Angel with a Shotgun: Finale

Chapter 6: Home
mood music: Shattered by Trading Yesterday/Coming Home by Skylar Grey

It was a stormy night. She was used to it. It's not like she ever left the house. Her father never let her.

Guards were perched everywhere. She sat in a comfy chair in front of the burning fireplace. The book she was reading only kept her attention for a few moments at a time. Her long brown hair ran freely over one shoulder. Her brown eyes scanned the pages, not reading anything but simply looking.

Boom. Boom. BOOM.

Batman, the Titans, and the Team crashed through the front doors with a monstrous burst of thunder and lightning. The guards at the front were on the ground, no doubt taken down with ease. "Talia," Batman said curtly.

"Batman," she responded. She stood from her chair and dropped her book. "What brings you here?"

Batman narrowed his eyes. "I need your help," he said.

Talia cocked an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"The Lazarus Pit."

Robin and Batgirl stared at him.

"I need it," Batman said. "You can give me access to it."

"And what makes you think that I will?" Talia asked.

Batman glared at her and said one word, "Damian."

Talia stiffened and narrowed her eyes. "Very well," she said. "Follow me."

… …

Sneaking past the guards was easy. Batman was able to quickly surpass the security systems for the Pit. They all stood around it, watching in wonder. The green glow illuminated the room, giving it an ethereal feel.

"Batman," Robin said, "who's Damian?"

"No one you need to know yet," Batman responded. He still cradled Jason's lifeless body in his arms.

Talia looked up at him. "It's ready," she said.

"Good." Batman looked down at Jason. He didn't want to do this to him, but he had no choice. They'd taken him out of his torn and battered Red X suit and dressed him only in a pair of tan shorts. Batman looked down into the Lazarus Pit and threw Jason's body in. The water began to bubble and steam rose from its surface.

"What's happening?" Zatanna asked.

"There!"

Everyone turned around to find Ra's al Ghul's guards standing in the open doorway. "Attack the intruders!" They took out their guns and took aim.

"Titans," Match said, raising his fist, "go—"

"Aaahh!"

Everyone stopped and turned towards the Pit. Jason burst from the water. His health was completely restored and his injuries were washed away. A streak of grey stood out in his dripping wet, jet black hair. He had a look in his eye, a wild look. He charged past everyone and punched down a guard. He kicked their guns away and attacked.

"Jason!" Batman cried.

Jason ignored him and slammed two guards' heads together. He jumped in the air and kicked off another guard's face.

"Detective!" Ra's al Ghul strode into the room. "I should've known you'd come."

"Ra's!" Batman snarled.

"You must leave!" Talia said.

Batman nodded. He grabbed Jason around the waist. Superboy bounded to the back wall and crashed through it. The bio ship floated into view and Superboy standing safely on the roof.

"Come on!" he yelled, waving them over. Batman and the teens ran through the hole and they entered the bio ship. Batman gently set Jason down on the floor as Miss Martian took off.

Jason groaned and looked up at everyone. He groaned softly before everything went black.

He woke up to the sound of his own breathing. There was an air mask over his face that his warm breath fogged up. The air was filled with the smell of a hospital and Jason figured that he must be in the infirmary. He groaned and opened his eyes.

"Jason!"

"Oof!" Jason grunted when a pair of thin but strong arms wrapped around his neck. He took the mask off his face. "Tara!" She had him in a death grip so hard, he could barely breathe.

"Don't you ever, ever, ever scare me like that again!" Tara said, pounding him on the arm with each 'ever'.

"Good to see you, too, kiddo."

"He's awake!" Jason looked around the room to find Match, Donna, Connor, and Kyle in the room, all of them in uniform.

Donna, Kyle, and Connor wrapped their arms around Jason and Tara. Match hugged them all and lifted them in the air, resulting in all of them laughing.

Once Match had set them all down, Jason looked up at them. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked. "Match, Donna, Kyle, I thought you guys were in space. And Connor, Tara, you're supposed to be in Japan or something."

"We cut our little 'vacations' short to come and save your butt," Match said, grinning.

"We are never leaving you alone again," Donna said, hugging him once again. She sat down on the edge of his bed and Tara sat down on the other side.

Jason looked to Connor. "Did you find your mother?" he asked.

Connor's smile faded. "No," he said. Tara took his hand. "I did a little research, talked to some people…and I think she's dead."

Jason sighed. "I'm sorry," he said.

"It's alright," Connor said, smiling. "I have another family. And I have Ollie."

Jason smiled. "Good."

Kyle smiled at him. "So," he said casually, folding his arms, "how's it feel to be back from the dead?"

Jason's eyes went wide as all the memories came flooding back to him. "Oh!" He gripped the front of his head and fell back on his pillows. "What happened to me?" he asked.

Donna shot Kyle a look. "Sorry," he said, shying away.

"You don't remember?" Tara asked.

Jason rubbed his head. "I remember everything that happened in Deathstroke's hideout," he said slowly. "I remember…the Lazarus Pit, going in. And then, nothing. It's just a blank."

"That's why you have this new streak in your hair," Donna said, brushing her fingers lightly against his grey hair.

Jason's hand touched the grey hair and he sighed. "I thought it was all just a bad dream," he said, looking down.
"It wasn't."

They all looked up as Batman entered the room. He walked to Jason's bedside. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like the past six months of my life were just some big nightmare," Jason said, running a hand through his hair. "But it wasn't. It was all real."

Batman's expression softened. "The NSC," he said, "it's gone."

"What do you mean it's gone?"

Batman pulled up a holographic picture of a nervous system. "I injected you with microscopic probes that eliminated the Nervous System Control from your body," he explained. "And now that the SDM has been used, it's gone as well."

"So…" Jason said unsurely, "I'm clean from any kind of programming?"

"Yes," Batman said.

Jason sighed. "That's a relief." He looked up at Batman. "How is everyone?"

"Worried about you," he answered. "Batgirl refused to be kept in the infirmary, Robin quickly recovered from his minor injuries, and the others are basically unharmed. The probes have also been eliminated from everyone's systems."

"Are they mad at me?" Jason asked.

"They have no reason to be," Batman said simply. "Robin explained everything to us."

"I could've killed Barbara," Jason said, holding his head in his hands and looking down. His body tensed. "I would've killed everyone if Zatanna hadn't activated the SDM."

Donna reached out with her hand. "Jason—"

"No," he said, slapping her hand away. He stood from the bed and threw a shirt on.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kyle asked, unfolding his arms.

"I have to go," Jason said, running out of the room.

Donna stood to follow him, but Match placed a hand on her shoulder. They exchanged glances and watched him go.

… …

Zatanna had immediately run out of the living room when Match had announced that Jason had woken up. He said Jason had left, but she knew exactly where he'd be.

"Why do you want to be alone right now?"

He sat on the rocks, the place where they had their first one-on-one conversation two years ago. His knees were pulled up and his arms were wrapped around them. His hand was halfway run through his black hair and his eyes were on the ocean. "I should be," Jason said. The grey, cloudy sky mirrored his mood.

Zatanna placed her hands on her hips. "No," she said, "you shouldn't." She climbed up onto the rocks. When she reached for him, he flinched away. That hurt.

"Batman showed you my death video, didn't he?" he said. Zatanna nodded. "I always thought that," Jason said, "if I returned from the war, I'd come back with some kind of hero's welcome. Instead, I come back with a betrayal as Red X. I hurt you guys."

"That doesn't matter anymore," Zatanna said, tentatively rubbing his back.

"It should," Jason said sharply. "I should be in jail. I almost killed—"

"Deathstroke was controlling you," Zatanna cutoff. "It wasn't your fault. Batman told us everything."

"Did Batman also tell you that I could've gotten rid of the NSC but I chose to keep it?" Jason snapped.

Zatanna stared at him. "What? Why?"

Jason sighed. "It was a Contingency Plan," he said. "Batman's got one for every League member and every superhero out there. The NSC was mine in case I ever went rogue. When we battled Desmond in the flying air fortress, it was programmed into me through the red shock. It was meant for Superboy, but I took it instead. And if worse came to worse, then the SDM would be my failsafe. Batman gave me the option to get rid of the NSC, and I said no. I wanted it to be my Contingency Plan. But in case it ever got into the wrong hands, Batman and I created the SDM."

Zatanna wiped away the tears in her eyes. "Jason…"

"You see?" he asked. "This whole thing is my fault. Maybe if I hadn't left Deathstroke wouldn't have had the chance to plant the probes in you guys. He's my enemy. I should've stayed here and dealt with him."

"I can't argue with you that you should've stayed here," Zatanna said, "but Deathstroke's in jail now. He's not going to be hurting anyone anymore."

"He's been in jail before," Jason argued. "He's gotten out. He always gets out," he added bitterly.

"Then, there's no way you could've stopped him," Zatanna said, looking him in the eye. He wouldn't take his eyes off of the water.

"You don't get it, Zatanna!" Jason said, standing. He jumped down from the rocks and looked up at her. "I should've been able to! I should've been able to beat him a long time ago. But I didn't!" He stormed off in the opposite direction as thunder boomed overhead.

Zatanna jumped down and ran after him. "Jason!" she called. She looked up as a light drizzle started falling. She ran under the safety of the Mountain, a patio-like area, and Jason stared at her. The rain quickly grew heavier. "Come inside," she pleaded.

"There's something I never told you," Jason said. He stood in the rain, facing her. "The gem, the one that Klarion used to split the world into two dimensions," he said, "…I stole it for him." Zatanna stared at him. "It's my fault that your dad's stuck in Doctor Fate's helmet. It's my fault…"

"Stop it," Zatanna said. "Get out of the rain—"

"No!" Jason ran a hand through his wet hair. "You don't understand! I've done horrible things! I don't deserve to be a hero anymore! I don't deserve to even be living! It would've been best if Batman hadn't thrown me into the Lazarus Pit."

Zatanna stormed up to him, out into the rain, and roughly pulled him in for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and refused to release him. He placed his hands on her hips and halfheartedly attempted to push her away. They parted and Zatanna looked him in the eye. "Don't you dare say that you don't deserve to be alive," she said quietly but fiercely. "You've done great things, too. You're a hero, Jason. The world needs you. Ineed you. I promised you that I'd wait for you until you got back. And I intend to keep that promise."

Jason leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. "We need to break up," he said, shaking his head. "I'm too dangerous. Deathstroke used you to get to me. I won't let that happen again."

"Hey," Zatanna said softly, brushing some of his hair from his face, "you love me, remember? You're not getting away from me that easily." Jason chuckled breathlessly and opened his eyes. "I'm dangerous, too."

Jason gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," Zatanna said, "no matter what you've done in the past. The point is that we have a future together. And I'm not gonna let you go."

Jason smiled. She hadn't seen that smile in ages. "I'm sorry," he sighed, looking down, "for everything."

Zatanna took his hand and tugged him towards the Mountain. "Come on," she said softly, "let's go back inside."

The Team and the Titans sat in the living room. It'd been a while since they'd all been in the same place at once. They were talking quietly when Jason looked around and noticed the absence of someone.

"Where's Robin?"

Zatanna, who was sitting next to Jason with his arm around her, leaned forward and looked around. "I haven't seen him," she said.

"I'm right here."

Everyone looked to the hallway where the boy who used to be Robin walked out. He wore a black padded suit with a blue bird insignia emblazoned on his chest and a black domino mask. "And I'm not Robin anymore," he said, folding his arms. "Call me Nightwing."

Barbara stood and walked up to him. "Dick?" she whispered.

"Batman and I talked," Nightwing said. "I told him that I don't deserve to be Robin anymore. I'm Nightwing now. I need to move on."

Everyone exchanged glances.

Jason stood and grinned at him. "It suits you," he said.

Nightwing smiled.

He blew off a thick layer of dust from the small metal box. Jason coughed and swatted the dust away. He pressed the green button on the side of the box and it sprang to life, forming a robot monkey that lit up green. Jason chuckled as the monkey excitedly climbed onto his shoulders, laughing mechanically. "Hey, Titus," he rubbed the top of his head affectionately.

Titus stiffly climbed down Jason's arm and onto his bed.

"Ah, you need oil, don't you?" Jason sat down on his bed and looked around his old room. A thick layer of dust covered everything. It felt much longer than six months since he'd been in there.

… …

Jason walked into the Memorial Room. He looked up at the golden statues of Sonic and Cyclone. His eyes trailed to Rose' statue and he smiled. "I made it, Rose," he whispered. "Are you proud of me?"

Connor ran into the room. "Jason," he said, "we got an emergency in downtown Capital City."

"Big emergency?" Jason asked, turning to face him.

"Cinderblock's destroying the place," Connor said. "Kinda big."

Jason sighed. "Good to be home," he said, running off with Connor.

Cinderblock roared and smashed his fist into the side of a building. Pedestrians ran and screamed on the ground. Debris from the building fell down to the ground. Cinderblock roared and continued his assault.

"Hey, brickface!"

He turned and Match punched him right smack in the face. Cinderblock fell backwards and onto the street, crushing several cars.

"Man, I've missed this!" Match said, grinning. He floated in the air above. Wonder Girl and Green Lantern flew up next to him. Terra flew by on a slab of Earth and Arsenal was close to her, also on a slab of Earth.

"Wahoo!" Nighthawk jetted through the air on his jetpack and twirled in the air. "It's good to be home!" Wonder Girl and Terra smiled as they watched him fly by. He zipped above Cinderblock and threw several exploding discs at him. Cinderblock slowly got to his feet and swung at Wonder Girl. She caught his arm in her lasso and swung him around. Green Lantern launched himself up with an energy springboard and flew into the air. He formed a green boxing glove and punched Cinderblock in the face.

Arsenal flew by on his rock and shot three arrows. They all hit him in the eyes, blinding him with ice. Cinderblock roared and swatted his arm blindly, hitting Match into the air. He flew back, hit the ground, and slid back, making a 30 foot trench in the blacktop road.

"Ugh," Match groaned.

"Need a little help?"

Match looked up to find the Young Justice Team standing above him. He grinned and climbed to his feet.

"What are you guys doing here?" Nighthawk asked, landing next to Nightwing. The rest of the Titans landed behind him.

"You didn't think we were gonna let you have all the fun, did you?" Nightwing asked jokingly.

Nighthawk grinned. He took out his bo staff. "Let's do this." Zatanna winked at him.

Cinderblock crashed through the building behind them and roared like Godzilla. The superheroes readied themselves. Together, they charged forward. "Titans," Nighthawk said, grinning, "go!"

AN: That's it! I hope you guys liked it! I am currently working on Project Hero and hope to have it posted sometime in the next few months. Speaking of which, I am changing the title to 'Teen Titans: Project Hero'. I think it may catch more people's eyes that way. So, keep a look out for it!
I have a poll on my page for what my username should be. The options are Skylion425, RedRobinHood, and GATMAN. Please go to my page and vote!
Did I not find the PERFECT Image for this story? Well, I think so, anyway.
(In case you guys were wondering, the title and plot of this story were inspired by the song 'Angel with a Shotgun' by The Cab. It's one of my favorite songs :)
This chapter didn't turn out exactly like I wanted, but oh well. I hope you guys will favorite and review!