A/N: Damn. Two updates in one week? I'm on a roll!

Disclaimer: Teen Titans are not mine so...yea...sue me!

TT2

Tuesday October 27, 2019

Almost the entire weekend was spent trying to figure out what these things had been. They did not seem human, and yet they fought just like any other man or woman would. Kyle had spent ninety-nine percent of the past five days in his room or in the crime analysis lab, or on the roof. They rarely saw him, except for meals and training. Kimi was beginning to be a rare occurrence too, constantly going to visit her mother. The doctors said they were scared that her condition was getting worse, although they had no stone evidence to back their predictions up.

"It's so quiet around here," Taku said to Clara, as he took a seat next to her on the couch. "With Kimi and Danny at the Hospital, Kyle caught up in his own thing, and Sara out doing God knows what."

"Shopping, most likely," Clara snorted.

Clara continued flipping, not bothering to look at Taku.

"How's life?" he asked.

"Suck-ish."

"Suck-ish? Do tell," he urged, trying to get a conversation out of this.

"Jake hasn't been around lately. I want to know what happened at the laboratory."

It was common knowledge that the Black Baron Clara had taken down at the laboratory was not her beau, Jake. Clara had wondered for days where he had been, or more to the point, what the HIVE did to him. She knew they had something to do with this.

"He's fine, Clare. I'm sure," Taku told her with a gentle smile. "I'm sure he wouldn't be able to stay away from you even if he tried."

Taku leaned back into the couch as Clara continued flipping. That had been a nice thing he said to her, and she had to admit she was beginning to like Taku more and more each day. She was slowly opening up to the people around her, and depending less on the outside world.

Taku slowly began to move his hands, Clara could see out of the corner of her eye. She stopped flipping, and she wasn't even sure if he had noticed. Her head slowly turned, cocking at him as it went, watching his fingers move diligently.

"What are you doing?" Clara asked, not snidely, but in interest.

"I don't know. Air guitar?" he suggested. "No clue why. I had an urge."

"Do you even know what song you're playing? Are you even playing a song?" Clara questioned.

"I know it's a song I've played before...hold on..." he thought hard for a moment, his fingers moving and his body jerking. "Oh, I know. Time Consumer, by Coheed and Cambria. The greatest song ever played."

Clara's phone, from her pocket, suddenly began to ring. She had to dig it out, and only after four rings did she manage to successfully pull it out of her jeans. She looked at the caller ID, which did not come up, and her eyebrows rose in interest.

"Hello?" she asked after holding it up to her ear.

"Hey there," came a deep, rumbling voice. There was a soft sound in the background.

Taku stood, mouthed that he would be right back, and evaded the room. Clara was alone.

"Jake?" she asked. "Where are you? Or...where were you? What happened? Did the HIVE find you out?" she spouted off all at once. "You don't know how worried I've been. And once I saw that the Black Baron in the lab wasn't you-"

"Wait, what?" he began. "How did you know I was gone? What Black Baron, what lab?"

"You seriously don't know?"

The soft sounds ceased and there was a rustle.

"I have no clue, Clare," he honestly answered.

"We got called down to Market Laboratories on Thursday of last week, and about seven black figures were there, including Black Baron. I thought it was you and he was being an asshole, so I knocked him out. But then I pulled off his mask and found out that it wasn't you. It was someone else I had never seen in my life," she explained. "How do you answer that one?"

"My mother put me into hiding for a few days. She told the HIVE that I had come down with a disease that could be deadly if I wasn't in solitary confinement. I'm staying with another ex-HIVE member, my mom's friend Matt," he responded. "I would've come to see you but it's risky. I do promise I'll be there this Saturday though. Wild horses couldn't stop me."

"I won't see you until Saturday?" Clara asked.

"Not even in battle," Jake started. "I might not even be back into the villain business for another few weeks. Like I said, it's risky. I need some time to chill, to figure this out and create a plan to get out of it."

"I can help you," Clara offered. "Me, the Titans, the ex-Titans, your mom and this Matty character, we can gather Titans from around the world, Jake. I'd do anything to help."

Taku came back into the room with his guitar slung over his shoulder, resting on his shoulder blade. He looked awfully like Jake in that single moment, with his hands stuffed in his pockets and his hair falling into his face.

He took a seat, sliding it around to his front. He propped it on his lap and began to play the song that he had been playing on the air guitar. The same song started in the background while Jake was speaking.

"Clara?"

"Jake, what are you doing?" Clara asked, watching Taku in front of her.

He was so into his playing, his fingers moving gracefully, his mouth curved into a frown as he worked out the kinks in the song.

"I'm playing my guitar right now," he responded. "Coheed and Cambria, ever heard of them? Time Consumer. Such a great song."

"Yea, that's odd. Taku's playing the very same song right now," Clara commented.

"That is odd," Jake commented, but he didn't seem very sincere.

He was most likely into his playing right now, the same frown on his face, his fingers moving like ten little hummingbirds.

"Maria my star, Matthew goodnight," the two boys began to sing at the same time, on the same note.

"Now that's just freaky," Clara breathed into the phone. "Jake, turn on direct connection."

Clara pulled the phone away from her own ear and turned on the direct connection, a new standard feature of cell phones that would allow for the speakers to watch each other while talking. Clara soon saw on her small cellular screen the exact mirror image of Taku. The movements were fluid, the strumming was even, and their harmonies were one.

The music stopped at once. Both guitars had ceased to hum.

"That's just creepy," Jake's deep voice hummed over the speaker phone.

"Yea," Taku consented. "Creepy."

"So...Taku," Jake started. "Is that your real name? Did your parents really name you Taku?"

"No, my uncle always used to call me Taku, so it just became my unofficial name. My real name is Michael Turner," he explained.

"Turner...Turner...sounds familiar," Jake started. "Matty!" he called to somewhere off the screen of the phone. "Matty, where have you heard the name Turner before?"

There was a mumbling coming from off screen and slowly Jake's face fell open. His confused expression had dropped and he looked as if he were about to puke.

The line went dead.

TT2

Clara had tried to call him back many times, but he didn't pick up.

"Do you think he's ok?" Clara asked about two hours later, after her seventh call.

"I'm sure he's fine," Taku responded, although he was freaked out as well. "It's just weird. Did you see his face? He looked as if he had seen a ghost."

"That's what worries me."

"What worries you?" Sara asked as she trudged into the room with tons upon tons of shopping bags in her arms.

"Jake. Need I say more?" Clara asked, an eyebrow raised towards her sister.

"Ah. I see," Sara began. "Well, I'll be in my room if I'm needed. You know where to find me."

Clara continued to pace and eventually threw her cell phone to Taku. She ordered him not to let her touch it until the next morning, or at least until she had to make a call that wasn't to Jake. He happily obliged. Taku stood, dropping the device into his pocket and swinging the guitar around his shoulder.

"Don't worry about Jake."

"Not making any promises."

He sighed. Women and their men.

TT2

"Jenna?" Vic started as he heard the front door open and shut with a little click.

He was in bed, watching television and snuggled under the covers, ready to fall asleep. He didn't expect to see her this soon, but then again he did request to see her by the end of the night. Her clicking heels echoed down the hallway and she pried to door open, kicking off her shoes.

"Hey there," she started softly, sauntering forward.

She climbed onto the bed and sat next to him. Her back rested against the headboard, and she crossed her feet in front of her. Her hand came to rest on his head, where little tufts of hair were growing. Her fingers combed softly over them.

"I didn't expect to see you tonight," Vic started.

"I could say the same," Jenna replied. "I had to go see Matty and make sure Jake was ok. He seemed a little shaken up, a little out of sorts today, but I'm sure it's just because Clara told him about the impostor Baron at the laboratory that I told you about."

Vic made an interested noise, never taking his eyes off the television.

"Are you mad at me?"

His eyes finally traveled up to lock with hers.

"I could never be mad at you...well, I could, but only under extenuating circumstances," he added on. "Jenna, I recognize that this is something you have to do. I respect that. I just want you to get help and take them down. I want to help you take them down. Promise me, one day, that will happen."

"It will, and I can thoroughly promise that," she responded. "And someday soon too. I just have a lot going on right now, and I want to make sure Jake's safe before I do that. I don't want him anywhere near here. I don't want him getting hurt. I wouldn't be able to handle that."

"I know, Jen," Vic replied softly. "I understand that too. I wouldn't want anything to happen to Jake either. He's a good kid."

"I know he is. He's just made a few mistakes, and his mom has made her share of mistakes too," she murmured, turning to Vic and snuggled into his shoulder. "I'm tired. It's been a hell of a day."

"Indeed it has," Vic agreed. "Goodnight Jen."

"Sweet dreams, Vic."

TT2

"Kyle, you are such a freaking work-a-holic," Sara commented as she hit the landing of the rooftop. "I mean I'm surprised you even bothered to take a break Mr. Working Twenty-two-hours-a-day."

"Sara," he began in a warning tone. "What did I say about me and my working habits?"

"That they're your business and your business alone," she replied monotonously. "But seriously, you're not fun. You've been holed up in the crime lab for the past few days, trying to crack the code to that case. What's wrong with taking a break?"

"Nothing. I just don't like taking a break. I like working until I have something figured out," he replied simply.

"Figures," Sara muttered, rolling her eyes.

They watched the sunset in silence for a few moments.

"How's Clara doing? She seems to miss Jake a lot. Any sign of him?" Kyle asked.

"Not that I know of. But she'll be fine, she's tough. She can get over not seeing him until Saturday," Sara told him.

"What's Saturday?"

"He promised her that he'd go to the Masquerade Ball with her. And I know that this boy wouldn't go back on a promise. I've kinda been reading her mind lately, so I know pretty much everything she knows about him. He's so incredibly honest, it makes me want to puke. Well, you know, except for the whole villain thing," Sara explained.

"Riight."

Kyle leaned back and covered her hand with his.

"You know, I can't wait until the Masquerade Ball. Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it?" he asked nonchalantly, although he was secretly hoping to bring up the topic of their "date". "I mean, if you've never been to a Masquerade Ball before."

"Yea, it does sound like a lot of fun," Sara agreed. "I can't wait to get all dressed up. I haven't gotten dressed up in a while."

"I can't wait to see your dress. Kimi said it was...drop dead sexy, I think were her words," he chortled. "Ah, Kimi cracks me up."

"Well, if I do say so myself, my dress is pretty hot."

"I guess I'm going to be making boys jealous, you know, since I am your date and all," he supposed with a grin. "Think of all those boys who are going to be wishing to be in my place on Saturday."

"And just think of all the women who are going to be paying me to be in my place. In case you haven't noticed, half the female population of Jump City wants to do you," Sara stated with a little chuckle.

Kyle choked on air. "Well that was just a tad straightforward."

"Hm?" she asked.

"So are you part of that half?"

"No," she deadpanned.

"Oh."

Sara smiled as she watched him awkwardly turn away. She could tell he was turning away as the silence grew louder between them.

"Kyle, you're so cute," she commented. "I don't know. I might be part of that half. But other times I just want to ring your neck. So half the time I'm a screaming fan-girl and other times I'm more dangerous to you than Black Baron or Slade."

He chortled as he answered, "that's a good way to put it".

Sara yawned profusely. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you bright and early at training."

"Seeya, Sare."

"Later Kyle."

And for that one moment, the world was at peace.

TT2