As always...I am grateful for the reviews. Keep them up. Now for CH6, you'll see what is happening with Shadow and the Titans. For this is the first time both sides met...with a pain and confussion after words. Don't own the TTs but own the misery and mystery...as always...Enjoy.
CH6
At the opening of the Jump City's harbor, on a small useless island stood the mighty T Tower. Strong and powerful, the tower is the symbol of all good in the city and a warning to evil. T Tower, both impressive and intimidating, it showed the citizens of Jump City that as long as the Titans and their tower stood proud it'll the sign and hope for peace and safety…or it once did.
Now, the Tower was in shambles. Ever since the Eternals attacked, Debris lay littered all around the island. Three massive holes made the Tower seem fragile, weak and foul. Two massive gapes tore at the top of the tower while the third left at bass like someone took a big massive bit out of the tower. This tower now stood as a symbol of the troubles yet to come.
To Shadow, the Tower was not much to look at. A giant "T" shaped tower seemed like a dumb idea. Honestly, who would build a defensive tower in a middle of an island? Not only is it vulnerable to air attack…sea attack, but also land based and sneak attacks. Especially sneak attacks. When Shadow made his way to the Tower, no alarms blazed, no defense gun shot up to blow the intruder to kingdom come…nothing.
"Dumb amateurs." Shadow said to himself as he walked in the corridors of the Tower. Walking down in pitch darkness would have made any one be scarred of any movement. Not to Shadow, with each foot step echoed, each breath he took seemed to scream into the abyss, he enjoyed the darkness and the feeling it gave him.
Finally he reached what he was looking for. He came upon part of the wreaked Tower, where a few days ago Raven and Beast Boy talked before the attack. Stepping on broken glass, metal and junks of the walls crunched under Shadow's boots. Shadow stared at the door way to Raven's room. The door was long gone…only left the opening to Raven's world wide open for everyone to see.
Since the attack, the other Titan's dare not to enter Raven's room. They fear once Raven came back…if…she'll be very pissed off. And nobody wanted that. But Shadow didn't care if Raven knew he was in her room, it wasn't like he was going through her underwear drawer (sick I know). Shadow entered her room, seeing the room was clean and tightly. (After Beast Boy snuck into Raven's room, she cleaned up the disaster her room was in.)
Shadow took his time looking at Raven's possessions; books, CDs, videos, statues and lots of souvenirs from Europe and Japan. Finally Shadow turned to the lone dresser drawer (no he isn't going through the underwear…some people???) He then went to one of the drawer and tried to open it, only see it was locked.
"She learned…" Shadow said, moving his hand over the lock, glowing white with power. "AzarathMetrionZintho." He said and the drawer flung open, it zoomed from the dresser and almost slamming into the wall, Shadow's with magic stopped it. Levitating back, Shadow put the dresser on the top, while his magic disappears.
Shuffling through the object in the drawer, Shadow looked at pictures of Raven and the Titans; Pictures from Tokyo, some from her lone trips to France and Germany, others were from when she helped Melvin, Timmy, Teether, and Bobby and a giant group photo of every Titan in the league after the defeat of the Brotherhood of Evil.
"At least she was not bored." Shadow said, smiling a bit. Shuffling more through some other pointless snapshots of a pointless, foolish teenager life, Shadow picked out an old black and white photograph that was a bit torn and crumbled. Gazing at Raven's mother and stepfather, even at Raven herself all those year ago…but he refused to look at the boy next to her.
Shadow stuffed the photo in his coat pocket, when something captured his sight. He reached and grabbed it, seeing it was a penny. "How useless." He said with scorn. Then he gazed at the other photos and put his free hand in the pocket where the photo he came for was at. "Useless it is, but it seems that it meant a lot to her for her to keep it." Instead of putting it back, Shadow stuffed the penny into the same pocket as the photo and placed the drawer back, and then he left the room.
But just as Shadow was to teleport himself off this useless rock…he heard noises coming down the corridor, voices… Shadow took a minute to see that the Titans had returned from another failed search attempt. Taking a second for his options of either wait to talk to the Titans or now…
Slowly Shadow made his way towards the source of the voices, like the darkness it held many unpleasant surprises…Shadow seemed that as the darkness, he was going to give the Titans an unpleasant surprise.
Every time the other Titans seem to return, with no news or anything about Raven and Beast Boy, Robin felt as if the world seems to be mocking him for his failure, not just as a Titan, but as leader and a friend. With this in mind he wanted just to pull his hair out, yell and scream as any child would, but as the training Batman gave him kept him from expressing his flaws as a teenager.
"How did they escape?" Robin asked himself. "How did I let them escape?" Robin's fist slammed hard into the newly replaced kitchen counter.
"Dude, you can't just blame yourself." Cyborg said. "I mean, we are all responsible, maybe if he beaten them, Raven and BB wouldn't gotten captured."
"But we didn't." Robin said, anger of his failings slipped out. "And that is just it."
"Our friend is right, we all failed." Starfire said, floating over and kissing Robin and the cheek. "Tomorrow will search again."
"What's the point? They have been missing for almost three weeks now." Robin slammed his fist again, fighting back the tears of lose and failure. "By now, thay might be dead."
"Don't say such horrible things." Starfire said, holding back her own tears. "There is hope for them, don't give up."
"She's right man." Jericho said, taking a seat in the newly replaced couch. "Rae and BB are strong. Maybe stronger than we realize and maybe they're trying to escape."
"Yeah, listen to Blondie." Hot Spot said. "If we can't find them, maybe they'll just escape, but need the time." Of course Jericho hated being called Blondie, but let it go for the sake of the environment.
"So what now Robin?" Argent said. "Do we continue or leave Raven and BB to the Eternals?"
"Come on man." Cyborg said.
After a moment, Robin thought his options very carefully. "We'll continue our search." Everyone in the room leaped for joy, and seemed rejuvenated for another 24 hour search. All except Terra, who stood at back of the room by the back door, deep within her own thought to be ignored by the other and ignoring the talk her friends gave. All her mind was about the guilt she was having…about Raven and the treatment she given her.
"I never said thank you." She thought. "After all Raven had done, the countless hours of research mediation and thought and I don't thank her. Probably that's why she hates me." After those weeks of thought as she searched, she had got the sense of moving on…so what she lost Beast Boy…so what he like Raven now…so what I can't get over it, why can't I? There are plenty of boys' out there. "Right now, Raven and Beast Boy are important."
While Terra stood there, thinking she happened to notice the door opening beside her. Terra poked her head at the door to see…what she saw made her gasp as fear seemed to fling her back towards her friend as she stumbled backwards. By this time the Titans saw what had happen.
Appearing between the doorways, coming from the abyss, silent as death, frightening as the Eternals were when they appeared, stepped in was a tall, slim man dressed in a long leather overcoat, wearing a Stahlhelm helmet (remember Darth Vader's) that covered part of his face. By the look on the Titans faces, there were absolutely shocked, but mostly they were scared.
"Dude, who are you?" Robin asked. (It seems Robin can't ask any other question, huh?) "What do you want?"
Shadow didn't reply. He stood there watching the Titans looking at each other as if one or the other had the question. Shadow mentally laughed at the confusion…after hearing so much that the Titans knew everything, only to see there were not…but Shadow's face remained motionless, like a statue.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Robin asked. Being nervous of all of these surprises, Robin reached in his belt and pulled out one of his boomerangs and held with precision that meant he would use it. "Answer now!"
With Shadow's whispery voice, "Do not think threatening me is smart, Boy Blunder…I don't take threats lightly…" With that, Shadow raised his hand, but Robin threw the weapon at the same instant. Shadow's hand glowed with power, with it captured the boomerang while it still spun but motionless in the air. When Shadow's hand dropped the boomerang returned to its owner, but clipped Robin in the shoulder.
As Robin screamed in pain, at the same moment Starfire sent a starbolt at her boyfriend's attacker…only Shadow blocked it with white magical wall. Then Shadow at it seemed threw his defense at the Tameranian , knocking her clear across the room. Cyborg, with his cannon, charged at Shadow leaping into the air…just as the distance between Cyborg's cannon and Shadow's face drew closer, and just as it seemed Cyborg was going to win…A white bird claw grabbed Cyborg in midair and sent him into the nearest wall, which he crashed through.
Jericho, Hot Spot and Argent charged at the attacker. Shadow smile was both filled with pleasure and a thrill sensation at this foolish attack…when Hot Spot shot flames at him, Shadow dodged them, moving quickly sent a fist into the hot head (literally) teens gut, then backhanded Hot Spot with a force of magic. Argent managed to land a bolt into Shadow's helmet, which knocked Shadow into the nearest wall. The girl sent volleys of bolts at Shadow, only Shadow "melted" into the wall. Scared, Argent didn't see Shadow reappear behind her; he grabbed her collar then tossed her into the sofa. At that time, Jericho came close enough to Shadow to almost possess him…only by a second; Shadow reached for his sword and held it at the Titan's throat. (Note all of this happened in a space of a minute, so think of this really fast.)
Terra stood in shock…of course after seeing the Titans getting beaten up so quickly made her realize that fighting him wasn't so good. Not when Jericho was staring at Shadow's sword inches a way from his throat. Holding the sword with care and concentration, Shadow lowered the sword, letting Jericho retreat behind the sofa…
"What do you want?" Terra managed to ask.
"Raven…" Shadow answered.
"Why?" Terra asked.
"That is my business, Titan." Shadow responded, making sure the word "Titan" was much as an insult than a title. "I am requiring have you found her?"
"No we haven't." Terra answered, fearing if she said one word to displease him, she'll end up on the ground in no time. "But we are looking, but it isn't enough…uh."
"Shadow."
"Shadow? What kind of a name is that?"
"One that doesn't reveal ones certain identity." Shadow answered. "From what I heard, you let this Eternal's kidnap her and that charming, annoyance of a boy."
"What is it that you want from us?" Terra asked, still frightened of the unknown.
Shadow smiled that unpleasant one like before but held more of a cruel sence than a reasonable one. "Simple, right now I seek a …alliance with you Titans."
"Alliance? From what you did to my friends, why should we?" Terra then felt her blood run cold when Shadow started moving towards her. Only when he was inches from her, still clinching his sword in his hand is when Shadow spoke.
"If you don't…it'll only get worse."
Terra looked at the Titans, now recovering from the attack. Only she realized she was standing between harm and safety of her friends. "What kind?" It was all she managed to cough up.
"The Eternals took what I want. They both defeated you and humiliated you. From what I see between the Titans and the Eternals…the Eternals are the greater of the two evils. All I want is your assistance. Keep on searching for her and once she is safe, then I do my duty with Raven."
"Then what do we get?"
"Me."
"You? We hardly know who or what you are."
"It's simple, girl, I am a messenger. A message to Raven from the darkness of her past…by working with me, you'll best understand who and what I am…as of now Terra, since you got an ounce of sanity in you not to attack…I trust these negotiation are reasonable?" Shadow said, as he returned his sword it its sheath.
Terra glanced at Robin who held his wound; he looked at Terra then Shadow, then nodded to her. "WE agree, Shadow."
"Good." Shadow said, smiling again. "Then I will leave you to your part while I decide for another time, what to do with you, Titans…" Shadow then turned to the door which he came, turning to the Titans… "I'll keep in touch, Terra." Hh then disappeared in the darkness…
"I was afraid of that." Terra muttered as she went to help her friends…
(Shadow is one mean SOB isn't he? Review. Tell me what I can do to better Shadow of the Past, as of now later and CH7 is coming up...What will happen to Raven and how will Beast Boy handle it?...Wait and see.)