Chapter 3: Welcome Home Part II

"Mom, I don't get it, what happened?" I ask.

It's a few days later, and I have just gotten home from my stay with the Titans. The trip was long and tiring, but when I got home and found out what had happened, sleep was the last thing on my mind.

"Your brother, Joel, and his friends Tara, Christine, and Sam all snuck into an abandoned house," my mother replied slowly. "Joel says that from the beginning they knew there was something different about the house, and that's what made them want to explore it. But he said that strange things happened to each of them, things that can't be explained. He, Tara, and Sam were fine as soon as they got back, but Christine…" she trailed off.

"What happened to Christine?" I asked in a scared voice. "She's not dead is she?"

"No. Of course not," my mom replied. "But she did have to take a trip to the emergency room. She's back now, but the doctors couldn't figure out why she was so cold. Anyway, ever since then the four of them have been acting really strange. They can't stand being apart for too long, they feel sort of, drawn to each other. And then there's, their symptoms…" she trails off again.

"Mom, you can't keep stopping like this," I say frantically. "You have to tell me, you of all people should know that I might be able to help them!"

Fade into song

When there's trouble you know who to call

TEEN TITANS

From their tower they can see it all

TEEN TITANS

When there's evil on the attack

You can rest knowing they've got your back

'Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol

TEEN TITANS...GO!

With they're super-powers they unite

TEEN TITANS

Never met a villain that they liked

TEEN TITANS

They got the bad guys on the run

They'll never stop 'til the job gets done

And when the world is losing all control

TEEN TITANS...GO!

1...2...3...4...GO TEEN TITANS!

Fade out of song

"You're right." She takes a deep breath, and lets it out. "Joel has been having abrupt mood swings. One minute he's perfectly happy and fine, and the next he's in a fit of rage, closely followed by waves of sadness and uncontrolled sorrow, and then he'll bust into fear, fear of everything and everyone. And one of the weirdest things is when his moods change, so do his eyes. The color I mean. And not just slight color changes, but drastic. Like, from red to green to orange!

"And Tara, from what her mother tells me, when she's not with the rest of the group, she stays cooped up in her room. And sometimes, when her mother swears that she's up in her room, she'll go look, and Tara's nowhere to be found. Once or twice her mother has locked Tara in her room, just to keep her there, and when she comes up later, Tara's gone, and she'll walk in the front door hours later. Also, at one point her mother and she got into a bit of a fight, and when Tara yelled, everything on the wall behind her mother either broke or was flung across the room.

"Christine's room is always cold. Her mother says that she'll turn the heat on high in Christine's room, and it doesn't change the temperature. It's always freezing. And one of the weirdest things is when Christine grabs a glass of soda, or juice or something…it instantly frosts over. It's instantly cold. Her mother has also noticed a change in her eyes; they're now this icy blue color.

"And then there's Sam. Sam is even stronger than he was before. He can lift things that no one should be able to lift by themselves. And he's faster. His mother says that he can run like nothing else can. Sam chased the van down when they had left, and caught it…at twenty-four miles an hour. And I guess he is able to see better than before. He doesn't need his glasses anymore, and apparently he can see clearly in the dark. All these are very strange, and scare his parents."

I just sat there for a moment in shocked silence. I had an idea of what had happened to them, I was pretty sure they'd come in contact with some magical items, and somehow had been given strange and powerful gifts. But how to break this to my mom, let alone the four who's lives have changed forever.

"Mom…," I began. "Where are they?"

"Down at the park," she responded quickly. "They spend all their time there nowadays."

"Thanks," I kissed my mom on the cheek, and then headed out.

As I near the park, I hear something move behind me. As I go to turn around, a foot plants itself right into the small of my back. I fly forward, and land hard on the ground. I let out a moan of pain, and slowly pull myself up to find out who just kicked me. My eyes come into focus, and standing in front of me are the four I was looking for…my friends.

"That's for leaving us here to rot in this dump of a town without saying goodbye," my brother Joel says.

"Joel…," I moan weekly.

"I don't go by that name anymore," Joel cuts me off quickly. "At least not by you, you can call me Mood Swing."

I look at my other friends, and as I look at each one, they tell me their "new" names.

"I'm Ice now," Christine tells me.

"Wildcat," Sam says.

"Spectra," says Tara.

"What are you guys talking about?" I ask while I stand up. "What do you mean I left you here to rot?"

"You weren't here for us when we needed you!" Spectra yells.

"You didn't even say goodbye!" Wildcat says angrily.

"And you obviously didn't find us important enough to tell us where you were going!" Ice shouts.

"Do you know how much mom and dad have been worrying? All you said was that you had to go, to go and find the Titans," Mood Swing says. "Who are the Titans Sam? Huh?"

I stand there in amazement for a moment. Not only are my friends mad at me, but I was just attacked by my own brother! It's all starting to sink in that either they just hate me now, or these powers are getting to them…or both.

"Guys," I start, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything. But –"

"No. You know what?" Mood Swing yells. "I'm done talking. Let's just get this over with. Force Four…GO!"

All of a sudden the four of them attacked. But little did they know that I had powers of my own. While I had been at home before going to the Titans, the only person I had told about my powers was my mother. And I had another advantage on the "Force Four"…I had not only had my powers longer, but I'd been training them, and not only in a training course, but on actual super villains, and psychotics like Slade.

The four launched their attacks simultaneously. I suddenly had shards of ice, plasma blasts, and hypersonic waves coming at me, as well as Wildcat zooming towards me. I waited…and at the last second…shot up into the air! All their attacks missed, and the four of them just stared in shock at the place I had been standing. Then Mood Swing looked up and saw me. Slowly they all looked up as well.

"You want to know where I've been for the last few months?" I ask. "I've been off with the Teen Titans, a group of teen superheroes, training the powers I have had for about a year."

"You have powers?" Mood Swing asks amazed.

"So that's why you had to leave without telling anyone anything," Spectra says in a voice of sudden understanding.

"Yes," I say as I slowly land on the ground. "I wasn't able to tell anyone about my powers, or that I was leaving. The only person I told about my…gifts…was mom."

They stand there in amazement for a few minutes letting it soak in. And soon the looks of hatred and anger leave their faces, and looks of embarrassment take their places.

"Sam…"Ice begins.

"My name's Psy now," I state. "I've changed my name too."

"Psy…, we're sorry," Wildcat tells me.

"I'm the most sorry," Mood Swing says. "I'm your brother; I'm supposed to trust you no matter what. And I attacked you…I'm…"

"It's okay," I say. "You guys didn't know. You know what, I think I'm gonna let the Titans know that I'm gonna stay here for a while until you get your powers under complete control, and until we can study them fully. And besides…you guys can't be superheroes until you have cool costumes."

We all laugh and head into the park to study and train their powers. I quickly pull out my communicator and call the Titans, just to let them know that I probably won't be back for a while…if ever. I say "if ever" because when I got home I realized that college started for me in two weeks, and I wouldn't be able to do both. So the first person I call…is Raven.

"Hey Raven…I…I have something to tell you," I start.

"What is it Psy?" Raven asks with concern.

"I'm…I'm not coming back. At least not for a long time..." I say.

"Why?"

"Well, it turns out that my brother and his friends now have powers, and they don't know how to control them yet. So I'm staying here to help them train. But I also don't feel very good about these powers. It doesn't feel like they got them from something good."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" I trail off.

"What?"

"I think that this has Slade written all over it. I think that he planted these magical items that my friends came in contact with in that house. And that he's going to try to use them against me, and all of us other Titans. So I'm going to study their powers as I help them train, and make sure that they can control them fully. I'm also going to have them look out for Slade. I'm going to tell them everything about him."

"Alright, but that doesn't explain why you might never come back."

"Well, college starts in two weeks. And I can't miss that."

"Oh…sure…that's fine."

"Raven. I love you, and I always will. I'm sorry that I can't be there. But I'm needed here…a lot. You could always come and help out!"

"No Psy. My place is here. I love you too, but I just can't leave. I'm sorry too, because I'm needed here as much as you're needed there."

"I understand. I could bring them there, I know they'd be safe, and I know you guys would take care of them and help them. Because with me being at college, I won't exactly be able to help them out much."

"That's a good idea. I'll let Robin and the others know what the situation is, and what you want to do, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible…ok?"

"Yeah. Thanks Raven. Bye."

"Bye Psy."

I quickly run over to join my friends, and explain the situation to them, and that they will probably be going to stay with the Titans to train while I'm off at college. They understand, and I give each of them communicators so that I can keep them filled in on what's going on. We all then split up and head to our homes to pack for the trip ahead of us. And when I reach my house, I get a call on my communicator.

"Psy, it's Robin."

"Hey Robin, did Raven give you the message?"

"Yes, and we've decided that it would be okay for your friends to stay here and train while you're at college. It really is a good idea, especially if you suspect that Slade is behind this."

"Thanks Robin. We're all packing our stuff so we would be ready to leave as soon as I got your call."

"Good, we have two rooms set up so that the girls can stay in one, and the boys in another. We will be keeping an eye out for Slade in case he shows up to stop us."

"Good idea. I will be staying with you guys for about a week and a half. I want to be there with them for a while so that they can get to know you and have someone there that they already know."

"Alright. Well, we'll see you all in a few days. Robin…out."

I quickly call my friends on their communicators and let them know what the plan is.

"So, we're leaving tomorrow?" Ice asks.

"No, he said we're leaving tonight," Spectra comments.

"Tonight! Why tonight, I haven't even told my parents that I'm leaving!" Wildcat interjects suddenly.

"Well you might want to tell them you dummy," Mood Swing says with a laugh.

"Guys…" I say. The chatter continues.

"Guys…?" More talking.

"GUYS!" I shout, and it suddenly becomes quiet. "We have a lot of work to get done before we leave tonight. Yes tonight Ice. Wildcat…you have to let your parents know…now. Everyone else, get the rest of your stuff packed, and come to my house. Over and out."

Soon everyone is back at my house. I've explained to my own parents what is going on, to a full extent. And we pack our stuff into the T-Car that I borrowed from Cyborg, and get ready to leave.

"Everyone ready?" I ask, and get yes's from everyone. "Well then…Titans North…GO!"