Chapter 22 - Project Titan

Okay, so here is chapter 22. This chapter turned out a little shorter, but that's okay because next chapter is freakishly long already, and I'm not even done typing it. 182-185 reviews for an update, and I want at least 5 more favorites. Review and enjoy.

Friday, October 28th 9:30 AM - Richard and Kori's house

Kori's POV

I awake in my own bed for the first time since Richard had told me he was Nightwing. After last night when he said that he didn't know if he wanted to be with me anymore, I spent most of the night in the living room crying. My friends tried to comfort me, but it was to no avail. Richard has full control of my heart, and only he can take the pain that is burning in there away.

I only had gotten around three hours of sleep the whole night, and am feeling like crap, as they say, but I roll out of bed regardless. I can not lay in bed all day, even though I am not sure if I am ready to face the world outside my bedroom door, especially Richard.

Heading down the hallway, I briefly pause in front of Richard's door and consider knocking, but I decide against it in favor of going down stairs to see if anyone else is up.

When I walk into the living room I find my friends sitting on the couch, so I decide to join them, even though I do not feel like talking all that much. When they see me coming, they all give me sad smiles.

"Hey Kor," Bee greets me. "How ya doing this morning?"

I take a seat in between Vic and Raven, bringing my knees up to my chest. I am very touchy and it makes me feel better to have something to hold on to. "I am still most upset. Has Richard came down stairs this morning?"

Raven shakes her head. "No, he's in his room."

I gave a faint nod in response. It does comfort me to that he is here.

"We were waiting on you to come down. We are about to go to breakfast, and head to the park for awhile, you wanna come?," Vic offers.

"No, I wish to stay here, I must speak with Richard," I decline.

"Aight, if you need anything just give me a call and we'll be come right back," Vic replied.

I gave him a soft, yet sad smile. "I thank you."

Vic nods and squeezes my shoulder lightly before he stands along with the rest of my friends.

Before Gar walks out of the living room, he pauses in front of me. "I'm really sorry Kor. This is my fault, we shouldn't have rushed in like we did, and..."

I stand up and hug him, seeing he was nearly as upset as I am. "It is not your fault Gar, it is mine. I chose to do this, you just went along with it. Do not blame yourslef."

After I pull away, he gives me a soft smile, but I am able to see that something is still doing the bothering of him. He gives me one more look before walking out the living room, leaving me alone with my many troubling thoughts.

Friday, October 28th 12:00 PM - Richard and Kori's house

Normal POV

It had been hours since her friends had left and Richard still had not came down stairs. Even though she had no idea what she was going to say, she needed to see him. She couldn't wait any longer, she had to know if they were still together.

Standing, Kori headed up the stairs, pausing in front of his door. She took as deep breath before knocking.

A few seconds later a disheveled Richard opend the door. He wasn't suprised to see her, but was conflicted on rather he wanted to talk with her at the moment.

He could tell by the bags under her eyes that she hadn't gotten much sleep, something they had in common. He'd spent the whole night thinking, managing only a couple hours of sleep. He couldn't quite figure out her facial expression. It seemed to be a mixture of sadness, anxiousness, and apprehensiveness, along with a few other less present emotions

Realizing he wasn't saying anything, he greeted her. "Uhh, hey."

"Greetings," she nervously replied.

"You wanna come in?," he offerd.

Kori noticed his voice was much softer than it had been last night, which she was thankful for. "I do not know," she answered, her eyes finding the floor. "I believe that depends upon rather or not you have came to a decision on the breaking up, and what your answer is."

He was quite for a moment, which unnerved her. Her heart began to pound rapidly in her chest in anticipation.

"I think I want to work things out," he finally answered. He was still a little mad at her for sneaking around and almost getting herslef killed, but he loved her, and at the end of the day his world revolved around her.

A breath that she hadn't realized she was holding escaped her, and a hopeful smile crossed her face. "Truly?," she questioned.

"Yeah, but we have alot to talk about." Like for starters, why did you do it?," he asked seriously.

Kori hung her head. "I wanted to show you that I could handle myslef, so that you would let me come with you. All I wished was to show you that I was capabale of being a hero, so that I could protect you," she explained.

He wanted argue that he didn't need protection, but he had just been shot a week earlier. "And why didn't you tell me about this?"

"You would not have let me if I had told you."

"And with good reason. If I had been just a minute later you'd be dead, all of you would. Do you undertsand what that would have done to me?," he asked, sounding a little angry.

"I am sorry, I did not wish for it to happen that way," she replied, her eyes still finding fascination with the floor.

He sighed. He didn't want to fuss at her. "Come here," he said, extending his arms out to her.

She fell into his arms without hesitation, laying her head on his chest. "I am truly sorry for everything," she repeated.

He kissed the top of her head. "It's okay, we'll figure it out."

She angled her head so that she could see his face. "Last night you said you did not trust me, did you mean it?"

He sighed. "I was angry when I said that, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going to watch you a little more closely now."

She sombered. "Is there a way I may earn your trust back?" Him trusting her was something she thoght was very important.

"It'll just take time, but I'm sure we fix this."

She nodded and laid her head back on his chest.

He took her hand and led her over to the bed where he laid down, pulling her on top of him. They held each other quitely for a long time, just enjoying the warmth of each other. Kori was the first to speak to break the silence. "Richard, may I ask why you chose to stay with me?"

"It's simple, I love you, and I honestly can't imagine my life without you in it at this point," she smile lovingly at that. "Plus I found out I don't sleep to well without you beside me, and I need my beauty sleep," he joked trying to ease her.

She giggled a little. "I think you are most beautiful."

Richard laughed. "Yeah, I think you're most beautiful too," he replied, playing with her phrasing

She smiled and scooted up so she could nuzzle her nose into his neck.

He laughed. "Stop that tickles."

"No, it is a way my people show affection."

"Well, show it a differnt way."

"As you wish" she replied raising her head and kissing him.

He kissed her back, and when they broke away she leaned her forehead on his. "Are you still angry with our friends?," Kori asked.

"A little, are they down stairs?"

"No, they went to the breaking of fast and the park," she replied.

He nodded. "We're all going to have a little discussion when they get back."

Kori sat up on his stomach. "Before we have this discussion, please take into consideration that it was my idea, and Raven, Bee, and Vic did not know anything about till after you were asleep." She wanted all the blame, afterall it was her idea.

"You can relax, I'm not gonna yell, but there is something we all need to talk about."

"Oh, what?," she questioned.

"You'll find out when everyone else does," he said definitely.

Kori frowned at him. "Do I not get the perks for being the girlfriend?"

Richard laughed, she was just to cute. "Yeah, I can make you something eat, you haungry?"

At least a few of her nine stomaches grumbled in response, causing her to smile sheepishly.

He smirked. "Well, that's a yes."

Friday, October 28th 12:30 PM - Jump City Park

Normal POV

Raven and Gar walked along the park's path side by side, while Vic and Bee were feeding the few ducks that were in the park's pond. Since it was fall the path was littered with fallen leaves that made a crunching sound under their feet everytime they took a step.

Since leaving he house, Raven had noticed Gar was alot quiter than normal, which meant something as definitely wrong. She glanced over at him."You okay?," she asked.

He looked over at her and offerd her a small smile. "Yeah, it's just...," his smile fell, "last night we almost died, and when something like that happens it gets you thinking."

"About what?"

He looked at the ground and shuvved his hands inside the pockets of his brown hoodie. "You know, things you would regret that you didn't do, things you wished you had done."

"Oh, like what?"

"Well, Bee and Vic are together, and I'm pretty sure Dick and Kori will be making out on the couch by the time we get back. We're around it everyday, and you see how happy they are, how much they care for each other, and it kinda makes you want that," he replied, now looking at her.

She felt her heartbeat quicken. "I guess it does sound nice, but there is so many emotions involved in being in a relationship. I mean Kori cried all night."

"Well yeah, but I garantee if you asked her she would say she wouldn't trade it for anything."

Raven thought for a moment. Gar did make a point. Everytime it was just the girls hanging out, the only thing Kori would talk about was Richard, rather they were arguing or not. "Yeah, I guess."

Gar sighed. "All that I know is that last night I figured out that you never know when your times gonna be up, so sometimes you just have to take a chance." He stopped and grabbed her hand to halt her as well. They locked eyes, and the sounds around them faded out. "Rae, I'm not tall, I don't have big muscles, and under the hologram I'm green, but if you can look passed all that, I want you to be my girlfriend."

Raven's mouth fell agape. Did he really just ask her to be his girlfriend? "Gar, I..., her mouth was suddenly bone dry. The rational side of her was screaming no, that it was just to dangerous, but her heart overshadowed all of that. She had grown to care for Gar in a way that she did no one else,and if he wanted to be with her, she would open up enough to let him. "I will," she replied, smiling much brighter that she could have ever remembered smiling

Gar smiled brightly and pulled her into him, placing his lips against hers. She kissed back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Wow, did we miss something?," Vic voice questioned.

Gar and Raven broke away to find Vic and Bee approaching.

"Umm, I asked her out," Gar informed, smiling sheepishly.

Bee laughed. "About time."

Raven rolled her eyes, but was unable to stop herslef from smiling.

"We were going to head back to Dick and Kori's, but if you two wanna swap spit some more we can wait.," Vic teased.

Raven frowned briefly before replying. "No, we should probably get back," she agreed, intertwining her and Gar's finger.

Bee and Vic traded smirks before turning to walk to the car, Gar and Raven following.

Friday, October 28th 1:00 PM - Richard and Kori's house

Normal POV

Vic, Bee, Gar, and Raven walked through the front door and headed into the living room. To say the least, no one was overly suprised to find Richard and Kori making out on the couch.

"Dude, I so called that," Gar commented, looking over at Raven.

The couple broke away and looked up at their friends.

"Greetings friends," Kori said breathlessly, her beaming smile now having returned.

"I take it everything's okay?," Vic questioned.

"Yeah, we're fine, but last night isn't forgotten," Richard replied, standing from the couch.

Everyone in the group found something other than Richard to look at.

"Dude we're really sorry," Gar spoke.

"Yeah, and thanks for saving us," Bee added. "If it wasn't for you we'd be dead."

Richard didn't acknowledge them. "Everyone to the Nightwatch, now," he commanded.

They all traded looks. "Richard, why must we go to Nightwatch?" Kori asked, floating up behind him and pearing her head over his shoulder so that she could see his face.

"Yeah, if you're gonna kill us now you should have just let Slade do it last night," Gar contributed half jokingly.

"No one's dying, I'll explain when we get there," was all that he said before walking past everyone and out of the living room.

Kori scrunched her brows before floating off behind him. The rest of the group traded looks before walking off after her.

Once they reached the Nightwatch, they found Richard standing in the center of the room holding a file in his hand.

"What's that?," Vic asked, pointing toward the file.

Richard opend it and seemingly scanned it over for a moment before saying anything. "The Justice League did some research and found that sixty percent of young meta-humans are finding themselves on the wrong side of the law, and the number is continually rising, after all it's easier to use your powers for personal gain rather than to help people."

"I don't understand," Bee said.

"Yeah dude, I'm lost. What does this have to do with last night?," Gar asked.

"A few months ago I was contacted by Batman on behalf of the Justic Leaugue. They had devised a plan called Project Titan and wanted to know if I would be interested in leading and training a team of young heroes, similar to the Justice League. They believed that it would drastically reduce the number of young criminal meta-humans because it show them there was a movement they could get behind.

He paused to look at his friends, hoping they now knew what he was getting at, but judging by their faces, all of them except Raven still had no idea what was going on, so he continued. "They said due to my training and the likelyhood that one day I would replace Bruce as Batman, and therfore become the leader of the Justice Leauge, that I was the first person they thought of, but I respectfully declined the offer because I was still trying to make a name for myslef," he explained

"Now, that Nightwing is one of the better known Heroes in the world, I no longer have that holding me back, and I have to admit it would better the future of the world if young meta-humans had some guidance, so after long hours of consideration due to recent events I have decided to take on the mission," Richard concluded and could see that everyone but Gar understood what he was getting at.

"Sooooo, what are you saying exactly?," he asked.

Raven palmed her forehead. "And this is my boyfriend," she mummbled, but loud enough where Kori, who was standing beside her, heard.

"You and Gar are doing the dating?" she whisperd into Raven's ear.

"Girl talk later," Raven whispered back.

Kori nodded and turned her attention back to Richard as he explained.

"I'm asking you if you would all be interested in taking part in project Titan," he replied.

"But dude, you were mad at us just last night for trying to be heroes," Gar retorted, now completely lost.

"Yeah man, I don't get that either," Vic agreed. "What caused you to change your mind?"

"I was never mad at you for wanting to do good, I was mad at you because you all did it behind my back and almost got yourselves killed in the process." He glanced at each on of them. "You guys are apart of my family. He looked over at Kori. "One of you I plan to spend the rest of my life with, so it scared the hell out me to have been so close to losing you," Kori blushed at the at admittance of Richard wanting to spend the rest of his life with her. "Anyway, who's in?," he questioned.

Vic was the first to step foward. "I've been thinking really hard, and I wanna do something more meaningful with my life than just play football. I'm in."

Gar was next. "I've been wanting to get back at this since I came here, you know I'm up for it."

Kori followed. "I have already stated my reasoning to you, and my desire to be the hero is see through."

"Clear," he corrected her before looking over at Bee.

"Wherever Sparky goes I go," she said, looking over at her boyfriend, who smiled back at her.

Everyone turned to Raven. She seemed to think it over for a moment, weighing the risks and rewards of it before she finally nodded. "I'm in."

Richard nodded back, his face serious. "I need you all to understand a few things. There are great risks involved with this, as you should already know, and the training will be the hardest thing you've ever done."

"Well, we don't really need as much training as you, we have powers," Gar pointed out.

"All five of you were taken down by Slade, you need training," Richard responded.

"He had these robot things, we were out numbered," Bee informed.

Richard considered that for a moment before shaking his head. "Doesn't matter."

Kori spoke up. "He is right. When we fought the Joker's men, he and the Batman fought as one, we fought as individuals and that is why we were defeated."

Richard smiled proudly at her, she really did understand. "Kori, you're absolutetly correct." He turned the rest of his friends. "I'm not training you to fight hand to hand like I have to, I'm traing you to act as one unit, one team, as Titans."

Something about the name 'Titan' empowered them. The Titans stood above all others just as they would now stand above the city, watching over it, protecting it, as one.

Next Chapter will cover a large period of time, then the bomb drops... so to speak.