It didn't take me long to find the bookstore. It was right where Cyborg said it would be.

"Reading Every A Day", I said to myself as I read the stupid name of the bookstore. It was one thing for the owner to really want the acronym to spell out "read", which was obviously the case. However, seeing as how the acronym used the words, "Reading Every A Day", which was both terrible grammar as well as not being a sentence or phrase that anybody ever uses, including seriously hardcore bookworms, the entire title was just stupid. But I digressed as I walked through the door and began to look around.

I noticed Raven immediately. Once again she was buried in a book, being undeniably cute as always. She sat in one of the stores "comfy" chairs as she quietly read her book, cutting herself off from the rest of the surrounding world, including the noisy brat of an 11-year-old boy who was throwing a fit because his daddy wouldn't buy him a Spider-Man comic book.

Guess it's easy to tune out the rest of the world after learning to tune out Beast Boy and Starfire for so long, I chuckled to myself. God, it's like you're actively trying to be cuter and cuter each time I see you. A part of me was mentally slapping myself across the face for using the word "cute" for about the millionth time, but I couldn't help it, Raven was cute. Sure there's many other words I could just as easily use to describe her, such as "sexy" or "hot", because Lord knows she was, and I was fully aware that she prided herself on being a badass spellcaster (at this point in time I started referring to her as spellcaster since I still hadn't yet figured out what exactly she was), but in addition to all of that, she was just so damn cute. Even the way she sat as she read her book was cute. As she read her book, her legs were pulled up under her and crossed, kinda like if she was sitting Indian-style, with the back of her cloak, probably because she didn't want to sit on it, draped over her legs, like she was in this cute little bundle sitting by a fireplace. I chuckled to myself again as her being bundled in her cloak as she read also reminded me of the foxtail remark I made earlier.

It was around this time that I noticed a few people giving me weird looks for the fact that I walked into a bookstore, and instead of any window shopping or anything "productive", I was standing absolutely still in the middle of the floor staring at Raven, which to the public is just a random stranger to me because as far as the public was concerned, I was nobody important (and therefore should have no actual connection or relationship with Raven) and the "Wolfman"'s existence was known by only small handfuls of people up until now. That said, I then took it upon myself to move to another area, which was just a fancy way of saying that I should probably check in with Raven. My intended course of walking towards Raven gets interrupted as I noticed the large t.v. that hung on the wall across from where Raven was sitting. It was no wonder Raven enjoyed reading in there for long periods of time, that bookstore was basically a cafe, except they took out the coffee and replaced it all with mountains of books. Anyway, that aside, I got distracted from my original task of checking in with Raven when I noticed the t.v. was broadcasting some international news, again, about Adryen's capture.

"Scientists and researchers are still baffled by what was witnessed here in Kenya only a couple of days ago", began the news reporter. "As you can see from the footage provided by a Kenyan resident, there is clearly a large gang of masked men engaging what appears to be a North American grizzly bear. And as if that wasn't odd enough, you then notice the bear sort of transforming into what many believe to be a dinosaur, more specifically, a baryonyx, a prehistoric reptile from approximately 130 million years ago known for its alligator-like jaws. Witness reports also took note of several claims of the animal producing blasts of ice as well as small tidal waves. Investigators around the globe, though a few are skeptical, are so far in agreement that the animal and the fight itself is nothing more than a hoax."

"Bull…. shit", I said aloud in anger. Some lady nearby got offended at my swearing and muttered something about there being kids in the store, but I didn't fucking care. My friend was just publicly attacked and abducted, plus the whole incident made international news, and now some white dude in a suit was sitting behind a desk telling me that it was a hoax. "A fucking hoax? Really? So many of you humans are still to this day blown away by Steven Spielberg's dinosaurs looking so lifelike that it sparked an internet conspiracy theory about dinosaurs still roaming the Earth, which technically is true, but as far as you all are concerned, y'all don't know shit! And you're seriously telling me that a fucking eleven-foot dinosaur that had a grudge match in broad daylight is a fucking hoax?!" I was pissed off to say the least. I had a lot on my mind as it was, including my own untimely demise, so the absolute last thing I needed was some asshole brushing off the abduction of my best friend as mere fantasy.

As I stood there listening to the news reporter, I could feel myself getting angrier and angrier. My heart began pounding against the inside of my ribcage, and a growl rumbled in my chest as I was also being reminded of all the other things I had to worry about. Not only was Adryen kidnapped, but they got to Asia and Taiyo, too. Then there was Doctor Light, Raven, my mother, Kendall, I was seriously in a bad way, that is until Raven intervened.

Just as I was about to black out from rage, I felt a cool, soothing sensation washing over my body. It was so relaxing that while I was still pissed, it was impossible for me to stay super furious. Before I could look into the relaxing feeling, I stretch my hands and fingers (I had them clenched as fists a moment ago), and it was then that I noticed that my wolf claws had formed at the ends of my fingers. My rage was so great that I lost control for a moment. Ashamed and disappointed in myself for allowing that to happen, I Change my hands to their human form, and it was then I noticed that my body was encased in a black aura, Raven's aura. Just as she had done earlier, she was using her aura to pet me, except this time she was comforting me.

I turn behind me to see Raven, still in her chair with her book, but looking directly at me. I nod my head to her as a "thank you", but then break eye contact as I look towards the floor. I was still angry, and now I was also embarrassed and ashamed. I was more than willing to stand there in shame for a while longer, but I looked back up at Raven when I noticed her walking up to me.

"That's one of your friends, isn't it", she began asking me. "The Elementals? The ones that were taken?" I nodded my head slowly in response. "What's his name?" I took a deep breath before answering. Partially to keep myself calm from my rage, but also because secretly deep down I felt like I was going to cry, and I refused to let Raven witness that.

"His name is Adryen. Adryen Rivers, Elemental Prince of Water and my very best friend, has been since we were two. And now, he's gone."

"We will find him. There's still time."

Yeah, but not much of it, I thought to myself.

"It's too soon for you to give up yet. After all, they haven't yet", she said as she pointed to the t.v. behind me. The screen news had pulled away from the reporter for a moment and showed citizens of Kenya building what looked like a memorial-like shrine to Adryen, with several signs referring to him as Kubehari. "What does that mean, anyway", asked Raven in reference to the recurring Swahili word as she now stood by my side.

"It's what the locals refer to as their Water Guardian. It's comprised of the two Swahili words, "Kubeba", meaning "bear", and "Bahari", meaning "sea"."

"Clever. So why Africa?"

"Hmmm?"

"What was in Africa? Why aren't you with your team?"

"Long story short, as Elementals, we're tasked with duty of protecting the Earth. Eventually we came to the conclusion of splitting up, to expand our territories, with each of us claiming a continent as our territory. Adryen and Megan took residency in Nairobi, Kenya, as the Guardians of Africa."

"Who's Megan?"

"Elemental Princess of Water and Adryen's fiancee."

"Is she okay?"

"She's in hiding, along with the other Elementals that managed to escape."

"Yes, but is she okay? Are any of them okay for that matter?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I haven't seen you once try to contact them, or even mention them all that much."

"For their safety I've asked them not to seek me out. As for me, I'm keeping contact with them limited." Upon hearing me say that she chuckles a moment before responding.

"You're just like Robin."

"How do y—", I began.

"Look, I understand you want to protect your friends, but take it from someone with experience, you need them and they need you. I'm sure they'd like to know you're okay, especially after already losing some of your team already. I know it's a bit of a gamble, especially if your team is being targeted. But then again you don't even know if they're safe if you don't contact them, nor do they know if you're safe. Put their minds and yours at ease. The last thing you want to do is keep them worrying too much, especially if any of them are as stubborn as you are." I snorted a little upon her saying that, but Raven just chuckled it off. "Trust me, just call them", she said as she pointed to the pay phone just outside the store. "I'll be right behind you", she then said as she turned to walk over to the checkout line.

*Sigh, she's right, I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. So cute when she's demanding. With my anger now leaning more towards concern, worry, and being upset, I found myself wanting to talk to my friends even more. Between Silkie's wakeup call, my beef with Starfire, that long-ass memory sequence, nearly drowning trying to call Kendall, and all of the other bullshit I had to deal with in the mall, I had a long day.

I walked over to the pay phone and noticed that there were no walls or anything of that sort surrounding it. Plus there were lots of people around, so there was no way for me to have a private conversation, at least without some help. Once I got to the phone, and when nobody was looking, I used my powers to form an invisible shield around me and the phone, but I made it soundproof.

"Good, a little privacy", I said to myself. I had just picked up the receiver when I noticed a small child watching me. He apparently watched me making the shield, which I didn't mind too much since the people of Jump City would eventually learn of me and my powers anyway. What did bother me was he was alone and around the age of ten, making him yet another unattended child. He wore a red baseball hat, had curly, brown hair, and had a bag of popcorn in his hands. If he was riding a bike or tricycle he'd look like a real-life counterpart of that tricycle kid from "The Incredibles".

Annoyed at him being unsupervised, I read his mind. While there, I learned the identity of his parents. I then looked out past him to see that both of his parents were all the way back where I first turned the corner from the food court to get to the bookstore. They were conversing with three other adults just shooting the breeze. Five adults, and not one of them was paying any attention to this one ten-year-old boy. I didn't really have the time or patience to deal with the situation directly, so I took a different approach. Since my shield was designed to where I can hear the rest of the world, but they couldn't hear me, I tweaked it a little so that only the boy could hear me. Once I did, I Changed my eyes from brown to red, and grew my extra six red eyes as well. I then let out a loud roar hoping to scare the child, which I did. As I had hoped, the boy then drops his popcorn and runs back to his parents in fear.

"Eh, works for me", I said with a shrug. I then rebuilt my shield, paid for my call with my credit card, and dialed the E-Mergency Line. There was another message waiting for me, only this time it was from Francesca.

"Fernando, you little…", she began in irritation as she began cursing me out in Spanish. I then heard the sound of the phone being snatched away from her by her fiancee.

"Sorry about that", began Ryan. "She's just worried, that's all. Just, you know, call us back", he pleaded while trying to stay calm. The message ends right there as he hung up. I then prepared to leave a message of my own, but I was interrupted, again, by Francesca.

"Fernando?"

"Huh? Frankie, is that you?" She responded by continuing to curse me out once again. "Whoa whoa whoa, Frankie, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down! You with your "do not seek me out" message, we were worried sick about you!"

"Speaking of the E-Line, I have a question. How are we talking right now? I thought this thing was designed to only take and give messages." I then heard a button click on her end, followed by Yea Seul's voice.

"You can thank me for that."

"How you doing, Yea Seul?"

"I'm holding up okay."

"Wait a second, am I on a speaker phone right now?"

"Yup", replied Frankie.

"Where are the others?" Taking my hint, Frankie then lets out a feline bellow to summon the other three Elementals. I waited a moment as I heard the replying sounds of a few other animals and the sound of people rushing to the phone. Once I was certain everyone was there, I spoke again. "Elementals, sound off." The five mutants on the other end of the phone knew exactly what to do, as they each stated their first name one by one in the chronological order of the Elemental Chain of Command from top to bottom.

"Andre."

"Yea Seul."

"Ryan."

"Francesca."

"Megan."

"Very good", I responded. "Nice to hear your voices."

"And to you as well, Hermano", said Megan.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah", began Ryan (model of patience as usual). "How's Jump City?"

"Wait, what", I responded defensively.

"Ha! I knew it!"

"How could you have possibly known that?"

"We took heed to your message", began Andre. "Taiyo and Adryen may be the brains of our operation, but Yea Seul's a close second."

"It wasn't too difficult. I simply did some digging on the one you called, Doctor Light, which led to a series of newspaper articles about several failed attempts at bank robberies in Jump City."

"I see. Guess I left you more information than I realized", I said with a chuckle.

"Fernando", began Megan. "We've been watching the news. Is there any new information about Adryen yet?"

"No, not yet. And honestly, I wouldn't bank on it. In case it hasn't reached you all yet, the news stations are deeming Adryen's existence as a hoax."

"Well that's bullshit", replied Ryan.

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"What about that ring of young heroes there", asked Andre. "The ones called the Teen Titans."

"It's funny you bring that up, Adonis. I ran into them shortly after arriving here, and they recruited me."

"So you're a Titan now", asked Frankie.

"Does, that make us Titans, too", asked Yea Seul to Frankie.

"Do you think they can help us", continued Andre.

"I do. They're a skilled group of individuals with knowledge of and experience with our enemies."

"Enemies", asked Frankie. "I thought you said we were attacked by that Doctor Light guy."

"True, but there's more. Remember those masked men you mentioned, Andre?"

"Yeah."

"Well I noticed that they also got to Adryen as well. Whoever these men are, they seem to be equipped with great power, enough to block our auroras, which is how they got to Adryen, and presumably the others."

"What are you saying? That you don't think they're with Doctor Light?"

"Not entirely. Though they may be working with him, I can assure you that they do not work for him. I fought Doctor Light. He, too may be powerful, but as a villain, he's just a broken and disturbed little man. These masked men must work for someone else. I'm starting to believe that they and Doctor Light are merely henchmen."

"What makes you say that", asked Megan.

"I ran into another villain just before the last time I called you. One called, Johnny Rancid." I then heard Yea Seul typing on a laptop.

"Johnny Rancid…. he's another Jump City villain."

"Exactly. And he mentioned that he was sent to finish what Doctor Light couldn't."

"So this isn't merely coincidence", began Andre.

"Yeah, something's up", added Ryan.

"I agree, which is why I'm staying here for now."

"Perhaps one of us should take your place in the city", suggested Yea Seul. "You're already weaker than the rest of us."

"No. You must all stay there. With my narrow escape, it's only a matter of time until Doctor Light seeks me out again. If he finds me here, then I can take him head on with the Titans, as opposed to leading him to our safe house."

"But we have to do something", exclaimed Frankie. "We can't just sit here and do nothing! They took Asia! Not to mention our men", she added as if speaking for both Yea Seul and Megan.

"I understand that, Frankie but we're in over our heads here. We have no idea what we're up against or what our enemies are after, and even in my current state I would sooner sacrifice myself before I blindly send any of you into battle, especially any of you ladies. I know you're angry but you've got offspring to protect."

"Not me", added Megan. "I have no cubs, nor am I in any kind of weakened state. Send me to Jump City, and let me tear the good Doctor to shreds."

"That may be true, Megan. But you're forgetting one thing, you, Yea Seul, and Frankie all lack Elemental magic."

"Magic, shmagic. I can hold my own just as easily as you and the others can. Me and Yea Seul once took down a tank with our bare hands, or don't you remember?"

"I remember, but this is different."

"How so?"

"He's right, Megan", began Andre. "You ladies may be powerful, but again, we know nothing of our enemies. They single-handedly captured three Elementals, weakened a fourth, and forced the remaining five of us into hiding. At this point in time, we're in no position to save anyone." Megan goes quiet for a moment, but then lets out a loud and angry growl as I hear her slam something.

"Believe me, Megan, I understand how you must be feeling. I miss him, too. But I promise, we'll get him back. We just have to be safe in the meantime, and stick together."

"Promise me", she said as her voice started to break.

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Alright. So what's the plan?"

"Right now we have to cover our bases. But before we get to that I have to ask, how are the little ones fairing?"

"The cubs are fine", began Ryan.

"But my calves miss their daddy", added Yea Seul.

"And what of your individual families?"

"They are currently on high alert", began Andre. "But with us in hiding, our enemies no longer see them as targets. It seems that they have no interest in them. However, all family members of each family have been accounted for and checked up on, except for yours."

"Yeah, we didn't get any distress calls from them", said Ryan.

"And of course, they don't particularly like us, so we've gotten no responses from them either", added Frankie.

"I can assure you, they'll be fine", I said.

"Really? How do you know for certain?"

"I just know."

"They've probably done their homework", suggested Andre. "If they truly are targeting us, they must know that Fernando has no connection to the Adams Pack."

"Maybe, but that's never stopped our more serious enemies before", said a suspicious Ryan.

"What are you saying", asked Megan.

"I'm saying, that there's something our Alpha isn't telling us."

"No, Ryan, I—", I began. I stopped once I felt Ryan's presence. He was reading my mind. I could've kept him out if I really wanted to, but there was no point in continuing to lie to him.

"I knew it! I just fucking knew it!"

"What? What happened, Babe?"

"That bitch abandoned him!" That response caused a series of shocked and concerned animal cries from my associates. I roared in response when I noticed them getting out of hand. They responded with silence.

"I'm fine, Guys. Let's just focus on our friends first."

"Wait a second, Hermano", began Megan. "I may be in love with Adryen, but you're in trouble right now. Where are you staying?"

"Have you forgotten? I'm a Titan now, and fortunately for my sake the employment has its benefits. As long as I remain a Titan, my residence is in Jump City. Trust me, I'm okay. That said, with my mother finally accomplishing her goal of getting rid of me, she has broken all contact and connections with me, freeing her, my father, and Ximenez as targets."

"Well when I see her, I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind", added Ryan.

"I'm sure you will."

"Okay, now that that is settled….", began Andre. "….what's our plan of action?"

"Well like I said, we have to cover our bases. I'll stay here and gather any information I can…."

"And get your strength back", added Yea Seul.

"Yes, that, too. In the meantime, I have tasks for you all as well."

"We're all ears, Dude", said Ryan.

"Good. Ryan, I need you to network to every ally the Elementals have. Every werewolf, every beast in the Horde, every mutant we've got. Put them on high alert. Until this battle is won, everyone is in danger."

"Check. Should I alert all of your other siblings as well? After all, some of them are human."

"Yes, and you've just reminded me of something, too. Part of my recruitment process with the Titans was to make a list of emergency contacts. Add Grace Wilson to your list of networks, and make her the first person you call. After her, I want you to contact Belle, Maria, Kelsey, and Melody. With them in the Titans' systems, they may be contacted if things get out of hand, so give them a heads up.

"You got it."

"Yea Seul, with Taiyo and Adryen gone, I'm going to need you to step up as the brains of the operation. Use your techno and hacking skills and see if you can find any other archives or data on Jump City's villains. People to keep my eye on, people with connections, anything you can find."

"Check."

"Frankie and Megan, I need you two to help out Ryan with networking to our allies, specifically the humans and those with children. I also want you two to start establishing an emergency plan involving evacuations and protected hiding. With so many of us spread across the world, we are at our most vulnerable."

"Check", they replied in unison.

"And as for you Andre", I began.

"Yes, my prince?"

"I have three important tasks for you. The first one is obvious. I need you to continue to look after and supervise our family. As my second in command you will be the one they look up to in my absence, especially now. The second is to keep your eye on the news and internet about international events. With all of us in hiding, our individual territories are defenseless. If anything goes down, relay that information to me immediately."

"Check and check. And what is the third task you have for me?"

"I want you to skip ahead of Ryan's networking and find Kendall."

"Kendall", asked Frankie. "As in the witch, Kendall?"

"That's correct."

"Why her", asked Ryan.

"Well for one she is an ally of ours, is she not?"

"True, but she's never truly with us either", added Megan in reference to the fact that Kendall lives in shadow, as in we never know where she is or when we'll ever see her again.

"There must be a reason why you're asking me to find her, isn't there?"

"There is."

"She had a vision, didn't she", asked Ryan.

"She did. She contacted me earlier today, and I think she may be involved somehow. Find her, and send her to me."

"Check".

"Very good. Also, Guys, because I'm currently an active target, I will be off the grid in terms of communication outside of the E-Line, so any information, messages, concerns, anything at all goes through Andre, understand?"

"Of course", said Yea Seul.

"Can do", added Megan.

"No problem", added Frankie. Ryan simply snarled in agreement.

"Very good. And just, be safe, Guys, okay? I don't want to lose any more of you."

"We will", said Andre. "Just promise us you'll do the same."

"I promise. Take care, everyone." And with that, I hung up the phone and deactivated my shield. Though it was nice to hear from my friends again, I was still very much upset with everything that was going on.

"You okay", asked Raven as she walked up to me.

"I didn't keep you waiting too long did I?"

"I asked you first." I chuckle for a moment before answering.

"I'm fine. Just, kinda drained."

"That's understandable. And no, you didn't keep me for too long. We still have plenty of time."

"Time for what?" Raven, with the plastic bag containing the book she just bought in her hand, then turns to my left towards where the mall's hallway stopped with an exit door at the end.

"Come with me", she says simply as she motions her head to the exit and begins walking. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about the way she said that one little phrase, "come with me", sent shivers up my spine.

If you only knew. I'd follow you pretty much anywhere.