I blended within the surge of students filing out of the main doors of the school. At some point, they started to fan out and go their separate ways, whether towards the crosswalk, to their friends, or to the bright yellow school buses parked by the curb.
Mom's minivan pulled up, and I hurried over and climbed inside to keep afterschool traffic flowing.
"How was school?" Mom said.
"Good." I said. I glanced at her. It was getting more and more difficult to find things to talk to her about. Whatever has been bothering her, it's still fresh in her mind even after a few days. We pulled up into the driveway. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and got out of the car. "I've really been working hard on my grades. I think you'll be really happy with my next report card."
"That's great." Mom unlocked the door and let us in.
I huffed and threw my backpack at the feet of the coat rack. "Mom."
Mom turned and faced me. Her eyes were glossed over and her face was expressionless. I saw bags under her eyes; was she getting enough sleep at night?
"What's going on, Mom? You've been acting really strangely for the past few days, and I'm starting to get worried." I said.
The haze in her eyes cleared, and a sudden ferocity awakened.
"Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing?" Mom said.
I reeled back. "Me? What are you talking about?"
"Where were you last night?"
My voice cut off. "Wh-Wh-What do you mean? I was here at home."
Mom hung the keys on the wall. "No, you weren't. You weren't here last night, the night before, or the night before that."
I stared at her blonde hair, my mouth opening and closing like a fish as I tried to search for the words.
"I... I..."
"First the fight at school, and now this..." Mom muttered. She turned to me. "I don't like this change that's been happening with you, Ciela. If something's been bothering you, there are plenty of people to talk to-"
"There's nothing wrong with me, Mom." I said. "Really, I'm completely fine. In fact, life has been nothing but improving this past while."
Mom gazed wearily at me; I was dancing around her question. Has she spent the last few nights waiting for me to come home? Have my disappearances to the Teen Titans world been at fault all this time? More importantly... did I honestly think I could keep something like this from my mother?
"I... I'm having a hard time believing you." Mom said. "I wish I could, but... I feel like you're not telling me the truth."
"I am!" I cried.
"Are you?"
I gulped again. I've never felt this fantastic about life before. I was telling the truth, but not the whole truth. How could I tell my mother I hop to a completely different world at nighttime? I tore my gaze away, not wanting to see the disappointment.
"I... I have homework I need to finish." I turned and picked up my backpack. I crept past her, refusing to meet her eyes, and scurried up the stairs. I closed the door behind me and leaned my head against the wood.
The alarms blared through the hallways and rooms, shooting adrenaline through my veins. My eyes popped open, my vision filled with red, and I sat up. I reached over, grabbed my holster belt, and scrambled out of bed. I clipped it on, grabbed my shoes, and ran to the door. I paused for a brief second to touch my Teen Titans necklace. My fingers tensed into a fist, and I pulled myself from my thoughts and raced down the hallway.
"Cyborg!" I called as he ran across the hallway intersection. He skidded to a stop and peeked down and at me. "Turn off the security system and open the main doors."
"You want me to allow whoever is out there in here?" Cyborg said.
"They're a friend. Now, go!" I shoved him in the direction of the living room and ran down the other way. As I gathered with my friends in the front room, the alarm system shut off, leaving us in the dim darkness. A pair of fists pounded powerfully against the main door. Robin pulled out his bo-staff, poised to attack whoever was on the other side, but I held an arm in front of him.
The main doors slid open, and a silhouette stumbled into the room. His footsteps slapped against the carpet like he was trudging through mud, and I saw strands of something hanging from his body. He stepped into the moonlight, revealing a familiar face.
"Aqualad?" Robin said. "What are you doing here so late?"
"We've got big trouble." Aqualad pulled off a piece of seaweed stuck to his thigh and tossed it over his shoulder. Sea water dripped from his body and hair.
"My favorite kind." Raven mumbled sleepily.
We led Aqualad to the living room. I glanced behind us at the trail of wet footprints Aqualad created (which I sure as heck wasn't going to clean). The six of us sat on the couch while Aqualad loaded something onto the computer and displayed it on the screen. It was a strange-looking building with a base that resembled the top half of a soccer ball with smaller dome-like buildings connected to it. It had a long neck stretching up until it met with the top of the structure, which looked like a brain to me.
"That looks like something from my nightmares." Beast Boy said.
"Congratulations, it's now a reality." Aqualad said. "I discovered this undersea fortress fifty miles from the coast. It was built by the H.I.V.E. Academy's former headmaster, Brother Blood." Aqualad pressed a button on a remote and displayed a picture of Brother Blood. "I don't suppose any of you know who he is?"
"Heck yeah, we do." Cyborg said. "That crazy old man went around brainwashing his students. He even tried to brainwash me. I haven't seen him since we destroyed his school."
"Well, you scared him off from your territory and right into mine. I've tried to stop him before, but his powers of manipulation block my telepathy and ruins any chance to call for backup. I managed to reach an agent doing some undercover work inside the H.I.V.E. and learn about what's going on in Blood's new place. He's building a massive Sonic Resonator that's capable of creating a tidal wave that could wipe out your city."
"Wait a minute!" Cyborg leaped from the couch. "That's my sonic cannon!"
"Correct. When you were in the H.I.V.E. and hacked into their database, they were back to hack into you as well and find your blueprints."
Cyborg, steaming like a bull, pounded his fists on the coffee table, leaving large indents. "That's it! I'm going down there and I'll wring the blueprints out of that scrawny neck of that little-!"
"Wait, Cyborg." Robin said. "We need to divide this work up. You need to go to the fortress and stop the Sonic Resonator while the rest of us find and capture Brother Blood."
"But-!"
"I know you have a score to settle, but you're the only one who can stop this weapon."
Cyborg grumbled, but he reluctantly complied.
I pressed my feet against the floor to keep myself from falling onto the controls. The T-Ship hung vertically in the air and over a hatch leading to the ocean. I tightened my seatbelt until the straps were securely wrapped my torso and chest. Robin, in the corner of my eye, pressed a button that released the T-Ship from the hanger claw holding it. We plunged into the water. Upon impact, I jerked forward, my seatbelt digging into my stomach. I wheezed and loosen the seatbelt.
I glanced outside the T-Ship and below us, where Aqualad and Beast Boy swam through the water and led the way. As we cruised deeper into the lower sea level, the light of the surface could no longer be seen. Our only sources of light were from the flashing buttons on our control panels and Beast Boy's anglerfish headlight.
"There!" Starfire cried, directly our attention forward. We passed over a sea cliff and saw the top dome of Brother Blood's surface. The dome had a hexagonal pattern, but it was the color of Cyborg's schematics instead of the yellow from H.I.V.E. Academy. I heard Cyborg mumble under his breath.
As we made our way to the base of the fortress, the sound of a metal gate opening filled the water. A large Mind Control Squid, another one of Brother Blood's creations, floated out of a cave and charged at us.
"Move!" I cried. I punched the turbo button and cranked the wheel. The T-Ship lurched, and the Mind Control Squid plowed into the cliffside. We zoomed away while Aqualad and Beast Boy tried to take care of the Squid. I glanced behind me and saw a thick cloud of ink and our two friends nowhere to be seen.
My radar beeped, and I looked and watched the red dot of the Squid get closer to us. A shadow covered my face, and I looked up at the gaping mouth of the Squid. It body slammed into the T-Ship. Its sharp beak punctured the glass of my pod, and I pushed back in my seat to avoid touching it. Commotion came from the other pods as the Squid's tentacles wrapped around the T-Ship and proceeded to strangle us like a boa constrictor. Its bottom beak sunk into the glass, creating two large holes that filled my pod with water. My legs were underwater in seconds.
I forced my body, frozen in panic, to move. I pulled out my energy pistols and smashed them together to create my bazooka sniper. I heard the crunching of metal as the T-Ship prepared to burst. I pulled the trigger, shooting a thick, red laser into the Mind Control Squid's mouth. It zoomed down its throat and exploded. The Squid jerked away, ripping the T-Ship to pieces. I felt my seatbelt snap off my body as I spiraled in the water. I clutched my bazooka to my chest as I wriggled right-side up. I watched my friends as we sank toward the bottom of the ocean. I needed to breathe, but I forced myself to disobey my body. The desire grew too strong and I accidentally snorted salt water. I mustered up a cry, and I watched the bubbles rise to the surface through my fading vision.
The water vibrated around me from the cry of an animal. The currents changed unnaturally, and I was pulled into a dark cave. I landed on top of something wet and slimy, but I paid no attention to it as I switched between gasping for breath and hacking up salt water. My nostrils burned as much as my lungs. I still clung to my bazooka. I crawled to my knees and tried to stop my body from shivering violently.
"Please don't tell me we're where I think we are." Raven said.
Cyborg turned on his flashlight. I finally made myself aware of our whereabouts. We sat on top of a large tongue. Pools of saliva hung from the roofs and corners of the mouth we were in- Beast Boy's mouth.
Our smooth cruising came to an abrupt stop, and Beast Boy's mouth opened. He spit us out onto the floor of the garage of the underwater H.I.V.E.'s fortress. My braid stuck to my neck, and I shuddered at the layer of saliva still coating my skin when I pried it off. I holstered my guns and sat up, running a hand under my nose to wipe away the snot dripping out.
"Don't ever do that again." Raven said, shaking saliva out of her cloak.
"Sorry for saving your lives." Beast Boy mumbled as he hoisted himself out of the water.
"Let's get to work, Team. Let's recap on our missions." Robin said.
"Beast Boy and I need to take out the force field that's protecting the Sonic Resonator." Aqualad said.
"Raven, Robin, and I will search for and capture Brother Blood, therefore creating a distraction to allow Cyborg and Ciela to infiltrate the core of the weapon and disassemble it." Starfire said.
"I thought you said only Cyborg should handle the resonator." I said.
"It's clear that Brother Blood has someone leaking information to him." Raven said. "We don't want to risk you crossing paths with him. Not only does his accomplice know about this world, they also know about you. Who knows what they may be telling Brother Blood?"
But if they know any about this episode, if I go with Cyborg, I'll definitely meet Brother Blood again.
The doors across the room opened, and a swarm of H.I.V.E. guards burst in. Pointing their guns at us, they fired a barrage of yellow lasers at us. Raven cast a shield over us.
"You have your assignments. Get moving!" Robin cried.
Raven opened a small hole in the shield for Aqualad and Beast Boy to dive back into the water. Cyborg and I ran to the wall, where there was an air vent. Cyborg unlocked and opened it, and we crawled inside.
"Do you think whoever told Brother Blood about last time is still hanging around him?" Cyborg said over his shoulder.
"That's one of the many things clogging my mind right now. Can we just focus on the mission?" I said. Cyborg remained silent.
The air vents groaned. The sides of the vents in front of me opened up and tilted to the side, dropping Cyborg into the room below.
"Cyborg!" I tried to jump after him, but the hatches closed, leaving me alone in the dark. I took a deep breath and continued forward.
He'll be fine. They'll be fine.
I turned down a path and saw a light peeking through the slits of an air vent at the end. I crawled over and peeked through. A large, glowing blue structure shined in the room- the Sonic Resonator. I pulled out an energy pistol, using the light of the Resonator to see, I shot off the bolts fastening the vent into the wall. I shifted onto my bottom and kicked my feet into the vent door, launching it off its hinges and onto the ground.
I crawled out of the air vent and stood up. I was on a balcony that wrapped around the room. Above the ground floor was a single walkway that led up to the Sonic Resonator.
On the walkway, I saw Cyborg and Brother Blood. There was a countdown on the Sonic Resonator, and before either of us could act, it reached zero. The giant cannon lit up. It activated, launching a cannon ray into the large hole in the roof. Cyborg fell to his knees, his hands clamped over his ears. Whatever noise this things was emitting, it only affected Cyborg because of his connection to it. The cannon ray intensified and so did Cyborg's screams, piercing into my heart. He climbed to his feet and shot at Blood, but he sidestepped. He reached up and pulled off his headmaster robes, revealing a maroon, silver, and black ninja outfit that allowed him to move more freely.
As they engaged in battle, I gripped the balcony banister. Carefully, I climbed onto the other side of it and glanced below me. At least twenty feet was between me and the floor below. I sucked in a deep breath and jumped. The ground quickly approached. My feet smacked against the ground, and gravity pulled me forward into a somersault. I rolled onto my back with an uncomfortable grunt.
The things I do for this show.
Cyborg's screams filled my ears again. I climbed to my feet and saw him on his knees, coursing with red energy that Brother Blood was shooting into him. I sprinted towards Brother Blood and launched my fist into his cheek. Caught off guard, he stumbled back with a grunt. Cyborg collapsed on the ground.
I focused on Brother Blood, who straightened his posture and rubbed his jaw.
"Impressive, Miss Ciela. Although I was told your skills could use some... improving." Brother Blood said.
"Tell me who's been leaking all this information to you. You shouldn't know about all this!" I said.
"Know about what? The future? A guaranteed way to succeed? Why in the world would I give something like that up?"
"It doesn't belong to someone like you. If you reveal too much, then you'll unleash chaos in my world and yours. You might think you have the power to change events, but the people who created you have the power to change them back. No matter what you do, people like me will be there to stop you."
Brother Blood smirked. "She told me you were a sappy preacher."
I smiled back. "I'm also good at distracting others. Cyborg, now!"
At the base of the Sonic Resonator, Cyborg placed his cannon into the core. A burst of energy launched him back, and the Resonator sparked and launched another cannon ray into the hole before powering down. It began to short-circuit and explode. Chunks of the ceiling cracked off and fell to the ground.
Brother Blood shoved me aside to clear a path to the exit. I lost my footing and fell to the ground.
"You may have won this time around, Cyborg, but you Titans have another thing coming." Blood hissed. "There are plenty more tricks up my sleeves. Until we meet again."
Brother Blood sprinted down the hall. Cyborg jogged to my side and helped me up. We ran down the hallways. Water pooled at our feet and quickly rose, turning our running into sloshing stumbles. We gathered with the other Titans.
"Any ideas on how to get out of here?" Robin said.
"Hello? Escape route right here?" Beast Boy stuck his tongue out with a big grin.
"Any better plans?" Raven said.
"Come on, let's get going." Robin said.
I stood at the front of the living room and in front of the giant window. I carefully adjusted my towel-wrapped hair sitting on top of my head. I felt slightly better knowing I didn't reek of Beast Boy's breath.
"Everything okay?" Cyborg stood and my side.
"What do you think?" I folded my arms and looked out towards the city. "I'm stuck in a rut while this mysterious spoiler, whoever they are, is going around and fraternizing with the enemy. Every season comes with its own problems, here and in my world."
"Anything we can do to help?"
I looked at Cyborg and smiled. "I've only recently learned how to fight my own battles, and I still have a ways to go. If I need your help, I know you and the others will be there. Until then, just keep doing what you're doing."
"Well..." Cyborg seemed uneasy from my request. "All right, if you say so."
Cyborg left to search the fridge. I looked back to the city's horizon.
I knew how to fight battles, but I feared the one I might face tomorrow.