Note: There you have it. At last, you know who Future-Nightwing's mother is. Now all that's left is for the Titans to figure out just who he really is and what he really wants. Of course, some things are going to change, and possibly for the better. Wanna see how? Read on!
Disclaimer: Teen Titans and all associated characters belong to DC Comics. The future-Nightwing is my and JOUNOUCHI-sama's creation. We make no money whatsoever from this story, nor do we receive other material compensation.
"Titan of the Future"
Chapter 4: "To Abide"
~FTF~
"Let me get this straight," Red Arrow commented. "Power Woman is your mother? And wait, why are we calling her Power Woman? I thought she was Power Girl."
"She changed her mind," Future-Nightwing replied.
"Whoa . . . you mean . . . Nightwing married Power Girl?" Beast Boy uttered, somewhere between disbelief and amusement. The nature of that amusement wasn't entirely innocent, judging by the glint in his eyes. "Wow . . ."
"Clean thoughts, Uncle Gar," Future-Nightwing advised merrily, but with cold steel underneath the merriness. "That's my mother you're talking about."
"You don't even exist yet!" Cyborg uttered.
"But I will, Uncle Vic," Future-Nightwing replied. "I will."
"So . . . if you're half-Kryptonian, and you have the same basic powers as one . . ." A thought popped into Ravager's head, and she smirked at him mischievously. "Did you ever use that X-ray vision of yours on any of us gals here?"
"No," Future-Nightwing answered. "Not that I wasn't tempted, but I'm not completely ruled by my hormones." The unspoken tag at the end of that sentence was, "Unlike some people I won't bother to name."
"You were scared we'd kick your ass if you got caught, huh?" Ravager remarked.
"A healthy sense of self-preservation is allowed, you know," Future-Nightwing rejoined. "Doesn't make me a scaredy-cat."
"Could you at least tell us what your real name is?" Red Arrow asked. "I mean, we can't keep calling you Nightwing when we already have a Nightwing."
"Fine," Future-Nightwing answered. "My name is Bruce Kent Grayson."
"Um, what's it like having Power Gir – uh, Woman as your mother?" Beast Boy asked.
"Pretty good, actually," Future-Nightwing replied. "Except I have to put up with her being the subject of boys' locker room conversations because everybody my age seems to be obsessed with her."
"Or her . . ." Beast Boy started to say, but was silenced by a sharp glare from both Nightwings. "Forget I said anything."
"So, um, the thing with you saying your hair was naturally red . . . that was a dodge?" Cyborg asked.
"Yeah," Future-Nightwing replied. "Didn't want you guys knowing too much about your own futures. And I thought it'd be fun to mess with you a bit."
"Well, that's funny," Robin remarked dryly. "Because I always thought Nightwing would end up with Oracle."
"And we . . . figured he'd end up with Starfire," Donna added.
"Um, how the hell did Nightwing and Power Girl end up together?" Red Arrow asked. "She's not even his type!"
"And what is my type, Roy?" Nightwing asked with a slight hint of a smirk.
"Redheads," Red Arrow replied. "Pretty much everyone you've actually been in love with has been a redhead."
"What can I say?" Future-Nightwing commented. "People can date against type if there's more keeping them together than just 'she's my type' or 'he's my type.'"
"Good point," Raven admitted, recalling her own brief romance with Beast Boy.
"As much as I'd like to continue this conversation," Nightwing said, "the fact remains is that Deathstroke is still on the loose. He's still got ties to the Society, and – need I remind you – he blew up an entire city on their orders."
"Then what do we do?" Raven asked, while Jericho looked at Nightwing meaningfully.
"I think . . . now's a good time to let go," Nightwing said, looking at Jericho, Raven, and Cyborg. "I can understand that you want to protect the younger Titans, but they've been at this long enough to know what they're doing. I trust them all."
"Even . . ." Cyborg started to say, but Nightwing stared hard into his organic and cybernetic eyes.
"I trust them all."
"All right," Cyborg said. "If you trust them, then we trust them. How do you want to do this?"
"We gather our old friends, and we find Deathstroke," Nightwing replied.
~FTF~
After that conversation was over, Bruce Grayson noticed that Ravager had slipped away. Managing to track her down with both the skills taught to him by his father and his innate supersensory powers, he found her sitting on top of Titans Tower, her legs dangling over the edge.
"Hey," he greeted her.
"Hey," she answered tonelessly.
"Anything you wanna talk about?" Bruce asked, moving closer to her.
"No," Ravager replied.
Bruce made a sound somewhere between a snort and a chuckle as he moved to sit beside her, albeit at a respectful distance. "So you're willing to bare your body to me, but not your soul?"
"I don't trust that many people with the contents of my skull," Ravager sniped. "Why do you think you're special, Future Boy?"
"I don't think I'm special," Bruce contradicted. "It's a mask, really. The truth is, I'm in an unfamiliar time, and I'm scared out of my skull. Most of the people I know are younger here than I know them, and some of them haven't even been born yet. It's actually kind of lonely."
Ravager sighed. "Is this the part where I bare my soul to you, because you were brave enough to do the same for me?"
"I was kind of hoping that, yes," Bruce admitted.
Ravager chuckled. "At least you're honest." She scoffed a bit. "Screw it. I'll tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"My father, Deathstroke the Terminator, made me his apprentice. Pumped me full of drugs to make me a perfect killing machine, someone to carry on his work when he finally kicked the bucket. Then I find out he just wanted me as his weapon, and not only that – he never even wanted me as a daughter in the first place. I was an accident, according to him."
"That's harsh."
"Tell me about it. The whole reason he was looking for my brother? Wasn't revenge; it was to replace me with his favorite son! I was nothing to him!"
"And that's why you've been acting like this?" Bruce asked.
"I want someone to want me around," Ravager admitted. "There. I said it. Happy?"
"Happy that you're being honest with yourself," Bruce answered. "But what about the Titans? Don't they want you?"
"Your dad dumped me on them, and it's only because Boy Wonder is his little brother that I'm still on the team," Ravager spat. "If Wonder Bitch and Tin Man had their way, they'd boot me as soon as they could, and Flash – Bart – he's not even talking to me anymore."
"What about Kid Devil and Miss Martian?" Bruce wondered. "They seem to like you."
"Kid Devil's lonely, and Miss Martian's too naïve to know any better about me," Ravager retorted.
"I think . . . they see something that the others don't see," Bruce mused aloud. "And I think, you're a much better person than you give yourself credit for."
"You must be joking," Ravager scoffed.
"I'm serious on this. You're a diamond in the rough. Got your hard edges to be sure, but with a little time and a little care, people would see that you're really, really beautiful."
Ravager flushed slightly. It was the first time a boy had told her outright that she was beautiful. She'd gotten a lot of boys calling her "hot" or "sexy" or "doable," but not a one had actually called her "beautiful." If she were the sentimental type, she'd be crying right then and there. But Rose Wilson didn't cry, so she just settled for punching Bruce in the shoulder.
"You freak."
"Yeah. I guess I am."
~FTF~
Morning came, and the adult Titans had left to embark on their hunt for Deathstroke. This left Robin, Ravager, Wonder Girl, Kid Devil, Miss Martian, and Bruce Grayson to do a recruiting drive to bolster their numbers. As it turned out, there were a lot of people showing up, and half of them were showing up for Ravager. The other half showed up for Robin.
Bruce had changed his costume to something that wouldn't leave him confused for his father or for Superman. This costume was a dark red suit with silver shoulders, silver bands around his wrists and calves, and a silver S-shield on a dark red background. The S-shield was an altered version of Superman's chest symbol, resembling the symbol of his maternal grandfather, the Earth-Two Superman. A silver cape with scalloped edges and red lining completed the ensemble.
One of the potential members, a certain Black Alice, looked at Bruce. "Are you supposed to be the new Superboy or something?"
"No," Bruce replied. "Call me Redwing."
"Well, you've got a lot of red in your outfit, that's for sure," Black Alice commented. "What, it's your favorite color?"
"One of them, anyway," Redwing replied. He smiled briefly when he looked at her. "Another of my favorites is black."
Black Alice chuckled. "A man after my own heart."
Another potential member was Natasha Irons, the niece of Steel and currently an armored hero herself. "Nice suit," Redwing commented.
"Thanks, I redesigned it myself," Natasha replied.
"And it shows," Redwing bantered back.
Robin scowled. "Are you going to flirt with everyone who shows up here?"
"Just the cute ones," Redwing rejoined.
"Cocky guy, huh?" Natasha observed.
Redwing smiled. "I try not to be. Can't help it sometimes."
In the end, the membership of the new Titans consisted of Robin, Ravager, Wonder Girl, Kid Devil, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle, and . . . Supergirl. Yes, that was right. Supergirl was joining the Teen Titans.
"Cousin Kal said it'd be good for me to hang out with kids my age, and . . ." She trailed off when she saw Redwing. "Who are you, and why are you dressed like that?"
"Hi, Aunt Kara," Redwing replied, smiling at her.
"Aunt Kara?" Supergirl repeated, confused.
"I'm from the future," Redwing explained briefly.
"Kal's son?" Kara asked. Redwing shook his head.
"Uh, no . . ." he clarified slowly. "Power Woman's my mother. Or I guess Power Girl in the here and now. Since she's basically you from Earth-Two, that makes you sisters. Kind of. So that makes you an aunt. Congratulations."
". . . Huh," was all Supergirl said. It was certainly not what she expected.
"So what brings you here?" Redwing asked, bringing her back to reality.
"Wonder Girl invited me," Kara replied.
"Yeah, I heard you two were pretty close," Redwing commented.
Supergirl and Wonder Girl gazed skeptically at Redwing. "I meant nothing by it," he said. "Just that you two were good friends."
"Tell you what, since you've decided to be such a smartass," Supergirl said. "You have to fight me and Wonder Girl. If we win, you're our slave for a whole week."
"You can whip me if I misbehave . . ." Redwing sang, bringing up memories in the other Titans' minds of a certain comeback song. Getting slightly more serious, he smirked at the two super-powered blondes. "And if I win?"
"Anything you want," Supergirl replied.
"I want a date with Wonder Girl," Redwing stated. "Those are my terms. And if I lose, I agree to be your slave for the week."
Supergirl and Wonder Girl looked at each other with what Redwing could only presume were mischievous gleams in their eyes. He supposed he couldn't blame them; the prospect of having him as a slave – even if only temporarily – would be quite pleasant for any girl. At least, that was what the giggling whispers that his peers in his time thought he couldn't hear seemed to indicate.
"All right," Wonder Girl said. "Let's go."
Redwing smiled wickedly. "You know, even if I win, princess – and I will win – I'd gladly accept being your sex slave. Just ask."
Wonder Girl blushed, while Supergirl chortled with mischief. "Sounds like he's really into you," she remarked.
"You're incorrigible, you know that?" Wonder Girl said to Redwing.
"Yeah, but you'll love me for it," Redwing rejoined, still smiling.
The other Titans just watched, absolutely befuddled. "Wow . . ." Blue Beetle remarked. "Just who is this guy?"
"Time traveler," Robin replied. "From the future."
"Really?" Blue Beetle asked.
"Really," Robin confirmed dryly.
~FTF~
Redwing, Supergirl, and Wonder Girl stood on top of Titans Tower, psyching themselves for the upcoming spar. "Go easy on me," Redwing joked, taking off his cape. "I'm a quick bruiser."
"Sure we will," Supergirl retorted with a slight smirk.
"Ready?" Wonder Girl asked.
"Yeah," Redwing replied.
Wonder Girl nodded briefly to Supergirl, and then the two girls attacked Redwing at super-speed. Redwing parried and dodged their attacks to the best of his ability, marveling at how well Wonder Girl and Supergirl were keeping up with him. He smiled as he fought them, thinking to himself that this was the most fun he'd had in a while.
Redwing threw himself into a 360-degree spinning kick that started low and moved higher as it went on, sweeping Wonder Girl's legs out from under her and kicking Supergirl in her exposed midriff. Both girls recovered quickly, Wonder Girl landing on her hands and pushing off into a kick while Supergirl twisted onto her feet to attack again. Redwing barely managed to block both of them this time, but this did not faze him at all.
"Wow, you're good at this," Redwing complimented.
"Thanks," Wonder Girl answered. "So are you."
Redwing smiled. "Come."
Supergirl and Wonder Girl went for him again, and this time Redwing was blocking both their attacks with one arm, keeping the other behind his back. He soon realized the folly of this when both girls amplified the speed and force of their assault. Their joint attacks were far too much for him to handle with just one arm, so he brought out the other arm to help out.
Even then, he was not having an easy time of it, as Supergirl and Wonder Girl had the advantage of each other as backup and nearly perfectly synchronized movements. Out of desperation, Redwing used his heat vision to generate a burst of light to momentarily blind Supergirl and Wonder Girl so he could regroup. That turned out to be a stupid idea, as it didn't blind them long enough for him to gain any meaningful advantage.
Plus, Supergirl and Wonder Girl both had heightened senses like him, so they could just use the other senses that hadn't been disabled to keep up with him. Then Redwing realized his mistake; he'd been trying to outfight them when a better idea would have been to outmaneuver him. What the hell had his training under his father and associated members of the "Bat-Family" been for, if not to use it like this against a superior foe?
"Did you know . . ." he asked as he blocked Supergirl's fist. ". . . that Superman marries Wonder Woman in my time?"
"What the hell?" Supergirl and Wonder Girl uttered simultaneously in sheer shock, which distracted them long enough for him to just knock them both down.
"I win," Redwing answered.
Supergirl and Wonder Girl looked at the smiling Redwing in utter befuddlement. "Were you serious, or were you just pulling our chains?"
"Pulling your chains?" Redwing echoed, the smile turning somewhat lascivious. Then he got serious. "Maybe. Maybe not. Can't tell you too much about how these things go. Might change the future, and I'd like to still exist when I get back."
"I guess this means I owe you a date," Wonder Girl surmised.
"Yeah," Redwing replied. "But you still get to reap the benefits. Order me however you like, I will obey."
Wonder Girl smiled mischievously, thinking about the ways she could take advantage of Redwing's statement.
~FTF~
Unbeknownst to Redwing, Supergirl, or Wonder Girl, they were about to get another visitor from Bruce Kent Grayson's time. A crackling warp formed in the air above Metropolis, and a black-haired boy dressed in black, red, and gold tumbled out of it. The warp closed behind him with a lightning-like flash and a thunderous crack.
The boy steadied himself in midair, blinking briefly to look at the city below him. His costume was black, with a fiery golden birdlike symbol emblazoned across his chest and back and down his arms. While the symbol was gold on both the chest and black, it gradually deepened to a reddish color as the "wings" expanded over his arms. His forearms and the tips of his middle and ring fingers were the deepest red. All in all, his symbol resembled a sunset.
This was Jonathan Kent II, known to the people of the future as the Flamebird to Bruce Kent Grayson's Nightwing. Right now, though, he had a cousin to track down and bring back home. Then again, he was pretty sure it wouldn't be an easy task, given that his own time-crossing device had been damaged in the backward trip.
Steeling himself for the task ahead, Flamebird flew in the direction of San Francisco, a fiery trail behind him.