'Show faith in someone who is struggling to make it, and you just might help them succeed'

-Unknown

Titans

Part One: Genesis

Chapter Five: Faith Given

It was by unanimous decision, having realised that they would need the extra space it had, that they decided to take the spare SUV that had been left at the hangar, rather than using their own cars and bikes to go shopping. The only problem they had was deciding who would drive, as things grew tense for a moment, when both Wally and Roy moved to grab they keys.

The solution presented itself when Thea took the keys out of their hands, Evelyn called shotgun, leaving the two boys wondering just what had happened, as they moved to pile into the backseat.

Given that neither Roy or Evelyn owned much in the way of clothing to begin with, and that most of Thea and Wally's belongings were staying at their respective homes, Thea declared that a round of clothes shopping was the first item on their to-do-list.

"And just who put you in charge of this imaginary list?" Roy asked from the backseat, while Thea raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow in response.

"If it's imaginary, then it doesn't really matter now, does it? Now, be quiet and do as you're told Harper"

"And I guess that I'm just supposed to stand there and try on whatever the hell you want me to Queen?"

"You bet your ridiculously fine ass that's right. Will that be a problem?"

He chuckled, "No ma'am", before he settled back into his seat, gazing out the window, while Thea looked for the nearest shopping mall or department store that took her fancy.

"Is everyone in position?"

"Yes My Lord. All of your soldiers are ready. We await only your command"

"Then spread the word throughout all of my kingdom, the time of the gods is at hand. Tell all of our loyal devotees: it begins tonight"

"Finally", Wally proclaimed with an exaggerated sigh as he slid into one of the chairs at their private booth, ignoring the reproachful looks from the restaurant's other patrons and the 'shush' he earned from Thea.

His joy at finally being able to eat however, did not diminish the matching looks of slight amazement he and Evelyn had given the restaurant when Thea had led the three of them inside. While admittedly still somewhat amazed at the grandeur of it all, Roy had grown almost used to similar places back in Starling City, and was therefore able to hide his own expression behind a mildly charming smile, falling into a smirk, as he tried not to laugh at the expressions of the other two.

All it took was the mere mention of her name and a flash of her credit card for Thea to get them their own private booth, while she paid no attention to the disgruntled expressions of the people who had obviously been waiting some time for their tables, their server for the evening smiled widely, as he led them to their booth and she ordered a bottle of wine for the table.

Personally, Roy felt that Wally's expression of gratefulness was merited, given that the all of the shopping the two of them had done was equal to an hour each for their clothes, before they'd grabbed a few things they'd need for their rooms, including their preferred brands of toothpaste and aftershave.

The girls meanwhile, had managed to spend the remainder of the afternoon they had on clothes alone, asking for their opinion on what felt like everything the store had to offer, before moving onto the other stuff they needed - they'd even managed to get the boys to agree to have actual suits made up, including the ones they were wearing, claiming they could be useful for undercover work, and having had to watch Wally, their overly energetic speedster, try and stay still for long enough to be measured was enough of a deterrent for Roy to not want to go again.

He couldn't argue with their taste in clothes though.

Thea had gotten him into a light grey, three piece suit, which came complete with a pale purple shirt, and a tie that had been custom made into the exact same shade of purple as his 'other' suit. Thea had then dragged him off for a matching pair of brown Italian leather shoes, belt and wallet, before shrugging, and grabbing him a watch too.

It was more money than he'd ever really feel comfortable spending, especially given that it was technically Team Arrow's money, but Thea had given him 'that' look, which told him she thought he was being stupid, and he just paid for it all without any questions asked.

Sat opposite him in the booth, Wally was dressed in a solid black, two piece suit and tie, which was highlighted with a bright yellow shirt and pocket square. While Evelyn had made sure to get him a belt and wallet like his, Wally had refused a watch, saying the speed he moved at made watches useless to him, as they were always falling behind, and bought a pair of sunglasses instead.

He'd then rattled off some actual scientific facts about the time difference, including talking about something to do with Einstein, but the other three just hadn't understood a word he'd said in the slightest.

While it was Roy and Wally's opinion that the two of them did look quite handsome in their new attire, even if they had suffered to get it, neither one of them believed that they looked worth anything when they were compared to the two girls.

Evelyn had managed to acquire a vibrant red, form-fitting dress, which was designed with a crisscross pattern over her chest and neck, which went down to her knees. She'd paired it with a pair of small golden heels and matching clutch purse, before adding a small golden necklace with an arrowhead pendant that had come as a set of two. Her hair was pulled back into her preferred long ponytail, which reached the small of her back. The temporary hair dye she normally used had begun to wear off during the day, and if they looked closely, they could see a few streaks of blonde poking through the dark brown mass.

Thea was wearing the second necklace with an arrowhead pendant, with her hair blown out, falling in wavy chops down to her shoulders. She had decided on a single-shoulder black dress, which fell down to just above her knees. She'd finished the look off with a pair of glossy black stiletto heels, and her own matching purse.

The four of them were just starting to make small talk, when their waiter came back over. He introduced himself a 'Jacques', despite the fact that he was obviously a local, and proceeded to ask them, in a very bad French accent, what they would like to order.

None of them were given the chance to answer before an explosion tore through the wall.

"This is the latest update, coming to you live from Jump City. Mysterious soldiers are walking the streets, armed with some sort of electric staffs as they are imposing marshal law upon its citizens, proclaiming that this is the new golden age. From what we've been able to gather, they're wearing a set of some kind of full body armour. It appears to be made of some sort of golden metal and face mask with a red cape- Oh shit! Move Paul!"

The screen flashed yellow for a moment, before static filled the screen.

"Sandra!? Sandra!? Paul!? Is anyone there!?"

The screen was replaced with a middle-aged man sat behind a desk in a news studio, "We seem to have lost contact with Sandra, our news correspondent out in Jump City, and we ask that you be patient at this time, as we attempt to regain contact. But the question of the hour remains - what is what is going on there? We have reports of golden soldiers wearing capes in the streets, staffs that fire electricity and reports of explosions all around City Hall. We're going to try and re-establish contact, but until then, this is David Ashe for Jump City News"

A flash of gold lightning burst across their vision, as Barry Allen skidded to a stop in front of them, "Are you guys seeing this?"

"No Barry", Oliver's face was devoid of any trace of humour, "we thought we'd just turn the news on, and then just not watch it"

Central City's resident speedster sent him an unamused look, "I'm serious Oliver, what are we going to do? We have to help them!"

Felicity was already on her computer, and while Digg and his team were getting ready to suit up, he slid his hand into his trouser pocket, slightly out of view of everyone, but he managed to grab their attention by not grabbing his bow and placing a call instead. The phone rang twice before he heard Tatsu's voice answering her phone.

"Hello Oliver"

"I saw the news, and my team's here, ready to move", he cast an eye on everyone, and saw that they were all intently listening to the half of a conversation that they could hear, "do we need to intervene? This is your call now"

"No Oliver, it is theirs", she used the tone she used to use in Japan, whenever she thought he was being a bigger ass than was normal for him, "they have put their faith in you, as their trainer, their mentor, and their friend. Perhaps it is time that they had their faith rewarded, no?"

"It's only their first day"

He could hear her smile in her voice, "Is it? Is that not the same as your first day learning under your Yao Fei? Your Slade Wilson?" Her voice grew slightly upset, "Under my Maseo?"

He exhaled, "Is it not the same?"

"No", she agreed, sounding amused again, "you were not ready, unprepared, but you were forced to fight. They are already better trained you were, and they will work together as a team, something you have always struggled with, no? Are they not ready?"

He closed his eyes as he breathed out, letting it clam him, as his old friend had told him what he needed to hear, "You're right"

She chuckled, "Yes, I am, but they have put their faith in you, and you have rewarded them with your trust, in a way that you haven't trusted others before, perhaps, Oliver, it is time that you put your faith in them"

Do I trust them with this?

I trust Roy.

I trust Thea.

I trust Evelyn.

I… well I don't think Wally's as annoying as Barry was when I first met him - that has count for something I suppose.

He closed his eyes, nodding to himself, "You're right - again. Thank you, my old friend"

"For what Oliver? Putting you back into place? You are always welcome for that, now let them be the warriors you've prepared them to be. This will be a trial by fire for them. Let them be the heroes that we both know that they are meant to be. This is their fight now. You have made it so"

With her parting words, she hung up on him and he fought back a smile. Straightening up, he slid his phone back into his pocket and looked across the room at John, who was stood next to his Spartan gear, one hand on his helmet, ready to move.

"Stand down John, we're staying out of this one"

"Oliver man-"

"Trust me on this one Diggle, the situation's already in hand", he held the other man's gaze until he saw his consent in his eyes, and he watched as the recruits stood down too, putting their weapons away. Felicity's lips were pursed, like they always were when she was unhappy, but she shut her searches down anyway.

Barry was the sole holdout, the upset look on his face telling him that Barry was not liking that they weren't helping one bit, but eventually the speedster huffed, before disappearing from their eyes in another flash of golden lightning.

Hopefully the younger man wouldn't interfere though.

He already had to worry about one reckless speedster on the job.

Turning away from his team, he turned his attention back to the news station they had rolling, hoping for a glimpse of the heroes he knew were there.

Perhaps today, was the day that his faith would be rewarded too.

The explosion destroyed the wall opposite the booth they were sitting in, the four of them and Jacques should already have been dead, crushed by massive chunks of debris, but fortunately for the five of them, a speedster was able to react faster than an explosive.

The waiter suddenly found himself disorientated, standing in front of a hot dog stand a block away from his restaurant, but otherwise unharmed from the explosion, while the other three felt slightly dizzy, as they realised they were now sat inside of their SUV, which was already pulling out onto the street.

"What's going on guys?"

Thea asked the question from her place in the backseat next to Evelyn, taking in where they were, as she looked at the fires raging around them, while Wally looked back at them from his place next to Roy, as he gunned the accelerator, heading for the warehouse they were now supposed to be calling home.

"Look, I know we all just met today, and we haven't really done anything in the way of team bonding yet, but it looks like it's time for us to suit up", Wally grinned as he shook his head, "I always wanted to say that"

The SUV burst into the garage, skimming the top of the door that was still retracting, Wally's expert driving skills and enhanced reflexes being the only reason they didn't flip over as they hit the floor.

Three of them moved in tandem, flying out of the car and heading straight for the armour room, while Wally parked the car, running straight past Tatsu, failing to notice her, as she watched them rush past her with a small smile on her lips.

Good luck to you all.

The doors to the hall armour room were solely opening in front of them, raising to the roof, as a flash of yellow shot past them, skidding to a stop in front of the doors as they continued to rise.

Roy hit the floor in a baseball slide, gliding straight under the rising door and popping back on to his feet on the other side. Not waiting for the others, he moved to grab his suit from its already opening display case and darted straight into the changing room.

Behind him, the door finished raising and the other three ducked inside. The girls were quick to grab their gear and head for the changing room, while a blurred figure and yellow streak was all it took for Wally West to be gone, and for the speedster, Impulse, to be stood in his place.

Roy was the first to emerge from the changing room, with his Arsenal gear on, but with his hood down and his mask hung around his neck. He immediately returned to his display case to start loading up with his weapons, and before long, his quiver was fully stocked and slung across his back, his right wrist was surrounded with flechettes, and his escrima sticks were strapped to his left thigh.

Artemis and Speedy took a few moments longer before they emerged and repeated the process, with Artemis strapping a collapsible crossbow to her right thigh, while Speedy sheathed her sword behind her quiver.

With Impulse and Artemis already wearing face masks, Arsenal and Speedy pulled on their domino masks, before flipping up their hoods.

"Alright team", as their hoods and masks had voice distortion software lined in, rather than being an add on, Arsenal's voice was slightly deeper than normal as he spoke, "I say we get a move on"

The explosions had rattled all throughout key areas of the city, with most of them centred around City Hall, but other key areas throughout the rest of the city had been struck too.

The Jump City Police Department Headquarters had been struck, leaving five officers dead, a further seventeen injured to some degree and their entire fleet of squad vehicles burning, with similar results at the city's private security firms, and any other place that had the means to try and provide the city with armed assistance.

Even the business district hadn't been untouched, with some of the city's major firms being hit, in an attempt to sow unease and panic.

He had left the skate park long before the bombs started going off, and had begun making his way through the city, heading towards the city centre, looking for harder and trickier places to show off his skills with his board; eventually settling on the long stone staircases and accompanying steel rails that the business district was known for.

He was enjoying bouncing off of, and balancing on, the mixture of trees and steps at the entrance to one of the dozen high rises that functioned as the headquarters for some of the international businesses that were based there.

He'd been expecting to see the odd suit and tie every now and then, passing through on their way to make a night meeting, or even a security guard making their rounds, working the night shift.

He had not been expecting an explosion on one of the top floors.

The force of it rattled the ground he was on, unsettling his balance and sending him sprawling to the floor. His head struck the ground as he landed, and he was almost immediately aware that he was bleeding and felt dizzy. He strained his neck to look upwards, fighting back the urge to vomit, as he took in the inky blackness of the night sky. It was normally lit up by the bright signs of corporate logos and neon-filled advertising boards, but tonight it was lit up by flames, and highlighted by screams as the top floors of Kord Industries burned.

Small pieces of debris rained down, bits of burning rock and plaster striking the floor with an alarming amount of speed and force. Dizzy and disorientated, he forced himself to roll onto his stomach and flip his hood up, determined to try and protect himself, to get himself away safely - simply to keep himself alive.

He crawled, still feeling sluggish from his landing, but he managed to drag himself forwards, scratching at the ground, clawing with his hands, determined to pull himself forwards, closer and closer to his own survival - determined to reach the front of the building, knowing that it would be much safer inside.

He was inches away when he felt the second shock, the second explosion expelling with the same amount of force as the first, sending even more debris raining down on top of him, and in his panic, he forgot all about crawling to safety, as he brought his hands up to protect the back of his head.

And then his back burned in pain.

It was an agony unlike anything he'd ever felt before in his life. It started as a burning, stabbing pain in his upper back, before it spread along his nerves like tiny knives piercing his skin, his mouth opened in a silent scream, before his body could take no more, and mercifully, he passed out.