This is a story written for my nephew Tony. He has a great talent for thinking up new super heroes, and Rage Wolf caught my attention. I've tried to keep the Teen Titans (who are favorites of mine) in character even though I've introduced a new ally. Hope you like it.
Don't own Titans in any way, shape, or form. Wish I did. Bold = denotes passage of time
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"What was that?" yelled Cyborg.
"It may be just the break we need." yelled Robin. Teen Titans Go!
The explosion could be seen from several miles away. After hours of looking for a clue to finding Slade, it seemed to be the break the friends were looking for. Starfire and Raven flew over head followed by Beast Boy in the form of a pterodactyl. Robin and Cyborg followed below, Robin on his motor bike and Cyborg in his roadster. They had been chasing the criminal day and night since his latest attack on the city. Manipulating animals seemed to be his latest plan in his quest to take over the world. Citizens of the city awoke to the attacks of their pets and the Zoo had been emptied as its inhabitants roamed the streets causing chaos as they went.
The team soon crossed from the plains to the mountains following the plume of smoke toward their goal. Robin and Cyborg screeched to s halt at the scene to find Starfire on guard, glowing hands at the ready.
"I think we have lost him again." she announced in disappointment.
"Not all of him." corrected Raven in her usual dark manor. The girl held up a broken mask which was Slade's trade mark. Beast Boy knelt beside the body of a young man. He had tawny flowing hair to his shoulders, but the most unusual thing about him seemed to be the jewel imbedded in his scalp at his hair line.
"Yo Dude." "What happened to him?" BB looked at him in concern. The boy had obviously been in a battle. Cuts and craps covered his body. He had no shirt and his pants were ragged.
"It's hard to say." agreed Robin. "Until we know if he's a friend or a foe we need to watch him. If he's working for Slade, he'll need to be arrested." said their leader.
"He has a kind face." objected Starfire. "I think we should be sure before we act."
"Innocent until proven guilty." agreed Cyborg. "We can watch him. There will be plenty of time to jail him later, if he needs it." answered their large team mate.
"Let's get him back to the tower then." ordered Robin. The boy was placed in the back of Cyborg's car. BB road with Cy to keep an eye on the patient.
At Titan Tower, the unconscious young man was taken to the infirmary where Raven and Cy monitored his condition.
"I really wish I knew what to expect from this guy." Robyn groused. Slade's still out there and we still don't know what his game is."
"I've been working on something." "I don't know if it will work, but it might be worth a try." He pulled a machine into the room beside the boy's bed.
"This machine can read what's on a person's mind." "We will see what the person is thinking of. I made it for interrogations but it should work for this too."
"Is it safe?" Starfire asked in concern.
"Perfectly safe." Cyborg replied. "No drugs or intrusive procedures. It just reads his mind."
"You do know it's an invasion of his privacy, right?" Raven asked dryly. "It's technically against the law."
"Since when do we care about that?" threw in Beast Boy with a laugh.
"Sometimes you have to break the law to do what's right." said Robin decisively.
"Ok then" sighed Cyborg. He and Raven attached the padded wires to the boy's sensory spots. Cyborg made some adjustments to the machine and the screen lit up.
The team watched the monitor as the story unfolded.
Kit Kinsington stood in his room and watched his parents from across his bed.
"Dad, if you and Mum are in danger I need to be here not summer camp."
"Son, we've gone over this. I can only concentrate on the plantation when I know that you're safe." said his dad.
"What about Mum? Will she be safe?"
"She'll be going too." the dark haired man assured his son.
"Oh no I won't, this is my land as much as yours. I won't leave my people to fend for themselves." replied the golden haired woman. She has beautiful, strong features and her husband could see that he would have trouble sending her away.
"This is a nightmare." thought Kit as he regarded his parents. They were English citizens of India. The Kinsington's had been in India for four generations. His grandfather had moved here with the East India Company in 1875. He was the youngest son of Lord Kinsington and had wanted to start his life in a new world. He had only returned to England to marry his childhood sweetheart before returning to India to raise a family.
He had befriended the local Maharaja and treated his servants well. Because of this, his family and plantation had thrived. When his son reached school age he and his wife had agreed to send the boy to boarding school in England. There he would come to know his original country. That boy too had fallen in love with the beauty of India and returned to the plantation with his own bride to start a family. After one hundred years the Kinsington's of Bombay India were here to stay. Each generation of boys had loved and kept the land as well as they were able, thinking themselves lucky to live there.
The Maharaja and his family had been steadfast friends to the Kinsington's. However the last Maharaja had no son to continue the line. He had seven daughters but no sons. At his breath, a neighboring Nawab had decided to take over the old man's lands. Civil war had broken out and the Kinsington's were targeted as well.
Kit mourned the grandfatherly man but he was more worried for his home.
"You need me here." he insisted.
"I need you to safeguard this." His father handed him a jewel. It was the size of his fist and golden in color, like a huge Topaz.
"It was a present to your great grandfather from the first Maharaja." "I know the Nawab will try to take it. We'll be safer if it's not here." he assured his son.
"So then me taking this away will make you and Mum safer?"
"Yes." said both his parents, unified in their answer.
"Alright, then I'll go."
The Titans looked at each other as the screen flickered.
Kit was on a plane flying over the ocean. He had the stone in a pouch secured around his waist. He had worried about customs but as neither the stone nor the pouch contained metal, the authorities had never questioned the boy about his precious cargo.
It was a long flight from India to the United States. The camp his parents had arranged for him to attend was in the Rocky Mountains. His best friend would be going also. He lived in England, so he was flying separately. They had met when Kit had gone to boarding school. His friend was a year younger in school, but the two had become friends quickly. The younger boy was kind of shy. Kit had assumed he was homesick. He was feeling a little homesick himself, so he had struck up a conversation with the boy.
They found out that they had a lot in common. They loved sports and had both come from agricultural backgrounds. Nigel's family owned farming land in the south of England. Kit smiled, thinking of his friend as he fell asleep.
In his dream he was visited by a lady. He was back home in his mother's extensive gardens. He was watching the mongoose play. The family always kept a pair to keep the snakes away from the house. He felt the hairs his arm raise and turned to find a beautiful woman standing beside his chair. He jumped to his feet bowing his head to her. She was wearing a flowing silver gown with a silver crown on her head. Around her neck was a gold necklace and in the necklace was a Topaz jewel as big as Kit's fist. The woman smiled at the boy and he raised his head. He could see her more clearly. To his amazement she had eight arms. This was no woman; this was the Hindu goddess Mumbadevi-aai. He instinctively fell to his knees as he had seen the Indians do at her temple in the village. She was the goddess of nature and the locals believed she watched over their animals and crops. The fishermen carried her image on their boats to help their catch. She was guarded by a large gray wolf. Her companion looked at the boy with yellow eyes. In his dream the goddess handed him the jewel around her neck. She placed her hand on his head in blessing and disappeared. Kit came awake with a start. 'What did that mean?' he thought to himself. He wasn't even Hindu. He was Church of England. He puzzled over the question until he fell back asleep.
The next scene on the screen was of an airport.
Kit looked around. There was a large banner welcoming students to the 'Rocky Mountain Springs Summer Camp'. He had found the right place at least. He walked toward the sign where he found camp counselors checking people in.
"Kit" he heard a familiar voice yell.
"Nigel" he greeted his friend, smacking him on the back. The boys got signed in, and then carried their cases to the bus.
The screen flickered again.
The two boys were in a cabin, both wearing pajama pants and t shirts.
"Oh man, that was great today." exclaimed Kit. "Too bad about your arm." Nigel lifted a heavily bandaged arm.
"Not much call for rock climbing in my part of England, mate." he chuckled.
"That's all right. I'll take care of you." Kit promised his friend.
"I'm counting on it." Nigel laughed.
"I'm going to visit the loo one last time." Kit announced. He regarded his friend with a lifted brow.
"Nope I'm good." acknowledged he boy.
Kit made his way through the brush along a rustic path. There were bath houses but they were on the other side of camp. He didn't really want to walk that far. He could put up with the outhouse for now.
Coming back he heard screams. They sounded vaguely familiar. He quickly made his way to the clearing beside their cabin. As he got closer, he realized that there were deep growls along with the screams. He turned the corner to find Nigel being mauled by a wolf. His eyes widened as he ran to his friend. What the hell was happening? He saw Nigel's blood flowing down his side as the wolf pounced again and fastened his huge jaws on the smaller boy's frame.
Kit tackled the wolf and was met by the clawed hind legs digging into his side. There was so much blood. He tried not to panic. He looked for a limb to beat the animal with and felt the pouch around his waist. He tore it off his body and used the strap as a handle to beat the canine. The force of the blow ripped the pouch and the stone fell onto the ground. He grabbed the stone, his breath coming in pants in his fury. He had to save his friend. He was beyond panicked. He rained blows onto the beast watching his friend spasm from the pain of the attack. His swing was so forceful that he cracked the jewel. He watched in slow motion as the crack grew. A powerful light shone out of the jewel. Looking past the wolf the light illuminated another figure beside the clearing. It was wearing a steel mask, half orange and half black and dressed in silver and black. Even as he yelled for help the figure turned away. The jewel broke in a powerful beam of energy throwing Kit and the wolf away from Nigel. Everything went black.
"Slade" Robin exclaimed watching the screen.
Kit came to moments later. He was battered and bruised but he felt stronger than ever before. His shirt had been blown from his body, but he wasn't cold. He ran to Nigel. The boy had ceased to struggle and Kit could tell he was dead. His fury knew no bounds. He raised his eyes looking for the wolf. The animal was dazed and standing at the edge of the clearing. Kit threw his hand out.
"You'll pay for this!" he screamed. A beam of energy flew from his hand toward the wolf missing it by inches.
"Not to you, boy" replied the wolf. The boy was so incensed he didn't stop to wonder why he could understand. He raced toward the beast, running faster than humanly possible. The wolf ran and he followed. The boy threw out his other hand sending a bolt toward his prey. He lost the wolf for an instant before he felt claws on his back trying to shred his skin. He felt warm blood. The blonde reached a powerful arm behind him to grab the animal, flipping it away from him. The wolf looked at him with pure malice.
"Why?" Kit demanded, not expecting an answer.
"My master demands it." replied the wolf. "All humans must die." The animal surged onto his feet. "You will be next."
In his pain and fury Kit didn't reason, he just reacted.
"Who is your master?" he demanded. "If he sent you to kill my friend then he will be my next victim."
The two combatants launched themselves at one another. The boy felt his hair raise as his anger increased. The wolf tried once again to claw the boy's arms, however this time the hair on those arms became like a heavy gauntlet making its own armor. The hair formed spikes, aiding the fight and giving the wolf nowhere to strike.
The pair rolled and tumbled grappling for a hold over the other. Kit didn't even feel the sticks and rocks poking him as he rolled over and over in his fight to pin the wolf. They were locked in mortal combat, one moment rolling on the ground, the next hanging in mid air. Kit's mind struggled to understand what was happening. He and the wolf had rolled past the path, right over the edge of the mountain.
The two plummeted and hung over the edge before smacking into the side of the rocky overhang. Head over heels they tumbled unable to catch themselves. He heard one of the wolf's legs snap as the bone was broken in their wild descent. The boy was sure that he too would be a broken mess at the end. At the bottom of the drop was a pond and both opponents plunged into it dazed and confused. Kit struggled to the surface. He lost track of the wolf in concerned for his own survival. He pulled himself to shore and turned to get his bearing. Looking at the far end of the lake, he saw the figure of the wolf running away on three legs.
The submersion in cold water had brought the boy back to his senses. What had he just done; fought off a wolf almost as big as he was, tumbled down the side of a mountain, shot bolts of energy out of his hands? He looked down at his arms and legs; sure he would find broken bones. He saw heavy fur like hair matted to form armor. He fell to his knees in shock. Hair, he didn't even shave yet. He looked into the water in the gathering dusk. He saw someone he didn't know looking back. The boy had his face, but his hair was longer forming a mane around his head and shoulders. His features had an animalistic look to them and there was something in his hair. He raised his hand to rub over his scalp. It was a hard piece of rock.
No it was the jewel, imbedded in his scalp. It was stuck to him just as surely as an Ajna Chakra to a Hindu girl. He thought fleetingly of the girls in his village with their jewel between their eyes. He took a deep breath, 'Don't Panic, Kit' he told himself. 'When you get back to camp the nurse can help get it out. Just breathe deeply.' Camp reminded him of … Nigel!
He had to get back to Nigel! He started toward his friend. He ran up the side of the mountain, a feat even Olympic runners couldn't do. He seemed to defy gravity as his pumping legs carried him up the incline. He rushed back into the clearing where his friend lay before their cabin. He gathered Nigel into his arms. His only thought was to get help because he no longer knew what to do. His throat tightened and his eyes burned. No, he would not cry. If he was man enough to fight a wolf and survive, he was man enough to fight tears. He succeeded except for the solitary drop of water that rolled down his cheek. He and Nigel had skipped the last activity of the day due to the Nigel's injury. Kit found most of the campers still around the bonfire singing songs.
Someone finally noticed the solitary figure walking toward the group. One of the girls screamed and counselors came running to help the boys. Kit gently lay his friend in the arms of the Head Master and sunk to his knees before loosing consciousness.
The Titans watched the screen in astonishment. "That poor boy" said Starfire in compassion.
That night Kit again dreamed of the Hindu goddess. He was again sitting in his mother's garden feeling the sunshine on his face. He saw her walk toward him accompanied by her wolf. Animals came to her drawn by her powerful aura. Her eight arms caressed and blessed them as she passed.
"Christopher Kinsington" she addressed him. He was surprised that she knew his name because everyone called him Kit.
"I have a quest for you." she continued. "For four generations your family has guarded my jewel and for four generations your family has prospered. I call upon you now to repay my kindness and champion my cause. One comes who endangers my creatures. He commands my animals and harms them for his own selfish whim. I have given you powers from the great lord Brahma himself. Your senses have been sharpened beyond human understanding. You will run like the puma, see like the hawk, smell like the hound, hear like a hare and track like a wolf. I have placed my jewel upon your brow to aid you in your trials." "You have a stout heart and a keen mind. I know you will do well, and know this. I will be with you to guide you. Bless you, meme Sahib." Kit felt her touch on his forehead before he awoke.
He was dazed and confused and I took him a minute to realize where he was. From the look of the room, he must be in the local hospital. He looked at his arms and legs. The thick hair was gone but he could hear all the patients on his floor talking. Looking out the window he could see a frog in the garden three floors below. He caught the scent of a familiar person several minutes before he heard a tap on the door. It was the camp's Head Master. The man smiled at him and asked the nurse about his health before setting down beside the bed.
"Kit, how are you feeling?" Kit vaguely remembered answering questions for the Head Master and police the night before.
"Better" the boy hedged. He really had no idea how to answer the question.
"I have some troubling news." The man said uncomfortably. "When we tried to contact your parents about the accident, I was told that your parents have disappeared. A civil has broken out and it's unclear whether they have been harmed or are in hiding. I'm afraid we won't be able to send you home just yet." The Head Master spoke with sincere regret and Kit appreciated his straight forwardness. He hated when people treated him like a child.
"The camp runs year round, so you'll definitely have a place to stay while we work things out. The doctors expect to release you tomorrow. Just rest today. We'll work everything out later." Kit nodded. The older man could tell he needed some time to adjust so he stood to leave.
"I'll come check on you later." He assured the boy.
Kit was grateful for the man's help, but he was more grateful for the peace and quiet. With his new ears there was constant bombardment of noise. His other senses were likewise over loaded. It was almost too much to take in.
Kit was setting beside the window of his hospital room exercising his new senses. He would pick an object or person as far away as he could see, then practice trying to hear or smell them. He had been amazed at his new powers. He had already practiced weight lifting with his hospital bed. He'd almost gotten caught by the nurse too. He chuckled to himself.
Slowly he became aware of a new smell. He had smelled it before, but he couldn't remember where. A picture came to him of a man wearing a mask half black and half orange. The wolf had called him 'master'. This was the man who had been the cause of Nigel's death. 'That would pay!' Kit vowed. He rushed into the clothes the Head Master had brought and exited the window onto the roof. He sniffed the air. The man was about a mile away and heading toward the mountains. Kit jumped down onto the ground and ran. He reached incredible speeds in his chase to catch his target. His chase took him into the foot hills of the Rockies. He knew the man was aware of his pursuit. He could hear the birds call out his location. He didn't care! All the better to find the fiend and get his revenge.
He smelled that he was close and approached cautiously. He was met by a bear and a mountain lion. Obviously the man was using the animals to fight his battle. Kit felt his temper rise along with the hair on his arms and legs. His shoulders widened and his muscles swelled as adrenaline filled his body. He used the power bolts from his hands to try to frighten the animals. The mountain lion was smart and ran, but the bear was not to be deterred. Finally Kit used his speed to confuse the bruin, and his strength to flip it over and knock it out. At last he could concentrate on the man before him.
"Who are you?" Kit demanded. The man replied with a smirk in his voice.
"You may call me Slade or Master if you prefer." "Who or what should I call you?" he asked insolently.
Kit thought of the rage that fueled his power and the shape he took. He had no intention of giving out his true name.
"Call me Rage Wolf." he answered, "for you will not be my master."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, boy. With a power like yours I could rule the world." "Join me; we could be rich as kings with the wealth of a maharaja." Slade's oily voice tried to tempt the boy. Kit thought of his home, his parents and his friend the Maharaja. He had everything he wanted but one.
"The only thing I require is your demise." said the young man with deadly intent. He sprang at the man as swiftly as a tiger, with the strength of a buffalo. The man evaded him and pulled out his staff. Each time Kit tried to catch him, the man eluded the boy. The younger man felt his rage grow and his power build as he thought of his friend Nigel, who died at this man's whim. In frustration he threw out both hands releasing all his power at his foe. The explosion could be seen for miles. Kit fell to his knees and was met with darkness.
The screen flickered and went blank.
"Man, that's quite a story." said Cyborg into the quiet of the room.
"He has some awesome powers." enthused BB to his friend.
Starfire wiped the boy's brow with a cool cloth. "He has been through so much." she said in concern. "We must help him."
"I think I have some books on Hindu mysticism that may be helpful." said Raven mostly to herself. She walked out of the room deep in thought.
"Well" said Robin thinking out loud. "We know he's an ally, and we can help him. When he wakes we'll figure out the best way to do that."
On the bed Kit opened eyes dark with confusion. He looked into the face of a boy with dark hair and blue eyes behind a mask. This time instead of an enemy behind a mask, he looked into the eyes of a friend.
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So, What did you think?
Isn't Kit a cool guy? My thanks to Tony for the idea, If you have an opinion R&R. Thanks