As promised, the door to the office was unlocked and the room was unoccupied. It was an ordinary office, belonging to a mid level manager at the bank. Her desk was neat and tidy, with a large family portrait standing next to her computer monitor, and some of her children's school "artwork" hanging from one of the walls. In other words, it was an office identical to so many others.
The stealth invader silently and calmly set up shop, placing his titanium clad briefcase on the desk. Using a digital magnetic key he unlocked it, flipping it open and revealing its contents: a disassembled sniper's rifle, which he began to assemble at a calm and unhurried pace. His demeanor was relaxed; he even moderately pleased as he snapped the firearm together, humming contentedly. He completed the task as he mounted the massive scope on top of the weapon, which locked into position with a firm click. He gave the gun a final inspection, and once satisfied he set it aside.
He gently parted the drapes and looked down at the balcony that was opposite from him across the plaza. It was still unoccupied except by a couple of honor guards, which was what he expected. He then turned back to the titanium biefcase and removed an empty clip and a small wooden box, which he opened.
The box contained five bullets, each of which had a name engraved on it: Raven Roth, Beast Boy, Robin, Starfire and Cyborg. He loaded the bullets into the clip which he snapped into the rifle, which he then primed, loading the first bullet into the chamber.
After checking his watch he once again peered between the drawn curtains. They had arrived, on schedule. The violet haired girl was standing at the podium, shuffling some papers and was flanked by her green husband and the Tamaranian, just as his benefactor had said. He then tapped his earpiece, bringing it to life.
"Is everything clear from your vantage point Slade?"
"It is." Slade replied. "Should anything go wrong Terra will deliver the coup de grace."
Deadshot chuckled.
"Nothing will go wrong Slade. You know I never miss."
"Don't underestimate the Titans. With them involved, a backup plan is always in order."
"You worry too much Slade."
"And you don't worry enough."
"Whatever." Deadshot replied with a sneer. "It's show time."
The hired assassin collected his rifle. His plan was to fire the five bullets in quick succession. Raven was his first target, but all five Titans would be dead before she hit the floor. He almost felt bad about shooting them, they were so young, and none of them were even twenty years old. But this was business, and there was nothing personal about what he was about to do. It was their own fault for becoming a thorn in the side of his benefactors, and it had nothing to do with him. He had a job to do and he was going to do it.
Barely parting the curtains he aimed his rifle at the podium. His first shot would be going through the glass pane at a slight angle and he would compensate for that. Peering though his scope he placed Raven in the crosshairs, the hollow point bullet would hit her just below her chakra stone and expand inside her head, blowing her entire brains out of the back of her head which would explode in a bloody mess. While he was a professional, he took pride in being merciful. His victims never knew they had been shot and killed, not even for a split second.
He waited for Raven to begin her speech, knowing that she and her teammate wouldn't move around as she delivered it, making his job much easier. After killing Raven he would eliminate Beast Boy, Starfire, Robin and finally Cyborg, all within 3.7 seconds.
As expected, the violet haired girl's voice began to echo in the large plaza. It was time.
Deadshot focused his aim on Raven and pulled the trigger, after which he refocused his aim at the changeling, who for some reason was moving towards his wife. It was of no consequence, even if it meant a 0.3 second delay in getting the second shot off, as he had to compensate for the green hero's rapid movement.
The green fool's head was squarely in his crosshairs as he began to pull the trigger … and was hit in the back of his head with what felt like a brick. The shot of course, was lost as was his tempo as he fell forward, seeing stars as he tried to recover, which he did after a few seconds. His mind still focused on the job and as he looked through the scope his heart sank when he saw the black, translucent hemisphere protecting all five Titans. He then veered around to see what had happened.
"Markov! Did you do that! Have you lost your mind?" He shouted as he flung several razor sharp shuriken in her direction. "You just cost me my share of the bounty!"
Terra dodged his attacked and ran away while he gave chase. He fired at her as she ducked into a stairwell, summoning a concrete platform to carry her up to the building's rooftop, which also shielded her from his bullets.
"Terra, what's going on? Report!" She heard Slade through her earpiece, which she removed and tossed aside.
Within moments both she and Deadshot emerged onto the bank's rooftop. He produced a small sub-machinegun from his overcoat and began firing at the geomancer while Slade watched. With a gesture Terra peeled off a section of the building's concrete rooftop and used it as a shield. After Deadshot expended his ammo she slammed the shield into him, sending him rolling onto floor.
Slade watched the scene unfold, and using his enhanced mental abilities he saw it in the equivalent of slow motion. Deadshot rolled three times on the floor when Slade saw him reach for a small 9 mm pistol he had holstered on his thigh. Then while still rolling he got a shot off from his hip.
Terra never saw it coming. The bullet hit her square between the eyes and the hollow point bullet expanded, ripping the contents of her cranium out of a huge hole that exploded in the rear of her skull. Her expression transformed instantly from angry to blank. Her floating perch began to wobble and she fell from it, hitting the edge of the roof and tumbling over it, falling into the abyss, her limbs flopping like those of a rag doll.
Deadshot picked himself up and turned to Slade.
"What the hell was that Wilson? Why did she stop me? I had them."
Slade regarded the assassin with his single eye.
"You didn't have them. Raven survived your first shot. The Tamaranian intercepted the bullet. As for Terra, she let her feelings get in the way."
"I'm sorry I had to kill her Slade, but with all due respect, you needed a new apprentice anyway." The marksman panted.
"Terra's loss is unfortunate, but we need to leave now. The Titans have not seen us and we remain anonymous."
"But what about the contract Slade? I still have a contract to fulfill."
"The contract is lost Floyd; you won't get another chance with the Titans. I am leaving Azarath; I suggest you do the same."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The three male Titans watched Terra fight with her unseen opponent. The rapid fire of a machine gun was heard and it fell silent. Then after a few moments a single gunshot was heard and they gasped as Terra began to fall. Beast Boy ran to the edge of the black hemisphere and pounded on it with his fists.
"Rae, let me out! I gotta go catch Terra! She's falling!"
Raven was still healing Starfire's wounded hand, and as she turned she gave her husband the mother of all death glares.
"Have you lost your mind? That sniper is still out there! You aren't going anywhere."
Cyborg watched with his bionic eye as Terra's body tumbled as it fell, zooming in see the details.
"Forget it B, she's already dead. She had her brains blown out."
Robin then noticed that the assembled throng below in the plaza.
"Why aren't they panicking?" He asked.
Raven stood up, having done what she could for Starfire. Robin then attended his sweetheart's injuries by wrapping them in a bandage.
"Firearms are unknown in Azarath, they are considered primitive and backwards. The crowd has no idea of what just happened."
The gray sorceress resumed her place at the podium. She picked up her prepared speech, sorting the printed sheets back into their correct order. After staring at them for a moment she tossed them away, and addressed the assembled crowd.
"My fellow citizens of Azarath, you just witnessed an attempt on my life and my friends' lives. The enemy has failed and we will not back down. In a moment I will sign the reforms to our Articles of Confederation and we will have a new dawn in Azarath, a new age where the Matriarchs do not own us, where the citizenry gets to decide how Azarath is governed and run."
Raven stop speaking and picked up the elaborate ceremonial quill pen.
"Gar, I want you at my side when I sign this." She whispered to him.
He joined her at her side and Raven signed the new law into existence.
"It is done. From this point on, you are the masters of your own fate. Never forget my fellow citizens, this isn't about me, it's about you. My role here is done. I am resigning my position as Head Matriarch and will be returning to Earth with my husband and my friends. You will always be in my heart and my thoughts. Remember to be brave, as more hurdles lie ahead. The Matriarchs will no doubt try to co-opt your elected representatives with bribes. Be vigilant and don't allow that to happen."
Raven paused.
"Farewell, and remember that if you ever need my help, I will return. Azar's blessings be with you."
Raven stepped down from the podium and wrapped her arms around Beast Boy, and they shared a happy kiss.
"Let's get out of here. I'm ready to go home."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Raven fidgeted with the bouquet of flowers in her hand.
They had returned from Azarath three weeks ago, spending one more week there before returning to Earth. In the aftermath of the reforms both Raven and Arella were expelled from the Council of Matriarchs on the grounds that their house was bankrupt. Arella sold the few remaining businesses that were profitable to other matriarchs and in its first legislative action the House of Deputies purchased the remaining assets and paid off the remaining debts. The House of Roth was renamed the House of Azarath and every citizen was issued shares in the new conglomerate. Arella was hired to run the new house as the CEO. Her salary was only twice what she used to pay her general manager and the former Matriarch had to adapt to her new post Matriarch life. Arella discarded her white robes and adopted Raven's black and blues colors for the gowns she now wore.
The House of Deputies offered the Titans some money to help them back at home. The amount offered was insufficient to keep them in the Tower and in the end Raven outright rejected the funds as she felt that Azarath had its own "Tough Times" to deal with and was in no position to offer monetary assistance to the Titans.
Raven returned her teammates to the Tower using one of her portals. Being back in Jump City had a surreal feeling to it, feeling both familiar and foreign, especially to the Logans.
Then there was the issue of Raven and Beast Boy's marriage. While they could have registered their foreign marriage with the local registrar, Raven would have none of that, which is why she was standing outside the common room, with Starfire and Bumblebee at her side while she wore a white wedding gown.
Beast Boy told her that it wasn't necessary to have a second wedding, that she didn't have to do it for him. She disagreed however. Not only was she adamant that he deserved to be married in a ceremony where they would be equals, she knew that she needed such a ceremony as well.
What she didn't understand was how she allowed Starfire to choose the wedding gown. Raven had originally planned on wearing a white version of her winter costume. When Starfire and the other female Titans got wind of that there was no way she could fend them off, and now she was wearing a silly, frilly white dress with a veil over her head.
"Are you ready Raven?" Bumblebee asked.
"Why shouldn't I be? It's the second time I've been married in less than two months."
Bumblebee smiled.
"It happens more often than you think. Girls sometimes do get married twice within a short period of time."
"To the same guy?" Raven asked.
"Yes Raven, to the same guy. Now just relax."
"I'm trying" She sighed. "Oh what was I thinking? We should have just had the first marriage registered here and be done with it."
Starfire took Raven's hands with her own. Raven was able to feel the rough scar on the Tamaranian's palm.
"I think that was glorious of you to do this for Beast Boy."
Raven nodded contritely.
"Hey girl, are you happy that Beast Boy's your husband?" Bumblebee asked.
"Of course I am! Why do you think I'm doing all this?"
The winged girl snickered.
"Then maybe you should let your face know that you're happy."
Raven sighed.
"You guys should know me by now. I don't do 'happy'."
Bumblebee shook her head disapprovingly.
"It's time Raven, whether you're ready or not."
Starfire punched the button on the wall and the doors slid open, revealing a completely transformed common room, which looked like an impromptu chapel. The room was packed with guests, who all turned around to get a good look at the bride.
For a moment Raven thought she couldn't do it, the aisle felt like a gauntlet to her and her first impulse was to walk away. But then she remembered him kneeling before her, humiliating himself in the demeaning marriage they had in Azarath. He had done that for her. Surely she reasoned, she could do this for him.
Raven gazed down the aisle and saw him standing next to the altar, with Cyborg, his best man to his left and the minister to his right. But all she saw was him. He looked radiant with joy and she thought that he had never looked so gorgeous.
"Are you ready Raven?" Robin, who was clad in a tuxedo, asked her.
"I'm ready."
Robin took her arm and led her down the aisle. The guests waved, gave her the thumbs up and even blew kisses at her. Finally Robin delivered her to the altar and withdrew to take his seat. Beast Boy, still looking radiant, whispered to her.
"I knew I would get you to smile someday."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Another month had passed since the wedding. Slade had been inconspicuously absent during that time, but suddenly reappeared without any warning. He came to the Tower to see if the Titans would accept the "deal" he had offered them before the Azarathian adventure had begun, the one where they would literally become his employees. It was rejected unanimously by the team and Slade informed them that they had two months to vacate the Tower.
Robin's efforts at fundraising fell flat as the economy had deteriorated during their absence. Not only was he unable to raise any new pledges, some of the ones made earlier were withdrawn. After a few weeks they had to face the inevitable, the Titans would be no more.
The Titans began to make arrangements for their post Titans lives. Beast Boy and Raven decided to leave the superhero life behind altogether and they accepted a position with the United Nations. They would be stationed in Johannesburg, South Africa from where they would coordinate UNESCO operations throughout the continent.
Robin and Starfire announced their engagement. Robin also announced that he would now become Nightwing and would move with his fiancée to Bludhaven, near Gotham City, where he would become a vigilante like his former mentor Batman.
Cyborg did not announce his plans right away, but spent a great deal of time consulting privately with Raven. It wasn't until their final week in the Tower that he made his announcement.
By this point the Tower had been stripped bare of anything that wasn't city property and crates and boxes being shipped out had become a daily occurrence. What didn't happen was the reception of shipments, until Monday morning of the last week.
Beast Boy signed for the arrival and was puzzled by it. It was a crate, a very old crate. It was addressed to Cyborg and what puzzled the green Titan was that the handwriting on the box, which was very faded, appeared to be in the Tin Man's own handwriting.
Beast Boy morphed into a gorilla and lugged the crate up to the common room, where he expected to find Cyborg preparing lunch. Much to his surprise everyone was there. Cyborg had several boxes and crates piled on what looked like a high tech hay wagon.
"Hey Cyborg! A package arrived for you. By the looks of it it's really old, like something out of an Indiana Jones movie."
Cyborg grinned.
"Man! I don't believe it! It actually arrived."
Robin and Starfire inspected the crate, searching for a clue as to what its contents were.
"Dude, what is it?"
Cyborg opened the crate and removed a hermetically sealed, titanium lined box from it.
"Cyborg, isn't that one of your boxes, where you keep stuff for posterity." Robin asked.
"It sure is."
"Then why does it look so old?"
The tin man unlocked the box, which hissed as the perfect vacuum it contained in its interior filled with air.
"It has to do with where I'm going."
"So you're finally gonna tell us?" The Changeling asked.
"Yes, I am." He answered. "I'm sorry I didn't tell ya'll before, but Raven was helping me to get ready, and to be honest, we didn't know until last night if we could pull it off."
"Pull what off?" Robin asked.
"Raven's sending me back to the past. I'm going back to Sarasim's time."
The three Titans stared dumbfounded upon hearing the announcement. Beast Boy was the first to speak up.
"Dude, what about your tech. You told us there was no way for you recharge over there. And what happens if you break? Or are all those spare parts in those boxes?"
Raven stepped forward.
"Cyborg knew that his technology would be a handicap in the past. Of course the first step was finding a way to get Cyborg back to Sarasim's time. With my newer 'white raven' powers I found a way to send him back. The show stopper that remained was Cyborg's tech. That is until I found a spell, based on Brother Blood's magic, to revert Cyborg to his original human form. It's actually a single portal that performs both functions. The ideal time to open it will be in just 10 minutes."
Robin stepped forward, a frown adorning his masked face.
"Isn't this kind of hasty, not to mention risky? How do we know that you'll be OK?"
"This box that arrived is proof that things turned out OK. It's full of recordings I made, or should I say, will make in the past. Of course I shouldn't see them, but you guys can after I leave."
"Dude, you can't be serious, you're going away … forever."
Cyborg wiped away a tear.
"I know B, I'm sorry, but this is what I really want to do. You have your life with Raven now; I want my life with Sarasim."
The changeling ran up to his friend and wrapped his arms around him.
"I'm gonna miss you tin man." He sobbed.
"Me too grass stain, I'm gonna miss you too."
Robin stepped forward and hugged Cyborg as well.
"Thanks Cyborg, thanks for everything, I'll never forget you."
"Me too Rob, and you be good to Star and marry her, or I'll come back from the past and I'll kick your sorry spandex clad butt. And good luck in Bludhaven, Nightwing."
Starfire of course began to bawl when she gave Cyborg a good bye hug.
"May your offspring be plentiful." She sobbed. "I will miss you friend, and will also never forget you."
"Thanks Star. The offspring thing, I think that Sarasim will have the final word on that."
Starfire kissed him on the cheek, and finally it was Raven's turn to say good bye.
"Good luck Victor, I'm certain that you'll find the happiness you're looking for."
"Thanks Raven, be happy with the green bean, but don't take any crap from him."
"You know me better than to even be concerned about that Victor. And don't worry; I'll be good to him."
The two exchanged kisses on their cheeks as the portal began to open.
"It's right on schedule." Raven announced. "It won't stay open long, just two minutes, so hurry."
Cyborg pushed the wagon through the portal.
"Don't worry guys; I'm taking all kinds of creature comforts with me, and a bunch of solar panels to recharge the batteries."
Once the wagon was through he turned around to face his friends one last time.
"I love you guys." He choked.
He then stepped through the portal, which closed after he passed through it.
The room remained silent for several minutes until once again Beast Boy broke the silence.
"He's gone." He sniffled. "He's really gone."
Robin began to rummage through the box Cyborg left behind and found a DVD case labeled "#1". He inserted the disk into the player and Cyborg's face appeared on the giant screen, except he wasn't Cyborg anymore, he was 100% flesh and blood.
"Yo Titans! Sorry it took me so long to get started but this is my first recording."
The camera panned back, revealing Victor and a very attractive woman standing next to him who was cradling an infant in her arms.
"Guys, I want to introduce you to Sarasim. We got hitched a month after I returned. Go ahead and say hi baby."
Sarasim smiled bashfully and waved at the camera.
"Hello Raven, Beast Boy, Robin and Starfire … Victor, can they really see us?"
"They sure can sweetie. Remember how I showed you the videos I brought from the future?"
"I guess I'll take your word for it Victor."
The 4 Titans watched mesmerized, as the message in the digital bottle from the past continued to play.
"And this young lady in Sara's arms is our little girl, our first born. We named her Raven."
"Way to go tin man." Beast Boy whispered as the tears streamed down his face.
Victor continued chatting.
"Ya'll get comfy on the circular couch, cuz I got a lotta stuff to tell you."
The End
I hope this ending didn't catch any of you too off guard.
Thanks to all who followed this story and didn't just write it off as a mere rewrite of the original. Your reviews and thoughts were appreciated.