Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans
" " - speech
' ' - thought
( ) author's notes
= - scene change
== - dreamscape
- telepathy
The Titan
Chapter 2
Cowritten by Nate and Felicia
"Who is Slade?" Sunfire asked looking over at Robin, the perplexed look seemed oddly alien on his face.
"In a nutshell, he's a madman who with aspirations of world domination," Cyborg said before Robin could leap into a lengthy and graphic explanation.
"I see," he turned back to look across the bay to the city. 'Such a peaceful place, it would make sense to have a darker side.'
Robin, having had his train of thought derailed, simply looked back at the water's edge, the waves lapping lightly at the shore. It was a clue, Slade was about to move, but what was that move. He had to figure this out, but it could have been a rouse, a fake to throw them off. Feeling someone's eyes on him, he turned and saw Sunfire staring at him, a grave look on his face.
"What do you want?" he asked as he forced himself to calm.
"Don't think too hard about it Robin," the alien said as his own gaze averted to the ocean. "If you stay calm and think clearly, the answer will come quicker."
"I don't like people looking in my mind without permission."
"I didn't have to, it was written on your face," and with that Sunfire turned and headed up the small path to the tower. 'These humans are so easy to read, it's frightening.'
About a week later, on the roof of the tower, Sunfire levitated in the moonlight, his hands in his lap, palms up, thumbs touching above them. His long hair swished and swirled this way and that in the wind, some of it curling around in front of him. Eyes closed, and head tilted slightly upward, he extended his mind outward, feeling everything in the tower and nearby city. He was so absorbed in his mental activity that he didn't notice the door open, but that didn't matter, he knew who it was.
"What is it Raven?" he asked as he ceased his actions and dropped his feet to the ground and looked at her.
"Would you mind some company while meditating?" she asked somewhat hesitantly.
"Not at all," he smiled and turned back around, levitating again.
She walked up next to him and levitated as well, beginning her usual chant. It was bothering her, though, that she had thought the roof was empty, having not sensed him there. That was why she had asked if he wanted company, she had to think of a good excuse. But, now, here he was, with a heavy golden aura floating around him that was plainly visible to her. Cracking an eye open, she saw him glance at her, then quickly look forward.
"The stars are much more visible here than in the city," he said while looking straight up.
"Do you have to talk?" she asked.
"Just trying to lighten the mood," he turned upside down and looked at her. "It's just so quiet out here."
"I like quiet," Raven turned to glare at him.
"So do I, but this kind of quiet just doesn't feel right," he stayed where he was, hair waving slightly in the wind. "If you'd rather be alone, I could..."
"No, no, it's alright."
"Starfire seems weary of me being around," he flipped back over, looking towards the city. "Yet, when I offered to leave, she seemed adamant about keeping me here. Do you know why?"
"Maybe she's having mixed feelings," Raven suggested, knowing damn well why Star was worried about having him here, or letting him go on his own.
He cocked his head slightly, why would she be having mixed feelings, could he have done something to her that he couldn't remember? It was possible, maybe he knew her before he lost his memory. All his memories were very foggy, and it felt as if half his mind was completely missing. One thing that he could remember did stand out; pain, intense, mind-bending pain.
Just as his thoughts were beginning to line up, and make sense, an alarm sounded. Two pairs of feet touched the ground at the same time and they both ran towards the door. Sunfire reached it first and threw it open, moving aside automatically to allow Raven access first. The dark sorceress noticed this only briefly before she was in the door and down the stairs when he followed her.
They arrived in the common room a few seconds later, and there, on the screen, was a map. A flashing dot labeled where the problem was, but no one else was there. Then Robin's picture appeared on the screen next to the map.
"Raven, Sunfire, we've gone ahead, meet us at the location specified," he said then was gone.
Sunfire looked down at Raven, then back at the map, thinking of the best way to get there. His eyes opened with an idea. He reached out and placed a hand on Raven's shoulder, and the next instant they were gone.
Cinderblock was just finishing grinding Cyborg into the ground when a flash caught his attention. Turning he raised his arms to deflect two of Starfire's starbolts, then two more golden spheres struck his arms, driving him to the ground. The cement behemoth moved his arms to see a black-enclosed light post slam him in the face, knocking him back.
"Good you two could make it," Robin said from a little ways away, preparing to throw his birdarangs.
The two projectiles collided with Cinderblock, forcing him further back. He stood up again and charged Robin, his arms swinging wildly, completely unfazed by Starfire's attempts to strike him. Robin leapt up, out of Cinderblock's path, but the monster was prepared for this and grabbed him out of the air. The Titans' leader struggled, but wasn't able to avoid being thrown to the ground. Before he could get away, a golden starbolt struck the concrete villian's back, causing him to fall to his knees, on Robin's legs. The boy wonder yelled in pain as Cinderblock stood up, turning to look at Sunfire.
"Sorry, better than being dead though," he said in a bit of an aloof manner. "Raven, get Robin out of the way."
"Right," she said and thrust her hand out, grasping Robin with her telekinesis and pulling him to safety. The black aura around Robin helped to dull the pain and stop the bleeding from his lower legs.
Sunfire, now free from that little obstacle, began to power up a starbolt, but, instead of launching it, he closed his hand around it, the light from it radiating between his fingers. Moving swiftly he rushed to Cinderblock's front and brought his hand forward, into Cinderblock's stomach. When he pulled his hand away, there was a large imprint in the cement, and several cracks spidering from it on all sides.
"Hm, I thought it'd go all the way through," Sunfire smirked as he rose from the ground. "Must've not put enough power into it."
He continued to rise as Cinderblock looked horrified at the wound given him by the alien. This was what Cinderblock was meant to do, run amok and keep the Titans busy, and he was doing a fairly good job. But that touch was all Sunfire needed to see right through this.
"Let's see what's going through that mind of yours," he thrust his hand forward again, this time it landed flat against Cinderblock's face.
Flashes of the monster's memory flooded the alien's mind; flashes of the blond girl from a few days ago, of the one called Slade, and of his orders to Cinderblock. Once the download was complete, Sunfire began to power up another starbolt, but this one was different; it was much smaller, and golden/orange lightening radiated around it.
"Thank you," he whispered, "now have a SOLAR FLARE!"
The ball streaked from his hand and struck his opponent in the head, going right through it and continuing to the ground behind him. A massive cloud of dust followed the explosion, which engulf Sunfire and Cinderblock from the others views. When it settled, Cinderblock was on the ground, with the alien weapon standing atop him. His head whipped around and looked towards the edge of the city, a smile resting on his face. Calmly he stepped off the behemoth and began walking down a street towards the desert.
"Stop," he heard Raven say calmly.
"What?" he turned and saw her standing there, the others around her.
Robin was being supported by Starfire, his legs, due to extensive training, were not crushed, but did carry many gashes that would have been bleeding, had Raven not patched them. Beast Boy, in the form of an elephant, was pulling Cyborg out of the hole that Cinderblock pounded him into, and Raven was glaring at him. He could somewhat understand their feelings, but he had more pressing matters.
"What did you think you were doing?" she asked, looking back at the fallen creature, the hole in his head still smoking slightly. "You didn't have to kill him."
"It was a necessary exercise," the alien stated, calmly, too calmly for the Titans' liking.
"No, it wasn't, we could have simply incapacitated him and taken him back to jail."
"Only to have him break out again," he countered her deepening glare with a small smile and slightly feral look in his eyes. "I've seen it all Raven, through his eyes and yours."
Raven gasped slightly, as did Starfire and Beast Boy; Robin and Cyborg were unconscious.
"Now, if you'll excuse, I have business to take care of," he turned back around and started walking.
"And what business is that?"
"Cinderblock is a decoy, Slade is after Terra," he stated simply.
"Terra?" Beast Boy asked, then made a quick decision. "I'm going with you."
"No, you're not Beast Boy, and neither is Sunfire," Raven said with an angry tone to her voice.
"If would like to stop me, you're welcome to try," the enhanced alien stopped walking again and turned around. "But we are wasting time, and...where did Starfire go?"
"I cannot allow you to leave," he heard her behind him. "You have taken life, and must now pass judgement."
"Get out of my way," he snapped, turning back and aiming a starbolt, "or you will join him."
Starfire looked at him with a look of fear, but she kept the starbolt she had summoned leveled on him. A thousand thoughts rushed through her mind. Cinderblock was villian, a relentless one, what he did was for the best, was it not? Now he was offering to save friend Terra, why would someone like him do that? It wasn't making sense, could he not be who she thought? Was she fed false information by her comrades on Tamaran?
"Very well," she conceded, letting the starbolt vanish from her hand, "but please, promise to bring back Terra."
"I will," he dropped his own starbolt and began walking again. As he passed her, he whispered, "you have my word, Princess."
Starfire perked up and turned around, but he was gone, vanished from sight. But, he had just been there, then she remembered just who he was, and he seemed to remember who she was. That was good, since he had been programmed to obey members of the royal family, but it was also bad because he was starting to remember.
"I just hope if he finds Slade, he refrains from killing him," Raven quipped.
"Do not worry, Raven, I am sure he will do just as he said and bring Terra back," Starfire strode over to Robin and lifted him up, preparing to go home.
Sunfire grumbled lightly as he appeared outside a cave, lit up a starbolt, and looked inside. It seemed he was too late, Terra was already gone. Examining the ground he saw others had already been here, a great number of others. Something was off here, though, if Terra had gone with Slade, then her footprints would not have been so greatly spaced.
'She left before he got here,' he stood up and looked this way and that for any sign of the girl returning. 'She is still out there, somewhere, but where?'
A large pillar of stone erupting from over a hill, not more than a mile away, was more than enough of a clue as to her location. The starbolt vanished and he took to the air and disappeared again. He knew as well as Slade did that Terra's emotional disposition was enough to drive her to the darkness. But there was something wrong with Terra's mind, when he had initially scanned it, having had brief contact with it when she hit him with the rock, he saw something that could possibly hurt Slade's supposed operation.
"NO!" Terra screamed backing away from the man in black.
"Come now Terra, there is no avoiding what you are," Slade said as he took another step forward, forcing Terra against the rock wall behind her.
"Unfortunately, there are plenty of ways," the both looked up as a golden starbolt struck the ground at Slade's feet.
Sunfire landed in front of Terra, creating, for all purposes, an impassible barrier. He stood there with his hand was raised, fingers outstretched, and a small golden ball forming at the tips of each. The balls flashed outward, streaking around Slade and turning upwards, where they exploded into many, many smaller balls. Each one hit one of Slade's robots and disappeared, not appearing to have done anything.
"Wait for it," he said as unnoticed blue strings of energy left the sides of his boots and slithered into the ground.
A few seconds later vines began to grow from the seams and joints of every robot, covering them in foliage. Each one, one by one, fell the ground, completely useless. Slade's one eye opened wide, as did Terra's.
"Now, it's just us," Sunfire smirked as a starbolt formed in his hand, which then clenched around it. "You have two choices, either leave, or I do to you what I did to Cinderblock."
"This isn't over," Slade hissed and then seemed to melt into the shadows.
In a second he was gone, and all that was left was his army of droids, the plants growing from them had begun to take root in the ground. The Tamaranian cast his hand out, and easily lifted one and levitated it over to him. Examining the plant's growth and progress in the low light.
"It's called a frila weed, quite a remarkable plant," he said brushing his hand against one of the leaves. "I picked it up on the planet Technus, a planet ruled entirely by an A.I. program created centuries ago."
He stood and held out a flower to the blonde girl, who took it and looked at the pink and yellow petals.
"These plants have actually evolved to survive on oil and other lubricants until it can find suitable soil."
"Thank you," Terra replied somewhat meekly, placing the flower in her hair. "I guess I owe you one."
"Call it even," he smiled a little and took a step back, after realizing just how close he was to the teen. "Terra, do you know how Robin knew you couldn't fully control your powers?"
"How do you know about that?"
"I didn't lose all my memories when that rock hit me, Terra," he pointed to his head before continuing, "and, as a matter of fact, I have some of yours swimming around in here as well."
Terra would have taken a step back, but she was already pressing herself against the aforementioned rock wall. How could he, how could he have her memories, and, more importantly, what was he going to do with those memories?
"How?" was the first thing she said.
"The boulder was connected to you through your powers, thus a direct link to your mind," he explained quickly. "Terra, you cannot keep running, you must learn to control your powers."
"I know, but what if they don't want me back?" she looked at the ground, knowing exactly what he was leading up to.
"They do, Terra, especially Beast Boy, he misses you the most," he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I can help you control them, if you'll let me."
"You would?" she looked up, and had what looked to be the beginnings of a tear in her eye.
He nodded and pulled her gently away from the wall, guiding her through the small valley. The frila weed was beginning to grow quite rapidly now, covering the dirt floor in vines that arched up from the soil and back in, like an ancient sea monster. As they walked, the vines moved out of the way of their feet, leaving the path where it was. Sunfire's hand on her shoulder felt so comforting and reassuring that Terra couldn't think of anything other than him at the moment.
"I'll show you the Tamaranian way to control your powers," he said as he led her up the small hill. "It involves the use of unbridled emotions that will bring out that true depths of your powers."
"Um...ok," she said, wanting to sound confident, but the thought of having any more power than she did was a little scary.
They walked to Terra's cave and Sunfire sat outside while she went inside. He placed his hand on the ground and when he removed it, a small plant was already growing. It was situations like this that he was glad to be gifted with ecomancing (ecomancer – plant mage) powers. Once the plants was about six inches tall, it looked like a mini-weeping willow, except its leaves were red, and the trunk was black. It, all of a sudden, burst into a multicolored flame and warmed the Tamaranian; the light and warmth drawing Terra from her cave. In the firelight she saw Sunfire take a communicator from his belt.
"Titans' Tower, come in Raven," he said, but there was no answer, he sighed. "Come on Raven, I know your there, put down the book and answer."
Terra giggled before the communicator crackled to life.
"I'm here, have you found Terra?" Raven asked.
"Nope, didn't find anyone but this blond chick," he jerked his thumb at Terra. "Of course I found her, right where Cinderblock's memory said."
"Good, come back to the tower."
"I will, in a week or so, I'm going to help Terra control her power," he said knowing exactly what Raven would say.
"Not a chance, both of you get back to the tower," she seemed to be getting more and more frustrated. "Robin wants a word with you."
Sunfire looked over at Terra, who had a bit of a downcast look one her face at the mention of the Boy Wonder. He reached over and brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes and turned back to the screen. Raven was glaring at him now, he'd probably cut into her meditation time, and this aspect of Robin was of no concern.
"We'll be back in ten days," he said firmly and then added, "if Robin wants to talk, he can come out here."
"Fine, it's your funeral," she said then the link went dead.
Slipping the communicator back onto his belt, he leaned back against the rock wall. Looking over at Terra again, and saw her staring into the fire.
"It's a combustion fern, from the planet..."
"Pyrus?" she asked with a small laugh.
"Actually from the planet Yih'lon," he settled himself further against the rocks.
They stayed like that for a few hours, Terra enjoying the warmth and company, Sunfire enjoying the time away from the Titans. He had been there only one week and felt he needed to get away. Something was not right with the little one (i.e. Beast Boy), and having Starfire constantly suspicious of him. But it was okay, nothing should happen now that Terra was safe. The Titans could easily handle things without him, but something was bothering him at the moment. He had called Starfire '"Princess," but couldn't remember why he had done that.
'Parts of it are still blank, but most of it is here,' he thought as he scanned his own memory.
"Sunfire, that's your name right?" the alien nodded. "Why did this plant just burst into flames.
'Ah, conversation,' he whooped inside his head. "The combustion fern is a sacred plant on Yih'lon, and it only grows in one field. They take almost two hundred years to grow only a foot tall, then burst into flames, burn for a few days, then die. When the plants die, they leave behind two seeds. The seeds are planted right beneath the parent plant and are then looked after for the next two hundred years. No one really knows why they combust, and, really, no one cares. The Connifs, the people whose land the plants grow on, invite all the peoples from neighboring regions to see it during a big festival."
"It's beautiful," Terra drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, placing her entire face, aside from her eyes, behind her legs. "I would give almost anything to see that field."
"Well," Sunfire looked up at the stars, "the orbit of Yih'lon around its sun is much faster than yours. It takes the planet only about three earth-months to make a full orbit. But the day there is almost thirty earth-hours. So in about twenty years, I'll come back and get you for the next festival."
"You mean it?"
"Of course, everyone should have the chance to see something like this," he gestured to the plant, "only about eight-thousand times better."
"Cool, so it's a date?" Terra said holding out her hand.
"Only if your still single," he smiled and took her gloved hand in his, shaking to make it official.
They laughed a little and looked back at the burning tree, both thinking of what they next ten days would bring. Sunfire was mapping out what he could teach this young one, he himself had been born with control, and could easily simply bestow it upon her. But that was like cheating someone out of a major, life-altering feat. He remembered a saying that he had picked up on one of the signals coming from this planet, "he who acquires his skills quickly is he is the first to fail." What good would control be for Terra is she hadn't earned it.
Terra was thinking somewhat along the same lines, except her thoughts were more towards what she was going to be taught. She had respect for this person, he wasn't following orders to stay here, he was doing this by himself. He had talked back to Raven and even Robin, to some extent.
"He's very perceptive," Sunfire said suddenly.
"What?"
"Robin, he's very perceptive," he repeated, "that's how he knew you couldn't fully control your powers."
"Oh," she looked at him, then the fire, then tilted her head a little to look at the stars.
"Hey, you can't come in here," a guard said aiming a pulse rifle at the cloaked intruder.
"And I should care...why?" he asked as a black starbolt flew from his hand and incinerated the guard. "Kommand'r, get the device."
"Right," Blackfire flew into the room and destroyed the force field. She reached in and grabbed a small sphere of metal, then flew back. "Got it, let's go."
"Good," he turned and left through the blasted door.
"So, Moonfire, what are we doing with this?"
"You'll find out," he replied, "all in due time."
TBC
There, finally got it done, sorry bout that, lotta stuff to do. I've got all these ideas for later, the hard part is getting to those ideas. Well, here's the chapter, as promised you now know who busted Blackfire out, but you still don't know anything about him. Anyone who can guess who it is gets a prize, possibly a place in one of my stories.