Author: Chapter 18 (pay attention to this one). This chapter was very tedious for me considering I'm not very good with areas outside of my area (or popular areas) so if I messed something up please let me know. ;_; Thanks! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I only own anything I've created and took the time to design. That's all. DC isn't mine.
The fight was crazy! It was like two well trained sparring partners were going at it, predicting the other's move with grace, finesse and equality.. and countering with their own that held power, precision and emotion.
Sari had never seen Ruba so angry before. She looked like she was fuming mad, unable to contain herself and yet.. she had full control.
He spared a glance to his trio allies, who looked just as shocked as he felt. San was holding a hand to her mouth, surprise on her face. Robin's masked eyes were wide and he was leaning forward in anticipation. Silvy had his mouth parted, cringing when a hit landed on Ruba.
Finally it began to slow.. and Ruba looked like she was tiring herself out. She was struck by Slade and she collapsed. They watched in tensed wonder when Slade grabbed her hair, dragging her to her feet. She clawed at his armored wrist, growling loudly even from the distance between her and her audience. They could hear muffled words, Slade talking to her, and she held an irritated expression. Darkness flowed from her intense green-grey eyes.
Then the atmosphere changed.
Back at the tower Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven and Cyborg sat in solemn silence in the main room. BB was twiddling his thumbs, Rae was meditating, Cy was checking his system via his arm and Star was staring out at the world beyond the glass windows across from her.
The night cast a gloom onto the group. They wanted to be helping, badly, but they'd been ordered by Robin to stay. Sari had forced Robin to make his team stay behind. This was HIS fault, he had to correct it. San and Silvy had gone considering they were like the red and blue users and Robin had left as well since Jump was his domain and he was the leader.
BB blew out a long sigh, leaping to his feet. "I can't sit any longer! I'm going insane with waiting!"
Cyborg nodded, looking up from his stats. "I agree, but what can we do?"
"Robin has told us to stay. We cannot go against Robin's wishes.." Star put in, frowning as she sat calmly.
"But Sari and Ruba are our friends. We must help them!" Beast Boy growled. He was quite fond of Sari. He played video games as good as Cy did. His first week here he'd managed to beat BB. The changeling liked the male hero.
"Indeed so." Raven spoke up, drawing the boys' attention. "But like Sari said this is between them, not us. We have to let them resolve this."
"Well aren't you the voice of reason." A snarky reply drew their attention to the floor behind the couch. Atty was tied up, a sneer on his face, teeth flashing. "Such a loving, caring group, so eager to give reason to staying out of what doesn't seem to concern them. How sweet. How noble.. How utterly foolish."
After Ruba had teleported with Slade Sari and San had fought Atty and finally Silvy zapped him. Then he was tied and brought to the main room, unconscious, and the trio woke up the sleeping Titans. Then after much talking the four had left the Titans behind to watch over the tower and be alert in case any crime came up in the city.
Cyborg rolled his eyes, not surprised he'd woken up earlier then expected.
Raven got up and walked slowly around the couch, all eyes following as the Titans turned to see her step up to the golden energy user, hands placed on her hips when she stood before him. He peered up at her with a blank stare.
"Why are you working for Slade?" She asked.
He snorted. "Similar interests. Money. Power. We're both mercenaries."
"What did he hire you for specifically?" Raven pursued the topic, curious to what led up to this arrangement between Slade and this energy user.
"I was to help ensure Ruba's allegiance to him. At the time I didn't know who she was, he didn't mention her by name, so I agreed to the job. When the game changed and the Brotherhood of Evil got involved-" He explained carefully, not caring if they knew or not. "-I was given a new directive. I was to watch who they targeted. This was around the time she was here, being interrogated by you. They were waiting for the perfect time to snatch her away. They needed a powerful source to fuel their machine and saw her in action. She was what they needed." He paused, recalling the details.
"Go on." Cyborg muttered, eager to hear the rest.
"Red X and the disguised Madame Rouge found her in an alley, huddled in agony after teleporting, Slade told me. The feed of a nearby camera caught it all. Sari arrived just as they were about to leave with their knocked out prize. He was no match. Two captured birds." He chuckled darkly. "I offered my services to the Brotherhood. I was paid good money to keep any away from the forest, but what's the fun in that? I wanted a fight, I was in the mood to shed some blood." He smirked.
"You're seriously twisted, dude." Beast Boy glared at him from his perch atop the back of the couch.
Atty merely shrugged, uncaring. "My line of work isn't pretty, but it does have a lot of benefits."
"What happened afterward..?" Star asked, her tone light.
"Slade contacted me, via my private communications. Change of plans yet again. The first time she was to be used uninterrupted- she couldn't power the machine without being highly angry. They would fail. The second time.. when San and Silvy found me in the forest.." He had on a deep expression, curiosity leaking into his voice. "Slade's gotten soft.. at least when it comes to Ruba. I was to help in her retrieval.. but imagine my joy at learning San and Silvy were only rescuing Sari. Slade gave me leeway to do as I pleased so I joined the pair in getting Sari. I came here with them, learned your system in that week, shut it down and allowed Slade entrance. Boom, you're up to date." He said with a sarcastic wink.
Raven narrowed her eyes. She didn't like him. Not one bit.
"Nnnggghh, why can't we just go help? Who knows what's going on." Beast Boy whined, kicking his feet at the air.
"Robin said to wait-" Cy started, but BB cut him off.
"This is our city and that's Slade we're talking about!" Beast Boy countered with a mad pout. "For all we know they could be hurt, in need of help."
Rae studied Beast Boy before saying, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but.. Beast Boy has a point."
"We have to stay here." Cyborg rose to his feet, glaring at Atty. "We have our orders, don't let this punk get his words into your head."
Star nodded. "I agree with Cyborg."
"Such divided interests, perspectives. Amusing." Atty snorted with a devious smile. They sounded just like the energy users before they scattered.
That time sprouted in his mind like an unwanted nightmare, reoccurring and yet he was incapable of making it stop. He got pushed under by the tide and swept into the past.
[Flashback]
The building was tall, made of brick and imposing, like a castle standing alone in a dark forest. It sent chills and delivered a feeling of fear that swallowed the young one. It was a dull evening, the dipping sun casting a shadow from the building over the child.
Lorius had been nabbed off the streets in Las Vegas, Nevada after his run-in with Ravoro. From there he'd been brought here. An old brick house (large at that) in Lincolnshire, Illinois. The place was huge, like a mini mansion, with dozens of trees surrounding it. It had a wrap around (circle) concrete driveway with long glass stained windows. The place was set back from the other homes in the suburb, a testament to it's age. It was likely the oldest house in the area, seemingly disconnected from the rest as if isolated.
The young man was roughly pushed forward toward the house and the double doors opened before him and he was greeted by a wide lobby with twin staircases on either side, winding up to the upper floor. A side wing connected to the door at the base of the staircases and beneath the top was another set of double doors. The hands drew him up the stairs, down the right hallway and into a small, but well designed room.
The door was locked and he was alone.. weeks passed and he was treated like a guinea pig, poked and prodded with needles, cloth, chemicals and was strapped to several tables like a prisoner. In that time he lost the will to survive, fearing he'd be a subject until he died.. and then the scientist gave him the name Attica. That's what the people called him, because of what he was supposedly capable of. He was forced to perform tests to show his power's capacity and, unknown to him, he drew his energy from the turbulent experience of shock.
He was kept in solitude, disciplined and treated like a mindless servant.
He saw the other children down in the library. He was in the balcony above, unable to get below and so he watched in silence.
"Haha! You got something on your face!" A loud voice crowed from behind a book shelf toward the middle of the room.
"Nu huh!" A girl voice shrieked and laughter from the male before followed.
"Do too!" The sound of someone being smacked echoed and suddenly the boy was running out with the girl chasing him. That was the first time he saw all the others. Their nicknames rang in his mind like unique bells.
Young Ody (or Jack), the age of 11, was running from Ember (Esper), who was the same age. She looked pretty angry and he had a slap mark on his face, but was still laughing wildly as he fled from her. He was slightly taller than her, but a bit thinner with wicked black hair that was cropped short with twin shaved marks patterned on the sides above his ears. He had clear green eyes that rivaled a forest, yet were smooth like grass. She, on the other hand, was a brunette who kept her hair in a messy high ponytail that contrasted with her equally emerald eyes.
Sitting calmly in a padded chair, reading a book, was the 13 year old Vito (Julius), who seemed uninterested in the chaos around. Beside him, cross-legged on the floor with her back against the wall, was Ruba (Cecilia), 13 as well. Vito was a dirty blonde haired boy with freckles, black glasses situated on his nose to frame his chocolate eyes. Ruba, at the time, was much more.. innocent. Her brown hair was shorter and her eyes leaned more toward grey than green.
Perched atop a bookshelf, while watching the loud moving duo, was the 14 year old Sari (Barrett). He had a dorky smile on his face. He, then, had more blended hair, a mixture of black and white. The black faded with time and now only white remains. His blue eyes were once aqua, a strange portion of sapphire and emerald colors.
San (Sidra), 10 years old, sat beside Silvy (Roger), 12 years old, who seemed irritated by her presence. She had a dreamy gaze while his lips twitched. He had his silver hair short, to a bit below his ears, with his brilliant eyes shining murky grey. They later dimmed to black because the chemical altered them. San had her getup the same as current, just a younger version, though her brown hair was longer and her matching eyes were much more alive back then.
Atty was awed by these kids. Were they trapped here as well? They had the same clothes on as he: casual pants with a plain shirt on. These kids gave him hope.
He was ushered back to his room, but instead of feeling lonely.. he felt happy to have others near by. He changed.. slowly, gradually at first, he began to have a bounce in his step once more. He thought about Mr. Lyle often and he made a goal: to find Mr. Lyle and be with him again. He had his reason to survive. Escape. Ody gave him just that awhile later when the boy flipped. He turned dark and cruel.. and killed the scientist, freeing them all.
He remembered that day like it was yesterday. The warmth to the air, the pounding of the heart.. the rhythmic beating of blood dripping to the floor. A malfunction occurred and Ody was let out for a physical exam. Screams echoed and the subjects came running. They found Ody in the lab room with dead bodies. He'd stabbed the scientist with a metal pipe that was part of the table's leg (which he'd broken off with his incredible strength) and slew the assistants shortly after. Atty couldn't stop the feeling of freedom from filling his chest.
Ody turned to Atty with a glaring scowl on his face and said, "You're next, little bishop." He studied all in the room before smirking. "You're all next." He started to laugh. "But I will not do such now.. nay, we shall all meet again.." And just like that he left the room.
[End]
The dude was crazy. He hasn't been seen or heard from since. Ody had issues, they all did. Atty was no different.
He took mercenary work as a means to move on, to do something with himself.. and found that he loved the job. He got to go many places, see and do many things and meet new people. He grew among time and trained to get stronger.
Part of why Atty trained was because he knew Ody was strong. He was higher up the chain and could easily over-power him. He wanted to have a chance. Mercenary work was hard, but it was worth it. Atty didn't want to be defeated.. and sitting here, tied in the Titan's living room, was a bit of a blow to his developed ego. He had to escape this prison.
"-ey. Hey! Wake up! Stop dazing." A voice drew him out of that memory and he blinked at the scrutinizing face of Cyborg, who flicked his forehead.
"What do you want?" He grumbled bitterly.
"You've been staring at the floor for at least thirty minutes. The heck are you planning?" Cy pressed.
He shrugged. "Nothing.. just waiting for the future to become as it is supposed to."
"What?" Beast Boy furrowed his brows, confused.
"Sari told us. He and Silvy are to die by Ruba, who Slade controls, but she's fighting Slade. That future no longer exists." Raven countered, gazing at him, dead-panned.
Atty had that devious smirk on his face. "It's only just begun, I'm afraid."
They tensed.