"It's about time for me to head out." Nightwing said. He checked his hidden weapons and tools that he keeps on his suit. He continued speaking at the same time. "The rest of you can stay here and watch the news, in case something comes up. I should be able to handle Chang myself."
They were once again in the ops room. It was now mid-morning. Everyone was now rested from the previous night. Beast Boy was finishing a muffin from earlier. Cyborg and Raven stood off to the side listening to Nightwing's plan. There were already a few different screens set up in the room, each showing a different news broadcast.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Cyborg said. "What if you need help?"
"I've dealt with Chang before." Nightwing said. "I know how to handle him."
"We've dealt with him before too." Beast Boy said. "Remember?"
"There was that time when we had some trouble with him, after Red X showed up." Raven said.
"That was different…" Nightwing said. He sounded unsure.
"I know what its like to get your butt kicked when you don't have backup." Beast Boy said. "It really sucks."
Raven walked over to Nightwing. "Let me come with you. Beast Boy and Cyborg can handle watching the news, and we'll see Chang together." Nightwing looked at Raven, and then glanced over at the others.
"We can handle this man, just take her." Cyborg said. Nightwing nodded.
"Okay. I guess it is a good idea to have someone watching my back. Just in case."
Raven's posture relaxed slightly. "At any rate, this shouldn't take too long." Nightwing said. "We can probably be back in an hour. An hour and a half, tops."
"Guess we'll be holding down the fort, then." Beast Boy said as he flopped down onto a chair, checking different screens.
"Just call if you need us." Cyborg said. "We can be there in no time."
"That probably won't be necessary, but sure." Nightwing said. "And if someone is going to send us a message, then we'll hopefully be back before that happens."
"If it happens." Raven added. After one last check of their supplies, Nightwing and Raven headed for the door, leaving Beast Boy and Cyborg to their task.
Nightwing headed down to the garage to get his bike. Raven followed behind, even though she had no vehicle of her own. Nightwing headed over to his bike, parked near Cyborg's car. In the past, they had had a few other vehicles too. Much of the equipment had been removed years earlier. Dust had gathered in the room. What equipment did remain had been put under sheets. But the motorcycle and Cyborg's car were both out in the open.
Nightwing walked over to the bike while Raven stood back. He turned back to look at her. "I'm driving alone, right?" he said. She said yes.
"I can still fly alongside you." She said.
"If we went separately, we would be less likely to be seen." He said.
"Nightwing…" Was all Raven said in a husky voice. He held up his hands.
"Okay, you're right. We're a team. We go together. I'll try to stay off the main roads though. Hopefully we can take him by surprise."
As Nightwing got on his bike, Raven took a step closer. "Nightwing?" she said. He looked over at her.
"Yeah?"
Raven hesitated, then turned her head. "Nevermind." A moment passed.
"We'll talk tonight, Raven. I promise." He said. He revved up his bike, and the door to the garage opened. Within seconds, they were gone.
After Nightwing and Raven left the tower, Cyborg and Beast Boy went about their assigned duty. Which was to watch tv. They had several sets on, each set to a different channel, all of them showing news broadcasts. Cyborg stood in the middle of the room, watching one set for a minute, then turning to another. Beast Boy sat back on a chair, watching the news. He didn't shift between channels as much as Cyborg did. He stayed more focused on a couple sets, although after a little while his eyes started to glaze over.
"Man, we get an easy tv watching job, and it has to be the news. Daytime news, too." Beast Boy said. He popped the tab on a soda and began drinking.
"We're not doing this for fun." Cyborg said. "I'd rather be heading to Chang's place with Raven and Nightwing. Instead, we're stuck here watching these talking heads, and we don't even know what to look for."
"Its probably just a big tease." Beast Boy said. "Something to waste our time, and distract us." He took a long sip of the soda, and then belched. He did cover his mouth as he did so though.
"If that's true, then its working." Cyborg said. He turned his head to another set as he replied. "I'm gonna be pissed if this was all for nothing. They might need our help."
"The two of them can probably handle Chang." Beast Boy said. "And if anything happens, they can call us."
"You think something'll happen?" Cyborg said.
"They handled themselves fine so far. Unlike me."
"You mean the roof top thing? That wasn't your fault, Nightwing shouldn't have left you up there alone."
"It was my idea." Beast Boy shrugged.
"Still…"
"Anyway, I don't want to talk about that. Not now." Beast Boy spoke with a sullen tone, and folded his arms.
"Okay." Cyborg said. "Then what about Raven?"
Beast Boy turned his head to Cyborg. "What? What about her?" He raised an eyebrow.
Cyborg shrugged. "I don't know, I just thought things seemed a little tense between you two before. Something going on?"
Beast Boy sat there for a long moment before answering. "No. There's not." He took a gulp of soda.
"Are you sure? Because you can talk about it if you want."
"I…" Beast Boy hesitated. "No. Raven doesn't want to talk about it, so neither do I."
For half a minute Cyborg stood there. Then he said, "Look…"
Beast Boy stood up. "Cyborg, its personal, alright? Can we just drop it?"
Cyborg raised his hand and pointed. Not to Beast Boy, but behind him. "No, I mean look." Beast Boy turned around and looked at one of the TVs. It was no longer showing the news. The screen was now filled with a familiar mask. Black with plastic covering the eyes. It filled most of the screen. All of the screens, in fact.
"Titans." The electronic voice said. "It's time we talked."
Beast Boy and Cyborg both exchanged a glance. "They must have hacked into the feeds with a recorded message." Cyborg said.
"Not recorded, Cyborg." The masked man said.
"Oh crap, its live." Beast Boy said.
"How did you pull that off?" Cyborg said, taking a step closer to the screen.
"I have no reason to tell you that." The voice said behind the impassive mask. "Listen up; I want to meet with you. Within an hour. By you, I mean Nightwing."
"Why him?" Cyborg asked.
"He's your leader. And I want to speak to him personally. Only him. Where is he?"
"We have no reason to tell you that." Beast Boy said mockingly. The man said nothing, but even with the mask he gave the impression of a death glare.
"He's not here." Cyborg said. "You missed him." Again, the man just glared.
"Why don't you two just tell us what you want?" Beast Boy said. The man turned back to him. "That's right, we know there are two of you. Are you the chick, or the dude?" There was a long pause. The man turned his head to the side, and appeared to be speaking with someone. The voice audibly grumbled. Then, he took a few steps back. Another figure stepped into view of the camera. A similarly dressed, but smaller person. They appeared to be standing inside an unfinished building, or one that was being torn down. It wasn't clear which.
"How did you figure it out?" the female figure said. With the distortion, her voice was barely distinguishable from the man's.
"We don't need to-" Cyborg began, before being cut off by Beast Boy.
"The camera in the alley." Beast Boy said. "Not so clever now, huh?" Cyborg gave Beast Boy a dirty look. The two masked figures turned their heads to each other.
"Camera." The female said.
"What do you know." The male said. They then turned back to the heroes. "Enough of this." The man continued. "You don't seem to be taking this seriously." He stepped aside. Beast Boy opened his mouth to say a quick remark, but stopped with his mouth open when he saw what was behind the figures. Tied up against a support beam was a costumed person, clad in red and black.
"Is that Speedy?" Beast Boy said.
"Red Arrow." Cyborg said quietly. Red Arrow was conscious, but appeared dazed. He had bruises on his body. His clothes were ripped. His breathing was irregular.
"What did you do?" Cyborg said.
"You should be more worried about what we're going to do, if Nightwing doesn't get down here in the next hour." The girl said. She held up a syringe, full of some colored fluid.
"What the hell is that?" Cyborg said.
"Something we've been dosing him with." She said. She moved closer to Red Arrow, who's eyes suddenly fixed on the needle. "The next one will be an overdose."
"You can't." Beast Boy growled.
"Sure we can." The man said. "Unless Nightwing gets here in time, alone."
"Where is 'here'." Cyborg said. The man told him the address. "That's... Nightwing is on the other side of the city, he won't make it in time."
"That's too bad." The man said. He turned to the girl, who moved the needle closer.
"Hey, we'll come instead, both of us." Beast Boy said. "There's two of you, and two of us, so its not like we'll have you outnumbered." The masks again exchanged a glance. For a moment, they appeared to be speaking, but what they were saying couldn't be heard. The man turned back to them.
"Okay. Just the two of you. That'll do. Be here in half an hour. Or he dies."
"You said an hour." Cyborg said.
"Changed my mind. Make it fast."
The screen instantly cut back to the news before Cyborg and Beast Boy could respond. Cyborg immediately turned to Beast Boy and said, "My car's downstairs." They both left without saying another word.
The transmission ended. The camera was now dead. The masked man stared into it for a moment, before glancing back at the other mask nearby. She was still standing near Red Arrow, who could not move or say anything. They were up on the fifth floor of a partially constructed office building. There were floors and ceilings, along with support beams. But no walls were in place yet. They were technically in the open, where people below could potentially see them. Although, this was somewhat mitigated by the fact that it was an overcast day, and therefore not exactly broad daylight. On the streets below, cars and pedestrians went by without noticing what was happening right above them.
"Do you think it'll really just be the two of them?" the man said. He now fully turned around to face the girl.
"If anyone else shows up, we kill him." She said. She put a hand on Red Arrow's torso, and he flinched. His shirt had been ripped off, exposing his bruised and dirty body.
"We should just kill him now, get it over with." He said. He took a step closer.
"No, we're not doing that." She said. "We agreed on thirty minutes, and we're sticking to that. Besides, we can still use him as a hostage if we need to."
The man scoffed. "We can take 'em easy. Don't need a hostage."
"Either way, we're sticking to the plan. We do things my way this time."
A moment passed where the man stood there. He looked at Arrow, and then back at his partner in crime. He then shrugged and turned around. "Fine. This time. As long as we kill the Titans, that's the important thing."
After some time, Nightwing and Raven had arrived at the observatory that Professor Chang always used as a hideout. The area appeared deserted. The observatory itself was in disrepair. It was damaged, with some small holes in its structure. It was unclear if the building was still operational. From the outside, the place appeared abandoned. The only sound was the waves crashing against the rocks nearby.
Nightwing sat on his bike, close enough to see the observatory, but not so close that he would be easily spotted by someone casually looking around. Nonetheless, he decided to hide his bike behind a nearby hill, just in case. Raven landed nearby, after flying the way there. She walked over to him with her hood up.
"What now?" she said. He looked at her, and then at the observatory.
"One of us can go on ahead to scout it out. I can sneak in, or…"
"I could project myself into a raven again to scout ahead." She finished.
"Yeah. I'm not going to ask you to do that though."
"You don't have to ask. It makes more sense for me to go. I'll be projecting myself, which is less risky than you going alone."
"But your real body will be vulnerable."
"You'll be watch-… guarding my body. I trust you. Trust that I can do this."
"Of course I trust you." He said. "With my life."
Raven blinked. "The feeling is mutual. So, I can go?" Nightwing's only response to this was a nod. Raven sat down on the ground, and got into her meditative position. She began to chant in a semi whisper. Then, an aura surrounded her, and something shot out of her. Her spirit form. Nightwing still wasn't entirely clear how this worked, and whether it was her actual soul leaving her body. Either way, Raven's projection flew off into the building. Nightwing waited for a minute, watching over Raven, but while also keeping an eye on the surrounding area, just in case.
In short order Raven returned to herself, and opened her eyes. "He's there." She said.
"Chang?" Nightwing said.
"Yes." She got back to her feet. "The place isn't so abandoned. It looked like he's asleep in there at a console."
"Are you sure he's alive?"
"Well, he was snoring. He is pretty old."
"We should encourage him to retire." He said. "Is he alone?"
"There are at least a couple henchmen in there. He might have some hidden surprises too." Raven said.
Nightwing started walking towards the building. "Let's go surprise him first."
Upon entering the observatory through one of the holes, they quickly spotted the henchmen. And the henchmen quickly spotted them. At one time they might have had more trouble with Chang's henchmen. But the titans were older and more experienced now. They were in their prime. The henchmen brought out their familiar electric prods and freeze guns. Before most of them could even aim their weapons, Nightwing had already taken a few out, and Raven was able to use her magic to crush a few of them with some of the heavy machinery nearby. Non-lethally, of course.
Naturally, all the noise quickly woke Chang, who was startled to see the unwelcome guests in his "home". Chang tried to get to his feet, but having just woken up, was still getting his bearings and stumbled for a moment. Just enough time for the remainder of his henchmen to be finished off. Chang watched as Nightwing and Raven both appeared in front of him, looking like it had barely been an effort for them. They approached, and Chang backed away. He turned and started to run. Maybe for an exit, or maybe for a weapon. Dark walls shot up around him, blocking his path. The only opening was right behind him. Chang turned and found himself face to face with Nightwing.
Nightwing reached out for Chang and pulled him close as Raven stood nearby. Nightwing now held Chang by his shirt, much like he had done earlier with the lowlife at the club. As Nightwing looked into Chang's eyes, Chang made an expression that indicated he was not happy to see them. Chang momentarily looked around, but then just slumped, apparently resigning himself.
"I think you know why we're here." Nightwing said.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Chang said, although his tone was halfhearted. Nightwing leaned in closer.
"Aqualad. He's dead. You built the robot that lured him to that alley. We found the zynothium. We know it was you."
Chang looked back at Nightwing with some disdain. "You can't prove anything."
"What I know, and what I can prove, are-" Nightwing started to say. Before he could finish his sentence, Raven called out "Nightwing!" Nightwing let go of Chang and stepped back, as Chang struck out with a weapon hidden in his sleeve. It was a smaller electrical prod. Nightwing grabbed it, and twisted Chang's arm. Chang yelped. Nightwing slammed him to the ground, making sure that Chang's body, not his head, took the force. Chang moaned, and then went limp. He was conscious, but no longer resisting.
"Okay, I give up." He said. "Just take me to jail."
"First, tell us what you did to help the murderers. We saw what happened. There were two of them. Why did they kill Aqualad, and how involved were you in all of this? Are you still helping them? Do you know who they are"
Chang lay there, looking up at them. He shook his head. "I won't tell you. I can't."
"Can't?" Nightwing said. "Why not?"
"They'll… They'll kill me." He said.
"Who are they?" Raven said.
"No! I won't talk."
Nightwing sighed. "Look, we can protect you from them. We'll keep you at our headquarters if we have to. But the police can probably protect you…"
"No, no, no!" Change said. He shook his head violently. Nightwing furrowed his brow.
"We just need you to talk, we'll stop them." Nightwing said, with some annoyance. Chang still didn't answer. He just asked to be taken to jail. Nightwing opened his mouth to say something else, but then Raven put a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her, and she spoke softly.
"Let me." She said. Nightwing could probably get Chang to talk, but it might take a while. Unless he was willing to break some bones, which he'd prefer not to do. Nightwing didn't have a problem with beating up bad guys, but he wasn't a fan of torturing people for information. Especially someone so old. Scaring them on the other hand…
Nightwing nodded to her. Raven stepped closer to Chang. "You're going to tell us everything." She said. Chang gave another look of disdain, but Raven opened a dark hole, like a portal. Claws and tentacles spilled out moving towards Chang. He grimaced again.
"You're bluffing." He said.
"I'm not." She said in a distorted voice. The tentacles grabbed Chang.
"There's some pretty evil stuff in there." Nightwing said, folding his arms. "If you don't talk, you're going to face the most horrifying things you've ever seen." Nightwing had never experienced those horrors himself, but he knew it wasn't pleasant, and he needed Chang to talk. "You're pretty old, Chang. Think your heart can take it? You might die of shock." Chang was pulled closer. "I can protect you from the killers. We can. You'll have a better chance than in there." Nightwing pointed to the portal. Chang was pulled closer, almost inside. After another moment, Chang screamed.
"Alright, that's enough! Stop, I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Raven allowed it to go on for another moment, and then called off the darkness. Chang was left laying there, breathing rapidly. Both heroes now stood over him.
"Talk." Nightwing said. Chang panted up at him.
"Just… wait a minute." Chang said. Nightwing turned to Raven. Raven took a step closer, now standing directly over Chang.
"If you don't want to tell him, then tell me." She said. She looked down at him from under her hood. Chang moaned.
"I'll tell you." He said. Right after he said that, there was a noise. It was the communicators that Nightwing and Raven carried. They were both being signaled. Nightwing took his out. Raven did likewise, but while keeping an eye on Chang.
"This is Nightwing." He said.
"Nightwing, is Raven with you?" Beast Boy said on the other end.
"I'm here." She said.
"Is everything okay there?" Beast Boy said. "Did you talk to Chang?"
"We're fine." Nightwing said. "This isn't the best time."
"We got a message from those guys." Beast Boy said. "Just a few minutes ago. They wanted us to meet them somewhere. They have a hostage."
"Who? Where?" Nightwing said. Beast Boy briefly explained. "We'll be there as soon as we can. We just need to wrap things up here." The conversation ended. Nightwing glanced at Raven.
"Talk quickly." Raven said. "I won't ask again."
"Alright." Chang said. "I'll tell you."
"Who are they?" she asked. "Do they have a base? Where is it? Are they targeting anyone else?" Chang started to answer. Raven suddenly cried out. She was shocked with something. It wasn't Chang that did it. She had been hit with something in the back, from above. She fell to the ground.
"Raven!" Nightwing said. He knelt down to her.
"No, I don't think he'll be answering any questions." A voice said from above. Nightwing turned his head, and looked up at the catwalk.
"Who-" Nightwing began to say. But when he looked up, he stopped and gasped. Standing on the catwalk, looking down at them, was a lone figure. A man in a dark outfit. Tall, and muscular. He was wearing a mask, with one eye blacked out. Half the mask was black, and the other half was a brownish-orange.
"Hello, Robin." The figure said in a deep, familiar voice.
Nightwing grit his teeth as he looked up and said, "Slade".