2.
Titans Tower
August 08
02:42 UTC
Living room:
It did not take long for the three in the tower's living area to fall asleep. Occupying the main couch, Cissie was buried in her overly stuffed pillows and thick blankets. She was so tightly wrapped up, it looked as if she were cocooning herself with only her face showing from the middle of a small hole in her covers. Terra slept on her stomach at the foot of the second couch. Her knee length sleep shirt was gathered just above her waist with her shorts riding up from having tossing and turning in her sleep while Kyle lay spread eagle on his floor bed, completely uncovered with one sock on and the other barely clinging to his big toe.
Everything was still. Everything as quiet. Everything was peaceful for the slumbering teens. Then a high pitched scream tore through the darkness and put an end to their dreams.
Leaping to her knees, Terra's eyes were wide open as she searched the darkness around her. Her hair was a complete mess with some of it having to be spit out from being sucked into her mouth. "What the?"
Popping up to his rear, Kyle felt his heart beat wildly as he too looked around the area. With his fists tight, he was ready for a fight but still shooken up from the loud interruption. "What was that?!"
Moving last, Cissie fell off the couch and struggled to get out from underneath the entanglement of blankets as she fought to get to her feet. "Who th-whoa!"
With a thud, she fell to her face on the carpeted floor but got back up to her feet almost instantly with a crossbow in hand.
All three were quiet as they strained to hear for anymore noises. When none came, they looked at each other with questioning expressions.
"What was that?" Kyle asked.
"Sounded like someone screaming," Cissie said while loading a bolt pack in her weapon.
"Sounded like someone dying," Terra mentioned then saw Cissie cocking her crossbow. "And where'd you get the piece?"
"Had it duck taped under the couch. Just in case."
Forming together, the three teens gathered near the sofa Cissie was at. With her crossbow at the ready, she took position behind Kyle who took point with his ring's light leading the way. Behind them, Terra pulled up her holo-computer and scanned the inner workings of the tower.
"No evidence of intruders. All doors are shut and there's no movement anywhere outside except for the usual trees and small animals." Scrolling through the different floors of the tower, Terra made sure all entrances were indeed shut as they made their way into the hall, where they got an unwelcome surprise.
Raven's room:
Dark would not be the word to describe Raven's room at night. Sheer blackness would be more accurate as she had a set of heavy curtains covering her large windows. No light was present, which was just how she liked it. In fact, one could even go so far as to say, light was afraid of entering her room all together.
Sleeping soundly, the Gothic teen girl lay as if she were in a coffin with her hands clasped over her stomach. Her hair was tied back and blended in with her purple pillow while the black blankets covered up her chest. The only sound, other than her breathing, was the soft ticks of a cat clock next to her bed with its eyes and tail moving back and forth with each second.
Tearing her from her sleep, a high pitched shriek brought her back to the real word, forcing her to sit up quickly. With a chill running through her skin, Raven sat completely still in an effort to figure if she were dreaming the noise or if it were indeed real. Closing her eyes, she used her powers to form a small sphere in her hand with just enough light to illuminate her room. Besides the cluttered bookcases, few articles of clothing hanging out of her dresser drawers, and halfway melted candles sitting on virtually every flat surface, there was nothing there.
As she strained to hear anything, the sound of a faint 'thump' caught her attention. Knowing what she heard could have been real, she flung her blankets off her heated body and received another chill from the cold air. Unlike the others, she liked it freezing in her room at night, which would make being under her blankets all the more comfortable with the heat they provided.
With her feet now on the carpeted floor, she slipped on a pair of slippers and made her way to the door. Noticing a faint light coming from the crack between the door and the floor, she had her light orb fade to nothing and slowly opened the gateway into the hall, ready for anything.
Garfield's room:
With his rear end high up in the air and his shirt covering his head, Garfield was enjoying a deep sleep. Still in is hybrid form, his tail stood up and looped back down to fall on his back. His clothing was not a bother as his sister had a few sleep shirts and shorts made of the same material as his mission uniform for him to sleep in. Light snoring escaped his mouth as did a river of drool, soaking his pillow and making the material stick to his face. The moment the scream shot through the darkness of the tower, the green teen jumped out of bed and landed on the floor with a 'thud'.
Since learning to master his abilities in shifting into animals, one of the things he learned he could do was have the hearing of a dog as he slept. It was a defensive move he came to find valuable incase of emergencies. In this case, it not only woke him up, but it left him with a ringing in his ears.
Slamming his hands on his bed to lift him up, Garfield pinched his nose shut and blew out, popping his sensitive eardrums and dulling the ringing for a bit. Breathing fast, he was still shaken by the sound he just heard and quickly straightened out his shirt and shorts. With the only light coming from his clock radio, he morphed his eyes like those of a wolf's and could see much better. Making his way to the door, he pressed an ear to it and could hear a 'thud' and soft muttering. Switching his hearing back to normal, incase another shriek should occur, he grabbed a nearby baseball bat and gently opened the door.
Creeping out into the hall, Garfield tightened his grip on his weapon of choice as he saw a green laser light coming from the living area. Remembering the most recent event involving an enemy making their way into a base, the League's Watchtower, he recalled the attack was swift and brutal. It was something he did not want to go through again and hoped those sleeping in the living area were okay. It was extremely too quiet for the light to have come from them, and he was not taking any chances.
Rounding the corner, he lowered his weapon as the light continued to advance, eventually becoming wider. Planting his feet, he had his breathing slow down to avoid making too much noise and readied himself to strike first, fast, hard, and last. With the moment presenting itself, the Titan let out a roar as he charged forward and swing his bat just as three other voices mixed with his own. It was hard to tell what happened with all the movement, but one thing was for sure, he himself was not moving.
"Garfield?" Kyle asked as he looked cross eyed at the Louisville Slugger millimeters away from his head.
"Kyle?" Garfield asked as he stared through a green shield.
"Jeez, I could have killed you!" Cisse yelled from her spot behind the Green Lantern. Her crossbow had fired with the arrow currently suspended in the air.
"Yeah, just be glad I got here in time." Lowering her hands, Raven had the black energy surrounding her teammates disappear after making sure they would not cause accidental harm to each other.
"Been thinking of maybe getting an earring, Cis, but not that way." Handing her the once suspended arrow, Garfield made sure he was not hit by chance by feeling his earlobe.
"What the heck are you doing with a baseball bat?" Terra asked.
"It was incase we had an intruder," Garfield answered.
"You can form claws, can't you?" Cissie asked as she reloaded the fired bolt in her weapon. "Anyway, did you hear that scream too?"
"Yeah. I just got up to see what it was and didn't think Kyle would use a narrow beam of light to see in the dark. Sorry 'bout that."
"No harm, no foul. But why the bat and not claws?" Kyle asked.
"Never mind that," Cissie said. "Why aren't the fearless leaders out here?"
Taking a step back, the five looked down the hall and saw the door to Conner and M'gann's room was still shut. No light indicating it was locked was on and there was no sign anyone had or was coming out.
"Huh. They heavy sleepers?" Kyle asked as he shined the light from his ring down the hall.
"Their room's sound proofed, remember?" Garfield pointed out.
"Then let's get them up, cause that scream freaked me out," Terra stated.
"Sissy," Raven called her.
"What?" Cissie asked.
"Not you. The word sissy. As in Terra's being a sissy."
"Shut up, mayonnaise jar," Terra shot back, indicating Raven's pale skin.
"Then don't be scared over something you don't know anything about."
"Like you know what that scream was."
"I don't, but I can find out."
"Oh quiet, both of you," Kyle told them. "Beat each other up during training. We need to get the others."
"I still don't get it," Terra said as she walked with the others while going though her holocomputer. "Everything's locked up. I can't find anything wrong with the tow-"
"Hey, look at this." Holding his ring upwards, Kyle ran his fingers over the lock on the wall next to the door. "Nothing's working." Pressing the call button on the panel, the young Lantern heard and saw nothing occur.
"The power went out?" Cisse asked. "How could the power go out? We're geothermal."
"Ter, try the lights with your computer." On Garfield's words, the blonde Earth mover tried to bring the lights on within the tower but nothing happened. She shook her head, causing him to let out a sigh. "How could this have happened?"
Moving past the others, Raven balled up her fist and gave the door a few good hits. Nothing happened after a moment so she repeated the hits but still nothing happened. "Gar, do you think you can get in there? Morph into a roach or something to crawl under the door?"
"Yeah. Give me a second." True to his word, Garfield morphed into a snake and slithered underneath the door. It was a tight squeeze, but the carpet gave way a bit to allow his serpentine body through. He had to choose a different form than a skinny garden snake if he had to crawl back under to get out of the bedroom.
Hoping he was not slithering in on something he desperately did not want to see, Garfield used his heat senses to detect if his sister and bother-in-law were awake. Finding nothing but a cold environment, he shifted back to his regular self and got to his feet. Like the hall, darkness surrounded him with the outdoor light filtering in through the windows casting long shadows on the floor and walls.
Everything was perfect. There was no sign the team's leaders had ever been in there to begin with. M'gann's vanity, a place where women would keep their makeup and primping accessories, had her fashion magazines neatly stacked on one end. Nothing else was needed as she could easily morph her skin and clothing into what she wanted. Their closet had its sliding door shut with the drawers to the nearby dresser the same. Conner's copy of The Iliad sat on top beside a picture book for Carter for the infant's bedtime story. Even the bed was expertly made, providing further evidence no one had been present in the room.
"Sis? M'gann? Co, Conner?"
When no response came, the teen headed for Carter's attached room. Like his parents, it was perfect with nothing out of place. Even the Flash motif mobile over his crib Wally had given him was as still as could be. Trying the light switch, Garfield was not surprised to find the light refusing to come on.
Outside in the hall, the group waited for any word from Garfield impatiently. Once they saw a thinner garden snake slither from under the door, they stood back and waited for him to change.
"Well?" Kyle asked once Garfield was back to his usual self.
"No one's in there," Garfield told him.
"What?!" Cissie asked.
"Sis. Conner, and Carter's gone. Not even Wolf's in there. I unlocked the door from the other side but for some reason, it still won't open."
"Well now what do we do?" Terra asked as she canceled out her computer. "I don't want to use this anymore than I have to because the battery's nearly dead."
"What about the security room?" Cissie pointed out. "Doesn't it have an emergency power source?"
"Maybe worth a shot. But if that's the case, then shouldn't the rest of the tower be under emergency power?"
"Are we forgetting the reason we're up in the first place?" Raven asked. "We need to find out what that scream was."
"Oh man," Garfield moaned, "I hope it wasn't-"
"Wait." Straining to look down the hall, Kyle had his ring widen to fill the corridor when he saw something move slightly.
"What is it?" Terra asked.
"I don't know. But I know I saw something move down there."
Walking forward, Kyle had the light he created brighten as he went to investigate. Cissie was behind him with her crossbow at the ready with Terra hanging back with garfield and Raven taking up the rear. A noise akin to breathing caught the Goth girl's attention, having her turn to face the door they just left behind. She was just in time to see a near invisible shape move just out of her view.
"M'gann?" she asked, barely louder than a whisper.
"Did you say something?" Garfield asked as he stopped.
"I thought I saw M'ga-"
Cutting her off, M'gann, in her mission uniform, appeared before her and quickly rose her arm to have her telekinesis shove her, Garfield, and Terra several yards down the hall. Stopping where they were, Kyle and Cissie turned just in time to see their Martian leader lower her arm and float into the air. Before anything could register with them, a low growl came from in front of them. Turning back to see what it was, the two saw Wolf in an attack position, ready to pounce on them with his sharp teeth bared.
"Easy, boy," Kyle told the large white animal.
"Wolf?" Cissie asked. "What's wrong, boy?"
"Sis?" Garfield coughed as he fought to get back the bit of lost air knocked out of him. "Megs?"
"Why did you-" Flying backwards, along with Terra and Garfield, Raven attempted to recover in the air when she felt herself being slammed to the floor.
"Run!" Cissie screamed as she and Kyle narrowly avoided being pounced on by Wolf. "To the living room!"
Scrambling, the young team rushed into the living area where three of them were sleeping earlier with M'gann and Wolf on their heels. As the last one out of the hall, Kyle used his ring to create a brick wall where the entrance is and made sure it was as solid as he could make it. Arriving at the wall, Wolf snarled as he scratched at it desperately to get in and get to the teens. When M'gann arrived, she placed her palms on the construct and glared at the team, her eyes glowing a bright neon green.
"Can she phase through your constructs?" Cissie asked the young Lantern.
Switching to having an evil, knowing smile, M'gann phased through the green wall and landed on the floor.
"Yup, she can," Raven pointed out for the archer.
Backing up, the group nervously waited for her to make a move when the Martian woman stopped in her tracks. It looked as if she were mentally communicating with someone for she turned her head slightly. Another moment later, she phased through the floor with Wolf disappearing from sight down the hall.
"What's going on?" Terra asked.
Taking the group by surprise, red and yellow emergency lights flickered to life as a blaring buzzer sounded.
Emergency lockdown commencing.
"What the?" Looking around after the computer voiced what was happening, Garfield heard another noise, this one was of machinery.
One by one, metal panels lowered in place in front of the windows. Cissie was the first to reach one but arrived just as it landed on the floor and locked in place. Kyle tried to keep one open with a jack construct but his ring began to turn a dull green from lack of power.
As suddenly as the lights and sounds occurred, they stopped. Everything was encased in darkness and silence once again with the five teenagers stranded in the center of the living room.
"What the heck is going on?" Cissie asked as she and the others instinctively went back to back.
"Almost out of juice," Kyle said. "I have to get to my lantern."
Using her powers, Raven attempted to get the metal barriers open but failed. "I think they had something done to them to prevent majicks affecting them."
"I have to get out," Terra said as she began to breathe rapidly. "I can't stand closed spaces."
Catching the teens attention, the intercom system came on with a short, high pitched whine. What came next made them shudder down to their bones as Conner let out a low growl over the speakers.