Blanket Disclaimer: Poison Tonic LX does not own the Teen Titans or any characters therein. Don't sue her, please, because if you do I won't have a home anymore…-Ralph, the muse
He woke in stages.
First he was able to feel—he felt he was on some sort of pillow, and that someone was petting his hair soothingly while a hand clutched one of his.
Next he could hear.
"I still don't understand how Neo could…channel himself through Rush like that." He heard the Original say, though it was more of a question than a statement.
"I'm not entirely sure, either." The Sorceress's voice replied. "I think it's a side effect of the cloning. Since Neo's DNA wasn't changed, it held an inert connection with Rush's. When they met, the connection was…awakened, so to speak, and that caused this. Rush said the other day he felt like he'd cried himself to sleep, but he couldn't remember doing so and he's usually able to remember if he had a dream that would make him cry. I think that's what was happening then, too…it wasn't as strong then, but strong enough that he was able to feel what Neo felt."
"You think Neo cried himself to sleep?" He heard the Squirt ask softly.
"It's highly probable that he did."
"Dude, why isn't Nemo like that, then? And Max?" The Comic Relief asked.
"Neo said he messed with Nemo's DNA, remember? It's the same thing with Maxwell's super clones—their DNA was changed, even if only slightly, so the connection never formed…or at least, not to the same degree as it did between him and Neo. Remember when Nemo said the same thing as him the other day? That's what it was then, too. Maybe Maxwell's DNA was changed too much when the super clones were made or something…"
Finally, he was able to open his eyes and did so, blinking blearily as they adjusted to the light, finding that his 'pillow' was actually the Squirt's lap, that it was the Squirt petting his hair, and that it was the Sorceress holding his hand.
"Sleeping Beauty finally awakes!" Cyborg exclaimed.
He reached up with his free hand and touched his now pounding head, sitting up slowly. "What happened?" He asked, frowning at the hoarseness of his voice.
"You…sort of passed out, and Neo somehow spoke to us through you." Cyborg explained. "Or something like that, anyways."
His brows furrowed. "Really?" He asked, coughing when his voice came out as a squeak and repeating himself, voice stronger this time.
"You were crying and everything. You scared me, big brother." The Squirt whispered, staring at him with wide, serious blue eyes.
"Sorry, squirt." He said, ruffling his hair. "So what's wrong with Neo?"
"Apparently Slade sold Methuss 'nanobots', and Methuss used them on Neo." The Kid said.
"Neo said Methuss told him he's going to die in three days." The Sorceress added. "And he was in a lot of pain."
He nodded slowly. "Right."
"He also said he's going to go to that guy he told us about earlier, Lucius Foxx." The Squirt said.
He nodded again, and opened his mouth to speak, but, as seemed to be the norm around here lately, was cut off when the door opened, the Boy hanging off it looking paler than the Sorceress.
"Neo!" The Squirt exclaimed, scrambling to the older clone's side just in time to catch him as he slid down. "I thought you were going to Gotham!"
"I c-couldn't make it…it h-hurts, Nemo…" The Boy sputtered, and promptly passed out.
"That's it!" The Kid said angrily. "We're going to go to wherever Methuss is hiding out and—"
"No, we aren't!" He snapped, everyone giving him a surprised look, but he just he picked the Boy up and laid him on the couch. "I want to go after him as much as, if not more than, you do—trust me on that, kid. But we have to make sure Neo's taken care of first."
"What do you propose we do, then?" The Sorceress asked.
"Neo said he knows Tim Drake, right?"
"Yes…why?" The Kid asked.
He ignored the question, looking at Cyborg. "You guys have a video-phone?"
"Yeah." Cyborg nodded.
"Where is it?"
"Connected to the TV."
"Right, then. Hook it up and dial," he rattled off a number.
"You got it, Red." Cyborg said, dialing the number.
He hesitated for a moment, then reached up and removed his mask just as an older woman's face appeared on the screen. The Titans gaped at him, but said nothing as the woman spoke.
"Dawson! Caleb Nicholas Dawson, is that you?" The woman demanded, squinting at the screen.
He smiled softly. "Hey, Miss Lena. How are things at the orphanage?"
"It's me who should be asking you how you're doing, young man! You haven't called in almost two months! Do you know how worried I've been? Well? Do you?"
"I'm guessing very?" He asked almost sheepishly (almost being the key word).
"Hmph! Don't you dare get smart with me, young man!"
"Yes, ma'am. And I'm doing just fine, thank you."
She sniffed. "Well, that's good to hear. And the orphanage is fine. I expect you want to talk to Jaelyn? She's been out of her mind wondering when you're going to visit, you know!"
"Yes, I would like to talk to her. While I'm doing that, would you get me Tim Drake's file? He's the one Bruce Wayne adopted a few months ago. I need his phone number, if you don't mind."
"You're the one in charge around here, not me, as much as I hate to admit it, you impish little snit!" The woman said huffily, turning away from the screen. "Jaelyn! Jaelyn Summers, your father is on the phone for you!" She screeched as she walked out of the room.
"Daddy!" He grinned at the familiar squeal, followed by the sound of scrambling feet. "Daddy, daddy, daddy!" A girl with long golden blonde hair and violet eyes ran by the doorway, trying to turn into the room but sliding past it thanks to her sock-clad feet, a crash sounding.
"Jaelyn, watch where you're going!" An irritated voice yelled.
"Sorry, sorry!" The girl said as she ran into the room. "Daddy! It's you! What took you so long to call? Where have you been for so long? Did you miss me? Well, daddy, did you? When are you coming to visit? It's been almost two months now, and you promised you'd visit soon! Everybody misses you, especially me!" The girl babbled.
"Slow down, angel." He said.
She frowned. "Daddy, what's wrong?"
"Daddy's got a lot going on right now, angel, that's all."
"Oh…I'm sorry, daddy."
"It's not your fault. But I have good news."
She brightened immediately. "What is it, daddy?"
"I'm coming with some new friends to Gotham to see Tim Drake—do you remember him?"
She nodded. "He only stayed for a little while, but I remember, daddy!"
"Well, I thought I'd come pick you up and you could come with us to see him."
She smiled widely. "That would be really nice, daddy!" She chirped.
"Okay. Where's Miss—"
"Oh! Wait! Daddy, I saw you on the news!"
He blinked at her. "Did you?"
She nodded vigorously. "Uhuh! You were in that funny costume with the X on it and you were fighting the…umm…what're they called again?"
"The Titans?"
She nodded again. "That's them!" She said, then frowned, wagging a finger at him. "Daddy, you have to be more careful! They're professionals, y'know, and if you get caught I'm not gonna bail you out of jail!"
He bit his lip to keep from laughing. "I'm not going to get caught any time soon, promise."
"You'd better not, daddy!"
"I know. I won't, promise."
She nodded. "Good." She turned. "Oh, hey Miss Lee!" She turned back and blew a kiss at the screen. "I'll see you tomorrow, daddy! Love you!"
"Bye, angel."
The woman reappeared onto the screen as the girl disappeared. "I'll never understand you, Caleb Dawson." She sighed, shaking her head. "In any case, I got that number you wanted…oh, I just had it right here…" She ruffled through some papers. "Ah! Here it is!"
A number appeared on the screen.
"Thanks, Lee. You're a lifesaver…literally."
The woman gave him a stern look. "Are you in trouble, Caleb? More than usual, that is?"
"Not me…exactly. A friend of mine."
She blinked. "You? Friends?"
"Yes." He gave her a dry look. "I'll be by to pick Jaelyn up tomorrow morning. Early."
She nodded. "Very well. I'll have her ready. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"See you."
"Oh! And Caleb, if you really aren't in trouble…do us all a favor and stay out of it!"
"Lee, you know I don't make promises unless I'm sure I can keep them—but I'll try."
She snorted. "That's all I'll get out of you, then." She said, and hung up before he could reply.
"Dude, what the heck?" The Comic Relief asked.
"I make more money than I need…that's all." He said, waving the question off.
"Is Jaelyn…Tandi's daughter?" Cyborg asked.
He nodded once, mouth pulling into a tiny half smile. "She looks just like her mom." He said, but nothing other than that on the subject as he dialed the number he'd been given.
A moment later, a tired young boy's face appeared on screen.
"Whazzit?" The brows furrowed together. "Mr. Dawson? Izzat you? D'you have any," yawn, "any idea what time it is? I just fell asleep!"
"I'm sorry, Tim. I need a favor."
The eyes widened. "Mr. Dawson, you know I can't do that! What're you doing calling about favors on this line?" The voice dropped into a hiss. "What if Bruce comes in here and catches you? We'll both get into trouble, and Jaelyn will never forgive me if I let you get caught two years before you finally—"
"Adopt her, I know. I'm legit now, I swear. I'm calling from Titans' Tower, for God's sake!"
All hints of fatigue were gone by this point. "Are you stupid? I know you're a thrill seeker, but that's going beyond guts! If Robin catches you, he'll—" The boy on screen cut himself off, peering at the Titans, whom he had just seemed to have noticed. "You did get caught, didn't you? You really are stupid—I'm not bailing you out of this, Mr. Dawson! Thanks for taking me in until Bruce adopted me and all, but if you were stupid enough to get yourself caught you can rot in jail!"
"I didn't get caught, Tim."
The boy stopped short. "You…didn't?"
"No, I didn't. I'm here legitimately this time, thank you very much. As one of them, even."
The boy's eyes narrowed. "Okay, who are you, and what did you do with Mr. Dawson? Is this some sort of joke? Am I on hidden camera or something? Did you get abducted by aliens again?"
"I am Mr. Dawson, no, no, and I've never gotten abducted by aliens. Will you listen to my favor now before you start jumping to conclusions?"
The boy sighed. "Fine…whaddya want?"
"Tell Wayne to have his medical lab open tomorrow. Apparently Methuss," He spat the name out like poison, "Has bought some new technology called 'nanobots' that he's going to use to kill off his competition…including, and probably especially, Wayne. I'm coming tomorrow with his first…test subject, along with the Titans, who have dealt with this before. We're hoping Lucius Foxx and Cyborg will be able to find a cure for it before it becomes a problem."
"Nanobots…?" The boy repeated pensively. "I've heard of that technology…sure, I'll tell him. Dunno why you didn't tell me all that in the first place instead of scaring me so badly, though!"
"You scared yourself, Tim. I'm probably in trouble now thanks to you."
The boy shrugged. "Your problem, not mine, dude—er, Mr. Dawson. If Robin's really on your side, have him or one of the other Titans come ahead of you with a blood sample from the test subject so Mr. Foxx can start scanning it. And have Cyborg send us the information he's already got on them. And…and be careful. See you, Mr. Dawson!"
"See you, Tim." The screen went blank.
"Do all those kids at the orphanage know about you being a thief?" The Kid asked incredulously.
He shrugged. "Nah, just Tim, Jaelyn, and Miss Lena."
"Why don't they tell anyone? I mean…you're a bad guy! Er…you were one…whatever!"
He shrugged again. "It's like I said, kid—heroes don't help poor people." He paused, putting his mask back on. "I did."
"But…but they're in Gotham! Batman helps everyone!"
"Not really, kid. Batman gets rid of criminals, sure, but no one would steal from a homeless kid, know what I mean? And even if they did and Batman saved them…so what? He's saved them from getting mugged, so now they get to starve to death? Or they get to sell their bodies to make money so they don't starve to death? You of all people ought to know Gotham isn't all hugs and kisses for orphans. I give them a place to stay until they get adopted, or if they end up staying until they're eighteen I give them money to start them off. Jaelyn, Tim, and Miss Lena know that, so…my being a thief is the lesser of two evils."
"That woman was right…I'll never understand you." The Sorceress said.
He shrugged, smirking as he scooped the Boy up. "Well, that's the idea. If we're going to get to Gotham by tomorrow morning, we'd better leave now."
"Cyborg, take a blood sample so I can get started ahead of you guys, and print off all the stuff we have on nanobots while you're at it." The Kid said.
Cyborg nodded, a needle appearing out of his arm and taking a blood sample from the Boy, who hardly even stirred.
Soon, the Kid was on his way, and they were close behind.
(THE RUSH)
A/N: Okay, guys, I wanted to apologize if I lost you in this chapter! I so wasn't trying to do that! I'll try to explain:
1) Yes, Jaelyn is Tandi's daughter. In Ch15 at some point Tandi says something about 'the baby being at the nursery', and in Ch29 Neo talks about Rush using extra money he made to open an orphanage when he was thirteen, and how Tandi's kid was his first 'charge'. Their relationship and all will be explored more in the next chapter!
2) In my story, Robin is Richard "Dick" Grayson.
3) Timothy Drake was at Rush's orphanage in between the time when his parents died and when he was adopted by Bruce Wayne. He's nosy, so he found out about Rush being Red X and all that just like he found out about Bruce being Batman. I've yet to decide if he's actually found out about Bruce being Batman yet in my story, partly because I dunno about having two Robins and partly because I dunno if I'll even bring in Batman himself, much less Tim as Robin.
4) The third Robin, Jason Whatever-His-Last-Name-Is, won't be in this story. Probably the only Batman characters will be Bruce, Robin, Tim, Alfred, and Lucius Foxx, mostly because I'm not very familiar with the characters and am probably already getting them out of character enough without bringing in others, and because I seriously don't think I can handle keeping up with any more characters!
5) Before anyone gets totally and completely lost, the 'link' between Neo and Rush doesn't always kick in…just wanted to get that cleared up before you guys read this and are like: 'okay, why didn't the link kick in…?' for whatever reason…yeah…