Disclaimer: JOUNOUCHI-sama and I do not own the Teen Titans; they are the property of DC Comics, DC Entertainment, and Warner Brothers. The only things we own in this story are the characters of Bruce Kent Grayson and Jonathan Kent II, the Nightwing and Flamebird of the future. Furthermore, we make no profit from this story, nor do we gain other material compensation for writing it.
Note: We're back and we'll kick off our version of "Amazons Attack," which will be vastly superior to the piece of crap that was canon's version. Before we do that, though, we have to pay tribute to Lian Harper, who was brutally killed off in JLA: Cry for Justice #7. There was no justice in that decision and we are sincerely appalled, for there are many of us who adored that little girl. This chapter is dedicated in her memory, and the hope that a resurrection will be due in short order. Now, let's begin.
"Titan of the Future"
Chapter 7: "To Remember"
~FTF~
No sooner had Bruce and Rose gotten to the local airport than they saw something on the airport TV. It was the title card beneath the visual that got their attention: "Washington, D.C. Under Attack."
"Well, that's just . . ." Bruce muttered. Then he heard something that outraged him. "They can't do that!"
"Wow, I knew government guys could be assholes, but I didn't think they'd go that far," Rose agreed.
The subject of their exchange was the report that various Themysciran shelters for abuse victims had been raided on military order. The justification had been suspicion that someone there might have leaked the news about Wonder Woman's imprisonment to the Amazons currently raiding the nation's capitol. Of course, they hadn't stopped there; the people staying and working there had also been detained for the sake of "national security." Specifically, there was a suspicion on the part of the Department of Metahuman Affairs that the shelters were "indoctrination centers."
Bruce shook his head woefully. This was exactly the kind of thing that he'd wanted to stop in the first place, the start of this insane death course that his future was on. Just then, he turned to Rose, letting a small smile make its way to his face. "Don't worry. My brother's got it handled, and there's too much at stake for things to just go completely off the rails."
"You're just saying that to try to make me feel better," Rose remarked.
"I have to believe in them," Bruce admitted. "Because there are things we have to do right now."
~FTF~
On the plane, Rose looked at Bruce out of the corner of her good eye. "So . . . you said you dated Red Arrow's girl back in your time, right?"
"Yeah, we dated," Bruce confessed.
"I used to babysit for her, before I moved in with the Madisons and then . . ." Rose trailed off, then caught herself. "I wonder how she grew up."
"Like you wouldn't believe," Bruce replied. "Or maybe you would . . ."
"I've got time," Rose said. "So spill, future-boy."
"Sure thing," Bruce replied as he collected his memories.
~FTF~
I was a small boy of six, and she'd just turned fourteen. I didn't know much about Lian, except that she was bigger than me and while I was stronger and faster, she had better reach than I did. That, and I felt funny whenever I was around her.
"Will you get back here?" she asked.
"No!" I replied defiantly, sticking my tongue out at her from my perch on the ceiling. I had plastered myself to the ceiling, using my power of flight to do so.
"Bruce . . . you can either come down, or I can shoot you down," Lian threatened sweetly.
"What are you gonna shoot me with?" I taunted her.
That was a bad idea in retrospect, as Lian came back with a trick arrow and shot it at me. I darted out of the way, only for the arrowhead to burst into some kind of glue that trapped my left arm and leg against the ceiling. Worse, it was hardening and it was already quite sticky.
"Be careful what you say next time," Lian chided me.
Surprisingly enough, the first thought in my mind was, "When I get big enough, I'm gonna marry her!"
~FTF~
Rose snickered. "Wow, you were cruising for a wife already?"
"What can I say?" Bruce asked. "I have strange tastes in women, or at least that's what my dad used to say."
"So what happened next?" Rose asked. "She ever let you down?"
"Not for a while," Bruce replied. "She used it as my timeout corner."
Rose snickered again. "Must have been fun."
Bruce smiled wistfully. "You don't know the half of it."
~FTF~
"I want to be a Titan!" Bruce declared.
"Is it because you want to be closer to Lian?" Karen Starr, his mother, asked, a knowing smile on her face.
"No!" Bruce denied. "Being a Titan is in my blood! Every Robin was a Titan at least for a little while!"
Dick ruffled Bruce's hair. "I'll think about it, kiddo. But seriously, if you're gonna be a Titan, you'll have to be careful. Titans get into a lot of dangerous situations."
"So does the Justice League," Bruce rejoined.
Karen chuckled, eyeing Dick out of the corner of her eye. "He has you there."
"Do I have to remind you of the Justice Society, Chairwoman?" Dick commented with a sly grin.
"I can take care of myself," Bruce said. "And I'm going to be 13 in another week, so I'm perfectly eligible to be a Titan!"
Dick sighed. "It's not that I don't want you with the Titans. I'm sure they'll be good for you."
"But you worry," Bruce filled in. "That's what you always say. You worry. Well, stop worrying. I'm not going to die that quickly. And Kryptonite's harder to find than it used to be."
"That's why some guys stockpile the stuff," Dick amended. "So when they find you or Clark or your mother or your aunt, they can get you more easily."
"I'm going to be a Titan," Bruce declared with finality in his voice.
"I know you are," Dick admitted, sighing ruefully. "I just want you to be careful. You're my son, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
Bruce hugged him, careful of his strength so as not to accidentally crush his father. "I don't want anything to happen to you, either, Dad. But that's what being a superhero's about. We take risks so other people don't have to."
Dick chuckled. "You've been hanging around with your Grandpa Bruce and Uncle Clark, haven't you?"
~FTF~
"I wanna throw up on your lap," Rose commented with a smirk. "Can I?"
"No," Bruce replied tersely.
"What did you expect, telling a sappy-ass story like that?" Rose asked.
"It happened," Bruce responded. "It's not my fault my parents and I are affectionate with each other."
"With a mother like Power Girl, I'm betting a lot of kids your age wished they could be just as affectionate," Rose teased.
Bruce stared her down. "Watch it. That's my mother you're talking about."
Rose chuckled. "I get you. I'd have killed plenty of people who insulted my mom, too."
Bruce pondered that for a moment. "You never talk much about your family. I know about Slade, but . . . nothing about your mother. What was she like?"
Rose looked away sharply, closing her eye to keep the tears in. "Hey, it's ok," Bruce said. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"Good, because I don't," Rose answered sharply.
Touched a nerve, didn't I? Bruce thought. He sent a silent prayer. Aphrodite, give me strength.
"So, why don't you keep going?" Rose asked, seeming to brighten up. "Tell me all about your epic romance with Lian."
"Sure," Bruce answered. "This is how my tryout for the Teen Titans went."
~FTF~
In Titans Tower, the Teen Titans watched the news report of the attack on Washington with shock and dismay. "They've gone too far," Wonder Girl muttered, seeing her mother among those detained by DOMA.
"What are they thinking?" Blue Beetle asked with breathless horror.
"I don't know," Supergirl replied. "And I don't care."
"This is going to be a twofold mission," Robin said. "We'll have to get to the bottom of why DOMA detained everyone in the Themysciran shelters and captured Wonder Woman, and find a way to stop the Amazons before any innocent casualties start up."
"They wouldn't hurt innocent people, Robin," Wonder Girl demurred.
"Depends on their definition of 'innocent,'" Robin answered stoically.
Just then, they got a transmission from Nightwing. "Hey. Our team's going to deal with the Amazons. You focus on saving the DOMA detainees."
"We can help," Wonder Girl said. "Supergirl and I were trained by the Amazons. They might listen to us."
"I appreciate that," Nightwing said. "Fortunately, Donna's with us, too, and since she and Wonder Woman are sisters, maybe Hippolyta will listen to her."
"Hopefully," Superboy remarked.
"Conner?" Nightwing asked. "What are you doing with a sword?"
"No, Jonathan Kent," Superboy corrected. "And the sword's for a little extra backup. Like that guy Trunks from Dragon Ball Z."
"Let me guess, you're from the future, too?" Nightwing asked with a sardonic grin.
"Yeah," Superboy confirmed. "Don't worry about it, Uncle Dick. We'll save those people and rendezvous with you as soon as we're done."
"Fine by me," Nightwing conceded. "We'll need all the help we can get. Where are Redwing and Ravager?"
"They left on some kind of mission," Wonder Girl explained. "We won't be seeing them for a while."
"Hopefully they can come around to help out," Nightwing responded.
"Knowing my bro, he'll be there," Superboy answered. "He can't miss a decent fight to save his life."
Nightwing chuckled slightly. "Good to know. Nightwing out." The transmission ended, and Robin turned to the other Titans.
"We know what we have to do, so let's do it."
"Aye-aye, captain!" Superboy responded.
~FTF~
Six months before his fourteenth birthday, Bruce Kent Grayson stood before the Titans, which consisted of Lian Harper as Arsenal, Damian Wayne as Knight, Iris West as Impulse, Milagro Reyes as Blue Beetle, Robert Queen as Phantom Arrow, and Christopher Kent as Nightwing. Besides Bruce, there stood Phantom Arrow's younger half-sister Olivia, Lara Kent, and Lara's older brother Jonathan.
"You wanna be Titans, right?" Arsenal remarked.
"Yeah," Bruce replied with determination.
"Won't be easy," Impulse warned. "Believe me, I know."
"We're not afraid," Lara stated.
Knight chuckled darkly. "Only fools live without fear."
"Let's do this already," Bruce grumbled impatiently.
"If you say so, Robin," Arsenal commented affectionately.
Bruce's heart couldn't help but skip a beat at the loving tone in Arsenal's voice. Jonathan poked him. "Somebody's got a crush."
"Will you shut up about that already?" Bruce asked.
"No," Jonathan replied smugly. "I get lots and lots of mileage out of it."
"Boys," Olivia muttered with clear annoyance in her tone.
"You're all serious about being Titans?" Chris asked. "Then let's start your entrance exam."
~FTF~
The Teen Titans had located the DOMA detention camps for the workers and residents of the Themysciran shelters. Now, they were on their way to rescue the detainees, piloting a retrofitted Tamaranean fighter ship to get there. "Remember, we don't hurt the guards too badly," Robin instructed. "They're just doing what they've been told."
"Like that's an excuse," Kid Devil remarked acidly.
"No, it isn't," Robin admitted. "But all the same, make sure there're no unnecessary casualties."
"We'll make sure all right," Wonder Girl muttered.
The fighter's stealth mode had been activated, rendering the Titans invisible to electronic and audiovisual detection. When they reached the DOMA camp, Robin gently lowered the fighter. "Go in quiet," he ordered.
"Well, that's a shame," Superboy remarked. "I was looking forward to making some noise." When Robin aimed a sidelong glare at the half-Kryptonian, he raised his hands in surrender. "I was joking."
When the Titans went in, they split up so they could go in from all sides. In the process, they knocked out the DOMA troops guarding the entryways. Slipping into the camp, they searched for those being held prisoner by DOMA. Wonder Girl was the first to find a set of detainees, among them her mother Helena Sandsmark.
"Mom!" she exclaimed.
"Cassie!" Helena whispered.
"Don't worry, Mom, I'm gonna get you out of here," Wonder Girl whispered, moving forward to rip the cell doors apart.
"Cassie, no!" Helena warned, but Wonder Girl had already ripped the doors open, which set off an alarm. Apparently, the doors had been electronically rigged so that the alarms would go off if they were tampered with, no matter how successful the tampering was.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Wonder Girl shouted, extending her hand to her mother.
More alarms went off, signaling that other Titans had gone for the direct approach as well. As Wonder Girl led her mother and the other detainees with her away, they were cut off by a practical swarm of DOMA troops.
"Stand down, Wonder Girl," the apparent leader ordered.
"No," Wonder Girl answered coldly, whipping out her lasso and tying the DOMA troop leader with it. Channeling her anger into the lasso, divine lightning flowed through it and into the troop leader, shocking him into unconsciousness.
"Cassie!" Helena exclaimed in horror at her daughter's seeming callousness.
Wonder Girl glared at the other DOMA troops, silently challenging them to avenge their leader. They began to attack, shooting their high-powered particle beam rifles at her. Like how she'd been taught by Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl used her bracelets to deflect the particle blasts, moving her arms so quickly they blurred into near-invisibility. Tiring of blocking their blasts, Wonder Girl went in close, making sure they didn't have nearly the space to shoot at her or anyone else.
~FTF~
"How does it feel to be a Titan?" Lian asked Bruce.
"Feels great," Bruce replied, now known as Nightwing after Conner had given the Superman name to Chris.
"Why did you want to be a Titan?" Lian asked.
"Because that was where my dad started," Bruce answered. "Even with the Justice League, I never saw him quite as happy as when he was with his friends from the original Titans. He even said to me once that being a Titan meant being part of a family, a family bound by more than just blood. It sounded really cool to me."
Lian smiled. "Yeah, that's pretty much why I became a Titan, too. According to my dad, the Titans were there for him when Grandpa Ollie wasn't."
"That's how my dad described the Titans, too," Bruce acknowledged.
"Speaking of, my dad still can't believe your dad married your mom," Lian remarked, a sly smile making its way onto her face.
"What can I say?" Bruce asked. "Fate moves in pretty strange directions sometimes."
"Sure does," Lian agreed. "Hey, you wanna go out? It's on me."
Bruce looked at Lian, surprised. "You . . . wanna go out with me?"
"Yeah," Lian affirmed. "Surprised?"
"A little bit, yeah," Bruce admitted.
"I like you," Lian blurted out.
"I've always liked you," Bruce confessed. "When I was a little kid, it was my greatest ambition to marry you when I grew up."
"Well, you look plenty grown to me," Lian answered with a sultry smirk. "So how about we give it a try?"
"Sure," Bruce said, "but it's on me. A gentleman never makes a lady pay for him."
~FTF~
The adult Titans – Nightwing, Donna Troy, Wally West, Red Arrow, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, and Jericho – had made their way to Washington, D.C. to battle the legion of Amazons that were attacking the DOMA center that held Wonder Woman as a captive. At the moment, Red Arrow and the Amazon archer known as Artemis were exchanging and dodging volleys of arrows.
"You're not half-bad," Artemis remarked.
"Thanks," Red Arrow answered. "You're pretty damn good yourself. Say . . . you mind if we settle this peacefully and then go somewhere together?"
Artemis's stare hardened, and she shot another arrow at Red Arrow, who found himself barely able to dodge in time. Red Arrow just chuckled to himself before speaking again.
"So I should take that as a no?"
Roy, Nightwing thought as he acrobatically evaded several Amazons' attacks. Never met a woman he didn't want to mess around with, even if she was trying to kill him.
"You are quite skilled," one Amazon complimented.
"Not really," Nightwing replied as he threw a Wingblade at the Amazon complimenting him, throwing off her sword arm. "I just practice a lot."
Wally West, the Flash, dashed around the Amazons, knocking scores of them down within the space between seconds. Cyborg used his sonic cannon to disrupt his opponents' equilibrium, disorienting them enough for Jericho to make eye contact with one and possess her. As soon as he'd entered her body, he began directing her to attack her fellow Amazons, setting the stage for Raven to use her empathic abilities to knock them unconscious.
Meanwhile, Beast Boy was shape-shifting into various animals, taking advantage of his alternate forms' strength or speed or dexterity or maneuverability or toughness in order to fight the Amazons more easily. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that many of the Amazons were accustomed to hunting for their meals and had thus honed their reflexes so that they could challenge him no matter what form he took.
Donna was fighting Hippolyta directly. "This isn't the way to save Diana!" she protested.
"They forced our hand, daughter," Hippolyta replied as she blocked Donna's assaults. "I don't wish to fight you. You are just as much my daughter as Diana is. Please . . . come to our side. Join us in saving your sister."
"We are going to save Diana," Donna retorted, "but the way you're going about it is only going to make things worse!"
"For them perhaps," Hippolyta responded.
"What about your mission to bring peace to the world of men?" Donna asked. "Have you forgotten about that?"
"They don't want peace," Hippolyta answered bitterly. "They only wish to wage war and kill anything and everything that stands between them and their goals, even if it's each other."
"You can't believe that!" Donna exclaimed in shock.
"I don't need to," Hippolyta replied. "The proof lies in what they've done to Diana."
"There's no reasoning with you, is there?" Donna concluded sadly, even as she redoubled her attacks on Hippolyta.
"I will do what I must to save my daughter," Hippolyta answered.
"And I'll do what I have to," Donna retorted.
~FTF~
"Sounds like you and Lian got along great," Rose remarked. "So why'd you break up?"
"Age difference," Bruce replied. "She was just out of college at twenty-something, and I wasn't even sixteen years old yet. It was either that, or she went to jail for sleeping with a minor."
Rose chuckled. "So you lost your virginity to her? Bet Roy wasn't pleased to find out about that."
"Neither were my parents," Bruce replied. "They forbade me to see her for anything except Titans-related business and even then we were supposed to keep it brief. Me, I just couldn't stay away. It was like she had a spell on me or something."
"So what'd they do to keep their baby boy from having his innocence soiled even more by that naughty, naughty archer girl?" Rose asked teasingly.
"They strapped me with red sunlight bracers," Bruce replied, "to keep me from just super-speeding my way to Lian and back. Not that it worked all that well; I just got creative."
"How creative?" Rose asked.
Bruce smiled, half-sheepishly, half-mischievously. "Let's just say . . . really, really creative."
"Oh, you bad, bad boy," Rose drawled.
"I'm not that bad," Bruce answered. "At least not compared to some people I knew." He snickered slightly.
Just then, the P.A. came on. "Attention, all passengers. We are about to land at . . ."
Bruce tuned him out. He knew where they were going, anyway. "So who are we gonna pick up first?" Rose asked.
"I'm thinking we've got a serious need for speed," Bruce answered.
"Who are you thinking of?" Rose inquired.
"You'll see when we catch up to him," Bruce replied, just as the plane landed on the runway.
~FTF~
Having managed to defeat the DOMA troops and save the detainees, the Teen Titans were now making their way to Washington, D.C. to rendezvous with their adult counterparts. "Whatever you do, no stupid moves, all right?" Superboy advised.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Wonder Girl asked.
"You and Aunt Kara brought down Air Force One and kidnapped the President of the United States," Superboy explained. "It went down in history as the most absolutely stupid thing any superhero could do. Hell, it was so monumentally idiotic that newbie superheroes are expressly discouraged from trying anything on that level of stupid."
"We wouldn't do that," Supergirl protested.
"Well, maybe not now . . ." Superboy trailed off.
"We'll be careful," Robin cut in, landing the Tamaranean fighter ship.
The Teen Titans emerged onto the battlefield and joined the fray. "Thanks for coming!" Beast Boy shouted. "We could use the help!"
"No problem," Superboy answered.
"Hey, wait, you're not –!" Beast Boy uttered.
"Explanations later," Robin cut him off. "He is for right now, and we'll need all the help we can get."
Artemis spotted Wonder Girl and Supergirl. "Come to join us? Or will you stand with your Titans?"
"This isn't the way to save Diana, Artemis!" Wonder Girl replied.
Artemis dodged another volley of arrows from Red Arrow before drawing her own arrows and firing at the red-clad archer. "It's the only way left to us. Now stand aside or I'll be forced to treat you as the enemy."
"She doesn't sound like she's in a mood to listen to reason," Supergirl commented.
"Then we'll make her listen," Wonder Girl answered.
"Grandma Hippolyta!" Superboy called out, gaining her attention with the sword he'd just unsheathed. "It's nice to see you, but it shouldn't have been like this!"
"Grandma Hippolyta?" Donna repeated, stunned by what Superboy had just said . . . and the sword in his hand.
"What is the meaning of this?" Hippolyta asked, indignant at the sight of Superboy brandishing the sword. "What are you doing with the Sword of Hephaestus?"
"I'm your grandson from the future," Superboy replied. "That's what I'm doing with the Sword of Hephaestus."