Teen Titans: Revolution
Chapter 4-Hiela's memory
"Beautiful."
An old, tired looking man stood on a frozen lake, looking up at the northern lights spread out on the sky, like butter on a slice of toast. "Aren't they beautiful, Crystal?" The man asked, hugging a little girl at his side. She smiled and nodded furiously, her hair bouncing off her coat.
"B-but it's e-extremely c-c-cold." She shivered, causing the man to rub her sleeved arm. He looked back at the lights before patting her head.
"I think you and I both know this was worth the cold." He whispered, smiling. Crystal grinned, happy to see the man so happy. She slipped her tiny hand into his much larger one. Crystal was about to respond to his comment when she heard a loud crack, followed by a series of snaps and creaks.
"What's going on!" She asked, hearing the man gasp. She looked around nervously. To her dismay she saw cracks throughout the ice, stretching towards the pair. Crystal followed the cracks with her eyes to the origin, which led up to a gaping hole in the ice, where the top of a large rock was visible. Crystal gasped as she was swept into the man's arms and he proceeded to run.
"Crystal, hold on to me!" He yelled, holding her small arms around his neck and moving her to his back. Crystal clutched him tightly, fear etched into her face. She looked back in time to see the ice at their feet snapping in two. She screamed into the man's ear, feeling them both tumble forward.
The freezing water blocked out all the feelings Crystal had. Her grip on the man loosened, but he wasn't giving up now. Snatching the young girl's hand, he swam up, his numb arms desperately trying to grip Crystal. He emerged gasping, his eyes wide in shock. Crystal was shivering violently as the man held her in his arms and kicked towards the shore, the ice already broken up to the bank. Slowly, he felt his eyes closing.
"Just… get her… to the bank… Crystal… I love you, my little girl…" He whispered, looking down at her. Her skin was tinged blue with cold, and her lips were a light purple. Her hair was freezing as it drifted in the water. "I'm so sorry. I can't… go any further." The man wheezed. Crystal weakly opened her eyes, blinking to brush the gathering ice from her lashes.
He slowly fell into the watery depths, leaving Crystal on a chunk of floating ice. At the moment, a man was already jumping into the water to reach her, screaming at her not to fall asleep.
The rescuer grabbed Crystal, rubbing her furiously and peeling off her wet clothes. "C'mon, girl, say something." He begged. Crystal's eyes flew open and she gasped for a breath.
"Dad!" she screamed, leaning forward. She fainted then and there, falling into the snow in front of her. The rescuer was divided, half of him wanting to leap back into the water to save her father, and the rest wanting to stay with her. In the end, he stayed with Crystal, and led her towards his house.…………….
With a gasp, Crystal woke up. She opened her eyes and blinked, seeing nothing but darkness. She felt around desperately, feeling the cold metal around her. In a moment of fear, she felt something leave her hands, something cold, and watery. She felt it creep towards the door of the metal box, where she followed it until it blasted from her hands. She blinked her eyes and saw ice coming from her blue-tinged hands. She opened her throat to yell and call for help, but snapped it shut when she saw where she was.
A morgue.
'I'm dead…'
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Hiela awoke, panting, near screaming, and clutching the covers of her bed tightly. She glanced around nervously, her eyes wide. She fought her way out of the covers and reached for her bedside lamp, and turned it on with a quick snap. Light filled the room.
Hiela breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a nightmare; a strangely familiar, reoccurring nightmare, but a nightmare nonetheless. She crawled out of her bed and proceeded to pace around her room, trying to get her breathing evened out. She squeezed her eyes shut and clasped her hands behind her back tightly, biting her lip in confusion, her thoughts drifting over the dream.
After a while, Hiela realized there was no way she was going to get back to sleep. She grabbed her comforter and aired it out, let it settle on the bed, and turned around. She slipped into her boots and walked to the door of her room. When she stepped out into the hallway and the door shut, she noticed there wasn't any light throughout the tower. Wherever she was going, she'd have to make it without light.
Hiela sighed, closing her eyes. 'The living room.' She thought, heading in the direction she thought belonged to the living room. Twice, she met a dead end, and once she opened the door to Roman's room. That was an experience she'd rather never again have to encounter; he had woken up in a T-shirt and shorts and slammed the door so hard that the wind following it caused Hiela to stumble to the side.
She left his hallway in a rush, and stumbled out into the living room. By now, it was very early in the morning, and Hiela was feeling rather tired after walking throughout most of the Tower. Yawning, she stretched out on the plush sofa of the living room. To her contentment, the remote was in reach.
She took it from its spot on the sofa's armrest and switched the T.V. on, putting it on low volume. Before long, she felt her eyes becoming heavy. She searched along the couch for the remote where she left it, and clicked the off button. Curling into a ball, she let sleep come to her, and prayed for no dreams.
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Changeling tumbled out of his full-size bed, waking with a bang. He yelped and scurried to his feet, allowing his sheets to wrap around his legs, and causing him to fall again. Suddenly, his communicator started to ring, and he crawled towards that, half-asleep, and still wrapped in his sheets. He opened the communicator, yawning a 'Yeah?' into it before glancing at the screen.
Roman appeared on the screen, his eye twitching slightly, and other than his lamp, his room seemed to be encased in darkness. "Some. People. Do. Try. To. Sleep." He hissed, narrowing his bright blue eyes. Changeling gulped, nodding. He guessed that Roman had been disturbed a few times during the night or he wouldn't have bothered with the banging upstairs.
Changeling sighed and closed the communicator. He reached for his costume and pulled it on, bumping his toe on his bedside table. He grumbled as he quietly made his way out of his room, trying to walk lightly to not disturb his roommates below him. 'Mmm, some warm milk. That'll put me right back to sleep.'
Changeling blindly made his way to the kitchen, where he searched the wall with his hand until he found the light switch. Flicking it on, he took in the room until finding the refrigerator. Pulling it open slowly, he found the milk and was preparing to pull it out when his expert ears caught the small sound of breathing. He stood up straight and pulled his hand away from the milk, shutting the fridge.
Changeling's eyes narrowed as he sniffed around, smiling when he recognized the sent of Hiela. Then, as he wondered what she could possibly be doing in the living room, he frowned, and hurried forward to inspect. He scanned the living room quickly, his frown deepening when he saw Hiela sprawled on the couch, clutching the material tightly.
Suddenly, to his surprise, Hiela screamed, loud and long, and sat up crying. Changeling rushed forward, his purple eyes wide in surprise. "Hiela! Hiela, what is it? We- I'm here, Hiela, its okay." He insisted, running to her side and sitting down. He lightly touched her arm and found her to be shaking. The next thing he did was on instinct.
Changeling slowly wrapped his arms around the sobbing teen, patting her back as he pulled her towards him. "Hey… what's wrong, Hiela? Everything will be okay… it was just a dream." He whispered to her. Hiela turned to face him and pressed her face to his shoulder, her hands holding her arms, and cried.
After a while, Hiela cried her last tear and proceeded to sniffle. She extracted her self from Changeling's shoulder and looked up at him, blushing, and a frown on her face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up over a dream." She whispered, brushing tears from her cheeks. Changeling smiled and reached up to brush her hair from her face.
"Aww, it was nothin'. Don't worry about it, Hiela. I'm here to talk to, if you need me." He said this with the utmost sincere look on his face, causing Hiela to blush even deeper. She nodded, about to open her mouth, when she heard a loud cough from behind them.
Robin stood, sleepy eyed, followed by a grumpy looking Flare, Tempest, and an annoyed Roman, whose cloak was now on over his T-shirt and shorts. Robin strode forward; his mask slightly askew, and placed his hands on the back of the sofa. Hiela and Changeling jumped to their feet, both blushing furiously and clearing their throats.
Robin crossed his arms, sighing. He lifted one hand to his face and ran his fingers through his hair, looking down.
"W-what're you going to do to us?" Changeling asked quietly. Robin bit back a yawn, but failed. He glanced back at the other Titans, each of whose eyes were half-closed in complaint to this late meeting. Robin shrugged, at a loss for words.
"I'll think of it in the morning. Both of you, I don't want to see you out of your rooms until I call for you or for an emergency. Am I clear?" Robin muttered, turning around. His cape was draped over his shoulder in a lazy manner, and his hair was ruffled. Hiela and Changeling glanced at each other, apparently the only two who noticed or cared about these obvious flaws.
They didn't bother to look at the others, but instead quietly and quickly headed towards their rooms, glancing at each other momentarily before heading through different hallway. The remaining Titans grumbled over the lack of sleep and stumbled away to their rooms, half asleep.
Hiela jumped into her bed with a new emotion rising in her stomach. Embarrassment, yes, but that wasn't new. She felt a deep admiration toward Changeling, and gratitude at his actions. Pulling the covers close, she snuggled into bed, accompanied for the first time in a few nights with happy dreams.
Changeling, bounding into his bed, lay on his back, his hands behind his head, and a goofy grin on his face. He felt glad to have a real friend he could rely on in the team, along with someone who could rely on him. It gave him a sense… of closeness.
A darkening thought crossed him, though, and that was the punishment Robin would come up with. Hopefully he was too asleep to recognize or realize what was going on, and would get them off with a few extra hours of practice, though not even that would be pretty easy. He sighed in annoyance, turning over and switching off his light.
Roman fell into his bed, rolling his eyes at the occurrences of tonight and let sleep overcome him quickly. If anything, he really didn't want to dwell on the love problems of the Titans. He frowned at the thought of having to deal with couples in between the team. 'No…no, if you start thinking about this, you won't be able to sleep.' With that, he yawned and cleared his mind.
Flare walked into bed, flopped onto her bed, and fell asleep. Tempest did the same, and yet no matter how Robin tried to fall asleep, he couldn't stop worrying about how to manage the infringement of the "No Coupling" rule.
He sighed, beating his pillow and pulling his covers to his neck forcefully. "Stupid love…" he breathed, his eyes tightly shut.
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The next morning went awkwardly. Four of the Titans made it in one by one, three of whom seated themselves at the table, and looked down expectantly at their empty plates. Tempest looked up, her nose crinkled slightly as she frowned. She looked around at Flare, Roman and Robin.
Flare grinned, crossing her arms. "Rock, paper, scissors for it?" She asked, implying breakfast. Roman shook his head, his elbow rested on the table and his chin in his hand. He lazily spun his spoon in the small cup of tea he was half-finished with. Tempest and Robin nodded, grinning, and reached over the table, their hands in the 'rock' motion.
"Rock, papers, scissors, shoot!" Tempest said, opening her palm to paper. Flare and Robin both choose scissors, to her disappointment. Both of them leaned back in their seats, smirking. "Oh, we'll see who's smug when you're done eating." She said, narrowing her eyes as she stood up. Flare and Robin glanced at each other anxiously before rising to their feet as well, and running towards the kitchen.
After cooking their own breakfast, burning it, and cooking it again, Tempest, Robin and Flare sat down to eat overcooked eggs, slightly burnt toast, and warm juice. Roman watched them silently, his eyebrow slightly lifted in amusement. Flare caught his glance and pouted, crossing her arms.
"If you think you can do any better, go ahead." She offered. Roman shook his head, looking down at his cup again. Flare rolled her eyes playfully and returned to her meal, poking the eggs with her fork. Suddenly, she looked up. "I am not, in any way, shape or form, doing the dishes!" she exclaimed, running to the sink and dropping in her dish. Robin stood up, looking down at Tempest.
"Don't even think about it!" She squealed, getting to her feet. Robin frowned, but it quickly became a grin. Tempest eyed him wearily before leaving to the living room after depositing her dirty dishes. Roman followed her quickly, not wanting to have to become the dishwasher.
Robin took out his communicator and thought over who would hate the chore of washing the dishes most. In the end, he called Changeling. "Changeling, get down here. Phase one of your punishment has started." Robin said, and snapped the com shut.
Changelings' voice filtered through the communicator, whining and upset. "Phase one? You mean there'll be MORE?" Robin rolled his eyes and lowered the volume, ignoring Changeling's begs of forgiveness. He arrived at the living room and sat on the couch. Flare was lying on her back on the floor, her feet propped up on the sofa, a magazine concealing her face. Roman sat beside her feet, frowning over a passage in his book and trying to conjure something in his open hand. Tempest was sunken into her seat comfortably, the remote in her hand.
Robin looked at the T.V. and saw, to his pleasure, the news. The Jump on Jump City was currently on the weather. Everyone heard the dishes clang nosily behind them as Changeling washed the dishes in annoyance.
Suddenly, Flare rolled over and sprang to her feet, inspecting an article in the magazine. She sat beside Roman and set the magazine down beside her, gingerly taking the book out of his hand. He looked up in surprise.
"What?" He asked; his voice rough. Flare looked at him in total seriousness as she grasped one of his hands. She looked down sadly, sucking in a breath. Roman leaned back in his seat, his eyes wide in confusion.
"What is it?" He asked, glancing beside him at Tempest and Robin. They looked back at him in pure shock, and both moved to his side.
Flare looked up, her orange eyes boring into Roman's blue ones. "Roman… did you know… that… that because…" Flare halted, closing her eyes. Robin and Tempest looked at each other in blankness. Roman leaned farther back in his seat, dreading to hear whatever was making Flare act so anguished; or really, so dramatic.
Flare sighed and looked back up at Roman, taking a deep breath. "Did you know that 200,000 frowns can cause a brow wrinkle?" She asked, using her other hand to point at Roman's forehead.
Roman blinked.
Tempest and Robin blinked.
Roman frowned.
Flare gasped, "I'll be counting. One."
Tempest and Robin groaned, shaking their heads and getting to their feet. "I'm serious!" Flare responded, "It said it right here in the magazine. It's from a botox article! That's why, supposedly, people are all happy nowadays." She said, crossing her arms. Roman ducked his head, looking down at his book.
"YIKES!" Changeling yelped, and ran out of the kitchen soaking wet. "Who did it!" He cried, pointing back at the sink. Roman sunk deeper into the sofa, hiding his face deeper in his book. Flare laughed softly at Changeling's appearance as Robin ran towards the kitchen to inspect the damage.
"X'hal, Changeling, how hard could it be to do some dishes?" He asked in an exasperated tone. Roman took this as a chance to sink through the sofa and travel to his room.
Tempest looked at the now empty spot where Roman had been sitting and looked up at Flare, smirking. "I'm guessing Roman caused something to blow up, and it's entirely your fault." She said, crossing her arms. Flare held up her hands, smiling.
"Oh please, I would never do such a thing." She said, clasping her hands in front of her. Tempest rolled her silver eyes and laughed. She pointed at the book left on the couch.
"The least you could do is return his book to him." Tempest said, still laughing. Flare gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth.
"Are you kidding me? What if he thinks I'm back to annoy him? He might…-" Tempest shook her head.
"Stop being so dramatic." She concluded, looking back at the soaked Changeling. He smiled widely, glancing back at the now-broken sink. "This means I won't have to clean anymore dishes! SCORE! I gotta go thank Roman!" He yelped, and transformed into a dog. Shaking himself off to get rid of the water, he let out a happy yip and ran out of the living room. Flare and Tempest watched him go, laughing.
Robin frowned and called Hiela down to stop the water flow. He came back and dropped onto his seat, sighing. "You people are going to drive me crazy." He muttered, rubbing his mask. Tempest grinned, followed by a glance at Flare.
"Yes, well, we're good at that." She teased, sitting beside him. Flare picked up her magazine again and proceeded to read until she heard a cry from the kitchen. She looked back, rolling her eyes.
"What now?" She asked, looking expectantly at Robin, who had a look on his face that showed he dreaded finding out whatever was going on. He grumbled something about one problem leading into a whole new one before reluctantly getting to his feet. Leading the way into the kitchen, Robin called ahead and asked what was wrong.
"It's Changeling! Robin, he's frozen!" Hiela squeaked; her voice choked with tears. Robin looked back at Tempest and Flare in disbelief. Both girls snickered before heading to the kitchen, Flare watchful of the many puddles of water that now littered the floor.
Sure enough, there was Changeling, in the form of a dog, sitting in a block of ice. Robin moaned as he kneeled beside the green dog. "Flare, unfreeze him." He commanded after chipping off some ice with a birdarang. Flare nodded and seated herself on the counter above Changeling, and created a small flame in her hands. Robin looked at her in exasperation.
She blinked, "What!" Flare asked innocently, the fire steadily burning away at the ice. Robin frowned at her, and made an upward motion.
"Can't you speed up the process?" He asked, raking one hand through his hair. Flare frowned, shrugged, and nodded.
"One burnt Changeling, coming right up." She muttered, blasting the block of ice with fire. The whole thing melted at once and splashed to the ground, leaving the dog shaking and shivering, not to mention cowering away from the flames. Flare closed her hands into a fist and the fire stopped. Changeling yowled, still in his dog form, and ran around Hiela nervously.
"Dude, I swear never to creep up on you again, just please don't freeze me!" He yipped, transforming back into a human. Hiela held her hand to her mouth and suppressed a giggle. Flare looked down at the puddle at her feet and flung fire into it, evaporating the water.
Tempest smiled and nudged Robin. "Whatever happened to the no relationship rule?" She asked, motioning towards Hiela and Changeling. Robin blinked, looking down at her in shock.
"Well… they're just friends, aren't they?" He asked, his voice faltering. Tempest rolled her silver eyes and shrugged.
"If you say so…"
Roman entered, and looked up at one of the alarm sensors at the top corner of the kitchen. "Something's happening at the museum." He uttered; his voice composed. The Titans looked at him in confusion, yet flew into action when he pointed upward and the alarm started blaring. Robin ran to the computer where he analyzed the situation.
"Got it right on the dot, Roman; some guy who calls himself Tiempo is trying to steal authentic Renaissance jewels." He said, and then motioned down to the garage. "Here's a chance to try out our bikes." He said, grinning. The other Titans grinned back at him, a mischievous glint to all their eyes- minus Hiela.
"Changeling, get Hiela to the museum. Titans, to the garage!" Robin commanded, following Changeling and Hiela into the elevator. Flare took one glance at the almost-full compartment and shook her head, and ran towards the stairs. Tempest sighed and ran after her. Roman looked at the two and followed.
"Hold on." He said, taking both of them by their elbows. "Aldruon Enlenthranal." He said, and walked straight into a black void. Flare and Tempest squeaked at the sudden lack of floor, but Roman walked straight through the air. In a second, they were walking in the garage. Roman let go of the two, who blinked in surprise, and made it over to his motorcycle.
Robin was already leaping onto his and clicked a couple buttons on the headboard. All the Titans toppled as a huge door opened upwards and a Chunnel opened in front of the vehicles. "Don't just stand there, Titans, get a move on!" He called, and grabbed his helmet. He slung it on, and zoomed out into the Chunnel. Roman pulled out a black helmet and put it on reluctantly, then gassed the bike and tore out of the garage. Flare looked at her flamed helmet in contempt. "I'm going to look like a driving flame." She hissed, weary of being clad entirely in fire. Sighing, she pulled it on and started the bike, at first leaning to the side yet quickly finding her balance.
Tempest shrugged as she pulled on her lightning-streaked helmet. Her finger grazed a button near the back, and she gasped as she saw the stats of the other Titans, and a small microphone appeared on the inside of the helmet. "Amazing!" she cried. Robin, Roman and Flare skidded to a halt upon hearing her.
Robin quickly reacted, switching his own helmet on. "Button's on the bottom, near the back, Titans. Nice job, Tempest!" He continued onward, now exiting the Chunnel as the Titans adapted their helmets. Changeling helped Hiela to her seat and jumped on in front of her, and sped out of the garage smiling; Hiela was gripping him tightly, whimpering.
One by one, the Titans arrived on the scene. Robin was speaking with the police by the time Tempest had arrived, and they were shortly joined by the rest of the team, which comprised of Hiela and Changeling.
Changeling got off, rubbing his stomach where Hiela had pressed him tightly during the turns. He grinned sheepishly when she turned to him, and offered his hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her off. "That was… exhilarating." Hiela said breathlessly. Changeling smiled softly and bit back his answer of 'Like you' since Robin was walking over to the Titans.
"Four people are in a coma. Nobody knows how it happened, they just approached Tiempo. Roman is going to stay with them and try to… Well, I'm not exactly sure, but he knows what he's doing. Flare, Tempest and Hiela are going to go through the exits all throughout the museum. There're three, obviously, and Changeling and I are going through the ceiling." He looked at his fellow Titans, all except Roman, who was sitting cross-legged behind four police officers, his brow knitted in concentration. They looked back at him, nodding, and waited his final command.
"Don't attack until I say 'go'." He said, then turned back towards the ceiling, used a grapple, and shot up. Tempest, Hiela and Flare each looked at each other before running towards the entrances and exits. Flare took the back door, Tempest the front, and Hiela the emergency exit. Changeling transformed into a hawk and flew up after Robin and transformed back into himself quietly.
"Do you think it was a smart idea to separate?" He whispered. Robin nodded, pointing down at a solemn-moving figure in the huge skylights of the museum.
"He takes people down by surprising them. This way, we can surprise him." Changeling nodded, understanding.
"So when do we make our move?" He asked. Robin looked at him, his face expressing a "duh" look.
"When we surround him." He said, a bit slowly. Changeling frowned and grumbled something about just being curious until Robin pulled off a vent from the air conditioners. He stepped aside for Changeling, who became a fly and zoomed through the vents and out one of the crevices, buzzing above Tiempo's bright blond hair. Robin crawled after him, his soft-sounding motions matching his breathing.
He glanced through one of the open vents and saw Hiela crawling into position on Tiempo's left side. Seating himself, he turned to face his other side. Robin saw Flare wriggling through an exhibit of knights around the table and nodded to himself. Now he needed to find Tempest. Squirming through the opening, Robin glanced ahead. Finding Tempest hidden within some giant plant exhibits, he nodded, and glanced back down at Tiempo.
By now, he had closed his pack with the jewels inside them, and was heaving it up to his shoulder. Robin positioned himself over one of the openings, and took in a breath to call out to his team. Kicking open the vent, he swung down, pulled out a grappling hook, shot it at Tiempo and called out to the teens stationed around the villain.
"Teen Titans, go!"
Tiempo shot around, held up his staff, and wrapped the hook around it. He swung downward with the bird-a-rang wrapped around the hourglass at the head of the staff, causing Robin to crash downwards, growling a string of Tameranian curses on the way. Robin reacted quickly, though, and stood up, and threw a set of bird-a-rangs and exploding disks at Tiempo, who countered them with his staff as well, grinning. His bright blue eyes gleamed with deception as he glanced at the hourglass before attacking.
Flare came from behind him, rising her leg to kick Tiempo, but he grabbed her ankle and wretched her forward, causing her to topple into Robin. "This isn't going too well," She muttered, rolling off him. Robin scowled again, this time in English, before rising to his feet.
"Something isn't right. He's predicting our moves. Watch." He pointed as Tempest rose from her hiding place and raised her hands to attack. Her fingers cackled with electricity, and yet Tiempo was already on the move after a quick glance at his staff. Changeling, in the form of a dog, ran through this, and grabbed Tiempo's bag of jewels.
Tiempo saw this, though, as readily as he saw the other Titan's attacks. Raising his hand, he snapped his fingers, and Tempests' attack was stopped; or more precisely, postponed, as she proceeded to move in slow motion. He turned back and looked down at the glaring purple-eyed dog, which growled and scampered away with the bag of gems. Tiempo waved his hand after him, and as Tempest became slower, Changeling moved in reverse. The little green dog stepped backwards towards Tiempo as Hiela blasted shreds of ice in Tiempo's direction. He turned and smirked, opening his palm in her direction. The ice stopped in place, and changed directions, now facing Robin and Flare. The two glanced at each other before leaping in opposite directions, and the ice was flung in their path. Changeling stood beside Tiempo and released the bag. Tiempo grasped the bag and leaned forward, and ruffled Changeling's head.
"Stay, you mutt." He muttered, and walked forward. Tempest was still standing straight, her hands sparkling, and trying to get her feet to move forward. "You should chill out, cutie." Tiempo smirked, and tilted his head in her direction. The ice, still transfixed in the air, flung in her direction. Flare turned to throw fire in the direction to melt the ice, and Robin shot a grappling hook at Tempest's waist to pull her away.
Tiempo saw both these attacks. He turned, seeing that each of the Titans were occupied, and prepared to run for the door when he met Hiela's fist.
"Release my friends!" She said, her blue eyes narrowed into slits. He rubbed his forehead angrily, as her fists froze over, and she stood eye-to-eye with Tiempo. He smirked, waving his hand across her face. She gasped, and felt her feet loose their ability to move. He looked into her eyes, and grasped her face with one hand, and dug through her past, holding his staff to her forehead. He frowned when he couldn't find any depressing or dark memories, and shoved her away.
"Your past is hidden. I would help you find it, but seeing as we're enemies…" He winked at her and picked up the bag again. Now, though, the Titans were back in motion, and Tempest safely in a corner of the museum. Changeling struggled to get out of his dog-from, and once he did, he was free of the time-frozen spell. He ran over to Hiela, who was grasping her head and shivering, flashes of her memories now fleeting through her head due to Tiempo's meddling.
Changeling lifted his gaze to Tiempo and snarled, transforming into a wolf and charging forward. Tiempo lifted his staff and smacked Changeling as he leapt, causing him to skid aside. Flare frowned and raised a ring fire around Tiempo, who turned around, widely searching for the person who had cast the flaming cage.
Tiempo narrowed his bright blue eyes upon seeing another teenager in the circle with him. Roman looked up at him, his own bright eyes covered in a void of darkness. His hands were in shadowy fists as he glared his opponent. The white-clad boy looked into his hourglass and glanced to his sides, and sure enough, the fires lifted and Flare and Robin stepped through. Tiempo smirked, taking in their pasts.
"Oh, I'm going to have fun with the three of you." He said, turning around to look at each of them. Robin glanced at Roman, who nodded. He phased through the floor, and Flare widened the cage of fire, her eyes engulfed in flames. Robin ran forward, his fists closed, at Tiempo. Flare placed her hands on the floor and ran a river of fire at his feet. Tiempo turned around and grabbed Robin, swinging him around by his cape, and tossed him out of the cage-like fire. Robin rolled over, the flames dying immediately against the material of his outfit, and coughed. He turned and jumped to his feet and ran back into the flames, covering his face with his arms. Tiempo turned to avoid the fire Flare had cast.
"Titans, we gotta get that staff away!" He yelled, half-choked with smoke. Roman appeared behind Tiempo, lashing out at him with a kick, yet was countered with the hourglass striking his knee. Tiempo grinned, pulling back at Roman's darkest memories, his deepest secrets.
"Well, your time on Earth has been a really bad one. I pity for your mother, giving birth to an evil little kid like you." Tiempo taunted. Roman clenched his teeth in rage and threw a punch at Tiempo, who grabbed his fist inches from his face. Roman fell to his knees as Tiempo replayed his worst fear, the nightmare that was his life from 8 years ago as vividly as it had just happened. Roman let out a tortured yell as Tiempo watched him writhe, and crumple to his knees, his attention focused on rummaging into his life time.
'Crack!' Robin's staff smacked against the back of Tiempo's neck as Flare ran forward and grasped his staff, wrenching it from his grip. Roman fell back, gasping, and edged away, getting to his feet slowly. Flare glanced at him before turning her attention to a furious Tiempo, whose eyes were focused greedily on the staff.
"Don't let him touch it!" Robin yelled, running behind Tiempo. He pulled out a freezing disc, then glanced at it, and turned around, still jogging backwards, to inspect Hiela and Changeling. Hiela, lightly touching her forehead, was tapping Changeling's shoulder, whom was sprawled on the floor, a knight's suit of armor toppled over him. He turned around, and glanced around to find Tempest, who was still where he had left her after picking her up from the slow-motion trick. She was recovering, shaking her head now. Roman was leaning against a wall for support, his hood pulled up and his fists clenched in rage.
He turned back to Flare, who was darting through the museum exhibits with the staff clutched to her chest. Tiempo was thrusting things aside to reach her, his white and gold costume becoming a blur due to his frantic movements.
"Duck!" He yelled at Flare, causing Tiempo to turn to him as he aimed the freeze-disk. Roman appeared behind him, his eyes slits, and darkness seeping from his cloak. He grasped Tiempo by the shoulders and dragged him into the darkness beneath him. Tiempo's hands flailed outwards, his shriek filling the destroyed museum. "Roman- wait! No!" Robin added to his call, and pointing at the hole. "Flare, stop him!" He commanded.
Flare threw the staff at Robin and dove towards the void, and grasped Tiempo's hand, the last thing visible as the portal-like hole was closing. She reached down until she felt Roman's hand clutching Tiempo, whom was reaching out at Flare as a leech would, screaming. Robin came to her side, and both of them pulled the two brawling teens out of the void, and Flare wretched her arm away, gaping at the scratch-marks left by Tiempo. Robin grabbed Tiempo and pulled him away, glaring at Roman. He dragged a wide-eyed Tiempo through the museum until he came to Hiela and Changeling.
Changeling rubbed his dazed head, and turned to Hiela. "You! Are you okay? I saw Tiempo grab you and I-" Hiela nodded, taking a breath as another fleeting memory flashed before her, and she saw the snapping of ice and splashing of water.
"I- I'm fine." She answered shakily. Robin was hand-cuffing Tiempo, who was now recovering from the death-like encounter Roman had given him. He turned to Hiela upon hearing her statement, and shook his head.
"That's what you think, sweet stuff. You need my help whether you want it or not; I'm the only one who can show you the truth." He whispered to her, his grimace slowly becoming a smirk. Robin frowned and shoved Tiempo forward, glancing at Hiela, who was looking at Tiempo fearfully.
"Don't talk to her." Robin snapped at Tiempo, and helped Changeling to his feet.
Hiela looked at Flare, who was helping Tempest to her feet. The Titans looked at each other wearily; save Roman, who was storming from the museum, dark energy cackling in the air around him. Robin continued forward after Roman, dragging Tiempo along, who had kept his gaze on Hiela. Changeling felt himself growling at his blue-eyed smugness, and proceeded forward with the other boys. Tempest, her arm around Flare's shoulders for support, called Hiela over.
"What was that guy talking about?" Tempest asked in a sluggish manner. Flare shifted beneath her, looking up at Hiela, and nodding. Hiela blushed lightly, shrugging. Both girls looked up at her expectantly, and she sighed.
"It was nothing important. I can tell you guys when we get back to the Tower." She said, turning towards the exit. Flare huffed, and pulled Tempests' arm higher and stood up straighter. She frowned, and stepped forward with Tempest.
"The least you could do is help me out." She muttered. Hiela turned around, nodded, and whispered an apology as she ran over to Tempest's other shoulder and hooked her arm around her own neck. With that, the Titanettes left the museum, and joined their fellow Titans outside.
Roman had left the side of the police and was standing off to the side, trying to get to his motorcycle but his path was obstructed by the four whom he had saved. Flare, Hiela and Tempest walked over to Robin and Changeling. Robin had shoved Tiempo into the squad car and turned to his team. He looked at Tempest, who stood up a bit straighter. Robin frowned and looked back at her motorcycle.
"Roman, come here." He called, turning to face him. Roman turned and practically ran away from the four people thanking him, his face dully flushed. "I need you to teleport Tempest's bike back to the garage. I'll drive her back home. The rest of you, I want you to patrol for an hour," Robin was interrupted by a groan of protest. He held up his hand and the Titans settled down, muttering quietly about the amount of work they'd already done. "As I was saying, patrol for an hour. Watch for any civilian help that is needed. Then report back to the Tower. Roman, after you get Tempest's bike in the garage I want you to go out there, too. Hiela, when you're done, I'd like for you to come talk with me." His gaze rested on her, causing her to shuffle her feet in discomfort. "Roman, too."
Robin shifted his gaze to Tempest. "Come with me, Tempest." He said, opening his palm to her. Flare and Hiela stepped aside and Tempest stepped forward sluggishly, and Robin hefted her into his arms. Roman glanced at Tempest.
"That should wear off in an hour or two, you know." He informed, and turned to the motorcycles. Hiela sat behind Changeling again, and Robin placed Tempest in front of him to keep her steady. Roman stood over Tempest's bike, and grasped the handles. "Allez à A garagem". The handles disintegrated, followed by the rest of the bike, and he hopped onto his cycle.
Flare rode up beside him, her helmet in place, and tapped the back of her helmet. The microphone came up. "I'll race you downtown." She said, gassing the bike. Roman nodded, pulling on his own helmet. He turned to gaze at her when another bike sped ahead of them, and Changeling's voice filtered through the speakers.
"I bet I can beat both of you!" He yelled, ignoring the squeals of protest from Hiela. Flare and Roman shook their heads, smirking.
"Yeah, right, if downtown was that way." Flare said, revving her bike. Roman followed suit. Robin sped away, heading towards the Tower.
"Will you guys just go already?" He asked, glancing back momentarily at the two Titans still waiting for each other.
Roman and Flare both sped off in smoke at the mention of go. Changeling had tried to turn back around and get into the direction of downtown, but was caught in traffic. "Thank goodness." Hiela muttered. Changeling pouted, sighing. "But Hieeela," He whined, "I wanted to beeeat them." Flare and Roman caught this and smirked, both neck and neck through the City, taking alleyways and detours.
"Titans, don't forget your priorities. Make sure you protect the people." Robin reminded them. The Titans all groaned out a yeah, and slowed down, more attentive to cats in trees, children crossing streets, and old women loosing their purses.
"What an eventful city…" Roman muttered, revving up towards the downtown plaza. Flare sped past beside him, her helmeted- head turning slightly in his direction.