Chapter 11- Onward

Herald fiddled with his hands - entwining and untwining his fingers, desperately trying to occupy his elongated time at the hospital. Raven had left some time ago, claiming that she needed meditation and he needed rest. Before fully exiting, the trumpet player had stopped her in the hopes of seeing his companions again, to which she explained their current predicament. Both groups of Titans were currently at a press conference, attempting to diffuse the turmoil of media suspicion.

The leader had been slightly annoyed by the discovery. After all, who was continuing the search if both teams were temporarily occupied?

Raven vanquished all doubt in his mind when she shed some additional light; a new group, much like theirs, had recently been formed near Portland. Like the original Titans, they too were situated along the west coast. This puzzled Herald until he realized that more cities probably requested permanent residence from the Titans. He supposed this Tower would just be referred to as "Titans West 2.0."

The team had flown out here yesterday and were planning on continuing the investigation while his and Raven's teams dealt with the press frenzy. He was humbled that a new team would be so willing to drop everything in order to help, but also a little skeptical. Raven had described the members and their powers, making Herald's mistrust rise. A leader who wielded guns? A girl who could manifest destruction with a simple tune? Granted, the ammunition he used were reduced gunpowder rounds and the girl used her powers to heal, but with what little he knew about the team, the trumpet player couldn't help but feel threatened by their presence. He'd much rather search for Jericho on his own, although Raven would never hear the end of it in his current condition.

He had tried getting some rest, but only succeeded in gaining fretful nightmares whenever he dozed off. All his mind absorbed and obsessed over was the thought of Jericho, alone and seemingly abandoned, as Amerston did God knows what to him. The more petrifying scenarios he conjured up, the more restless he became, replaying the scenes over and over again until they were disturbingly vivid.

Jericho didn't deserve whatever torment was being implemented onto him. Six days was far too long. And to just be sitting here, useless to his teammates, was enough to set the leader's teeth on edge.

When he couldn't bare another arduous thought, his gaze flickered toward the muted tv screen, desperately trying to occupy his mind with something else. The Titans report had long since been finished, the news anchor now reading off the top headlines. The titles appeared to the left of him, and Herald silently read them to himself: Coast Guard to end search for missing Florida teens. Woman's body found in gym steam room. Wife kills husband and son, lives with bodies. Remains found in car missing for 43 years.

Reacting swiftly to the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach, Herald reached forward, wincing at the pain the action brought, and grabbed the remote before hastily shutting the tv off. Maybe watching the news wasn't the brightest idea right now. Forcing himself to calm down, he took in several deep breaths. He tried not to think about the headlines and how they directly related to Jericho's predicament. He tried not to think about it. He tried not to…

But what if the Titans turned up with nothing and eventually stopped searching for him? What if they found his lifeless body in the simplest of places, never knowing that he had been there the whole time? What if Amerston had already killed him and hoarded his body as some sort of trophy? What if they found his unrecognisable remains years later?

A fretful beeping persisted in the background, and it took Herald a moment to realize that it was the sound of his heart monitor going into a psychotic frenzy. His shallow breaths had morphed into a maelstrom of hyperventilation, making his eyes widen in horror. No, not again. Please not again. The clean walls seemed to cave in on him, his vision becoming spotty as he strained to keep focus. He hadn't noticed that a nurse had entered the room, calling out to her co-workers in distress. Everything was looking at him - the walls, the people, the city - feeding his fear, sucking the air right out of him, pulling the bed out from underneath him until he was standing on hot coals.

Sharp fingernails dug into his arms and he ripped out the disturbances, failing to realize they were the wires hooked up to the various IVs and machines. His head was pounding, his heart was racing - he needed to escape, to get out and run. He needed to find Jericho.

The walls frantically compressed and decompressed, going along to the pounding of his heart. He found himself being smacked from surface to surface, as if he was the ball in some sort of tennis match. Stumbling, reeling, overwhelming panic seized him.

A window - he could make out a window. An escape route. He needed air. He needed to find Jericho. Gasping, he made his way to the window, finding it wouldn't budge. Something heavy could break it; something heavy could definitely break it. The walls were laughing at his desperate attempts to flee, knocking him over with one simple whack.

Something sharp jabbed into his skin, making him cry out. His senses felt dulled, body slacking. No, no, NO! What was going on? Jericho needed to be rescued; his body couldn't give up now!

He swayed to and fro - eyelids becoming heavy with fatigue.

Jericho…I'm sorry…

He collapsed, hitting the floor with a resonant thud.


"We'll be taking no more questions at this time," Robin declared, the press instantly erupting into a tumult of disarray. Argent let out the breath she'd been holding as her and the other Titans got up from their seats, quickly being ushered away by security. Flashing cameras blinded her vision as she made her way through the suffocating throng of journalists. Questions were thrown at her from every direction, each more jarring than the last. Argent almost wanted to fly above the pestering crowd and give them a piece of her mind, but thought better of it. Robin would surely have a heart attack, and the last thing she needed was another session of finger-wagging from the Boy Blunder.

Two black vehicles awaited the Titans, each with tinted windows and a chauffeur. Cyborg had wanted to bring the T-Ship that they had originally arrived in, but found there weren't enough pods for both teams to fit. Since the mayor had insisted a press conference would surely clear the air and leave the public feeling resolved, he had provided the Titans with his head security team as a means of protection and transportation. Not like they needed it, but Argent supposed these measures were taken so as not to hold the mayor accountable for any grievances.

As her team piled into one of the vans, she stole a glance back at the mayhem. The horde of buffoons waved their cameras and microphones this way and that, pushing against the safety barriers and guards that blocked them. With a huff, Argent turned back towards the vehicle and was about to get in before a reporter's voice broke through the unwavering clamor and addressed her.

"Argent! With only three Titans in healthy condition and the search going nowhere, were you planning on starting a relationship with Hot Spot and leaving once all this has subsided?"

Argent stiffened, crimson-colored eyes widening in disbelief. Her astonishment soon turned to fury as she balled up her fists and angrily whirled back towards the crowd. The man who had vocalized the question couldn't have been more than twenty-five, with a sleazy haircut and arrogant face to match. He held his microphone out towards her with a smug look, as if expecting a reply.

The silver-skinned girl's blood boiled with a ferocious tenacity, urging her to pummel the bugger into the ground. How dare he ask such an idiotic question - a load of codswallop in relation to the actual matter at hand. Jericho was in trouble, and yet this wanker had the audacity to not only insult their efforts, but to outright say they were never going to find him! And to even suggest that her and Hot Spot would ever become an item was - was…

Out of the corner of her eye, Argent could see Robin frozen mid-step as he watched the scene unfold. He was too far away to have heard the reporter's question, but could easily make out Argent's expression - one that was not filled with gumdrops and lollies, to say the least.

Slowly, he did the faintest of head shakes, reminding her that she was still in the public eye and had a duty as a Titan to protect their image. She silently groaned, wanting now more than ever for it to rain knifes.

Taking in a deep breath, she tried her best to calmly turn away and get inside the van.

She would have succeeded too, had the reporter not been so persistent.

"A source of mine says you two have-"

"A source?!" Argent yelled, whipping towards the man in a torrent of unbridled wrath. "Your source says so, huh? Tell ya what - why don't you take that 'source' of yours and shove it up your arse before I shove it up there for you!" Robin's jaw dropped in horror as Argent's teammates began pulling her into the vehicle. She struggled in their grasps, letting her words flow out of her mouth without a second thought. "I've had it up to here with you buggers and am this close to pulling that microphone outta your hand and beatin' you with it. Ya got that, nancy boy? Sod off!" In a final surge of fury, Argent flipped off the man before being dragged into the vehicle fully. The doors immediately closed behind her, snuffing out the alarmed cries of rampant journalists.

Her chest heaved a few times, gazing down at the carpeted interior. Her grim satisfaction quickly morphed into vexation. Ugh, how could she be so stupid? The Titans already had enough on their plate, and now this. Robin was going to murder her.

She looked up, eyes darting between her two teammates. Kole seemed agitated, legs bobbing up and down as she glanced out the tinted window. She placed a hand to her forehead, murmuring something to herself.

When she turned to Hot Spot, she was rather surprised by his expression. She had expected him to be furious from her actions, and yet he was quite the opposite. A small, almost impressed smile formed his lips.

The silver-skinned girl raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? No 'What the hell were you thinking, Argent'? No 'I can't believe you would be that thick-headed'? What's a matter with you?"

Wry humor put a slight quirk in his mouth, further upsetting the temporary leader. "You feelin' a bit under the weather, Spotty?" she turned to Kole for help, only to find that the crystal girl was just as lost as she was.

Then, out of nowhere, the pyrokinetic let out a chuckle. His antics quickly turned into full-blown laughter as he failed to suppress his gaiety hysterics. Argent crossed her arms, annoyed yet amused all the same. Although she hated to admit it, she was appreciative of his laughter. After everything that had happened these last couple of days, the silver-skinned girl needed a little humor to rekindle her defeated spirit.

When he had finally calmed down enough to form coherent sentences, Argent was quick to ask, "Care to explain?"

Letting out another chuckle, he wiped a pretend tear away from his fiery countenance. "That was amazing! Did you see the look on those reporters' faces when you told that guy to shove it? And Robin looked like he was about ready to pass out!" A bemused expression appeared on Argent's face as she blinked several times, soaking in his reaction.

"So…you mean to tell me you're glad I said all those things?"

"Well, maybe not glad," Hot Spot confessed, "But I'm…impressed, I guess."

"Impressed? Don't see how you can be impressed when I fell right for that bloke's trap; he wanted to get a rile out of me." At that, Argent slumped a little in her seat.

"Well, the guy deserved it, asking such a dumb question to begin with."

"Guess you're right," Argent responded. "And what was that about us becomin' a…a couple?" she let out a laugh. "Ridiculous."

"No doubt about it."

"Never in a million years-"

"Never in a trillion years-"

"Well now you're exaggeratin' a bit-"

"I'm just agreeing that we would never-"

"Ever-"

"Be in a relationship?" Kole finished, her cobalt-blue eyes shining with a tone of mischief. "Right."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Argent inquired, taking note of Kole's demeanor.

"Oh, nothing really," Kole mused. "I just think it's funny you two are finally getting along on a topic as controversial as love."

"Love isn't anythin' to fret over," Argent defended. "It's all common sense. Generally, people who don't get along never end up together." Stealing a glance towards her fiery teammate, she dully noted, "And me and Spotty are about as different as night and day."

"Well," Kole reasoned, "There's always exceptions to the rule, now aren't there?"

Argent let out a snort and jerked her thumb towards the pyrokinetic. "Now why would I ever want to get with a bugger like this one?"

Hot Spot's eyes narrowed upon the remark. "Well why would I ever want to get with a snooty princess like this one?"

"What!" Argent exclaimed. "I am not snooty."

"You just proved that you are!" Hot Spot retorted. Argent opened her mouth, about ready to retaliate, when Kole let out a small shriek in alarm. Banging could suddenly be heard from outside the van, making all three Titans jump in surprise. No doubt the media had busted through the barriers and were now surrounding their only way out of here.

"Well that's just great," Hot Spot huffed in annoyance. "How're we supposed to get out of here now?"

"Not like I wanna touch base with the other Titans anyhow," Argent muttered. "Robin's gonna be off his rocker after the way I handled things."

"Can't we just fly out of here?" Kole suggested. "Well uh, not me obviously, but you guys can."

"I suppose that's for the best," Argent reluctantly said. Letting out a sigh, she turned towards the driver, who had been fairly quiet throughout the ordeal. "Oi! Sorry for the trouble, but I think we're gonna head back to the hospital by our own means." The man remained silent, neither acknowledging nor agreeing to her statement. She vaguely wondered if the driver was hard of hearing before deciding to shrug it off.

"Looks like there's no roof opening," Argent noted in annoyance as she glanced up at the vehicle's ceiling. "Guess we'll just have to make one."

"Allow me," Hot Spot readily volunteered, cracking his knuckles in preparation.

"What?" Kole dumbfoundedly remarked. "You can't just create your own way out of here! This is the mayor's property! We'll probably get into loads of trouble."

"The mayor's swimmin' in cash," the silver-skinned girl explained. "And one measly hole isn't goin' to be a problem for him to fix." Without another word, Argent nodded to Hot Spot, who immediately scrunched up his hand and burned a hole through the rooftop.

Before allowing Kole anymore time to protest, Argent grabbed her wrist and ordered, "Hang on!" With a smirk, she propelled her and her teammate out of the van and into the air; Hot Spot made sure to follow suit. The crowd of journalists gaped at their reappearance, attempting to snap a photo or two of them.

Kole latched her trembling hands onto Argent's shoulders, yelling, "This isn't what I meant when I said we should fly out of here!"

"I know," Argent remarked. "But this is how I took it. Choose your words wisely next time, luv." With a nod towards the pyrokinetic, she said, "Alright! Let's get a move on!" The trio made sure not to look back at the reporters as they flew out of the surrounding area.

Argent smirked in triumph as Kole held on for dear life. That'll teach the crystal girl to poke fun at her romantic musings.


Shortly after the Titans departed, the distraction was enough to allow both vehicles to pull out of the area. The driver of the second vehicle followed closely behind the first, eyes presumably narrowing behind the dark sunglasses. His face was hidden by the shadow of his cap, coat-collar up against his neck.

The man pressed forward on the gas pedal, gaining momentum.

Not much longer now.


Author's Note: I started writing an Author's note a month ago, filled with some of my musings and such. I suppose I'll share those now before getting down to business:

- First off, I just noticed that the ending of chapter 9 totally alluded to the theme of chapter 10, starting with the opening line, "Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream." I didn't even plan that guys, but now that I'm looking back at it, I'm pretty proud of myself *pats self on back*

- Secondly, my brother built a gaming PC last week and bought some really nice headphones to go along with it. Me being the weirdo that I am, I decided to give them a go. When I tried them on and listened to some music I instantly thought back to Jericho. Closing my eyes and turning up the volume, I realized just how much I had put Jericho through, and that terrified me. Don't get me wrong, I'm really proud of the last chapter, but it also freaked me out when I got an idea of what he might've been feeling. These headphones literally block out the outside world, and without any sight, you're thrown into the depths of your mind and left to your own devices. Now imagine being like that, lost to space and time, going without sleep, and at times forgetting who you really are. Yeah, that's pretty scary. Sorry, I didn't mean to be a downer; I only felt like sharing.

...

Okay, so I've been gone for almost two months now. I really wish I had some grandiose excuse for my absence - a mid-life crisis or something like that - but I've honestly got nothing. And that's what bugs me. I've had so much time to make this chapter great, to make it memorable, when in reality I've quite literally made it, in Argent's words, "a load of codswallop."

I hate this chapter. I hate the execution of it, I hate how short it is, I hate how I couldn't nail this. This isn't me asking for your pity; this is just me telling you the truth. I feel terrible because you guys have been waiting so long for the payoff, only to have it blow up in your face. Along with my agonizingly long period of absence, I'm also sorry for this horrible excuse of a chapter.

Before you leave, I'd like to make note that the mention of another Titan's West is actually the creation of a user on this website. Their name is Ratcoon, and they've been working really hard on this fic of theirs. It revolves entirely around a new team of Titans, all constructed by them. Trust me when I say to go check it out. There will be no Mary Sue's - only loveable characters that you'll easily relate to.