Figuring Out the Future
Sun was the best source of natural lighting and so it was shining down on City Hall where a press conference had been set up. Reporters from various news networks and remaining newspapers gathered before the podium set up on the stairs leading to the building.
Behind the podium, one that would be disassembled later and cleared, was the mayor of the city, Mayor George Wolfman. On either side of him were various officials, all "asked" to show support while he did the talking, and talking he did.
With the flashes from cameras constantly going off, the shuffling of feet as each reporter tried to inch as close as they could while holding out their microphones, all to better get a sound bite to use.
Hands clutched the podium as the mayor of Jump City orated. "It has been a few tense days for everyone. Unfortunately, I regret to inform everyone that the man responsible, Temple Fugate, alias the Clock King, has eluded capture. Warrants have been issued for his rest, and I want everyone to consider him armed and dangerous. State and federal officials have been alerted and will be on the lookout for this man. Please, do not approach, do not try to apprehend him yourself, just call the police if you see him. Pictures and other images will be provided on the Jump City Police Department's official website for more information.
"I cannot emphasize how dangerous this man is. I learned, personally. There is a reward available for any information leading to his arrest. I do caution, do not do anything reckless, do not put yourself in danger. Please, leave this matter to those who have sworn to serve and protect. With that said, I would also like to address one other matter, something that has had citizens of this great city talking."
Hands began to tighten their grip the podium, unseen. The mayor was attempting to steel his nerves. He knew what he was about to say would be…divisive. There were individuals on either side of him with strong opinions on the matter. Some were outspoken like Councilwoman Elizabeth Alderman, and others were quiet about it like Commissioner Marv Perez.
Feathers were about to ruffled. People were going to be talking about this, that was a certainty. What they would say about it could go either way. For a man in his position, to take a definitive side was the equivalent of a political earthquake.
"During the course of these events, the individuals known as the Teen Titans were involved with handling the situation, giving aid as necessary to try and resolve it," Mayor Wolfman began to summarize. "Their actions were helpful in mitigating some of the damages. Their…assistance was invaluable. They saved my life. I would not be here, in good health, without their intervention. My family would have lost a husband, a father, and everything else had I not been rescued in time.
"This was not a situation the Teen Titans created. A single action years ago snowballed into recent events. They stood side by side with Jump City's Finest, and I owe them my life. I would like to extend not only my thanks for their actions…" the flashes of the cameras grew more intense, "...but also my support for the T.I.T.A.N. Initiative."
Questions began to bombard him, bombard everyone up there on the steps. Mayor Wolfman held up a hand as if to quiet down the ruckus. It was not successful, words drowning out other words so that it was all nonsensical. "Please hold your questions until the end," he spoke into the podium's microphone, hoping to establish some order.
He could feel eyes on him, some blatantly staring while others were side eyeing him. Some people would never truly give too much of a visible or public response, and that self-control was welcomed right now. It took about a minute or so for the reporters to quiet down, an amount of time that did not seem very long, but with five questions asked a second, it could feel like an eternity.
"There are those who oppose the Initiative with legitimate concerns," the mayor began to speak once more and only after the crowd of journalists had calmed down enough. "Yesterday, I saw firsthand the benefits of this program. I was able to see the good it can do, and that good certainly outweighs the negative. More and more, every day, children are either being born with powers they do not understand, or developing them as they grow older, or there is an accident. The T.I.T.A.N. Initiative has shown what these children can be capable of should they receive the proper training and education so as to use these special abilities for the good of all.
"It is a scary time. It is frightening to watch as our world changes. This is a change no one can stop, so instead of trying to deny it and ignore reality, let us embrace it and find a way to integrate it. These are our children, and like us they too are scared. But they do have dreams of their own, and there is a means in which to make those dreams a reality. They want to be superheroes, then they need to train for it like our city's Finest, like our Bravest, like every person here who has vowed to serve and protect and make this city a great one.
"The time for fruitless antagonism is over. The time for us to not only accept, but embrace our world as it is now. In gratitude and in spirit, I would like to announce a Titan Appreciation Day, and hold a celebration, one in which I hope this city will also embrace and make part of its identity. Let us show our appreciation for the work these future heroes will do against the threats that we are not yet ready to face. Details for this event will be available on City's Hall website, and I encourage everyone to join. There is so much we can do together, rather than tear ourselves apart."
The murmurings were starting, and many of the reporters were holding up their hands, wanting to ask more questions. His speech would have to come to an end soon, and then the verbal colon exam would begin.
It was incredible how one day could change a person's mind. Mayor Wolfman's mind had certainly changed, but that was just the start. Others would need to get on board and realize what he himself had learned. It was so easy to blame every problem on the newest change to daily life.
Fugate didn't engage in his insanity because of those superpowered teens. The mayor understood this. In this day and age, there would be others who would become the next Fugate.
City Council, the police department, anyone and everyone involved in the legal system needed to understand this. You couldn't force them, so sometimes you had to go indirectly. Pressure from the public would be a good start. If the turnout was big enough…
Trying to relax himself and not quite succeeding, Mayor Wolfman bit the bullet and said the most dreaded words he would say this day.
"I will be taking questions now."
Victor was snickering, trying to hold it in but failing. He would have to give himself a pass this time.
It wasn't often that something like the mayor's press conference would be on the big TV in their rec/living room. If anything was going to be on that screen, it would be shows, it would be games be it sports or video, it would be movies, you know, fun stuff. Why was he and a few of the others watching this conference?
Channel surfing. Ten thousand channels and nothing was on. Not in the mood to kick the Grass Stain's butt in either a racing or fighting game, hell, the cyborg wasn't even in the mood for a first person shooter. So he had been switching channels when lo and behold, there was the mayor singing their praises but trying to make it sound like some kind of political rallying call.
Politicians were going to be politicians, and hey, they had one of the highest offices in the city liking them. Real progress there. However, it wasn't the mayor being a kissass that was hilarious.
Guess who was a few feet away from the mayor and doing her best to not look like she was sucking on a lemon? That's right, one of their most vocal critics and one time Titans' rescue-e. Alderman was struggling to keep quiet there; not to be rude here but the lady did not know how to shut up.
Her worst nightmare was coming true and it was all sorts of shades of schadenfreude here.
Hah…nevertheless, they needed to really consider what this meant. He was over eighteen himself, an adult in the eyes of the law, and he was only getting older. There had been some talk going around as to whether or not those age of majority laws should apply to him, and so far that was what everyone was going along with. People like Alderman would definitely try to use it against him, so he was waiting for something like that to drop anytime now.
With the mayor's office declaring to the world that it was behind the Titans, things were about to get controversial all up in here.
"Mayor talks a big game, but hopefully he's not the type to bend over from peer pressure," Victor remarked.
"C'mon, he likes us, Cy!" Bart countered, standing and leaning against the cyborg's right side when just a second ago he had been on the U-shaped couch's far right. Holding up a hand, the speedster counted off his points, "We saved him, stopped a big bad guy, made sure no one was buried under a train, and…um…we saved his life!"
That last one was the first point only worded differently. "I hate to break it to you, Bart, but politicians have really, really, really short memories. It's been scientifically proven that goldfish have longer memories than a politician. You see who else is up there? Alderman, and we saved her life too. She's still screaming about how we should all still be in school. She hasn't opened up her mouth about this, yet, but just wait. As soon as the mayor's grandstanding is over, she's going to rebut, mark my words."
"When did you become all doom and gloom?" BB asked, still slumped back into the couch cushions and holding an iPad in his hands. "The internet's breaking over all the people talking about this! Oh, that wasn't a nice comment. Or that one. Or that—I so don't dye my skin! It's all natural! Oh hey, some people are shipping you with Raven."
Victor grimaced a bit. Nothing against Raven, but she was like a little sister at this point. So a little ew factor there.
From where she sat on a bar stool by the kitchenette in the corner, Raven looked up from the most recent tome she had managed to acquire and said blandly, "I don't think it will work between us."
Heh, nice one. Deciding to tack onto that, "Yeah, I'm harder than titanium and you eat titanium for breakfast. We're just too different."
"Since when did everyone become so…so…mode here?" Bart complained.
"Since we brought politics into the Tower; we shouldn't have done that. Speaking of," Victor quipped back as he held up the remote. Just as Mayor Wolfman was about answer yet another question, that image was instantly replaced by three men in front of a door, one of them trying to open it.
"We've got to break down the door!" the first of the three men exclaimed.
"To the apartment?" the second of the three asked, a little slow on the uptake.
The third one grimaced and sarcastically said, "No, to the Follies Brigége."
Oh, a rerun. Didn't this show end thirty years ago? They were still running this because…oh yeah, hadn't one of the cast members died a while ago? A big cash grab in there.
Bart tilted his head to the side as he watched the antics on screen. "I don't get it."
"Dated joke, rest of the episode is decent," BB replied, eyes still on his iPad. "Turn the channel. There might be something better on."
Couldn't argue with that logic.
"So we're just going to ignore all that stuff with the mayor now?" the resident speedster pressed. Weird, normally Bart was onto topic number twenty-five, going on topic number twenty-six, so it was a bit out of character to still be harping on the same one.
Needing to do a quick check, Victor said over his shoulder, "No one's abducted and switched places with Bart again, have they?"
"No," Raven answered, not looking up from the pages of her tome.
With that assurance, "There's not much we can do. Sometimes silence is the best option. Thing is, the mayor is going on a limb for us. There are people out there who are straight up dedicated Wolfman supporters and they'll follow his lead no matter what he says or does. It's going to create a conversation, or more likely an argument, but if it gets more people to be Pro-Titan, it'll make it harder for people like Alderman to come after us. It's like a big game, and whoever scores a point does it at the expense of another.
"Alderman has her base, and she got a lot of it by coming after us. Wolfman is doing the same thing only the other way. There's not a lot we can do about that. What we can worry about, because it is something that will affect us, is what are we going to do with this whole Initiative. We're not just the inaugural class, we're going to be the ones running it. We're getting older with each passing year." From the corner of his eye, he barely caught on to the wince that ran through Raven's body. Probably holding back a sneeze or a yawn. "I'm over eighteen," he continued, "so technically I'm not a teen anymore. BB's sixteen, I know Red and Cassie are getting closer and closer to eighteen, who knows about Kori, and…" Okay, he was about to bring up Raven's age, but you don't talk about a girl's age especially when they are in hearing distance, "...the point is, we have to try and do our part and get everyone else on board.
"I know we only caught halfway through that press conference, but the mayor did bring up a point. More and more kids are getting powers these days. Hell, adults more so. That's something that maybe we can do something about. We can make this Initiative into something bigger and greater than it is now. A place for people to not only learn how to use their powers, but to know they aren't alone. That, I don't know, they don't have to turn to crime with them. We might need to rethink the team name, though. The teen part might shy away those adults who need help. We don't just have to be a crimefighting team, when we can be a lot more."
"Nice speech," the Grass Stain commented, green eyes finally pulled away from the portable screen in his lap.
He didn't quite catch it, but he thought that he was getting a look of approval from Raven. She must be doing it side-eyed or something.
That left Bart, who was standing up and scratching the back of his head. "That all sounds so complicated. Why can't we just keep it simple?"
The cyborg gave a shrug of his shoulders and changed the channel again. "Welcome to the adult world where everything is needlessly complicated. And they wonder why supervillains are a thing."
Tim was finding an innate talent in tinkering. Kinda surprising, but it was leading to a lot of interesting things. His arsenal was growing piece by piece, affording him new options when it came to subduing perps and other would-be supervillains. Working with his hands was almost meditative in that regard.
It also meant he tended to be alone and someone else had taken note of that. Cassie tended to find herself in his little corner, his private workshop in the Tower if you would, and it was there that the two of them…talked.
"What are we going to do?" the blonde teen sighed, reclining on top of a stool to the point that she was balancing on two of its legs.
Looking up from the innards of a new kind of birdarang—those flash frozen whatever they were called grenades that Batman tended to throw around on certain occasions was serving as an inspiration here—but he had yet to make any real progress and so was willing to look away from it.
"Something on your mind?" he asked. There was no real way to tell what could be on the girl's mind and hazarding a guess was almost a waste of time. On his was the still on the loose Clock King, but he doubted she was of the same opinion as him.
Blue eyes locked with his. Then they looked away. "I've been thinking about stuff."
"Stuff?" Tim repeated, setting down his tools so as to give her his undivided attention. The dark haired teen had noticed that she preferred that.
"You know, the kind of stuff that you feel is so far away that you don't have to worry about it? Then you look up and see that it's right now in front of your face and that you have to deal with it now. That kind of stuff." There was a wobble in her balance, and Cassie chose wisely to lean her stool back onto all of its legs. Shoulders slumped and hands rested alongside the stool. She looked bummed, and then she turned eyes that were uncharacteristically dull to him. "Senior year," she informed him. With another sigh, "I never thought I'd get to senior year."
Nobody ever did. First it's elementary, then it's middle, then you're starting high school and it's still so far away. Except now, it wasn't far away anymore. It was here. Tim understood exactly where she was coming from.
Senior year was more than just another school year. For some, it was the last year, the next day after was the workforce. For others, a stepping stone to college and everything that came next. It was a transition for everyone involved. However, Cassie and him were not your ordinary teenagers so what would this transition mean for them?
Both of them were part of the T.I.T.A.N. Initiative. Officially interns, working alongside the official Teen Titans, managing…various jobs and duties though what those were were left up to the imagination. However…what would that mean for their futures?
One of the requirements to remain part of the Initiative was to complete their education, high school in their cases while the rest dealt a more at home model. As far as he knew, college wasn't prohibited, but could placing the Initiative into their extracurriculars help or hinder? Was college something he, or Cassie, wanted to do?
Deadlines were approaching, and they both needed to figure it out. They were seniors now. Time was running out.
"It feels so surreal, doesn't it?" Tim said. "Who'd've thought? All the crazy things we've been through, and here we are. All the maniacs and end of the world stuff, but this is what doesn't feel real."
"I know, right?" Cassie quipped. Putting a hand against her head, fingers spread out and covering part of her face, the blonde continued, "I have no idea of what I want to do. I don't think I've even thought this far."
Who did? Those on top of everything, sure, but could you say that they two qualified as such? As tempting as it was to say that they would figure it out…
"Heh," he chuckled. "I have no idea either. Guess we're in the same boat."
The truth was that he didn't know if they could figure it out. For himself, Tim knew that the Initiative had become an enormous part of his life. In fact, it may remain that way for the rest of it. He lived for it, fighting alongside the others, really becoming the hero he had wanted to be back in Gotham.
Could college even fit into it?
When Cassie didn't say anything, Tim reached over and placed a hand on the blonde's other hand, the one that wasn't pressed to her face. A blue eye peeked from between two fingers, eyeing the sight curiously.
"If I had to be stuck with anyone, I couldn't think of anyone else," the dark haired teen said, and then he gave a squeeze with his hand on hers. "I don't know what comes next, but I know I'd like to find out with you."
He hoped that was reassuring. Then, Cassie's hand turned over his own and gripped the limb. The next thing the former Gotham native knew, he was pulled right out of his seat and right into the stronger girl. She might have misjudged that as the stool wobbled back and forth, nearly tilting them both over. Strong arms wrapped around him and held him tightly as the wobbling stopped and they fell still.
"I think you're getting better at this reassuring thing," Cassie spoke into his cheek, hot air washing over his facial skin. Lips then pecked his cheek. "Thanks for not trying to be sappy or optimistic."
Might have gotten a punch if he had gone the optimistic route. Good thinking to admit he himself was clueless. Now they could be clueless together.
Tim allowed himself to lean closer to the girl who he might as well admit that he was going steady with. "We're going to have to figure this out, you know. The world won't wait for us."
"Does it ever?" Cassie sighed. Pulling away slightly while pushing him back into balancing on his feet once more, "There's just too much to do, isn't there? I at least want some kind of breathing room, something to give me more time to think. Maybe enough time to tie up some loose ends."
A dark eyebrow rose up. "What kind of loose ends?"
Her head tilted down a bit, then she peered up at him through blonde bangs. "Right now? The only thing that still won't get out of my mind. Whatever happened to Ravager? Where did his body go and why hasn't anyone found it?"
That was still on her mind. Yeah, it was a lingering mystery. The two, Wonder Girl and Ravager, had duked it out while the Titans had assaulted the H.I.V.E.'s base of operations. The assassin that H.I.V.E. had created had a bad response to some kind of toxic serum and had expired. Then his body had gone missing. It had gotten bad, especially since they had to follow a kidnapped Raven to Gotham and Cassie had been stressed out that a certain Dark Knight might come down on her for it.
That hadn't happened, and they had returned to their city with one less teammate—though that was for an entirely different reason—but the mystery had persisted. Not even the League had managed to find the body. As much as he wanted to say that the corpse hadn't grown legs and walked away, what else could explain it?
H.I.V.E.'s base had been hidden; no one would ever know to go there to find Ravager and snatch him away. It made no sense. Sure, they knew very little about the man called Ravager, but they knew very little about everyone they had fought so far.
Hopefully, one day, like with their senior year, they'd figure this mystery out too. Until then, they had to focus their energies onto other things.
"Whatever happens, we'll figure it out together," Tim told the girl whom he had surprisingly developed feelings for. Unsure, he raised a hand up and then…tested out whether her patience would hold out by brushing some blonde hair out of the way, tucking some behind an ear.
"I think you're starting to repeat yourself. It's a bad habit," Cassie teased back, reciprocating the hair brushing.
It seemed like she had found some good humor. Perhaps he was getting the hang of this relationship stuff after all.
The loading bar was approaching one hundred percent. In seconds all the files would be fully downloaded on his end.
Preferably, Slade liked face to face meetings when getting his hands on sensitive data. People couldn't hide as much as they thought when in person. Their efforts to control themselves in his presence usually backfired no matter how hard they tried. Unfortunately, this was not the ideal situation for that.
Currently, the man known as the Terminator was on his private jet and heading to his next destination. Speed was integral. So far everything was going smoothly, but the window was incredibly small. Time was not his ally here and if he wanted to pull this off, everything had to be cut short.
Thanks to the information network that H.I.V.E. used to have, Slade had managed to find certain individuals of varying talents to do some reconnaissance for him. They didn't know it was reconnaissance, though the smarter ones could put two and two together. So long as they were paid with money stolen and siphoned away from H.I.V.E.'s coffers, they were willing to do a lot.
Take this one Facetiming him. Used to be some kind of efficiency expert. Years ago he had been contracted on the down low by H.I.V.E., his expertise used to improve the secret organization's infrastructure and organization. The man had no idea who he was working for, and by all accounts still didn't. Discretion had been a big deal, one the man honored, and his later downfall came from something else entirely unrelated.
"I hope this data is up to your standards," Temple Fugate spoke in a reedy voice. "I have included any and all data I was able to collect during my recent run in with them and have corroborated my findings and made the appropriate adjustments."
"I hope you do not mind if I take a look now, do you," the assassin said in return.
"Do as you will," his efficiency expert allowed.
Opening up one file at random, the one-eyed man read over the information within. To give this Fugate credit, this was extensive and impressive. Reaction times whether they were movements, reactions, or even transformations, everything was timed to the slightest of seconds. Also included were responsive measures, meaning what could possibly happen should this particular individual appear without warning and interrupt whatever it was you were doing. How did surprise slow them down? What could you do to adapt?
"Very remarkable work," he praised. It was not often, or at all, that he did offer such a thing. After being the receiving end of Uncle Sam's information network, he had high standards. The more information one could have, the more you could adapt should anything go wrong. "I will be sending the rest of your payment. By all accounts, you should perhaps lay low for a while. You will have a next time to get what you want."
"I intend to and have already located accommodations," Fugate replied.
A thought occurred to the white-haired man, his mask currently covering that aspect of himself. "I would offer my services, provided you could meet my fee, however I do believe this is one matter you would like to handle yourself."
"You would be correct," Fugate agreed. "If that is all, I will take my leave."
Willing to show some efficiency of his own, Slade cut the connection. Taking off his mask and setting it aside, he reached over for a bottled water and took a long gulp of it. Some might prefer something alcoholic here, but he was on the job and didn't need that kind of handicap. He was too much of a professional, even for something personal.
In his profession, information collecting was a necessity. On another screen was the footage of a press conference completed hours ago. The Mayor of Jump City was backing up the members of what was now called Titans West after their heroic actions of fighting off the dreaded Clock King. Those kids were reaching the pinnacle of their careers right now, and what better time and place for them to fall?
Celebrations were being planned in that city to celebrate them, the ones most directly involved in Grant's death. He was saving them for last, first to make sure any backup they could reach out to would never come. Second, he wanted to savor their fall all the more. The only element of this where professionalism didn't come into play.
With one hand, he reached up to press a button overhead. "Wintergreen, when we touch down, get in touch with my operatives in Jump City and get them into position."
Because he had former H.I.V.E. operatives in Jump City still keeping an eye on things. Those Teen Titans were going to need a warm up before facing him. Slade wanted them at their best, blood pumping, limbered and stretched out, and ready for a serious fight.
They were going to need every advantage they could get.