T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T
Titans Tower
February 6, 2006
6:09 am (Daybreak)
T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T
"Reach the end of the obstacle course," Robin had told them. That's the catch with training simulations...They are never as easy as they sound.
Doubly so when coming out of the Boy Wonder's mouth.
Nightstar's legs pumped with all of their might as she ran down the dirt path of the course, a pair of green-blue starbolts in her hands. With a battle cry, the half-Tamaranean hurled them at two robotic drones that were blocking her path.
The drones fizzled and popped as the explosive energy caused their heads to burst like watermelons under a mallet. She kept up her determined stride, gliding past them with relative ease, while her fury fueled another set of bolts in her gloved fingers.
Another drone erupted from the rocky earth not a few yards in front of her, this one slightly larger than the others, with a pair of lasers on it's shoulders and emotionless yellow eyes trained on the female Titan.
Whurr Whurr Whurr...Ker-thunk!
A disc of neon blue whizzed past, just inches from Nightstar's left as Sentinel's laser blade drove itself into the chestplate of the drone. Blurring past her like a gazelle, the dreadlocked teen charged at the robot, retrieving his laser blade and crouching into a spin.
He gracefully dodged a hefty swing from the drone and came up behind it, slicing up what would have been the robot's spine. His blade of light left a trail of red hot metal as he cleaved the robot up the middle, before drawing his blade back and slicing off the drone's head to finish it off.
The dark-skinned Titan gave Nightstar the slightest of nods, before breaking into a sprint down the path.
Nightstar rushed to catch up with him, and the two were eventually running side-by-side, like a pair of cheetah running across the Savannah. The road in front of them virtually erupted in laser fire as a barrage of red beams whizzed past like an angry swarm.
As soon as they spotted a cropping of large boulders they took refuge behind them, the red energy slowly chipping away at the rock. It would at least give them time to form a plan.
Apparently a certain tin-man had thought of this and planned ahead, a disc launcher popping up right in front of them, as if to punish them for stopping in the middle of the course. It unleashed several exploding discs, not unlike that of the Boy Wonder's.
Before either of them had time to prepare a counter-attack, beams of red heat sliced through the discs, detonating them before they hit their mark. Sentinel closed his eyes and Nightstar raised an arm to shield her eyes as the discs exploded in a cloud of fire and smoke, before dissipating quickly in the air.
Superboy took his time and crouched as he blasted the disc launcher with his heat vision, melting the thing into a twisted hunk of metal debris. He quickly dove into a roll to escape the laser blasters' line of fire and eased beside Nightstar, leaning out a little to get a view of the course before them.
Several yards in the distance was a line of disc launchers poking out of the rocky earth. Beyond that a steep hill and just on the line of the horizon were more boulders that no doubt held surprises. The rest of the training course was a mystery at this point. The team hadn't been allowed to see the finish line.
"Old-school! Intense stuff," he flashed her a wild grin.
She rolled her eyes at the Boy of Steel and readied a starbolt while her eyes scanned the course for her two other teammates.
Geoforce and Menagerie were running up from behind to meet them, practically sprinting to escape the laser bolts creating small eruptions of dirt and smoke at their feet. As they neared their friends several more armored drones appeared from underground, leveling their wrist lasers at the two teens.
With a cry from the small teen, Geoforce's eyes shifted from their normally pale blue to bright yellow. He swept a gloved hand out before him, sending out a burst of gravity force that lifted the robots off of their feet and into the bay of Jump City with a loud series of splashes.
He finished off another drone with a blast of thermal heat from his palm, blowing a hole right through the drone as it collapsed in a heap before him.
Menagerie dropped her stance in mid-sprint and leaped high in the air, pouncing on the largest robot. Her slender green arms wreathed themselves in dark energy as they came down on the helpless drone, clawing at its chest like one would break open a crab.
Within seconds the once hulking automaton was silent, circuit boards and computer parts ripped out and spread everywhere. In a burst of speed she hopped once more and came down on the last two with her soul claws, slicing them to ribbons.
Nightstar raised seemingly delicate fingers to her lips and blew a sharp whistle. In moments the team of future Titans were huddled behind a boulder, the turrets almost giving them a slight break as they had stopped firing for the moment.
Geoforce coughed, not used to running around all over the place, "Whoa...This...is...a...whole lot harder...than I thought," he managed to wheeze.
Menagerie peered out at the disc launchers beyond, "Are they trying to kill us or something?"
There was a long silence.
"I'm just sayin'...," she simpered.
Robin had told them to treat this simulation as the "real thing", even though their only goal was for one of them to make it to the finish line.
It was hard to do that with the restrictions he placed on each Titan. Superboy and Geoforce were not allowed to fly for this simulation, Menagerie wasn't allowed to shift into her beast form (although that might have been for safety precautions as well), Sentinel was left with only a single laser blade, and the half-Tamaranean had all of her bat-gear taken.
Sentinel tapped his right temple, "We should be coming up with a plan instead of complaining. I have no doubt there are plenty more surprises on top of that hill."
Nightstar nodded in agreement, "Right. We'll be sitting ducks..."
Superboy glared at the hill. The sun was still creeping up over the boulders, leaving a line of bright sun over the horizon.
"I say we gun it. Go for broke."
Geoforce sighed, his breath returning to normal, "He's right. Only one of us has to make it."
The leader shook her head, "I'd like for us all to get there. This isn't a suicide mission, just a training sim."
"But then what does it matter? As long as one of us makes it, we'll pass, right," Menagerie sheepishly pointed out.
Nightstar couldn't argue with their logic, looking out into the distance, "It could work...But-!"
Sentinel pointed up to the top of the hill, "Above!" he shouted as another set of disc launchers revealed themselves and proceeded to open fire on the five. The boulder was slowly being whittled away from the explosive discs, and at that point the Titans knew they were out of time.
"Titans, Go!" Nightstar commanded and broke into a run, rushing towards the hill with all the force her legs could muster.
Every instinct was telling her this plan wouldn't work, but there was no other option. The goal was clear, all they had to do was make it to the finish line. She hurled a pair of starbolts at a disc launcher, clearing the way for her friends to charge.
Her teammates followed behind her; Sentinel leaning forward with his sprint to give himself more speed to catch up to Nightstar, while Superboy used his heat-vision to give his partners some cover. Menagerie and Geoforce had to practically crawl as they scrambled up the steep slope.
Just as the two younger members neared the middle of the slope, a thin mechanical crevice opened up a few feet above them, leaking a slick brown substance. An automated mudslide, a new addition of Cyborg's.
Geoforce managed to skitter over to the side, but Menagerie was not so lucky, the wet stuff causing her to lose her footing and fall over into a tumble. The blond teen dove as quickly as he could for her, grabbing a green hand so that she could steady herself.
"Thanks...," she said weakly.
"We ain't out of the woods yet," he proclaimed, and pulled her forward.
"I'll scout ahead. Back me up," Sentinel said as lowered himself further with his body only a few feet from the ground. His speed practically doubled, giving him the momentum to spring into an aerial corkscrew and land just over the top of the hill.
He had barely a second to examine the scene before him, but his electronic eyes saw everything. A flat stretch of land before them that was split halfway by another section of boulders. Farther ahead was their goal, a large gate with a timer counting up.
The finish line.
But he was nowhere near it, and all of a sudden a laser blaster popped out from a trapdoor, with six long barrels. It began to rotate like a machine gun and assailed him with long bursts of red energy.
The dark-skinned boy thumbed the trigger on the hilt of his sword and the blue blade extended to the length of a long sword, while he spun swinging his blade in time with the streaks of red.
PING PANG PONG!
Blue mingled with Red as he deflected each blast, sending the deadly bolts right back to their source. He coolly approached the chain-gun weapon, spinning his blade with a controlled ferocity. In mere seconds the gun was peppered with holes from its own beams, and the device fell off its mount with a loud explosion.
Sentinel smirked and turned back to his friends who were just making their way to the top of the hill.
"I got the chain-gun. All clear."
Wurrrrh-click!
Another pair of mounted weapons decided to make their appearance, one humming with a white pulse, the other a blue pulse.
He turned back a little too late, the white bolt hitting him square in his chestplate, undulating waves of light running across the ground. His blue blade went out like a candle being snuffed. The second blue blast struck his stomach, rocketing him high into the air and rolling back down the bottom of the hill.
"Xander," Menagerie cried, her face filled with worry for her friend.
"He'll be fine! Come on, let's keep moving!", Nightstar ordered while hurling starbolts at the two emplacements. The green skinned elf reluctantly nodded and pressed on with the rest of the team.
Geoforce and Superboy were already a third of the way down the clear path, making steady progress as they paired up and used their heat powers to destroy another set of disc launchers on top of the boulders up ahead.
WRRRRRRRRRRR...
A strange sound, like a car riding on steel wheels was heard in the distance. Three rolling spheres made there way in between the boulders, heading straight for the two teenagers.
Geoforce raised his gloved hands towards the center ball, his eyes glowing yellow as he unleashed a blast of thermal energy. Superboy squinted to release his heat vision, but a sharp stinging sensation filled his oculars and his beams just barely hit other two orbs.
The yellow and red blasts seemed to roll right off the rolling drones' smooth surfaces as they continued on their warpath.
The Boy of Steel placed a hand over his blue eyes, gritting his teeth, "My vision is screwin' up man! You'll have to provide cover until I can see straight!" His blond friend patted him on the shoulder to let him know he had his back.
One of the orbs began to peel open like an orange, revealing a virtually hollow center. Geoforce saw his chance and charged forward, raising both palms to fire a large wave of yellow heat at the sphere.
Unfortunately, like the first time the blast had little to no effect on the thing.
It all seemed like slow motion as the orb wrapped itself around the boy, closing with a loud CLANK and trapping him inside of it like a bubble. His muffled cries could still be heard outside the metal shell.
"Brion!" Superboy rushed over to the orb to pry his friend free, but an orb with his name on it blocked his path, heading straight for him.
The red and blue clad teen wasn't about to be beaten that easily, and rushed forward just as the sphere began to "flower" its way open. He grabbed the right side of it firmly in his hands and brought it down on a boulder, crushing the thing to pieces. Even this creation was no match for Kryptonian strength.
The last orb met a similar fate, crushed in the large boy's hands like a soda can. As soon as the imminent threat was gone he rushed back to the lone orb in the middle of the path. He searched the surface of the orb in an attempt to find some way of freeing Geoforce, for he couldn't risk crushing the orb and hurting his friend.
Nightstar and Menagerie stopped nearby. "Kon-el come on!" urged Menagerie.
"Not without Brion!" the alien said, frantically trying to open the sphere.
"We can't help him like this. More drones could come any second. If we finish the course he'll be released. The sooner we win, the sooner he's free," Nightstar reasoned.
Seconds and a deep sigh passed before the dark haired teen nodded, leaving his friend behind.
The three managed to make it past another line of disc launchers without too much trouble; Superboy opening up a path in the middle by smashing a launcher with his fists, although he had to take a few discs to the chest in order to do so. His muscles ached with the promise of pain the next morning and his newly cleaned uniform was burned black and shredded once more.
Just as they reached the rocky outcropping, large metal plates like walls shot up from the ground between sets of rocks, leaving only one opening to get through them. A maze...
"Wonderful...," Superboy muttered, not too pleased at the thought of having to go through a maze. Heck, the ones in the magazines routinely gave the boy a headache.
Nightstar slapped him upside his head, "Shut up and run!" The Boy of Steel was about to protest, until he heard it. The loud rumble, almost like a stampede. Behind them a wave of robots were closing in, readying their lasers.
Menagerie and Superboy ran into the maze as quickly as they could, right on the heels of their leader.
A turn to the left, a turn to the right, and a fork in the road. Nightstar didn't have time to think and just followed her instincts, heading for the right with her two comrades in tow. They ran through the maze for what seemed like an eternity.
Menagerie shrank at the thought of them being trapped in the maze, her breath quickening in a slight panic, "We gotta get out of here..."
M'ari looked around, trying to figure out where they had made a wrong turn. They couldn't retrace their steps, or they may come face first into a fury of lasers. An idea suddenly came to her.
"Superboy, can you make a shortcut?" she asked.
A quizzical look crossed his face, before he slapped himself on the forehead, "D'uh!" he exclaimed.
SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH!
The two girls were right behind the juggernaut that was Superboy as he plowed through the metal doors. They escaped the maze within moments and made a mad dash for the finish line. The teens were so close they could almost taste it, picking up their pace.
And that's when all hell broke loose.
The ground quaked and rumbled, the earth breaking in front of them to reveal an immense robot that was at least two stories tall and similar to the other drones, but with one difference. It's hands were huge and made for smashing. A notion that was not lost on the three Titans.
It raised one of its massive hands and unleashed a huge blast of sonic energy at Menagerie, flinging her back and into a metal wall. The petite girl fell to the brown earth and slipped into unconsciousness.
Superboy peered up at the large drone, "Oh sh--!"
He didn't have time to finish, as the robot brought a massive fist down on him. It took all of his strength just to keep from buckling under the weight of the blow as he held the fist firmly over him, muscles straining. Nightstar launched a flurry of starbolts, leaving small holes in the mechanical monster's side, but doing little damage.
"Go!"
Nightstar's gaze whipped back to Superboy. He was already knee deep in the dirt, sweat pouring from his skin, "Just go! Reach the finish line!" he screamed.
The girl turned and ran, the gate only twenty yards away. On both sides of the path lines of chain-gun lasers made their presence known, unleashing an onslaught of lasers in front of the half-Tamaranean. She ran through the gauntlet anyway, lasers grazing her uniform.
She broke into a roll to get under the barrage and crawled beneath the blasts until she cleared the line, crouching into another sprint. The lasers turned to follow her path and the heat from their beams could be felt on her back as she cried out in pain. She was lucky they didn't penetrate her uniform.
Nightstar dived with all the power her legs had, mere feet from the gate and slammed onto the ground, her fingers slipping past the finish line. A loud buzzer signaled the end of the simulation as the master drone slumped and the lasers stopped firing. The whole course seemed to go dead.
The girl gave a much needed sigh of relief, wiping her brow of sweat, panting heavily. A much bruised and battered Superboy came up beside her, "Way to go...Now if only I had the strength to beat that bird brain senseless we could call it a victory."
Sentinel was trudging up to meet them, a dizzy Menagerie in his arms. Geoforce was close behind, muttering something about how he was going to kill Cyborg for such a cheap trap.
Nightstar smiled at her team, "At least we succeeded."
"Wrong...You failed."
They all shared looks of disbelief and shock as they turned to Robin, who was now making his way towards them.
Sentinel blinked, "Wait a minute. You said only one of us had to reach the finish line. Nightstar made it, so how did we lose?"
Robin shook his head, "I also told you to treat this sim as the real thing. In the field you never, NEVER, leave a teammate behind unless you have no choice."
Superboy shot the Boy Wonder a hard look, "Well in case you didn't notice, this course was friggin' death trap! We would have been killed if she didn't finish."
"Just like when you fight any villain. Difference is that when you fight a villain, you plan ahead. Formulate and stick to a plan. You guys recklessly charged forward with the foolish hope that you would beat the simulation."
"It was HIS idea...," Geoforce muttered while pointing at Superboy.
"Regardless...Geoforce, why weren't you providing fire support? Those heat waves are perfect for picking off turrets, yet you attacked mostly drones and thus caused Superboy to use up the one long range power that he has," Robin turned to the geomancer, mask bearing down on him.
The blond teen stuttered and realized silence was his best and only answer.
"Menagerie...You should have been up front with the others, attacking most of the drones with your soul-self. I know you can't manipulate it like Raven, but you can utilize it in beast forms. An octopus arm could have swept aside most of the drones quickly and efficiently," Robin noted.
She didn't respond, her ears dropping at the criticism.
"Sentinel...Your the most agile member of the team, you should have been right beside her. Your lightsaber gives you an advantage the others don't have."
"I'm not that much of an asset without the rest of my equipment..."
"Deal with it. You have enough skill with that thing to be on the front line. You proved it when you took out that chain gun, but your used to blasting with your cannons or using other weapons. You don't focus because your so used to finishing your enemies quickly and leave yourself wide open."
The dreadlocked teen nodded with a sigh.
"Superboy."
"Oh here it comes...," the tall boy rolled his eyes.
"Besides your attitude, your too reckless. Are you invincible to laser fire, or not?"
"Well...I mean...I can handle it pretty well."
"Then why weren't you at the very head of the column. If you can take the punishment, why let Nightstar and Sentinel be up front?"
"Well, she's the leader and all that...shouldn't she be up front?" he questioned.
"Not when it puts the team at a strategic disadvantage. Your the tank of the group, and should be up front, plowing through any obstacles. Anything that gets past you should be softened up enough for your team to take down. If all of you had made it to the end that juggernaut drone wouldn't have been a problem."
Slowly the team began to realize how badly they had approached that training simulation. Their triumphant high had been replaced with a very crashing low.
"The goal of this was to teach you all that teamwork is nothing without strategy and focus. If you all were to fight a villain the same way, you might win, but lose the whole team. If being a Titan has taught me anything, it's that there is always a new threat just around the corner. With no team, who will take on the next supervillain or mad scientist with delusions of grandeur?"
The rest of the Titans nodded in understanding.
"Keep a steady pace, take control of the situation, and keep your team alive to fight another day if you have to. Sometimes it's okay to flee if you can't press forward," Robin said, finishing his lecture.
"Dismissed."
The Titans began to head for the foot of the Tower, when Nightstar stopped, "Wait...what about me?"
Robin didn't look at her, "What about you?"
"Well I was expecting some speech about how badly I planned ahead and led the team through the course..."
"How can you be bad at something your not doing?" he remarked, walking away.
The anger was visible on her face, but she said nothing, clenching her fists to tightly her knuckles were audibly cracking.
Robin didn't even look back, heading back up to the course control center.
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"Could you have been just a little harder on them?" Raven asked Robin as he took a seat by the control panel of the obstacle course.
"I have to be...They haven't had much training."
"Your kidding right? They nearly mopped the floor with us. Those guys know what there doing and you bringing them down could hurt more than help," The dark girl admitted.
Robin shook his head, rubbing the edge of his mask, "No...They haven't been training with US. If they hope to be of any use than they have to start thinking like us. Adapt to our way of fighting and dealing with situations. If they don't, they'll be a bunch just like those robots Cyborg built. Dangerous but predictable."
The goth girl couldn't deny the truth in that, "So your saying that you want them to...blend with us?"
"Exactly, if they can learn to work with us, then we won't have any problems with what lies ahead. This armageddon...This cataclysm they talk about. It will take more than five extra Titans to deal with it."
"You mean Slade..."
The Boy Wonder raised an eyebrow at her, "What?"
"When we first began to deal with Slade, you did the same thing you lectured them about. Focusing only on the goal and not what kind of toll it would take on your team. It nearly destroyed us all."
"Right. I'd much rather we all survive what's coming, instead of getting killed trying to stop it."
Raven pondered his words for a moment, "You were still being a jerk."
Robin smirked, "It's a gift."
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Common Room
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"Can you believe that guy? What a waste of time!" Superboy growled as he pulled a Gatorade out of the fridge, "I mean, how big is Robin's ego to run us through that kind of a mindjob?"
Sentinel smirked, "As big as yours?"
"Ha Ha...," Superboy sarcastically replied, "What about you? Don't you think it was screwed up the way he did that to us?"
"It was a test. Flunking doesn't make you a flunky," he ran a hand through his dreads. "We did the best we could." he added before chugging down more water from a gallon jug.
Geoforce nodded, "Yep...we got schooled. Let's just hope we don't face any villains with obstacle courses."
Superboy chuckled, "Nah, they all died out in the 80's...It's all about robotic goons nowadays."
"Ah, the slow and the dimwitted..."
"Amen."
They nodded at each other with wide grins.
Menagerie was curled up in a chair, sheepishly raising a hand, "Well it's not like we lost right?"
Sentinel rolled his eyes, "Forget about it...We'll do better next time. Let it roll off your back."
The girl nodded, although a look of disappointment was still apparent on her face. Nightstar patted her on the shoulder, "Look on the bright side...worst case scenario, we could have all been killed."
Superboy nearly spit out his Gatorade, a few drops dribbling down his chin. Geoforce cracked up.
Swish!
Cyborg and Beast Boy entered the common room with amused looks on their faces. The tin-man was the first to speak, "Wassup? I take you all finally ran the Terminator simulation?"
"Terminator...Sounds like you dad..."
"I'm a James Cameron fanboy, what can I say?" Cyborg laughed, "Did you all get the lecture about how you all failed?"
The Titans all blinked at the metal-man.
Beast Boy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, we got that lecture too. And I'm pretty sure Robin gave himself a good talking to in the bathroom, although I was half-asleep at the time."
Geoforce smiled, "Now I don't feel quite so bad about failing..."
Cyborg shook his head, "Oh, you never pass. The whole point of the test is to become better than you were before. If there was a limit, you'd stop trying to improve yourself."
"Why in the hell couldn't Robin have said it like that!" Superboy fumed.
"Because he's a jerk..."
"Oh yeah..."
"You two will get along great."
"Bite me."
Sentinel finished his jug of water and glanced at Cyborg and Beast Boy, noting the slight smudges of oil here and there, "Still working on the T-car?"
Beast Boy gasped, "Amazing! With your skills Batman will be out of a job!"
"Did you just use sarcasm?"
The elf grinned and waggled his eyebrows. Cyborg slapped his best friend on the shoulder, "At this rate, Raven'll be drooling over him."
Superboy gave an impish grin, "Oh! I'd PAY to see that."
"No way," Beast Boy said as he plopped down on the couch, turning on the Gamestation console, "I only take bets on Smash."
Geoforce's eyes lit up ",You don't mean."
The telltale theme of Super Smash Bros. Melee broke the conversation as the green elf brought up the character select screen.
"Any takers?"
"Oh it's on!" Cyborg shouted, landing on the couch beside him. Superboy and Geoforce took their controllers and joined in as they selected their characters.
LINK!
Beast Boy's favorite.
FACLO!
Geoforce snickered, "I love old-school games!"
CAPTAIN FALCON!
Superboy smirked, "Prepare to be owned..."
"Oh please, you pick the cheapest character in the whole game!" Cyborg remarked as he selected his character.
JIGGLYPUFF!
A pause.
All eyes fell on Cyborg.
"Don't hate on Jigglypuff!" he shot back.
Sentinel rolled his eyes, "As much as I'd enjoy playing a mindless game with you guys, I have some training to do."
Cyborg turned back to his future son, "What? Don't wanna play winner?" Xander shook his head, "No thanks. I need to let off some steam," he explained, heading through the double doors.
Nightstar sighed, "I wish he'd lighten up a little..."
"I take it he holds everything in and broods like a certain certain someone I know?" Beast Boy asked.
"We almost nicknamed him teapot..."
Cyborg laughed, until a delicately timed falcon punch knocked jigglypuff off screen, "Oh no you didn't!"
Superboy gave an evil chortle.
Menagerie hopped up from her chair and slowly made her way to the door, as if pondering whether or not to go through it. She rocked back and forth on her heels, a nervous look on her face.
"Why don't you just follow him?" Nightstar said with a knowing smirk on her lips.
Green cheeks suddenly turned red, "What do you mean? I have no idea what yo-!"
"Nevermind then...," the Girl Wonder gave up with a roll of the eyes and was about to head for the couch when an orange, purple, and red blur shot out of the door and crushed her in a tight hug.
"GOOD MORNING AND GLORIOUS DAY! I trust your training went well?" Starfire smiled in a way that only Starfire could.
Silence...
"Why do you not speak?" Nightstar wheezed, "Air!"
Starfire released her vice-grip on the dark-haired girl, smile still firmly plastered on her alien features, "I know your running of the course must have most laborious. Perhaps a calming trip to the Garden will ease your frayed nerves?"
Nightstar raised an eyebrow, "I'm really not that big on-"
"WONDERFUL! I will procure the over-of-alls!"
The room erupted in laughter.
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Garden
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There they were. Mother, daughter, and the splendor that was nature. Except for the smell of burning debris from the obstacle course, it wasn't that bad in the Titan's garden.
It wasn't that large really, just a small piece of land with an array of VERY exotic flowers. Most of them had been brought back by Starfire when she visited her home planet. Most of them were also quite different from Earth plants and much information was needed to take care of them.
And Nightstar was going to hear every word of it. In huge pink overalls no less.
"This unique flower, the g'lorbuss requires a gallon of what earthlings call "bleach" every week in order to remain healthy. It is used to such harsh substances on my homeworld and needs it to survive. Chlorine may also work if used in mass quantities," Starfire continued as she slowly poured a gallon of bargain bleach over the vibrant purple flower.
Nightstar looked like she was about to fall asleep, but tried to contribute to Starfire's attempt at "bonding".
"So...why does it look like it has a mouth?"
"Because it does silly!"
M'ari's eyes went wide and she almost jumped when she thought the plant had given her kissy-kissy lips.
"Okaaaay! Going upstairs. I draw the line at plants that make passes at me."
"Oh do not be a muf'kor. That is how to tell if they need more food. When they stop you know they have had their fill!" Starfire grinned, as if it all made perfect sense.
The half-Tamaranean groaned, "Look, I appreciate you trying to get close to me, I really do. But..."
Starfire blinked and stood, a look of concern on her face, "What do you mean."
"I'm not...Into the whole. Alien thing. Okay? I didn't grow up with it. You died when I was really young. I don't remember that much about you..."
"M'ari...I come to this garden every day, and work here for close to three earth hours a day. Do you know why I work so hard on this garden? It is because it reminds me of home. I have not been home for a long time, and even when I visited, it was only for a brief moment. It reminds me that I belong. Earth is home, but I will always be from Tamaran...Do you understand?"
"No...I don't."
Moments passed by.
"Why?"
"Because...I didn't grow up with this. I'm not like Kon-el. It's not something I really bothered to think about. Where I belong...Who I am. It's pointless. I'm a Titan, and that's all I really need to be."
Starfire shook her head, "But you are more than just a Titan. There is someone under that uniform."
"Yeah...a freak."
A look of shock crossed the Tamaranean girl's features, "What are you talking about? My daughter is not a freak!"
"I'm a half-breed."
"That may be true, but you were born out of love. It is foolish to hate yourself for that."
"I can't even use my powers completely because I'm not pure alien or human! Half the time I have to focus all my attention just to create one starbolt even though it's natural for my Tamaranean side. I get cravings for REALLY weird food that no one else would ever touch! I'm not nearly as strong as I should be! And I can't fly! If that isn't a freak then what is?"
Starfire's eyes widened.
"You...cannot...fly?" she almost whispered. It was known by most of the Titans that Tamaraneans could achieve flight by age two, sometimes earlier. It was a skill that came from the unbridled joy each of them felt upon experiencing life. For them it was as natural as breathing.
"See...That's why I don't like talking about it! I knew you would think I was a freak...," The truth was finally coming out. The tension the two had felt towards one another, the uneasiness was finally given a face. The girl was afraid of rejection. Nightstar closed her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath of air, trying to steady herself.
Starfire's emotions were like a whirlwind. She didn't know how to feel. There were many feelings; anger, frustration, worry, sadness. All of them mingled together, and despite her nature to see the good in any situation, her people were not kind towards those pf their own race who could not fly.
A fact that wasn't lost on M'ari.
"Dearest daughter...You are not a-"
"Don't lie to me!"
Silence fell in the garden.
"You'll push me away...Just like Dad...Just like him..."
"I did not mean to hurt you by bringing you to this place. I only wanted us to become closer."
Nightstar took a few steps away from her, stripping off the overalls that covered her uniform, "It's not your fault...I should have told you in the beginning."
There was a hint of bitterness in the girl's voice, "Let's just stick to being Titans."
Before Starfire could come up with anything to say to ease the weight of the situation, the intercom sounded.
"Nightstar, please report to the garage on the double. We have a situation and I want you to accompany me. Robin out."
The leader of the future Titans headed for the side door of the Tower without another word, hoping for a task that would get her mind off of the garden...and her mother.
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Jump City Needle Laboratories
T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T
Nightstar regretted he decision about leaving her mother as soon as she came upon the horrible scene. She would much rather have faced the uncomfortable silence that examine the carnage that was before her.
The JC Laboratory Needle was similar in design to the Space Needle in Seattle, except that this particular building housed a weapons lab at its top floor.
A weapons lab that had been broken into.
The bodies of five scientists were laid out on the floor, and much of the equipment had been destroyed in what appeared to be a struggle. At least that's the way Sergeant Miller had put it.
To Rob and Nightstar, it looked more like a massacre. The clear glass walls were riddled with bullet holes, along with the bodies of the scientists themselves. The floor was covered with smeared blood. Some of them may have lived long enough to writhe in pain, before bleeding to death.
Robin summed it up, "This wasn't just the work of a professional Sergeant...It was a sadistic professional," he said, crouched close to one of the bodies.
"It was apparent he took pleasure in hurting the civilians working here. From the way they fell most of the appeared to be standing when they were killed. Yet he purposely aimed low...Hoping to hit organs instead of clean kills."
Miller whistled beneath his white mask, "Boy Wonder indeed. The attack occurred late last night. The night security didn't even know what happened until this morning when the shift changed. The security cameras and alarms were all shut off or disabled...If only we could figure out what in the hell he stole."
"The Thermal Blaster..."
"How do you-?"
"Long story, "Robin dismissed the topic, for he had been to this place before, and in fact stolen the same device...As Slade's apprentice.
Nightstar blinked, noticing something underneath one of the bodies. A mask of dark orange and black, split down the middle with a single eye hole and breathing slits.
"Robin...Take a look at this," she handed him the mask. He glared down at it long and hard, knowing who it belonged to. The Sergeant knew who it was as well. They both remembered those fateful days when Slade had controlled the city with the help of a former Titan.
"So Slade is behind this...," Robin seethed between his teeth. Not out of anger, but out of something else...A feeling of uncertainty in his words.
Something wasn't right.
Nightstar noticed the way he looked, for she had seen that look on his face years later, "You aren't so sure, are you?"
"Not quite...Slade never uses normal firearms. His hardware is laser or explosive based. It's been his calling card since we've known him. The caliber of rounds are 5.56x45mm...A machine gun...maybe an FN Minimi. Whoever did this was strong. The tight grouping of the entry wounds means he had a steady hold of the gun."
Nightstar looked on in slight admiration for Robin just then. She had never seen her father, the "detective" at work, "What does it mean?"
"I'm not sure...I have several hunches, but I need more concrete evidence," Robin sighed, examining the room for a third time, sifting through papers and fallen equipment for some kind of clue.
Miller pointed up to the ceiling, "Is that a clue?"
The two Titans looked up. Amidst the fluorescent lights was the clue they had been looking for. The lead they were looking for, right above their noses the whole time.
Words, written in the blood of the scientists...
"The Ravager...What does it mean?" Miller inquired.
Robin narrowed his eye mask, "Slade's found himself a new apprentice..."
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Titan's Tower
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The four Titans, Cyborg, Robin, Nightstar, and Sentinel gathered in the common room, all of the surrounding the console that linked them to the computer database and large television screen. They had shooed the other Titans out in the middle of their game, much to the chagrin of Cy who was apparently winning.
Until he heard the details of the massacre at the lab.
Cyborg's eyes went wide as he saw the crime scene pictures, "A new apprentice. So Slade's back in business?'
"Possibly," Robin stroked his chin not quite ready to give in to that assumption so quick, "We haven't had any activity from him in the last few months. Sentinel, your kind of a record keeper for past events. Any "old" news on Slade that could help us?"
Sentinel shook his head, "No...The last record we have of any activity from Slade was the incident with Trigon. And that's only eyewitness accounts from you guys. He vanished off the face of the Earth after that."
"Or he only appeared to. Cyborg, run a trace on the words, Ravager. See what it brings up."
The tin-man went to work on the keyboard, typing furiously through the Titan's database, "Nothing on it in our records."
"Branch out to include all US records. Someone has to know who this character is."
Cyborg's human eye twitched a few minutes and keystrokes later, "Wait a minute...I've got something," he motioned for everyone to look at the massive screen. All eyes turned to the image of a young man in a blue uniform and cowl, his orange utility belt lined with weapons.
"Who is that?" Nightstar asked.
"The Ravager...Goes by the name of Grant Wilson. Or at least, he did," Cyborg leaned back in his chair.
"What happened to him?"
"Dead...Killed by HIVE for refusing to carry out a contract on...Holy...I don't believe it."
"What?"
"He was hired to take a contract out on the Titans...Apparently he never went through with it, and was taken out for running off with their advance payment," Cyborg had to double check the information on the screen twice, just to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing.
Sentinel shook his head, "Whoa...I can imagine that, but if he's dead, who wrote that message in the tower?"
Robin's eyes narrowed as he typed in a few keystrokes, "I think I might have a clue."
The screen flashed several images, before pulling up a set of birth records, "Maybe he has family we can contact. Someone who can tell us what we want to-"
The Boy Wonder was shocked, for the first time in a long time. One the screen was an old looking document, scanned for computer records. Under the title of Father, was the piece that put it all together.
"Slade Wilson..."
The silence that filled the room was immediate and lasted for minutes.
"It all makes sense now...Slade, you son of a- This is why you were doing all this? To make up for your dead son? You wanted someone to follow in your footsteps that badly?"
"Slade...Who would have figured him for a "sentimental" mad terrorist?" Cyborg remarked, "But then who is his new apprentice?"
Robin was already typing information into the console, "I have a name now...I was looking for information on our database only...That's why I never found any information on Slade himself! I thought it was an alias, not his real name! How could I have been so stupid?"
Cyborg eased towards Robin, "Slow down man, one thing at a time. What's the database telling you?"
The Boy Wonder leaned in towards the screen, "Slade Wilson...Retired Army, Special Forces. Explains his skills with weapons and fighting. De-Classified information...Special Strike Team. The Deathstroke Unit. Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan. Whoa. Slade was once...almost like G.I. Joe...A soldier in the US Army."
Sentinel blinked, "You learn something new everyday. What about the people he served with?"
"Most of them served at different times. The only consistent names are...Adeline Kane, Wade DeFarge, and William Randolf Wintergreen. Dead end...All have been pronounced dead in combat or after service," Robin slumped in the computer chair.
"So, back to square one." Cyborg asked, "Downside of research...Always going in a circle."
Robin raised an eyebrow, "What did you say?"
"Always going in a circle...You know, downside of investigating. Too much info."
Robin grinned, bringing up a map of the city with a keystroke. He examined the map thoroughly, typing in keys that places small red dots on the map. Namely two that were larger than all the others.
Nightstar leaned beside her father, "What do you think?"
Robin pointed a finger at the first large dot, "That's the JC Laboratory. When I was...blackmailed...By Slade into serving him, he sent me there first to steal the Thermal Blaster. A weapon Raven eventually destroyed. Slade must be putting his new apprentice through the same paces. If that's the case..."
Nightstar nodded, "If that's the case then..."
"I know where Ravager will strike next."
