Act One:
The Shadow of Doubt
Luna made her way to the city that Batman had told her Robin and his friends dwelled in. As she migrated down south, she stopped at various cities and towns that dotted the country along the way helping them and earning a reputation as a wandering heroine. She hoped in some way it would help make up for what her selfishness had caused. She earned money by fighting off the villains that plagued little towns and other cities that did not have protectors, getting used to the power which she so often pretended she didn't have. It took her at least a month to grow used to them, being accepted for the abilities that she had. The acceptance was something of a surprise to her, how the people so readily liked her and let her help them when they saw what she was using her powers for.
She had enough money by the time she reached Jump City that she was able to eat on her own for at least a month. But it was when she arrived, that things sped up once again for her. She was just about at the city limits when she saw an armored figure standing on the ground, obviously waiting for something. Her curiosity peeked, and she landed in front of him. When she got closer, she saw it wasn't Navare, but someone else she didn't recognize.
"Hello, Luna. I've heard a lot about you." Slade said once she landed.
"And who are you? Since you already know my name." Luna stared at the man. While she reminded her of Navare, there was something different about the man as he walked up to her.
"Call me Slade." He replied simply. "I'll ask you this once... come with me, Luna, and I will help you use your powers properly." He held out a hand for her to take.
"Sorry, but mom taught me never to go with strangers." She took several steps backwards.
"I heard you don't have a mother." Retorted Slade with a touch of impatience in his voice.
She blinked at him.
"Have I touched a nerve?" He asked casually.
"All right Titans, lunch is ready!" Cyborg announced from the kitchen as the group gathered. "One large five cheese pizza is ready for eating."
The group all converged on the Pizza. It had been a relatively unexciting day in their city, so they spent the morning either catching up on their video gams, listening to music, or reading. In Starfire's case, she was in her rooms until lunch time came. When she got her slice, she pulled out a container of mustard and started squirting it all over the slice.
"Man today's been great!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Played four hours of video games-"
"During which I kicked your butt-" Cyborg interjected.
"Spent two hours in the gym-"
"During which I also kicked your butt-" Once again Cyborg had his say.
"And now the king of all foods... one large five cheese pizza... nothing can spoil it!" Beast Boy continued as though he didn't hear Cyborg.
At that moment, the alarms of Titan Tower blared, just as Beast Boy was about to take his first bite.
"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Asked Cyborg as Robin went to the main computer. "So what's the prob?"
On the screen appeared a girl, running towards the tower being chased by someone. Robin zoomed in on the person chasing her, and his eyes went wide.
"Slade." He said simply.
"Looks like the old bird's back." Cyborg blinked. "No offense, Raven." He added.
"None taken." She replied.
"Let's move out, Titans. Whoever she is, she obviously needs our help." Robin turned on the spot, and the others followed.
Luna had made it to the city, and was running along the rocks. She could see the Titan's tower coming ever closer as she ran, figuring running might throw him off instead of the flying she had gotten used to. Instead, she heard footsteps behind her as he was quickly catching up to her.
Slade gave a mighty jump in to the air, and flipped around as he landed in front of her, blocking her path.
"You're not going anywhere, dear girl." He said simply as she skidded to a halt.
"That's what you think... I may not be able to use my powers to their full ability, but I can use them enough to stop you." She retorted, bringing up her hands as she balled them in to fists.
"We'll see about that." Muttered Slade, lunging forward.
She blocked several of his punches before she brought her leg up to kick him in the sides, which he avoided. He reacted with a punch to her side, sending her flying in to the rocks nearby with a loud crash.
"Now, Luna... You're coming home with me." Slade walked over, having ended the fight rather quickly.
Green energy spheres crashed in to the ground in front of him, forcing Slade to jump back a few paces.
"Ah, my old friends." Slade said as he turned.
Luna blinked, trying to get rid of the headache she had from slamming in to the rocks so hard. She saw Robin, the person Batman had referenced to, and four others.
"Titans, Go!" Robin declared.
The group lunged forward, and Slade was forced to turn around and face them. He blocked Robin's own Shuriken attack, jumped out of the way from Starfire and Raven's energy blasts, before looking at Robin.
"You don't have any powers this time, Slade." Robin said, pulling out his staff.
"Who says I need powers, Robin?" Retorted Slade as Robin jumped in to the air, bringing down the staff on Slade, who blocked the attack with one of his armored arms held up. He grabbed the staff firmly with his hand before flinging it above and over his head, forcing Robin to go with it. He slammed Robin in to the ground before letting go of the staff as Cyborg came from behind, apparently hoping to catch Slade off his guard. But Slade used his other fist and slammed it in to Cyborg's chest, sending him in to a boulder several yards away as Starfire came from above, sending a pillar of green light at him. He was barely able to escape from the attack.
"Azarath Metrion ZENTHOS." Raven chanted from her spot, raising her hands, directing her palms at the two largest boulders. They were encased in darkness before rising in the air and being flung at Slade, who stared right at the rocks.
Slade's single visible eye narrowed before he aimed his fists at the boulders, splitting them apart at the last second and sending shards of shrapnel in every direction.
Luna blinked, staring at the fierce battle as Beast Boy transformed into a T-Rex among the confusion with the shrapnel going everywhere, running at Slade.
"Down boy." Muttered Slade, once again waiting for the last second before jumping out of the way causing the T-rex to slam his head in to a giant boulder in the shape of a rather large-looking wall.
"Dude..." The T-rex turned back in to a very dizzy looking Beast Boy who was currently rubbing his head.
"That's why you need to look before you leap." Cyborg commented.
"If we're all done here now..." Slade said, his impatience a little higher in his voice now. "I've got business that needs to be taken care of."
Luna stood up as Robin and his friends regrouped and prepared for another wave of attacks.
"I told you already, I'm not going anywhere with you." She looked up at the sky. Only half an hour left until the moon was up. Even though it was still daylight, the moon would often be in the sky early or at odd hours during this time of year. If the fight lasted that long, then she could really be of help to Robin and his friends.
"You don't really have a choice in the matter, dear girl." Slade said, before running at her.
She braced herself, glad that she was still physically strong and capable of holding her own. The blow to her head earlier may have dazed her, but she was fine now. She blinked as Slade made to punch her square in the face, and she grabbed his fist with her hand. His eye went a little large for a moment before he sent his other fist at her, which she also blocked with the same reaction, but with her other hand. The two were at a deadlock for several moments.
There was the sound of cannon blast as a blue beam of energy from Cyborg's sonic cannon fired at Slade from behind and Starfire shot her green energy blast at him at the same time. Luna jumped in to the air as he was forced to spin around to block the attack from getting to his head. She hovered in the air for several moments, blinking. She did have one power that didn't necessarily need the power of the moon. She figured out long ago that she could manipulate light particles in water to a point where she could control water and get it to do whatever she wanted because of the light particles. Though she certainly packed a more powerful punch when the moon was out. She wasn't entirely useless, at least she hoped as she landed near the shoreline.
"Hey Slade, if you can't take no for an answer, how about this instead?" She asked, causing the group to look over at her as she closed her eyes, gathering the light particles in the water. Slowly the water crept up from the ocean around her feet before forming a pool. She opened her eyes, and when she did the water roared up around her in the form of an spinning pillar as she raised her right hand, directing its palm at Slade.
The pillar acted like a snake made of water in the air, shooting towards Slade who jumped and swerved to avoid the attack as she twisted and turned her right hand to control the movements of the light particles in the water pillar. It was tricky enough without the moon in the sky. Slade moved closer to her with each movement of the water pillar, not being able to hit back since it would only waste his strength to hit something with the consistency of water. Seconds after the attack started, he came face to face with Luna, who stared wide-eyed at him as his fist made contact with her face, sending her flying to the left several meters before she stopped.
Starfire rose to attack Slade next, sending her green energy blast at his back. Slade turned to look at the group.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you it's rude to attack anyone when they've got their backs turned to you?" He asked.
"You have no right to lecture us, Slade." Robin stated, getting in to the fighting position with his staff once again. "Are you going to tell us what you're doing back or are we going to have to beat the answer out of you?"
"My reasons for being back are quite simple really..." Slade glanced at the girl. "When I heard she was headed here to seek for your help, I decided to give her a welcoming party. After a bit of digging, I discovered the powerhouse that was within her yet to be tapped in to."
"And for the hundredth time, I'm telling you N to the freaking NO." Luna stood up, shaking her head like a wounded dog this time while rubbing her face where he struck her. "I heard a lot about you in Gotham City while I lived there. Your attacks on this city didn't go unnoticed by the world, Slade."
"Then my reputation precedes me." Replied Slade.
"Dude... did she just say Gotham City?" Blinked Cyborg.
"I think she did." Agreed Beast Boy.
"This reunion has really been quite touching, Titans." Slade turned to them. "But if I'm ever going to get anywhere with this, I need to finish our discussion and this confrontation."
"Fine by us." Robin tensed before giving the order. "Titans, now!"
Raven raised her hands the same moment Starfire did, and the two sent a combined attack at Slade while Cyborg started running at the man. Robin jumped in to the air with his staff ready to slam down on Slade. The moment Slade jumped out of the way of Raven and Starfire's attacks, Robin brought down his staff on Slade's head. Slade raised his right arm to block the attack as Cyborg slammed his fist in to the side of his face.
"Booyah." Cyborg smirked as Slade stumbled backwards.
A moment later a green tiger came running up, raising a giant paw and scratching at Slade's chest plate. Slade let out a pained yell before grabbing at his chest as he stumbled back.
"By the way, Slade..." Luna landed in front of him after having witnessed the Teen Titans managing to fend off Slade on their own. She brought up her right hand, balled it in to a fist, and slammed it in to the side of his face without holding any of her strength back. "An eye for an eye, you jerk!"
Slade stood up after being knocked down. He looked at the group long and hard before stepping back.
"Just a warning to you Luna, I'd watch your back if I were you." He said before he turned.
Robin ran after Slade when he saw that he was going to get away, but he was too late. Somehow Slade had managed to run and vanish in the blink of an eye.
Luna blinked, looking up at the sky. The moon was just barely peeking out over the horizon. She didn't even need to use her full powers this time around.
"Thanks for the help." She said, looking at Robin, then turning to the others.
"You said you were from Gotham City," Said Robin, looking at her. "What brings you all the way out here?"
There was a pause.
"Let's just say life in Gotham City isn't all it's cracked up to be." Luna finally replied.
"Well, if there's anything you need help with, just let us know ok?" Robin walked over to rejoin his group. "I'm Robin, and these are my friends. Cyborg, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy. We're the Teen Titans."
"And I'm Luna. Luna Starr." Smiled Luna. "Batman told me about you, that you were in this city."
"He did, did he?" Robin's voice had a hint of surprise, while the others stared at her.
"Yeah, he said you and your friends might be able to help me." She nodded. "As you can see, I tend to attract a lot of unwanted attention."
"Well, so does this whole city for some reason we'll never understand." Cyborg put in.
"If there is any way in which we can assist, just let us know." Starfire said.
"I'll do that. And again, thanks for your help earlier." Smiled Luna before turning.
"What are you going to do now?" Asked Robin.
"Find some place to eat, because Slade interrupted my lunch plans earlier." Said Luna.
"That reminds me... Slade interrupted our lunch plans too!" Beast Boy exclaimed suddenly.
"Sure, blame it on the bad guy." Cyborg muttered.
"I can, and I will." Retorted Beast Boy.
Luna blinked at the group. She was torn between amusement and embarrassment at how they behaved around each other when they were certain that trouble had passed.
"We'll, I'll be off then." She waved before taking to the sky.
"Let's get back inside, I've got a slice of pizza with my name on it!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"Don't you ever think about anything besides food?" Asked Raven as they headed back in to their Tower.
Luna found a pizza parlor, and pulled out her wallet. She ordered her favorite pizza in any town- a small, mozzarella stuffed crust canadian bacon and pineapple pizza with extra cheese. She took a spot outside overlooking the ocean with Titans Tower to the right in the distance from where she sat.
She didn't notice a tall young man with middle-of-the-back length black hair, and ultramarine blue eyes blinking in her direction as she looked out at the ocean. He wore a blue shirt, black jacket, black jean pants, and black shoes. His name was James Basilio, and he lived in the city just as the Teen Titans did. He'd just witnessed the fight between the girl and Slade, then watched as the Teen Titans joined in on the fray. He took the last bite of his pizza slice before rising and walking over to her table.
Luna blinked when a shadow came over her table, and looked at its source to see a rather tall young man smiling at her.
"Hi, I'm James." The man said. "I've never seen you around here, where you from?" He asked her, holding out a hand to shake hers in greeting. When she didn't take his in return, he blinked, withdrawing it.
"Gotham City." She told him simply. "I just got here."
"I see. I've been here about a year and a half myself." Smiled James. "Mind if I join you?"
"Yes, I do mind." She said as the waitress with her order came over with the tray that held her pizza on it in her hands.
James stared at her rudeness, but shrugged it off. Maybe she just didn't want to draw attention to herself, or she was waiting for someone. He figured there had to be some reason behind this, so he wasn't offended in the least bit. He went back to his table and ordered desert- a small order of cinnamon bread sticks- and watched her the rest of the time she sat at her table. He went about his day as he normally would have, having established himself as a restauranteur and martial artist, he went to check on his restaurant- a traditional Italian restaurant using his father's name, Arrigo.
When the evening came, and he shut down the restaurant for the night, he blinked when he saw Luna walking the streets. He shrugged, going to his apartment. It was a simple, one bedroom, one bath with a living room, small dining area, and kitchen. He had a couple of cats for company- one a large male orange tabby with light orange lines, and the other a smaller, grey tabby with black and white lines that made her look like she was half raccoon because of the lines on her tail and face. The two were siblings, and he named the male Nebit, and the female Diana. There were several tall cat post trees by his balcony window.
His living room had a simple dark green couch against the south wall with a large flat screen television on the exact opposite wall. There was a tall book case on either side of the wall mounted television, and below the television was a simple but wide movie case with many DVDs. On top of the DVD case was his DVD player, satellite television receptor, sound system and what looked like the latest in video game technology- the Game Station XL.3. His walls were painted a forest green, while the carpet on his floor was emerald. The dining room was to the right with a round table for three people to sit at. And to the south to the dining room was the kitchen, which was large and open with granite counter tops, black stainless steel appliances and a black faucet. There was a closet to the left of the dining table, which would reveal the washer and dryer if opened. To the left of the couch was a set of large sliding glass doors, that opened up to a large balcony that had a view of the city and the Titans Tower.
He decided that night since the next day was his day off from work, to pull an all night patrol of the city. He made sure to feed his cats before going to his room. He knew the Teen Titans usually were asleep by this time unless a serious emergency came around, so he went to his closet in his room and pulled out what looked like a super hero costume, which was what it was.
It was a single piece black suit that fitted to his body, black knee high boots trimmed at the top with ultramarine blue, black elbow high gloves trimmed with blue, a mask over his eyes much like Robin's, but with single blue vertical stripes on the center of either eye, a black cloak with ultramarine blue triangles trimmed with yellow gold at the bottom, and a yellow-gold utility belt around his waist. The belt buckle was black with a blue N in the center. His cloak was held around his neck with what was a Teen Titans communicator. He was an honorary member of the Teen Titans after helping the group out a number of times when he first arrived in the city. His Teen Titan name was Night Stalker.
Stepping on to the balcony now fully dressed as Night Stalker, he looked out before closing and locking the doors. He put the key in one of his pockets, before turning back. It was a windy night, sending his cloak flapping around when he jumped up on to the railing of the balcony, then off it entirely. His cloak spread out as he jumped, then hovered before flying off through the city. Night was falling fast today, and since the moon had come out early, it was already on the other side of the sky.
He blended in to the dark rather well, but gave an unseen blink behind his mask when he noticed a now familiar girl sitting alone on a black park bench. He landed nearby behind a tree to watch her.
Luna was watching the moon go down with baited breath, like watching the climax of a science fiction movie. She wondered if her enemies already knew that she was at her strongest when the moon was in the sky, so that was why they attacked her when it wasn't. Blinking, she turned her head around to look behind her. She'd heard someone's feet on the ground. Rising from the bench, she looked at the tree Night Stalker hid behind.
"Why don't you come on out, whoever you are? I know you're there." She asked, balling her hands in to fists just in case.
Night Stalker stepped out from behind his hiding spot, with his hands raised as though he were saying he surrendered.
"Ok, you caught me." He said.
She was surprised when she recognized his voice.
"James?" She blinked quizzically. Next thing she knew, he had his hand over her mouth to silence her.
"Quiet, you want to go shouting my real name everywhere?" He hissed, surprised how quickly she came to recognizing who he was just by his voice. "When you see me in this outfit call me Night Stalker, got it?"
She put her hands on her hips, one of her eyebrows raised in interest. But she nodded in the end, and he removed his hand from her mouth.
"So why the super-hero getup?" She asked him.
"Isn't it obvious?" He pointed at the Teen Titan's communicator.
"So you're an honorary member?" She looked at the communicator that pinned his cloak around his shoulders.
"Yup." He drew himself up proudly.
"What about you? Why are you here in this city?" Night Stalker asked her. He wanted to know more about her, while he thought she was a pretty young lady, he still wanted to get to know her properly, maybe be her friend. He knew how hard it was to fit in in a new city, and he wanted to help her adjust any way he could.
She looked at him for a long moment.
"Let's just say I needed a fresh start." She said.
"So is Luna your real name?" He looked at her with a smile on his face.
"Is Night Stalker your real name?" She retorted.
"Touche, touche." He shrugged. "Well, I'll let you be since you seem to be doing pretty well on your own. Let me know if you need anything. You can always find me at the restaurant Arrigo during the day."
"Should I look for the guy with the bed sheet for a cape, or the guy with the black hair like a hippy?" She asked him.
He stared at her for a moment before chuckling, a deep throated chuckle that was good and healthy.
"Preferably the hippy guy." He said before giving her a wave and flying off. He found her sarcasm and humor amusing.
Luna watched him leave before turning back and looking at the ocean. She didn't have anywhere to stay, but it wasn't like she wasn't a novice at camping. So she found a place by the beach, underneath a large willow tree. She was glad to at least have enough money to eat at restaurants and fast food places for a while. She fell asleep rather quickly after the long day she had with all the excitement and then some.