Overseer47: Well, it's down to the moment of truth: should I kill Beast Boy or not?
Beast Boy: NOT!
Overseer: Tell you what, we'll make a deal.
BB: What kind of deal?
Overseer: you eat this three-inch slab of steak and we'll call it even.
BB: Can I have it in tofu?
Overseer: no.
BB: Crap.
Overseer: (smiling) While Beast Boy's making himself sick; you can have fun reading this!
(Vomiting sounds off camera)
Overseer: If you throw it up, it doesn't count! Raven! Roll film!
Raven: whatever.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, this chapter has been sliced in half! Sorry for the shortness!
Prelude to Insanity; Chapter 3: Really? Well, Okay...
Ryan Anders, a.k.a. Ryand'r, prince of Tamaran, sped through the night in his Supra. As buildings and streetlamps flew by, Ryan reflected on the events of the night so far. He had come to Jump City all the way from The City of Angels, got his burger spit in, hooked up with his little sister, whom he hadn't seen in nearly ten years, stopped a bank robbery turned attempted murder, and was now on his way to a tower he had never heard of, on a harbor he didn't know existed, in a city he had never seen before in his life... to tell his story to a bunch of spandex-clad superheroes.
"Yup, you've really screwed yourself this time," he smirked. "Hmm, 337 Harbor Way... ah, here it is," he said, pulling up to an.... "An abandoned parking structure," he remarked sarcastically, rechecking the address as he drove into the building. "Yeah, this is it. Hmm? What's this?" He looked further down the paper. "'Passcode: 87135' I wonder what... " He flipped on his high beams and looked around him. There was a keypad over on the far wall. Ryan got out of his car, leaving the door open, and walked over to the wall. He looked briefly at the panel and then punched in the code. The mechanism emitted a short series of mechanical whirrs and clicks and the whole wall fell away, revealing a ramp heading down through a dimly lit tunnel.
"'Drive through'," he read off the paper. He jumped back into his car, started the motor, and headed through the opening. The door shut behind him.
Meanwhile, the Titans had arrived at the scene of the crime, a jewelry store heist.
"Man, why does Jump City have all the early bird criminals?" Beast Boy complained.
Starfire was practically beside herself with anxiety to get back to the tower, "Hurry up, all of you! We must return as hastily as possible!"
"Dude, Star, what's your prob? I mean, I'm sleepy too, but sheesh..."
Cyborg elbowed Beast Boy in the stomach. "I'm sure you'd be just like that if you had a brother you hadn't seen for ten years waiting for YOU," he reprimanded as Beast Boy doubled up.
"Whatever, let's just get this over with, I need my beauty sleep," he gasped.
"Titans, go!" Robin shouted, leaping through the shattered window of the jewelry shop. The other three followed suit, with Starfire flying through, as they confronted the villain in the rear of the shop.
"Ahah!" shouted the thief, clutching his bag of precious stones. "I thought you might show up! Allow me to introduce myself," he cried, turning around. He wore a formal suit and swirling cloak; both completely white, with a red 'B' hastily scrawled on a piece of lined paper stapled to his suit coat. A brown paper bag with a single blacked-out eyehole covered his head. "I am the evil DR. BAD-MAN!"
While the Titans facevaulted, he jumped out the window and got away entirely.
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Back at the tower, Ryan had reached the end of the tunnel, the Titan's garage. Needless to say, he was impressed.
"Dang, whoever spends their time here is a true gearhead", he thought as he got out of his car, slamming the door behind him.
"Damn! Nice bike," he couldn't help but say aloud as he spied Robin's motorcycle. "I wonder if they'd let me take it for a spin..."
Unfortunately for Ryan, Raven had remained at the tower meditating while the others stopped Edward James' bank robbery, and was thus unaware of Ryan's being Starfire's brother, or even his existing. That was, until she saw him on the security monitor. She had just completed her morning meditation session on the roof of the tower and was heading to the kitchen to get some herbal tea when she spotted him moving around the garage and eying Robin's motorcycle. It would seem her morning tea would have to be postponed. She considered getting the others, but it was too early for them to be up anyway. Besides, he didn't look so tough...
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"Aiighghhhhh!!!" Robin screamed at the sky. "I don't believe it! Beaten by our own anime...like...ness...whatever you call it!"
"Hey, having eyes that span half of your head gives you amazing peripheral vision," Cyborg commented.
"Dude, let's just go. I need some sleep."
"Yes! Let us depart quickly, my brother awaits!"
"Oh yeah, I forgot. Let's go then."
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Ryan finally tore himself away from Robin's motorcycle and headed for the elevator. To his surprise, it was on its way down even before he pressed the button. A suspicious look crossed his face, and he stepped back from the elevator. He did not, however, assume a fighting stance and remained loose against his better judgment. After all, he was among friends, wasn't he? Who could it possibly be who would attack him in a superhero headquarters? He stood and waited for the doors to open. He watched the lighted numbers above the door tick down: six... five... four... three... two... G... B1.
The doors opened. It was like something out of a low budget horror movie: A black wind erupted from the elevator, a girl in a cloak and hood, her hair down over her face, her arms outstretched was inside. Ryan just stood there as the wind blew around him, the gale of energy scattering tools and parts everywhere.
"And who might you be?" he asked, as if it were just a routine greeting.
"You know, I was about to ask you the same thing," said Raven, raising her head and staring straight at him.
"I asked first."
"I don't have time for this," Raven said impatiently, throwing up her hands. "Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" Black energy flew from her fingertips, forming a large clawed hand, which grabbed Ryan and pinned him to the wall.
"Huh, that's interesting," Ryan said nonchalantly, looking at the giant arm holding him against the wall. "You really don't know how to treat your guests, do you, Raven?"
"Guest?"
Ryan appeared cool and controlled, but in his mind, he knew that the energy that bound him was incredibly strong; even he couldn't break it with physical strength alone, even though he was a Tamaranian. He decided to try a different tactic.
"Aren't you going to ask me how I know your name?"
"You're... not from around here, are you? I'm a Titan. Everyone knows my name."
"Hm, I didn't know. Forgive me Captain Ego. Sheesh... And yes, I am your guest. Here, maybe this'll convince you." He tossed the paper slip Cyborg gave him across the room. Raven bent down and picked up the paper, looking it over carefully.
"I don't think this quite qualifies as an invitation. Where did you get this?" Raven asked with an air of suspicion.
Ryan, taking advantage of her momentary distraction, tensed his body and shattered the energy bonding. Raven felt her spell dissipate, and she quickly looked up from the paper.
"What? Where did he go? No one's THAT fast."Raven tried to turn around, but was stopped by the hand that appeared suddenly on her shoulder. Ryan moved his hand up to her head.
"Sorry."
He flicked a point near the base of her skull, close to the brain stem. Raven passed out instantly. He picked up her limp body and walked over to the elevator. A slotted control panel with a computer monitor was on the wall. A message played repeatedly across the screen.
"Please swipe card." He read aloud. "Crap." He glanced over Cyborg's paper, searching for instructions. 'Elevator override passcode: 1111111' read the paper.
"I'll admit, it's the last thing I would've guessed," he mumbled to himself, punching in the number on the panel. The elevator descended and the doors slid open silently.
He stepped inside and hit the 'G' button. The doors slid shut and there was a humming sound as the elevator went up one floor to the ground level. The doors slid open, revealing a windowless room with a large mosaic of a T set into the floor. It appeared to be a lobby of sorts. There was a door, which led outside, some fake plants, chairs, and not much else.
'Hmm, maybe I got the wrong floor...' Ryan thought. He pressed the button for floor 2.
This floor, like the previous one, was a single room. This one had no doors, and was filled with various weights and exercise machines. 'Crap.'Third floor. Mats covered the walls and floor, punching bags dangled form the ceiling, and an exotic variety of hand-to-hand weapons sat on racks on the sides. 'Training room.'Fourth floor. Another single room, pictures, maps, blueprints, and newspaper clippings covered the walls. Several tables, laid out with masks, machine parts, tools, cameras, and papers stood in the center of the room. A solitary lightbulb dangled from the ceiling, throwing an eerie light across the ceiling and walls. 'Obsessive-compulsive stalker room?' The fifth floor was just a lookout, with huge windows, a couple chairs and a couch, and a great view. 'Okay sixth floor, you're my last hope, unless these heroes live underground.'He hit the button. The doors opened, revealing the Titan's main living area. Ryan's first thought was that this floor was bigger than the previous ones. Much bigger. A few stairs led down from the elevator door to the kitchen area, then another small staircase led down to the living room. The living room contained a gigantic computer monitor, which doubled as a video communicator, as well as a big screen TV. In front of the massive television lay an equally huge couch, big enough for seven, perhaps even eight people, as well as several individual chairs. Two doors on opposite sides of the room led off to the Titan's private quarters, and a third staircase led to the roof. 'Finally.' He picked up Raven and walked down the stairs into the large room and set her down on the couch. He then went up in the kitchen area and looked in the fridge...
...and a chair hit him in the back of the head.
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Meanwhile, the other Titans had just reached the basement floor garage in the T-car, and were now getting in to the elevator to head up to the sixth floor.
"Hey," said Robin, "I just remembered. I left my key card in the Slade room. Mind if we stop and get it?"
"No problem."
"Hmm..."
"What?"
"I dunno why, but it feels like I forgot something else. But I can't quite figure out what it could be... Oh well, it's probably nothing... "
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"AIIIGH! Son of a friggin' BITCH! WHAT is your PROBLEM!?" Ryan clutched the back of his head and screamed at Raven while desperately trying to avoid the rest of the flying energy-encased objects she was flinging at him. "For fuck's sake! I'm one of yours! I'm one of the GOOD GUYS! Hey! Are you even listening to me?"
"I don't know what you did back there, but you made it pretty clear you WEREN'T one of the good guys."
"You trapped me in a giant HAND and pinned me to a wall! What, was I supposed to do, go limp and play dead or something?! I tried to tell you then and I'm telling you now! I'M-NOT-YOUR-ENEMY! He accentuated each word of his last sentence by smashing four of the flying objects to pieces with his bare fists. Ryan's control was deteriorating at an amazing rate and it was showing in his... er... choice of words, as he tossed various expletives about like verbal confetti. "Listen, your friends will be back in a few freaking minutes, then we can sort this whole fucking thing out. Until then... will you please STOP THROWING SHIT AT ME?!!"
Surprisingly enough, Raven stopped. And then pulled back her fist. And jumped at him.
"Oh shit."
WHOP.
And then the elevator doors slid open and the Titans stepped out as Ryan went flying over their heads.
"Hey!" Robin shouted as Raven plowed into Ryan again, her fists glowing black. "What's going on here?!"
"I'll tell you what's going on! Your psychotic girlfriend is trying to kill me, that's what!" Ryan snapped as he dodged and blocked blows from Raven's magically charged fists.
"Hey!" Said Starfire, "I am not... oh!" she blushed. "He means Raven! But she is not..."
"Raven, stop! He's Starfire's brother!" Robin yelled. Raven stopped in mid-swing and stared at Robin. Then she slowly turned to look at Ryan.
"I... uhh... heh... yeah... sort of... " she stumbled, her cheeks burning red under her hood.
BAM.
Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "There goes the oven."
Ryan sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "That's okay, you had no way of knowing."
"Oh yeah, that's what I forgot! I forgot to tell Raven that Ryan was coming!" Robin exclaimed suddenly.
Ryan and Raven both glared daggers at him.
Starfire ran up to Ryan and began her thorough examination of her brother. "Brother! Are you undamaged? And Raven, how could you hit him?! You..."
"Really, it's okay Kori, she didn't know who I was."
"So, you forgive her?"
"Yes, that was implied previously."
"So! Brother Ryand'r! What bring you to this marvelous planet, and how did you find me?" Starfire asked, reverting back to her normal cheerful self in an instant.
"Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing. See, I've been here since I left."
"What?! Surely you jest, brother!"
"Wait, since you left where?" Robin interrupted.
"Ah, this is the long story I referred to earlier. You should probably sit down, this could take awhile."
"Oh, wonderful," Raven said sarcastically.
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Coming soon: The Whole Story!
Okay, at this point, the next chapter may not come for a bit. Because, first off, I have to wait for Legend Maker's clearance to use Savior in the sequel to Hero's Story. Then, depending on whether or not I get permission, I've got to type up one of two possible storylines, and make a half billion revisions and corrections and with any luck, the end product will be the life story of Ryand'r of Tamaran! It was originally intended as part of this chapter, but that would mean I would be waiting to post this until LM's response came. The chapter was going to be pretty long anyway, so I can afford to split it like this. Personally, I think it works better this way anyhow.
Have faith! The next chapter will come!
