8.

Titans Tower

September 18

09:37 UTC

Within the main floor of Titan Tower, the sister team of the original black ops squadron made by the Justice League, the teenage offspring of the former sat quietly on the large couches situated around the large TV monitor used for mission coordinations and of course, entertainment.

The living area had not seen many changes over the years as far as decorations go. The large open windows still provided a view of Jump City, the harbor, beach, and endless blue sky. The occasional seagull could be seen flying by as the teens stared out of the clear panes as they waited for any word from their parents. Not even the TV was on, a waste according to the yellow windbreaker wearing Irey who was addicted to the early morning sports shows about her favorite teams.

As the young speedster occupied the center of the main couch, Zachary sat at the end on the right side, a cushion space between them. He currently stared down at the red carpet with his arms crossed and foot tapping gently. Where Irey wore one of her usual sporty outfits, the normally finely dressed magic user was dressed down in a simple black turtleneck and hair draped around his shoulders and not in a ponytail. His entire look screamed 'worry' as he did nothing to primp himself before being brought to the tower by his mother.

To Irey's left, again, one space over at the end of the couch, Carrie sat with wide eyes burning a hole into the carpet. Barely blinking, the youngest of the group looked as if she were the victim of something more traumatizing than being exposed by Joker Venom, Fear Toxin, and mental failsafe exercises. Her usual happy nature had taken a back seat for the time as did her usual clothing where she would hide as many weapons as she could, something her family had taught her to do as they were all Bats. With the tank top and yoga pants she wore, her mother had made sure she was not armed with anything.

Lorena, occupying the couch next to Carrie, sat with her arms crossed with her legs being the only thing moving. She tapped their toes as she waited with the skin tight gray swimsuit from her military academy shimmering in the light. Unlike the others, she was fresh from a training excersice at her academy and was only out due to her father. Her gaze switched between what happened out of the window and Carter who sat directly across from her. It was hard to tell her demeanor by the way she acted, although, there was a rumor between the others about her being harder on herself than anyone could anticipate.

Carter did not miss when Lorena looked at him. From his time in Atlantis, he knew how she would fight and always considered her as fierce combatant. There was not much the two did not know about the other as they would spend most of their childhood together. They were each other's battle partners when he trained in Atlantis and became close enough to be a couple. It did not last long as she wanted a military career like her father now had, and wanted to bring honor to her home as being related to Black Manta always irked her. Like the others, he was out of the usual clothing he normally wore as he actually wore a pair of cargo shorts and a muscle shirt. He was even forced to leave Fig, his pet polar bear home when he would normally bring him to the tower or other bases for his parent's compatriots.

In short, it was agony for the teens as every tick of the clock made them question why they were there even more. Every second was more unbearable then the last with something having to give, and that was the silence.

"Get up." Entering the room first, Wally quickly made his way around the couches to stand before the teens who did as they were told.

"Just can't wait, can you, West?" Zatanna asked.

"Has he ever waited?" M'gann followed.

"Not once in his life," Dick answered both women with the Martian rolling her eyes.

With the parents of the teens standing before the TV, all eyes were on them as they looked each of their children over. Nervousness covered each of the young adults as the look in their parent's eyes made it impossible to tell what they could be thinking at that moment. Even Carter could not tell what his mother or father were thinking as M'gann had shielded their minds from any mental readings.

A few moments passed with only silence between them. No one moved, no one made a peep. Then Dick began clapping. It was slow at first, then the others smiled at the group of dumbfounded teens.

"We have been waiting for you to do something like this," the current Batman said. "From the moment you began using what we have taught you and what abilities you were born with, we were waiting for it."

The teens glanced curiously at each other.

"From the time we found out you all wanted to follow in our footsteps," Zatanna took over, "we have been, very, very patiently waiting for you to go out on your own and show us what you were capable of. And we are proud of you."

"But don't go thinking you did a great job out there," Conner said. "You all nearly got killed. You need training."

"You need refinement," Artemis told them.

"You need guidance as a team," Kaldur informed.

"And that is why you are here."

Drawing the teen's attention, one of the Titan members entered the room. Needing no introduction, the green skinned hero, Garfield Logan, happily sped into the living area with a large smile on his face.

"Uncle Gar!" Carter called.

"Green Bean!" Garfield exclaimed as he hugged his nephew.

"Ha, Green Bean," Irey snickered with the others. "Never gets old."

Rolling his eyes, Carter finished the hug as his uncle stood beside the others.

"For the next month," Kadlur began, "you all will be training with the Titan team. Garfield will be in charge of your training with the other members giving each of you advice and testing what you have learned from time to time. This is not to be taken lightly as each of you will be treated as a new recruit and not as any of our offspring. No special treatment will be given."

"In short, after a suitable time, we will decide if you are fit to be a team. We only want the best from you, nothing less," Dick told them. "Still, if there are other reasons we feel you may not be suitable-"

"Other reasons?" Zachary asked.

"He means if you fail to take this seriously," Zatanna told her son.

"Exactly." Standing before his daughter, Dick looked her square in the eye. "Safety, yours and each other's is a top priority. This is no exception. You all have each other's backs, no one is alone. Remember this and you will succeed."

"Thanks, dad." Reaching out, Carrie hugged her father.

"Just be careful," Dick told his daughter. "This is your chance. You earned it."

With explanations and a start time discussed, the excited teens followed their future den father on a tour of the tower, even though they already were familiar with it. They were even promised a lunch in the city when finished with the other Titan members as a sort of celebration for their chance to follow in their parent's footsteps.

Heading for the Zeta platform, Conner mentally communicated with his wife as he walked past Dick. The two ignored the other as the successor of the first Superman pulled a device from his pocket meant to communicate with Sphere, a sentient machine now plugged into the entire computer system of the League.

"You know, one of these days, you really need to fill me in on why you two hate each other now," Wally told his childhood friend.

"One of these days," Dick told him.

Watching M'gann speak to Zatanna, Dick recalled when he lost two of his closest friends. In his defense, he is the Batman and needs to know everything as well as have a contingency plan for every possible outcome and situation. If knowledge was power, than it was power he used against himself in one of the worst ways possible when the Martian woman spotted him from the corner of her eye.

The look on M'gann's face said everything, and it was not pleasant.

"If looks could kill, dude." Slapping Dick's shoulder, Wally excused himself and headed after Artemis as she spoke to Kaldur.

"M'gann," Dick greeted.

"Grayson," the Martian woman responded as she headed past him to the Zeta platform.

"Are you and Conner going to be at Watch Tower today or-"

"We'll see."

"Can you at least say more than two words?"

Turning somewhat with a foot on the platform, M'gann stared daggers at the current Batman. "Yes I can. But after what you did, you're not worth more than that."

With the woman disappearing into the white light to join her husband, Dick found himself alone. It was not the first time he had been in an empty room. It was just after years in the vigilante game, he was finding his circle of friends getting smaller and smaller with each passing year.

Metropolis

September 18

17:56 UTC

Sitting alone in a quiet room, Alexander Luthor skimmed several papers earmarked for further study. Their folder lay on a dark colored desk with several dozen pictures strewn across even more sheets of paper. Leaning back, the young Luthor exhaled then rubbed his eyes. Computers ran diagnostics and displayed graphs with various numbers as they performed what they were designated for.

"Thirty over seventy-five. Still not enough. Need more…"

Sitting up, he typed a few numbers into his onscreen work and watched as the numbers drastically changed. Leaning forward, he templed his fingers and tapped them together and he placed his elbows on the desk. Narrowed eyes studied the results if he were able to produce them, making his cognitive gears turn that much more as he thought of what to do in order get said results.

Pulling out his cell phone, Alexander searched for a private number and pressed the 'call' icon. Almost immediately, there was an answer.

"You're on," he said. "Make it good. I need the sample as soon as you can get it."

Hanging up, Alexander looked at the data the computers displayed. Slamming his fist on the table, he leaned his head back and let out a sigh, rubbing his hands over his face as he did so.

"First test, passed," he groaned. "Second test, implemented. Third and fourth ready to begin."

Letting his arms fall to the sides, Alexander looked around the room for a moment then let out a dark laugh as he grinned widely. "It will all be mine. As it should."