166. Hand and Dagger part 3
Early the next morning.
At the City Drug Rehabilitation Center….
"Dr. Schafield! Come! Q-Quickly!" a physician anxiously paced ahead and waved for the man to follow.
Schafield walked down the long, checkerboard floor of the Psychiatric Ward. Orderlies flanked him and hurried with the same urgency as the man leading the way ahead.
The head doctor panted. "What is it, Cochrane? The Dragonflare patients?"
The man ahead nodded. "Yes sir. There's something….out of th-the ordinary."
"Well let me see…," Schafield murmured.
With a metallic ring, the double doors to the final corridor opened.
The two physicians and orderlies marched in, joined by others on watch.
"Have a look for yourself….," the man gestured towards the windows to the individual cells.
"……….," Schafield walked up to the first one he came to. He peered in. His eyes thin.
A beat.
His brow furrowed.
Through the cross-hatched window of the door, Schafield gazed in and saw the patient lying in his bed. Strapped as usual.
But….
Not struggling.
Schafield's lips parted.
The suspect was lying still. Breathing firmly. His head raised as much as he could muster. His eyes…..locked on the window.
Looking at the doctor.
"……………"
Schafield's feet echoed against the hard floor of the hallway as he sauntered down to the next cell.
He gazed in through the door.
His eyes narrowing.
The Dragonflare addict inside was just as immobile, calm, and vigilant as the previous.
He stared calmly back at the doctor through the door window.
Schafield strolled over towards the next door….and the next….and then the next…..
All eighteen subjects were exhibiting the same behavior. Utter calmness. Easy breathing. Silence. And yet—instant eye contact. Their eyes even seemed to trace Schafield's face as he went from one window to the next. He felt invisible gazes on him the more and more he blinked.
"They're…….at ease……," Schafield ran a hand through his hair and dusted off the shoulders of his lab coat. "And yet…it's like they're anxious. Like they're waiting for something….."
"Sir….," the physician beckoned.
Schafield looked over at him. "What?"
"The time…," the man pointed to his watch.
Schafield glanced at his wrist.
The second hand brushed over '12'.
3:22 am.
"What in the…….," Schafield blinked. He looked down the hallway, his mouth agape. "Why….Wh-Why aren't they screaming?"
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Wednesday.
November 3, 2004
8:25 am
The City Police Department.
The Titans and the majority of the Police Department's top elite were gathered in the briefing room. It was a fairly large interior that sat one hundred and fifty people.
A podium stood at the far end of the room, where all the chairs faced. Behind the podium was a large, white screen hanging from where the ceiling met the wall.
The Titans and I had front row seats. I sat closest to the center, with Raven to my left. Followed by Cyborg, Beast Boy, Tempest, and Starfire on the side. Robin stood off to the left of the seats, his arms folded. Raven crossed her legs. Tempest leaned a curious chin on his fingers.
Commissioner Decker sat at a chair beside the podium, looking somewhere between bored, tired, and pissed. The Lieutenant stood off to the right somewhere next to a couple of ornate flags hanging off of vertical standing poles.
The room was full of curious mutterings. Random coughs. Cleared throats and even a chuckle or two emanating from the police's side. The Titans and I were….mute. Raven seemed curiously patient. Cyborg seemed anxious. And Robin was—well—brooding. Starfire looked up at him and gently touched his shoulder. At that, the Boy Wonder exhaled, and smiled down at her slightly.
Footsteps.
We all gazed ahead.
The Messenger walked up to the podium, humming. He stood at it…stumbled…and stood again.
"…….."
We could barely see the top of his head.
"A phone book would be quite the salvation at the moment…."
The Lieutenant rushed in with a stepping stool and quietly dropped it before him.
"Ah, why thank you, Thing." A bit of shuffling. We saw the Messenger's pleasant face. He stood above the podium, cleared his throat, and snapped his finger up high.
The lights dimmed.
The police fraction of the room turned silent.
The Messenger cleared his throat, reached a hand out, and flipped on an overhead display.
A white circle splashed brightly onto the shiny screen hanging behind him.
A bit of ruffling….
The Messenger slapped a transparency onto the overhead.
The map of the City appeared amidst darting shadows behind him.
"This look familiar to y'all?"
"…………"
"I'll give you a hint…it's where you live."
"…………"
"Tough department. Ahem…..And away we go….," the Messenger popped out a black marker. On the map—for all of us to see—he circled three key locations with black bands. "Dagger want his City back. And to reclaim it, he'll seek to overwhelm us from the inside out. How? By gradually extending his invisible forces in a spiraling formation inward from the side. But the forces aren't entirely invisible. The slimy legacy of Dagger leaves behind Dragonflare like a plague. It's a drug worth ten times that of street money. And not only that, but it's a controlling agent. Something that dumbs down a large enough mass of people until they're actually stupid enough to run blindly into chaos for the bureaucratic despot. There are three spots in the City I've discovered to be the initial harbors for this hellish drug. Then each respective spot branches inward into the City…."
He drew key-placed spots inward into the City and connected the dots from the outside. It looked like a spiraling symbol stretched over the map of our domain. Three raptor claws arching inward towards the downtown.
"….underground railroads of ammunitions, explosives, personnel, and….of course….Dragonflare. Dragonflare is the fuel of Decker's movement. I promise you….on the raids that you are soon to make…..you will find plenty of weapons and evidence to incriminate a person to Tierra Del Fuego and back….with penguins stuck in his ass."
He paused in his line-drawing and looked out at us across the dim room.
"But Dragonflare will be Dagger's signature. That's why we're starting at the base of his branches into the City…"
He labeled the three original spots on the perimeter A, B, and C.
"It will be the hardest series of raids. But it will also cut off Dagger's trafficking of dangerous materials. And while his sources on the inside of the spiraling branches take notice of our slamming the gavel down, we'll send secondary units to the innermost locations to surprise them from the inside out."
He labeled three dots neighboring the Downtown region X, Y, and Z.
Those in between the perimeter and the center will have to face the convergence of our raiding parties. It will send Dagger's forces into chaos. They will no longer be able to stay stealthy or maintain silence. They'll be caught between a rock and a hard place. And not even the hallucinogenic effects of Dragonflare can blind them to the swift ambush we'll spring."
The Messenger drew a huge 'X' through the City for some special emphasis.
"Most important of all….," he spoke firmly. His pleasant lips hardening for a split moment. "The Dragonflare must be found. Dagger will be powerless without it. Do you understand??"
Mutterings.
Decker twiddled his thumbs, glaring through the floor.
The Lieutenant folded his arms, blinking with interest.
The Messenger smiled. He leaned forward onto the podium. "Now….to strike those outer targets….we need stealth of our own to rival the king of conspiracies…"
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I ran to the warehouse wall.
I pressed my back into it.
Panting.
The morning light shown down off the white concrete of the Western District's riverside storage complexes.
Point A……
"I am not asking for an all out attack. But an initial act of reconnaissance. After all…I'm sure many of you are scratching your heads. Do not worry. If we move now…we can take Dagger's men by surprise. There will be little resistance. And if we raid on six places all within the same approximate period of time…any retaliatory forces provided by him will be impossibly split among half a dozen fronts."
I took a deep breath.
CHIIIIIIIING!!!
I pulled Myrkblade out.
I concentrated.
I covered myself with a curtain of stealth.
Invisible, I snaked my way in through the large doors of the warehouse.
I cradled against my pant leg a mute communicator wired to a secret police van two blocks away.
They were looking and listening through me….
I crouch-walked my way silently like a deadly shadow into the warehouse.
I stripped my face of my shades, blinked my naked eyes….
And looked….
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Zzzzzt!!!
Robin held a sparkling tool to the last of a dozen rusted bars stretched over the window he was perched at.
The autumn wind blew at his hair and cape up high on the eighth floor of a run-down apartment building.
Zzzzz-zzzt!!
Robin concentrated.
He cut the last of the bars.
He yanked them out as quietly as he could.
A breath.
He held onto the buildingside by a grappling hook and tossed the bar away with his other gloved hand.
The metal mesh fell eight stories until it landed out of earshot in an abandoned alleyway of the impoverished Northeast District below.
Point B.
"This is an act of precision. That is why the most expert people among us will be going in first. As is obvious, the Titans shall be the spearheads for this operation. But the courage and actions of you officers—the defenders of law and justice in this City—will be needed much the same."
Robin slid the window halfway open, twisted his body, and nimbly swung himself into the apartment.
He crouched in a hallway.
Snkkkt……
He quietly extended his staff.
He took a deep breath, fingering the blinking communicator against his leg.
He slowly crept forward, holding onto the staff tightly.
There was a light coming out from under a door across the room.
He slid himself up against the wall.
Took a deep breath.
Grasped the doorknob…
And slowly slid the passageway open…..
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The cobblestone street between line of open shops and the fisherman's wharf was bustling with people.
Shoppers and workers the same.
Some sailors gathered in the middle of the street to chat and laugh about one fisherman's tale or another.
All the while, fresh fish was lined up at the shops.
Glistening in the morning sun.
Across from an old, brown building…the Lieutenant stood. He was dressed in a yellow poncho and jeans. He was eating from an apple, standing casually besides a set of wooden posts that marked the beginning of a dock that stretched out into the Bay.
He casually glanced around, took another bite of his apple, and stared at the brown building across the way.
Two shady men stood atop the steps leading into a door on the second floor of the building. The suspects had on impatient frowns as they scanned up and down the hustle and bustle of the Eastern District's fisherman's market.
Point C.
"Do not panic. At the same time, do not overstep your bounds. This is evil we're dealing with. Pure evil. And it is my firm belief that—as dictated by the Balance of Morals—a gravity of sorts is on our side. Victory will be carried to us as if on the wind. We just must learn to….to relax. To do everything methodically. By the book. And with just the right calm precision….this whole ordeal will be over."
The Lieutenant's eyes narrowed.
His free hand came out from hiding beneath his poncho.
There was a long distance mic in his grasp.
He aimed it at the two suspects on the doorsteps.
White noise was broadcasting with crackling volume into a remote pair of earphone's in the Lieutenant's lobes.
He took a breath.
He gazed at the window of the brown building across the way.
Slowly…so as not to attract attention….he pivoted his hand and aimed the mic at the window.
"……………."
More white noise.
White noise.
White noise.
Then….
Whurring sounds.
Cutting sounds.
Mechanical sounds.
Like a processing center.
The Lieutenant's eyes widened.
He swallowed his last bitten chunk of apple.
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I crept stealthily over a pile of crates.
I peered outward across the interior of the warehouse.
My naked black optics blinked.
Three adult figures were grunting and grabbing onto the side of a large, wooden container in the center of the warehouse.
They heaved. They pulled. And--
SNAP!!
The container cracked open.
The contents spilled out.
Ammo boxes.
Bullets.
My lips parted.
I gazed across the warehouse and tapped a morse code message through the communicator strapped to my leg.
The place was covered and filled to the brim with explosives, ammo crates, and eventually a pile of sub machine guns in the corner.
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Carbonite detonators.
Hunting knives.
Four whole crates of grenades.
"Son of a gun….," Robin exhaled as he peered down the hallway into a run-down apartment where the deadly items were stacked. "….I can't believe it…"
The Boy Wonder helplessly smiled.
A pair of loud footsteps.
He cracked the door further closed.
He spotted through a thin slit of light two bodies marching past him and down the hallway, trucking another crate of explosives.
They dropped it down to the dusty floor with a grunt.
THWOMP!!!
They breathed easier and gathered around a torn-apart radio that was sending in mixed frequencies from some mysterious source.
Robin's fingers grew tighter around his rod.
His other glove traced the communicator against his leg…
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The two suspects turned slowly and walked into the second story of the brown building.
They closed the door behind them.
The Lieutenant takes one last bite, swallows, and tosses the apple away.
He throws off his poncho and storms across the cobblestone street of the fisher's market.
He whips out a pistol and cocks it. Cl-Click! He speaks into the blinking communicator strapped to his left shoulder.
"Team Ceti. Fall in. Repeat. Fall in. I'm heading in first!"
He became aware of similar shadows to his in the peripheral of his vision…rushing through the large crowds and converging as one on the building.
The Lieutenant stomped up the stairs, looked through the window of the door, took a breath, and kicked the front entrance down.
WHAM!!!
He bounded in with one step and aimed straight over a wooden railing at the first floor of the interior below.
"Police! Freeze!!"
Even as he said that, he was fighting the urge to gasp.
Five men looked up.
Five men gathered around a huge machine.
A huge machine that was attaching together disembodied AK-47 parts.
"………," the Lieutenant blinked. He quickly snapped out of it and shouted: "Hands up!!!"
The men below fidgeted.
WHAM!!!
CRASH!!!
Two more policemen entered the building, but on the first floor. One through a back door and another through a window.
"Freeze!"
"Don't move!!!"
The men finally gave in, kneeling down and raising their hands.
"This is the Lieutenant!!"
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"Point C secure!! You won't believe what we found in here, Commissioner!!"
Decker looked up from the floor of a police van. He blinked at a bunch of surveillance monitors being attended to by city specialists. He glanced to his right across the dim vehicle's interior.
The Messenger leaned against the wall. He smirked.
"I guarantee you, it's not a purple elephant."
"……..," Decker's eyes narrowed. He lifted a communicator to his lips. "Point B! Point A! Move in!"
The Messenger smiled wide.
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"Nngh!!!"
WHAM!!!
Robin burst through the apartment door.
Two burly men spun around--
TH-THWISH!!! Robin dove forward with his rod spinning. SM-SMACK!!! He clipped the first man twice across the jaw.
THWUMP!!! The thug fell.
Robin dove forward, rolled, and leapt back just in time to upper cut the second man.
THWACK!!
"Augh!!" the man fell back and collapsed through a stack of ammunition cases. CRASH!!
Robin stood, twirling his staff into a pose.
Cl-Click!!
"?!?!" He spun and looked.
Three more men ran out of a nearby room and aimed pistols at him from across the foyer.
"HAAA!" Robin unleashed a triad of birdarangs.
SW-SW-SW-SWISH!!!
CLANK!!!
He knocked the guns out of their wrists.
They stumbled back, wincing.
WHAM!!! WH-WHAM!!!
Two doors into the apartment's main hallway kicked down.
Police with riot shields and shotguns stormed in.
"POLICE!!! GET YOUR HANDS UP!! NOW!!!"
Robin panted…sweated….and smiled.
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FWOOOSH!!!!
The stealth peeled off me in a layer of smoke.
I blurred down the center of the warehouse, spun my body, and smacked two thugs across the skull with Myrkblade.
THWACK!!!
SLAP!!!
"Ughhh…."
Their bodies fell hard to the ground.
Another thug gasped, whipped out a gun, and fired—BLAM!! BLAM!! BLAM!!
I backflipped.
Bullets ricocheted with bright flashes off the floor beneath me.
I came about, landed gracefully behind the thug, and gripped him from behind before cutting off his air and rendering him unconscious.
Three more thugs gasped and ran towards the pile of machine guns--
CRASH!!!
CRAA-AA-AASH!!!
SMASH!!!
Three sets of windows shattered as six S.W.A.T. Team members poured into the room.
"FREEZE!!"
"ON THE FLOOR!!"
"NOW!!"
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Beep! Beep! Beep!
A worker inside the van picked up a receiver. He switched through a few surveillance feeds, spun around, and addressed Decker: "Sir!! Points A, B, and C secure! No casualties! Reports of huge weapon caches!"
The Commissioner's fists clenched. "I don't friggin' believe it….
The Messenger crept around him. "What is there to believe? My dear sir…there is only that which must be seized upon!"
"………..," Decker looked down at the asian Teen. "You're queer little shrimp, aren't you?"
The Messenger shrugged. "I'm a queer little shrimp you're dying to hug and kiss right now, I bet."
"………..," Decker turned to the worker. "Send in the other three teams."
"Right away, sir!"
The man typed at his keyboard, brought up numerous other surveillance feeds for his partners, and uttered firmly into the receiver: "Point X! Point Y! Point Z! Move! Move in!! Now!"
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FLASH!!!!!
The door to a sealed off utility room inside a parking garage melted.
Three men stood up from a table of poker, gasping.
SWOOOOSH!!! Starfire soared in, her eyes and hands blazing green. She was flanked by four police men with riot shields.
"HAA!!! RAAAUGH!!" she unleashed a volley of starbolts.
FL-FL-FLASH!!!
"UGH!!" the men flew back from the energetic impacts, their bodies ragdolling against piles of ammo and carbonite detonators that fell over and spilled across the floor from the impact.
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At a small warehouse behind the City football stadium, two suspects reclined in the shadows of the structure's huge door with concealed weapons.
At the sound of something chirping, they glanced up.
A green cardinal glided down from the treetops above.
In midair, the feathers shrunk and gave way to thick, armor plated skin.
"YAAAAUGH!!" the two men dove out of the way.
SWOOOSH-SLAM!!!! A huge green rhino landed in their midst.
The shockwave shook them to their feet.
The changeling snorted and slammed its horn fiercely across their torsos.
WHAM!!!
THWAP!!!
The men fell down hard…unconscious.
The rhino let out a moan, grinded its hooves, and slammed into the door of the warehouse.
CRUNCH!!!!
The building was shattered open.
A throng of S.W.A.T. officers stormed in from the wayside just as the weapons cache of the warehouse was revealed to the world outside.
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Two thugs walked across a rooftop in the sunset.
The spires of Kobayashi Tower and Wayne Enterprises were barely a block away.
As the two marched towards a large greenhouse on the far side of the building top, they heard a humming sound from behind.
They both spun around. "H-Huh?"
FLASH!!!! A bolt of black telekinesis exploded at their feet.
They grumbled and stumbled back.
Raven floated at the edge of the buildingside. Her robe billowed and her eyes glowed hot gray.
She clenched her fists, and both a bundle of metal antennae and an A/C unit lifted into the air with dark energy.
The men shuddered.
The dark girl frowned.
She flicked her wrists towards them…
SWOOOOOOSH!!!!
The metal objects flew their way.
The men ran desperately towards the greenhouse—WHAM!!!!
The objects shoved them inside before lifting up and shattering a huge gash of broken metal and glass across the top of the greenhouse.
The men covered themselves and took shelter amidst boxes of explosive detonators and gun casings.
They looked up wearily as two police helicopters hovered down and screamed down at them with megaphones: "Police!! You're surrounded!!"
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"Points X, Y, and Z are being secured! Forces have been nearly uncontested!"
The police radio squabbled from squad car to squad car as officers taped off and started confiscating the huge weapons cache inside the warehouse of the Western District.
I stood off to the side, brandishing Myrkblade. Taking a deep breath.
Relief?
Exertion?
I felt calm.
The police were in the middle of carting off the battered suspects into the back of a van when the R-Cycle rolled up.
I looked over.
Robin took off his helmet.
He looked across the front of the warehouse at me.
I smiled.
I gave him a thumb's up.
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"Both the outer perimeter and the inner core of the sites have been neutralized! Mission at eighty percent successful completion!"
Raven hovered over the spires of Downtown, keeping her eye on the one rooftop where police gathered thickly around the half-demolished greenhouse.
Boxes and crates of deadly materials were being carried out by the armful.
A police helicopter roared overhead, surveying the scene. Eyeing the streets below for straggling suspects.
"……….," Raven stared.
SWOOOSH!!! Starfire hovered down by her side.
Raven looked over.
Starfire smiled back.
The girls exchanged silent nods and continued eyeing the greenhouse below.
"Sir! Commissioner! There remains one last point! Our eyes in the sky have already detected a mobilization of possible suspects towards the last final checkpoint! What are your orders, sir?"
"……………we're going in."
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SCREEECH!!!
Squad cars pulled to a hard stop in a grimy parking lot surrounding a huge building in the center of the Northern District's industrial zone.
Decker marched out of the first car and looked up at the large structure.
A giant factory of sorts. With warehouses for storage built into the factory's flanks themselves. Radiation and biohazard signs were splashed across the building's surface. Huge, concrete slabs were poised around the perimeter of the building….ready to rise up like a huge clamshell and lock the location shut from the outside-in at a moment's notice.
The radioactive depository….
Decker pointed forward.
A S.W.A.T. Team paced themselves ahead.
Decker ran along with them.
"A dagger is a blade….and like all blades….it is forged through hard work and strong determination."
Decker and his men scaled the building within the concrete sarcophagus. A nimble figure flipped up and landed onto the side of the structure. He saluted Decker.
Tempest….
Decker nodded and motioned silently to the Atlantean.
Tempest quietly crept along Decker…at the head of the pack.
They ran up tiers and tiers of catwalks and metal platforms with rusted railings till they got to the centermost factory structure of the radioactive depository.
"But all blades…no matter how strong…are not indestructible. An impregnable force can break a knife…or bend it till it is inefficient and dull."
Decker flattened himself up against a door. Tempest knelt down in front of it. He squirted out a string of water from the hose attached to his wrist. His dark eyes turned a purplish glow as he transformed the water into a key that picked the lock of the door and gently snapped it open.
He nodded to Decker.
Decker nodded to a S.W.A.T. member.
The man quietly opened the door.
Decker raised his gun.
Tempest readied his water pistols.
The two burst into the factory.
"But a dull blade is always the most torturous. When one is the recipient of its punishment, all she or he has in store is a night of anguish and bone gnawing pain. That's why we must endeavor to settle for a dull blade. We must shatter the Dagger completely. Cold. Coordinated. In such a way that the man himself would envy…"
Decker and Tempest snaked their way into the factory. The dimly lit interior was supposed to house thick, concrete containers of hazardous materials. Truly…it did. But nestled inside was a huge stack of crates with weapons, explosives, and—guarding them—shady characters.
On a catwalk overlooking the scene, Tempest and Decker came to a stop. They eyed the huge field of suspects below.
"……."
"…….."
Decker's eyes glanced up. With a free hand, he pointed towards the ceiling.
Tempest glanced up.
There was a thick arrangement of fire sprinklers lining the ceiling in a dense web of pipes.
Decker clenched his free fingers tight and jerked his arm.
Tempest nodded with a grin.
Decker held out three fingers.
Tempest extended a hand towards the ceiling.
Decker held out two fingers.
Tempest concentrated. His eyes a glowing purple.
Decker held one finger.
The S.W.A.T. members cocked their weapons and took aim.
Decker pumped his fist.
Tempest flicked his wrist.
FLASH!!!!
TNK—TNK—CRACK!!! SPLOOOOOOSH!!!!!
A deluge of water sprayed out and fanned wetly across the interior of the factory.
Thugs beneath the drops gasped and spun about in surprise.
Decker aimed his weapon into the chaos. "Freeze!! Police!!"
Cl-Click! Cl-Click! Click!!
The S.W.A.T. members along the catwalks all aimed down with guns ready.
The thugs below were blinded. They didn't know who was aiming at them or from where…but only that they had the drop on them.
"Drop your guns! Put your god damn hands up! Get down on the ground! Now!!"
A group of suspects over by a stockpile of weapons panicked. They each picked up sub-machine guns.
"Don't you do it!! Don't you—"
They panted and took aim towards the raining ceiling.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!
Decker and the S.W.A.T. members drew back.
Tempest ducked with a gasp.
CLANG!!! PING!!! P-POW!! Bullets splattered around the catwalks.
Decker snarled. He charged the railing and aimed down. "RETURN FIR—" …he began to shout.
CRASH!!!!
A wall on the first floor of the factory blew open.
Everyone gasped.
The group of gunmen gasped and looked over.
Tempest and Decker craned their necks from above.
Marching in smoothly through the curtains of rain was Cyborg. Smirking. Holding out a sonic cannon. Kl-Klak-KLAK!! "Boo ya….."
ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!
The gunmen fell down with a groan and were out cold.
The rest on the radioactive depository's floor raised their hands and surrendered.
Decker sighed.
And Tempest smirked.
Nobody was hurt.
"And I'm convinced…..yes…I believe…that once the Dagger is turned to dust….all we have to fear is simply an empty hand…."
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"Hello. I'm Marilyn Chen. Today marked a sudden and surprising chain of police sting operations throughout the entire metropolitan area of the City."
"H-Hey! Turn it up!" remarked a patron.
Lindsay sighed in her waitress gown as she shuffled across Carman's diner to the t.v. "But I swear…it's nothing but bad news---" She stopped and blinked at the image of Commissioner Decker….and Tempest on the screen.
"Commissioner Decker and the Titans led a cooperative force of police and vigilantes to crack down on illegal weapon caches located in random spots throughout the City premises."
"H-Hey! Turn it up!"
"We can't hear it!"
"Oh…um…s-sorry….sure thing…," Lindsay blushed. She leaned up and pressed the 'up' arrow on the volume control.
All eyes in the diner were on the t.v.
So was hers…with a worried expression across her teenage freckles.
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"The City officials have had no comment on why the raids were made and who the weapons actually belong to……"
Inside an apartment, a door slammed shut.
"Sis!! I'm home!!" Lisa exclaimed as she marched in with her school backpack. "Sis??"
"…and when questioned about possible connections with the recent demise of Viper, Decker simply had this to say."
"What is this crap??" the girl muttered as she tossed her backpack onto the living room sofa and swiped the remote up from a nearby table. But as she gazed at the blasting t.v. set, she lingered. She saw the Titans in the distance of the various camera shots. Including the image of a dark haired, shades wearing swordsman.
"'I want you people to get it through your skulls. Viper is dead. Dead as a doornail. The raids today are not related whatsoever to that silent assassin. What we've done today has been a remarkably successful response to a secret informant's tips as to possible locations of illegal weaponry. Everything is under control. The sites have been contained…and every suspect possible has been arrested. I'm sorry, I can't answer anymore questions. Thank you. Thank you.'"
Lisa's lips parted. She subconsciously brought her hand up and brushed a few long, black bangs away from her brow…revealing once again the eyepatch over her left optic to the walls of the room.
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"Hey…check it out!" a customer pointed.
Daniel came around the pawn shop from sweeping a nearby aisle. "Hmmm?" He was suddenly locked onto one of the t.v.s that they were selling. It was plugged into the wall on a shelf near the back of the store, and a fuzzy image of the JCN News Broadcasting Network splashed images of broken warehouses, a shattered greenhouse, and a soggy radioactive depository before those in the store.
Three customers gathered by the screen.
Daniel watched, his brow furrowed.
Renee walked up from behind the counter, leaned against it, and gazed with concern.
"None of the Titans were available for comment either. Although spirits of the officers and vigilantes present at the sting sites were described as 'calm' and 'content' by various onlookers and eye-witnesses, one cannot help but shake off the peculiarity of what happened today in at least seven different spots across the City."
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Outside an electronics store in the Bayside Plaza, citizens young and old gathered before the window and muttered as the broadcast culminated on multiple different t.v. screens.
"We'll have more to detail you regarding this developing situation as the day unfolds. Until then, this is Marilyn Chen. Signing off."
A cold breeze drifted down and rushed through the autumn air.
A few people shivered.
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"Well allright…," Cyborg smiled. He folded his titanium arms and stared across the water soaked depository. "Talk about textbook or what?"
"What?" Tempest smirked.
"Shut up, Flipper."
"Heheheheh."
Decker slowly strolled across the interior. His eyes were seemingly locked on something.
"Commish?" Cyborg gestured towards the dozens of officers inspecting the weapons cache. "You want to move on or something? I think we've seen all that we've needed to here…"
"Not quite…," Decker muttered. Blinking. Staring down. "The weapons and detonators are all one thing…but….we came to find one thing and one thing only."
"Hmmm?" Tempest blinked his dark eyes. He followed the Commissioner's gaze to a lone, wooden crate on the floor. "Oh right…the bread crumbs."
"Not just any bread crumbs…," Decker walked over, knelt down, and gripped the wooden crate. "Dagger's bread crumbs."
Cyborg, Tempest, and the other officers in the depository gathered Commissioner.
Decker took a deep breath and held the crate up to Cyborg. "Want to do the honors, Cinnamon?"
"Cyborg. And sure…," the android Titan gripped it in strong fingers of titanium.
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I whistled.
I motioned for Robin.
He walked over to my corner of the warehouse, flanked by a few officers.
"What do you have there?" Robin asked.
I pointed to a wooden crate alone in the corner.
"…….," the Boy Wonder stared. He glanced at other officers. "Have any of you found quantities of Dragonflare yet?"
"No."
"Negative!"
"No signs of it here…"
"……," I stared intently at Robin. I pointed at the crate.
"All right, Noir…," He nodded…leaning over me. "Go ahead…."
CHIIIING!!!!
I held Myrkblade up, charged it with murk, and stabbed.
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CRACK!!!!
Starfire and Raven looked into the smashed crate.
"……."
"……."
"Uhm……," Raven droned.
"I….I-I do not understand!" Starfire exclaimed.
"You're not alone, Star. You're not alone…."
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The Messenger and Beast Boy sat with their backs to the warehouse behind the stadium.
"…and so…," the changeling gestured, smiling. "…the aardvark says to him, what do I look like? A Republican?"
"And what does the duck say?" the Messenger smirked.
"He…H-He says….you're worse at quackin' jokes than I am!! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!"
"Heh heh heh heh….," the Messenger chuckled. "Hey…I got one."
"Hehehehe…what?"
"A horse walked into a bar."
"Hehehehe…and?"
"He said 'ouch'."
"…….."
"…….."
"……..hahahahahahahahaha!!!" Beast Boy fell over to the side giggling, hugging his tummy and kicking his legs. "That's good…dude!! Hehehehehehe!!"
The Messenger smiled. "Here's one that a gruffy friend of mine taught me. What do you get when you cross a Nazi and a ride at Seaworld?"
"Hehehehehe…wh-what??"
"A sauerKraken!"
"HE HE HE HE HE HE!!!!"
The Messenger shook his head, smiling, as the changeling toppled over. "I swear…you're head's gonna explode. Your skin's making me want to put up Christmas decorations or butcher a mistletoe."
"Ha ha ha ha ha…," Beast Boy wiped a tear. "Ohhh man. You're too awesome. Why aren't you part of the team or something?"
"I always imagined being a Titan required a perquisite of having my liver bitten out by a falcon every day. That, or taking a standardize test in reading and math. I suppose I would prefer the falcon." The Messenger shrugged.
Beast Boy kept giggling.
"Let me know when you start laughing or anything. I might just tell a joke."
FWOOOSH!!!
Starfire and Raven touched down.
At precisely the same time, Robin rode up on the R-Cycle and I blurred in from the tree tops.
"Hey….I really get a kick out of this guy…," the Messenger smiled and motioned towards the floored Beast Boy as he stood up. "You should put a tag on him and stick him atop a stand in Wal-Mart. He'd shove the Pet Rock into limbo, I tell you what."
"Uhm….Messenger….," Starfire fidgeted.
"What? Don't mind me. I happen to know another fuzzy elf where I come from."
"There's none at the sites, Messenger….," Robin said stepping forward.
"……," he glanced the Boy Wonder's way. "I beg your pardon? Could you repeat what you last said? The universe was doing flips in my ear canals."
"The Dragonflare….it's not there…."
"Where's there?"
A car door slammed behind them. "Anywhere!"
The Messenger turned around.
Decker walked up from a squad car. The T-Car pulled up behind him, and Cyborg and Tempest came out.
"There're explosives….ammunition….guns…knives….Hell, even porno magazines…but not frickin' Dragonflare."
"………," the Messenger blinked. He bravely kept his smile going. "I'm afraid….I don't understand."
"What say…," Cyborg strolled through us and walked straight towards the warehouse. "We see for ourselves, huh?"
Beast Boy blinked. "Uh…dude?"
"Come along. Everyone…," Robin motioned.
The Titans, Decker, and a few officers outside all merged into the building.
"……….," I took a deep breath. A beat. I looked at the Messenger.
He looked at me. Shrugged, and waltzed into the warehouse.
I gulped and slowly followed the train.
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CRKKKKK!!!
Cyborg and Robin both worked on the crate inside the warehouse at the same time. A crate identical to the lone ones found in each of the other warehouses.
CRAACK!!
They snapped the lid of the crate off.
The Messenger walked into the center of the halo of police men and vigilantes.
He stared down into the shell.
He blinked.
The crate was empty.
Mere dust lined the corners of the wooden container.
"Every site was the same…," Robin muttered. "No Dragonflare to be found. And then a crate like this…"
"Completely empty…," Starfire murmured. "And we searched everywhere!!"
"All around the greenhouse," Raven droned.
"And the apartment complex," Robin said.
"And the radioactive depository," Tempest added.
"…………," the Messenger kept staring. Silent. Suddenly…hauntingly deadpan.
I felt a shiver up my left limb. I kept myself steady.
Decker leaned in to the asian teen. His eyes were thin. "Were you…..putting us through a spin cycle, kid?"
"I was not." The Messenger spoke bluntly. A low voice. It was depressing. "I had been to all of these places before. I had spotted them way ahead of time. There was Dragonflare here. It was in the hands of the thugs and henchmen…"
"Kid…."
"And there was more than one crate. In fact, it was liken unto the Pharaoh's tomb of narcotics and hallucinogens."
"Kid………."
"How could there possibly not be any Dragonflare at any of the sites—??"
"HEY!!!"
"……," the Messenger turned and looked at the Commissioner.
Decker took a deep breath. "Now you told us….you told us that the most important thing to find at these spots….was the Dragonflare."
"……….."
"Isn't that right?"
The Messenger slowly nodded. He seemed smaller all of the sudden. A fallen Hobbit from some giant rave party in the sky.
"And can you tell us why…exactly why….the Dragonflare is so damn important?"
The Messenger's lips parted…close…then parted again. His voice lingered, and it no longer seemed like he was gazing blindly into the crate…but rather that he was avoiding the Commissioner's gaze. "It's the one, ultimate, incriminating evidence against Dagger."
Decker growled with a turn of his heels. "Great….friggin' perfect…."
Robin ran a gloved hand over his face.
The Messenger lifted his head. "Dragonflare isn't proliferated by any other drug cartel cuz nobody is anywhere near as powerful as Dagger to possibly distribute it through the City like he can!"
"Dammit………God damn!!!" Decker shook and paced.
The Messenger turned and gestured towards the Commissioner: "But do you not see?? Dagger is at work here!! What else could possibly explain all of these weapon caches suddenly turning out of the blue?!?!"
"A whole assload of things!!!" Decker turned and shouted. "You know what my department and I have right now?!?! Without the Dragonflare, we have a bunch of no-name sons of a bitches taking the Fifth overflowing my jail cells and seven stockpiles of pure god damn quagmires!!"
"Snkkttt—Commissioner!! This is the Lieutenant! We couldn't locate any Dragonflare at the fisherman's wharf—"
Decker shouted into the communicator. "Yes! I frickin' know that!!" he all but threw the communicator to the floor and ran his hands through his hair. "God DAMN!!!"
Beast Boy winced.
Starfire fidgeted, staring down at the floor.
"Commissioner….don't overreact," the Messenger walked towards him. "The suspects are many. One of them is bound to give some info with the right interrogation. In the meantime, a more thorough search could turn up—"
"What??! WHAT?!?!" Decker cackled, his arms outstretched. "Search what NOW?!"
"Dagger must have caught wind of our operation….," the Messenger shook his head. "…the Dragonflare could have been disposed of. I suggest we test the quality of the bodies of water closest to the sting sites and see if perhaps the drug could have been deposited—"
"No…no no no no NO!!" Decker pointed. "Don't you see, you little shit?!?! No…you can't possibly see!! You're just some punk superfreak from the gay-dimension who thinks he knows what he's doing!! I've been in this business long enough to know what it means to be thrown into a wild goose chase! Dagger indeed! You know how cheap a trick this entire day's waste of my department's time and resources is to an international terrorist group like Intergang?? H.I.V.E.???? I knew even before I picked up my own gun and stomped into the radioactive depository that this day was too good to be true!! Nothing is ever…EVER handed over on a silver platter!! No matter WHAT superheroes I may have on my side!! There is no Dagger, kid. Dagger died ages ago. Someone higher above all of us fooled you and took advantage of your optimism so that I could have a royal pain in the ass long enough to be distracted from something truly serious or important! I could have spent this entire day catching up with the bombers of the prison's Omega Wing…but that didn't happen, did it?? Who knows how far behind the City and I am now?!?! And what's worse—we've got this bigass pile of shit to work on!! Thanks a lot, Mr. Messenger. Thanks a whole friggin' lot!!!"
"Commissioner….," the Messenger seemed to stammer. He took a step forward with his arm outstretched. "Commissioner…there's still a hope. If we just retrace our steps and try and find the traces of Dragonflare, it will tell us exactly what Dagger was wanting to do with these dangerous weapon arsenals that we found and—"
Robin stood in the way of the asian Teen and the Commissioner. "No…Messenger."
"Robin, be a good bird and poop elsewhere. Commissioner, can we just—"
Robin gripped the Messenger's shoulder firmly…but not meanly. The Boy Wonder's face was full of more solemnity than fierceness. "Messenger…."
"………."
"It's over. You had your chance."
"But…dude….," Beast Boy stepped forward, shrugging. "What about all of these weapons?? How could the Messenger have known about all this stuff if it wasn't Dagger?"
"I….am not lying…," the asian teen said.
Raven spoke firmly: "Nobody said you were, Messenger."
He turned and gazed at her. Almond eyes thin. He said: "You believe I have been fooled?"
"…….," the dark girl's eyes fell.
"You think that I've been fooling you?"
"Let's go back to the Tower….," Robin sighed, looking over his shoulder at a frustrated Decker. "….now."
And then the Messenger shouted: "Dagger will be here soon and he will be KILLING PEOPLE!!!!"
Silence.
"Watch….your emotions….," Raven said hushedly.
My heart fell there.
The Messenger heaved. He was sweating. But his eyes were rounded. Wounded.
"……," Cyborg took a deep breath, glanced at Raven and Tempest, and marched over to the T-Car. Raven and Tempest followed him.
Robin and Starfire walked slowly towards the R-Cycle.
Beast Boy, the Messenger, and I remained in a triangle formation.
"……..," the Messenger shuddered. A beat. He chuckled. With a weak smile, he looked my way. "Noir…..you realize….y-you realize that Dagger's trying to mislead all of us, right?" A beat. "R-Right…Noir?"
"……..," I finally looked at him. Dead on. And for some reason, he seemed different to me. Because for once…he was wrong. Absolutely wrong. And absolutely flustered. He was not some dimension-hopping demigod, but rather a human being. A very…..illusionary human being. And it hurt me.
And he saw on……," he smiled crookedly. "You're looking like you just ate Bambi's mother ten minutes after the gunshot…."
I didn't laugh.
And…
Neither did Beast Boy.
"I'll….uhm….s-see you back at the Tower, dude…," the little elf defeatedly said. With a sad flutter of wings, he took off towards the sky in the form of a falcon.
I took a shuddering breath. I motioned for the Messenger to follow….and slowly walked my way towards the Bay.
"…….," the Messenger followed.
And he was mute.
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"So….what now?" Robin leaned towards the computer console of the Main Room that evening.
"Well……I'd love to say something about an old drawing board right now……," Commissioner Decker's disgruntled voice filtered through the speaker system of the Titan's Computer's communication system. "But I guess we never even bought one of those damn things to begin with."
Robin smiled somewhat. And then the smile left. "Look…Commissioner….I-I'm sorry about….about all that happened with—"
"Don't be sorry, Bird Boy. As much as I hate to do so……I gotta admit. I didn't need to lose it the way I did. I believed that little rave reject with all of my heart. Sure, I had my doubts……but I pretty much handed my department over to some nerd's personal martial law. And well……that ain't cool. Not in my book. Not in anyone's. And—yes—I'm glad we found all of those smuggled weaponry. But it was so fake. Such a setup. For what? I'm not sure. Everything lately has been one twist after another. Something to keep throwing me for a loop. Hell……it's probably only because the Fates had an off-chance orgasm that distracted Murphy's Law was from letting me die at Viper's hand instead of booting his sorry ass off the dam……which I did, I might add."
Robin chuckled. "Yes, sir. That you did." A beat. The Boy Wonder gazed off. "I guess…I-I guess the reason why the Titans and I trusted the Messenger so much…."
"Equal Opportunity Employment?"
"No. It's just that….he helped Noir out. He helped Noir out so much when the rest of us had…abandoned him, pretty much. And that…that means a lot to us. It's like the invisible friend we all never knew we had. Cuz if he truly helped Noir make it through the Wyldecarde days like both of them claim….then he's not so bad in his methods after all. But…I guess everyone's likely to go for a fall at some time or another."
"It must be tough."
A beat.
Robin raised an eyebrow. "Commissioner?"
"I mean……besides donning the fruity cape and tight spandex……it must be tough doing it superhero style. Especially at your age, kid. You're all like a bunch of orphans knee deep in shit. Huge friendships are built out of stuff like that. Trust. Partnership. Sometimes they help you……sometimes they bite you in the back. It's gotta be tough having to wade your way through all that and not end up with more crap in the long run. Takes real guts and maturity, I bet."
"Wow……Commissioner….," Robin smirked. "How very thoughtful of you to say that."
"And how very thoughtful of you to listen."
A beat.
"Shit……you don't think something bad has happened to us, do you?"
"I…er…n-no, sir!"
"Frickin' soul tumor, I swear to God."
"Nah, I think we're fine."
A beat.
"Have you seen the shrimp off yet?"
"You mean the Messenger? No…..not quite. Noir's with him. I figured at first that it was his place to wrap things up with him….but….I suppose I should step in. It's a Titan-Leader thing."
"Right. In the meantime……I'm tangled up in all this nasty-ass evidence."
"I swear to you…the Titans and I will be there tomorrow."
"What? At the Department?"
"Yeah…," Robin nodded. "I'll bring Starfire, Noir, and Beast Boy. We'll lend whatever services in recuperation and interrogation of the suspects that we can."
"Well, that's mighty kind of you. Gonna bring the teacups and doilies too for the occasion?"
Robin shook his head. "Yeah. Sure. We'll do that."
The Commissioner chuckled on the other end.
Robin smiled.
"Ya know…… …… not all of you kids are bad. You really throw your heart and soul into the City like the Lieutenant and the rest of my men."
"Kinda makes you wish you were a dad with children, huh?"
"Hell no!! Decker out!!"
Beep.
Robin shut the computer console off.
A beat.
He sighed.
He swiveled around--
"Who's the mentor of yours in Gotham City again?" Tempest asked, standing with folded arms. "I forget."
"Batman…," Robin stood up. "Why do you ask?"
"Been a while since you seen him?" Tempest asked with raised eyebrow.
Robin tilted his head to the side. Suspicious. "I have……gone back to Gotham City from time to time since I joined the Titans. What's your point?"
"Looks like you're missing a father figure."
Robin rolled his hidden eyes. "Believe me……I've grown very much comfortable with this place…," he walked past the Atlantean.
Tempest turned. "I said father figure…not wife figure…."
Robin skidded to a stop. He half-spun. "Say what??"
"Nothing," Tempest smirked. "I take it you're not drafting me into going to the police department with you tomorrow."
"Guess not. Why?"
"I had……an arrangement."
Robin raised an eyebrow. "An arrangement?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow afternoon. Going to go…..m-meet with friends."
Robin gestured: "What friends?"
"Ones that lack gills," Tempest spat. "Amazingly….."
"………….," Robin exhaled. "Fascinating."
"What is?"
"How weak living things are," Robin said. "We never really do stay the same all our lives, do we?"
"Oh…I'll always have gills. And you? Will you always have a stick up your ass?"
"Ask me that tomorrow," Robin turned and walked towards the elevator.
"But you forget! I'm not seeing you tomorrow!"
Ding!
Robin was gone through the double doors.
Tempest headed casually towards the kitchen unit. "Lacking gills makes it all the easier to drown you. Mwaaaa ha ha ha ha……………….now where's the May of the Nays?"
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"……………," the Messenger tilted his head up towards the sunset. "I have…..a friend at home. A very special friend."
"………," I turned and looked at him.
We both sat on the edge of the Tower, overlooking the City. The Bay glittering with crimson light.
The Messenger hugged his knees to his chest and continued: "When I first met her…..we were both going through a slightly similar set of circumstances. For some reason….because of some inhibition or another…..we could not reach out to anyone. We couldn't be touched. We couldn't touch. Every word uttered was either imaginary or fell on deaf ears."
"……….," I leaned my head to the side. Listening.
Listening……
"For nearly three months…we sorta played…..mental freeze tag. Only….nobody got tagged. It was like a double pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game with quadruple the blindfolds. And I was completely enamored with her….because she stood for everything I wanted to do and be. I wanted to be noticed. And I wanted to be heard. Because every thing I ever tried to do…I tried to do it for the betterment of everyone around me. I wanted to improve things. Things in a world where I couldn't….touch. Not for the sake of manipulation…but rather improvement."
Silence.
He took a breath and smiled drunkenly. "I suppose that's why I'm the sickly do-gooder that I am now. I see things. And I see things as being better. And I do my best to make it better…by leaning on the good sides of those around me."
A beat.
He gazed at me. Warm almond eyes. Everything warm…
Again.
"When I fail, Noir. When I fail to do good things….it gnaws at me. It gnaws at me because I feel like I'm back in that rut. And I'm staring at her…." He took a shuddering breath. Once again, human. "I'm staring at her…and I cannot help her. Until it is almost too late. And she is almost gone."
Silence.
I gazed out onto the City once more.
Mute.
He uttered solemnly: "I am so…so sorry, Noir. That I blew it. I made an embarrassment out of the Titans. And I hurt the one official of this City you seven trust the most. But I give you my word….and I stand by it…," he firmly gazed at me. "I know what I saw. And I know what I researched. Dagger is a threat. And if somebody in this City doesn't do something about him….it may be too late. And lives that could have been touched…and healed…will no longer be."
"……….," I bit my lip.
He looked back out into the Bay too. "And I know you don't believe me anymore."
I winced.
"I guess I can't blame you for taking the same stance as the rest of the Titans…," he uttered. "And who am I to turn you against them?" He winked at me with a smile. "I have always…and shall always support you and your new 'family', Noir. Even if your trust and closeness to them after all of these months is turning out to bite me in the rear end like Jimmy Carter….heheheheheheh."
I simpered weakly.
He leaned back on two arms and took a big whiff of Autumn. He exhaled. There was a duality about him. Like he was glowing green from within and red from outside. "Who knows what is good….and who knows what is bad…..?" he uttered calmly. Meditatively. "All good things….all bad things….it doesn't matter….for there is no matter. And there is no difference. What happens will happen…and it will happen because it was meant to. And we are not worthy enough to make stipulations about the future. After all, Noir…..I was never, ever shaping your destiny for you. You know that of course….right?"
I nodded.
"Naturally you do…," he chuckled. "I bet you even know the day when you're going to die."
I took a shuddering breath.
I never really plan on waking up when I go to bed……
A door creaked behind us at the top of the stairwell.
Footsteps.
Then…..Robin's voice: "Messenger?"
"Speedy Delivery?"
"………..I just want you to know that……that…."
"Come on, Robin. If you have a crush on me…," he slowly turned and smiled. "Go right out and say it."
I ran a hand over my shades, sighing. Smirking….a little.
Robin cleared his throat. "You're always welcome at this Tower."
"That's not a pity invitation, is it?"
"Depends. Are you going to shut up for once?"
"I never do. But let's pretend I do."
"Ahem…..you're always welcome at this Tower. But….at this point…….," Robin ran a hand through his spiked hair. A beat. "Just…..stay out of things….got it?"
I glanced at Robin. "???"
"Stay out of……….things….," the Messenger seemed smirked. "Like what things, Robin?"
"You know what I mean."
"Clarification would be golden."
"Silence is golden too," Robin said. "And I think your days of helping us have lost their karats. We're all glad for what you did with Noir and all—"
"I did nothing with Noir, Robin," the asian teen replied. "And even if I did, I swear, I wouldn't get him pregnant."
"Everything's a big joke to you, isn't it?" Robin suddenly frowned. "Look….we all took a big gamble. I admit it. The raids all throughout Town was a huge leap on all of our parts. But you pointed us in that direction. And time can't be reversed to change that. Now…I'm willing to trust that you're not the type to jump out of thin air and play practical jokes on a City already made fragile by a murderous swordsman and random bombings. Do the responsible thing in light of your recent errors and lay off some….got it?"
"…..errors……," the Messenger slurred.
"Yeah…that's right…you heard me…."
"……..," the Messenger slowly stood up. He straightened out his jacket for no reason in particular, dug his hands into his pouch, and took a slow step towards Robin. "Tell me…..what did Bruce ever teach you about errors?"
Robin's face suddenly paled.
I blinked.
'Bruce'??
The Messenger slowly marched towards Robin, gesturing: "Did Bruce tell you that professional detectives never base their major actions on errors? Or rumors? Or circumstantial evidence? But rather--only on empirical things?"
Robin's fists clenched. He took a shuddering breath. "Now you listen—"
"Was it errors that led to Dick leaving Gotham City and changing his entire life so that you could take the old mask in his place?"
"Quiet….Messenger…."
I stared, my brow furrowed in confusion.
"Or was it errors that Barbara traced when she researched her brains out and found out how your dad—"
"Okay, you made your point!!!!" Robin shouted.
The Messenger froze in mid-step. Glaring.
I inhaled…shivering.
The air was thin and deaf for a moment.
Robin panted. His eyemask hardest. "You made your point….Messenger…," he said darkly. "But now….now I must ask you to leave…."
"…….," the Messenger kept glaring at Robin. He raised his finger and pointed. And when he pointed, he was highlighting the mask on the Boy Wonder's face. "I….don't….make…things…up….Robin."
A beat.
The Messenger continued coldly: "Unlike some people….I value the absolute truth above all things. Secrets….I'll tolerate. In theory. But you may not believe it when I tell you this…but I've had my fair share of experience in dealing with the world of evil. And when facing adversity….you need absolute trust. You need to know people and you need people to know you. The real you."
"………..," Robin merely glared. Fists and knuckles tight.
I swallowed.
"I don't make things up, Robin…," the Messenger said. "Dagger is alive. Dagger is coming. And when he does….and you see the truth that I have presented to you….to all of you….you will need real things the most. You will need real things….not erroneous ideas. Ideas won't withstand the tribulations ahead. I hope…for your sake, Robin. As leader of the Titans…as a dear friend to these teenagers after nearly two years…..you will learn to give as much of yourself as you sacrifice. Before all is lost and irretrievable."
"………….I don't see you leaving yet," Robin muttered.
I winced.
"………but of course," the Messenger smiled, not once lowering his gaze with the Boy Wonder's eyemask. He slowly walked past him….close by him…and headed towards the other side of the Tower's rooftop.
"……..," Robin fumed….but slowly calmed. Staring out at the City…or maybe at me.
I could never tell with that eyemask of his where he was looking at exactly.
I couldn't tell much about Robin with that eyemask of his……
"Flowers…."
Robin slowly turned around.
I gazed ahead.
"What??" Robin leaned his head to the side.
The Messenger had paused in mid-stride. "Flowers…..buy some for her."
"Who?"
"Starfire, naturally….," the asian teen turned and smiled over his shoulder. "…give some to her before late in the afternoon. If there's anything….Robin….that you will thank me for in the end, it's that advice. You won't regret it."
"Is that some sort of threat?"
"Hehehehehe….it's a prophecy….," the teen turned fully and bowed with great gusto. "From a humble Messenger…."
"………….."
"Farewell….Robin…..Noir…..," the Messenger smiled. He blew a kiss. "City."
"…….."
"……."
And he turned around once more. And he walked off. And before he could so much as step over the edge of the rooftop, a cloud of green light enveloped him…and he was gone in a blink.
"………………………..Noir?"
I looked at Robin.
He didn't look at me.
"Those names you heard?"
Yes?
"…….you didn't hear them, okay?"
I nodded. I sighed.
Yes……
And he left me alone.
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Night fell over the City.
The Commissioner sat in his office, having a smoke.
Gazing off towards the dusty walls.
"…………….."
He took a deep, shuddering sigh.
He puffed from his cigarette.
Smoke rose up towards the ceiling.
Thin.
Alone.
"………………"
Cold mist from the autumn air of the City settled in gently from outside.
Decker's eyes danced among them. Bloodshot. Almost….sad.
Riing. Riing. Riing.
Decker sighed. He picked up his desk phone with a free hand.
"Commissioner Decker. What is it?"
"………………"
Silence on the line.
"Hello?"
"………………"
A beat.
Decker frowned.
"Helllllllllllo??"
"…………………C-Commissioner Decker………?"
The voice sounded sickly.
Out of breath.
Fighting a wheezing sound….like that of rotting lungs.
A few hairs on the man's neck rose up.
"Who is this?"
"………………"
"Yoohoo!! Earth to the god damn creepazoid!! Is this some sort of prank call?"
"…………………………y-you should have listened to him, C-Commissioner……"
Decker blinked.
A few ashes fell from his cigarette and popped and sizzled on the hard floor.
"S-Say what?"
A hacking sound.
Coughing.
A wheeze.
Then……
"Please……think it over……think it over……"
"Think what over???" Decker blinked.
And suddenly.
It clicked.
That voice.
Beneath the hacking.
Beneath the wheezing.
It was familiar……
Decker's eyes brightened.
"Glover??" he uttered into the phone. "Blake Glover?"
"………………………………"
click.
Cold silence.
"……………..," Decker slowly put the phone down.
Gazing out the window.
He hadn't noticed his cigarette going out.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Nighttime.
The psych ward.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
CL-CLANG!!!
CL-CLANG!!!
CL-CLANG!!!
Dr. Schafield panted.
His finger struggled with the wall-mounted phone.
He dialed a number with a shaking finger and gazed over at the double-doors at the end of the checker-board floor hallway.
Three orderlies were struggling to brace tight a pair of double doors. They had a bench and a trash can squeezed between the handles of the doors and the frame. Their muscles struggled as something…..something….kept slamming in from the other side.
CL-CLANG!!!
CL-CLANG!!!
CL-CLANG!!!
Schafield was hyperventilating. He pressed the phone to his ear as it dialed through on the line. He looked at the doors, sweating. "Put more pressure on the handles!!"
"We're…t-trying…Doctor!!!"
"NNnghh!!!"
CL-CLANG!!!
CL-CLANG!!!
"Please…pick up….pick up….dear Jesus…pick up…."
Click.
"H-Hello?"
"Superintendant!! Oh god, I'm so glad I got ahold of you!!!"
"Sch-Schafield?!?! It's three o'clock in the goddamn morning!! No……wait………even later! What the Hell is it??"
"Th-There's an emergency in the Psych. Ward! Y-Y-You've got to send in security right away, do you hear me?? Right away!!"
"Now wait just a second! Calm down, Schafield."
The Doctor panted. Sweating into the same phone he was speaking into.
CL-CLANG!!!
CL-CLANG!!
"Nnnngh!!"
"It's buckling!!!"
"God's sake…get security here, Doc!!!"
"I thought everyone was properly restrained in the Psych. Ward. The Dragonflare addicts……don't you have them—"
"The beds were useless this time!! I don't understand it!! Th-They were calm and quiet as stone last night, but tonight it is like a total relapse tenfold and—"
CL-CLANG!!!
"We need security here!! Right now, Superintendant!! I mean it!!"
"Now I can't just go and order all of security to—"
"DO YOU THINK THIS IS SOME SORT OF GOD DAMN JOKE, SIR?!?!"
CL-CLANG!!
CL-CLANG!!
"WAKE THEM ALL UP AND SEND THEM HERE THIS VERY SECOND—"
CL-CLANG!!
CRAAA-AAAACK!!!!
"REDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!"
"Oh gawd!!!"
"AAAUGH—SNKKTTT!!!!"
"Shit!! SHIT!!! NNGHHAAAUAGH!!!"
Dr. Schafield looked over.
His eyes twitched.
A breath escaped his throat….and then four pairs of pale arms strangled his throat all at once, yanking him to the floor.
WHAM!! WHUMP!!! THWAP!! SMACK!!
"Augh!!! Nnngh!! AAAAUGH!!"
"Doctor?? Doctor?!?! What's going on?!?! What's happening?!?!"
The phone dangled on its hook against the wall.
Meanwhile shadows of eighteen bodies with pounding fists and thrashing limbs danced across the dancing plastic.
"Dr. Schafield?!?! Dr. Schafield!!"
Coordinated screams of terror.
Feet stomping over.
Eighteen pairs of hands grabbed for the phone at once…ripping the entire thing off the wall and slamming it to the floor. Stomping. Stomping. Stomping.
Screaming.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.