Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or anything else in the story
The first section of this chapter is a James chapter, I haven't mentioned him in a while, and I got a good idea, so the first part will be a James section, I think this is one of the best sections I have written in a long time
I also realized I took a lot of time to update the lastchapter so I worked all weekend to get this chapter out today! ENJOY!
CLIFFS
JUMP CITY
James sipped the bottle of beer in his hand as he stared out into the sea. He remembered when he and Julie used to come to these same cliffs holding hands and whispering about their dreams of the future. He looked down at the dark waves crashing against the dangerous cliffs, the height was so high if one was to jump he or she would die.
At times like these, when James had some alcohol in his system, he would think about standing up and leaping off the cliff, and joining his love. James had again foolishly thought going to his friend's party would make him feel better, in reality it made him feel worse. This was why he was sitting there, in his nice jacket and nice pants, sipping beer as he contemplated suicide for probably the hundredth time. "God I hate all these things and all these people," James thought bitterly. When in his intoxicated state James typically forgot about his daughter, or if he did he would just think Guardian would take care.
HOUSE
THREE HOURS EARLIER
"So James, I heard you got offered a sports scholarship at Jump City University?" the redhead girl flirting with him said. James was drinking a glass of wine on the couch, trying not to get noticed. He only came because his friend insisted, James's only condition was he wanted to be on the couch and not be obligated to talk or dance with anyone.
"I was offered one," James answered the girl quietly. His muscles were visibly tense.
"That's so cool," she said as she sipped her own drink. She was the fifth girl who attempted to get to James, the other four gave up quickly but she was persistent.
"That's what a lot of people told me," James said dryly. James began getting up when the girl stood with him.
"Let's dance," she said to him with a seductive smile.
"I don't want to," James said as he continued to the door, he was sick of this party. Sick of the all the dirty dancing going on, sick of the faint noises he was hearing from the backrooms, he was sick of his now drugged up friends. He had to get out of here, out of this sin.
"You know, the truth is never kind," she said to him with a dangerous look in her eyes.
"Neither am I," James replied without a heartbeat as he pushed her aside and went to the door. He grabbed a beer before exiting.
She just stared as he left the house; then she shrugged and began looking for another man.
CLIFFS (PRESENT)
JUMP CITY
As James contemplated the past few hours, and the past few months of his life, he saw a girl walking towards the cliff. The girl was around his age, blond with brown eyes, she was very skinny, also tan, and she was crying a lot. She was wearing a dress which was very dirty and ripped in some places.
James stood up, he knew the look in her eyes and it scared him, he also knew that look had been on his face several minutes before. He rushed towards her, on instinct, and blocked her.
"Excuse me, I know you will think what I say isn't right, but I want to die tonight and you are in my way," the girl said calmly to James.
"But excuse me; do you know what you have just told me? And do you even know who I am and what I have been through?" James responded to the now frustrated blond beauty.
"I don't care, I don't know you and you don't know me," she declared angrily.
"Dear lady, I know that, but I would like to change that," James responded to the increasingly angry girl.
She pushed passed him and went to the ledge and stared down at the rocks below.
"I can tell life hasn't been kind to you, but trust me, don't act on your instinct," James pleaded to her.
She turned, the wind blowing her hair as she spoke, "You make it sound so easy to be alive, but tell me, how am I supposed to seize the future, seize this life when everything inside of me is dead and all my purity has been stolen?" she said to James, starring at him with her fierce brown eyes.
"Please trust me, I know your legs are begging you to jump, I know it, but I will offer you a choice: instead of ending your life, why not keep on living with me as your guide," James offered her.
Her eyes and demeanor was shaken, but the anger quickly returned, "Are you crazy? We don't even know each other," she said to him.
"I know, as I said, I would like to change that someday," James answered the wavering girl, he added, "I would be lying if I said things will never get rough again. I could stand here all night trying to convince you but what good would that do for wither of us, so my offer still stands, and you have to choose now. Life with me, or death," James told her as tears ran down her cheeks as she was now torn on what to do.
"Fine, you win, damn it, I will give you one night to prove you are better than this jump I was about to take. But I swear to God that if you hurt me like so many others I will jump, I will jump on these very cliffs I am standing above now. I will make sure you never see it coming," she threatened as she stepped down.
James walked up to her and took her into a deep hug, "Settle precious, I know exactly what you are going through, just a few minutes before you came I was going to jump too," James said as his tears rolled with her tears. Two shattered souls had finally found each other on the dark cliffs where two lovers used to walk hand in hand.
Back to the story from where we left off last time!
ALLEY OUTSIDE CLUB
NORTH SIDE
"Why are you crying? You really are pregnant aren't you?" Guardian said to the now crying girl in the empty alley.
"I killed the baby, I killed the baby. God strike me down I killed the baby!" Anna screamed at a shocked Guardian.
"What baby? Whose baby? What are you talking about?" Guardian demanded. "She couldn't have had an abortion this quickly, what is she screaming about?" Guardian thought.
"My baby!" she yelled. Some people walking by watched the drama for a few minutes before Guardian gave them a death glare which shooed them off.
"How? You didn't have an abortion, it would be too soon," Guardian stated.
"I had a miscarriage, I had a miscarriage, I couldn't support the child. I couldn't save my baby because I wasn't physically capable they said, I was too young, I didn't have enough body fat, that's what they told me," she said teary eyed.
Guardian just looked at the devastated girl and didn't know what to say, he wasn't prepared, "Miscarriages happen all the time. They certainly aren't the mother's fault, it's a natural thing, you aren't a killer," Guardian said. He noticed she had some makeup on her face, which meant she was covering parts of her body with excessive makeup to hide something.
"Yes I am, I shouldn't have made love to him, I know I have the health problem, I know I am too young, but I am just too selfish. I don't deserve to live," she added the last part softly.
"You're not selfish, this wasn't your fault, tell Kili and the two of you can work this out," Guardian said softly.
Her eyes grew, "No, I can't tell him, what will he think about me? I killed his child, I can't even take care of a baby!" she cried out. She lifted her hand to wipe some tears off when Guardian noticed the marks.
"What is that on your wrists?" he asked coldly.
"Nothing," she responded and put her arms to the side, hoping Guardian wouldn't pursue and that the night would hide her shameful deed.
"Show me your wrists," Guardian said calmly to the now frightened girl.
"No, he can't find out, he just can't," Anna said, almost pleading to Guardian.
"Show me your wrists," Guardian said more firmly, he had to confirm his worst fears.
She surrendered her wrist, quickly showing it before withdrawing it; however Guardian grabbed her wrist and stared at it. He saw the marks and then looked at her, trying to convey the shock and dismay that he was feeling to her.
She just pushed her arm back and looked away in shame, "I felt so guilty, lying, and then failing to nurture the baby, I felt so dirty, for being so selfish, I felt the world would be better off if I went," she said softly.
"Why? I can't understand, nothing in this world should drive someone to commit suicide. When did this happen? According to the file you only were in the hospital once?" Guardian asked her.
"When I found out, I tried in the hospital, but I failed," she said.
"They got to you, before you went too deep?" Guardian asked.
"No, they got to me and stopped the bleeding before it became too bad, I had cut deep enough," she said weakly.
"Why did they let you out?" Guardian asked, wondering why she wasn't on some suicide watch.
"I am one of those cases where if they fail they don't try again," she responded to his question.
"I think you and Kili need some time alone," Guardian said.
"No! Please don't tell him, I love him, it's too soon, I can't reveal it so soon," she pleaded to Guardian, tears again forming.
"Alright, I wont tell him, but you will have to, the sooner you do the better it will be for you," Guardian told her.
She just nodded him and got some makeup out of her purse and covered the marks.
Guardian pulled out his spare hologram ring, set its settings to cover her body, hiding any marks, and then gave it to her.
"Thank you," she said.
"I didn't give it to you because I am sympathetic, I did this because I don't want him to discover you, that would be too painful for him and you," Guardian answered.
She went to return to the club, and noticed Guardian was leaving. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"Home, I know nothing bad will happen tonight," Guardian said as he walked to his motorcycle to go home.
Anna watched him leave, wiped away some more tears, pulled herself together, then she entered the club to get Kili. The two had a great time; although Anna had some trouble acting like nothing was up.
After several hours, Kili and Anna left the club to Kili's bike. "Need a lift?" he asked.
"No, I brought my own car," she answered him tiredly; she was exhausted from not only the night but from her act.
"Alright, goodnight beautiful," he said as he gave her a kiss.
"Goodnight love," she answered with a weak smile.
"You know I will love you no matter what, don't hesitate to tell me anything," Kili said to her before giving her another kiss and driving back to the Tower.
NEXT NIGHT
TITANS TOWER
"Alright, here is the plan: Fireteen you get Gizmo, Darkness and Kili take on Jinx, Nola, you take on Rocket, Guardian you got Rocker, and I will get Mammoth," Robin explained to the team. Robin came back and went back to a rhythm right away. The other Titans were delighted to have him back and were happy to see he was his normal self.
"Are we trying to beat them around until they give us information or do we capture them?" Nola asked, she liked how Robin took control right away.
"Goal will be to capture and neutralize the HIVE, however, realistically, we can probably only capture a couple, maybe just one, but even then that will be huge for getting Raven and finding Iqbal," Robin explained.
"When we get the information will me move straight at Iqbal? Or should we try to get as many reserves as we can for the final assault?" Fireteen asked. She and Robin had yet to meet in private and so far all there conversations were strictly business and neither talked about what had happened those few weeks ago.
"I think we will go straight after him once we get all the information, we don't want him to regroup," Robin added.
"That's a good thought," Darkness said with an approving nod.
"Where is Guardian?" Robin asked, the other Titans looked around; they also noticed Guardian had left the meeting.
"I will check the main room," Kili said as he left the meeting, he didn't speak much, Robin intimidated him too much.
MAIN ROOM
Kili entered the main room, to his surprise, to see Guardian staring at the big screen TV. Kili never thought Guardian was one to ditch a meeting on the HIVE for a TV show. "Guardian? Robin is asking for you," he said quickly and quietly.
Guardian kept on staring, "Look at this," was all he said.
Kili walked into the room and saw on the TV were hundreds of people, maybe thousands, rioting. Cars and buses were a blaze, along with buildings, houses, and even the Jump City flag. Of course they were showing different shots.
"What's going on? Where in Jump City?" Kili asked, also shocked by the magnitude of the riots.
"Just listen," Guardian said quietly as he increased the volume so they could hear the reporter.
REPORT
"Apparently a huge riot has erupted in the North Side of Jump City a few hours ago, this is the part of the city which has been nicknamed the "slums" for its poor residents," the reporter's voice came in as more images of violence showed itself.
"This morning, a group of disabled army veterans went outside the police station to protest the street violence and the tragic death of a disabled veteran in front of that police station. Hundreds began joining these veterans and soon one of them began giving speeches despite the riot police beginning to mobilize. Here is a bit from that interview," the reporter added.
The screen changed to a makeshift podium and a one armed war veteran talking on the microphone. "I am calling on the people to rise up and cleanse these streets, cleanse it of the rich who suck our blood, the mayor, who put us in this hellish life style, and the police who have dishonored themselves. Fight these gangsters as well, how many of our girls have they assaulted? How many of our daughters? Our wives? Our friends? While these officers just stood by and took there dirty money. Its time we fight back! Death to the blood sucking rich and those criminals that back them! Death to Hartwell and his sorry excuse for a police department!" the veteran yelled as the crowd cheered him on.
The reporter again came back on, "After his speech, riot patrol marched in to drive away the rioters but the rioters fought back. Sticks, bats, Molotov cocktails, gasoline, they fought back and the police were quickly overwhelmed as more rioters joined. The mayor was denied permission to use lethal force, by orders of the president, so the police were forced to retreat. After the rioters lit all the businesses of the area on fire, they then lit the police station on fire, however the fire was taken out and armed officers insured they wouldn't try again. After that, the city has effectively lost control as thousands of cars and businesses have gone a flame, along with a disturbing number of middle class homes. There are no deaths so far, but we are expecting an announcement soon," the reporter said before again repeating his report.
TITANS TOWER
MAIN ROOM
There was stunned silence, by the time the report ended all the Titans were in the room. "What do we do about this riot?" Fireteen asked.
"I say we let them drive Hartwell and Jim and those other crime lords out of town," Nola said darkly.
"We can't," Robin finally said.
"Why?" Guardian asked, the other Titans looked at him, this was a revolution, the mayor might be forced to resign, the army might come, they might actually win.
"Look at them, they have the right intentions but the wrong targets, they are torching civilian homes, not gangsters. They are burning doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, they are burning their homes. I am sure a lot of innocent people will die, and so will this city if this class is completely destroyed. We have to go there and protect those homes," Robin said.
"Your right," Guardian said, sounding defeated, because he didn't realize that.
"We will have to delay our raid on the HIVE, these rioters are our first priority, Fireteen, get our ice girl, while the rest of us get to the scene and assess the situation," Robin quickly ordered as the Titans left the Tower.
IQBAL'S HEADQUARTER
"Hello Raven, enjoying the news," Iqbal said as he entered the room, Raven was watching the riots on one of the local Jump City channels she got.
"Hartwell is blaming the Titans for the riots," Raven stated.
"Of course he is, he has to blame someone doesn't he? If these riots get worse, he might have to resign, so he needs to make people think there is a conspiracy," Iqbal explained.
"Why does he need to do that?" Raven asked, as much as she hated to admit it, Iqbal was an expert on Jump City politics and she learned a lot from him.
"You see, he can't order the police to massacre the rioters, then the government will force him down, however, if these rioters continue he will be forced to resign. So the only way to keep his job is to look like a victim. A victim of a group of teen heroes dedicated to his destruction," Iqbal explained.
"I take it these riots are benefiting you in some way," Raven said bitterly.
"Of course they are, you see, now your Titans are in a weak position," explained Iqbal.
"Why is that?" Raven demanded, not seeing how they would be weakened by anti-Hartwell riots.
"The Teen Titans are battling the rioters as we speak, they are trying to end the riots," Iqbal said, "My sources have just informed me," he added.
"Why?" Raven said not realizing why the Teen Titans would try to stop an Anti-Hartwell riot.
"You see, the rioters are targeting civilians and even a few hospitals and valuable doctors, they must be protected which is why the Titans are trying to stop the riots from spreading," Iqbal calmly explained.
Raven now saw the logic of the decision, "How does this benefit you?" she asked. Iqbal seemed to always tell her his plans with toying with the Titans, he enjoyed it.
"You see, Jump City University has been considered off limits to gangsters and the corrupt city officials. The only clean area of Jump City, lowest crime rate in the city is in that area, but that's about to change. The HIVE have just arrived and are destroying the school, with the rioters, this puts the Titans in a tough situation," Iqbal explained.
"You planned these riots didn't you?" Raven accused, disbelieving this game was going so perfectly for Iqbal on simply luck.
"Of course I did, you see all you need to do is fire up a dissatisfied population and they will do the rest, become the distraction you need for your main plan," Iqbal explained to Raven.
"A distraction? Millions of dollars and possibly lives being lost is considered a distraction by your standards?" Raven said in disbelief, Iqbal sometimes seemed human and compassionate, other times he seemed very heartless.
"Yes, victory is everything, no matter what the cost. Besides everyone should be happy, these rioters are cleansing the streets of corruption," Iqbal said.
"With the torch," Raven said coldly.
JIM'S HEADQUARTERS
"What's the situation?" Jim asked his field boss who was standing in front of him in the rich office.
"The rioters are wrecking our operations, we are losing a lot," he said to his boss.
"Get your best shots, get all the guns and sticks we got, give them to the boys and tell them to end these riots," Jim ordered.
"With a blood bath boss?" Jim's crony responded in shock at the brutal order.
"Yes, I want a massacre, understood, save my operations; I won't have my ambitions for cleaning this city the right way be ruined by some disabled veterans in a wheel chair. Even if they do succeed what will they do? They have no plan, tell the boys it's like a public service if they question the order," Jim said as he turned towards the window. This was a sign the order was given and expected to be carried out.
Next Chapter will be really intense and important!
PLEASE REVIEW
Special thanks to all those who read and reviewed last chapter, especially:
whitewolf33 (hope this chapter answered some questions)
Elissar (thanks)
Dragoon of the Moon (characters will be used but just to warn you it may take a while)
ShockTreatment (very clever, you figured it out)
Kiara-so-cute (yeah, Anna is in bad shape)
GreenMartian777 (long reviews...yes!)
StickLad (no, I think I have done enough surprise pregnanys, actually they aren't really surprises anymore I do them so often)
Dark Wolf 021 (glad your liking it)
Dont forget!
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