I do not own the Teen Titans or anything related to them, however I do own this story and all of the non-original characters except for Isis, who I have been given permission to use by a friend of mine and all are copywrited. This means you can not copy the story or any of the characters or use them without permission from their original owners.

Teen Titans: Alpha

Friends, family and faith

Silence had descended on Titan's tower and not the sort of silence that was bearable. Zeru and Li had tried to break the unearthly quiet, even Isis had tried to crack a sarcastic remark, but nothing seemed to work. As soon as they had managed to escape, with Taiyou carrying Phoenix's unconscious form in his arms, the Titans had become as quiet as a graveyard and had all the joyous atmosphere of a funeral.

The sterile environment of the med-bay felt cold and strange. Li stood, constantly monitoring Phoenix's vital signs on a computer screen, with Zeru and Isis aiding him by placing sensors on their leader's limbs and temples and by dressing the burns on her un-covered skin. Taiyou, however, was nowhere to be seen.

As soon as they had returned, Taiyou had promptly laid Phoenix in the med-bay and left just as quickly, walking briskly down the corridor and away from his fellows, leaving his team mates in quiet confusion for a moment before they began busying themselves with their wounded leader. He sat quietly outside, staring into the water that surrounded the tower, occasionally throwing stones so that they skipped across the surface of the still waters. Thoughts were buzzing around in his head, round and round so they made him dizzy, yet he could still hear them, getting louder and louder inside his brain until he wanted to scream. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd been seriously hurt when Phoenix hadn't confided in him, but now it was even worse. Now he wasn't only hurt and upset with his leader, his friend, but he'd lost his faith in her too, something that he'd never thought would happen.

After the careful attention of Li, Zeru and Isis and some well needed rest, Phoenix finally came back to consciousness. With her three carers having decided it would be best to get some rest, Phoenix was left to stare at the ceiling quietly, arguing with herself in her mind. 'What have you done Phoenix? They'll never trust you now. They know the truth, they know about your crazy twin brother. They probably think you're a criminal like him now.' 'No they won't, they're my friends, they won't leave me.' 'What dream world are you living in? They know you've been keeping secrets from them, don't you think that looks a bit suspicious?' 'But they're my friends.' 'Exactly, you've betrayed them.'

"What have I done?" She asked the ceiling quietly, as tears began to well up in her eyes, though none fell to the bright white sheets.

"You've lied to me, that's what." It was only now that she realised someone else was in the room with her and she recognised the voice instantly. It was the last thing she'd heard before she'd blacked out. She lay silently for a moment as his words seemed to float around the room, before slowly sinking in.

"How long have you been in here?"

"About nine hours." Taiyou said honestly. Phoenix's mind buzzed; 'Nine hours, just sitting in here, watching me lie here?'

"Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you. I want the answers that I deserve, that your friends deserve Phoe, you do know what friends are don't you?" The tears in Phoenix's eyes welled up even more, but she still refused to let them slide. 'He's angry with me. Can you blame him?'

"Of course I do, that's exactly why I couldn't tell you."

"Tell us what? That you have a brother? Not just a brother, but a twin brother that's a crazy destructive monster? Phoe we're supposed to be your friends. You're supposed to tell us everything."

"This is none of your business! He's my brother. He's my problem, why do you guys need to know?"

"Because he's your brother Phoe. He's part of you."

"He will never be part of me." Phoe replied flatly.

"He's your twin Phoe, you can't escape it, he's a part of you, deal with it."

"I've told you, he'll never be a part of me. He's a sly, conniving, evil-"

"Liar? You've lied to us Phoe, seems you have more in common with him than you think."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I wonder why, maybe it's because you haven't told us anything!" Phoenix sat up now, receiving a rather painful shock to her side from a large burn, but she ignored it as best she could. She looked Taiyou right in the eye, even as her tears finally began to fall.

"Perhaps it's because I knew that you'd all react like this. Perhaps it's because I'm ashamed to have a maniac as a twin brother. Perhaps it's because I don't want to think about what he might be doing out there, or maybe it's the fact that I don't want to admit that I'm absolutely terrified of him!" She broke down then, sobbing into the sheets and Taiyou was taken aback. He had expected an outburst, an angry flare, perhaps even violence, but not anything like this. After watching her cry for a shocked and silent few seconds he finally replied quietly.

"Why be terrified of your own brother? I mean, I know he's bad, but surely-"

"You have no idea!" Phoe interrupted, drying her eyes furiously, though her tears were instantly replaced, though her violent sobs had stopped now. "You don't know what he's really like. If you knew him you'd know that today was a good day."

"Like I said Phoe, you haven't told us anything. I thought you trusted us, I thought you trusted me." Phoenix looked at him and once again saw the hurt expression in his face that made her feel so inadequate, but this time it seemed hardened, as if it were a fixed mask that couldn't be broken, a mask that clearly showed a deep, dark disappointment that she couldn't bear to see.

"I do trust you." She replied quietly, with all the volume of a door mouse, which was quite out of character for the confident leader.

"You have a funny way of proving it." Taiyou said shortly, causing Phoenix to feel even worse.

"What do you want from me? I'm not perfect ok, I never said I was. Am I not allowed to make mistakes, to keep things to myself? Come on Taiyou, what is it you want from me?" Phoenix asked, her tone angry and upset. She'd thought Taiyou, of all people, would be the one to stand by her side, she hadn't thought for one minute that he'd be like this. She looked at his face now, his expression was bewildered and startled, as if he didn't know or didn't have an answer for her question, or if he did he didn't want to say. Seeing him, sat in the corner, it made her feel terrible, weak and disgusted with herself, it did not help when she remembered he'd sat in the room for nine hours, waiting for her to wake up and the guilt poured into the uneasy and horrid mix of emotions in her stomach. Had he been worried? Or was he just angry? 'Probably the second.' Phoe thought, with a bitterness and disappointment that she couldn't explain.

"Fine, I'll tell you, just don't tell the others."

"Phoe, they have a right to know."

"Promise me you won't tell them! Please Taiyou, you asked me if I trusted you and I do, I trust you not to break your promise. Please." Taiyou looked thoughtful then reluctantly replied with;

"Alright, I promise."