And so we meet our beloved Titans. Or, at least, the still-unofficial Titans North.
There are two endings for the story, and you, dear readers, get to determine which one occurs. If ten or more people can correctly figure out the Cabal's plan, then the Titans win. If ten or more people can't, the Cabal wins. You each get one guess at the plan, and the only clues are in the story itself. Good luck!
Today was the day.
She had talked about it with the other Titans of Titans East and West. She had found the people who wanted to join. She made the plans with the city. She had prepared everything quietly.
Gnarck, on the other hand, had made a big scene, ruining any and all dramatic effect. Oh well, a girl couldn't have everything, Kole reasoned, and Gnarck had tried his best…
But today was the day her new comrades would join her at the city they would soon protect, Anchorage. She and Gnarck had met them fighting against the Brotherhood of Evil, but they had not gotten very close. Now they would be able to. First there was Gnarck and herself, then a quiet samurai named Bushido, then another girl named Argent (Whom Kole thought was joining solely because of Bushido, but never mind that for now) and then a mute boy named Jericho.
Ahhhh, Jericho…
She woke up and leapt from her bed in the hotel she and Gnarck were staying in. It was quite different from their cave, but it was only temporary. She took a quick shower and breakfast. Gnarck tried to skip the shower, but Kole demanded that he look his best for the new Titans.
She and Gnarck went to the airport and found, to their surprise, that Bushido's plane had been ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, he had run afoul of the FAA with his katana. His new comrades would first meet him eight hours later, the young samurai in foul temper.
Jericho arrived slightly behind schedule. Kole and Gnarck waited excitedly for him to disembark. Kole saw him and waved happily, which he returned. She and Gnarck approached him. "Gnarck!"
"We're so glad you came!" Kole said. "You're the first one here (Can't find Bushido…) so we'll have to wait a bit, but this is still great! How was your flight?"
Jericho smiled at her enthusiasm and signed.
Kole was horrified to remember that she didn't know sign language. She managed to hide it from her new friend with increasingly vague remarks and quietly purchased Sign Language for Dummies without anyone noticing. As she did so Jericho went to collect his few bags from luggage, passing two tired members of the Cabal.
Jacques and Ferris had been given false identities of Mark Theiss and Taylor Jensen, respectively. The expertly forged cards and passports had aroused no suspicion. The pair had smuggled the four-hundred thousand dollars they had between them in the usual way of smugglers, hidden in the pockets and between the spare clothes in their suitcases, and, startlingly, in their wallets, ironically the last place anyone expected smugglers to hide their cargo.
The letter had remained in Jacques' pocket the entire trip.
He and Ferris were still quite tired from the flight, however, due not only to the time difference but the painful reality that international flights are just plain exhausting. The sheer enormity of the job they had to do soon bore heavily on their minds, and the added pressure of being among the only five who had to do anything for the moment (The others being Lebel, Belmont, and Rainforest) did little to ease them. But to anyone not privy to the Cabal's machinations they were simply two very weary travelers from London. They called their hotel to confirm the reservations, collected the rental car, and left to sleep off the flight.
Argent arrived several hours later. Kole made the mistake of waving happily to her. "I hate flying in planes!" Argent ranted for quite some time. "First getting your luggage checked, then waiting, then finding out your flight's been delayed, then waiting some more, then finally flying to your first stopover, waiting some more, then again and again and again until, one stopover away, New Zealand decides they don't like my passport! So I had to wait some more for that to clear up, missed my flight, and then just… just… argh!"
"Gnarck." Gnarck did not like flying either.
"Well, you're here at least. No more flying." Kole said.
"Whatever." Argent said, covering her eyes. "I just want to sleep."
Jericho signed, but she wasn't looking, so he tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to a screen. Argent looked, read the screen for a moment, and then drooped her head.
Her luggage had been mistakenly sent to Calvadores in Argentina.