get inside of his head either. He has some powerful mental blocks keeping me out."
Jinx said, "So we're going to need something else to locate Kyd. Do we have anything on his bank statements, phones, or credit cards?"
Ravager glumly answered, "All of Kyd's money is in a bank account in Zandia, same bank that Savage keeps his funds, the same account that paid Stanley Ryan for the false permits. Kyd gets all of his messages on an encrypted pager that has a powerful scrambling signal inside. And all of Kyd's transactions are cash. He last withdrew nine hundred thousand dollars from his account about three weeks ago. He's got more than enough to last him for a while. We'll never find him at this rate."
Hustler commented, "Kyd's on the defensive. He's impossible to track. Our only chance is to get him on the offensive and we could trap him."
Raven added, "That's our best bet, but unfortunately we don't have anything that Kyd wants. Other than Jinx and Ravager. No HIVE alumini. No targets. Nothing. And he knows we've set up our teleportation wards. He won't try to get in."
Jinx asked, "Did you see anything else in Kyd's head other than him butchering the HIVE?"
Raven answered, "The images he put at the forefront of his mind when I tried to tap in were the HIVE killings. He wanted to destabilize me long enough to escape. He killed all of them alone. He used teleportation to get in and out before heading back to base after each...Wait a minute."
Kid Flash inquired, "What is it, boss?"
Raven replied, "Kyd didn't teleport all the way to the base after Lilith's abduction. He teleported to the forest before walking the rest of the way. If he teleported to base, we'd have gotten the location. He didn't use satin powder because Lilith is allergic to it. If he did, she would have died and fucked up Savage's plan."
Hustler said, "Okay, I'll get the satellite feeds of the forest the day Lilith was abducted. If they were there, we'd be able to find them."
Jinx noted, "Even if they were there, Kyd is cold-blooded. Thermals won't work and he could have sent Lilith to an alternate dimension."
Raven countered, "Even so, Kyd had to have walked Lilith there. She still has a thermal signature. We can track her. And if Kyd moved Lilith to another dimension, I would have sensed it by now."
Hustler said, "Got the sat feeds. Kyd brought her there at two in the afternoon. He walked for about two miles before arriving at the PRA base."
Raven used the satellite feed to watch as Kyd walked Lilith bridal-style towards the PRA base. She thought to herself, Thank you Bruce for the satellite access.
Then, they finally saw where the entrance to the base was - a small cavern hidden deep within the forest. They watched the satellite feed as Kyd walked into the cavern and then the thermal signature vanished.
Raven ordered, "Kid, with me, we need to explore the cavern. Hustler, how quickly can you get one of Gizmo's walking watchers set up?" The walking watcher was the equivalent of a robotic spider that walked along sending video feed back to the receiver. With that, they could get an accurate view of what lay beneath the base and know what to expect.
Hustler replied, "Five minutes. Maybe less."
Raven enveloped herself in soul-self and brought herself and Kid Flash over to the cavern where they suspected Kyd Wykkyd had brought Lilith to the People's Redemption Army.
Raven said, "Flash, explore the cavern. See what is there. The more we know, the better."
Kid Flash replied, "On it." He quickly went to work examining the cavern while Raven pulled out the walking watcher Hustler had prepped for their exploration of the base.
Kid Flash came back and reported, "Several air ducts that go about six hundred feet deep plus a hollow section inside of the cave."
Raven and Kid Flash went over to where he saw the hollow section and Raven sent her soul-self down to explore it. She said, "It's an elevator shaft. How they get in and out of the base is here. They're underground, figuratively and literally. Now we need to know what to expect."
She walked over to one of the air ducts to insert the walking watcher. Once Raven sent it on its way, Hustler would be able to control it from the Tower and explore what was present inside.
Kid Flash cried out, "Wait. Are you sure this is legal? Don't we need a warrant?"
Raven reassured him, "When Savage is involved, a warrant isn't necessary. Now, we hope Savage doesn't find it."
With that, Raven placed the walking watcher onto the walls of one of the ducts and it immediately began to crawl down the vent towards the PRA base.
Meanwhile, inside of the base, it appears that their hopes had been quashed when Kyd Wykkyd came into Savage's office.
He reported to his boss, "Sir, they've placed a bug in the vents. They aim to see what lies ahead. We've been compromised. Shall I take out the bug?"
Savage responded, "No. Let them watch. I want the Titans to know. I want them to come. For once they do, they fall right into my trap. The Titans will fall and we will conquer the globe. Ensure the bug doesn't get squashed."
Kyd Wykkyd replied, "Yes, sir."
Wykkyd left the room as Savage continued to watch Lilith Clay trapped inside of her cell. Her test is about to be graded - whether or not her team can destroy the Titans, a team that is already there.
The walking watcher crawled down the vents as it was directed by Hustler from the main ops room. It was amazing how Gizmo managed to rig up the controller for the walking watcher from a video game console. Jinx and Ravager were watching and taking note of whatever defenses were encountered by the watcher.
A few moments later, Raven and Kid Flash arrived. Jinx asked, "So, boss, what'd you find?"
Raven responded, "There are a couple of air ducts and an elevator shaft in the cave where Kyd brought Lilith. What do you have about the ducts?"
Hustler replied, "It looks like some of the ducts were designed for bringing in oxygen with the others designed for removing carbon dioxide. How they manage to breathe. It also affects the directional pressure. The oxygen vents have a tendency to go down, which would be ideal while the carbon dioxide vents tend to go up, which could prove troublesome for an infiltration. They also are alarmed so they could detect anyone coming in if they touch it."
Ravager asked, "How much weight would trigger the alarm?"
Hustler told his sister, "About fifty pounds, and the ducts are two feet by two feet. No way we'd fit nor not trigger the alarm."
Kid Flash added, "So we need to take the elevator down, or Raven would have to bring us in through her soul-self."
Raven commented, "Knowing Savage, he would have several anti-magic wards that keep teleporters from entering, but none from leaving, well at least those that aren't prisoners. Must be why Kyd can't teleport into the base."
Jinx inquired, "Any other discoveries, Grant?"
Hustler answered, "Guards. Tons of guards with lots of firepower. Machine guns, assault rifles, explosives, plus turrets and directional sensors. We'd be cut to shreds before we can even get close to the center hub. The staging area which contains a lot of supplies and the pathway to anywhere in the complex."
Raven continued, "We're gonna need a lot of firepower. Grant, I suggest you bring an arsenal with you. Ravager, bring your swords. Flash, Jinx, your modified costumes. We need to be ready for anything Savage can throw at us."
Kid Flash asked, "But boss, what about Kyd Wykkyd? He'll be after Jinx and Ravager."
Raven responded, "That may be true but we know he's coming and Ravager is a lot harder to kill than he may think. We'll have the advantage. We know every place he could be now. Let's get to work."
With that, the Titans quickly went to work to prepare for their mobilization against the People's Redemption Army.
In addition to his jumpsuit, Hustler was wearing the self-dubbed X-vest, which contained a number of gadgets similar to those used when he was Red X. He also carried a Heckler & Koch G36C assault rifle with an M68 Aimpoint sight and M320 grenade launcher in his hands plus two SIG-Sauer P250 handguns in holsters. He kept a Micro Uzi and a Beretta 93R in his ankle holsters and had two snubnose Smith & Wesson Model 629 revolvers. On his shoulders were a slung Mossberg 590 shotgun with a breaching muzzle and shell holders and a scoped Mk1 Mod0 sniper rifle. On his back lay an MP7 submachine gun. He also kept a few hand grenades plus stun and flash grenades, and two spare 40mm rounds for the grenade launcher.
If another superhero name could be applied to Hustler now, it would be Arsenal, a name considered by Speedy when he chooses to change names.
Ravager brought with her the two katanas she always kept plus four throwing knives - two in her sleeves, two on her ankles (much like her anarment when they went to confront Ra's al Ghul). She also brought with her the two retractable hunting knives that could become a double blade on the front of her belt, a kukri and a cutlass on the side of her belt, two retractable blades in her boots, and a rapier on the back of her belt. Ravager was ready for her swords to handle just about anything.
Kid Flash and Jinx put on the modified versions of their uniforms, which were bulletproof and could handle more against sword and shrapnel damage, and met back up in the common room, where Raven had finished acquiring the feed from the walking watcher so they could be able to know what traps Savage had in place.
Raven said, "Titans go" and engulfed her team in her soul-self, bringing them to the cavern where the PRA base lay beneath.
After arriving at the cavern, Ravager quickly pulled out a device that she inserted into the cavern wall. This device soon enabled her to hack into the elevator controls and she promptly called it up for them.
A second later, two PRA guards armed with Armsel Striker shotguns came out of the elevator, searching for whoever called the lift. They were quickly handled by Kid Flash though, enabling the Titans to board the elevator without difficulty.
Raven pressed the main floor button and off went the Titans down the elevator. Raven briefed them, "We've got two guards outside the elevator and two turrets. Hustler, take out the guns. Ravager, the men. No fatalities until I say otherwise. Capiche?"
Hustler and Ravager both respond simultaneously, "Capiche."
Once the elevator landed on the floor, Ravager jumped out of the elevator and kicked the first guard armed with an AK-104 in the neck, knocking him down. She grabbed the gun and threw it into the neck of the other guard, knocking him out. With the path clear, Hustler got out of the elevator and took aim at the two turrets in the nearby hallway. With a shot each from the G36C, the guns went down.
The Titans then moved, continuing their trek towards locating Lilith, Lucien, and Vandal.
They approached a doorway, with Raven explaining, "Four guards on the other side. So is the armory. Jinx, seal them in."
Jinx responded, "With pleasure."
With that, Jinx fired a hex at the door handle, melting it so it couldn't be opened and then fired hexes at the hinges, melting them in place such that the door effectively was sealed. The PRA weapons were effectively out of reach and the Titans kept moving.
They came to another hallway, a four-way intersection with guards looking down the horizontal (to the Titans' view), making it impossible to pass. Raven concocted a distraction by setting off a small explosion with a nearby grenade, causing the guards in one side to head towards it. Raven distracted the other guards with another explosion, this time with C4.
With the guards distracted, Raven sealed the doors, preventing the guards from coming back, enabling the Titans to continue their movement.
After a few moments, the Titans arrived in the central corridor, so they could head off to find Lilith and stop Savage.
Before they could move, they heard a sardonic clapping in the distance. They saw Vandal Savage, wearing the Black Bear mask, up in the observatory as he said, "Bravo, Raven. You found us. Congratulations to you and your team."
Raven spat, "Game over, Savage. We know you're responsible. And the League is ready to put you back on Cryo-1 where you should have been for a decade."
Savage replied, "Maybe, but I'm not ready to be on board with Zatanna just yet. Maybe you will once I conquer the world."
Hustler asked, "How are you gonna do that?"
The response was, "Simple. You Titans were named after a piece of Greek mythology, so it is only fitting that another piece of Greek mythology bring you down."
With that, the Titans saw as a figure came up from the floor, wearing red armor over his body and instead of a right arm is a cannon. He is wearing an iron mask. Savage said, "Meet the neo-Nazi with an indestructible armor and an arm cannon. Red Panzer."
Soon another figure emerged from the floor, this one having claws, a green dress, and a very familiar mask. Jinx muttered, "Jade."
Savage confirmed, "That's right Jinx. Say hello to the clawed assassin Cheshire."
A third figure soon arose from the floor, wearing a white mask similar to that worn by Robin and Speedy. She had orange pads on her shoulders, a red jumpsuit, and a weapons belt with two Webley Mk VI revolvers. "Now, meet the mercenary for hire with a deadly edge, Lady Vic."
Up next came a woman with black hair and a blue robe from beneath the floor, and she looked definitely ready to attack the Titans. "Let's hear it for the screaming Siren."
Lastly from the floor came what appeared to be a very large monkey - one slightly larger than Monsieur Mallah, and wearing an iron helmet, looking at Kid Flash with fury. "And last but definitely not least, here is the mind-controlling Gorilla Grodd."
The five villains looked at the Titans, ready to fight them as the Titans prepared themselves for the fight. Soon emerging next to Savage was Lilith, whose hands and feet were chained so she could not move nor oppose Savage.
Ravager shrieked, "Lilith Clay. What's going on?"
Raven responded, "That's what Savage needed her for. To pick the people set on destroying us."
Savage answered, "A point for Raven, figuring out what I kidnapped little Miss Clay for. Now, Lilith, you get to watch as the team you hand-picked slaughters the Titans and sends them to oblivion. Titans, prepare to meet your makers, the Tartarus."
