Sorry for the delay my aunt was in the hospital, had a huge test to study only for it to be cancel, and a friend of mine was in Brussels during the attack.
The T-ship flew towards Titan's Tower and began its landing sequence while down below the T-car sped down the road with the same destination in mind. The Titan Tower's computer recognized both vehicles and opened the landing pad onto the roof. A road was hidden under the water and when the T-car got within range the road lifted itself up and provided a path for the car.
The Teen Titans have arrived back home.
It has been a month since the Titan's faced Red X and destroyed Brother Blood's secret base in the ocean. Afterward, the team spent their time training and looking for clues on their missing teammate. Robin was using his contacts within the Justice League to see if there had been any word. Raven was using the powers of the arcane to look for clues on Slade's or Blitz's whereabouts but it always turned up blank. The mage was also looking for a way to figure out what Slade has done to gain Blitz's obedience. She already checked to see if she had any nanotech nanites which ended up a dead end as the scanner showed that her body was clean. Raven spent many nights trying to unlock the puzzle, and she didn't go to Robin or the others because she didn't know whether or not they would react to this piece of news. Things were tense between her and the Titan's leader which added a lot of strain on the group.
Then it looked like The Teen Titans would fall apart and be disbanded.
A few days ago Cyborg was sent to Steel City to help Titian East to set up their Titans Tower.
Titan East was a newly formed group of Teenage superheroes that was formed by Bumble Bee and Aqualad. After tracking down Brother Blood to Steel City, and seeing the crime rate of the city, Bumble Bee and Aqualad decided to start their own Titans team. When they gathered three more members the newly formed Titans East began settling their roots down and requested assistance from the main team. The Titans sent Cyborg to help since he was the team's tech expert.
This group consisted of Bumble Bee, the group sassy leader.
Speedy, Green Arrow's former protégé
Aqualad, a citizen from Atlantis.
Mas 'n Menos, the Spanish-speaking twin speedsters who wore white and red jumpsuits with yellow goggles with plus and minus plastered on the center of their suits.
Once they got their tower finished their alarm went off and Titans East, along with Cyborg, confronted Steamroller, they're first of many foes.
The battle began in complete embarrassment as the team was still new, meaning that their coordination was left to be desired. Seeing this Cyborg stepped up and took the lead. Using the individual's strengths the metal teen quickly ended the battle. They did not realize that Cyborg was hacked during the fight by Brother Blood.
Before the Titans could celebrate their newly finished tower Cyborg was called back to Jump City as Professor Chang had broken out of jail. With a heavy heart, Cyborg packed his things and get ready to head back to Jump City. The other members of Titans East begged him to stay saying that they needed him and offered him a permeant position on the team.
As leader of Titans East.
Before the shock wore off and before the cybernetic hero could answer the tower came under attack by robots that turned out to be knockoffs of Cyborg's own designs. The Titans fought their way towards the Ops Center so they could reset the internal security password, but by the time they got their only Cyborg had made it as the others were separated during the retreat.
Brother Blood was waiting for Cyborg and after a quick scuffle, a beaten cyborg changed the security codes causing Blood to be ejected out of the tower.
But the so-called victory turned out to be a ruse as Brother Blood had already taken over the minds of Titans East. Blood told his 'students' to wait while he was being operated by none other than Professor Chang.
In the meantime, Cyborg was settled in his position as leader of Titans East after having a heated argument with Robin, which may have destroyed their friendship. By the end of the argument, the Boy Wonder began to feel conflicted.
He was angry at himself mostly because he felt that he was tearing the team apart. First Blitz, now Cyborg. If someone was going to leave next, if one was to, it would be Raven without a doubt then he might as well disband the group.
Ever since Blitz had left, no, ever since he chased him away, the mage has been more distant from the rest of the team than ever before. Choosing to spend more time in Blitz's room, and he was sure that she cries herself to sleep as she lies in Blitz's bed.
Robin let out a sigh as he leaned back into his chair.
This was his fault.
Some leader he turned out to be.
Robin's self-pity was interrupted by an SOS call from Cyborg. Although the message was nothing but static the leader of the Teen Titans reacted as if he just received a dire messaged from their friend. Gathering the Titans they launched a Search and Rescue mission not intending to lose another member of their family.
When the Titans arrived they battled the mind controlled Titans East easily defeating the newly formed group, but before Titans could release their sister group Blood sent his Cyborg robot copies to deal with them.
Meanwhile, Cyborg fought against Brother Blood, who had gone mad and transformed himself into a cyborg. All so that he could find the thing that made Cyborg immune to his mind control.
It took until Cyborg was ripped to pieces, his friends beaten and captured, and when Blood held his heart in his hands for the hero to understand.
It wasn't a special part or his half-machine mind that kept Brother Blood's mind control at bay.
No, it wasn't even a secret meta-human power that Cyborg had locked away in his DNA.
What Cyborg had that Blood couldn't break was his spirit.
The will. To. Keep. FIGHTING!
After a moment of reality breaking moment, Cyborg became completely repaired using parts from a few copies and defeated Blood with ease. Unknowingly Blood had given some of his power to Cyborg temporary as his power leaked into the cybernetic teen.
Now free, the Titans took the now broken Brother Blood to jail.
The original Titans began their perpetrations to head back home, but not before Cyborg resigned from his position as leader of Titans East and passed the mantle to Bumble Bee saying that they already had a leader, they just need to listen.
The Titans then began to head towards their home.
Once the T-ship landed, flying on auto polite as Cyborg made it very clear that BB was not flying the ship, and the T-car parked the Titans went their separate ways.
Robin and Cyborg went into the Ops Center to try and find the wayward Titan while the others went off to another part of the tower. Not surprising anyone Raven went to Blitzkrieg's room.
Rachel was laying on Sean's bed having given up on meditating long ago. No amount of meditating or emotion burying could make this amount of heartache go away. She spent all of her time here since Sean wasn't there as this was the closest thing she could get.
The half demon reached over and picked up a piece of paper. She had found this, along with Blitz's journal, on the first day that she came in and explored hoping to find a clue to his possible whereabouts. While she didn't find the answers she sought, what she did find only brought bitter happiness. Raven had long stopped looking for clues as she knew where Blitz was at. The Titan was in the clutches of a madman that his father was, as his slave. Unfortunately, Slade has been quite so there was no chance in find fresh clues to the location or a way to break his hold over Sean.
On the paper was a poem, a very crude on at that, which it was clearly a rough draft the scratch our words and other scribbles were anything to go by.
It read:
Darkness
That was my life
That is until I met them
Yes them
You ask who they are
Well sit and I'll tell you who they are
They are the ones who watch the city
They are the ones who do not sleep when there is evil afoot
They are the ones who protect the innocent
They are the ones who will stop at nothing until evil is put to rest
They are the candle that lights in my darkness
But
While they were candle stick she was the flame
She is the flame that burns ever so brightly even though she is dark as the night
She is the one that holds the key to my heart
You still wonder who they are and who she is
They and she are one and the same
They are my allies, my friends, my brothers and sisters in arms, but most importantly they are my family, my pack
But none of them shall hold the special place in my heart like she can.
Only she is the one who I love
For they are the Teen Titans and she is Raven
And they are the candle that lights my way in darkness.
Raven snorted bitterly as her eyes began to tear up, "It's the other way around idiot," she murmured setting the paper back down and picked up Sean's journal. She was intrigued by its contents, to say the least. It didn't have anything too revealing but she now knew that Sean had feelings for her long ago and that he was very conflicted on whether or not he should act on them. The main reason was because he didn't want to cause an imbalance in the universe.
"So I was supposed to be with Beast Boy," Raven said putting the book down as she shuttered, "That's a creepy thought." She rather not thinks about that too much. Beast Boy was okay but too childish and immature for her taste. He was more like a little brother and even that's pushing it.
"Raven?" the voice of Starfire came from the bedroom doorway.
The mage cursed herself for not locking the door when she came in. She was so used to her door locking automatically.
With a groan escaping her lips Raven sat up to see her fellow female Titans standing outside of the door. Starfire had her hands clasp over her heart with a look of nervousness on her face. On the other hand Terra looked relaxed as she leaned her back against the doorway her arms crossed while blowing strands of her blonde hair out of her face.
"What," Raven grumbled.
"We were wondering if you like to out with us," Starfire said hopefully trying to get the introvert Titan to come out, "There-"
"No," the mage stated simply before she laid back down.
Terra shrugged her shoulders, "told you she wasn't going for it," The geo=kinetic pushed herself off the door and beckoned the alien with her as she entered the room.
"Raven you've been stuck in this room ever since he left," Terra said sitting on the bed. She didn't want to say Blitz's name and pushed the mage deeper into depression. Even though it was Raven's forte to be the depressed one. "He wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. Raven spared the blonde a glance before turning her back to them.
"I'm fine," she monotone, "People come, people go he left it doesn't bother me one bit." The words ranged hollow because she didn't believe in them, and the others knew this as well. It was obvious to everyone how close the two were. After living with her for so long they could easily see the difference in Raven. When he was with them the two managed to balance each other out, and sure Blitz was like a lone wolf but that was starting to become less and less as he came out of his shell. Even though he mostly stuck with Raven.
With him around Raven showed a little more emotion and was a little less depressing.
And when he left, he left a hole in her. Raven still came out every so often, but her movements were mechanical like it was just a routine for her.
The Titans didn't know about Blitz's late night visit a while ago. Raven kept it a secret in fear that if the others knew that Red X had been Sean then the rift between them would grow and deepen. An old part of her tried to do Blitz asked and forget about him, but it didn't stop her from coming into his room or spending sleepless nights trying to figure out what Slade had done to make Sean his puppet.
"Then why are you crying?" Starfire asked pointed at the tears that were cascading down her face.
Raven wiped the tears away, "I just got dust in my eyes," she denied, "forgot to clean the room up last night."
Terra let out an irritated groan before standing up and pointing a finger at Raven. "There's your problem," she huffed, "you're in such denial about your feelings for him that you're putting yourself through unnecessary pain. Just admit-"
"We already have," Raven croaked out without thinking as she wiped away fresh tears. The other female Titans became shocked at the revelation.
"Oh," Terra said slumping back onto the bed, "Well there goes a whole speech I thought up." Meanwhile, Starfire was holding back her own tears as well.
Raven sat up and got out of bed going to the window. "Thanks anyway," she said as she gazed upon Jump City as the nightlife slowly awakens from its slumber. The mage couldn't help but wonder.
What was Sean doing at the moment?
Is he alright? If he is…where?
She wanted him by her side Raven felt a hole in her heart that only Sean could fill Meditating did nothing to ease the pain that she felt.
"Look," Terra said brushing a golden lock out of her face. "I won't even begin to try to understand what you're going through right now, but I know Blitz would not want you to lock yourself up." The blonde placed a hand on the mage's shoulder.
"Come on," she said, "let's go out to town for a while."
Raven looked at her fellow teammates before her eyes wonder around the room. 'Maybe a little fresh air wouldn't hurt,' she thought as her gaze landed on a picture of the Teen Titans together from a happier time. 'Terra's right Sean wouldn't want me to be like this,' Rachel thought as her resolved became harder, 'I'll take a break with the others then I'll continue with the search.'
"Fine," the mage said with a sigh. She might agree with them, but that doesn't mean she'll look happy about it. She has a reputation to uphold after all.
The other female Titans smiled as the grabbed their friend by the shoulders and dragged to Starfire's room to find her some civilian clothes.
Later the T-car pulled in front of a small brick house and slowly came to a stop. The outside might have looked small but regulars knew better. They know that the inside was more spacious than what newcomers thought it would be. On the front side of the building near the roof in bright rainbow-colored neon the words Wonderland. Outside the café was a small chalkboard with the words Karaoke Night written in bright green chalk.
When their car came to a complete stop the Teen Titans came out of it dress for a night into town, in their civilian identities of course.
Robin was wearing a faded blue shirt underneath a black leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans. His hair was still spiked backward and a pair of shades rested on his nose.
The resident alien had on a pink tank top with blue jeans with a pair of pink sneakers. Her normal orange skin had been transformed into a light tan. Starfire's small eyebrows had grown longer like a human's while her hair still maintained its fiery disposition. The Tamaranian eyes had lost its green background instead it was white, but even so her eyes still shine like brilliant emeralds. The alien hero was able to receive this human form thanks to Cyborg's hologram rings that he had used when he infiltrated the first Hive Academy. Starfire had a pair along with Cyborg and Beast Boy so that they could fit in normal society.
Speaking of the metal Titan he wore the same gray shirt and pants combo when he infiltrated the HIVE Academy, minus the steel headgear and arm bands.
Beast Boy was wearing a simple purple button up shirt over a black t-shirt with tan cargo shorts and his signature boots.
Terra opted for a pair of blue jeans that were faded and torn in some areas along with a brown leather belt. Her torso was covered in a dark green tank top and combat boots.
Raven went for the only thing Starfire had in her closet that would not only fit her size but her style as well. The mage was wearing a black turtleneck with matching jeans and boots. The collar of the turtleneck was pulled all the way to her chin. Raven's eyes were a dark blue color thanks to a pair of colored contact lenses.
Even the T-car was dress up for the night. After the fiasco during the maiden voyage, Cyborg installed a transformation sequence into the main body. With a push of a button the car's body transformed. The white body parts shifted to a metallic blue that also covered the cybernetic gears. A black tint covers the windows while the head lights change to a dark yellow.
When they entered they were quickly met with the sound of someone singing off key, and the smell of different drinks and foods.
"Welcome!" a peppy voice spoke to the Titans drawing their attention to the hostess.
The hostess had her blonde hair tied back in a bun. Her green eyes sparkled thanks to the lights. She wore a simple red polo shirt and blue jeans. "A table for six then?" the hostess asked as she pulled out the necessary amount of menus.
"Seven," Robin corrected confusing his teammates. "We have a friend joining us soon."
"Okay then," the peppy girl said pulling out an extra menu. "If you would follow me please."
The hostess led the hidden Titans to a table that was in front of the stage were the person who singing off key. Thankfully he had just finished his last song.
"What can I get for drinks?"
The Titans took turns ordering their drinks which turned out to be an assortment of sodas, teas, and mustard. Thankfully Robin helped Starfire to change her order, then came Robin's turn.
"One Dr. Fib for me," he said before he motioned to the empty chair, "and one herbal tea for our friend."
The hostess jotted down the order before leaving.
"Rob who's coming?" Cyborg asked with a finger at the empty seat.
Robin sat back in his chair and looked to the stage just as a boy with long black hair walked on. With years of experience as Batman's protégé, the Boy Wonder began to analyze the newcomer.
Most of the boy's face was covered either by his hair or by the shadow that was being cast by the dim lights. The boy was wearing loose brown pants and an equally loose yellow t-shirt. Although the baggy clothes gave the boy a frail appearance Robin's trained eye saw the thick layer of muscle that was hidden underneath. 'Danger level 3, 4 if trained,' Robin noted down before he turned back to his team.
"No one is coming Cy," he answered as his mood soured. "That space is for Blitz," Robin muttered just low enough for everyone on the table to hear.
The occupants at the table looked at their leader in shock just as their waiter came back with their drinks. Only when the beverages were distributed did they any of them speak again.
"Robin…" Starfire said softly as she placed a hand on the leader's shoulder.
"It's my fault that he is gone," Robin began as he cast his gaze to his drink. He watched as the bubbles popped and dance to the surface. The water from the condensation trailed down the cup wetting the paper coaster. "Thanks to my obsession with Slade I made a huge mistake. When the truth about Blitz came into the light I should have helped him, I should have trusted him. Instead, I let my anger blind me and I threw him out probably right the hands of the one man he hated the more than I ever could."
The leader of the Teen Titans looked up to his fellow Titans and took a deep breath. "That is why as of this moment I'm stepping down as the leader of Teen Titans."
For a moment the Titans were too shocked to answer but when they recovered they passionately began rejecting the notion, quite loudly, all but the mage. Robin made a shushing motion and pointed at the surrounding people who were begun to take notice of the group. The Titans quieted down and when the crowd went back to their own conversations one of them spoke up.
"You're an idiot," Raven said as she glanced at Robin. "Yes Blitz left because of you, but there is no one else that can lead us. You made a mistake that cost all of us big time and that makes you moron, but if you back down and turn your back on this then you will be a coward as well."
The speech struck a chord within the Boy Wonder. Despite throwing the closest person to her away, Raven still wanted him to remain as leader. The bitterness in her voice didn't escape his notice. While the mage hadn't forgiven him she was willing to put them aside for the sake of the team.
Robin looked around the table and saw the looks his team was giving him. "Do you all feel the same?" he asked and they all nodded unanimously.
"Raven's right," Terra said pointed a finger at him, "You fucked up, and while you are owning up to it right now. It would be spat in not only our faces but to Blitz's as well if you stop being our leader."
"I agree, we all mistakes Robin but what matters is that we learn from them," Starfire added as the boy on stage made his choice.
The Boy Wonder let out a sigh before he spoke, "Thank you guys. We'll find him and bring him home."
The boy on the stage tapped the microphone to grab everyone's attention. The café went silent as they listen to what the boy had to say. "Evening," the boy cough to clear his throat, "sorry, so I just wanted to say that I'm dedicating this song to my friends, and while life has conspired to tear us apart and put us against each other…" The boy scanned the café before his eyes landed on Raven.
The mage shuddered as something coursed through her body. 'What was that?' she wondered, 'It felt like...familiarity.' Raven watched as the boy broke eye contact and moved to press the play button. Her mind began to put together the puzzle about this boy.
"My friends," the boy began the conclusion of his talk, "the happy times we had. I will always remember them, and I wish that those nights would have lasted longer because they kept me alive."
Suddenly a guitar rift blasted through the speakers before a piano began to play.
(Those Nights by Skillet)
I remember when
We used to laugh
About nothing at all
It was better than going mad
From trying to solve all the problems we're going through
Forget 'em all
Cause on those nights we would stand and never fall
Together we faced it all
Remember when we'd
Stay up late and we'd talk all night
In a dark room lit by the TV light
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
Robin began to remember when he Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Blitz sat around the TV and played video games. One time, in particular, they were playing a shoot 'em up game and the boys had to team up against Cyborg who had a tank and was murdering them. Beast Boy and Robin managed to stop the tank from moving before they began to pepper it with grenades. They decided to get on top of the tank and drop the grenades inside, but when they were in position the tank blew up and ended the game.
Blitz had stood over them with a rocket launcher and waited for them to all to get close enough to take them all out. When the screen showed that the winner was Blitz the Titan posed with his foot on top of defeated form of Cyborg as he crackled with laughter. Cy had slid to the ground when Blitz scored the three points he needed to pass him in the rankings.
We'd listen to the radio play all night
Didn't want to go home to another fight
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
Oh
Oh
Starfire's mind went back to a time when she and Blitz were cooking dinner for the Titans one night. The alien began to chuckle. Well, it was more like he was teaching her what was edible for humans. Apparently three-month-old mold was not, no matter how much it looked like Powdered Rankgonk from the 12th moon of Plasfor 4.
I remember when
We used to drive
Anywhere but here
As long as we'd forget our lives
We were so young and confused that we didn't know
To laugh or cry
Cyborg remembered a moment when he and Blitz were taken a cruise through Jump City when they happened upon a robbery in process. They had chased the robbers half way through town before the managed to get ahead of the getaway car. Blitz flung the door open and leaned out so far that he was nearly touching the asphalt. He then flung a blast of his power which knocked the car out of commission. Cyborg managed to grab the boy and pulled him inside just in time before Blitz get decapitated by a semi-tuck. Unfortunately, the car door was ripped as well as a huge amount of the paint job on that side. Blitz asked if that was not an awesome trick or what.
Cyborg chased that boy through the entire city that night.
Those nights were ours
They will live and never die
Together, we'd stand forever
Remember when we'd
Stay up late and we'd talk all night
In a dark room lit by the TV light
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
Terra began to recall her time that was spent training with Blitz. The boy had used a series of…unorthodox training methods which included her standing on a very small pillar. She had to hold up two boulders while she kept her balance or she would fall into a pool of freezing cold water. After she fell for the 200th time Terra asked how this was supposed to help her gain better control her power Blitz just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know really. I saw this in a movie once and I thought it would work."
Later the two had to explain to Robin why the entire front half of the Titan's Tower was cover in mud.
Thankfully when Blitz returned from his training he used actual training methods to teach Terra…which so happened to include her keeping her balance while she held up multiple boulders as she stood over a pool of freezing water.
We'd listen to the radio play all night
Didn't want to go home to another fight
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
Oh
Oh
Those nights belong to us
Oh
Oh
There nothing wrong with us
Oh
Oh
Those nights belong to us
Oh
Oh
I remember when
We used to laugh
And now I wish those nights would last
Raven remember the last time she and Blitz were together just curled up in her bed just enjoying each other's company and warmth. They spent all of their waken moment listening to each other's heartbeats not bothered by the problems of the world. During these moments, they weren't heroes. No, they were just two regular teens enjoying the warmth of their love.
Stay up late and we'd talk all night
In a dark room lit by the TV light
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
We'd listen to the radio play all night
Didn't want to go home to another fight
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
Stay up late and we'd talk all night
In a dark room lit by the TV light
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
Beast Boy began to chuckle as he remembers the times he and Cyborg pranked Blitz like changing his shampoo with syrup, filled his boots with oatmeal, and exchanged his tea with hot sauce.
Actually, that last one Raven was the victim and on that day everyone learned not to mess with anything with tea. Of course, the pranking duo had gotten more fire power as they read the situation as Raven defending her 'boyfriend'.
We'd listen to the radio play all night
Didn't want to go home to another fight
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
Oh
Oh
Those nights belong to us
Oh
Oh
There nothing wrong
When the music died down the occupants of the café let loose a loud round of applause. The Teen Titans were the loudest with Terra whistling added in. The boy on stage gave a small bow his face having a small grateful smile. He was about to walk offstage when his smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown. Raven, curiously, turned around to see what the boy was looking at.
When the mage spotted who had the boy in a sour mood. The sound of clapping and cheers, along with the slight elevation of happiness, instantly died in Raven's mind and was replaced with a boiling rage. Standing in the front area watching the performance was Ashely.
She was out of her uniform that she wore while at the Hive Academy. Instead, she was wearing long black jeans with faded blue shoes and a white button up shirt underneath a black leather jacket.
Lips pulled back, teeth bared, and a low growl came from Raven's lips as she glared at Ashley who looked around the café in search of someone. It took all of the mage's willpower not zoom over and strangle the girl for the pain she had caused Sean. No, strangling was too simple, she needed to suffer. Slowly. Painfully. Then she can die.
'Hehe like father like daughter,' a dark voice spoke in her mind.
Raven's eye went wide in horror before she schooled her face back as to no arouse suspicion from her friends. 'I'm nothing like you,' she spat out.
'Your thoughts say otherwise,' Trigon's voice said amused at the pathetic attempt at rebellion.
Rachel racked her mind for answers for questions while she began to trace the outline of her necklace, 'How can you even speak to me? Sean's-'
Trigon cut his daughter with an evil laugh, 'Ha! That foolish boy stumbles around in the dark trying to figure out a way to protect you when in there is nothing he can do. He is nothing compared to me. His knowledge is burned from his mind. He is more than useless, even more so now that he is a puppet for his father.' Rachel gave small shudder at that statement. Long has she thought about that if Sean was able to retain the knowledge of the Titan's adventures than perhaps they would defeat Trigon, but without it…did they really stand a chance? 'He is nothing more than that small speck of dust against me. My power is greater than anything in the known universe. Even his ghost of a clan can't defeat me.'
Raven eyes widen in shock. Their other ace in the hole was gone in a flash, 'Oh yes daughter of mine I know about the survival of his demon hunter clan. I know everything, and nothing happens that I don't allow.'
'That's not true we will find a way to stop you.' She said trying her best to re-strengthen her hope.
'So you think. No matter, you'll see it my way soon enough.' Raven felt her father's presence in her mind leave. No, he is never gone just taken a backseat. Watching, waiting for the time for her to bring the end of the world, and without Blitz helping her then the universe is surely over. The mage glanced back up to see Ashley was still looking for someone that is until her eyes landed on the boy on stage.
The girl's eyes widen with recognition and a smile graced her lips. Raven found the girl's reaction to the boy on stage peculiar but then chill shot up her spine. Ashely is from the same world Sean grew up...
The mage snapped her head to the boy on stage has he roughly poked at the machine to choose his next song.
It couldn't it be…could it?
The sound of short and quick piano strikes sounded through the room deafening the crowd and killing the happy mood that had set in. Even for the one who didn't know the song could instantly tell that this song was not a happy one.
(Black Dahila By Hollywood Undead)
I loved you, you made me
Hate me, you gave me
Hate, see, it saved me
And these tears are deadly
You feel that? I rip back
Every time you tried to steal that
You feel bad? You feel sad?
I'm sorry, hell no, fuck that
It was my heart, it was my life
It was my start, it was your knife
This strife, it dies
This life and these lies
And these lungs have sung
This song for too long
And it's true, I hurt to
Remember I loved you
The boy sang the song with such passion that the crowd felt his sadness and pain. Ashely began to chew on her lip as the song progressed.
And I've lost it all, fell today
It's all the same
I'm sorry, oh, I'm sorry
I'm sorry, no
And I've been abused, I feel so used
Because of you
I'm sorry, oh I'm sorry
I'm sorry, no
NO!
I wish I could have quit you
I wish I never missed you
And told you that I loved you
Every time I fucked you
The future that we both drew
And all the shit we've been through
Obsessed with the thought of you
The pain just grew and grew
How could you do this to me? Look at what I made for you
It never was enough, and the world is what I gave you
I used to be love-struck, now I'm just fucked up
Pull up my sleeve and see the pattern of my cuts!
Suddenly the boy reached to the cuff of his shirt's sleeve and pulled back. The occupants in the room let out a gasp in shock and horror. The cause was drawn on the boy's arm; on his arm were five parallel scars at the base of his wrist.
Raven snapped her head to Ashely who had covered her mouth with her arms to stifle her gasp as tears began to flow down her eyes. She then looked back to the boy on stage as the pieces began to slowly form in her head like a puzzle. There was one person who Ashely drove to give up on life.
'Could it really be him?' Raven wondered as she slowly stretched out her telepathy to just barely touch the boy's mind. If anyone was strong in the area of mental defenses than that person can feel when someone is trying to access their mind. So in order to not cause alarm or harm, the mage gently tickled the side of the boy's mind.
Raven did feel something familiar about the boy and his eye slightly twitched. He looked around the café and so feeling hopeful Raven reached out and put more of herself into her probe and lightly whacked the boy's mind. In effect was instant.
The boy shook his head and his eyes went wide as he searched the club, but Raven wasn't worried when he zeroed in on her because she instantly knew who the boy was.
Sean looked surprised when he spotted his girlfriend and his ex-teammates sitting in the middle of the café, but he schooled his face as to not give away anything else.
And I've lost it all, fell today
It's all the same
I'm sorry, oh, I'm sorry
I'm sorry, no,
No.
And I've been abused, I feel so used
Because of you
I'm sorry, oh I'm sorry
I'm sorry, no
NO!
Seems like all we had is over now
You left to rest
And your tears are dried up now
You just lay without a sound
Seems like all we had is over now
You left to rest
And my fears are over now
I can leave with my head down
Sean began to sing softly as he turned around with his head down and began to walk away slowly.
And I've lost it all, fell today
It's all the same
I'm sorry, oh, I'm sorry
I'm sorry, no,
No.
And I've been abused, I feel so used
Because of you
I'm sorry, oh I'm sorry
I'm sorry, no I'm sorry
I'm sorry, no…
Sean placed the microphone on top of the karaoke machine and got off the stage heading towards the back of the café. He left behind a stunned audience. No one made a sound or moved. The sudden change of emotion
Raven phased through the floor and began to pursue the wayward Titan, and her departure didn't go unnoticed. Robin cocked an eyebrow and he began to put the clues that he had been gathering while the boy on stage performed. His gaze traveled around the café and he spotted Ashely. The Boy Wonder's eyes narrowed in curiosity as the pieces of the puzzle slowly began to fall into place. Then everything clicked into place. The songs that were sung, the sudden change in attitude when Ashely came into view, and the boy's appearance which seemed familiar to Robin as he studied him closer.
"Titan's move," he whispered as he jumped out of his chair and made his way to the back of the café. The Titans heard the near panicked tone in Robin's voice and followed him.
Meanwhile, Raven traveled through doors and walls until she made it into an alleyway that ran behind the café. Going back to corporeal form the mage scanned the area when she spotted him. Without wasting any time, Raven flew towards the back of the boy.
Sean felt a presence racing towards him from behind and he spun around to meet the person. He went on high alert and stretched out his senses to see if could spot his stalker. He wasn't able to spot them in time and they managed to pin him to the alleyway wall. A low groan echoed in his chest before his lip was captured by the mage. The fallen Titan didn't fight it, he embraced it.
After a moment, although it felt like an eternity to them, the duo broke apart and gazed into each other's eyes.
"You shouldn't have followed me," Sean whispered as he pushed aside a lock of Rachel's violet hair. Raven didn't answer right away, all she did was just placed her head on his chest savoring the natural warmth of his body heat.
"I missed you," she murmured, her voice muffled but was still understood.
"And I you, my little blue fairy," Sean said as he lifted Rachel's head by her cheek and gave her a light kiss on her jeweled forehead. "But I cannot stay," he said untangling himself from Raven's grasp and stepping towards the shadows.
"Wait!" Raven called out as she took a step forward.
Blitz paused with half of his body engulfed in shadows. "Come back with me we can make things right between you and Robin, we can help you with whatever Slade has over you," she said as the rest of the Titans came around the corner. When he saw Robin his gaze hardens and his teeth clenched as his lips pulled back in a snarl.
"No, I have a new master now," he said, his glare never leaving Robin, "And we will attack you soon so prepare yourselves. The next time we meet we will be enemies."
Robin ran forward with his hand outstretched, "BLITZ! WAIT! I'M…" Blitzkrieg ignored his ex-teammate as he back into the shadows and disappeared. The Boy Wonder kept running until his hand hit the cold wall, "…sorry."
Starfire floated over to Robin and held him just as he slid to the ground. The Titans just stood in the alleyway shocked at their fellow Titan declaration. "This is all my fault," Robin muttered before he punched the ground in anger.
On the roof top watching the entire scene was Ravager. Grant's red tinted eyes of his mask scanned the area for any signs of his half-brother. Slade knew about Sean's little 'trip' and wanted his eldest son to keep an eye on him just in case. Their father wasn't too worried about the newest member going to the Titans and spilling any secrets. The leash was pretty short, but one could never be too sure.
There was always the risk of him running into the Titans, like so, but it would seem that Sean's anger at Robin was still fresh and raw. An added bonus that will make Slade's plans easier in the future.
"Where are you," Ravager said as he scanned the streets and rooftops for the ex-Titan.
The only warning he had was the whistle of the air.
Jumping to the side Ravager was able to avoid a small thin combat knife. The knife sailed through the air and embedded itself into the concrete rooftop. "If I didn't know any better I would say that you were just trying to kill me," Ravager said as he turned towards the direction where the knife came from.
"You would be correct," a harsh voice said just before a ball of crimson fire came out of the darkness. Ravager jumped to the side as the flames danced past him, the heat seeping through his armor, and pulled out his custom colt .45 to returned fire. A blur jumped out of the shadows to dodge the bullets and flung a few more fireballs. As Grant's shoulder hit the ground he rolled across his back and with his free hand pushed up. Ravager lined up his weapon at the shadow and fired two more shots.
The figure's hand whipped through the air and snatched them in a fiery grasp. Ravager, who had landed just then, watched with wide eyes the bullets melted down before the figure flung them back at him. Grant was able to dodge one but the other grazed his mask leaving a long scratch going from one eye to the other. Thankfully the damage seemed only cosmetic.
"You almost got me this time little brother," Grant said as his gloved hand traced the outline of the scratch.
Blitz stepped out of the shadows his own pistol in his hand while the other was covered in blood-red flames. "What a pity," he sneered, "let's correct that right now." The ex-Titan drew his own pistol and aimed at Ravager's head.
Grant press the magazine release and as soon as the clip left the weapon a fresh mag was put in its place before the gun was aligned in the center of Sean's chest. "You don't have it in you, yet, you still hold those 'heroic morals' and that's what is holding you back."
The fox boy gritted his teeth as the gun in his hand began to tremor. Behind his mask, Grant smirked as he lowered his weapon before he holstered. With his arms wide opened Ravager mocked the former hero. "Come on shoot me," he taunted.
Blitz's gun began to tremble violently before he threw the gun at Ravager's face. Ravager's head twisted to the side then snapped back to Blitz who was headed right at him dagger drawn, but before the two could meet a bullet was shot between them. The duo looked to the direction the shot came from to see Rose along with Sam.
Sam had a duffle bag in her hands while Rose had a smoking gun in hers. "If you boys are done playing around its time to go we've got a job to do," Rose said as Sam tossed the bag at Sean's feet with the zipper undone allowing him to see the contents inside. He looked at the contents, which included mostly dark clothing and a few weapons, with disdain particularly the black mask that was painted half orange.
Noticing his hesitance Rose spoke up, "Do I need to call Slade?" Blitz growled in response before he snatched the bag and began to walk away. Rose waved her hand to Grant to follow her. "When he is finished take him and begin the mission," she said to Sam.
Sam nodded her head as her half-sister walked to the edge of the building and jumped off. She then turned her head to see her twin brother glaring at the spot where their half siblings were just at. "Why?" she asked to which Sean said nothing except to spit in the general direction before he opened the duffle bag and began to change his clothes.
"Why are being so hateful?!" She demanded. The agent couldn't fathom why her brother was acting like this. It was expected that he would be bitter for a week or so, but he should have realized that he was better off without the Titans. Maybe it was the witch? They were close perhaps if they introduced some other girl he would forget about her. Jinx seemed to be interested in him back at the HIVE academy. She would pass the idea to Slade to "We're finally together, finally a family you should be happy!" Sam said her uncertainty leaking through her tone. She schooled her emotions back into check.
"Family?" Sean said incredulously and paused in getting dress, "Is that what you call what we are!?" he yelled as he threw his arms wide before he pointed a finger at her. "You don't know what family is! Family looks out for each other, stick together during harsh times, and they don't use each other as pawns."
"And they defiantly don't use chips to control each other!" he roared furiously pointed to the back of his head where said chip was located. "Family is more than blood," the ex-hero muttered before he resumed his task.
"Are you talking about the Teen Titan's?" Sam said with a sputtered laugh, "Who turn their back on you the moment they knew the truth about you!"
Sean took a deep breath as he fastened his belt together, "No thanks to that bastard who DARES to call himself my father!" he yelled, "And that was just Robin. Raven and Starfire didn't turn their backs on me once they knew the truth."
"If you trusted them not to cast you out then why didn't you tell them sooner?"
Sean didn't have an answer for that so he continued to slip on his boots and the rest of the protective gear. "Exactly," came the somewhat smug response to the silence.
"At least they allowed me to be me, and not turn me into a tool of war," was the quiet reply that was followed by a snap of a buckle.
"You're exaggerating," Sam said with an eye roll behind her mask.
"Am I? Then what do you call this?" Sean said as he showed the dual pistols and a single edge sword that was simple in design. Sam said nothing. "Exactly."
"You're wrong,"
Sean slipped on a two tone black and orange mask "We'll see about that," he said with his voice slightly distorted.
