Author's Notes: Hello fellow readers! I hope everyone is having a great start to their week! I would like to thank those of you who are following, reviewing, and even making this story one of your favorites. It defiantly reinforces my love for writing and my commitment to this story. I do ask that you try and keep your reviews PG. I understand that some people use cursing in a humorous way, but I'm old fashion and rather not have that kind of language associated with my story. I'm not upset, just thought I'd let y'all know for in the future. As you may have already noticed in my story, I'm not into using curse words of any kind unless I feel they add necessary voice and character. I hope I'm not offending anyone, because that's not what I'm trying to do. Just not a fan of cursing, even if it is in this form: *** Anyway, I want all readers to know that this chapter starts where Chapter 8 started. Just in Nightstar's POV. After this chapter I plan for the story to move further into the plot. So far all of what you have read is icing on the cake! As always, please review with any of your comments, questions, or concerns. Enjoy! :)
Nightstar VS Sparrow Chapter 9
Nightstar POV:
I watched as my dad and Mr. Logan exited the elevator to their respective family's. My dad was still angry, but he hid it well once all eyes were on him. He came up to us and wrapped his arm around our mother. Mom looked concerned, but didn't press the issue.
"So, Mari anything interesting happen before we got here?" Dad asked coldly.
"Oh, crap!" I thought, "He knows!" "Well we had our usual morning training before your arrival. And before that I did a last minute inspection of the tower." I replied.
"What happened during training?" Dad inquired.
"We spared."
"What happened during the sparring?"
"Why does it matter?"
At this point Dad and I were face to face, announce evident on our faces.
"Enough of this! Tell me what happened this morning during training right now! That's an order!" Dad snapped.
*Sigh* "Fine. Today during training one of my teammates lost control of their powers and we had to deal with it. But as I said, we dealt with it and the situation has been fixed. No need for worry." I said, hoping he would leave it at that. Of course I'm not that lucky.
"Well I just spoke with Changeling, and from what he had to tell me it seems your teammate, Sparrow, has been neglectful of her training and put the entire team at risk. Is this true Nightstar?"
"Well I guess that's one way of putting it." I mumbled. "Although, I highly doubt that's how Changeling put it." I thought. My dad sighed and held his head in his hand.
"How many times must I tell you, Mari, never try to hide anything from me? It really is quite futile." He said while crossing his arms around his chest. "I just want you to know that if this kind of thing becomes a habit you will need to be prepared to make the tuff calls."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Darkstar asked before I could respond. His voice dripping with irritation. Dad sent him a glare before he replied.
"It means that next time Sparrow decides to skip meditation and ends up being controlled by Rage, thereby putting everyone's safety at risk, as a leader, Nightstar will have to be prepared to do whatever it takes to keep the team and Jump City safe." His last comment really stung, but before I could say anything Darkstar once again beat me to it.
"How dare you! Sparrow is a member of this team and is practically family! What kind of monster would even imply on having to do something like that to their fellow teammate; to a friend!" Darkstar shouted, his hands starting to glow green. Before I could calm him down, he made a swift exit for the door. Within a moment Sparrow ran after him. I look around the room and notice that everyone is now staring at my parents and I. Everyone, but Mr. Logan look shocked. Mr. Logan just looked smug.
"So, Dick, I guess I'm not the only one you managed to piss off with that idea." Mr. Logan said, earning a death glare from my dad. But years of receiving those looks from both his leader and his wife have made him practically immune. Instead of backing down, Mr. Logan just returned the glare with one of his own.
"Nightwing, what exactly is the meaning of all this. First you and Gar show up here angry at each other, and then you say something to your kids that in turn make them angry, and finally Johnathan blows up about something to do with my daughter. So please, enlighten us on what all this commotion is about." Mrs. Logan demanded. For the first time, Dad actually looked nervous. Dad isn't afraid of much, but an angry Raven is probably every Titans worst fear. Especially when it involves her kids.
"Yeah, Dick, enlighten her!" Mr. Logan taunted. Apparently, he was going to use his wife's anger to his advantage. Dad cleared his throat before he began to recap what he told us and Mr. Logan.
"Well you see, Raven, it has come to my attention that Sparrow – "
"Maria." Interrupted Mrs. Logan.
"Very well, it has come to my attention that Maria wasn't keeping up with her meditation and therefore lost control of her powers during the kids training session. As a result of her… carelessness (Mr. Logan was growling now), Maria endangered her teammates. As the head of the Titans, it is my job to make sure all fellow Titans and Teen Titans are safe. As leader of this team, Nightstar is also responsible for her teams safety and if a member of her team jeopardizes their safety then she should be ready to make tuff decisions in order to protect as many people has possible. Do you not agree with that, Raven?" Dad's eyes narrowed at Raven, and she did the same. Other than her narrowed eyes, she wore her classic blank expression.
"I can agree that our children's safety is very important and that, as a leader, Mari carries most of that responsibility while in our absence. However, I believe it is every team member's job to watch out for each other's safety, and that it is every friend's job to care about the others wellbeing. If they are ever in a situation where they have to fight one of their own, I can only hope and trust them to make the right decisions. As for my daughters' behavior, the problem has been dealt with accordingly. I know my children's strengths and weaknesses, Richard. Gar and I will be the only ones to make as what you have coined as "tuff calls" when regarding our children. Do you not agree with that, Richard?"
Dad became flustered upon hearing Mrs. Logan's comeback. He looked like he too was about to lose his temper and was starting to make his way over to her, but was stopped by Mr. Logan's vicious snarl. I've known Mr. Logan all my life, but as fun and caring as he can be, he can also scare the crap out of me. Mr. and Mrs. Logan are in charge of training new Teen Titians. Over half of the Titans and all of the current Teen Titans have been trained under them. They make a really great team because Mr. Logan is patient and understanding, while Mrs. Logan is level-headed and strict. Before I became a Teen Titan, they were like my aunt and uncle. Darkstar and I would always stay with them while our parents were out on a mission. Darkstar wasn't wrong when he said we were all like family. It wasn't until we all began our official training that all those relationships changed. Mr. and Mrs. Logan were now my instructor's, and Dad was now Nightwing, our great and fearless leader.
When I began my training I was told by some of the older Teen Titans that I had to be carful around the Logan's. Apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Logan were known to go berserk if they thought anyone was as much as thinking of hurting their family. And I guess it was also an unspoken rule that once a male Titan reaches puberty they weren't allowed to be beyond five feet of Mrs. Logan. This rule confused me at first, but once I got older I started to see what they meant. Mr. Logan was actually extremely protective and in some cases possessive. Stinger once explained to me that it was because of his animal instincts, and that once a guy reach puberty, he was viewed as competition and a threat in the eyes of Mr. Logan. I've never really witnessed this, and it doesn't seemed to be an issue with Crow or Darkstar, so I didn't really know what happened when Mr. Logan got that – extreme. That is until now, when I noticed his teeth drawn back in a snarl, revealing his very sharp and suddenly long fangs, and his pupils narrowing like a snake about to strike. Immediately, I stood in my battle stance and I could just make out Stinger doing the same behind the Logan's. Although the adults seemed very cautious, none of them made a move. "Their used to this!" I thought to myself. Mrs. Logan put a hand on Mr. Logan's shoulder and my mom did the same to my dad. They both snapped out of it and you could feel the atmosphere in the room start to go back to normal. Mom and Dad excused themselves as they left the main room through the elevator. Mr. Logan left through the main door that lead to our rooms, with Mrs. Logan at his heels.
"Yay, so I'm just gonna get our stuff out of the T-car. Honey would you mind –"Uncle Vic started.
"Right behind ya Sparky!" Replied Aunt Karen, and they quickly made an exit to the elevator. Leaving Stinger and myself alone in the main room. With a loud sigh I threw myself onto the couch.
"Stinger, do you ever wish we could go back in time and be kids again? When our parents weren't at each other's throat and the only thing we had to worry about was what's for dinner." I asked her. She sat beside me and answered, "I don't know, but aren't we still kids?" I didn't answer back, mainly because I didn't have an answer. Stinger I guess wasn't looking for an answer and instead of asking again, she grabbed the TV control and began to turn on the game consol.