The next few moments became surreal to all the folks standing patiently, hopefully, in the cold, dully lit laboratory. Doctors Charles and Duncan diligently monitored knobs and graphs and scales as a now-human Raven, frocked in a lovely hooded white silken sari, joined both her hands with Frances Kane's. The women stood face to face, but each had their eyes closed. Frances' face was blotchy, as was the visible upper portion of her chest and neck. It was evident she was trying hard to maintain poise, squelching her tremendous fear. Her eyes were clenched shut, like the eyes of someone who hates getting needle injections, while Raven's eyelids lay perfectly still. Frances' jaw made small twitching movements. Behind her, Wally West debated with his inner poise to put his hands on her shoulders and offer his strength, knowing full well that physical contact like that could possibly muck things beyond repair.
Right of Wally West stood Donna Troy, slender arms crossed, and next to her was the Princess Koriand'r from a tropical planet once known as Tamaran. At Koriand'r's feet sat a green chimpanzee called Garfield Logan, his small, simian legs crossed. To Wally's left was Dick Grayson, hidden behind a black mask and wearing the persona of Nightwing; flanking Nightwing was the cybernetic fellow from Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan named Victor Stone. As Wally watched the two women before him, each someone who held a special place in his world, he got a sudden sense of déjà vu, and it broke his concentration. Silently, he veered his head first to the left, then to the right, realizing he was standing dead center amidst the first true reunion of what was long ago called the New Teen Titans. He smiled and let out a faintly audible acknowledgement.
He'd known Dick and Donna since he was thirteen years old. He could remember with utmost clarity the first day he'd laid eyes on Donna Troy, quite possibly the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Moreover, he could hear in his mind the puberty-challenged, teenaged voice of Dick Grayson, cracking some kind of lame pun, the first time they'd met. Simpler times, indeed. Countless adventures with those two, as well as Roy Harper and Garth from Atlantis, seemed like forever ago. But those adventures paled when compared to what began on that May night at the end of his second college semester, the night he met an exotic woman in a black cloak who pleaded for his help. She had been irresistible. Her eyes were feverish, alive with fervor. He knew at that moment he'd follow her wherever she'd ask. She was called Raven, and later that night, because Raven beseeched him, he was with his fellow Titans, whom he hadn't seen in almost a year, rescuing a golden skinned alien from the clutches of massive, lizard-like creatures over the Manhattan skyline. His life was irrevocably changed that night. And here he stood, some years later, with those very same six people. Saving the life of his childhood sweetheart, the other most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.
Across the room, Deathstroke the Terminator focused intently on the cloned shape currently floating, lifeless, in the gestation tank. The techs on his payroll seemed to have a handle on the situation, readying the fluidic temperature inside the chamber to match the body's normal temperature. All vital signs seemed strong, functional. Deathstroke smiled haughtily behind his full-face mask. Very soon his son would be alive, again, thus redeeming himself to his vengeful ex-wife, the late Adelaide Wilson. He could stop carrying around that irritating sense of failure to which he was ill equipped to feeling. And this time, make no mistake, his son would follow his lead, not that of his adversary, Nightwing. Joey would be a brand new man, alive with that bright soul and those glowing green eyes, able once more to speak and sing and shout to his heart's content. Singing in praise of his father, the one man brave and responsible enough to rescue him and give him life anew.
Static electric began coursing through the room. The lights dimmed and the humming of the computers elevated slightly. Troia's necklace lifted away from her chest, drawn forward to Frances Kane. Vic Stone felt his metal parts begin to get heavy, somewhat uncontrollable. Deathstroke firmed his hold on his staff as it tugged to be free from his grip. Frances' hair fanned out as if an invisible balloon was being taunted above her. Raven's hair followed suit.
"Wally..." whispered Fran, her voice reaching out for support, the tone small and frightened.
"I'm right here," confided Wally.
And before anyone could blink, the room exploded in a mortar of white light and an eardrum-shattering bang. People were flung against consoles as the room shook, heroes and civilians losing balance and equilibrium. As their eyes began to readjust from the burst, they could see Frances and Raven floating in midair, hands still clasped, spinning as if inside the tip of a vortex.
Troia rose to her feet and shielded her eyes. Nightwing followed. But it was the Flash's voice that was the first to be heard: "Raven!" he cried angrily, as his body innately began vibrating so fast he was nearly everywhere at once.
"Stand DOWN, Flash!" yelled Nightwing, and Starfire reached from behind him to steady his moving body. Her firm clench on his shoulders spoke volumes.
Within a matter of seconds, the levitating women, spinning counter-clockwise in midair, began to slow and eventually come to a stop. Though neither of them seemed conscious, Raven spoke and the words rang loudly. "You are freed, Joseph." The moment the sentence was uttered, Frances Kane fell limply to the cold laboratory floor.
The Flash was instantly at her side, his facemask behind him like a hood. "Fran?" he muttered. She lifted her drained face, looked at Wally, and turned her gaze upon Kole Weathers, who was studiously helping a fallen lab tech to her feet. Wally noticed that something about Frances' eyes had changed; they seemed enormously dilated. And before he could realize what was going on, Frances whispered, "Contact." Her head hit the ground like a rock, and Wally no longer had control of his body. He stood, turned, and sped directly over to Kole, blindsiding her with an elbow to the jaw, knocking the crystal spinner unconscious.
"What's happening?" Shouted one of the techs in the background as the Titans, a well-oiled machine, rallied to fight stance. They each knew exactly what was happening. Joey Wilson was freed from Frances Kane's psyche, all right. And now he was 'inside' the Flash, obviously presenting a danger to the lives of everyone in the room. Joey's unique ability to enter a person's body and control their motor functions was a formidable power for an ally to have, but when that power was corrupted, people would certainly get hurt.
"Kory?" commanded Nightwing to Starfire, who, with glowing fists, was hovering around the room trying to lock aim on the Flash so she could stun him, but all anyone was able to see was a blur of red whipping to and fro. Meanwhile, that which was Raven had become non-corporeal once again and let free her disembodied soul-self, angling it in chase behind the crimson blur.
"Impossible to hit him unless he stands still," roared Starfire, frustrated and discouraged.
As if on cue, the Flash came to a halt, his face inches from the face of Deathstroke, the Terminator. With impossible speed, he removed Deathstroke's full-face mask. "Contact," he bellowed happily, as his right eye met Deathstroke's left. Starfire's starbolt knocked the Flash off his fleet feet all too late, for unfortunately Joey Wilson was no longer controlling the Flash's body.
Deathstroke, surprisingly alarmed, hollered, "GET HIM OUT OF ME!" as his possessed arms aimed his staff and fired shots off at various random targets around the room, including the cylindrical holding tank in which floated the cloned body of his son. Troia deflected as many as she could with her Amazonian bracelets until a direct hit to her stomach took her down for the count. Beast Boy morphed from chimp to elephant and charged full on at the Terminator, as the Cyborg's right hand morphed into a white sound blaster.
"Protect the containment tank!" screamed Deathstroke, as he effortlessly dodged the green mammoth and catapulted himself in the direction of Cyborg, connecting the butt of his fist to Cyborg's exposed jaw. Each Titan still standing either deflected shots fired by the overcome mercenary or made his way toward the villain in hopes of incapacitating him. Sarah Charles and Flamebird ushered the civilians through an exit door at the far corner of the room, and Karen Duncan carried Frances Kane right behind. Once everyone was out, Flamebird slammed the door shut behind her and ran down the hall, her goal to find a specific fledgling hero for some highly needed backup.
Back inside, amidst a raging onslaught of firearms, the disembodied form of that which was Raven hovered beside Nightwing. "Richard," muttered the apparition, "you must wake Donna, for only she can help Joseph now." As her words were spoken, Raven's airborne soul self concurrently wrapped its blinding light around Slade Wilson's manipulated form, calming the presence controlling his motor functions.
Nonetheless, at that exact moment, Nightwing removed his left glove and reached out to touch Raven, giving her physical form; her ghostly face, slowly gaining flush, looked at him quizzically. "Not a great idea, Raven, "said Nightwing, "it's your soul-self that initially got Joey into this mess, let's not make it worse."
With that, as quickly as Raven's soul-self had begun its calming ritual on the Terminator, the glowing, wraith-like form released the mercenary and floated directly toward Troia. "Donna still holds the key, Richard," concluded Raven sullenly as she removed 2 orb-like rings from her fingers and closed Nightwing's fingers around them. "My soul self will awaken her, but she will need these."
As this exchange took place, the mammoth-sized Beast Boy shifted in mid leap from elephant to python, instantly wrapping his scaly body around the Terminator, generously squeezing. "Don't try the eye contact stuff, Termy," chimed python-Gar, "we've all got that number down by now." The possessed Deathstroke struggled with every fiber of his meta-human strength to release himself from Beast Boy's constriction.
Nightwing, along with Raven's disembodied soul, raced toward Troia, the two acting as one. Raven's rings, once said to contain the spirit of the Azarathian spiritual leader Azar, slid easily onto Troia's index fingers. Her eyes opened as the glowing aura of Raven's soul lifted itself from Troia's body.
"You okay?" inquired Nightwing with obvious concern.
"Never better," responded Troia, "the power in Raven's rings is almost overwhelming, though." She stood, supported by Nightwing's strong right forearm, and approached the Raven entity. The two met eyes and Troia whispered, "It's time."
While Troia had regained her consciousness and Starfire had attempted to revive the Flash, Deathstroke never retired his attempt to break free of python-Gar's hold, even while Cyborg maintained aim of his laser finger at the Terminator's left temple.
"Prove you're man enough to use that, Stone," mocked the Terminator, who added, "or in your case, half-man enough!"
Cyborg was unaffected by the mercenary's taunting wisecrack. He held perfectly still, coloring the white sideburn on the left of Deathstroke's face with a tiny dot of red. He held his human eye shut. "Consider yourself lucky that Joey's inside your body, Wilson, or I might be inclined to slip up and shoot."
Suddenly the Terminator stopped struggling. His body stiffened with a quick jolt, then went limp, legs buckling, sending himself and Beast Boy unexpectedly to the floor.
"Yikes!" yelped Beast Boy as he transformed into a Saint Bernard, "did I kill him?"
"I disrupted his mental synapses and put that jackass to sleep," said the Disrupter, sided by Flamebird as they stood near the lab entry, "I've wanted to do that all day!"
Nevertheless, the unconscious mercenary gained his balance and stood, laughing. But before he could reach for any weapons in his belt, Troia was hovering beside him, her hands aglow from the rings she'd borrowed from Raven.
"Joey," she said, reaching to caress the Terminator's face. She knew that she was now addressing the mercenary's son, Joseph Wilson. "Let Raven's rings calm you," said Troia, "and let me help you see the truth."
"The truth..." scoffed Joey in his father's voice. His ability to possess people extended to being able to speak and communicate through their bodies if they were in a sleeping state or otherwise unconscious. He had done it many times before, but each time it was still strange for his teammates to see. He continued sarcastically, "Yes, Donna, help me to see your truth."
Troia caressed 'Joey's' face. "Don't fight, Joey," she whispered.
A soft, melodic voice called from the far side of the room. "Joey?" asked Kole, "Joey, is that really you?" The crystal girl, rubbing her temples as she gained her footing, approached him. "You attacked me first because I pose the greatest threat to you, don't I?" asked Kole. She put her hand on 'his' chest. "But I've seen inside your heart and I know you can fight these demons."
'Joey's' face softened. "Kole?" he marveled as if suddenly awakening from a bad dream.
Kole's palm remained on 'Joey's' chest, and Troia hands, adorned by Raven's rings, warmed his hands.
"I don't want to see the darkness anymore," cried Joey as a tear fell from the Terminator's eye. "It's all around me. It's inside that clone you want to trap me in"
"We shall help you absolve the darkness, Joseph," said the Raven entity. She was aglow, and her soul had lifted the cloned body out of the cracked holding tank. "Do not be afraid."
Each Titan had gathered around the compelled body of the Terminator. Starfire stood behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. The Flash, Nightwing and Cyborg stood close by, and Beast Boy, clumsily sniffing the Terminator's boots in the form of a green bloodhound, barked throatily. The empathic Raven entity was drawing in the compassion and love that surrounded Joseph Wilson, and her glow brightened the room like sunlight.
Kole paraphrased Raven: "Don't be afraid, Joey, I'm here." He lowered his face, breathed in deeply, and shrugged slightly.
Raven's avatar reached out to the man inside his father's body and a tangible, clear beauty coursed through his skin. Joey lifted 'his' face and met eyes with Raven, slipping decisively into her soul, searching for the physical body his father had created for him. The Terminator's shoulders slumped and head went limp; Starfire reached beneath his armpits to steady him.
Deathstroke shook his head. "Where is he?" he asked, "Where's my son?"
"Silence, Slade Wilson," demanded the Raven entity, and he complied.
Thoughts failed Joseph Wilson as his essence floated inside the cleansed soul of Raven. There was endless serenity, a divinity that calmed him. Colors were solid, all sound was like music. All the wonderful meanderings of a child on the most beautiful of summer's days were what Joseph was filled with as his being sought physical form. And there was love, almost solid to the touch; it was savory and abundant, filling his ears and eyes. This sensory madness was strange but welcome, as he had only known pain, anguish, and confusion since the souls of Azarath had overtaken him, leaving him trapped in the scared and self- abhorrent soul of Frances Kane.
Joseph felt Raven's empathic guidance as his essence made contact with the physical form, a body as alien as it was recognizable. The experience of entering this body was not like Joseph had been used to; what he was entering was empty, almost unwelcoming. His essence cried out to Raven's, and again he felt her gentle, empathic nudge. She was guiding him to this destination, and he knew innately he must trust her. He stopped fighting the body and let his essence feel the familiarity. Soon, physical sensations began to emerge. His fingers fidgeted. So did his toes. His neck stretched to and fro. His mouth opened wide, and then closed, lips pursing. His eyes blinked, his nose twitched. A sensation of wetness stroked his cheeks; his skin was feeling tears. But none of it was real until—
'Uch! Aghhh!" coughed Joey as he lay naked, fetal like a newborn, on the cold lab floor. His body was trembling and still dripping from the gestation fluids. His throat was sore, but something felt different. He hadn't been able to cough so loudly after his throat was cut all those years ago, but this coughing bout echoed in his ears.
The commotion around him was confusing, but he had somehow known he was safe. Someone gently covered his shivering body with a warm, cloak-like fabric. Someone else caressed his hair. Yet another carefully whispered his name: Joey? Joey, can you hear us? There was also shouting, someone who's voice was thundering and paternal, yelling for help, telling people to get in here and help my son. Joey realized he had just been reborn; he'd experienced, as a young adult, what it must feel like to emerge as an infant from one's mother's womb. He was hearing and feeling and seeing things for the first time all over again. The more his mind steadied, the easier it became to focus.
"Joey?" repeated Kole as she knelt beside her friend. Joey could smell her breath; it reminded him of bubblegum. His eyes, adjusting to the light, widened as he tried to focus on her face. As she came into focus, he smiled and whispered, "Kole?"
Cheers erupted from all around him. Familiar voices laughed at the sound of Joey's voice. None of them had ever had the privilege of hearing his voice. It was a wonderful sound.
"Richard," said the Raven entity to Nightwing, hovering slightly near the masked hero's side. "We must speak," she guided. Nightwing sensed her demeanor and slowly moved away from his gathered comrades; the enauraed entity followed.
As Nightwing and the Raven entity communicated, Joey Wilson was slowly helped to his feet, standing in his own body for the first time in nearly 3 years. Some of the Terminator's lab techs, who had since re-entered the lab, provided Joey with a heavy cotton robe, and each of the Titans, as well as his father, flanked him. Beast Boy had morphed into the form of a green sparrow, chirping happily as his tiny wings steered him playfully around the room. Flamebird, overjoyed at the sight she had just witnessed, grabbed the Disruptor's left hand and said, "You did a good thing back there, Mikey!' as she leaned in and kissed his cheek. Starfire and Kole both stood close to Joey as he was gently led to a console chair; the Terminator's strong hand sat confidently on his son's shoulder.
Cyborg worked with the techs as they checked Joey's vital signs, monitoring his breathing. The Flash zoomed over and said, "I'm gonna go check up on Fran." Cyborg nodded as the speedster disappeared. And Troia watched Nightwing and Raven, berating herself not to steal a listen, knowing their conversation was about nothing good.
And then the room exploded again, the way it had when Raven and Frances had touched minutes before. Metallic objects seemed alive. Troia's necklace yanked itself off her neck and flew against Joseph Wilson's chest. Cyborg was thrown against a far wall. The Terminator's belt seemed to melt off his torso, pulling him against his son. Panicked and startled, Joey guarded his face with his arms, and Starfire poised herself, hands afire, to stop any other metal objects from hitting him.
Without wavering, the would-be hero called the Disruptor waved a pulse at Joey, dampening the magnetic thrall. The onslaught subsided.
"He must've taken that blond girl's powers," said the Disruptor, hoping for some affirmation from one of the Titans who wasn't so eager to kiss his cheek.
"Didn't see that one coming," said Cyborg.
"What the hell just happened?" demanded Deathstroke as Sarah Charles and two of Slade's techs examined Joseph. Joey, yellow-blonde hair in matted wet twists, had the posture of a child in the school nurse's office. His shoulders were slumped. His mind was cloudy. The people around him, poking at him, tilting his head back, shining things in his eyes and ears and mouth, were making more and more noise. And he was afraid. But he still felt the calming presence of the Raven entity's soul and the comforting blue eyes and warm hands of the cherry-haired girl who seemed to hold his heart in her grasp.
Troia's attention was divided. Even after the electro-magnetic outburst that Joey just displayed, Nightwing was still off in a corner with that which was Raven. And, despite her efforts to not eavesdrop, she had heard words like cell degradation and only a matter of time. Did they finally get Joey back only to lose him again because the body Deathstroke created was unstable?
Sarah Charles' disquiet was written all over her face. She had worked on and studied many a meta-human patient and had read dozens more case files on others, but Joseph Wilson's situation was completely new to her, and she wasn't about to lose him. "I want him moved to a bed, stat!" She called firmly. Her personnel had already joined the fray and a gurney was wheeled in before she could turn her head. Deathstroke's techs and Dr. Charles' lab assistants deftly maneuvered the weakened young man to the gurney; Kole Weathers never left his side. Soon, Joey Wilson was wheeled out of the lab, leaving behind a room full of dumbfounded, costumed individuals.
"I demand answers from that witch, Grayson!" shouted the Terminator, index finger angrily directed at Raven; his ire broke the momentary silence. "What the hell is wrong with my son?"
The Raven entity's glow lessened. Nightwing approached the Terminator, his demeanor on the defense. The rest of the Titans wanted to know what Raven knew as well, and though none of them particularly cared for the way Slade Wilson approached the issue, they were glad it was he who opened the worm can.
"The body is in a slow period of decay, Slade," said Nightwing. He lowered his head and rubbed at his temples. "Joey knew what he was doing while in command of your body. He made some clear attempts to damage the containment unit, and that little bit of time made all the difference."
Deathstroke scowled. "You mean to tell me there is cell degradation to the cloned body because the damned tank was ruptured? It couldn't have become so corrupt so quickly!"
The floating, glowing wraith called Raven answered the Terminator with an eerie nonchalance. "And yet it has become corrupt, Slade Wilson. Perhaps the cells you've had in isolation all these years were imperfect to begin with, and maybe you are at fault for Joseph's decaying body." There was spite in her voice. It creeped Cyborg and sparrow-Gar out.
Troia stepped forward. "Okay, everyone, we can hurl accusations and insults at each other later. Right now, we need facts, and we need them fast."
"Joseph's newly regenerated body is essentially in a flux of advanced aging," continued the Raven entity. "It is at a current estimated age of nineteen, but the body will rapidly age within a mere matter of months, maybe a year at best."
Flamebird gasped. The Disruptor bowed his head. The fluttering green bird transformed into a solemn green-skinned boy.
Troia grabbed Starfire's hand. "There has to be some way to prevent that, Raven, doesn't there?" She asked, half-knowing the answer. "Surely your soul-self—"
Cyborg quickly interjected: "Sarah will be able to stop his decay. She's a damned genetic genius!"
The Terminator stormed toward the exit and Nightwing followed right after, beseeching, "Where are you going, Slade?"
Deathstroke stopped and spun in almost a single movement; his face leered just above Nightwing's. "I'm going to retrieve my son."
"You're not taking Joey anywhere, you thug," demanded Sarah Charles from the doorway. The sleeves of her lab coat were rolled up haphazardly; her brown skin glistened with diligent perspiration. "If I have to pots meta-humans at every exit in this place, Joey Wilson isn't leaving the building."
The Terminator snarled. He looked around the room. Uneasy alliances aside, he currently would've liked nothing better than to bash some goody-two-shoes' heads in and bolt out with his son. However, he knew S.T.A.R. was the best place for Joey to be. He recoiled, stood erect and returned his mask over his face. "Fine," he said angrily, "You will cure my son, Dr. Charles. You will stop this bloody cell degeneration and you will return my son to me, alive and well." He knelt, retrieved his baton, and continued, "Because if you don't, so help me, I will kill you all. I have the skill. I have the means. I will not relent."
He stormed past Sarah and headed for the stairwell to the roof. Starfire followed him into the hallway and watched as he disappeared through the exit. "I think he's leaving," she stated innocently.
Troia looked over at Nightwing. "Let him go," she said with Nightwing's non-verbal assurance, "He knows we're going to do everything in our collective power to help Joey."