207. Metropolitan part 2

"Terra?"

…………

"T-Terra?"

…………

Kara walked into the downstairs living room of the Kent's house. Dressed in a sweat and sweatpants for around the house. She carried a bundle of blankets.

The darkness of the Kansas night lingered outside the windows. The dim blue of starlight reflected off the wide stretches of open farmfields and gave the illusion of a house drifting in the middle of a waving, tall-grass sea.

Kara stood at the entrance of the living room. She held the blanket bundles to her chest and gazed about.

The fireplace was lit. The flickering embers were still warm. Toasty. The logs crackled and spat ashes out against the transparent glass guard circling the hearth. A halo of comfy heat billowed out from the center chamber, chasing away the cold creeping in through the rickety, wooden corners of the old farmhouse.

Terra sat on the couch. Her legs curled up. Her arms hugging herself. Dressed in a large t-shirt and shorts, the still-frail blonde was obviously shivering, obviously huddled, obviously cold.

And she was making a good show of denying it.

"H-Hey, Terra….," Kara awkwardly walked over to the couch and held the blankets out. "Ma said you were down here alone. And….heh…I know that fireplace will only do so much good. Especially this time of year. I thought that you might be cold and……" Her voice drifted off.

Terra half-looked at the Girl of Steel. Her blue eyes remained lowered. Perhaps out of reverence. Perhaps out of shame. Perhaps out of both. She clutched herself tighter and shivered once…twice…as she gazed into the blazes.

Kara bit her lip.

A beat.

She smiled awkwardly and fluffed a blanket out. She spread it over Terra's lap and lower torso.

Terra flinched once…but gave in. Snuggling into the blanket. Shuddering. "Th-Thanks….," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Kara said. The supergirl swallowed. "I….I-I just want you to know that….th-that Jordan asked me to take care of you. And I'm going to do that. No matter what. You're safe here with us, Terra."

"J-Jordan?" the blonde murmured.

"Oh. Uhm. Noir. Noir asked me to take care of you."

"So….th-that's his name….."

"Yeah…," Kara nodded.

A beat.

Kara ran a hand through her platinum blonde hair. "So…..uhm…."

A beat.

She smiled again, a painful endeavor. She waved nervously and said: "I'll….ch-check up on you later. I gotta put this fire out eventually anyways. At least, that's what Ma wants. I think the fire's just fine being left to burn out the way it is, but….." Her voice lingered again.

Terra was silent.

Stone.

Snuggling in the blankets.

"…….y-yeah…..," Kara muttered, her eyes to the floor. "The extent of my life's excitement….."

"……….."

"Y-You know where I am if you need me…," Kara gestured and slowly turned around to leave the room.

Then Terra muttered something.

Kara paused, turned, and asked in spite of her super-hearing. "What was that?"

Terra took a deep breath. She uttered: "Everyone is…always offering me blankets…."

Kara shrugged. "I guess it's because…..well….you look so cold….."

"Is th-that it?" Terra murmured.

A beat. "Well, I don't know," Kara said. "To be honest. Why do you think it is?"

"…………."

"Ugh….what am I saying?" Kara planted a hand over her face and shook her head. "That's a stupid question if ever I heard one. Sorry…just….d-desperate to get you to talk, I guess. You've been like a stone ever since you got here." A beat. A hard grimace. "Ah jeez….I-I didn't mean that. I—"

"It's all right….," Terra murmured. She curled up under the blanket and clutched it to herself. "I just….."

A beat.

Kara tilted her head to the side. Listening….

"……….," Terra sighed. "Last time I was sleeping on a couch…," she murmured, "…it was at Titan's Tower. When I was first at Titan's Tower….before everything else happened…"

"Uh huh…," Kara leaned against the doorframe to the adjacent highway.

Terra said: "Three nights in a row, Beast Boy kept checking in on me. Sometimes in the middle of the night."

"Peeping Tom?" Kara smirked.

Terra's lips curved ever so slightly in the corners, but her voice denied it. "He seemed to think I was unbelievably cold. Like I hadn't ever slept in a cave in the desert at night before. Like I was lying when I said that the Earth was my home and I knew how to weather its extremes and find comfort in any condition. Like I was some sort of princess….."

"…………."

"I…..I-I never felt so special before……so beloved…b-by someone who—at the time—was a total and complete stranger. Well….actually I-I was the total stranger. Beast Boy…..he…………..," Terra lingered.

Kara folded her arms and said: "He made you feel good about yourself? Sounds like you had a lonesome life before you joined the Titans."

"He made me feel so terrible….," Terra mumbled.

Kara winced.

"Especially when I later rejoined the Titans…," Terra shut her eyes and slowly spoke. "I didn't….I-I didn't have the nerve to tell him…..that I knew…..I knew….."

A beat.

Kara swallowed. "Y-You knew what?"

"I knew that he was there," Terra shuddered. "I knew that he was hugging me in my room on the nights that I was crying in my sleep. I didn't want him to know that I knew that he was holding me. That he was trying to comfort me. I….I-It was all wrong……but….I-I couldn't make him stop. N-Not for the life of me. I wanted everything to feel like those first few days of crashing in on the Titans' couch. I wanted to feel like I was just some poor little princess needing a blanket or two…..and maybe some person to cuddle with me…….."

Silence.

Kara ran a hand through her bangs again and sighed hopefully: "You'll get a chance someday, Terra. I'm sure of it. Once….uhm…..once Jordan gets his little mission out of the way, you'll meet up with the Titans. You'll get that chance to be with Beast Boy again."

Terra sniffed. "I-I'm not sure I want that anymore…..," she hid her face in the side of the couch as the fireplace crackled and flickered soft amber. "….I can never…t-truly go back. Not after what I've done….."

"…………….," Kara opened her mouth to say something. But she didn't. She slowly turned around and walked lethargically up the stairs to the second floor of the Kents' house.

Terra shivered by herself…

And quietly cried.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

Kara stood halfway up the stairs.

In the dim light, she hugged herself.

And sighed.

"……………."

She gazed down at the first room floory.

Staring through the walls at the unseen Terra.

Her blue eyes tired…narrow.

"…………………"

She tilted her head back.

She shut her eyes.

She groaned.

"Jordan…..you idiot…..why do I always let you have your way?"

A beat.

She gazed back towards the first floor again.

She nervously toyed with a lock of blonde hair over her ear.

"You're going to get screwed in a freak-spawning pool like Metropolis. Damn it….why couldn't I go with you?"

She fidgeted.

She stared at the wall.

Slowly…gradually, her head tilted about and gazed towards her rom.

A beat.

She murmured, her eyes thin: "Maybe you couldn't have a Supergirl come with you….but it doesn't mean somebody can't still help you. Howbeit……..invisible……"

A breath of wind through the cracks of a nearby window.

Kara smiled.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

Outside of Kara's bedroom window, the Girl of Steel sat cross-legged atop the farmhouse's roof.

She cradled a portable phone between her chin and shoulder, all the while hugging herself amidst the cold breezes of Kansas November nighttime.

"Hello? Babs?"

A beat.

"Yeah….th-this is Kara…"

Another beat.

Kara took a breath and smiled softly: "Remember that favor you said you owed me for….ya know…..dropping by and beating up the Clock King months ago?"

……

"Yeah….uh……..I-I think I got a need. That is to say……a friend in need……"

T-T-T-T-T-T-

November 16, 2005.

South Metropolis.

S.T.A.R. Labs.

9:21 pm

T-T-T-T-T-T-

"You look like you've seen a lot of hard action, Noir. I spot at least five new scars on you since the time I saw you at Robin's funeral."

"…………."

"Noir?"

"…………"

"Noir, are you okay?"

I was staring out a window of the side of the S.T.A.R. laboratory. Out at the glittering waters of Metropolis' dark Bay.

I took a deep breath.

I turned around.

Across the crystal clean laboratory, the Justice League stared at me.

'Most' of them.

Superman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, the Flash…

And Wonder Woman.

I stared back at them.

I firmly raised my hands and signed: 'Who here understands sign language?'

'Ahoy there,' one responed.

I glanced over.

Green Lantern.

"You got something to say?"

I looked at him.

I hand-signed: 'My business in Metropolis is my own. I do not want to attract attention.'

Green Lantern's emerald eyes narrowed. He hand-signed back: 'You seem to have Wonder Woman's attention. What does she know that we do not?'

I gazed at Princess Diana, then at Green Lantern again.

'You ask her.'

The galactic guardian sighed.

Martian Manhunter droned: "Perhaps it would be easier if I were to translate the boy's words for the rest of us."

"Yeah….," the Flash nodded. "I could use subtitles for 'mute'."

Diana smirked slightly.

Superman looked at me. "How 'bout it, Noir?"

"………..," I looked at the Martian.

He stared at me. Or at least I thought so. I couldn't make heads or tails out of those alien eyes of his.

Wouldn't Raven love to be here……

'Why is that, Jordan?'

I winced.

I wished you would warn me before doing that.

'I thought I did……'

True……True……

A beat.

I never wanted to run into the League. I stopped Livewire only because she was going to hurt people if I didn't do anything to intervene. And even then, I fought her off where nobody could see me. This was supposed to be a covert venture in Metropolis. The less attention I gather, the better.

"He came to Metropolis without the intent of attracting attention," Martian Manhunter said aloud, sideways to the League. "Livewire was a casualty of circumstance. He was merely trying to protect people."

"Pfft! What is he, stupid?" Flash smirked and planted his hands on his hips. "The whole point of being in Metropolis is to attract attention!" He winked and pointed at himself: "That's why I moved in from Keystone, to tell the truth."

"……………," Wonder Woman and Green Lantern stared at him.

A beat.

"What?"

"…….," I turned and looked at Martian Manhunter.

Just why are you here anyways? All of you?

"He wants to know what we are doing here," the robed extraterrestrial said.

Superman gestured: "Ever since the Watchtower was destroyed in the battle with the Thanagarians, we've set up a temporary base of operations here in S.T.A.R. Labs. I still have a few allies here in the laboratory. Many are assisting with recent plans to reconstruct a new and improved Watchtower, among a few other things I have planned for the revitalization of the League."

I squinted my black eyes at him.

You make it sound like the League is in some sort of limbo or something.

"We have seen finer days, yes," Martian Manhunter said. "The loss of Hawkgirl has been most problematic."

"Yes…," Green Lantern folded his arms and grunted with a sort of indignance. "Most problematic….."

I looked at him curiously.

"This City needs superheroic intervention more than any other," Wonder Woman said. A slight smile: "When you wean Metropolis on Superman, it's hard for it to develop a palette for anyone less protective."

"Heh….," Flash winked at Martian Manhunter. "She said 'wean'."

"Hrmm…."

"I don't think it's we who need to be giving any special explanations…," Green Lantern walked towards me and pointed. "What's so special here in Metropolis that makes you sneak in under our noses?"

I frowned and hand-signed at him: 'None of your business.'

"As protector of this galactic sector—much less this continent—I'm pretty damn sure it is my business!"

"G.L.! Come on….," Flash zipped over and patted his shoulder. "That's like you tightening the noose around Nightwing's neck for giving Blockbuster a hard time miles away from here!"

Green Lantern merely glared at me: "Let's just say I've gotten….sorely wary of people doing sneaky things in the Titans' midst."

"………."

Superman walked over. "It's one thing to be suspicious. But it doesn't mean we can't be at least understanding, Green Lantern." The Kryptonian faced me and waved a hand: "Noir, you left the Titans. Why was it?"

I folded my arms and glanced aside like some stubborn teenage son.

"Noir, Robin's death was hard on all of us. Even for those of us who knew him more in lore than loyalty. I spent an agonized night trying to formulate a eulogy befitting the Boy Wonder the day of his honorary funeral in your City. I can't imagine how much harder it must have been to spend so many nightmarish hours defending your City from Dagger—from death and destruction—just to see Robin's life extinguished in such a disheartening fashion as you did. But sometimes sorrow can be equally motivating as it can be paralyzing. And I only hope….I only hope that it hasn't pushed you in some dangerous, futile direction. I know, Noir, that the life of a superhero is something bent entirely on movement at times. Even if that movement may be going nowhere."

I shook my head, groaning mutely.

You don't know anything.

Martian Manhunter looked at Superman: "You do not know anything."

The Man of Steel blinked.

"Hey…maybe he was just—ya know—going on some vacation?" the Flash shrugged. "I'd come here to get my mind off of things, especially considering the Hell that boiled over in the Titans' City."

"Yes….but you don't go on vacation with a sword strapped to your back," Green Lantern said.

"Look who's talking! Sheesh, G.L.! You wouldn't even take that ring off for a Burger King drive thru!"

I took a step towards the group, catching half of their attention.

I hand-gestured and 'thought' at the same time:

If I had my way, I would have simply vanished at the first sight of you, Superman. But I knew two things. One: The League would track me down. Two: You all would find that suspicious. But please understand, there's nothing to be suspicious about. I'm merely here to perform an investigation. I need to find out about a few things. Only then will I know if there's a sufficient enough concern to be wary of…a wariness befitting of the League, much less me.

"He is here on investigation," Martian Manhunter said. "He is not entirely sure as to the gravity of what he is researching. It is not deserving the League's attention until he learns more."

"If it's no big deal, then maybe it wouldn't hurt you to share, Noir," Green Lantern said.

I sighed. A hand over my face. Shaking my head….

Keep your mind focused.

Narrow your thoughts.

Say only that which needs to be said.

Without exposing……what's at your heels……

I looked up.

Martian Manhunter was staring fixedly at me.

But I sensed no returning thoughts.

Despite what I had just 'said' to myself.

"…….."

I took a deep breath and concentrated:

I was at Las Vegas. During the catastrophe.

"He was in Vegas," Martian Manhunter said.

Flash gasped.

Superman's and Green Lantern's eyes widened.

Wonder Woman was silent.

I continued:

I learned from the evil powers and corporations there about a hideous danger. Something tied in with Lex Luthor. A terrible danger that could threaten my City, Metropolis, and other countless regions abroad.

"A conspiracy," Martian Manhunter droned. "Luthor's involved. A threat to many cities."

"Lex Luthor?" Superman remarked breathily.

I nodded.

In alliance with Dagger and the top criminals of Gotham City. It is a huge, triangular axis of evil. We're all on the verge of something. Something nameless and terrible. Something that will dwarf November Fourth like it was just a sand castle.

This time, Martian Manhunter directly answered me: "You were intending to intercede Lex Luthor on your own, were you not?"

I bit my lip.

"You believed that he would give you answers?"

I clenched my teeth.

He will give me answers.

"He will also overwhelm you with his security and defensive measures. Luthor is a very dangerous man. Even more dangerous when trying to convict him."

"What's he saying?" Green Lantern asked.

"Lex Luthor is up to something," Martian Manhunter said.

"You believe him?" Superman asked.

"Heh….," Flash scratched the back of his neck. "Don't we all know better that—if it's rumored Lex is up to something dirty—than he's up to something dirty?"

"What is that man planning that is so nefarious, Noir?" Wonder Woman asked.

"He is being ambiguous," Martian Manhunter said. "I….." He looked at me.

I looked at him.

"….I sense much danger. An unspeakable danger…," the alien's eyes narrowed. "But it is not Luthor…."

I bit my lip.

"Something else…."

"Yeah? Like what?" Flash asked.

I suddenly jolted.

I felt a chill.

Shooting up my metal prosthetic again.

I shuddered.

I bent over.

I clenched my arm.

Wonder Woman's lips parted. She shifted forward: "N-Noir? What is it?"

I was sweating.

The chill paralyzed me.

I winced all over.

R-Red Aviarrrrrry……

"He's not looking too hot," Green Lantern said shiftily.

"Yeah, no kidding!"

I slumped over against the window of the edge of the laboratory.

Panting.

I looked out.

My black eyes were thin.

I saw the Metropolis waters through the dark glass.

Black waves tossing.

Turning.

I blinked.

I saw the land morph about.

Something rose out from the rocky bluffs.

Like a tower.

A bright light strobed at the top.

Pulsing across the land.

And the sky….

It was red.

It was….

Red…..

Rrrrrrrrreddddd Aviarrrrrrryyyy………

I shuddered.

I clutched my metal wrist tighter.

A cold flash.

I swallowed.

The earth……

It has bled.

And the sky……

The sk-sky………

I tilted my head up.

I envisioned the tower growing taller.

The pulse of light burning brighter.

The sky turning…….redder……

He's here.

Somewhere in this City.

He……knows………

He already knows where I am……

'Who, Jordan? Who knows?'

Get out of m-my mind……

'What is it that has you in such a grip of panic?'

Red Aviary……

I……

I-I can feel him……

Already……

'Jordan?'

Robin……

"Jordan?"

Robin……he's coming after me next

"Jordan!"

A strong hand gripped my shoulder.

I snapped out of it.

I closed my black eyes. When I reopened them, the Bay outside the window was back to its cold and dull normality.

I shuddered.

I turned and looked up.

Wonder Woman was bracing my shoulder. She was concerned. "You looked like you were about to collapse for a moment there. Are you all right?"

I took a nervous breath. I flexed my metal knuckles. The chill was gone.

"……..," I nodded.

I slowly stood up straight and looked at the group.

A beat.

"…….."

I hand-signed: 'Where is Batman?'

"Batman?" Green Lantern said aloud. "He isn't here."

I gave him a look.

Superman stepped forward: "Batman hasn't been with the League….in a while."

I leaned my head to the side. I mouthed: 'Since when?'

"The Thanagarian incident," Superman said. "He's had important business in Gotham City. There have been numerous escapes from Arkham Asylum. Killer Croc, the Ventriloquist, and Clayface were among them."

I nodded.

I know the Killer Croc part.

A beat.

I ran a hand through my hair.

Still……when Robin died……

"Are you sure you're okay?" Wonder Woman asked. "Noir, if there is such a dire need to investigate Luthor, the League would surely—"

"No, we wouldn't," Green Lantern interrupted.

Wonder Woman glared over at him: "And why not?"

"Because we have more pressing things," the man said. "More concrete things!"

Wonder Woman pointed at me: "In case you haven't noticed, Noir here has taken care of Livewire all on his lonesome."

"And do you think he will take care of Parasite and Volcana all on his lonesome as well?" Green Lantern gestured. "The League has business elsewhere. We can't be divided at a time like this. Besides, the kid's rather insistent on keeping secrets."

"Who's saying that we're divided?" Wonder Woman frowned. "Green Lantern, you know that my loyalty has always been and shall always be with the Justice League first—"

"I'm not questioning that, Diana," the man replied. "I just think we've got better things to do right now than waste time over an angsty little sword-swinger who—" he glared at me "—obviously wants nothing to do with us in the first place!"

I glared back.

Superman was sighing.

We all looked at him.

He rubbed his forehead and said: "Why are our tempers so short? Let's keep the main focus in check…" He looked up and said: "Green Lantern's right, Diana. The League has important threats to deal with. And it's prudent that we deal with those right away and leave Noir's supposition for what it is. Supposition."

"I'm sure he has more to tell us," Wonder Woman said. "If we would just give him some—"

"Green Lantern," Superman ignored Wonder Woman and spoke to the guardian. "I admire you keeping us all in line. But give Noir some credit, please. After all, he's not a bad guy."

"Do any of you even wonder what he was doing in that Vegas mishap to begin with?" Green Lantern remarked. "I just don't like the fact that he's hiding stuff."

"But he is benevolent," Martian Manhunter said. "I can sense that."

"And the alien's always right!" the Flash winked.

"Hmpph…save it for later," the Green Lantern said. He marched out of the room through a pair of automatic doors.

I watched him go.

"Don't mind him, Kiddo…."

I looked over at the Flash.

"He still has his feathers ruffled from the loss of someone else's feathers," he smirked.

"Flash….we don't know that for sure," Wonder Woman said.

Flash folded his arms and looked at the Martian Manhunter. "Marvin?"

The alien's eyes narrowed. "It is not my place to say."

"Pffft! I swear…you're all too adult for your own good," he dashed out through the automatic doors after Green Lantern before they closed. "The guy's lovesick, I tell you!" ZH-ZH-ZH-ZHIP!

Schwissh!

"Superman….," Wonder Woman looked across the room at the Kryptonian. "…back when we started the correspondence between our team and the Titans, I thought the intent was to support each other's organization when the time would require our combined strength. Why can't we intercede on Noir's behalf?"

I looked at Wonder Woman, then at Martian Manhunter.

I……don't……need……help……

"He insists that he does not require assistance," the alien said.

Wonder Woman frowned and forced me to look up at her. "Yes you do, Noir! You can't do this on your own!"

I shook my head and made to walk away from her—

"Jordan…."

"………..," I looked up at her.

The Amazon's eyes were cold, but earnest. Entreating. "You need help….we've found something…."

My black eyes narrowed.

Her lips moved: "We've found…..something…."

I deeply inhaled.

A chill ran up my metal arm.

I clenched my titanium wrist and tried not to show it.

Wonder Woman swallowed. She looked up and over at Superman.

Superman waited for her eye contact, took a breath, and said: "I'm not denying that the League and the Titans must rely on each other, Diana. But we need time to know more about why Noir's here. Until when or if that happens, we need to deal with League business."

"But….didn't he say—"

"Lex Luthor is always up to something," Superman said. A slight smirk. "Trust me. I know him more than anyone."

Wonder Woman slowly nodded. "Yes…."

Superman wandered over to me.

I tilted my head up to look in his eyes.

"…….," he rested a steely hand on my shoulder. He said: "If you want us to be of any help—leaving you alone or fighting by your side—you need to help us understand a little, Noir. You get it?"

"………"

He chuckled slightly to himself and folded his arms: "It'll never cease to amaze me."

"?"

"You 'dark' types," he said. "Batman's always insisting that he can take care of all sorts of monstrosities and horrors on his own. And you know what amazes me the most?" He turned and headed for the door, but not without glancing over his caped shoulder and winking: "He's somehow right……."

"………..," my lips curved slightly.

"We have company," Martian Manhunter droned.

Indeed, right as Superman reached the doors to the laboratory, they opened up and Professor Hamilton stood before us.

Superman stepped back. A cold breath. He uttered: "Professor…"

Hamilton tried to maintain a deadpan face, but ever so slight a glare protruded from the corner of his human eyes. "Superman…."

"Did you--"

"Livewire is contained…..for the moment….," the man adjusted his spectacles and said: "As always, she suffered the usual trauma from the water-induced shock you vigilantes always seem to put her through as the coupe de grace."

"That was not our doing," Martian Manhunter said. "Noir incapacitated her."

"'Incapacitated'…..hmmmm," Hamilton turned and looked at me. Eyes thin.

"……….," I stared back.

He spoke: "The younger they are….the darker they get…."

Superman frowned: "Noir saved a lot of people. Livewire is a homicidal maniac. One second too late, and she would have--"

"I know….I know…," Hamilton sighed. "It just seems as if all the metaphysical beings are coming to Metropolis. There was once a time when we were free of such constant, chaotic anomalies." He turned and looked squarely at the Kryptonian. "There was once a time when we were…..clean."

Superman's eyes narrowed.

Wonder Woman planted her hands on her hips and glared at the scientist: "Professor…what was it that Superman did to make you hate him so much?"

"Hate him? No….No, Wonder Woman, I do not hate any of you…," Hamilton sighed. "I merely doubt. Sometimes…" His gaze drifted off. "…sometimes I feel I'm the only person in this City who doubts."

"Hard feelings set aside, Hamilton," Superman gestured, "Thank you for letting us assemble here. Green Lantern and the Flash are presently assembling a reconnaissance mission to search the location of the Parasite and Volcana. The League will be busy for the next few days."

"And maybe sometime soon you'll have a new Watchtower so I wouldn't have to sacrifice some of this City's highly-funded research space," the Professor said. "Now if you don't mind…I have a Metropolis University team coming in to perform some expensive botany experiments. The swifter you get to action, the better."

"You mean the sooner we're out of your sight," Wonder Woman muttered.

"Your words, ma'am. Not mine."

"J'onn, let's go…," Superman walked out of the laboratory.

Martian Manhunter silently morphed into an incorporeal form and sunk through the floor.

I found myself drifting past Hamilton and wandering down the hallway towards the exit. Wonder Woman walked beside me.

And she was speaking: "Before you run out into that dark night on your own, Noir….please hear me out…."

I gently nodded without looking. Unlike everyone else in that City, I wasn't going to give her the cold shoulder.

I've come to trust people named 'Diana' in my life……

"I know that something haunts you, Jordan. I don't know what it is. But it's filled you with a fear. A fear for yourself. A fear for the League. But most of all…a fear for your friends….."

I couldn't help but shudder.

I flexed my shaking left hand…

"You found her, didn't you?" she glanced aside at me. "You found Terra?"

I looked at her. Surprised.

She gazed forward again. Deadpan. "If nothing else, come to the Eastside Apartments. Building B. Room 1307."

I leaned my head to the side. Curious.

"Yes….," she said. "My place…"

I bit my lip.

She looked at me. "This is important. I've followed you through the last letters you've sent me. I wouldn't be beckoning you if what's been discovered wasn't important to the desperate young man who wrote to me on the lonely trip to Vegas."

"…………"

"I'll let you go through Metropolis alone. Though I personally doubt it'll help, I know you feel it's the best to keep a low profile that way…"

And before I knew it, we were outside of S.T.A.R. Labs.

The cold November Night stretched overhead.

She turned and faced me.

"But above all else….be careful, Jordan," she placed a hand on my shoulder. "There are very….very frightening things taking place at this moment in time. And it might intrigue you to know….it all stems from your City." Her eyes narrowed. "It all starts under the shadow of the Titans…."

"……..," I gazed at her.

She took a breath and flew off into the dark night, travelling north along the Alantic Coast of Metropolis.

The shadow of the Titans……

I watched her fly away.

I felt a chill beyond the November night.

Something rising up inside of me like a terribly bright and lonesome lighthouse.

Don't you mean, Diana……

That everything stems from me?

T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I walked through Metropolis on foot.

I walked, not blurred.

As much as I felt like something was creeping up on me, I couldn't shake the fact that….

Any little move.

Any swift dash against the wind…

And I might attract attention.

But who?

What?

Was he really here?

Was the Parasite eyeing me?

Was the bane of Terra about to become the bane of me?

I hugged myself as I walked along the Eastern Districts of Metropolis.

The shipyards.

The marinas.

Factories. Warehouses. Wharfs. Boatdocks.

Cold mist from the Ocean billowed in.

Clinging to my limbs.

Chilling me.

Chilling……

I shuddered.

I looked behind me.

No one……

I crept on ahead.

Metropolis had a dark side.

And I was walking straight through it.

Dark, rickety wooden buildings.

Pale yellow lights dangling off of weak and weary lammposts.

The distant clanging bell of a rusted buoy in the waters.

I felt like the intestines of the Atlantic Ocean were beckoning to me.

Some field of worms squirming in ravenous delight.

I knew I was walking on two solid feet, but I felt like collapsing or falling any second.

Not from something invisible.

But something very bright.

Loud.

Red.

Red……

I paused.

I looked over my shoulder again.

I bit my lip.

I've felt this before……

This……

This feeling……

I crept on forward again.

The night Robin died.

I felt it.

Like red fingers.

The fingers that armed and set off the carbonite detonator.

The breath that killed the Boy Wonder from afar……

I shuddered.

Robin……

FLASH!

'Robin!'

My arm was frozen.

My whole body shivering.

Rrrrrred Aviarrrrry……

'R-Robin!' the voice cried out again. A girl's voice.

I spun about.

I stared down a rusted catwalk caked in brown mud.

A dark-haired little thing was being enveloped in a golem of slime.

She reached a hand out to me, crying: 'Run, Robin! Hurry!'

I panted.

I looked down at my hands.

Black gloves.

Red, black, and yellow tights.

An eyemask……

'ROBIN!'

I looked up.

Starfire was squirming in Beast Boy's arms.

Screaming.

'N'mberuut de X'hal! CLATTA SEREK'N MALADRIET ROBIN DE X'HAL! DE X'HAL!'

She and Beast Boy were hidden by flames.

Close flames.

Flames all around me.

I looked around with blue eyes.

Shuddering.

The carbonite explosion went off.

My skin started to melt.

The sarcophagus closed around me.

I tilted my head back and screamed.

An evaporating laugh of hell.

The crackling white static at the corners of a monochromatic snapshot.

Of a bus depot in Gotham City.

A girl in red with black hair.

Fading away…

Mud glopping all over it.

The glass of the picture frame……

Shattering.

CRACK!

FLASH!

I stumbled forward and landed against a wall.

THWUMP!

I leanded against it, shuddering mutely.

Shivering.

My metal arm wanted to convulse.

Rrrrrred Aviarrrrry……

I sweated all over.

It's happening again.

Again.

Full Circle.

I gulped.

I panted.

I crept forward, looking over my shoulder across the darkness of the shipyards.

Cowering….

He is here.

He sees me.

I can feel him.

I can feel him.

Red Aviary……

I stumbled over a pothole full of muddied water.

I hurried my pace and numbly ran around a nearby warehouse.

I planted myself back against a wall.

Hyperventilating.

Black eyes wide.

My metal arm twitching with each ice pick stab of shivers billowing into me from the prosthetic.

Rrrrrrrrred AVIARY!

My head pulsed.

I groaned mutely and clutched my head.

I fell on my knees, throbbing in pain.

I……

I have f-felt this before……

I have felt it.

But……why am I feeling it again?

It is not my element.

I am Balance.

I am BALANCE!

Not Destruction!

I hugged myself.

I stared up at the clear, Metropolis sky.

My black eyes twitched and I could have sworn….

The stars bled crimson.

He is consuming me.

He is c-consuming me……

I clutched my head and shook it.

No……

No………I must keep going.

I mustn't let Red Aviary find me.

I must stop Triangular first.

I must ensure Terra her life!

Her child!

The T-Titans!

RRRRRRREDDDDDDD AVVIAARRRYYYYYY.

Nnnnnghhh!

FLASH!

I gasped.

I was thirteen years old.

My brown eyes teared as I sat on my knees.

In the tall grass.

Watching lines of students practice in perfect coordination.

The swinging of their wooden bokens.

The misty sky of Washington drifting over.

Ana giggled.

I looked over.

The two of them were walking towards me.

The other students and the tall grass faded into white.

"Fallen down again, Jordan?" she giggled. Blonde hair. Eyes like an angel.

"Some Balance!" he said. "Always so clumsy……," he said……

My brown eyes narrowed.

"Always so clumsy……," he smiled.

I exhaled.

"So……c-c-clumsy……"

His hazel eyes strobed RED!

FLASH!

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUGHHHHHHHH!"

We heard him scream.

His voice echoed down the chambers.

Ana and I shivered.

We couldn't do anything.

We were tied to the damp walls.

Huddled in the darkness of the dungeon.

Waiting our turn……

"AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGHHHHHH! MY EYESSSS! MOMMMYYYYY!"

FLASH!

Gripping Myrkblade.

Standing on a platform of rusted metal.

Surrounded.

Surrouned.

Surrounded by red.

I panted.

I bled.

Bodies.

Entrails.

The ring.

The ring……

"What did you do, Jordan?"

I tilted my head up.

My black eyes flickered.

And I grinned.

And I laughed.

"JORDAN, WHAT DID YOU DO?"

FLASH!

Robin screamed.

Robin roasted.

Robin slumped into a pile of ashen pieces.

And somewhere someone laughed.

Like the demon in the ring.

Like the parasite in the belly of the half-slain beast.

Hidden hellfire.

Flashing.

Strobing.

Two orbs of red.

Two orbs.

Swallowing the fire….

FLASH!

I coughed and sputtered.

Curled on the street floor.

Shivering all over.

Shuddering….

"…………………….."

"Uh…..yo…ahoy there, kid…."

"…………………….."

"…………..you don't look so hot……"

I stirred.

Wincing.

I looked up with weak eyes, shaded.

A ridiculously obese sailor in a blue jacket and equally blue cap squinted down at me with a Popeye frown. "You got the runs or somethin'? Heheh…bet you ate some of them rotten steak sandwiches over at the Pelican Corner. Eh? That stuff can send you reeling for a week."

I groaned mutely. I clutched my metal limb. The chill had faded. I sighed…..

"Hey, you got a home, pal? These aren't exactly the safest streets in da world…."

I tried to stand up…when I felt another body walk up and offer me a hand. A feminine hand.

"Whoah! Where'd you come from?" the fat sailor frowned. A beat. He brightened. "Oh…M-Miss Sawyer! I-I didn't know…"

"At ease, Bibbo. I'll take care of this poor sap."

I looked up weakly and saw the blonde, short-haired police commissioner of Metropolis. She was giving me a hand, which I gladly took, standing up on wobbly feet.

I blinked.

Panting.

Margaret Sawyer?

The woman adjusted her brown trenchcoat and looked at me with a firm gaze. "Noir, you're a long way from Titan's Tower. You should know better than to walk through this part of Metropolis. Sick or not…collapsing in the middle of the street is just asking for some creep to take advantage of your throat."

"Whoah! You mean to say that this kid here's one of them Titans?" 'Bibbo' remarked. "Heh. Does Supes know about this visitor?"

"I'm sure he knows plenty…," Margaret Sawyer mumbled. "But right now, I'm worried about getting this hero somewhere safe." She looked at me. Eyes thin. "Come with me, Jordan. We've got to get somewhere."

My black eyes narrowed.

Jordan………

A beat.

I slowly nodded at Sawyer.

Understanding.

"Well then…official business and stuff, I guess…," the fat sailor shrugged.

"None of your concern," Sawyer guided me down the streets of the shipyard. "Keep eyeing the street like you always do, Bibbo. You're priceless in that aspect."

"Priceless….heh…," Bibbo grunted with a smirk and waddled off towards the docks. "…if only my third wife called me that…."

His voice faded as he faded in the shadows of the Eastern District.

Sawyer and I walked together.

"Wonder Woman was considering your feelings when she let you walk to her apartment on your own," the Commissioner said. "But she was not considering the same danger that plagues you. The darkness that paralyzed you just now…"

I glared at the blonde woman beside me.

You aren't who you look like……

Sawyer nodded. In a fluctuation of green light, she turned into a he. A Martian Manhunter he.

"Maybe now you will consider canceling the 'solo' nature of this mission."

I exhaled.

And lemme guess, you want the League to help me.

Martian Manhunter unemotionally uttered: "What League?"

I blinked. I looked at him, surprised.

"The Titans, Jordan, are not the only teammates to experience trouble in these times. The League has felt an intense, all-consuming evil. Perhaps it is the same thing that brings you here to Metropolis. Perhaps it is something else altogether. But whatever the case, now that you are here….we need your insight as much as you need our support."

I took a deep, shuddering breath.

Thanks……seriously.

"You are most welcome," he said. "The death of Robin created a terrible rift, Jordan. A rift that is as real as it is covert. This goes beyond the average conspiracy theory. This deals with the very fabric of what superheroes define 'good' and 'evil'."

I nodded shakily.

The Balance of Morals.

Martian Manhunter said: "Call if what you will."

I gazed back nervously towards the shadowed warehouses behind us.

"Jordan, what was it that you experienced when you collapsed back there?"

I sighed.

I looked forward.

I'm……I'm not sure……

T-T-T-T-T-T-

I rang the doorbell.

Standing alone in the apartment hallway.

Before room '1307'.

"………"

The door opened.

Diana. Jeans. A t-shirt. Jacket.

"Good. You made it already," she nodded. She opened the door wide and drifted back into the room. "Come in."

I ducked into the doorway. I stood in the atrium of Wonder Woman's—er—Diana's apartment.

She closed the door behind me.

She stood.

I stood.

A beat.

"You too, J'onn," Diana said.

A fluctuation.

Martian Manhunter rose up from the floor and solidified. Robed and tall stature and all. "He collapsed on the way. I was keeping an eye on him just in case. I escorted him the rest of the way from the shipyard to here."

"……..," Diana nodded. A sigh. She turned and looked at me: "Something is really chasing after you. Isn't it?"

"………," I bit my lip. I nodded.

Diana closed her eyes. As if gravity was settling in. But she didn't look surprised. "The Justice League is falling apart, Jordan. It might not look like it on the surface. But people are scared. Confused. Heroes even. You're not the only one wandering alone, Jordan. We're all drifting aimlessly in our own way."

"……..," I listened closely.

Martian Manhunter spoke: "The other members of the League do not know that we are meeting here. And it is not our desire to conspire against them. We are merely wanting to assist you. Because you may be onto something far more dangerous than what the rest of us see at eye level." His alien optics narrowed. "You sense….something beyond the average Spectrum."

I swallowed.

Yes, I suppose I do.

I couldn't help but glare at the two.

But how did you two know to contact me?

"It was not our initiative to contact you," Martian Manhunter said.

A young voice uttered deeply from the far side of the room: "It was mine."

They both turned to look.

So did I.

And my jaw dropped.

"…….," Tempest walked into the apartment atrium. His dark eyes firm. "I found something, Noir." He stood straight with his hands in his pockets. "And I need you to see it."