These Black Eyes

by P0ST

The ongoing adventures and experiences of the Teen Titans, as witnessed through the eyes of a silent newcomer.

230. A Hard Act to Follow part 15

230. A Hard Act to Follow part 15

November 30, 2004.

11:03 am

Downtown Smallville.

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Two police squad cars, four state trooper trucks, and two firetrucks formed a perimeter around the Blue Pin Bowling Alley. Practically the entire rag-tag police force of Smallville and two neighboring Kansas counties were there in the center of the Town for the biggest standoff the place had seen in decades. Nervous officers squabbled into fifteen-year old radio communicators while in the distance an anxious group of 'local militiamen' had also gathered: in other words a dozen or so local farmers of all ages with shotguns and pistols at ready. The local sheriff was desperately trying to shove the gun-toting vigilantes back while a throng of firefighters were in the busy process of forcing back an even larger and more desperate group of people—the parents of the countless number of schoolbus riders taken hostage inside the building. Mothers and fathers and relatives shouted, sobbed, and pleaded for their loved ones' lives. Everyone was shaken and horrified. There were rumors of the local Army Base supplying two trucks full of soldiers in an emergency supply of tactical ops footmen for the incident, but even that was a gray hope at best.

The local deputy and a young cadet stood with shotguns besides one of the squad cars. The cadet nervously held his firearm and glared out at the Blue Pin Bowling Alley while the deputy stammered into the communicator: "Men! Men! We need more men! Never mind the creeps inside Blue Pin! I need help holding the citizens back! This is an absolute disaster in the making!"

A voice screeched back over the radio frequency in the cold morning air.

The deputy frowned: "Jacobson, is that you again? Carn sarn it, how many times do I have to tell you—this is the POLICE'S FREQUENCY! Yes…Smallville has a police force! Now shut your damned transceiver down and go back to your scrawny cows! We've got this handled!"

"H-Hey," the cadet murmured hoarsely to the deputy while motioning to the radio. "Ask Jacobson why he was late for last week's auction at the Grangerfords!"

The deputy grumbled: "Son, this isn't the time."

"S-Sorry, Pa…"

SWOOOSH! P-Plant!

A body landed and perched atop the squad car.

The deputy jumped back, dropping his radio communicator. "Land O'Goshen!"

"Holy….!"

Supergirl hopped down besides the two men. Her platinum hair and red cape fluttered in a sudden breeze. "Pardon the intrusion…"

"S-Supergirl?" the deputy blinked hard. "Wh-What in tarnation are you doing way out here?"

She shrugged. "Crop dusting. Now, what's the situation?"

"Uhm….er….I…."

She smiled. "Hey….I'm here to help."

The Deputy gulped. "By all means." He turned and pointed at the Bowling Alley while the Girl of Steel watched. "Five creeps with guns and TNT are inside there with an unknown amount of innocent civilians and school children in there. Most terrible thing I ever did see."

"I listened to the radio…," Supergirl paced a bit, eyeing the abandoned schoolbus and the cold and lonely building in the center of the small parking lot. "They're from Central City, right?"

"Right. Bank robbers. The TNT they have is leftover explosives from blasting vaults open. They supposedly have a lot of stolen green on them. I never thought they'd resort to threatening lives, though."

"Well said," Supergirl nodded. "As a matter of fact…why would they be stopping in Smallville of all places? I mean, no offense."

"I…er…."

"Even if it was a matter of running out of gas, they're far enough out of Central City to have stopped by a few places without anyone noticing them or any confrontations whatsoever. But something's gotten them spooked. You don't just take a bunch of innocent children hostage without any reason—no matter how diabolical you are. The last thing they'd want right now is attention. So something must have made them assume that the attention was on them regardless."

"Uh…..y-yeah….," the deputy scratched his head.

"None of that matters at the moment," Supergirl said. "Right now….those kids have to be rescued." She glanced over her shoulder and sighed. "Before those country soccer moms rip this whole place to shreds."

"We're all waiting for a coordinated negotiation tactic," the deputy said. "We're thinking of using the militia as an emergency attack measure. But that's chaotic at best. Truth is, we have no legal way of going about this with the limited number of men we've got."

"Then maybe we should scratch the men and start with a woman," Supergirl walked back over to the squad car. "Give me something to write on…."

"………"

"……..please?"

"Oh…uhm…r-right…," the deputy spun and faced the cadet. "Son. A notepad….."

"…….."

The deputy gritted his teeth and snapped a finger. "Dammit, son! Stop staring at her udders and give me a notepad!"

"Oh….uhm…r-right, Pops!" the officer reached in and threw the man a clipboard.

The deputy passed it to Supergirl.

Supergirl swiped it up and darted up in the air.

'What are you doing?" the man asked.

"Scouting the scene," Supergirl said. She flew up till she was a dozen feet above the nearby telephone poles. The surrounding crowds first caught sight of her, and there were a good many gasps that silenced even the most furious and mournful of the bunch. She hovered up high, staring with thin eyes of concentration at the building below. She stared and stared and stared and stared. After a pause, she scribbled on the notepad an elaborate outline of the place and the positions of bodies and gunmen and hostages all the same. Soon she hovered back down and slapped the clipboard back into the chest of the deputy.

"There you go."

"Wh-Wh-What is this?"

"Approximate locations of the hostages and assailants," Supergirl said. "If you are to strike, strike at these locations I have here listed. The back door and the side windows."

The cadet whistled as he looked at the sketch.

The deputy stammered: "H-H-How did you know--?"

"X-Ray vision."

"X-Ray?"

Supergirl sighed. "Once you sell enough turnips, buy a ticket, fly to Metropolis, and go see a dentist. Maybe then you'll understand. Now if you'll excuse me…"

Fwoosh! She flew towards a telephone pole overshadowing the building.

"Now what are you doing?"

"Silence the crowds!" she called back. "I'm going to listen in on the creeps."

"Better do what she says, Pa."

"I KNOW THAT, SON! Ahem….erm….let's get these folks quiet."

"Sure thing!"

"And show Vic the drawing! Whew…..of all days to be coached by a blonde…."

"I heard that!"

"Er…S-Sorry Miss Girl of Steel!"

Supergirl sighed She perched atop the telephone pole, bent over, and craned an ear towards the scene.

Amazingly, the crowds surrounding the Blue Tin Bowling Alley quieted.

"Heh…real show stopper," she whispered. Then she silenced herself as she listened and she heard….

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The children sobbed. In shivering clumps of shaking limbs, rattling backpacks, and moist eyes they gathered in the corner and sniffed, murmured, and hiccupped a storm.

"Get those brats to shut up!" a bearded thug shouted.

Another fiend marched over and aimed a semi-automatic at them. Cl-Clak! "Shut your traps! You hear me?"

They sniffed and murmured into silence. Four adults and the bus driver was at the center of the cluster, attempting to solace the children all the while glaring at the captors.

The bearded one—the obvious leader—paced back and forth across the bowling lanes.

A man guarding the back door with a shotgun gulped and uttered to the leader: "Listen, Joe. We should just give up. This isn't worth it!"

"You shut the Hell up, Mic…"

"I'm serious! Whatever got us last night, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with this town!"

"Have you just woken up now, Mic?" the bearded 'Joe' panted. He was a sweating, nervous mess. "You try to explain to me what could hunt you down in the middle of the night without leaving as much as a trace!"

"Joe…."

"You try and tell me what speeds after you on the Kansas highway and pelts your car with invisible death beams when you're hundreds of miles away from freedom!"

"Joe, we're all a bit frazzled okay! But this isn't some government conspiracy! This has got to be—"

Cl-Clik! Joe aimed a gun at Mic from afar. "You shut the Hell up! I know exactly what happened to us! We're being abused by the system, man! Something is after us! Something that THEY sent!"

"Who is 'they', Joe?"

"I DON'T FREAKIN' KNOW!" Joe shook all over. "But we're gonna be sending them a message! No freakish shit shooting pink crap at our asses is going to make us go down without a fight! If the government wants a score to settle, we'll give it to them! We'll give it to them in blood!"

Two other men were guarding the front door. One murmured to the next: "He's losing it. I told you Joe was unreliable because of his war background."

"Yeah…but can you explain what happened last night? I know I can't."

"Shh…he's looking this way…"

"You jerks got something to say?"

"Ahem….no, Joe."

"You must have been hearing some of the cops outside."

"When are they gonna start negotiating anyhow?"

"Who the Hell cares?" Joe frowned. "How's this for negotiation?" He juggled a bundle of TNT in the air. "Unless an FBI shithead comes here and explains just what they sent after us last night, we redecorate this place with these kids' intestines!"

"…………..wouldn't that take us with it?"

"WHAT DOES IT MATTER AT THIS POINT?"

Mic sighed and stared out the crack in the back door, holding tight to his shotgun.

"Pink….light…..," one of the guards whispered again to the other. "…perhaps….it was a Justice League member or something?"

"This far west? Pfft…dream on…."

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"…….," Supergirl made a face. "Okay….," she murmured to herself. "Wyrd….."

A beat. A blink. She stood up, hovered, and sighed.

"The stranger they are, the harder they fall."

She again scanned the building. The City blocks surrounding it. The ground. The Earth.

She smirked to herself.

"Hope they've paid for their shoes."

She flexed her muscles and flew down to street level.

Unbeknownst to her…in the distance….

Two figures stood agilely atop a bank building in downtown Smallville. One said something to the other, and the other nodded. With a wave of a graceful arm, the two disappeared in a brief flash of light.

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11:15 am

Smallville Farmland.

Kent's House

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"…sources say that—of all people—Supergirl of Metropolis has showed up at the scene! The stakes of this standoff seem to get higher and higher. Authorities are telling locals to keep quiet as the Girl of Steel seems to be preparing an operation of sorts. I tell you what, listening audience, this is something Kansas is not used to at all!"

"My my….I hope she doesn't make too much of a show!" Martha uttered, a hand over her heart. "John…do you think she'll handle herself….responsibly?"

He managed a smile. "I'm sure she has this whole thing handled, dear."

Martha turned and gazed across the kitchen. "Where's our guest? She might want to know how Kara's doing."

"I'll go check on her. Just rest here."

"……"

"Hey….," John lifted Martha's chin gently. He smiled. "No worries…."

"……," Martha smiled. She hugged him.

He gently embraced her back, patted her shoulder, and marched off. "I'll be back."

"Okay, dear…."

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"Terra? Terra?"

John Kent wandered through the farmhouse. His voice grew louder and more clear as he approached the guest room.

"………Terra?"

He pushed the door open and wandered in.

"Terra, are you--?"

He paused.

Blinking.

The window beyond the guest bed was open ajar. The closet spilled open, with old clothes belonging to both Clark and John spilled about. The curtains billowed with the cold November air.

John walked to the windowsill and leaned against it, peering out.

There was a huge, brown pothole about the size of a tractor ripped out of the farmland earth.

His gray brow furrowed. "………uh oh."

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Her blonde hair flickered in the air like gold flame. She clung to the grass layer at the top of a soaring comet of dust-trailing earth. Her blue eyes flashed a hot platinum and she gritted her teeth in concentration, willing the clump of earth forward in the air.

She was short of breath. This took a great deal of concentration out of her body. Months of being stone had made moving stones a challenge. And yet, she pressed herself forward.

Clad in an impromptu black, long-sleeved turtle-neck and tan baggy shorts.

Terra rocketed northward over the Smallville landscape above normal eyeshot. She made good time, even though the chilling air bit and froze her.

SW-SW-SW-SWOOOOSH!

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Titan's City.

11:22 am

Bayside Plaza

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It was cold. Frost lined the corner of the concrete courtyard and peppered some of the umbrellas over the dining tables.

A few patrons were out and about, chatting sociably. It was nearly noon, and the lunch rush was late in arriving. Even less people were filing in and out of the movie theatre. The cold had driven them away. At least for the time being.

Raven didn't seem to mind. She sat at a lone table with a steaming cup of coffee. She stirred it absent mindedly with a tiny plastic straw. Clad in her blue sweatjacket and jeans, she stared off into space. Her stubborn strand of blue hair flipped-flopped in the cool breeze. She took a deep breath. Gazing dazedly. Still.

"…………."

A body walked up. Graceful. Dressed in a red turtleneck sweater and vibrantly pink slacks.

"Ehrm….R-Raven? Am I intruding?"

Raven looked up. "….." She blinked. She leaned her head to the side with a curious pursing of her lips: "St-Starfire?"

"……," the casually dressed Tamaranian smiled down at her. "I did not expect to see you out here. Would you mind if I joined you?"

"…………"

"It will not be for long, I assure you."

"Oh….uhm….it's okay, Starfire…..uh….," Raven shook her head as if she was snapping free of some vision or another. She gestured gently towards a chair across the table. "Feel free. I have no problem."

Starfire scooted the chair out, brushed away a few tiny white flakes that melted from her warm touch, and sat down. "You look nice in blue."

"Uh….thanks. I'm always wearing it."

"Hehehehe…..true."

"And you're rather……..pink."

"It is a most aesthetic color, is it not?"

"If you say so."

"Relaxing to a cap of the chino?"

"Uh…..yeah," Raven blinked. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was flying."

"In that?"

"Mmmhmmm."

"Why not in uniform?"

Starfire shrugged. "I thought of going on a patrol. Then I thought of going for a walk. Then I decided to do both. I am always in-between decisions these days, or so it seems."

"Yeah, me too…..I think…."

"Indeed…."

Silence.

Raven blinked. "Wait." She looked at Starfire strangely. "You go on patrol?"

"I do now, more or less," Starfire smiled nervously.

"I didn't know that…."

"There are so few of us guarding the City now," Starfire said. "I deduced it was a logical thing to do. Besides, I am gifted with flight. Who am I not to perform such a duty now and then?"

"Does Cyborg know? Or have you just volunteered?"

"I am volunteering," Starfire gestured. "Besides, flying is always a joyful thing. I do not mind."

"Even in this weather?" Raven sighed and hugged herself with a slight chill. "Gotta hand it to ya, Star. You know when to warm things up."

"I am fascinated that you have decided to brave the weather yourself, Raven."

"……..what's that supposed to mean?"

Starfire smiled: "Only that you were often one to let days pass by inside your room. Hot or cold weather….you decided not to face any of it. I imagined that you were sensitive to the elements, and by avoiding the extreme degrees you made yourself even more sensitive."

"Er…..y-yeah. I guess…."

"I suppose it is part of how you are changing," Starfire said pleasantly…yet softly. A mellow sort of contentedness. Like the cold flakes falling and settling every so often. "I am not one to expect a joyous person out of you so soon, Raven. But I am glad to see you more open. More open to the world in general."

"Heh…," Raven pushed the strand of blue out from over her fair forehead. "I didn't know you were trying to 'improve' me."

"I know better than to do that," the alien giggled.

Raven's blue eyes were thin. "Gee, Starfire. You're changing too."

"Am I, now?"

"I'd say so."

"I did not come to Earth to stay the same as I was when I left Tamaran."

"Then what did you come here for?"

"…….," Starfire's green eyes searched the corners of their sockets. Then after a beat, they darted back at Raven as the redhead said: "To cherish things."

Raven smiled ever so slightly.

"And to learn to love life more."

"You loving life more? Heh….you'd practically explode."

"That is certainly an interesting hypothesis," Starfire winked. "Alas. I have not exploded. But I have benefited all the same."

"Have you, Starfire?"

"……," Starfire played with a few fallen specks of frost as she spoke with somber, gazing eyes: "I needed to be reminded of dark things, Raven. Surely you are aware of darkness…"

"Right….."

"….darkness reminds us of the warmth of light. M'ul den ranzatt bi nul mun'rmthiul. 'Too much brightness and you can be blinded'," Starfire smiled gently at Raven. "Robin was…..is the best thing that ever happened to me. But I realize now that I spent far too much of my energies fixated on him. After the fifth of November, I nearly contemplated leaving the Titans. And that made me realize that my priorities needed to be reevaluated. It is safe to love someone. But a Tamaranian soul—hehe—especially a Tamaranian girl is far too susceptible to enchanted, all-encompassing romance. And I had that for Robin. And when Robin perished, a good part of me perished too. And it has taken a Terran month for me to be….reborn. X'Hal…I feel much stronger than ever I was before. And I was always stronger, Raven. Always. Yes, I have benefited. I have improved. I now have a new life to be re-acquainted with here on Terra Firma. I shall devote all of my energies to it. And should the—Qu Ped?—strike me again with the elusive arrow of Terran-Greek lore, then it shall. But not any time soon. The Titans are my priority. As they always should have been. At the same time, I do not regret anything I may have been before….or any way I may have acted. When you live life obsessing over the past, you only tear yourself apart. I desire to be my entire self, Raven. The Tamaranian….the Titan….hehe….and the Terran."

Raven took a deep breath. She gazed into her coffee cup and murmured in a low voice: "You speak as if you're sure Robin's dead."

Starfire blinked. She leaned her head to the side. "Hmm? Raven? What did you say?"

Raven winced. "Uhm…..ahem. N-Nothing."

"……," Starfire nodded. "I see….."

"Don't mind me, Star," Raven sighed and leaned back. "I'm happy for you and all. I'm just…..well…."

"You seem lonely."

Raven glanced up.

Starfire had a sympathetic look on her face. "And that saddens me. Is Cyborg not willing to accompany you?"

"I don't know….."

"You haven't seen him today--?"

"Starfire," Raven interrupted with a sigh. "I don't know if Cyborg and I are working out…."

Starfire inhaled. "Ohhh….that is too bad."

"……"

"I was….most enthusiastic for you two…."

"……"

"But…whatever reasons you have, I'm sure they're for good reasons."

Raven looked up at Starfire surprised. "That's it?"

"Hmmm?"

"That's all you're going to say?"

"Uh…."

"Wow, Starfire. You really aren't the hopeless romantic you used to be!"

"I am…sorry?"

Raven shook her head, sighed, and leaned forward on a propped arm. "No. I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't really mean what I just said."

"Then you and Cyborg are--?"

"I don't know what we are," Raven murmured. "I just wanted someone to bounce off of. I thought you would argue with me to be more patient with him."

"How do you feel he is deserving or not deserving more patience, Raven?"

"I don't feel like I can trust him, Star…," Raven mumbled. "Not just personally. But…as a Titan. He's acting more like a complete turtle shell than a leader. And—sure—it could just be that his style of leadership is different. But I can't help but think that he's doing all of this ineptitude on purpose. All he does is sit in the laboratory or garage working on the new T-Car. There's no progress being made with the team. He's isn't making any attempts to contact Noir or Tempest. I feel like the greatest the Titans will ever be is what they are now. And—sorry, Starfire—but this isn't the way it should be. I never wanted to be an authority figure and judge our team like this. But we're terrible. Azar help us if one of the super criminals is to escape from the Omega Wing sometime soon. I don't think we'd be together enough to tackle a new threat. Especially in a postwar City like the one we limp through now."

An uncomfortable bit of silence.

Starfire bravely spoke up: "This….Th-This is surely not all Cyborg's fault."

Raven looked up. "…….well…."

"Do you think?"

Raven sighed. She rubbed a temple. "He isn't helping…."

"Have you told him of these concerns you have?"

"Kinda sorta…."

Starfire looked at Raven sideways.

"What? He gets the picture."

"Hehehehe….I would hope so."

"Well…," Raven sighed. "I'm out on the Town to….," she lingered. She lied: "To collect myself. Then maybe I can go to him about it."

"I hope you do, Raven," Starfire said. She bit her lip, but eventually expressed: "Do take my advice. It is a very prosperous thing to let your feelings be expressed before it is far too late to express them. Regardless of if they are good or bad feelings."

Raven took a shuddering breath. "Yeah. Good point…."

"Raven….," Starfire softly spoke. She reached a hand out and touched Raven's wrist.

The dark girl didn't flinch. She merely swallowed and half-looked weakly at the Tamaranian.

"You can trust me. I am your friend. If there is any issue pressing your heart, I am more than willing to talk to you. I would be honored to be in your counsel."

Raven nodded. "Duly noted, Star…."

Starfire smiled. "I suppose I shall let you be to your own reclusion for now. I pray that thoughts reach you wholesomely."

"……."

"N'lattu de X'hal," the Tamaranian winked, tilted her head up, and gently flew upward.

Fwoosh!

Starfire inhaled. "And I would be gladdened….if you could trust me more….," she added to the wind.

But Starfire was gone.

Raven rolled down a sleeve and looked at her watch.

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Gotham City.

11:30 am.

Western District.

Diamond Plaza.

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The interior of the mall was dusty.

Gray.

Cold and decrepit.

A ceiling panel above the shadowed dwelling place shook, clattered, and fell free from its support.

Cl-Clang! It echoed after landing two stories below.

A pair of legs snaked out from the space where the ceiling tile was. Suspended from a cord, a figure slid down. Dark. Sleek. Nightwing shimmied down past the second story balconies and landed at the base of a broken-down escalator. He stood on two feet and looked around. He breathed, vapors visibly showing. He glanced left and right one more time before whipping out a tiny flashlight device which he held in the palm of his hand. A mist-and-frost littered beam glowed palely out from his device as he crept across the junk-strewn floor of the age old shopping complex. His agile feet made little shuffling echoes as he paced his way past decayed plant decorations and mildewed signs. He reached one hand up to an earpiece and tapped it.

"You there, Alfred?"

A voice crackled that only his ear canal could register.

"I hear you loud and clear, Master Dick."

"Is the Oracle still toiling away on Fox's digital ass?"

"Ahem. Yes, in a manner to speak. I fear for Miss Gordon's poor, abused tailbone at this point."

"Don't be an old lecher, Alfie. Only me and maybe Tim's allowed to think of Barbara's butt."

"Why Tim?"

"Because I know I can beat him up for it. Now what did you pick up while I was running across town per Bruce's orders?"

"The Diamond Plaza was once a fashionable place to be, Master Dick. I shopped there many a day when I was bright and young. Got most of Master Bruce's beloved loafers there, I did. Tis a pity they had to close down."

"Yeah…," Nightwing stepped past rows of run-down shop fronts. Gates half-hung in windows, rusted and crackling all over. "When was that exactly?"

"Nineteen Ninety-Two."

"Heh. Peculiar year."

"I believe the benefactor of the plaza was a Republican."

"Ah. Never mind then."

"Like many other growingly grimy spots in Gotham's Western District, the City's been taking its sweet time trying to bulldoze the place. Mayor Hill has spent his whole dynastic term attempting to raze it, but a lot of local investors keep stepping in the way."

"I thought dinosaurs got sick of red tape."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Never mind, Alfred," Nightwing stuck his nose into a collapsed Babbages and shone his flashlight all around inside. Rats and cockroaches scurried. "Anything that might explain why the son of Lucius Fox would be nefariously interested in this place?"

"Haven't the faintest clue, sir. If he was shopping for discount suits, he could just have gone to Sears. They sell just about the same quality, I'm sure."

"Hardy har har," Nightwing mumbled and walked on through the cold and dark corners of the place. "Either Triangular's got some secret fetish for this shithole or this is a wild goose chase. Either way, I'm socking it to Bruce when I get back for making me snoop around here."

"You used to enjoy it when he sent you on these vigilante errands, Master Dick."

"Heh…yeah," Nightwing smirked. "But that was back when I was young and before I learned to give a rat's—"

CRRRRAACK!

"AAAAAAAAH!" The floor collapsed beneath Nightwing and the black-haired hero fell into a sudden, crumbling abyss.

CRASSSSH!

THRUMPPP!

"Master Dick? Nightwing? Nightwing!"

"Pfft…hckkk!" Nightwing coughed, sitting on his butt on a pile of dust and debris a full flight below the floor of the plaza. "Nnngh….bleahck!"

"Respond! Are you okay?"

"Hang on a damned second….Pfft….Jesus….," Nightwing scrambled for his flashlight and stood up. "Jeez….someone should up a friggin' sign. 'Caution! Hazardous When Shitty'!"

"Where are you now, Master Dick?"

"Good question, Alfie…," Nightwing waved the flashlight around. "Hmmm…unless I knew better, I'd say this was some sort of basement maintenance hall for the plaza and such…"

"My word. I didn't think they had one under the Diamond Plaza. Everyone needs to have a secret, I suppose."

"Nothing interesting except……," Nightwing's words trailed off. His eyemask narrowed. He pointed the flashlight forward some.

"What is it?"

Nightwing smiled. "I think we have us here a jackpot, Alfred."

"We have?"

"Mmmhmmm….," Nightwing trotted forward.

As he advanced, the flashlight in his grasp revealed what appeared to be a massive hole in the bottom of the plaza. And that hole was cylindrically line with concrete. And rising up out of the hole was what appeared to be railroad tracks. And resting on the railroad tracks was an abandoned, slightly scorched, slightly dented railcar with several empty crates scattered freshly abroad. None of the crates had a single trace of dust or dirt lingering on them. And they all had the 'Lexcorp' symbol.

Nightwing smirked. "Jackpot indeed."

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

Gotham City.

11:42 am.

Downtown.

Fox Loft Apartment.

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William B. Fox had three computers operating at once.

On the leftmost one, he had two windows popped up. One was a stock trading website, and the other was an IM conversation.

The center window had a swiftly scrolling green on black DOS prompt flashing.

The rightmost computer had a……movie playing.

Fox was busily switching between slurping a straw in a soda can and scarfing down a Slim Jim. He typed maddeningly fast on the centermost computer. He dug his way into the digital infrastructure of a huge network, bypassing firewalls like white picket fences out the window of a commuter bus.

He whistled to himself between gulps and swallows as he rolled his chair to the leftmost computer and clicked a few stock buy/sell options before typing in the IM window and speaking aloud: "Yes. I happen to be a sexy Swedish schoolgirl. Virgin? Are you kidding me? How about you? Age? Sex? Location?" He chuckled to himself. "Heheheheh."

He rolled back to the middle screen. Hacked some more.

He took his soda can. Slurped from the straw.

He glanced at the 'movie' on the right screen. He smiled and chuckled. "Heheh! Woo! Didn't know they could squirt that far!"

He gazed. Stared. Shifted in his seat….then snapped out of it just long enough to place his soda down, return to the center station, and hack…hack…hack. After a dozen lightning-fast keystrokes, he stood up, turned around, and walked across his cluttered 'office' room towards a mini-fridge in the corner.

As he moved, the centermost screen—unbeknownst to him—flickered once. The text froze for half a second before continuing to scroll. Howbeit…it did so this time with something of a slowdown or lag….

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Wayne Manor.

The Batcave.

That very moment.

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

"Woohoo!" Barbara pumped an arm. "Yes!" She typed madly at the computer screen. "We're in!"

Alfred looked over from another station and inquired: "Excuse me, Miss Gordon. But who's this 'we'?"

The redhead in Batgirl's clothing spoke as she continued typing: "Even with the Messenger's directions, I couldn't dig into Fox's satellite feed on my own. It'd take over a thousand keystrokes a second. And since I'm only half as godly as that, I thought I'd get another demigod to help me."

"Another hacker?"

"Mmmhmm….," Barbara spoke aloud as she typed: "How're you holding up, Isomer?"

A string of text poured across the Bat Computer's screen.

'I AM DOING FINE, ORACLE. WAITING ON YOU.'

"Isn't he a darling?"

"Pardon me, Oracle. But how do you know it's a 'he'?"

"I don't, Alfred. Creative license."

"And how do you know you can trust him? Is that also creative license?"

"This 'Isomer' has helped me on over a dozen digital jobs before. I've helped him too. Sort of a cat-back-scratch principle in Internet form."

"And you're using Master Bruce's expensive computer for such a gambling relationship?"

"Er….yeah. I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with that, provided the ends justify the means."

Alfred sighed. "Again, I am thankful to the sureity of my weekly salary."

"Keep cool, Alfred," Barbara talked while typing. "Lord knows Isomer and I are."

"Indeed. Would it interest you to know that Master Dick seems to be in the process of discovering a breakthrough in the research on Triangular?"

"Yeah, sure, Aflred. Whatever," Barbara typed. "After you, Isomer."

'INITIATING TRACKER PROGRAM……NOW.'

Click! Barbara jammed the 'enter' key.

Text scrolled madly down the screen.

Barbara blinked. She stood up, her mouth ajar as information tracking William Fox's digital activities flickered and flared before her eye.

"Whoah……fascinating….fascinating…….keep it coming…..k-keep it coming!"

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

Fox Apartment.

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

The centermost computer screen was flashing.

Text that had been reviewed hours ago…days ago…months ago were scrolling backwards.

A white bar was replacing the green and highlighting every bit of information.

William B. Fox walked back lazily.

He was chugging on a beer glass.

He glanced lethargically at the monitors.

"…….!"

His eye bulged.

He dropped the glass and spit out a mountain of beer.

He took a deep breath.

"Shit muffins!"

He bolted, dived towards the computer.

He pounded on the keyboard.

Hit the escape key.

Panted…sweated…panted…sweated…

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

Batcave.

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

Barbara murmured as she read off the text scrolling across the screen.

"Powers….Vreeland….mirror networks….yes….yes…..branching servers…..interconnectivity….hmm….pirated mainframes….show me the host….show me the host!"

"Master Dick. What is it that you see?"

"Everything, Alfred! This is like an open sandwich and the raccoons have invaded!"

"Pardon?"

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

Diamond Plaza.

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

Nightwing crept past the crates, shining his flashlight over package after package with holes for hundreds of nonexistent glass vials.

"This is the smoking gun if ever we needed to find one! Forget whatever the Oracle's searching for, we might be able to incriminate based on this!"

"Isn't that being a little hasty, Nightwing?"

"Not at all, Alfie!" Nightwing smiled and picked up a clipboard. "I have it here before me! Shipping plans! Transport utility files! And….whoops….hold it…."

"What is it?"

"This is definitely the shipment of Terra's essences that came from Metropolis. Ya know….the underwater facility that Noir, Steel, and Aqualad supposedly stormed in on?"

"You mean Tempest?"

"Whatever. Fish by any other name," Nightwing flipped through pages and shined his flashlight on the typewritten material. Vapor billowed from his lips as he scanned and read: "It's just figuring out where the heck it all went to next that's the problem."

"Would it explain why young Mr. Fox went there?"

"For the same reason any of Two-Face's local goonies came here! To overlook the material! Or at least the loading center before the stuff got here! Hold on….," Nightwing flipped a page. His eyemask narrowed. "Holy crap…."

"What is it?"

"Ha ha ha! Ohhhh…Bruce is so going to get a kick out of this!"

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

Fox Apartment.

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

"Nnnngh!" William pulled at short, fuzzy hair before frantically jamming his fists over the keyboard. "Stop being leeched you DOS piece of dolphin excrement!"

The IM on the left computer blinged.

He frantically rushed over and typed on it: 'afk'.

He rushed back to the centermost computer and performed an emergency keystroke he had programmed into the mother program. A program to cancel all functions. The screen paused momentarily…but kept on going.

"Shitness omega!" William panted. "This has to be a double-team or some crap! Probably that 'J' bastard or…or…." He gasped. "Oracle….."

Riiiing! Riiiing!

"Dah!" he jolted his hand to his cell phone, lost grip of it, played an impromptu game of hackey-sack, and lifted it to his ear. "What?" He shouted. A beat. A blink. "M-Mr. Dent! I….I-I-I….W-Well of course I-I'm covering tonight's b-big getup but…b-b-b-but…." He glanced nervously at the computer. He bit his lip. He tensed up. He grunted: "I have to put you on hold."

Angry squawking on the other line.

"YES!" William shouted into the phone. "I SAID! I….WILLIAM BEDFORD FOX……AM PUTTING….YOUR SCHIZOPHRENIC WHITE ASS….ON HOLD!"

He growled, shrugged, and tossed the cell phone out the window before kneeling before the computer and banging his head literally against the keyboard. "COME ONNNN-NNNNNN!" he pleaded.

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

Batcave.

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

"Come on…we can go deeper…," Barbara typed and typed. Her blue eyes flickered across the screen. "What are you using, Fox? What winds do you sail to?"

She keyed herself into a string of data.

She scrolled down.

She checked server addresses.

She dug further and further.

Deeper and deeper.

"Isomer, you keeping up?"

'YES. TRY THE ADDRESS I AM SENDING TO YOU.'

"Beautiful! Give it to me!"

"It's all right here, Alfred!"

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

Diamond Plaza.

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

Nightwing's masked eyes scanned the flashlight-lit information lying before him.

"The shipment was headed from here straight towards the warehouses located at Fiftieth and Main!"

"Fiftieth and Main! Good lord, that's—"

"Exactly," Nightwing frowned and tossed the pages aside. "Triangular's been under our noses the entire time! I mean….I thought we had hints in the past, especially from what Noir found out, but now this…."

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

Fox Apartment.

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

"Nnngh!"

Crack!

"Nnnnnghh!"

Whack!

William B. Fox had a fire extinguisher in two hands. He was mercilessly hammering away at the monitor and keyboard, bashing the computer desperately to electrically sparking bits.

He panted and sweated with the entire effort.

There was a knock at the door.

"Billy? Honey? Are you okay in there?"

William sweatdropped. "Uhhh…y-yeah, Ma!" He reached over and subconsciously exited out of the 'movie' on the far right computer. "Just doing a little….d-day trading! Nothing to worry about! Nnngh!" CRACK! "Go talk to Dad or something!"

"Lucius just got done talking to Bruce and drove off to the office!"

"Then go talk to your vibrator! Your son's busy!" William growled. "Nnngh!" CRACK! "Okay, screw this." CL-CLANG! "This computer came from my loins…it might as well go where my loins went!" He knelt down, gripped the tower in two heavy arms, and pulled…pulled…pulled….

"Nnnnnghhhhh!"

He strained, struggled, but finally snapped the mangled computer free of the wall jack.

CRKKK!

ZZZZTTT!

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

Batcave.

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

BLIP!

The computer image went blank.

Barbara's fingers froze in mid-typing and her mouth gasped at the last string of data she saw.

"Wayne….," her blue orbs blinked. "Wayne Corporation! Fox has been channeling Triangular's and Lexcorp's activities through the Wayne Corporation!"

"That's exactly where it was sent to, Alfred!"

Barbara blinked, and swiveled around to look at the butler's station.

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

Diamond Plaza.

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

Nightwing gritted his teeth and clenched a fist. "The Wayne Building. They've sent the essences to Bruce's company's very own vault! Triangular was using our very own assets all along! And we didn't even know about it!"

"Absolutely, Dick!"

He blinked under his eyemask. "Babs?"

The 'Oracle's' voice went on: "And they used Vreeland's company and Powers Inc. to double as mirror sites so that his bureaucratic network finagling would be less noticeable! But Isomer and I just dug our way in thanks to the satellite linkup the Messenger promised us. Fox has been using his dad's computer programs and his technical know-how to dig into Bruce's company and tap into the secret inner sanctums of the network almost more intimately than Bruce himself uses them! I wouldn't be surprised if—at this point—William B. Fox and Two-Face themselves know who supplies Batman and the Batcave with all its technological goods!"

"Well, Triangular had the wool over our eyes pretty damn good," Nightwing uttered. "Cuz I've found what's left of the train that shipped Terra's contained powers here. They're at the Wayne building's warehouses as we speak!"

"Omigod! You're kidding me?"

"I wish I was, Babs. We gotta split and make for home turf!"

"How did you learn this? Was the answer lying out in the open at Diamond Plaza?"

"Hell yeah!" Nightwing nodded. "It's almost too good to be tru---" He stopped himself. His eyemask thinned. "Wait a damn second…." He turned. He flashed a look at the underground train tracks. There were beeping, blinking objects lying scattered across the slanted tunnel of cylindrical concrete.

Nightwing hissed.

"C4…."

"What?"

"Scratch that, Oracle! Triangular IS covering their tracks!" he turned and ran the fastest he could across the maintenance basement. "They're just one day too god-damn late!"

"Oh no…Nightwing! Get out of there!"

"Way ahead of y—"

BOOOOOOM!

A wall of fire slammed up behind Nightwing.

"AAUGH!" his body flew like a ragdoll.

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

Batcave.

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

The speakers crackled electronically.

Then a rush of white noise.

Alfred gasped: "My word…."

Barbara gasped and leaned forward to the mic, eyes wide. "Dick?" She grabbed the communicator. "DICK!"

Static……

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

Wayne Manor.

Training room.

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

The interior was dark.

Gray light scattered in from thinly shuttered windows.

Cold air lingered, giving the interior a lightly frosty feeling.

Hidden in the shadows, weightlifting equipment and other exercise machines lingered.

There was a white training mat in the center of the domain. A place used for wrestling and fencing practice.

Instead, Robin was dressed in a white gi. He took deep breaths, performing something that looked like concentrated, slow and precise tai chi exercises. Only…he would break out every now and then into sharp jabs and forward, advancing maneuvers…attacking invisible opponents. Slicing and kicking and decapitating nonexistent figures.

He sweated. He breathed deeply. And all the while, he bore a furrowed brow of determination behind his eyemask. Concentrated. Serious.

"……."

He darted forward. One fist after the another. A high kick. A spin. A low block. An uppercut. A frozen forward-push.

"…….."

He spun and helicopter jump-kicked into a roll, standing up with two uppercuts, a jab, an elbow, a rising knee and a forward lunge with his fist.

He froze there.

Panting.

Sweating.

His gi damp from his own juices the torso down.

"……."

He icily stood up and balanced on one foot. Concentrating. His eyemask thin as hidden dull eyes faded to a blindness beneath his mask.

And he concentrated.

Concentrated…

Concentrated……….

"…………………………."

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

Two years ago.

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

VRRMMMMMM!

Robin rode on through the rain.

It was midday.

Overcast.

Storming.

Rain splashed and sloshed over the mountainous, two-lane highway.

Droplets swam over his helmet's visor.

He gritted his teeth and gripped the handles as he sped on and on.

He drove on into oblivion.

Much like he had been driving for the past twelve hours.

Winding aimlessly.

Going north.

West.

East.

But mostly gaining south.

He sped until he knew that—surely—his motorcycle would run out of fuel.

He grumbled…..sighed….and kicked into a higher gear.

VRMMMMMMMM!

He didn't care.

Rain splashed high in ravines on either side of him.

He burned around the mountainside in a steep curve. Nearly slipping off and flying maddeningly into the solid wall of thick forest to his left.

He didn't know where he was……only that he was close to the Eastern Seaboard.

Even through the rusty scent of the storm and thunder, he could sense the salt of the End of the World.

He had passed countless cities and town, only to end up in nowhere.

His eyes grew thin under his eyemask.

He was soaked from the top down.

And if a wave of rain hit him.

He just might let himself be consumed by it.

He just might……

Fly into it.

He just might—

HONK! HONK!

Robin snapped out of it.

Two big lights brightly blinded him.

He gasped.

He was speeding straight towards an incoming semi-truck.

HONKKKK!

Robin cussed aloud but couldn't hear himself above the noise and thunder.

He jerked on the handles.

Left.

SCREEEEEECH!

He slid sideways and ramped off the grassy gnoll.

And plummeted……

Through the forest.

"Nnnngh!" he leapt off the bike just before he could slam into a tree.

CRNKKK! The bike wasn't so lucky. Its headlights strobed through the forest.

And Robin was flying.

He gasped and twirled his cape-flickering body.

He soared through tree trunks, nimbly pivoted, and dodged the wooden forms as he sailed past them.

Then he hit the forest floor.

THWOMP!

"UGH!" he bounced. Twirled himself. Dove.

THWAP!

"Augh!" he rolled across the grass.

THWP-THWMP-THP! THUD! He landed against a tree trunk.

"Nnngh……," he winced. Eyemask thin. He looked up. Lightning glinted off the rain soaking the front of his helmet's visor.

And he gasped.

He rolled to the side--

SWOOOOSH-CRUNCH! The bike slammed into the tree he was just lying against.

Mud and water and shrapnel flew.

"Augh!" Robin covered himself, dodging the heated collision.

He winced……shivered……and stood up.

"………"

He turned around.

In the soaking rain, he gazed at the wasted, crumpled body of his R-Cycle.

"…………," he clenched his fists. He shook all over. "Rrrghhhhh!" He growled, unlatched his helmet, and flung it against the vehicle. "RAAAUGH!"

CLANK!

It bounced off and hit him in the ankle. THAP!

"AUGH!" he limped and hopped on one foot. "Shit! Dammit! Piece of…nnghh!" He kicked the R-Cycle……with his bad ankle. "NNNGH! SHIT!" He slipped. "DAAUGH!" He slid down the muddy mountainside, tumbled, bounced against two tree trunks, and collapsed chest-first against a rocky promontory littered with rain and pine needles. "………ughhh……"

Silence.

Rolling thunder in the distance.

Rain.

Rain.

Rain…………

"…………," he slowly……achingly stood up. Drenched all over, he heaved. He kicked at the wet earth. He grunted. He shook. He shouted: "Why couldn't you have just friggin' run away?"

Empty breathing.

Empty panting.

Rain.

Thunder.

"Why? Why? WHY did you have to just fly into him and die?" he shivered and shook. Teeth clenched. He gripped his wet black hair and growled. "Nnnnghhh! I know……I KNOW ALREADY!"

Lightning. A loud roll of thunder.

Robin shouted back to the chaos: "I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH! OKAY! I'm trying. I'm trying, God dammit!"

He kicked at the earth again. Another splashing puddle.

"I'm……I-I'm……I'm t-too weak……," he panted. A little quieter. A little……softer. The voice of a jaded, blue-eyed foster-child to some boy billionaire miles away. "I couldn't save you even if I tried……I should never have taken you where I taken you. I should never have gone that distance. It's because of me that you're gone. It's because of me that……that y-you died……"

Wet exhales.

Wet, mapped hair.

He ran a hand over his face and shuddered: "I was……too fake. You were the real one. But I……I wasn't real enough……"

Silence.

A flash of lightning, glinting.

Like his teeth. Clenched. Showing. Furious.

"……I wasn't trying hard enough……," and with his new voice, the strength returned. And the boy faded and some Wonder took over. "……but I will be now. One hundred percent. I won't make the same mistakes again……I won't………You Hear Me?" He raised his fist. "NEVER AGAIN!"

Thunder.

Host moisture.

Robin panted. He took a deep breath. He froze.

"………"

He tilted his face down.

His eyemask thinned, as he if he was looking for something. Something that he saw a glinting hint of.

"…………"

He jumped down from the rocky promontory. He snaked his way down the muddy mountain side. He carefully climbed down between tree trunks. He wound his way in and around trunks and soggy heaps of leaves and pine needles. He finally came to the end of a sloping ridge where the trees parted……and gazed downward at an urban locale crescented around a thick Bay where a huge, bright-gray Suspension Bridge stretched across. Tall towers stretched skyward, eating up the sky. Industrial complexes made up the northern end just beneath him, with a prison to his east……a huge triangle-shaped compound. But what caught his eye the most was an interesting icon positioned in the center of an island floating in the Bay. Something he had read up on……seen illustrations and photos of.

He took a deep breath. Soaked from head to toe……but awash with something else. Inspiration? Awe?

Regardless, he kept gazing at the huge 'T' dotting the watery, stormy landscape.

The Stone Tower.

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

"…….," Robin's eyemask widened some. He was still balanced….still posed in a strained manner in the center of the training room's mat.

In the gray light…..the cold air.

"……."

He tightened his jaw.

He flexed his limbs.

He spun, kicked, spun again, and shot a fist out.

Thwoosh-GRIP!

Bruce's palm caught his hand.

He jolted, a breath escaping him. Half-wincing, the Boy Wonder glanced up.

"……," still dressed from his 'research' with Lucius Fox, the billionaire glared darkly down at him. "Aren't you going without sleep?"

"……….," Robin frowned.

Grip! Yank! Thwoosh! In three solid moves, he tossed Bruce Wayne nimbly over his short form.

The billionaire flipped through the air, planted his feet against the wall, kicked off, and landed in a fighting pose across the mat. "Okay….may I ask what made you do that, Tim?"

"You're breaking my concentration….," Robin muttered and continued exercising across the mat. "….Leave."

Bruce stood up straight, brushing his black bangs aside from the 'tumble'. "You call this exercising? You can do this in your sleep. Speaking of which…I think you should get some."

"I'm not doing anything useful….I'm not being needed for anything useful….," Robin grumbled and 'fought' his way across the imaginary battlefield with swift, jabbing motions. "The least I can do is prepare myself."

"For what?"

"Heh….my question exactly."

"Pushing your body past the limit is not preparation…it's punishment."

"Bruce….I've spent the last two years having four teenage teammates bicker and pester me about 'pushing myself past the limit'. I've constantly proven them wrong. I don't see what I have to fear from you."

"I would not have you fear me, Tim," Bruce shook his head. "You're no criminal."

"The name's Robin," the Boy Wonder grunted. "And would you leave already?" He frowned as he spun with a blind kick. "If I'm going to meditate, I need to do so without interruption."

Silence.

Robin saw something out the corner of his eyemask.

He turned…jerked….and reached a hand out fast-as-lightning.

Grip!

He caught a bo-staff thrown at him.

"………," Robin stared at it. "……." He stared over at Bruce.

The glaring billionaire picked up a bo-staff of his own and tossed his coat and tie off. "If you're going to train….at least train in a way that's advantageous to you. Kicking and punching invisible enemies is below the apprentice I trained…."

"…..," Robin in his white gi eyed Bruce's white button-up shirt and black slacks. "You're joking…."

Bruce stepped onto the mat and twirled the staff at ready. TH-TH-THWISH! "Am I one to joke?"

"……..," Robin tensed his body and turned to face Bruce. "No….not at all….."

Bruce faced off against his sidekick.

Robin faced off against his mentor.

A thick body and a nimble body standing across from each other on the white mat. In the gray light. The cold November air.

"……."

"……"

A muscle twitch.

Robin rushed. Pad-Pad-Pad-Pad-Pad-Stomp-Stomp! "Nnnngh!" he jumped and jabbed down at Bruce. THWOOSH!

Bruce pivoted the left side of his bo-staff up and blocked. CL-CLANK!

Robin's left foot immediately jabbed at Bruce's ribs.

Bruce blocked with his right elbow and shoved against Robin.

Robin flipped back and landed on solid feet in the center of the mat. He faced up and raised his staff just in time for Bruce's heavy charge.

SWOOSH! JAB! THWOOSH!

CLANK! CLACK! CLANG! Robin gritted his teeth, absorbed the blows, and shove back.

Bruce teetered back. He swung high. WOOOSH!

Robin ducked low and swept his leg out.

THWAP! Bruce was tripped. He flipped back and handstanded with one palm. He jabbed his staff out at full length.

THWAP! It caught Robin in the chest. The Boy Wonder stumbled back.

Bruce rolled forward from his hand-stand, knelt, and swung his staff at full length.

Robin blocked awkwardly. CLACK! He gasped and stumbled back.

Bruce dove forward.

Robin vaulted over him with a frog-leap.

Bruce rolled and jumped up to his feet, spinning around.

Robin landed, slid across the mat, and spun around.

They faced off yet again.

A blink.

A breath.

Bruce twirled his staff.

Robin twirled his.

Bruce charged.

Robin charged.

Pad-Pad-Pad-Pad-Pad!

Stomp-Stomp-Stomp-Stomp!

"RAAAUGH!"

"Nnngh!"

CLAAA-AAAANG!

Master and apprentice met in the center of the grey training room, forcing their weight against each other. Straining, metal-to-metal bo-staffs criss-crossing.

"Nnngh…..skkkt….."

"Mmmfff…nnngh….," Robin sweated all over. "You…..are……being…e-easy….on m-me….."

"How do you know that, Robin?" Bruce hissed. "A lot of…..m-months have passed….s-since we last did this…."

"You're one to b-bluff…..," Robin strained. "You were always one to bluff…."

"And you were always one to s-second guess…."

Robin growled. "Not…t-t-TRUE!"

Bruce glared. "Show me."

Robin gritted his teeth. "Nnngh!" he jumped back.

Bruce lunged forward.

Robin slid under him, rolled between his legs, and came up with a reverse kick.

THWAP!

Bruce stumbled forward towards the mat's far edge.

Robin spun and charged at him. "RAAAUGH!"

Bruce spun mightily with a high-swinging staff at full length. SWOOOOSH!

Robin bent back at a near ninety degrees. The metal length of Bruce's staff brushed over his nose. At the last second, Robin flung his staff and left, hooking wrist up and clamped around the middle of Bruce's weapon. YANK! He kicked his left foot out.

TH-THWAP! Bruce's right knee gave way.

Robin shoved forward with his grip of the staff.

Bruce stumbled back.

Robin bent back up, jumped, and spun a kick at Bruce's face.

Bruce flung up an elbow, blocking and locking the pit around Robin's foot.

Horizontally positioned, Robin jabbed his staff down like a cane into the floor and swung his other foot up and across Bruce's chest.

THWAP!

Bruce's grip loosened from the Boy Wonder.

Robin fell down, rolled off of his staff-stance, and jumped back up to his feet.

Bruce dove down at him with a downswing.

Robin raised his staff and blocked horizontally.

CLAAA-AAANG!

Again, the two crime fighters locked positions.

With the mentor forcing his weight down on the Titan Leader.

And the apprentice fighting to keep his buckling knees from giving out beneath him.

"I gave up trying to think I was b-better than you….," Robin hissed. "If this doesn't prove it, I don't know what does…"

"Is that what all of this is about, Tim?" Bruce grunted. "T-Trying to prove yourself to me?"

"Call….me…ROBIN!" he shouted back.

"I know who you are! Do you?"

"NO, Bruce! YOU DON"T!" Robin strained and shouted. His whole body shook all over. "Not even I know who I am! The only person who knows me….nnghh….is SLADE! RAAAUGH!"

THWUMP!

Robin shoved back.

Bruce stumbled in reverse.

Robin came at him—THWOOSH!—swinging—CLANG!—contacting—CLANG!—growling: "Deathstroke knows my every weakness!" CLANG! "He tore into my City…" CLACK! "He dragged Dagger with him…." CRACK! "He ruined the Titans' lives….." CLANG! "And he KILLED me!"

Bruce blocked and blocked and deflected and found himself pressed to the end of the mat until--

SWOOOSH-CLACK! Robin pinned Bruce down, forcing his staff against his. "And now the only way I can possibly get an edge over him is to give up the last remaining shred of my being that's strong, Bruce! Why? WHY must he ruin EVERYTHING in my LIFE? Doesn't he already have a son? Wasn't Jericho enough for him? Why does Deathstroke insist on consuming me and killing Terra…Noir…the Titans…and everyone and everything else in my life in turn? Aren't I good enough for him alone? Aren't I strong enough?"

Bruce was struggling against the metal staff of his former sidekick's. "Tim…."

"For the last time….don't call me—"

"Robin…."

"……," the Boy Wonder was silenced.

Bruce hissed. "I am sweating…."

"……," Robin's lips parted. He saw the beads of sweat on the billionaire's brow. And that was enough for him to…..relinquish his pressure on the staff, and withdraw.

"…..," Bruce relaxed and stood up. He took a deep breath and wiped his brow.

"…….," Robin spun around, his back in a slump. He dropped his staff to the mat. Th-Thap! "You're not Slade, Bruce. I….I couldn't make Slade sweat…….N-Not on my own."

"You did worse….you made him bleed."

"Noir 'killed' him, Bruce….not I…."

"And what would that mean, Robin?" Bruce gestured. "Would Slade's defeat prove something to you finally? Would it make you become something you always wanted to be?"

"………"

"No….," Bruce shook his head. "Even if you defeated Slade….even if you stood over his carcass with his blood justly spilt for once and all in your gloved hands….you wouldn't feel solace. Not you, Robin. You would go on and on….tearing yourself apart for some god-forsaken reason. Because it wouldn't stop with Slade for you. The name 'Robin' means something else in your mind. Something…far more hardcore than even Deathstroke to wield Death itself to understand…."

"I'm weak, Bruce….," a lone voice uttered from beyond Robin's shoulders. "…..I'm weak…."

"Why?"

"Because Robin has died…but Tim lives on…."

"Robin…," Bruce stepped over and stood directly behind the Boy Wonder. "I became Batman….not to prove myself…but to keep embody something. Something for the heartless scum of this City to fear. It was never about becoming something. I will never truly 'become' Batman…not until I'm truly dead. I have to work day and night to embody that cape and cowl. To keep producing the fear that holds the incessant hand of evil. 'Robin' was no different. Until you became him. You started living it all for Robin, and not for justice."

The Boy Wonder spun around with a snarl: "That's not true! I know more than to hold so many cards for ego—"

"Who said anything about ego, Robin?"

"………."

"We can only aspire to become immortal," the billionaire said. "But a dream is a dream. We only get halfway to our goals before the end consumes us. The key is figuring out what to do to make the most out of the middle point. For none of us can be…..one hundred percent…."

Robin clenched his fists and glared toward the shadowed corners of the room. "I can…."

"Really?" Bruce asked. "Is that what the last two years of your life have proven?"

"…………….," Robin sighed deeply.

Bruce twirled his staff, walked to the side of the room, and gently laid it to rest against a rack. "I had to deal with that myself….a long time ago…." He hung his own dark head. "………..when I was Robin."

"……….?" The Boy Wonder spun. His eyemask twisted in curiosity and confusion. "YOU….were once Robin?"

"…….," Bruce nodded.

"A Robin?"

"THE Robin," he said with a hint of a growl.

Robin winced. "S-Sorry…."

"Don't be…," Bruce turned around and walked back towards his apprentice. "…I know I'm not sorry. But at one time, I was. I so terribly was. And I couldn't stop being sorry. I couldn't stop….tearing myself to pieces. Each and every day. Hating myself for not being that which I could have been….which I should have been."

"………," Robin curiously leaned his head aside.

"In Japan," Bruce spoke. "During my worldwide training. I was Robin…for a short time." He gestured in the gray, frost-filtered light while talking. "I stopped would be arsonists trying to burn wooden dojos to a crisp. I attacked and took down a gang of thugs all on my own. I got myself scraped up pretty bad and had a Hell of a time trying to explain it to my sensei the following morning's training session. I was so young….so eager…..so……….hardcore……"

Robin listened. Silent. Still.

Bruce went on: "For two weeks on end, I nearly quit all of my training just for the sake of being 'Robin'. I sweated…I toiled…and on one night, I finally nearly killed myself. A gang of assassin ninjas sprung upon me. I fought two of them off, heavily injured one…but I suffered two shurikens to my leg before I escaped. I nearly bled to death. I only had Alfred to stitch me up…without anesthesia…."

Robin winced.

"…..I realized then that I was trying my hardest….my futilest to become a machine. And I was not. I wasn't even human. I was the ghost of a child trying to become the vanquisher of his dead-and-gone parents. I realized…from the pain and the agony….that I couldn't replace them. Nothing I could do….no amount of blood I could spill could replace them. Nothing I could do could fill in the gaping wound their absence left in my person. I would only be—"

"Halfway….," Robin murmured.

Bruce nodded. "But though I couldn't be one hundred percent………..Though I can't be one hundred percent…that doesn't erase the fringe benefits of my doing the best I can. I save lives, Robin. I save lives and I bring justice to the face of monsters of every shape and size that terrorize this world. As….Do….You." He pointed. "And I'll be damned if I just sit back and watch you fall short of that after everything I've done to teach you and point you in the right direction."

Robin clenched his fists and stared off to the side. "What I am, I've made. I only do things to myself…."

"You didn't need to tell me."

"…….."

"Do you need to tell yourself?"

"I'm smart, Bruce!" Robin pointed at himself with a jabbing thumb and frowned. "I don't need reeducation!"

"Then maybe you just need a rebirth?"

Robin's eyemask went thin as he sighed and stared at the floor. "What good….does even fifty percent do….when Slade cancels it all out? When he snuffs the light out of all I am and all I've ever done?"

"But he hasn't snuffed the light out, Robin. You're still alive and standing."

"………"

Bruce took a deep breath and ran a hand through his dark black hair. "Robin…..I don't know where exactly it was when and where I failed Dick…..or at least where he thinks I failed him…"

"Right….."

"But I know when and where it was that I failed you…."

Robin looked up. His lips parted somewhat….

Bruce was looking away from him by that point. "It was after Bolton's death….in that alleyway…..when Deathstroke practically ended me….." He took a deep breath. "I realized in the fading blink of life….that I had left you to your own devices. Devices identical to that which absorbed me when I was your age. I let you spend two years trying to find yourself but only falling into a maelstrom of wrath and frustration. And there Deathstroke was….streaking his merry, Red way to your City to end yours and the Titans' lives. And I couldn't do a single thing about it."

He turned and faced Robin.

"When I woke up and saw you….I knew that a purpose had been planned out. Perhaps what the Messenger says about a Balance of Morals is true. I've never been a spiritualist. It's not in my blood. But, Dammit Robin, you've been granted a second chance. Now you can beat yourself into a red pulp during all this and count yourself as 'useless'. And I haven't the authority anymore to step into that and 'upset' you. But there's a difference between fighting to become a demigod and fighting to become something practical. And I want you to find that difference. I don't care who you've been trying to prove yourself to over the last three years since you shifted emotional gears on me…on all of us….but it's about time you decided to leave the dead to the dead and the living to the living."

"………….."

"That's all I have to 'bother' you with," Bruce said. He grabbed his coat and marched out of the room. "You may continue on with your exercising."

"B-Bruce….," Robin reached a hand out.

The billionaire kept marching icily on.

"…..," the Titan leader sighed, gazing at the mat.

Silence.

"………………."

"One thing's for certain…."

"?" Robin raised his head.

Bruce's voice said: "Nothing can begin to express how immensely proud I am of you, Tim…."

Robin spun to look.

But he was alone.

"……………….," his lips curved somewhat. After a quiet moment he sighed and hugged himself. He gazed out the thinly-shuttered window and let the frosty air settle around his still figure.

Eyemask dull…fading….

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

Bruce walked into the library, the coat slung over his shoulder.

His face deadpan.

"………"

He approached the grandfather clock.

But before he could open the metal door and pull on one of the pendulums, the hidden door opened.

Crrrreak!

A cold rush of air and the echo of bat shrieks.

Alfred rushed out and nearly bumped into Bruce Wayne's chest. "S-Sir!"

"Alfred? What's wrong?"

The butler gulped. "C-Come quickly to the Batcomputer, sir…."

"What is it? Is it Nightwing? What happened?"

"We….a-are concerned, sir. We don't know."

"Well! Don't just stand there! Lead the way!"

They both rushed down the stone steps.

The grandfather clock entrance slid icily shut behind them.

Clang!

And the clock's tone struck.

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

Noon.

Smallville.

Downtown.

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

"…please! All we want to do is negotiate! There is no need for innocent lives to be harmed! Let us simply have a friendly conversation!"

The sheriff's voice echoed with more or less enthusiasm through the bullhorn from behind the police squad car where he was perched. The other cadets and firefighters watched with uncertainty, all eyes trained on the Blue Pin Bowling Alley.

From the sidelines, the crowd—a little quieter—bunched together and worriedly craned their necks to observe the standpoint. Their blinking eyes shuttered in tune with their firmly beating hearts. From the background, a thin figure pushed in and stared out between two adult bodies in the crowd.

It was a small, teenage girl. With golden, silk-blonde hair. Pensively, she adjusted the long sleeves of her black shirt hanging off her petite hands and gazed with blue eyes towards the scene. Terra bit her lip and looked….looked….looked…till her eyes fell on someone.

The Girl of Steel.

Supergirl was silent. Still. Her arms folded as she stood solidly behind a firetruck, safely out of view of the establishment or the nefarious people inside. She glanced over at the sheriff just as the old enforcer looked at her and breathily sighed:

"I really don't think they're willing to communicate. Something really scared them out of their sanity. I can't imagine what…"

"I think I can," Supergirl said.

The sheriff blinked. "You can?"

"No time to speculate….," Supergirl clenched her fists. "Only to act."

The sheriff bit his lip. "Are you…..sure?"

The Girl of Steel's blue eyes narrowed. "How long do you want to leave those kids in the hands of those creeps?"

"………….good point."

Supergirl waved her arms and motioned everyone to distance themselves. "Get back everyone!" she called out. "Superhero transit underway!"

The deputy walked up, scratching his head. "How do you plan on entering? All the doors are covered according to your Xtra-Ray vision!"

Supergirl winked. "Who said anything about using a door?"

"……."

"……."

Supergirl took a deep breath. She meditated. Clenched her eyes shut. And…. spun…. spun…. spun…. spun… spun…… spun…… spunspunspunspunspun!spun!spun!spun!spun!SPUN!SPUN!SPUN!

DRKKKKTKTKKTKKTKKTKKTKTKKKTT!

The local officers gasped and murmured as the Girl of Steel turned into a virtual drill and burrowed her way straight down into the meat of the street, kicking up asphalt, gravel, concrete, dirt, dirt, dirt, sand, and rock. The ground shook for but a moment, then turned still as the friction in the hole faded and everything turned from red to black.

"……"

"……"

The deputy and sheriff leaned over and stared down the hole.

"You don't suppose that will gather water, do you?"

"Do I look like a gee of a logist to you?"

A prairie dog randomly leapt out and clasped onto the face of the sheriff. WHAP! "MMMFFF!"

"Holy--!"

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

Inside the Blue Pin Bowling Alley….

Joe was pacing and pacing and pacing, the TNT bundle stuck firmly in his gnarled hands.

The cluster of kids sobbed quietly in the gentle embrace of the adult hostages. But apparently their sobs were not quiet enough.

An artery pulsed in Joe's forehead as he turned and shouted with bearded ferocity: "Dammit…what did I tell you kids?"

"Take it easy, Joe…."

"You shut the Hell up, Mic! We're screwed after today! You hear me? SCREWED!"

Mic rolled his eyes back and groaned.

Joe merely hissed.

Then….

Rummmmble……

"……."

"…….."

"………"

The five assailants looked at each other curiously.

The man by the hostages looked around, fidgeting with his semi-automatic.

Mic blinked.

The two guards at the door stirred uncomfortably.

Joe sweated…..

Rummmm-mmmble!

"What the Hell is that?"

Mic shrugged.

Silence…….

Then.

Rummmmmble—RUMMMBLE!

The bowling alley shook momentarily. Furniture and lamps rattled.

"An earthquake?" one guard murmured. "In Kansas?"

"Why not? They happen in Japan, don't they?"

"……."

"Don't they?"

"That's not really a good analogy, you dumbass."

"Well I was just—"

"Shhh! Listen!" Joe hissed.

Everyone quieted.

"…………………………….."

"The rumbling….it's coming from over there," Mic pointed across the interior.

Joe shuddered. "The bathroom….."

They all stared at the ladies' room on the side of the bowling alley's interior besides the shoe lockers.

"……………," Joe sweated profusely. "The damn government….they stuck an agent in the bathroom the whole time….probably with the pink lasers!"

"Uhm…..Joe?"

"Mic, go screw yourself!" Joe spun and pointed at one of the two guards at the front door. "Larry! Check it out!"

"Why me?"

"Because you're Irish!"

"…………I'm not Iri—"

"GO CHECK IT OUT ALREADY! I HOLD THE TNT!"

"……..phwee…..," the guard limped across the bowling alley.

Everyone watched….nervous.

He cocked his pistol. Glaring. He approached the ladies' room. Vibrations could be felt from within. A little rumbling.

Joe bit his lip, still sweating.

Mic watched calmly.

The hostages huddled together….shivering.

"…..," the guard fingered the nob. "……..pink lasers….," he murmured to himself. A beat. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and flung the door open. FWOOSH! He aimed his pistol in and all but pratfalled at the sight. "The Hell?"

Inside the tiny one room restroom, a huge hole was in the tile just next to the toilet. Supergirl stood, brushing a strand of blonde hair up underneath her hairband as she studied herself in the mirror. She turned and smiled. "Looks like I missed the crapper by half a meter." She then frowned. "Hey! Jerkface…ever heard of knocking?" Her fist flew into his face.

WHAM!

The thug flew back, tumbled, and collapsed against a bowling trophy display case that cracked upon contact.

The other four gasped.

"What in the…the…Hell?" Joe shuddered.

The fiend guarding the hostages readied his machine gun and ran to the bathroom.

CRKKK! There was a terrible tearing sound from inside.

The guard ran up and his eyes bulged.

SWOOOOSH! A tampon machine flew out. CLANG! It struck the guard in the face and plowed him over.

Supergirl marched out, dusting her hands off. "Ahhh….yeah," she smiled. "The day's finally looking up."

"Nnngghhhaaah!" Joe spazzed and pointed a twitching finger. "Krypton conspiracy! Waste her!"

"Try your best, half-bakes!" Supergirl clenched her fists and squatted into a launching position. "Frazzle me and win a prize!"

Mic and the last standing guard fired with shotgun and pistol. BL-BLAM! BLAM! BANG! BANG!

Supergirl took a deep breath and flew through the pistol fire at the guard by the front door. She slammed her elbow into him, effectively forcing his body up against the metal doors, and forcing the metal doors to explode and buckle outward to the bright outdoor November.

CRUNNNCH!

"Ooof!" the thug grunted and rolled hard to an unconscious stop outside under the gasping halo of the watching crowd.

Mic pivoted, pumped his shotgun, and fired at Supergirl. BLAM!

Supergirl spun, quick-as-the-wind fanned her hands out, and 'caught' the spray of shot as if with a softball catcher's mitt. She then bolted towards the man in a golden blur and smirked, standing before him. "I believe this is yours, hotstuff…," she threw the shot—still burning hot—in the thug's face.

"AAAUGH!" Mic dropped the shotgun and gripped his face, stumbling backwards blindly.

"NO!" Joe hollered.

Supergirl spun. She frowned and pointed at him: "And for you, bozo….you've outdone your lane rental. Turn in your shoes….preferably—turn in your feet sticking up in the air like a good cockroach!"

A few kids from the hostage crowd giggled.

Supergirl smirked.

Joe hissed and fingered the TNT bundle behind his back. "You're even nuttier than I am!"

"You're one to talk….," Supergirl marched forward and shook a fist. "Like to shove your ego where your rectum is? Assuming you have enough room left there as is—"

"Nnngh!" Joe tossed the TNT bundle at the Girl of Steel.

She gasped and caught it. Her blue eyes widened. The countdown timer read: '0:15'.

"…..," she frowned up at the thug leader.

He smirked back at her.

Supergirl took a deep breath and shot straight up through the roof, hugging the explosives to her chest.

CRKKKK! She burst through to open sunlight. The hostages gasped.

Joe took a deep breath. He ran towards the side door, grabbing Mic's aching shoulder along the way.

"Come on, lazy bones! Let's get out of here!"

Mic gritted his teeth as he was dragged along: "I wish I could see your ass to kick it!"

"MOVE!" CLANG! Joe kicked the door open and they were out.

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

Above the rooftops of Smallville, Supergirl shot skyward. She accelerated towards the clouds with her hand outstretched. When she reached a certain height, she spun, snarled, and flung the TNT bundle upwards with all the impromptu might she could muster.

And two and a half seconds later—

BOOOOOM!

The compact explosives went off, sending a fiery concussion blast surging down through the air and thundering towards her.

FWOOOSH!

"Nnngh!" Supergirl recoiled from the blast, toppled, soared down over the heads of dozens of flinching onlookers, and smashed smack-dab straight through one end of the Smallville watertower and out the other. CRACK! CRUNCH! She landed sprawled out across a rooftop, wincing.

A half-second later…

SPLOOOOSH!

A torrent of water plunged out of the water tower like a spicket and doused her from head to toe.

Supergirl shivered from the cold November moisture and stood up, her golden hair a matted mess. She squeezed her cape out and examined her completely soiled outfit.

"Heh….yeah….thank you, Misogynist God…."

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

The two panicky thugs bolted out from the backside of the Blue Pen Bowling Alley and rushed into the parking lot.

"Shit! Cops!" Joe hissed at the sight of the barricade.

"Uh….yeah, Joe! What'd you think?"

Joe panted. He glanced over at the schoolbus. "There!"

"You can't be serious…"

"You know how to hotwire a bus?"

"Guess I can learn—WAAH!" Mic was yanked after the leader as they piled onto the bus.

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

Behind the police barricade, a cadet tapped the deputy's shoulder. "Uh…..Pa?"

"Hmmm?" the man walked over.

The cadet pointed: "Aren't those strangers hotwiring the bus?"

"Oh for the love of Quaker Oats…CALVIN! THEY'RE MAKING A RUN FOR IT!"

The sheriff stumbled out of an ambulance, claw marks across his face. He snarled through a blowhorn, making nearby paramedics cringe and cover their ears: "Take 'em down, boys!"

BANG! BANG!

BL-BLAM!

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

P-P-PING!

PING!

"Come on, Mic!" Joe sweated.

VRMMMMM!

"Yay Mic!"

"Just needed some lovin'….AUGH!"

THWUMP! Joe shoved the his hot-wiring partner aside, gripped the steering wheel, and shifted the groaning schoolbus into gear. "Thank you Kansas for giving us this tank! HA!"

"Joe! Get us out of here, will ya?"

"Will do…"

SCREEEECH!

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

The bus tore forward…straight towards the barricade.

The cops shouted and ran every which way.

CL-CLANG!

CRUNCH!

The schoolbus plowed through the vehicles and zoomed across the street.

A thick crowd of people stood in its path. They shouted in fear and swarmed to run off, only managing to trip and climb over each other. A carpet of living beings inevitably stretched before the careening vehicle.

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

Inside the schoolbus, Mic was making a wincing expression.

"Dammit, Joe! Those people are in the way! You're going to make asphalt apple sauce out of them!"

Joe grinned psychotically. "So maybe I will…."

Mic gawked at him.

VRMMMMMM!

The bus bore down on the helpless citizens.

And then….suddenly.

A golden glow…..

Joe blinked. "Huh?"

CRKKKKKKKTTTT!

The asphalt rose up in a sudden 'ramp' of dislodged earth.

"AAAAAAH!" the two men shouted.

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

VRMMMMM!

The schoolbus rocketed over the sudden mountain of raised asphalt.

Their bus took to the air, its wheels spinning. Pebbles and tiny shreds of soil and dirt trailing.

In such chaos, the hulking automobile completely missed the hapless bodies of innocent citizens flinching far beneath it.

After a good two seconds of flightless wonder, the bus fell and crashed headlong into a coffee shop.

CRASSSSSH!

The vehicle lodged into the building at a downward forty-five degree angle. Its rear tires spun nakedly.

After a few seconds—as the gasping crowd stood up in looked in wonder—the two dazed criminals stumbled dizzily out of the vehicle….only to be ensnared by wrapping tentacles of pure stone.

CRKKK!

CRKK-KKKK!

"Ack!"

"The the--?"

They struggled until the stone 'tentacles' hugged the air out of them, then they hung breathless….unconscious from their imprisonments.

And soon everyone wordlessly observing the scene blinked and noticed that one person was standing in the middle of the nearby street where the bus was eventually headed. A petite person…a teenage girl in tan slacks and a large, long-sleeved black shirt with her hands outstretched. Her eyes were fading with a momentary gold glow as her whole body heaved with the split-second struggle that was her concentration to launch the bus away from potential harm. Panting….Terra relaxed her limbs and nervously brushed a fountain of silken blonde hair away from her forehead.

It didn't take geniuses—city mice or country mice—to figure out she was the culprit behind the last minute, metaphysical salvation. Murmuring voices exchanged between the people. Awestruck and marveling….

"My lord! Did you see that?"

"That girl……she did it!"

"Who is she?"

"She saved all those people……"

Terra suddenly and inevitably found herself in the spotlight. She bit her lip and hugged herself, looking over her shoulder nervously at everyone staring at her. As if the whole population of Smallville was burning her alive.

And then someone—a teenager—gasped and pointed:

"W-Wait! It's her! The former Titan!"

"Who?"

"It's her!"

"Omigod!"

"It's----"

Terra's whole system froze and stabbed her inside out. She clenched her eyes shut and shook. She couldn't bear to hear them. She was too afraid to find out the verdict. The infamy or the legacy that her stone life was…

So she fought back tears, panted, and ran across the street. Once reaching an intersection, she jumped. Just in time, a circle of sidewalk cracked and flew up to meet her feet—stop sign and all. She gripped tightly to the sign and held on as her 'lift' took her out of the City limits and bore her southward in a golden blur.

People gasped and pointed and murmured to one another in greater fervor.

And at around that time, Supergirl—a wet mess—flew down and perched atop the bus. She frowned in confusion at the whole scene, especially the two tentacles of earth wrapped about the remaining escapees. "What in Kela's name?" A blink. She looked up. She squinted her blue eyes and saw….the distant speck of a golden earth maiden fleeing towards the horizon. Her lips parted. "No way…….she didn't….."

In the background, the police officers started helping hostages file out of the Blue Pen Bowling Alley. Families tearfully embraced their loved ones while the other three suspects were arrested.

And on a distant bank building, there was a flicker of light like two young figures making a run towards the edge of the structure and vanishing.

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

Terra was hyperventilating.

Facing the biting wind.

Her blonde hair a cascading, horizontal mess.

While riding the clump of flying asphalt, the girl ignored the fields and farms blurring beneath her and clasped the sides of her head. She winced and shivered all over.

"They hate me….I-I just know it…..I-I can't make a difference anymore….it's not the same….it's not the SAME!"

She clenched her teeth.

Her squinting eyes leaked tears that turned to ice in the cold, wintry winds.

"I'm not a Titan….I'm NOT! Nnnngh! I can't face the public. I-I can't….I can't face my friends!"

She panted and hiccupped.

She hugged herself, her eyes shut.

"Slade…..why did I let you die alone? Maybe Jordan's wrong….m-maybe the world would be a b-better place if Red Aviary found me……"

She sniffed. She shook.

"Kara……B-Beast Boy…..I'm so sorry…..after all you've said and done for me…..I-I'm so sorry….."

So wrapped up in herself, Terra didn't notice the Earth rapidly flying up towards her.

Until the last second.

Her sapphire eyes opened.

She gasped.

She clenched her fists and pulled at invisible reins to yank her flying platform up.

SWOOOOSH!

She crashed into a cornfield, but at a small enough angle to merely be sent sprawling through the cushioning ears.

"Waaaah!"

Fw-Fw-Fw-Fw-Fwoosh!

Terra tumbled, rolled, and collapsed in the middle of two thick rows of corn. The platform dug into the cropped earth somewhere, plowing down over two dozen stalks.

"……………….n-nngh…."

Terra stirred. She slowly, achily got up. She winced and stood on wobbly feet, rubbing her knees.

She sighed.

"I-I can't even land like a hero….," she deflated breathily.

Silence.

"…………you never land with the lucky side up."

Terra gasped, her blue eyes wide. She parted her hair and pushed the strands behind her brow. "Wh-Who's there?"

Silence.

Nothing but tall ears of corn waving in the cold wind.

Terra shivered. She stepped back in the row.

Glancing left and right.

"………………you really are too hard on yourself, Terra."

Terra gasped and spun around.

A short-pink-haired mistress in violet, jacketed attire stared calmly at the earthen Titan. "We should have imagined such."

"Wh-Who are you?" Terra gasped, stumbling back.

"Listen….please….," Jinx bit her lip and slowly stepped towards Terra with two pale hands outstretched. Her cat eyes were inquisitive…pleading. "I just want to talk. No obligation….no threats…..no nothing…."

"I-I don't know who you are!" Terra murmured. "I-I-I…..I-I need to go back home!" she spun and marched the other way down the row.

"J-Just where is home, Terra?"

"Stop calling me that!" Terra clenched her eyes shut while facing away from the pink sorceress. She waved her long-sleeved arms and hissed: "I just need to go! I need to find Kara and apologize! Leave me alone….whoever you are!"

"But where is home, Terra?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Terra spun and shouted. "Just who are you? Another freak, I bet!" Terra shrieked. "Another super-powered nutjob who wants to run my life for some ulterior reason or another! Well I've HAD IT! I have enough strange people and old wounds in my life enough as it is! Don't you see how screwed up I am? I don't need anymore! LEAVE! ME! ALONE!"

Terra panted. Terra gasped for breath. She would have turned and ran as was her trademark style to do so…hadn't she been taken back by the look of hurt and reluctance on Jinx's face.

"…….," the pink-haired vixen took a shuddering breath and said: "I-I understand that you want to keep on running, Terra. And you know what? Who are we to force you to listen to us? But please…..realize that we can feel for what you've been through…."

Terra spun around, hugging herself and frowning. "No you can't…."

Jinx gestured with a frilled hand while talking: "You can't stop running. And it's no longer because you're afraid of leaving disaster everywhere you go. But you're haunted by something. The loss of someone you care for. Someone you would give your whole life….and reputation to be with."

"………," Terra shivered. Biting her lip.

Clip! Flip! Snap! "………..s-someone……..someone you feel is as much a part of you as your memory can dictate."

Terra slowly turned around and glared at Jinx. "How could you possibly know what that feels like? Furthermore….why would you care? Don't you know who you're talking to?" She jabbed a finger at herself and snarled: "I'm a villain! I'm the rogue of the Titans! I am Slade's apprentice!"

Jinx swallowed and somberly said: "So am I…."

"…………."

"Terra…please….at least listen to us. We want to help you. That's what we came here for. We knew that we would find you here. We need to deliver you a message."

"……..," Terra's blue eyes thinned. "Who's this 'we'?"

FL-FLASH!

A blonde assassin in a gray jumpsuit appeared besides Jinx.

Terra gasped.

"…….," Pulsade looked calmly at Jinx, then sighed and leaned a hand against her hip in a seemingly bored fashion as she said: "Jean and Leslie, at your service, lass. You wouldn't believe the incredible lengths we've gone to speak to you in person."

"…………really now….?"

Jinx nodded. "Only….now that we've found you, it's for reasons different than what we originally anticipated."

"Like what kind of reasons?"

Pulsade said: "We believe we can help you find your child…."

"………," Terra blinked at them. Her mouth agape. She squinted her eyes suspiciously for a few minutes before finally uttering: "I'm listening……"