Chapter Two: Just One More Peaceful Day...
Cold, windy and white was that Sunday. The surface world of every expanse in Jump City, from the streets and sidewalks wrapping around tall buildings to the very frozen banks that once washed against Titan's Tower; was covered in wintry silence. A good foot of snow had fallen that night, coating everything in powdery crystal. It was early in the morning and a brass sun, as brilliant as an emperor's medallion, rose high only to be snuffed out by thick, rolling gray clouds. Icicles, as long as a full grown human and almost as wide, hung down in rows along the horizontal undersides on the top of Titan's Tower, rock hard ice spears, dripping down the sides incessantly like stalactites. It was this constant dripping that awakened Starfire; who was curious as to what the strange noise was. This was the worst winter, or she would call it the best because she didn't have to shovel a driveway or parking space (unlike the millions of other citizens), since she had been on earth. It was a brand new January and they had celebrated a fun, bright New Years.
She flew outside after dressing quickly, having dropped out from her window a little clumsily (it was early, after all, and heart-piercingly frigid), and passed over the roof. How she especially remembered sitting up there on the edge, ah yes right there! Next to the helicopter landing space, that was where she and Robin had talked late into the night, gazing at the moon and discussing everything from the effects of sparkling cider combined with cookies in Beast Boy's hyper-active nervous system to future plans for the Titans and the city. She remembered him moving closer to her, taking her warm hand in his…but that was all. She blinked out of her fond memory, closing her brilliant emerald eyes for just a moment, the little furrow of her brow appearing for a moment between petite triangular alien eyebrows; then opened them. She flew out in front of their home; gazing at the teeth-like icicles that had formed under the edges of the roof. Even in the grip of winter, the Tower was imposing and assuring. She saw it as a sign of unity; and smiled slightly at its gold and steel-blue beauty.
"Hey Starfire! C'mon and get some 'jacks while they're hot!" Called Cyborg's rough voice in the wind. She looked; he was peering out of a front window at her, his arms full of stacks of pancakes that blew a cloud of hot, delicious smelling steam out the window towards her. She shivered slightly, took one sniff, then flew back in to sit and eat with the rest of them.
They sat around the kitchen table and stuffed themselves on Cyborg's chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes; Beast Boy topping his stack of a dozen pancakes off with a gushing amber river of maple syrup. As far away from him as possible, probably not intentionally now but only by instinct, sat Raven, floating mystically in thin air, indigo cloak hanging down her back and over her pale shoulders, finishing off only a few bites she had taken. Robin was talking to Cyborg, as he and Starfire sat down, about the new video game coming out, another generic 'blow as much stuff up as possible then blow it up again for the hell of it' game. Starfire found these games very uninteresting (most of the time) and excessively violent, and she was about to suggest getting the new 'Adventures of Snowtail and the Bunny Scouts' instead but Cyborg had placed a heaping amount of pancakes on her plate and blocked her view of speaking to them. She started on the blueberry ones and complimented him numerous times on how good they were; tasting like the Zorka-Berry G'nohkals (waffles) her Galfore used to make when she was a child. Cyborg smiled proudly, from Starfire's comments and Beast Boy's guzzling noises as he shoved them down his throat (using two forks to 'row' them in) like a starving Tasmanian devil. Raven took one cool glance at him, raised a brow, then muttered something like "Nice breakfast…" and sauntered off.
She wanted to get her morning meditations in and headed back to her room, her place of peace and sanctuary, walking now, and disappeared around the corner with a wave of her blue cloak. Beast Boy gulped the last of his pancakes down with fresh-squeezed orange juice and took Raven's barely-touched plate. He had been training strangely hard lately; the last bank robbery (compliments of Mumbo's gem-nabbing mischief) only a week ago had been a chore for him when usually one or two Titans were enough for the maniacal magician. Even now as he sat cross-legged on his chair he poked the tiny, just hardly noticeable belly he'd formed. He knew he'd been slacking off ever since Slade was toasted and Brother Blood decapitated and thrown into prison.
"You know BB, if you're so concerned about putting on weight maybe you should stop stuffin' your face with other people's leftovers!" Cyborg exclaimed with a look of disgust on his strained face.
"Hey, you're the one who made so many!" The purple clad, green-skinned changeling snapped back. Even now they were both smiling at each other; but Starfire and Robin felt the comical bitterness in their tones, as only truly good friends could do. Beast Boy then added, with a toothy grin that slid up the sides of his face so that his eyes were squished into lima-bean shapes: "Besides, it would be a shame for all of your hard work to go to waste." He rubbed the back of his head innocently; as was a habit of his when he knew he was feeling bashful.
Cyborg rolled his human eye and Robin chuckled a little. Starfire was happily feasting on her pancakes; drowning them in butter, syrup, and…ketchup. She dumped the red liquid on with a look of pure amusement on her jovial face.
"Uh, Starfire, you don't-" Cyborg started but Robin swiped his hand over his friend's mouth and they both just stared in silence. Starfire peeped up over her mountain of flapjacks and smiled.
"Is there something with which I can help to pass?" The Tamaranian princess asked in her somewhat muddled English; holding up the ketchup bottle. Robin smiled gently.
"No, no, we're fine."
"Its cool, Star."
The Boy Wonder and the Mechanical Human waved their hands in unison as they replied and then started to clean off the table, scooping up plates and cups. Beast Boy had finished at last and started to help them as well; transmogrifying into a green spider monkey (with the personalized canine tooth poking up from his bottom lip) and leaping from table, to counter, to sink and back. Even when doing simple tasks they were one.
The lazy day was turning out to be just like any other: hard training, break for lunch, more training if someone thought it was necessary, then relaxing. They had evolved into quite the chain of friends, without any chinks, their loyalties to each other set in stone. Ever since they had first inhabited the tower and claimed it their own; they had stuck together and walked golden paths as well as undertaking storms that would have blown others away. The Titan's were a rare gem; a gift to their world that stood over the city like a watchful elder, who came to pick up the city and mend it like a parent when a child falls and scraps his knees, they fought away everyone's monsters hiding in the closet waiting to come out in the terror of the night. With their care, the people of Jump City could look out bright windows and live without fear. They learned for themselves and from each other with every adventure. As they readied themselves for training; each team member got his or herself ready, switching from their teenage states of mind into a more serious stage.
Raven levitated, cross-legged in the lavender darkness of her room, encased in her own space and time as she explored the depths of her complex mind. Her arms were bent out and index fingers and thumbs touching, meditating and repeating her words that were her creed softly to herself: 'Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos.' Her hood was thrown back and her cloak hung over her shoulders and down her back, giving her the look of a phantom. The statues and murals on her walls and shelves stared out with lifeless eyes, guarding the many thick books and oddities in jars and cases. The entire room was riddled with mysterious objects.
She was the levelheaded one of her group, maintaining the balances that sometimes got out of whack when things became too hyper. Without her strong, calculating will, common sense and her blunt but always reasonable suggestions, she kept order in check. Her sometimes emotionless and sarcastic nature could make the others back off at times, especially when Beast Boy's antics got her fuming (and a little scary), but she was still someone they could relate and talk to. Strangers would think that she was not as just and full of valor as the rest of her teammates from her introvert nature, but her conscience was steadfastly directed down the path of righteousness, whether her pale, relaxed face shrouded by the shadow of a cloak omitted it or not. She was not afraid of many things her friends got chills from; things that lurked in the vast darkness she called a friend. She headed out of her room, her spirit restored and ready.
Cyborg tended to the last of his prosthetics; his battery charged and computerized limbs glowing a healthy electronic blue. He sat on a chair in his room, checking each of his functions in the little screen on his arm. After a few seconds he snapped the covering back over the screen and looked around. His room was full of mechanical gear and digital devices meant for the aid in his mechanics. There was also a bed and a few posters, and some papers cluttered near his super computer. Cyborg was the one with the most responsibility in the group; the stable pillar that provided support for everyone else. He looked out for his friends like a big brother; he took it as his duty. Sure, his temper got in the way of that at times, but his fusion between man and metal could get him irritable in situations (his friends were always delicate about this; and when he was down there was Beast Boy to cheer him up). He was constantly learning how to better control his gifts to sway in his direction. With every new experience on the battlefield, with every given inspiration and with his burning spirit, Cyborg became a stronger, better warrior. He lifted his head, dark skin contrasting against the luminescent blue, white and gray, and stepped into the hall.
Starfire waltzed out of the kitchen and towards the gym, her red hair swaying from side to side as she walked. She went from door to door knocking and asking if anyone needed help (except Raven's room, she had learned not to bother Raven when she was meditating in solitude a long time ago) but her teammates declared that they were okay and she should just head to the gym. Starfire was always trying to help; such was her caring heart. If any of her friends looked like they were having trouble with anything, she was there in a flash to assist them. Good-natured and somewhat naïve, she always kept the Titan's spirits up with her positive outlook on things. She never gave up on anything; even when others labeled things as impossible.
Beast Boy's room was a wreck and a half. It looked as if someone had shoved all of his things into an atomic bomb and set it off, sending the most random of objects in the most random of places. In fact, the Changeling wasn't sure if he had a floor anymore. He stood in front of a mirror, putting on his own little show as he morphed into different animals, a moth, a tiger, a rhino, a gorilla, a chinchilla, a cobra, an eagle, on and on creating a slideshow of earth's creatures. He changed back into his normal form and did different stupid poses, acting like a muscleman in the circus and flexing his muscles in a most comical way, raising his eyebrows and grinning, mocking those buff airheads he saw every so often in the city. He stopped, scratched his green hair making it stand up even more, and kicked aside a comic book with his shoe, looking for something he hadn't seen in a long time (besides his carpet). He stopped and grabbed his chin, eyes looking up into thin air, thinking. Beast Boy was the comic relief of the group; when things looked too grim he always had something to say about it that had no relevance to the situation at all. Even with his class-clown attitude he would always bring a light into the room. His quick morphing powers gave him the ability to distract and fluster enemies, and when he really got his fire going he could do serious damage as bigger, more terrible animals. Beast Boy could cheer just about anyone up, maybe not with his corny jokes but more of his goofy spirit. He was willing to try anything at least once and could follow orders from Robin without questioning.
He transformed into a rat and scuttled underneath his bed, ducking under or crawling over all sorts of junk (including a few things of Cyborg's that he had 'borrowed' and 'lost'). At last he reached what he wanted, turned into a fat green wombat and pulled it out from under his bed with his teeth. He examined a silver heart-shaped box that opened up into a mirror, sitting on his bed and staring into its reflective surface, seeing more than just his green face. He remembered deep blue eyes, long bright hair, and an unforgettable smile. Beast Boy, deep inside his cool-guy outer shell of cockiness and at times a show-off, was sensitive when things could penetrate deep in his heart. He put the box back under his bed and stretched; looking out the window. A few seagulls flew by rather crankily and into the distance, warming up their wings in the sun. He headed out of his room to the gym.
Robin was already in the training room, thinking over what programs they should try today. He sat in front of the control panel browsing over various options. What had they been slacking on lately? He ran his fingers through his midnight hair as he thought about it. The gym was not lit up yet and he sat in almost complete darkness with the exception of a column of light pouring down from above. He ignored the pressing shadows and clicked on a few programs to select them. Over this past year no severely bad criminals had emerged; only a robbery from Mumbo, a disturbance at a park involving Cardiac, and a foiled kidnapping of one of the City officials from Johnny Rancid. Robin still had thoughts of his old nemesis back in his mind, never forgetting that stormy night when he almost killed himself thinking Slade was alive. These thoughts churned like sand in the deep ocean. He had convinced himself that Slade was gone, obliterated from this dimension.
It was Robin's characteristic to turn a single worry over and over again; being the watchful leader of the Titans. He was brave, acrobatic, strong, clever, and equipped with a vast amount of different weapons. Everything the Dark Knight had taught him about fighting crime and making decisions was part of his very being. Robin was whom the team relied on when they did not know where to turn. He was the pathfinder in dark places when all other lights faded. Over the years with the Titans he had grown into a very compassionate and determined leader; loved by all. He had withstood his place well on the front line of the Team.
"Robin…" Came a soft, concerned voice from behind him. He turned to see Starfire standing in the doorway with one hand fiddling with the emerald gem on her collarbone armor, hand holding her elbow. The hall behind her was lit up, and her form was silhouetted against the brightness. "Is something the matter? You are sitting alone in the dark again."
Robin shook his head. "I'm okay, really. Just trying to figure out what we need to work on. We should prepare ourselves better in case…" But then he stopped. A little window flashed on the computer screen, red.
"In case of what?" The Tamaranian asked inquisitively. She walked over to his side, her hands clasped together. Robin turned and looked up at her through the dark eyes of his mask.
"Star, you ever get the feeling that something bad is going to happen, even though there's no real reason?" Robin asked; wondering whether the question was pointless since she was so optimistic, even when fog clouded all of their vision. At times he wished he could not be so grim about things. Starfire looked at him, concerned, and suddenly remembered when he had disappeared and became Red X.
"When you disappeared and became Red X, I can recall myself worrying that you would be hurt, wherever you had gone to. I tried to tell myself that you were strong and would not let yourself be harmed, but something in my head told me you needed help or you would be hurt." She replied gently. Robin nodded; and a feeling of dread struck him as he clicked open the message. The face of Bumble Bee appeared on the large computer monitor, with Aqualad and Speedy in the background. Their faces were all full of distress and the twins Mas and Menos were dashing back and forth in a colorful blur, babbling furiously in Spanish.
"Robin!"
"Bumble Bee? What's wrong?" Robin bid her to speak. She was about to say something, but yells in the background from her team caused her to spin around, flail her arms and yell at the top of her lungs:
"Will you two shut up already? I'm trying to tell Robin!"
The twins screeched to a stop and were silent in an instant, Mas whispering up to his brother on his shoulders: "Muy Bien, estupido! Ella esta verdaderamente enojada con nosotros ahora…" Speedy shushed him and Bumble Bee returned to the screen, eyes glittering.
"Sorry, everything's in an uproar right now. We've just received news that Brother Blood escaped the Northern Steel City Penitentiary this morning with the help of another prisoner." Bumble Bee announced gravely, her face very serious and lips drawn tight.
"He broke out of Helena prison? That place is supposed to be extremely difficult to breach." Robin returned. Starfire spun on her heel as Raven entered the room; soon followed by Beast Boy and Cyborg.
"What's goin' on?" Cyborg asked, looking at Bumble Bee's gaunt face.
"I am afraid that Brother Blood has been illegally liberated from jail." Starfire told him sadly.
The news hit Cyborg almost like someone had physically struck him. He balled his hands into fists and gritted his teeth, furrowing his brow in a fearsome glare. This was a personal toil he thought he would no longer have to deal with, or at least not for a long time. Raven glanced at him at of the corner of her large eyes from the protective folds of her tunic, sensing the contempt in his mind. Bumble Bee's expression frowned with apprehension for him; and Robin turned to face him.
"Oh man…" Beast Boy muttered and looked at the ground and then at Cyborg.
"What? Why are ya'll looking at me like that?" The Android snapped; his glowering becoming fiercer.
"He is your arch foe…" Starfire said quietly.
"Police are looking around but they can't find a single clue." Bumble Bee started again. "We'd like your help trying to locate them."
"Them?" Raven interrupted somberly, raising a brow. "Who else has escaped?"
"Another prisoner that aided him. They created some sort of energy field that protected them from gunfire, and, well, if I know Brother Blood, he probably used his exact memory to lead the way out." Bumble Bee said, then added. "Apparently they broke into his cell by accident and the two formed a plan to break out while the guards tried to tear the door down."
"Damn it. Hold on just a minute, Bumble Bee…" Robin cursed as another emergency message appeared. He read an automated news report that Ternion, the abomination forgery between Plasmus, Cinderblock and Overload, had escaped and was tearing apart downtown near the docks. The police weren't making very good progress.
"I'm really sorry, but you're going have to go on without us. Ternion is rampaging downtown…" Robin told her. The other Titans held their breath as Cyborg groaned. Quickly, Robin put in: "We'll help you out as soon as we're finished."
Beast Boy groaned this time and Raven shot him a death glare.
"Okay. I'm out." Bumble Bee said, nodding and barely disguising her disappointment. The screen went blank and Robin stood up.
"Titans, we're heading to the docks to stop Ternion. Lets move." He ordered. The others exited the gym promptly and Robin stopped Cyborg, putting his hand on his friend's convex, blue shoulder.
"You going to be okay?" He asked.
"I'll be fine. I just can't believe he got out. Just when I was beginning to get used to things being normal again…" Cyborg replied slightly dismal. His expression hearkened and he pressed the switch on his arm compartment to summon the T-car. "Let's kick butt."
Robin gave him an assuring smile and dashed ahead, yellow and black cape trailing behind him. Cyborg stood for just a brief second in the dark, with nothing but his blue aura glowing in the blackness.