Teen Titans

All These Lives

Chapter 5

A/N: Here's chapter 5 of All These Lives. Let's just say that there is going to be a giant twist that I hope nobody saw coming. If you did, I congratulate you.

I will probably post the tie in story about Dick and Harvey swapping cases anyways. If people read it, they read it. If they don't, no skin of my nose. Heh.

Anyways, thanks to all who reviewed so far. Your reviews are greatly appreciated.

Now, onto the story!

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The small submarine was deathly quiet. Nobody was breathing, as if taking in oxygen would give away their location. The only sound that was heard was the whir of the jet engines in the rear of the craft.

Kori broke the silence and said, "We're almost there. You should see the Looking Glass any second now." She turned the yoke a little to the left and the craft followed, showing a black speck on the ocean floor.

The black speck was getting larger. It turned into a spot and the spot turned into a blob. The blob took the form of a large underwater observation, three separate sections glowing in the dark waters of Gotham Bay. (For reference, think the underwater HQ that Brother Blood had in the episode with the sonic resonator.)

The radio crackled loudly. "Kori, what took you so long? I expected you back a half hour ago." Slade Wilson. The Tornado. It seemed Kori was a trustworthy source… so far. Dick was still a bit wary of the fact that this could be a trap. He nodded at her. "Answer him. Everybody, be quiet. We don't want to blow our cover."

After everyone else was quiet, Kori clicked the mic on. "I got held up at the mall. Just as you suspected, there were cops practically coming out of the woodwork. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get groceries with a cop practically staring over your shoulder?" She released the mic button and waited for a reply. The station loomed larger.

Slade smiled beneath his mask. The group that was with her would be in for a surprise when they boarded the station. "That's my girl. It's almost lunch and I've gotten quite hungry. When you dock, make some sandwiches and bring them to the back room. I'm sure that our guest is getting quite hungry as well."

Kori clicked the mic on again. "Sure thing Dad. Submarine out." She put the radio back down and parked the sub with a hiss as the engines shut down. Filling the ballast tanks with water, the sub rose until it reached the inside of the docking bay. With another loud hiss of hydraulics, the door opened. Dick was the first out, pistol in hand. Waving the others out one by one, they fanned into a diamond shape. Dick quickly checked the storage containers and found nothing.

Nodding, the group moved towards the door. Peering inside, he saw that the control room was empty. The chair was facing them and nobody was on either side of the door, so he cautiously pushed it open with the barrel of his gun. The door creaked open and Dick peered in further and saw no trip wires, laser beams or explosive traps, so he waved Donna forward. "Can you see anything?" he whispered.

Scanning around, she pointed. "Heat sensor by the door frame closest to the back of the room. Eye and fingerprint registration system on the door leading to the second bubble of the station. Hidden laser gun mounted in the ceiling above the fingerprint scanner." She pushed the door open the rest of the way. "Looks like this area is all clear. We can move forward."

Dick nodded and said, "Okay, but I'm going in first. I don't want you guys getting hurt." He slowly made his way forward, gun extended in front of him. Donna followed behind him, her own pistols out and ready. Jim followed behind Kori, making sure she didn't try anything.

Turning the corner, Dick made his way to the control panel and yelled, "WE'VE BEEN HOAXED!" He whipped around and aimed his pistol at Kori, who immediately raised her hands in defense. "You lead us on a wild good chase!" he exploded, spittle flying from his mouth.

She asked, "Did you hit your head on something when you came in? I don't even know what you're talking about." Her face looked like she was telling the truth, but Dick learned that criminals were very good liars.

"Explain this then," he said, shoving her over to the control panel to reveal a digital voice recorder, hooked into the sensor and mic arrays. "Looks like this was a very well set up hoax to me." He crossed his arms over his chest, gun back in its holster. He highly doubted that Jim or Donna would let her get out alive.

Kori ground her teeth together and muttered something under her breath. "I should've known this would happen. He must have known I was lying. For all we know, he's halfway to Mexico by now." She pointed off to the door that led to the other sections of the station. "There was another submarine bay in the second bubble that held a two person escape sub from when the station was still in use. He must have used it to take Barbara to another location while I was gone." She punched the control panel, cracking a few keys off in the process. "DAMMIT!"

Dick sighed and looked at the other two. "Sorry for dragging you guys down here for nothing." He started to head off back to the submarine, but then he asked, "Kori, what happens when somebody walks by that heat sensor?"

She replied, "An alarm sounds and all doors go into lockdown mode. The only way to shut it down is… the control panel." She groaned and quickly checked the panel. The keyboard was slightly cracked, but still useable. "I'll shut it down. Gimme a minute." She typed in a quick command on the keyboard and the computer droned in a monotone voice, "Heat sensor deactivated."

Dick quickly turned around and ran over to the door, kicking it in, gun drawn. Scanning around, he gasped loudly, his weapon clattering to the floor in shock. "Jim, call forensics and get them down here now…"

"What is it?" Jim asked as he made his way over, but Dick stopped him well before the doorway.

"You won't wanna see what's in there Jim. Trust me on this one." Dick tried to push the older man back a bit further, but it didn't happen. "Jim, leave it alone! You'll be better off not seeing it!"

Jim would have none of that and barged past him. He took one look at the room before passing out cold on the floor.

Donna came over, asking, "What is it…" and trailed off. "Oh my God," she breathed before sitting down and cried.

The room behind the door was a literal mess. The bed was overturned; sheets were torn into pieces and the smell of fresh blood lingered. There was a message written on the wall in deep crimson blood, obviously from the naked corpse of Barbara Gordon that hung from the ceiling fan. Her neck had been sliced open from end to end.

"Catch me if you can," Dick read aloud from the wall, quickly pulling out a small camera he always carried with him and snapped a few pictures of the crime scene. "We'll have to send forensics down here after to clean up the mess." He stuffed the camera back in his pocket. "Kori, gimme a hand with the Commissioner. We need to get him back to the sub and to the mainland." He lifted the passed out man up by the arms, letting Kori grab the man's feet.

Donna took one last look at the scene before her and shuddered. That could be her up there. She turned to go just as Kori had passed the door to the main bay. Suddenly, Donna's eyes widened. Running forward, she slammed the bulkhead shut and sealed it off from the inside – the only way to seal it off at all.

Dick heard the door slam and saw a panicked Donna on the other side. "DONNA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" he yelled at her, hoping his voice would carry through the thick door.

A piece of paper came up to the window. In thick black letters, Donna had written EXPLOSIVE CHARGES. Taking the paper down, she flipped it over and wrote on the other side. GET GOING.

Dick shook his head. "WE'RE NOT LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!" Just as he finished saying that, the charges blew. A deafening noise, despite the thick bulkhead door, echoed in his ears as he screamed, "DONNA!"

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A/N: Bet you didn't see that coming. What did you think of my lovely twist? Gimme a review as to what you thought.

Love, peace and chicken grease

Dash