Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, obviously, but I DO own Phantom, Livewire, the rest of the Six, Joey, Professor Grimm, Python and Icharus and all the other characters you don't see on the show, so—ahem—MINEMINEMINEMINEMINE.
Chapter 9:
The Plot Thickens
The story of Phantom and Livewire was all over the news networks that night. The Titans, free of homework, piled on the couch to watch.
"The top story tonight is of the appearance of two new superheroes in Jump City," Stacey Fields reported from channel twelve. "At approximately four-fifteen this afternoon, Overload, the electrical monster, broke into the city bank and began to wreak havoc. Minutes after he broke in, the police arrived, only to see that the fight was already underway. Believing the cause of the raucous to be the local superhero group, the Teen Titans, the police force waited outside the doors. Moments later, however, it was discovered that the source of the chaos was not our heroes, but two new vigilantes giving Overload quite a workout. The Titans rushed in, and with the help of the new heroes, they managed to disable Overload—"
"They helped us?" repeated Cyborg incredulously. "Who were getting their butts kicked when we came in, huh?"
"Shhh," snapped Robin. "I want to listen."
"And showing the villain, quite literally, that crime doesn't pay," Stacey continued. "Unfortunately, the two new vigilantes fled before our news crew had the chance to interview them." A clip of Livewire and Phantom appearing through the roof and shooting off into the distance played briefly on the screen. "As far as our sources can gather, the names of the two new heroes are Phantom, the boy, and Livewire, the girl. Apparently, they are from a small, discreet organization of six superpowered teens from the other side of the state…"
"That must be what they were talking about," said Raven, folding her arms. The Titans watched as short clips played of the six kids, showing brief images of Phantom and Livewire fighting alongside a very short boy with thick glasses, another masked youth that looked bizarrely like Robin, a girl with telekinetic powers, dressed in lavender gym clothes and a headband that rested on her forehead, and another masked girl in black with a red X on her chest. The villains the clips featured looked every bit as weird as the crooks the Titans fought, including a boy with wings sprouting from his back and something that looked like a woman from the torso up and had the thick body of an emerald-green serpent from the waist down.
"This thing says that no news network has been able to contact these guys," said Cyborg thoughtfully. "I wonder why they want to stay hidden so badly. You know, Robin, if you did your hair differently you'd look exactly like that—Hotshot kid. At least, I think that's what they said his name was."
Starfire nodded. "Phantom, Livewire, Gadget, Hotshot, Mindwave, and X-Ray. That is what the Stacey Fields said they are called."
"Hang on a sec," said Robin suddenly, sitting up straight and looking attentively at the screen.
"…and although attempts were made, this reporter was unable to retrieve any of the footage from the security cameras in the bank. The tapes were stolen from the surveillance room."
"Well, that's weird," said Robin, turning off the television. "Why would someone steal the tapes of the fight?"
"I dunno," shrugged Cyborg. "Maybe Phantom snitched them from the surveillance room before they left."
"But we saw them leave," argued Starfire. "They would not have had time to take the tapes."
"Well, then, maybe Phantom snuck back in, invisible, and stole them. I don't know!" Cyborg snapped. "All I'm saying is that he didn't seem to want the cops to know about them."
"Maybe…." Robin frowned, staring out the window across the bay. The last fingers of light had trailed away, allowing the darkness to veil the city and the dark water of the bay. The bridge was hardly a smudge in the night. "But I'm not so sure it was them."
"You want to know something I'm sure about?" piped Beastboy.
"No," Raven replied dryly, "but I'm sure you're going to tell us anyway."
"That Livewire girl looks good in spandex."
The rest of the evening was given up—at least for Robin and Cyborg—to tease Beastboy mercilessly.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
A masked man sat in front of a huge screen, watching with interest, his chin resting on top of his interlaced fingers. A figure watched over his shoulder, waiting anxiously for the masked man's reaction.
"Most…interesting," the man said finally. His voice was slick like oil, but colder than the Arctic ice, and with a hard, cruel edge to it. His tone was deathly calm—he rarely ever spoke differently. He rewound the tape and watched the scenes again—Livewire nailing Overload with a lightning bolt, and Phantom going through his invisible duel with the monster. "They are certainly powerful, but it will take more to convince me of your proposition."
"Keep watching, the girl especially," said the figure behind him. The masked man watched as the Titans leapt into the fight to help, and how the girl Livewire drained the power from the circuitry in the building and used Robin's staff as a lightning rod, short-circuiting Overload on her own.
"Impressive," the man murmured.
"Yes. This is not one of the boy's better fights; normally he is much more fierce. He can phase through solid objects as well—and I have already told you about the powers of the others."
"Yes. A supergenius, a genetically enhanced human, a telepath, and one with the power of x-ray vision. Most useful in combat," the man replied. He spun in his chair to face his companion, his fingers still interlaced. "But tell me again—what will I gain by helping you, exactly?"
The smaller man fidgeted nervously, scratching his enormous head. "The six children I have shown you are—failed experiments. And as every scientist knows, a failed experiment must be detained for observation…or destroyed." He scowled. "These… Super Six, as they call themselves, have been a thorn in my side since day one. I wish to capture them, find out what I did that still allows them to resist me, and dispose of them permanently. You wish to destroy the Teen Titans. If you help me to capture my enemies, I can help you capture yours. In return, I will allow you to keep one of the Six… as an apprentice, if you will."
"I haven't much use for apprentices anymore," the man replied flatly, glaring at the other through a cold eye. "The one most desirable refuses the offer, and the other is frozen in a comatose state inside obsidian volcanic rock. The destruction of the Titans is all that I wish." The man let his hands fall into his lap and rest on his knees. "Your offer is quite…. interesting. I believe we may have reached a deal. Of course," he continued, his voice hard, "that all depends on what you wish in return for your services."
"Half of the city to control," his companion replied immediately.
"I will give you a fourth," the other replied. "In addition, you may take all the adolescents from your sector as you wish to use as guinea pigs for your experiments."
"Deal," the large-headed one answered automatically, thinking that if he could get enough genetically enhanced teenagers he could up and overthrow the other anyway.
"Good. This will, however, take time," said the masked one, turning back to the computer screen. "I wish to find their strengths and weaknesses as a group."
"Spray the girl with water and she'll electrocute herself. Put Phantom in a box with walls over two feet thick and he will be unable to escape," the other shrugged. "The others have similar weaknesses."
"Not those kinds of weaknesses. I do not wish to take them from the outside. I want to know their weaknesses on the inside." The masked man used the computer to pause the video and zoomed in on Robin's face. "This one, for example. His greatest weakness is his devotion to his friends." He allowed the clip to play and froze it on Raven. "With her, it is her emotions that are her downfall. You see, my friend, as teenagers, their bodies are far more easily broken than their spirits—but once you have breached their defenses, they are little more than puppets, forced to do whatever you wish." Slade turned back around to face Professor Grimm. "And if I am correct, all eleven of them will make a fine little collection of marionettes indeed."
