Somewhere, far far away in a castle overlooking a valley, a man and his associate toiled relentlessly as they had for months, laboring over their secret project. Lightning crackles in the air as the mild spring storm whipped itself into a frenzy, for even nature itself trembled at the coming of the end. The wind howled and roared as the rain became a torrential downpour that threatened to drown those caught unawares. A single rod, affixed to the spire atop the tallest tower, creaked in protest in the wind. A cable ran from this rod and dropped down to a window many stories below and ran along a multitude of corridors before it reached a singular room filled to the brim with machinery. Machinery which the normal man would scratch his head and wonder about.

"Quickly, Golem, pull the lever!" A voice called out.

The assistant ran and pulled the largest lever in the room, triggering a small electrical current that magnetized both the cable and the roof-mounted rod. Lightning crackled overhead before an even larger bolt struck the rod and sent the full force of natures wrath racing down it and through the cable.

The electricity ran its course and blasted into a table, sending its occupant in full body convulsions.

"Again!"

Another current, another bolt.

"AGAIN!"

Another current, another bolt...and then...

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"Master Bear!" Golem did cry out. "It's working!"

"YES! LIVE! LIVE! LIIIIIVVVEEEEEE!"

...And that's how Foamy came back to life!

Howdy!

...

Okay, I have some explaining to do. This past year has been...rough. Like, really rough. I lost myself more than a few times and had to struggle to get my feet back under me. I lost one car and almost lost another and moved several times and am now struggling to find work. I've been in a dark place for months and didnt think there was any way to recover any time soon.

I've never been so happy to be proven wrong.

Now, for those of you that remember my last chapter, I had a rather large authors note attached to the beginning. You can forget that note, as I've changed things around considerably. Still, I promise you will all love what I have in mind. I won't disappoint you again.

Now...let the fun begin!

Today was…nice. Raven thought contentedly as she idly stroked Garfield's fur, the green cat purring happily in her lap. It was 7:09 p.m. and the Doom Patrol had just left a scant few minutes ago. The entire day had been spent with them doing…well, family things.

A trip to the park became a family outing for the seven of them where Raven learned that Robotman made amazing BBQ'd pulled pork and chicken (she had two helpings of the chicken, much to Garfield's aggravation) and where she had watched Negativeman and Garfield pull some crazy tricks with a frisbee (much to Emelia's delight). It was an outing where she got to talk with Elastigirl about parenting stuff (which was always a plus) and where she got to see more of Mento's softer and more relaxed side too. Raven knew she was barely seeing the tip of the iceberg with what she had with Emelia, so she quite eagerly took in any more knowledge Rita was willing to give up. The older woman was kind and relatively soft spoken (except when Garfield almost knocked over the grill; she yelled loud enough that nearby cops came to check out the noise) and she was more than happy to share even more with the younger and less experienced girl. Raven could practically feel (non-empathically) the happiness radiating off of her at the prospect of having both a daughter and a grand-daughter, just like she had the last time they had met. Her motherly affection towards Raven was more than welcome and the empath had been (secretly) tickled pink with calling her 'mom'.

Of course, this had led to a conversation where Raven had discovered that, because of the unspecified ( and likely unusual) way that they had acquired their powers, both Rita and Steve had been rendered sterile. They had still tried, of course, but had (obviously) never succeeded in having children. This was the primary reason that led to Garfield's adoption and his years with them. Raven had found herself saddened upon hearing their condition, though Rita waved it off without missing a beat. She had long since come to terms with it.

Unfortunately, this had left Raven to ponder if she too was sterile since she was a hybrid. It was a bothersome thought, so she decided to put a pin it until it became a relevant topic later down the road. About five, maybe ten years or so sounded good to her. While she loved Emelia to death, she wasn't ready to actually have a child yet.

Meanwhile, Garfield had absolutely loved the entire trip. He had talked Raven into using her powers to toss the frisbee and he'd been able to pull off all kinds of animal swapping combos to catch it, often racing Larry in his energy form to the frisbee. They were pretty much tied towards the end, though he suspected that Emmy had lost count of each and made up numbers instead. He had also gotten to see Raven sit around and talk to Rita, which was just amazing. Raven was not, and probably wouldn't ever be, a real big conversationalist (not that he minded), but there she was chatting away with his adopted mother like it was second nature. Granted, it was about kids and raising them, but hey, it still counted.

But probably the best part was seeing Mento snoozing away in a lawn chair Garfield had conveniently packed in his car. The old man was far more relaxed than Garfield had ever seen him before and it was astounding. He had come so very close to setting up at least a dozen pranks on the old man, but Raven glared at him each and every time until he relented. Garfield settled for taking pictures instead, knowing just how funny they would be on Christmas cards.

But all that was said and done. Now they were just relaxing in the common room. Robin and Starfire were sitting with Martin in the center of the couch watching a movie and Kid Devil was on the other end of the couch watching typing away on a cellphone he had apparently bought while they were out and about. Raven was in her usual spot on the couch, albeit with Garfield in cat form in her lap and Emelia snuggled up against her. The little girl was tuckered out. It amused Raven to no ends to have both her love and her adopted daughter snuggling her as she pondered the implications of sending Emelia to preschool. There weren't many reasons to not send her, other than her possibly becoming a target of a supervillain and thus endangering her classmates.

"Mommy, I'm hungry."

Raven looked from her book to the little girl, who was rubbing her stomach. She heard it growl a little and chuckled. "Well, what do you want for dinner?"

"I don't know."

Raven glanced down at Garfield. "What sounds good to you?"

Said boy shifted back to himself, his head in Raven's lap and his body sprawled out on the couch. He peered up at her thoughtfully.

"Hmm…" He said before shrugging. "I dunno, Rae. What do we have?"

Raven listed off the things they had in the kitchen, which was mostly vegetables, box dinners, and lunch meat for sandwiches.

"None of that really sounds good though…" Garfield sighed as he looked up the ceiling. Raven murmured her agreement and ran her fingers through his soft hair. She had really grown to enjoy doing that, though she had no idea why. She didn't really care what they had for dinner either, she wasn't a particularly picky eater.

"I could always prepare a Tamaranean feast!" Starfire offered happily. The horrified look on Robin's face made Kid Devil raise an eyebrow, but that was because he had no idea about the aliens cooking.

"That sounds nice, Star, but what if we went out and ate instead? That way we don't have a gazillion dishes to clean up tonight." Garfield suggested quickly, knowing that the doing dishes was the key to getting out of eating the horrendous atrocities Starfire called food. Starfire, while she loved cooking, did not like washing dishes. She had once told him that Earth dish soap smelled exactly like a carnivorous flower on Tamaran that lured prey in with a scent, then lashed out and entangled its prey to drag back for a slow and painful digestion. Said plants were known for eating straying Tamaranean children and pets and a few particularly large specimens had eating full grown adults before. Needless to say, Starfire did not like dish soap.

And Garfield had never had the heart to tell her that there were carnivorous plants on Earth too.

"If that is the case, perhaps we can go to the mall and find sustenance? There is a wide variety in the court of foods and the surrounding plaza has many choices as well!" Star suggested. Both Garfield and Raven nodded in agreement and Emelia hopped up out of her seat to find her shoes. Robin nudged Martin out of his lap so the boy could find his shoes too.

They were all up and almost out the door when Robin realized Kid Devil hadn't followed them. He paused and looked over his shoulder. "KD! You coming?"

The red boy held up his new phone and waved it. "Nah, I'm trying to get ahold of an old friend. I'll make a sandwich if I get hungry."

"Alright." Robin nodded. "If there's trouble we'll meet you there."

"Ten four, Rob." KD waved again as his temporary team leader exited. He went back to typing almost instantly, pausing every now and then to flex his fingers. He was beyond lucky that Robin had loaned him some money for this new phone and he fully intended to get in contact with everyone he once knew. He just had to get used to typing again.

"Aaaaannnnddd send." He said before he snapped the phone shut and leaned back with a sigh. He was really hoping he got the number right this time. His (ex?)girlfriends number was cut off, but his buddy Zachary could use magic, so he could hunt her down for KD to get in contact with her. If his luck held, she would listen to him about where he's been and what happened to him without flipping out.

Assuming he got ahold of Zach, that is.

Some time later, the four original Titans and their adopted children found themselves standing in various lines in the food court of the mall, which was only a little over an hour from closing. Robin and Martin were in line for Sbarro, Starfire was at Quiznos, and Raven had Emelia in line with her at the new burger store named Five Guys. She wasn't really a burger person, but Emmy had wanted to try it. Garfield had rolled his eyes and muttered something about Raven brushing her teeth before stomping away towards some vegetarian restaurant, which had made her snort in amusement. It was okay if he tasted like tofu but not okay if she tasted like meat? Ha, yeah right.

When Raven got to the front of the counter there was a rather excitable young man there, but if it was from meeting Raven or from the dinner rush she didn't know. Raven wound up ordering a regular burger with ketchup, mayo, lettuce and cheese and got a kids burger for Emelia made the same way. Almost as an afterthought she added one large vanilla shake to the order, which made Emelia very happy. A shake was like ice cream to her and like any kid, she loves sweets.

It didn't take as long to get their food as Raven thought, which was a pleasant surprise. And yet another pleasant surprise was this burger tasted far better than any of the other fast food burgers she had had over the years. The fries, while also tasty, practically filled the bottom half of the bag. She had no idea how she and Emelia were going to eat them all and their burgers and a large shake. She didn't exactly have the largest appetite to begin with-

Um, hellllooo? We do have a solution for that. Rude interjected.

I do? Raven asked, minutely confused.

Garfield. Duh.

Oh… Raven resisted the urge to facepalm. Thanks Rude, I wasn't thinking.

That's what I'm here for. Rude replied sarcastically.

"This salad better be worth the twelve bucks I paid for it." Garfield grumbled as he took a seat next to Raven, setting his tray down on the table with a large salad that didn't look particularly healthy. Raven raised an eyebrow at it as she munched on some fries before she slid the opening of the bag towards her boyfriend. He looked at her, then looked inside. His eyes widened when he saw how much was left in there.

"Dude! What the heck, did you order a jumbo fry or something?!"

Raven shook her head. "No. A normal came with mine and a small for Emelia. Go ahead and get some, we won't eat it all."

"Thanks Rae!" Gar said before grabbing a handful and chowing down. "Dude, these are great!"

"Mhm."

Soon enough they were joined by Robin, Starfire, and Martin. The six of them happily chowed down on their dinner, chatting about this and that until all that remained was crumbs.

"So Rob." Garfield said as he crumpled up the now empty fry bag. "What do we have planned for tomorrow?"

Robin sipped his nearly empty soda as he pondered this. "Other than patrol, nothing really. The day after we have a morning training session. In the days following that are noon and evening training sessions, but that's about it. Why, have something you need to do?"

"Need? Nah. Just wondering really." Garfield said as he propped his head on his hand.

"Friend Raven, I would like to request a trip to the shopping mall!" Starfire piped up.

Raven looked at her, then glanced around. Her response was slow and just a little sarcastic. "I don't know if you noticed…but we're already in the mall."

"No, I mean tomorrow!" Star said. "It has been some time since we have done the shopping and tomorrow would be the perfect time!"

Raven hesitated to answer as she mentally groaned. Azar, not another shopping trip where she tries to make me try on every pink thing in existence! It was bad enough when it was just me, but she does it to Emelia too! How can I get out of it this time?

"I'm sorry Starfire, but Garfield and I actually have some plans tomorrow…" Raven started to day before she was interrupted.

"Eh? No we don't." Garfield said, not catching the look Raven shot him. "We haven't planned anything in a while. I literally just told Rob that."

Starfire clapped her hands together. "Wonderful!"

Crap! How do I get out of this?! Raven thought, trying not to panic. She hated shopping with Starfire, even if she did love the girl like a sister. There's got to be some way-

"Look mommy! It's Miss Rose!"

Raven, not entirely sure if she was grateful for this particular distraction, looked up to find said white haired girl walking on the other side of the food court. She was typing away on her cell phone, looking kind of bored. Raven figured she just got off work since she was in her black uniform and carrying a little orange purse.

"Beast Boy…if I remember correctly, you said you were still friends with Rose, correct?"

Raven glanced at Starfire warily, seeing that she was also looking at the distant girl. But why was she asking about her?

"Uh…yeah." Garfield answered as he shot a wary glance of his own at Raven. "But I haven't seen her in a while."

"I understand." Star said as she slowly turned to look at Raven. "I also understand that you are completely and totally loyal to Raven, so there is no reason to be afraid of being around her for either of you."

Raven's heart sank into her stomach. Please don't tell me she's doing what I think she's doing.

Without warning Starfire got up from her seat and flew off.

Oh no… Raven got up and chased after her friend. No no no no no no no no no-

"JESUS FREAKING CHRIST! WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM?!"

Raven could have cried when she came up to Starfire and Rose, the latter girl holding her hand over her heart like it was trying to jump out of her chest. Judging from her wide eyed look, Starfire had given her quite the fright.

"I apologize, Rose. I did not mean to frighten you." Starfire said with a slight giggle.

"Well maybe someone should put some bells around your neck when you're flying." Rose grumbled as she shook her head. "Anyways, what's up? Haven't seen you guys in a while."

"Raven and I are coming here to the mall tomorrow to do some shopping. Would you like to accompany us?"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "What, like a girls day out?"

Star tilted her head slightly in response. "I am afraid that I do not understand. What is a girls day out?"

"You know, shopping for makeup, mani and pedi's, trying on clothes, spa stuff, whatever." Rose shrugged. "Girly stuff."

"We have done the shopping for clothes before, but not for makeup. I do not know what a mani or pedis is, nor what a spa is." Starfire said as she glanced back at Raven, who shrugged helplessly. She didn't know what those things were either, which wasn't saying much when she hardly knew anything about fashion to begin with.

"Well you're in luck. I'm actually off tomorrow, so we can have a girls day out tomorrow!" Rose grinned. "I'm gonna go ahead and say thanks for inviting me, I've actually never had a girls day out before."

"Why do I find that hard to believe?" Raven muttered, still wondering how she was going to get out of this. The girl was almost as social as Starfire, how could she not have done those things?

Rose, who barely heard what Raven said, shrugged haplessly. "Ah, well…I didn't exactly have a lot of friends growing up…soooooo…."

"Then it is settled! We will be having a girls day out tomorrow!" Starfire cried out happily.

"Wait, where's my say in this?" Raven asked with a frown.

"You already tried to get out of it once and failed, did you not?" Starfire said sweetly as she turned to her, smiling all the while. "Do you simply not wish to spend time with me? It is a saddening thought, for I think friend Rose could teach us quite a bit about normal Earth girl culture!"

"Not as much as you think." Rose muttered. Raven heard this and raised an eyebrow at her. What did she mean by that?

"Please, Raven? Neither of us have non-superhero female friends that we can see as frequently as we could Rose…" Starfire asked, doing her own version of the Face.

Raven sighed. She knew there was no getting out of it now, she might as well stop fighting it. "Alright Starfire, you win. We'll have a girls day out."

"Yes!" Both Rose and Star shouted and high fived. Raven sighed once more and turned back to the boys, who were looking at them from afar with raised eyebrows.

Azar help me… She mentally groaned as the three of them made their way to the table. Upon reaching it, she immediately took her seat as to insure that someone understood that Garfield wasn't hers anymore. Raven heard a snort and just barely managed to keep a smug smile off her face.

"Heya BB, how they hangin'?" Rose said as she sat down at the farthest end of the table (the only empty place).

"Doin' good, how 'bout you?"

"Mostly bored now that I got all this free time." She replied, eliciting an uncomfortable shift from the green boy. There was a little voice in the back of Raven's head that told her to slap the girl and she almost listened to it.

"Friend Rose has most graciously accepted my invitation to join Raven and I here in the mall tomorrow!" Starfire said happily. "We will be having a girls day out!"

Garfield glanced at Raven, who merely shook her head.

"Please, do tell us the order in which we will be doing things!"

The white haired girl hesitated, honestly unsure of how these actually pan out. "Um…well…we can start by coming here to the mall and checking out some shops. There's a thrift store that just opened on the other end that I've been told has a book section, so Raven might like to check that out while you and I look at clothes. Then we could go to actual clothes stores and try some stuff on. Uh…I dunno, pedicures and manicures after that?"

"What is this pedicure and manicure you speak of? I have read about them, but that is it."

"I'm not one hundred percent sure since I've never gotten either of them, but I think they trim your finger and toenails and paint them."

"That sounds most glorious!"

Raven glanced down at her fingernails, turning her hand to the side. She liked to think that she kept her nails in good condition, both on her hands and her feet. She had never painted them before, though. She didn't really see a reason why she should do it.

"We could go to the spa after that, if you want." Rose suggested, drawing Raven's attention back to the conversation.

Raven didn't catch whatever jubilant thing Starfire said, mostly because her thoughts turned inward once more. Her, go to a spa where a person makes you strip down to your underwear and then rubs your back and legs?

That sounds like a terrible idea. She thought.

I don't know…I'd let Garfield strip me down and rub on me. Desire chuckled.

Raven suppressed a groan, mentally berating herself for that line of thought crossing her mind.

"…and I guess after that, we can call it a day." Rose said with a smile as Raven resumed listening to the conversation.

"That sounds most wonderful!" Starfire said before she looked to Raven. "Does it not?"

"I'm ecstatic." The empath deadpanned.

"Awww, you just sound so excited, Rae-Rae." Rose said teasingly.

"Sarcasm: it's what's for dinner." Garfield and Robin both snickered after Raven said this. "And don't call me Rae-Rae."

"Judging from that hickey on your neck, Rae-Rae, I'd say you were what Beast Boy had for dinner last night." Rose shot back with a sly smile.

Garfield choked on his laughter and Raven turned the same shade as Starfire's hair.

"Beast Boy, you did the eating of Raven last night?" Starfire asked in confusion. "But if you did that, how is it that she is here before us?"

Before any other person could respond, a little voice spoke up.

"Daddy didn't eat mommy, he just bit her too hard while they were in the shower last night."

Both Raven and Garfield looked at Emelia in mortification (again!) as a mischievous grin formed on Rose's face.

"Aaaahhhh, getting freaky in the shower huh?" She chuckled. "Kinky! I've tried that before, but I wound up slipping right off his d-"

Raven bolted straight up. "NOPE! NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION!"

Portals opened up underneath the Titans and they dropped down into them, leaving a chuckling Rose sitting alone at the table.

"Tomorrow is going to be fun!"

Back at Titans Tower, Raven immediately rounded on Emelia.

"Emelia." She said, barely managing to keep the anger out of her voice. "That's the second time today you've butted into a conversation with something that other people don't need to know about! Corner!"

Emelia's eyes got big. "But-"

"Now!"

The little girl wilted and scurried off to the time out corner, leaving a fuming Raven with a shocked Beast Boy, Starfire, and Robin. Martin was just downright confused. The boy wonder and princess traded nervous glances before they made a hasty exit, child in their arms. They saw the agitated look on Raven's face and figured it would be safer to leave her alone.

Garfield, on the other hand, didn't move other than to cross his arms.

"Raven." He said firmly. "Was that necessary?"

She glared at him. "Garfield, it's one thing if she asks us about it, it's a whole other thing if she tells other people about it! It's none of their business what we do!"

"I know that Rae, but neither of us actually told Emmy not to tell anyone…"

"We shouldn't have to! She should know by now that-"

"Raven!" Garfield said loudly over her protesting. She quietened down instantly (read: reluctantly), but that was because Garfield rarely yelled. He sighed. "Look, we've only had her for a few months and she lived in a test tube before that. We both know there's a lot of things that she should know but doesn't because she didn't exactly grow up the right way. I understand that you're a private person, Rae, I really do. You've tossed me out of the tower enough and yelled at me enough to know just exactly how much of a private person you are. Emmy still doesn't know that, even if she is smarter than me. It's one thing to fuss if she refuses to listen, but she doesn't know not to talk about our more private moments. We can't yell at her about that because we never told her not to talk about it. Does that make sense?"

Raven stared at him for a good, long moment before she replied.

"That was very rational and calm thinking." She said slowly.

Garfield gave her an unsure smile. "Uh…thanks?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You don't care if people see marks in my neck at all, do you?"

He took a nervous step back. "What? Of course I do…"

There was another long and tense moment before Raven covered her face and sighed. "Gar, I don't mind if you mark me, but I do mind if people mock me for it. And Rose, of all people, is the last person I want mocking me."

"Heh, sorry babe." Garfield chuckled weakly. Raven rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like damned territorial males as she walked off, presumably to retrieve Emelia and instruct her to not speak of things that happened between her parents.

Garfield sighed in relief and turned around, fully intent on changing into his pjs and relaxing now that he had escaped Raven's wrath. He only a few feet before his pocket vibrated. Frowning slightly, he pulled out his phone.

So how mad is she? The text from Rose read.

You almost got me killed! :( He replied back, exaggerating just a little bit.

Roflmfao

Garfield scowled and snapped the phone shut, shoving it in his pocket. He no sooner did so than he got yet another message.

Don't worry BB, I'll send Rae Rae home all purty for ya tomorrow!

O.o?

You'll see :P

Garfield stared at the phone uneasily. Whatever Rose had in mind would not end well for him.

Elsewhere….

"Thaddius."

"Slade."

"How are the tests going?"

An audible sigh filled the air. "As it was the last time you came by."

"When I told you I expected results I did not mean failures."

A snarl. "And I told you I am not a geneticist, that I had no experience in the field!"

"The infamous Brother Blood can't do a little science?" Came the (expected) mocking response. "Why, you had all those students-"

"My experiments were of a different type of science! This is far more minute and precise, far more complex! You can't just throw something together and expect it to work! This-"

"What do you need?" Slade asked, growing annoyed.

Brother Blood paused. "What?"

"Its obvious to me that you need something more to ensure the success of this endeavor. You've had seventy four failures altogether, two successes that are not in our possession, and one that's health is questionable. I have spent more money in this venture than was anticipated and I want results." Slade's tone was low and dangerous. If it were anyone else, Brother Blood may have scoffed at them. But he knew just how dangerous his partner was and how true his accusations were.

Thaddius Blood turned away and began pacing the room they stood it, occasionally glancing out the sole window to the laboratory below where his cybernetically enhanced followers worked diligently to try to recreate subjects zero eleven and zero four. It was easier said than done, for creating an artificial being (or cloning said being) wasn't a precise science just yet. If he had only been able to get his hands on that Project Cadmus data...

"A geneticist. A geneticist skilled in DNA splicing. Preferably one off the grid, less likely for someone to come looking for him."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

Thaddius nodded and stepped to his desk and retrieved a folder from a drawer. "Any one of these men should do it."

Slade took the folder and began to flip through it. "No…No…Langstrom is watched by Batman too closely…wouldn't trust Frieze…no…no….."

Brother Blood waited quietly, for he knew which profile Slade had reached.

"Samuel Register, a zoology geneticist that was obsessed with bringing back extinct animal species through reverse evolution…" Slade glanced up at his cohort. "Not a name I am familiar with, yet here you are with a rather blank dossier on this man, set in the back like some sort of showcase. You want him."

Blood nodded. "Yes."

"What's the catch?"

"He's…missing?"

Slade stared at him.

"He was working in a project in Africa eleven years ago with Mark and Marie Logan, also geneticists, on a project that was, as was aforementioned, aiming to bring back extinct species. Their experiments were nothing but unsuccessful but…something happened out there."

"Something being…?"

"The Logan's died and something drove Register insane. His skin turned purple and mutated into horrible shapes. He was last seen running into the jungle, where he disappeared into the unknown."

"If you think I'm going on a scavenger hunt-"

Blood held up his hand and Slade paused. The cybernetic man stepped back over to his desk and opened the same drawer and pulled something out. Slade approached and saw that it was an old, beat up flip phone.

Wordlessly, Blood flipped it open and turned it on. Within minutes he was cycling through the main screen to the video selection. There was only one remaining.

The first sound that filled the room was a shriek of pain and terror. The video itself was shaky as the original owner fled for their life from some purple monstrosity that looked to be part cat part walrus part beetle. There was screaming in the background, so much screaming that even Slade felt uneasy. The owner fled from the beast and through various run down buildings until it reached a dark room with a single window. It started speaking in Afrikaans, telling the viewer to tell his family that he loved them, even his backstabbing brother.

Without warning there was an explosion and the phone was sent flying through the air. It hit something and dropped the ground as the sounds of growling, shrieking, and stone cracking blasted through the speakers. The owner was nowhere to be seen and the phone lay there on its side with half the screen covered by debris. Voices began to shout close by.

"BEAST BOY! YOU HAVE TO GO BIGGER!"

"I CAN'T, IT HURTS TOO MUCH!"

"YES YOU CAN! YOU-"

A roar sounded. "GAAAARFEEIIILLDDD! COME OUT HERE BOY!"

"Mento, please don't make me go back out there and fight him, please! He'll kill me!"

"What the hell did you do to piss this man off?! And why are his powers like yours?"

"I don't know! He says everything is my fault, but I barely remembered his face! I haven't seen him since before mom and dad died-"

Blood snapped the phone shut, cutting the video off. Slade, however, merely stared at him.

"I think something like that would have been all over the news. Why am I not recalling this?" He asked several moments later.

"It never made it public. Every villager involved in this, the ones that lived, had their memories wiped, or at least I'm guessing. One of my agents, the one who found this by accident, says no one remembers the incident at all. They just remember a stampede going through and killing people."

"Mento." Slade said aloud. "But why?"

"If I may venture a guess, to stop it from becoming known that a psychopath was targeting civilians just to get to a hero group that's renown for hitting the villains before civilians became involved."

"Assuming Register survived, where would he be?"

Blood shrugged. "That I don't know. I've never had any clue where they keep prisoners."

Slade was quiet for a long, long moment.

"I do believe I know just the brain to pick regarding this information." He said before turning and heading for the door. "Make another Nine, when I return we will attempt to activate this one. Hopefully, she will survive longer than the last six."