I just couldn't wait, was way too excited about what was going to happen next. Finally time to break out Dracul's master plan. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. I don't really own a cent to my name to be honest. Why? Because I think that economy is for yellowbellies.
A Haunting Memory Returns
Chapter 14: Somewhat Warm Welcome
Two months pass. The world stands gawking at what had happened. At first, everyone thought it was a terrorist attack, and fingers were being pointed everywhere. People began to wonder if the United States really was the place to be. Everyone started to wonder if it was safe anywhere. Men argued with one another, accusing each other of crimes they didn't commit. That was, until one man stood up and took credit. That man wore dark clothes consisting of a black trench coat, a red vest, black trousers, boots, a top hat, gloves, and an Italian plague doctor mask. Not a single bit of skin was visible. People
wanted to know who the man under the mask was, but they were not acknowledged. The man was to be tried, and depending on his sentence, be put to death.
Jinx listened to the radio as it gave her much-needed information on what was going on. She survived for two months. Living off of fruit and various nuts. She refused to eat the animals that were around her, that just wasn't ethical. Occasionally she'd draw pictures in the dirt using a stick, she'd
listen as the Titans stopped criminals and saved the day. Whenever news about Kid Flash came on she'd smile. Then laugh, laugh as hard as she could. Laugh at a long distance away from the world, laugh a long distance away from reality. It was the only way to hold back the tears. She remembered an especially painful interview of a newswoman and Kid Flash.
"So how does it feel knowing that you hold Jump City in your hands?"
"Not sure how to answer that question. Heavy I guess."
"Why'd you leave Keystone City?"
"The Titans needed me here. So I came."
The confidence in his voice told her that he was fine. That she was no longer needed. Maybe she never was.
"We all know about your, um, relationship with Jinx, the ex-leader of the infamous Hive Five. I know that I shed a few tears when I heard about her disappearance. I imagine it must be very painful for you."
She listened as he tried to answer calmly, but his words were choked out, "It is. But I'll k-keep looking for her."
"Do you have any words to give her?"
She could feel the tears.
"I-if you can hear me, wherever you are. Know that I l-love you and I'm going to find you."
"Folks, this is what truly tears you up. God bless Jinx wherever she is."
Two months ago, she had to listen to that. She didn't know what was to come of the next day.
"This is Debbie Johnson on Channel Seven, your main provider of up-to-date news. Today we'd like to talk about the explosion near 87th Street in Jump City. One of our reporters is standing in the rubble right now. It's all yours Elmer."
"Thanks Debbie. As you all know, yesterday at 2:00 p.m. there was an explosion at a mall causing it to collapse, leaving 50 dead and 300 injured."
Jinx had felt as if a rock fell to the pit of her stomach that day. She was pretty sure that this was the same mall she and the Hive Five frequently raided.
"Here's one of the witnesses of the event. Sir, what exactly did you see yesterday?"
A nasally-sounding voice replied, "Well, me and my family were just-"
"My family and I?" Elmer interrupted.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. My family and I were just walking inside of the mall when all of the sudden there was this huge explosion and a loud sound. I was blasted back a little and there was fire and dust everywhere. People were screaming and one guy hollered that the building was collapsing. I was just freaking out and-and, yeah..."
Jinx knew who did it, but she really wanted to be proven wrong. In a week it was official, Dracul was the mastermind behind it.
"This is Debbie Johnson with Channel Seven, your main provider of up-to-date news. Today we know who the culprit is behind the infamous Mall Bombing. It is said to be a man named only as Dracul. He is currently in custody after his court trial. Witnesses described him as seemingly drunk when he entered the court room, with him staggering around to his table. Here is an excerpt from the trial:
Prosecutor: So, Mr.-
Dracul: Dr.
Prosecutor: (Sighs) Dr. Dracul. You're here because of the disappearance of teen heroine Jinx, the bombing of the local mall, and refusing to take questioning seriously.
Dracul: No, I'm here because I choose to be here. I allowed to be brought here.
Judge: Dr. Dracul, are you meaning to say you came here out of free-will?
Dracul: Of course.
Judge: You're going to regret making that choice.
Dracul: Am I Judge?
Elmer, anything you'd like to add?"
"Yes Debbie, I was actually at the trial myself and I was pretty shocked."
"How so?"
"Well, first of all, the judge and Dracul argued a lot. I mean, with all the accusations of evil acts and being called evil, the guy snapped or something. He managed to slip his hands out of the handcuffs and started choking the judge. I remember him taunting the judge about an affair of some sort right before he choked him. The guy turned red."
"Does anyone know how Dracul obtained this information?"
"No, it was something you wouldn't expect to hear about the judge. Dracul literally said, 'I'm the bad one here?' and literally turned to the judge's wife and asked her, 'Did you know that your husband is actually at Vicky's house when he says he's going bowling?' And then her face drained of color. He laughed and started choking the judge."
"Did they have to tranquilize him?"
"No, he let go when the judge started to go blue, and slipped his hands back into the handcuffs before requesting to be escorted back to his cell. It made it pretty obvious that he wasn't drunk at all. Wild stuff."
"Looks like we're getting a new judge then."
"Yeah, the City isn't too happy with that scene."
...
Jinx was done. She's had enough heartache, she was sick of listening to bad news. She was going back to find Kid Flash and the other Titans. She was going to fix things. It took only a few hours, and she was standing in Jump City once again. As she strolled in her heart sunk.
…
Jinx paced the streets, her eyes unwilling to see what had happened, but forced to look. Broken down buildings were everywhere. Street lights were collapsed on the ground, and there were abandoned cars everywhere. Two large groups of people were fighting with one another on the street. She gasped at graffiti on a building that said, "No Hope, Only Craze."
She walked up to one man sitting on the sidewalk, away from the fighting. From the look of him, he was homeless. He was wearing a dirty coat, fingerless gloves, worn-down trousers, and an especially ugly beanie on his head.
"Now, what's a pretty lady like you doing above ground?"
There was something familiar about his voice.
"What?"
"Hm... you're a tourist aren't you? Afraid there isn't much to see 'round here. If I were you I'd turn around and hightail it back to wherever you came from."
There was a sense of sadness to his voice.
"What happened here? Why are they fighting?" Jinx asked.
"The Mall Bombing happened."
"I heard about that."
"Hard to miss."
"So why are they fighting?"
The man stood up and stretched. She could hear the cracks of his back as he twisted around.
"Now that I can't answer, but I know someone who can."
He held out his hand and said, "Name's Elmer. I'll be your guide today."
…
He was left there to die. Left there to rot. They just threw away the key and went underground, and he didn't blame them. Ever since Dracul's bomb went off, people didn't want to worry about him anymore. So they left him here by himself, the only prisoner. Out of sight out of mind. They didn't even bother to take his stuff with him. If he got out, he could take it and walk away. Nobody really cared, they were all busy trying to escape while they still had their sanity. There came a time when people realized that there was more to that bomb than an explosion. Dracul had added in a highly-contagious toxin, one that would travel through the spinal cord straight to the brain. There it would slowly corrode the mind, and the infected would go mad. People hid underground for fear of catching the toxin, only coming up when needing to gather supplies. The infected would tear the city apart and attack anyone who came above ground. Now he was here, sitting down in this cell, waiting for this prison to rot on top of him. Of course, he wasn't planning on dying in this dump heap of a prison.
An explosion near his cell tells him that they're here. They come running in, wearing gas masks to protect themselves from breathing in the toxin. They're all wearing black outfits, meant for professional commandos. They all have guns, scouting the area looking for who locked Dracul up, wondering when the warden would make their rounds. Their leader walks up with small explosives, and blows the cell wide open.
"Ciao, Corvopadre. (Hello, Crowfather.)" the leader says.
"Buon giorno a voi. Sei stato turbato arrivare qui? (Good day to you. Have you been troubled getting here?)" Dracul asks.
"Niente." the leader replies.
"In avanti poi? (Onwards then?)" Dracul asks.
"Sì. Hai avuto una posizione specifica in mente? (Yes. Did you have a specific location in mind?)" the leader asks.
"La casa. (Home.)" Dracul replies.
Dracul notices men shifting around uncomfortably in his presence. He knew that his title was large, but you'd think that these people would get over their shallow instinct.
"Italia? (Italy?)"
"Sì, è passato troppo tempo da quando ho visitato il mio dominio. (Yes, it's been far too long since I've visited my domain.)" Dracul replies.
"Come vuoi, Corvopadre. (As you wish, Crowfather.)
…
Elmer led the way as they passed through shady alleys, trying to get to the unknown destiniation. Jinx wasn't sure how this former news reporter ended up on the streets, but there were other things to worry about.
"By the way," Elmer says, "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"No." Jinx lies, "It's just your imagination."
Elmer just shrugs it off. As they're about to pass a corner, Elmer motions for them to stop.
He looks over the corner and curses.
"Damn Midas Gang.
"Who?" Jinx asks.
"We'll explain later." Elmer replies.
"Who's the 'We'?"
"Can you ask questions later? Please."
The "Midas Gang" passes by their corner without seeing them. Jinx gets a good look at them, two guys wearing white shirts, gold jackets, jeans, and running shoes. They're carrying around guns, spray painted to look golden. When they're far enough to slip past, Elmer leads Jinx down the narrow alleyway.
"Drop off should be close." he mutters.
They run towards an open street, where Elmer points at a subway entrance.
"Right in there. That's where they're hiding out. The Resistance."
Jinx can't help but cackle at that.
"Resistance? Is this some sort of movie to you?"
Elmer scowls before saying, "How 'bout we get you to the drop off before we run into bad luck? Hm?"
This statement is like a punch to the stomach for Jinx, who stops laughing. Elmer then turns away from her and back towards the street, where Jinx sees two more Midas Gang goons trying to mug someone.
"Just hand over the supplies." the taller of the two demands.
"No, the Resistance needs this stuff. You don't understand." the man they're mugging says.
The shorter one laughs before saying, "You and yo bullshit Resistance don' matter. The boss could swat you's off real easily."
Jinx tries to rush off to help but Elmer holds her back.
"Let me go." she hisses at him.
She can't just let that poor man get mugged, but Elmer's grip is tight.
"Don't be stupid, let's get to the subway entrance while they're distracted."
She turns toward him with a cold frown on her face.
"How could you just sit by like this?" she demands.
"Listen up and listen well, trying to be Martha Nussbaum is idiotic, get that? Don't stick your head out for anybody, 'cause you're just asking to have it chopped right off. And it's not like the world is there for your funeral afterward." Elmer states.
Jinx gasps and smacks him straight across the face. He frowns and turns away, before turning back to her, her hand mark on his face.
"I'm going to forget that you did that."
"Well let me give you one more just to remind you." she threatens, before noticing the cowering man on the ground.
The mugging had been successful. She runs to him, and she tries to help him up, but he sends her away. She looks at him, he now had a black eye and a bloody nose thanks to Elmer.
"Forget about him. He'll get up when he feels like it." Elmer says.
"What if they come back?" Jinx growls.
"That's a risk we gotta take. Now let's move."
He forces her down the dimly lit subway stairs. He moves about, making several twists and turns in their path through the train's tunnels. Elmer stops at a subway cart and knocks at the makeshift door. The door is slightly opened, and a scruff voice asks, "What's the password?"
"Does it look like I waste my time trying to remember crap like that?" Elmer says.
"Fuck you Elmer. Get your ass in here."
The door opens and they're allowed through the cart and through another door until they come into a cavern. This cavern has plenty of tables, chairs, a bar, and homemade light bulbs. People are sitting all around, gossiping with one another about various different things. When Jinx first entered Jump City she was scared that the place had turned into a social desert. Now she knows where it's at.
"Congratulations, you've found the Resistance." Elmer states in a clearly rehearsed voice.
As Jinx tries to take this all in, she spots a familiar face. He's sitting by himself at a table, which is very unusual indeed. She walks towards him and takes a seat right next to him.
"So... you ever get sick of tofu?"
End of Chapter...
At last, Dracul's first step. What could they possibly lead to? Something more sinister...?
Please review so I know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. And stay tuned to see how Dracul's plan begins to accelerate. Good day!