Chpt. XXIX: Titans

Richard gripped the steering wheel of his car tightly, pushing his foot down hard against the gas pedal. He could feel the vibrations of the car as he sped across the highway, burning the rubber of his wheels. He turned the wheel hard, skidding to an abrupt turn & causing the car to leave dark marks across the ground. He readjusted his car's gear & shifted it, then pressed on the gas once more. He drove around the mountainside, speeding as his mind raced along with his car.

Earlier that morning, after Richard had arrived back to Blüdhaven from Barbara's apartment back in Gotham, he came home to his apartment, hoping to finally squeeze in a nap after the resolution of the Dominators' invasion. He was surprised to find a note left on his bed that only read "find me - c". Richard panicked & began calling Cheyenne's cellphone. As it turns out, she had left her phone at the apartment. Richard panicked more, considering using the GPS software on his computer to somehow trace her through surveillance footage. The apartment building's security cameras showed Cheyenne leaving the building alone. It seemed strange. Why wouldn't she tell Richard where she was headed?

Richard had taken up a few leads during that morning, calling up the old foster family residence in hopes that she had paid them a visit in Gotham. As it turns out, the Fosters had moved out years ago, & their previous home was vacant. That didn't leave Richard with a lot of options. His next lead was Chinatown, the place where Rachel & Kori had grown up with Cheyenne after she left the orphanage. Richard returned to the place that he found her all those years ago, only to find the building still burnt down at the hands of John Constantine. Richard was lost, without a single lead, when he noticed something peculiar. The handwriting on the note that Cheyenne left was light, but the writing of the c & d were slightly darkened. Richard considered the meaning behind the letters, but then realized what they truly meant.

Richard glanced down at the note as he drove around the mountain in D.C., coming close towards the entrance of the caverns by the beach, where the Titans were hiding out for the duration of the invasion. It was strange that Cheyenne would come here, but if she was, it must've been for an important reason.

Richard slowed his car to a stop & shut off his ignition. He unbuckled his seatbelt & opened his car door, stepping out of the vehicle. He shut the door behind him, then began walking towards the caverns inside of the mountain. He bit his lip nervously, unsure of what he would find. Did someone discover what Cheyenne was? Did they discover her metahuman abilities, or tie her to the events back in Gotham during the invasion? Was the cave compromised? Richard shook the thoughts away, then continued to walk into the dark caverns.

Richard squinted as he noticed a light down the corridor. He sped up his pace, then brought his hands up to his mouth. "Cheyenne!" he calleed. "Are you here?"

Richard heard echoes of hisses & murmurs in response. He was nervous. He needed to be prepared. He flexed his arms, stretching his upper body. He felt his shoulders crack around his spine, anticipating any combatant he may encounter in the dark. He continued to move forward, towards the light, & he noticed the light was...the computer monitor. The computer was on. Somebody was in the database. He had to move fast.

Richard moved to sprint when suddenly lights came on all around the cavern, revealing several people around him in the cave. Richard instinctively brought his arms up to guard himself when he spotted Cheyenne across from him. Standing next to her was Rachel & Kori. Next to the two of them were Logan & Wally. Richard turned around to find Roy standing behind him, alongside Jaime & Conner. Richard turned back to find Evelyn & M'gann standing beside Kaldur'ahm & Zatanna. Each & every single one of them had a smile on their face.

"Gee, Dick," Logan called out to Richard. "You were ready to knock our asses out!"

Richard laughed nervously, dropping his arms to a relax stance. "Sorry about that."

Richard heard a bang come from behind the computer console. He turned to find Victor standing behind it suddenly, rubbing the top of his head. "Dammit," he grunted. He looked up to find Richard grinning over at him. He smiled. "Glad to you could make it, Boy Wonder."

Richard's mouth dropped open, then closed again. He stammered, looking for the right words to say, but nothing came out. He was baffled. He shook his head in disbelief, then shrugged. "Guys...what's going on?" Richard turned to face Cheyenne. "You had me worried."

Cheyenne smiled softly, bringing her hand up to her ear. She tucked a red lock of hair behind her ear, then sighed. "Okay. Who wants to break the news to him?"

Logan leaped up suddenly, throwing his arms in the air. "Me! Oh my god, me, I wanna say it!" Rachel glanced over at Logan & waved her hand, forcing Logan's arm down to the side with her mystic energy. He sighed, then rolled his eyes as he pouted. "Man," he whined.

Kori smiled, stepping up towards Richard. She had her fingers interlocked in front of her, as though she were keeping her hands together to contain her excitement. Kori let out a soft giggle, then cleared her throat. "As former members of the Titans unit, as well as new friends that have fought alongside us most recently, we have decided to revive our team." Kori glanced around the cave, smiling at each person around Richard. "After the wake of recent events, we have proven that the world is in much better hands when we stand united, not broken."

Richard was at a loss for words. He bit his lip, surveying the people around him. Everyone's smile showed a sense of approval among them. Richard couldn't believe it. "You...you want to start up the Titans again?" he asked. "After….everything that's happened?"

Kori nodded with a smile. She turned to Cheyenne, who walked over to her. Kori took Cheyenne's hand & reached for Richard's, holding the two hands in her own. She turned back to RIchard. "We finally have all of our loved ones back once again. We can continue to forge stronger bonds with one another," Kori said, turning towards the people behind Richard, "& perhaps even begin new blossoming friendships as well."

Cheyenne brought her hand up to Richard & smiled. "I know how much the team meant to you. I...I know what I did back in Gotham was reckless, & I'm not really good at containing my abilities once I use them, but I want to try. I want to get better, & I know that working alongside you & your team is going to help me again." Cheyenne then turned to Kori & glanced back at Rachel behind her, who smiled back. "Plus...I know I'm in good hands again."

Richard sighed. He bit his lip, turning towards Victor over by the computer console. "And you, big guy? You're...you're ready for this again?"

Victor nodded, smiling. "Yeah, man. I think it's about time we got the team back together. For real."

Richard smiled, scratching his head. He turned to face M'gann & Evelyn. He knew the archeress had a live back in Star City, & M'gann's life being in a whole other dimension. He was shocked that the two of them had come back to the Titans after everything. "You ladies willing to come back & fight with us?"

M'gann nodded. "Of course, Richard." She nodded towards Zatanna, who smiled at Richard. "Your friend has already offered to send me back to my Earth, where I am supposed to be imprisoned at the DEO."

Richard shook his head. "M'gann, you don't-"

"I do," M'gann said, cutting Richard off. "My friend J'onn is expecting me to still be there. I...I want to earn my friend's trust. To do so, I must continue my stay there. But once I am willing & able, I will return when you need me. I promise you."

Richard smiled, then turned to Evelyn. "You?" he asked.

Evelyn sighed, crossing her arms. "Sure," she said. "I'll think about coming back. I just...have unfinished business back home. I know you understand."

Richard nodded, waving the young girl off. He glanced at Kaldur'ahm, who held a weak smile on his face. He most likely knew that his king was missing, still. Richard bit his lip, then stepped towards the Atlantean. "I'm not asking for you to stay permanently," Richard called, "but you can stay as long as you like. You're a Titan, after all that you've done to help."

Kaldur's smile grew slightly bigger. He bowed his head towards Richard. "Thank you, my friend."

Richard turned back to face the rest of the group. Wally stepped forward, passing Logan. He held his hands up to his chest. He wore a big smile on his face. "Look, before you say anything, man, I know. I've gotta get better. I've gotta train more, & I will. I'll get better at doing the whole speedster thing. But I was really hoping-"

Richard waved the boy off, cutting him off. "Kid, be cool," he said. "You're in. Whenever you're ready."

Wally's eyes lit up. "Aw, thanks, man! I can't wait to tell Barry!"

Richard rolled his eyes at the young boy, then walked back to approach Kori & Cheyenne. "So...you guys are really ready to start the team up again, huh?" he asked.

"YES!" cried Logan from behind Kori & Cheyenne. The two turned back to see Logan glance at the two nervously. Logan turned to Conner beside him & nudged him. "Contain your excitement, dude," he said, playing off his outburst.

Conner glanced at Richard, then shrugged. "You heard Kermit. I'm ecstatic."

Richard let out a laugh, admiring the nonchalance in Conner's response. He hadn't realized how much he missed the Titans. He truly missed the antics that came with leading the team, despite everyone having their differences. They were still a family, & nobody could take that away from them again.

Richard smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. "So who's idea was this, then?" he turned to glance at Roy. "It was you, huh?"

Roy's eyes opened wide as he shrugged. "I, uh...came for moral support, & I also brought burgers." Roy nodded towards the computer console. "I set them down somewhere over there." Richard arched his eyebrow in confusion. Roy smiled softly, gesturing over to Rachel. "My best friend over there called me here, actually. She called everyone."

Richard turned to Rachel, who had stayed quiet. He walked over towards Rachel, who stood with her head held high. She, after all these years, had a sudden aura of strength about her. Her faint smile held such a sense of confidence. Her dark eyes glanced up at Richard, who had to look down at the short girl. "Rachel," he said softly, "you brought us together again?"

Rachel nodded, smiling. Logan approached Richard & Rachel & leaned his arm over Rachel's shoulder, then spoke. "You know, when we all got here, we thought we were setting up the Titans without you, so we made Rachel our new honorary team leader."

Richard scoffed in surprise, catching sight of Logan's snickering giggles. Jaime cleared his throat. "For the record, I called for you to be our leader still, Dick."

Richard shook his head, waving the young boy off. "No, it's all good," he said. Richard turned & smiled down at smiled at Rachel. "Raven is more than capable of leading this team." There was a soft murmur among the Titans around Richard. Rachel's eyes stayed traced on Richard, who shrugged. "Let's face it. I'm not like any of you. I'm just...Dick Grayson. I don't have superhuman strength, or healing abilities. I may very well not ever come back someday. It's...a terrible truth, but it's the truth." Richard turned to face the rest of the Titans. "I'm going to do the best that I can to continue to lead you, if you'll have me. The fact that you are all being this cooperative, after everything, it's...it's a miracle. I want this team to keep being strong, & this family to become even stronger, even when I'm not around."

The faces of the Titans around Richard grew solemn. They held their heads down, letting Richard's words sink into their hearts. His own heart ached at the sound off his words. He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't lead the Titans again. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't. He held too much baggage as a man who lead the team blindly before. Now, after the invasion, he couldn't help but bring his mind back to Gotham, empty without a Dark Knight. He may have to go back & continue being the Bat. He wasn't sure if he would. He was torn between his duty to Bruce & his desire to chase his own destiny, & the Titans had only made it worse.

Suddenly, Richard felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find Rachel's hand placed on him, her touch cold but familiar. She sighed, then shook her head. "We're not asking you to let me take over when you're dead. We're not going to let that happen, Dick. They just meant that, when you're busy living your own life, I can stick my head around & take care of your babies."

"I'm not a baby," Victor called from behind the computer console.

"You are when I kick your ass on the Xbox," Logan remarked.

The two began snarling at one another, causing the team to holler in laughter from the two's catty argument. Richard smiled as the Titans gathered to tease the two. Rachel brought her hand up to Richard's arm, tugging his shirt. He leaned down slightly to hear Rachel whisper softly. "This wasn't my idea, actually," she breathed.

Richard pulled away from Rachel, eyeing her for a moment. From the corner of his eye, he caught a sight of a Tim walking from a dark corner of the cave. He was focused on a small tablet in his hand. He was preoccupied, almost not noticing Richard's stare. Tim looked up at Richard suddenly & nodded. "Hey, Dick. Glad you could make it."

Richard walked towards the young boy. "Tim, you...you did this?"

Tim nodded with a soft smile. "Yeah, man." He brought his tablet up, revealing the screen to Richard. "I took a digital blueprint of the cave's interior, mapping out the layout. I'm gonna work on getting this cave up & running well enough to have the team operate out of here. I had Cyborg neurally connect to the console's mainframe, so he'll be able to help manage things if necessary."

Richard nodded, eyeing the boy. "I...guess that's good," he said softly. "But...what about what happened back at the Batcave?"

Tim bit his lip, nodding slowly. "I...haven't forgotten," he said. He brought the tablet down to the side & looked up at Richard. "The world needs the Titans just as much as the world needs Batman. That decision is still up to you, though. I set this team up in case you chose them."

Richard turned back to get a good look at the Titans once more. Logan & Victor were suddenly wrestling with one another. Jaime, Wally, & Roy were beside them cheering while Conner & Kaldur'ahm were off to the side, trying to ignore the mayhem. Zatanna & M'gann had began talking to Evelyn, while Rachel & Kori were watching Cheyenne utilize her telepathic abilities. The team had suddenly felt cohesive, more so than it ever did. Richard loved seeing everyone together like a family. It brought a warming comfort to his heart. It felt as though it was filling a hole in his chest that had been there for years. Richard wanted to smile, but...part of him still wondered if he really would ever be whole again. Was it the Bat he needed to become? Or was it the leader of the Titans?

Tim stepped beside Richard. "You're one of the best men I know, Dick. Whatever you decide...I know it's going to be the right call." Richard looked down at the young boy, who was smiling up at him. "I've got your back, no matter what you decide to do from here on out."

Richard nodded & smiled at Tim. He wrapped his arm around Tim & held him tight. He leaned close to the boy's ear. "I love you, man," Richard said softly, fighting back a tear. "You're a good brother."

"Hell yeah, I am," Tim replied, his words muffled in Richard's chest. The two laughed for a moment, then continued to watch the Titans bicker about nonsense, bringing Richard back into a realm of comfort, almost making his worries & doubts disappear from his mind.