Chapter Five
Matt explored his new home. First he had headed to the clothing store to find new clothes. Aside from his Huntsboy clothes, he had his new black baggy jeans, a red short-sleeved shirt and a pair of black and white running shoes. Now that he had these new clothes, he needed to find a place to stay. While walking he saw a man in a orange mask. He looked really weird.
"Excuse me," said Matt, to the stranger. "I'm looking for Center Street, do you know where that's is?"
The man turned to face him.
"It's down that way," he said pointing. "Are you alone? Where are your parents?"
"I don't want to talk about it," he said.
"Aww," he said. "You ran away."
"Yes," said Matt.
"Well now I can't let a young boy wander the streets alone with nowhere to live," he said. "Come with me, you may stay at my home."
"Thank you," said Matt. "You're very kind."
Suddenly explosions sounded from behind them. When the smoke cleared a group of teens stood there.
"Don't you move Slade," said the boy with the spiky black hair.
"I'm minding my own business today," said Slade calmly. "Now leave me and my new friend alone Titans."
"Your new friend?" asked the green kid. "But he's just a kid."
Matt glared at the boy.
"But what is your business with this boy?" asked the girl with red hair.
"And why would he come to you?" asked the half robot?
Suddenly the dark creepy girl used some black energy and grabbed Matt. She placed him in a corner.
"This man is pure evil," she said. "Do not believe what he has told you."
She let him go and Matt ran off. The Titans attacked. Slade blocking and getting in a few good hits, but they seemed to have him beat. Until he zapped them all with electricity.
"You are no match for me," he said. "I have fought you enough to learn your fight patterns. You don't ever do anything new."
"Hiiya," screamed Huntsboy, dropkicking Slade. "How's this for new?"
"Who are you?" asked Slade.
Matt pulled out his staff.
"I'm called Huntsboy," he said. "Don't get on my bad side."
"Give me your best shot," said Slade. "I want to feel what power you have."
Matt took the staff and shot the green energy stuff at him. It hit Slade knocking the wind out of him.
"Wow," said Slade. "That was very powerful. Why not join me?"
"I'm through with playing the bad boy," said Huntsboy. "Now go."
Matt shot at him again, but missed. Slade ran off into the city.
"Wow you're really good," said the green boy. "Hey Robin, why not let him join?"
"I don't mind," said the spiky haired boy, named Robin.
"I'm not here to play the good boy either," said Huntsboy. "It looked as if you could use help, so I helped. I just want to put my past behind me and start fresh."
"Why," asked the robot.
"I don't want to talk about it," said Huntsboy. "Until next time."
He tapped the ground with his staff and teleported away, leaving a very confused team behind.
Back at the Teen Titan tower…"I don't know how a boy with power like that didn't get detected," said Robin.
"It's weird," said Cyborg. "But I get the feeling that it's the staff that has the power. He just knows how to work that power."
"Maybe," said Beast boy. "Naw never mind."
"What?" said Robin.
"Maybe the new guy is the boy Raven saved from Slade," said Beast boy.
"Run a complete scan of the city," said Robin.
"Wait didn't he say his name was Huntsboy?" said Raven. "Check on anyone with a code name like that."
"Good idea," said Robin. "Cyborg, run the scan on Huntsboy, Beast boy, you and Starfire go find any papers on the…"
He had looked at the screen to see images of past Huntsboy's and Huntsmen. Finally it showed a picture on the recent Huntsboy.
"Ok," said Robin. "Look up anything on Matthew Long."
"I will not fail you," said Starfire.
"Let's go," said Beast boy.
"Raven," said Robin. "We're going to find Matthew."
"Who were those people?" thought Matt. "And was that man actually evil?"
Matt had escaped from the Titans. He was walking down the street to a little restaurant.
"I'm hungry," he thought. "Looks like a good place to eat."
He walked in and sat down. A man came over and took his order. Then a girl with long brown hair walked in looking distressed. She looked over at him, and then walked to his table.
"Do you mind?" she asked.
"No," he said. "Go ahead sit down."
She sat down, nervously looking around.
"Are you ok?" asked Matt.
"Oh yes," she said, still looking around her like an animal looking for predators.
"You seem distressed," said Matt.
"Can you keep a secret?" she asked.
"Yeah sure," he said.
"Ok," she said. "My name's Isabelle. I ran away from home, because something happened that I want to forget."
"Me to," he said.
"Really?" she said.
"Yeah," said Matt. "My name's Matt."
"Nice to meet you Matt," she said. "My mom had a secret, but someone found out and murdered her right in front of me."
"That's horrible," said Matt. "I killed someone."
"What?" she freaked.
"The man I killed was evil," said Matt. "He turned me against my own parents, and tried to make me kill them. I got him, and then ran."
"Well then he got what he deserved," she said. "The truth is my mom was Catwoman. I'm Catgirl, or now the new Catwoman."
"I'm Huntsboy," he said. "Was formally part of the Huntsclan. I killed the Huntsman."
"The Huntsclan killed my mom," she whispered.
"I'm so sorry," said Matt.
"I know you had nothing to do with it," she said.
"No I didn't," said Matt. "Do you have a place to stay?"
"No not really," she said. "I've been using caves the whole two days I've been here."
"I have an apartment rented for me," said Matt. "I used my mom's money. You can stay with me if you want?"
"Thank you," she said.
They walked out of the restaurant only to come face to face with Robin and Raven.
"There he is," said Robin.
"Run," said Matt.
Isabelle and Matt ran as fast as they could, but Raven used her black energy and captured Matt.
"Run," he said. "I'll meet you later."
Isabelle ran down an ally way and disappeared.
"Why are you running?" asked Robin.
"Why can't you leave me alone?" snapped Matt. His time with the Huntsclan had strengthened his attitude.
"We want you to come back to our tower," said Robin. "We need to ask you a few questions."
"Why?" asked Matt, stubbornly.
"We need to keep records of everyone in the city," said Robin. "If you're living here we need you on record."
"Fine," said Matt. "But creepy, let me go."
Raven gave him a death stare but let him go. He got up and brushed himself off.
"Show me the way," he said.
Isabelle was in full costume now. She looked exactly like her mother. The tight leather, the cat-face mask, and the whip. She leaped from building to building. Finally she reached the harbor. She looked out at the Teen Titans Tower.
"I hate the water," she said to herself. "How do I get across to the tower?"