Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans nor will I ever in any conceivable future.
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Nighttime in Jump City.
In the wake of the second incident, following Adonis, involving the still unknown criminal, Lithium, police have closed off the Roscher Bank for investigation.
To sum up the findings of the police investigations, the robbers entered the bank in the same manner that most robberies have been done for the most part of the history of bank robberies: Through the front door. After that the criminals escaped into a freshly made hole in the lower level basement storage room that lead to the sewer. Police said that the robbers probably used some kind of highly concentrated acid based on the evidence.
After that the robbers' trail goes cold as it is practically impossible to trace them through the city sewer system. The robbers manage to get away with over two point five million dollars in cash and an estimated one million dollars worth in jewelry and precious stones. It was a very well crafted plan that no-one saw coming and managed to stump Jump Cities finest as well as the Teen Titans.
Speaking of which.
The Titans have retreated back to their headquarters, Titan's Tower. The team is gathered in the main room for more or less their equivalent of a debriefing. Cyborg was on the couch working on the computer, Robin was standing just behind him. On the bar on the right side of the room was Beast Boy and Starfire, the former stuffing his face with potato chips from a very large bag and sitting on a stool while the latter simply leans on the bar patiently. Raven was in a lotus position seated on the carpeted lounge area to the left side of the room.
"Must you eat so loudly?" Raven inquires in Beast Boy's general direction, "it's really annoying"
"Sorry Rea…" said Beast Boy with a mouthful of chips, "We got our butts handed to us by some strange girl today and snacking is the only way I can relax."
He stuffs more chips into his mouth.
"Besides Rea, you ought to try relaxing too," Beast Boy suggested, "why don't you try meditatin' or something?"
"What do you think I was trying to do before I started talking to you?" a vein on Raven's head pulses.
"…oh…ehehe…" Beast Boy simpers and sweatdrops.
Finally a beep comes from the giant computer screen in the center of the room. In it there is a big, black and red message saying 'No search results found'. An evidently frustrated Cyborg groans in disapproval.
"That's it," he says "there's nothin' on her out there."
"Are you absolutely sure?" asked Robin out of the blue "did you check the entire database? What about outside ---?"
"Yes, Robin I checked everywhere."
"How about JCPD?"
"Yes."
"GCPD?"
"Yes!"
"Metropol---?"
"YES! I checked everywhere already!"
Robin, along with the rest of the team cringes as Cyborg continues.
"Man, I've been through police record from here to Guatemala, plus FBI, CIA, Interpol, NSA, she's on nobody's records, dawg! For all we know she could have just fell out of the sky!"
"Bummer, dude," comments Beast Boy.
"So, we are, as it is said, 'returned to the square one'?" inquires Starfire.
"Basically…" answers Raven.
Robin sighs. It would seem the girl who calls herself Lithium is completely out of the radar. No records of her exist on any database the Titan's can access. Robin always hated to have to face something he doesn't know a thing about. Probably a trait he picked from Batman, he figured.
"So where are goin' with this now?" asked Cyborg
"We're just gonna have to wait for her to show herself again," said Robin "that's all we can do, I'm afraid."
"Aw man!" groans Beast Boy, "I hate waiting."
"Um…Robin," called out Starfire, "May I inquire as to the other case that took place in the stretch of roadway located many miles west of our city?"
"Oh yeah, somethin' else did happen out there this mornin' right?" inquires the now curios Beast Boy. Raven suddenly gives her full attention to the conversation.
"I checked that out already," said Cyborg "we got zippo on that case too. From the report submitted by the security firm on duty at the time, the dude was in an over-coat with a hood so nobody could ID the guy. Also they said he had superhuman strength and speed. He plowed a bike head-on at the first car, broke into the trucks windshield, and beat the crap outta everyone there without getting' a scratch. Whoever this dude is, his got skills, dawg."
"Hmmm…just like that Lithium girl form the bank?" asked Robin
"…pretty much."
"Could it be possible, friends," inquires Starfire "that the person from the road and the girl who calls herself Lithium are some manner related…?"
There is a short silence as everyone seems to ponder.
"It's very possible." Raven breaks the silence.
Everyone now turns their attention to the dark girl.
"Wh-what do you mean, Rea?" asked Beast Boy.
Raven gets up from her seated position and stands up. She takes a breaths and gathers her thoughts. Her teammates waiting patiently to hear her speak.
"Remember that I said that I recently sensed something that didn't sit well with me? Yesterday and early this morning?"
The team collectively nods.
"Well…" Raven continues "that Lithium girl, her aura, it was the same aura as I got from this morning, the same time as the hijacking on the Freeway. As well as that time just after Adonis."
The rest of the group collectively raises an eyebrow to show a whole lot of curiosity.
"So…" intervenes Robin "these two characters have a lot in common, huh?
Raven nods and continues.
"From what we've seen, both show a strength, speed, and agility many times greater than any average human. Both also have a very strong spiritual aura about them which only amplifies whatever abilities they already have."
A longer period of silence as the group ponders harder.
"Well," Robin breaks the silence now, "we're not gonna accomplish anything with so very little to work with at the moment."
"So now what? groaned Beast Boy as he nearly finishes his bag of chips, tired of all the pondering.
"We do what all the great superheroes do at times like this." Robin starts to walk off.
"What's that dude?"
"Get some sleep. It's already late."
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"Excellent work you two."
In a humongous subterranean room three figures stand in the dim light, Riya (still in his coat), Sakura and Dr. Volkov. The doctor holds two glass cylindrical objects in his hand. Both of them contain a eerily glowing purple liquid of sorts.
"Did we really get the ones we need?" asked Sakura
"Let's see to make sure then," the doctor answers her. He moves to a desk to the side of his gigantic computer cluttered with weird looking contraptions of yet unknown purposes. Dr. Volkov moves a few of them out of the way to reveal something that looked liked an oversized food processor. He opens the device and puts one of the cylinders he was holding inside. He pushes a button on the side and turns to the computer terminal. He enters a few commands on the keyboard. The screen pops up a message that read 'match'.
"Good," said the doctor
He goes to the device again. He then replaces the cylinder inside with the one he was still holding. He performs the same procedure as before. The computer screen yields the same message: 'match'
"Very good," said Dr. Volkov as he turned from his terminal and looks to the two teens. "you two have done excellent work indeed."
"What now then?" asked Riya, "Don't we need two more segments of the sequence?"
"No, we already have all four segments needed to complete the sequence."
"So we're ready to start the experiment," Sakura inquires excitedly.
"I'm afraid not yet child…"
"But you said---" Sakura's smile fades and her face lowers. Her brother looking concerned
"We need more than just the four segments. We need the catalyst as well. Not to mention the…proper equipment."
"What else is there?" her face takes on anger.
"We can't rush these thi---"
"What else do we need?" her face now borders on rage
"Calm yourself child."
"What do I have to DO?" she nearly charges Dr. Volkov were it not for Riya who grabbed her elbow.
"Cool it sis!" Riya exclaims.
Sakura turns to her brother with extra misted eyes. Riya stares back with authority and a little bit of concern. Sakura finally cools down and Riya lets go her arm.
"I just want…" Sakura mumbles in a slightly shaky voice.
"It's what we all want sis." Responds her brother.
"Riya is right child," Dr. Volkov speaks up, "We will get nowhere by rushing everything. Please remember that we are all wanting to achieve the same goal here."
"What is it that you want out of this Doctor?" Sakura inquires, her tone serious.
"I've told you already child, I'm a scientist and as such I only seek knowledge. This experiment, for me, is just to prove that God is not the only one who can create life and grant power. You two should know this first hand.
The facial expression on the two teens seem to indicate that the cannot disagree as it is completely true.
"And beside," the doctor continues, "Like you two, I believe in fate. Your mother must be resurrected for this to be true and you two must stand by her side for your destinies to be fulfilled."
Dr. Volkov stands from his chair and walks to the two younger and plants his hands on their shoulders as if to reassure them of something.
"If I did not believe this, I would never have taken part in this project nor would I ever have stuck by you this far."
Riya and Sakura are seemingly mesmerized.
"Believe me when I say Maria will rise again…"
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Riya and Sakura are walking down the same hall as they did the previous time.
They had left Dr. Volkov to his own devices and are now on their way to their rooms to retire for the evening. Still an uncomfortable silence lingers between the two, probably a sort of drift resulting from the earlier incident. Riya decides to address the situation.
"Sakura, you were way out of line up there." Riya speaks calmly without looking at his sister.
Sakura frowns.
"You shouldn't have acted out like that."
She fumes
"Your too moody, you need to control your---"
"Why the hell are you taking his side?" Sakura suddenly exclaims, stopping in her tracks, glaring at Riya from behind. Riya stops and turns to face his angered sister.
"I'm not taking his side." He retorts, "I simply know that this isn't exactly the right time for theatrics! And I can agree to what the doc said about not rushing things."
"He's practically insane!"
"He's also the only one capable of completing the experiment. Without him, we'd be nowhere, just like before."
"Don't you care about mother anymore?"
"What? How could you say that?"
"Your always holding me back, telling me to sit and wait. Well I'm tired of sitting and waiting! She is our mother for heaven's sake, how could you not care for her?"
"Sakura…!"
"Are you still fighting for her? Do you still want to meet her? Riya, you stupid basta---!"
SLAP
Sakura's face is unceremoniously turned almost ninety degrees to one side from the impromptu slap given to her by her brother. She reels her head back, a hand coming up to her now red cheek, a look of pure shock on her face. Riya glares back at her, his calm exterior gone.
"Don't you ever say that!" he exclaims.
"…Riya?" Sakura manages to mumble out.
"Don't ever say I don't care about mother."
Sakura is silent. Riya's face takes on an expression of sadness as he continues.
"…I…never knew anything about my existence, my purpose in this world, until I was told about mother. I was told I was born from her blood, her essence. I am my mother's essence…but that doesn't tell me of what I really am. I'm still lost, still hopeless, like there is some gaping hole somewhere inside me I can't fill. But… I know…. she can tell me. She can tell me everything. I want to meet her Sakura. I would give anything to meet her. I---"
His face tilts down some. A tear or two falls to the ground. Sakura sees this.
"…brother?" She whispers.
"I want to see her so badly I could rip my heart out."
Sakura's eyes tear up a bit. She couldn't find it in herself to condemn him for what she knew she herself felt deep in her gut. Her mother, their mother, is their only hope now, their only salvation. Their only one true purpose left to pursue. How could she ever have accused her own brother, who has looked after her for all this time, to think otherwise?
Truth be told, she couldn't. It was a selfish thing to do and she hated herself for it. A couple of tears fall down her cheeks. Riya notices and looks up.
"…sis?" He inquires her.
Sakura does not respond verbally. But instead, she walks forward and wraps her arms around her brother, laying her head on his shoulder, sobbing quietly.
Riya is somewhat taken by surprise. But eventually he is compelled to return a hug, bringing his arms around her and resting his head on hers.
The two stood there unmoving for a good long time.
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A little earlier that night.
The northern district of the city.
The more luxurious part of town. Streets lined with expensive five-star hotels, condominiums, and luxury apartment buildings. The more well-off citizens of Jump City reside here. But our focus is on one particular building.
The Skyline Tower Apartment. A series of three, thirty-story buildings. One of the most expensive, but at the same time, luxurious spaces you can hope to afford in this part of town. What with two-hundred square feet worth of living space, usually only the elite of the city can pay to stay. But there are a few who posses no status among the society but still can afford to stay here. And it is one of this few that we focus on now.
Inside a wide living room decked out in classic furniture sits an elderly man on a couch beside a fireplace, watching the evening news on a contrastingly high-tech looking flat screen. He bears the typical features associated with seniority. Thick white hair, beard, and mustache. Wrinkled old skin covered in goose bumps. He wears an old looking turtleneck sweater and linen pants complimented by fluffy, blue bed slippers.
He watches the news intently, oblivious to everything. The anchorwoman delivers the news.
"In today's news. The Roscher bank management has formally announced that they will be out of business for an indefinite amount of time. Their reason: to install higher level security systems and to hire more staff to replace the great number of workers that resigned following the incident. Needless to say they'll be closed for quite a while.
"This said incident involved four bank robbers whose identities have yet to be revealed. The four individuals consisted of three masked men and a young woman as seen here in this photo taken by a security camera."
The picture on the screen shows a teenage girl dressed in black along with three spooks behind her in the vicinity of the vault..
"The girl is reportedly to posses metahuman abilities which allowed her fend of the Teen Titans, who were present at the scene in an attempt to stop the robbery, in a spectacular battle that took place out on the street in front of many people and police officers."
The view switches to a man with a mullet out on the street speaking into a mike.
"Man, I saw it all! That girl was all over them Titans man! Nobody, n' I mean nobody, saw it comin' man! She was flippin' around, punchin, kickin, and throwin' dem Titans everywhich way---!"
The view switches to a rather big-boned woman, also speaking into a mike.
"She must have had some kind of super power or something. I mean, she beat all five of 'em down in like what, three minutes?"
The view switches to a police officer speaking into a mike as well.
"We totally underestimated that girl. Which is probably why we couldn't get her."
The view switches back to the news room and the anchorwoman.
"Police are still trying to identify the mysterious girl who witnesses have reported goes by the alias 'Lithium' as well as her three masked companions who managed to get away with roughly three million dollars worth in cash and jewels. Police are asking that if anyone out there has any in formation regarding the wanted criminals, please report to the local police precinct nearest to you."
The view now switches to an anchorman, with the picture in the corner of the screen showing a bird's eye view of a wrecked truck and a couple of beat-up sedans in the middle of the freeway. The anchorman delivers.
"And in a seemingly unrelated incident also happening early this morning at the freeway west of the city. A convoy was attacked by a lone individual also said to posses metahuman attributes. The security firm who were present at the scene suffered many bruises and a few fractured bones but none were fatally wounded fortunately."
The screen shows the shot from a helicopter as men in suits are taken away by medics with stretchers into waiting ambulances by the road. Some of the injured men seem to be groveling in pain.
"The perpetrator is reported to have stolen just one item. The nature of this item is unknown but we do know that it was being delivered to STAR Labs at the time. Currently, STAR Labs has refused to issue a statement involving the stolen item, the robbery, or a possible relationship between this incident and the one the one on the Roscher bank. Police say that there is currently no evidence supporting a relationship between the two incidents but have openly admitted that there are some similarities between the two cases, specifically of the two individuals possessing superhuman abilities."
The view now shows both anchors in a wide shot. The anchorwoman speaks for them both.
"And that wraps up this news hour. Join us again at the same time tomorrow night when we---"
She is cut off as the TV is turned off. The old man on the couch is holding up the remote control. He puts it down on the coffee table in front of him. He brings his hands to his chin, pondering. He takes a deep breath, looks up into empty space in deep thought.
He gets up from his seat and walks to a drawer at one end of the room. He opens a top drawer and takes out a framed picture. In the picture were several men in white lab coats, posing in a formal fashion all with pride written on their faces. The old man looks at the picture intently. He looks at a person to the right of the picture who looks exactly like himself. He turns away from his own image and looks at the person next to him. A man he instantly recognized, for he could never forget.
"Volkov you fool," He says into the empty atmosphere "what the hell are you up to?"
Author's note: Sorry if you were expecting some action and didn't get any. But I assure you there will be plenty of it in Chap 4. I'll upload that in a few days. Pleas R&R