Chapter 25:

– A Generic Thug –

"Everybody on the fucking ground! Do it or I'll blow your heads off!" Marcus screamed while firing his weapon into the ceiling of the bank lobby.

Nick and Rico, his two crew members, stood on either side of him, both armed to the teeth. Nick was a lanky bastard with a sneer that never seemed to leave his face. Rico was more stocky, eyes darting around like he expected trouble from every corner. According to their intel, this bank was a cream puff. One half-asleep security guard, laughable cameras, and zero serious defenses. So far, that intel was solid.

The guard went down like a sack of bricks after a single whack from Rico's rifle butt, leaving the place wide open.

Now at least a dozen customers lay spread out on the cold tile. They seemed too scared to breathe, let alone fight back. The tellers behind the counters were a mess of tears and shaky hands.

It was the kind of fear that made Marcus's heart thump with excitement. He loved having this kind of power over people! It proved he was the top dog around here now!

"All right, Nick, drag that manager over here," Marcus snarled, pointing his gun toward the row of desks at the side of the lobby. Nick stomped off and returned with a balding middle-aged guy wearing a cheap suit and an expression that said he was two seconds away from pissing himself.

"Move it," Nick snapped, giving the poor bastard a shove. The manager nearly tripped over his own feet, adjusting his glasses with trembling fingers.

Marcus leveled a glare. "Open the safe. Now."

"I—I can't," the manager stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't have the combination…"

"Bullshit," Marcus spat. He raised his rifle, aiming right at the guy's chest. "You're lying to me. Don't make that mistake, pal, or I'll show everyone here exactly what happens when people think they can screw around."

Rico chuckled under his breath, waving his own rifle at the group of cowering customers. "Time's ticking, old man. Don't make us do something we'll enjoy."

Marcus scanned the room, eyes landing on a young mother curled up near the corner. She was trying her best to quiet her crying baby, and failing miserably. Instantly, he saw the perfect way to make his point. He pointed his rifle in their direction, zeroing in on the baby.

"No, please!" the woman begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. She tried to shield the infant with her body, arms trembling so hard they were practically shaking the kid.

Marcus let out a harsh laugh. "Sorry bitch, but this is just the way it is. Your kid might have grown up to be something in this shit town, but guess he's out of luck now."

"Stop!" the manager pleaded, voice cracking. "I'll open the safe, I swear! Just—don't hurt them!"

Marcus flicked his gaze back to the manager, his grip on the rifle tightening. "Who the fuck are you to tell me anything?" he growled. "I do whatever I want, and nobody can stop me!"

Nobody!

Word was, the Joker was a cripple these days, rotting in some asylum bed. That left a wide-open spot for a new king of crime, and Marcus was more than ready to take the throne! The cash from this job was all he needed before he could start recruiting more and more men to his cause.

Nick pressed the muzzle of his gun into the manager's back. "We got no patience left, old man. Either you open that safe or face the consequences."

"I—I'll open it," the manager said, glancing nervously toward the mother and baby. "Just give me a minute…"

"Too late," Marcus snapped, turning his gun back toward the pair in the corner. A nasty thrill shot through him. "Time to make an example."

Before anyone could blink, Marcus squeezed the trigger. The burst of gunfire echoed like thunder, muzzle flashes lighting up the lobby. He watched the bullets sail straight for the woman and her kid.

Then the plan went sideways. A sudden gust of wind—like a mini tornado—whipped through the room. Next thing Marcus knew, there was a huge guy in a black and gold costume right in front of the mom and baby. Every bullet pinged harmlessly off his back, sparking and ricocheting.

Marcus kept firing, cursing at the top of his lungs as the rest of his magazine emptied. Once the rifle clicked dry, smoke hung in the air, and a metallic tang filled Marcus's nose. Through the haze, he saw the man—tall, built like a tank, completely unscathed.

"No way," Marcus breathed, his pulse hammering like crazy.

– Titus –

I stood in the middle of that trashed bank. It looked like I got here just in time.

I saw people slowly picking themselves up off the floor—some were shaking so hard they could barely stand, others clung to each other in relief. A mother was comforting her crying child, and I tried not to imagine what would've happened if I'd shown up a second later.

A sudden whoosh of air blew some loose papers around, and that's when Supergirl landed right next to me. She wasn't wearing her usual bright smile. Instead, she looked about as pissed off as I felt. Her blue eyes locked onto the gang of thugs who'd nearly murdered a kid, and a low growl escaped her throat.

One of the idiots who'd been waving a gun around suddenly dropped it, backing away like he was facing a rabid lion. "C-crap, it's Supergirl and Titan," he muttered, and I could see the fear flicker across his face.

Cracking my neck, I took a step toward them. "You jackasses really thought you could just murder a kid and make off like some GTA bandits?" I said, letting a bit of anger seep into my voice.

Supergirl moved in at the same time, and we basically cut off every escape route they might have had.

One idiot raised his weapon again, aiming right for my face.

I darted forward, grabbing the barrel before he could even pull the trigger. With one good yank, I twisted it out of his hands and tossed it aside. I then grabbed his face and slammed his head into the wall. So hard that it cracked!

"Rico!? Fuck you Titan!" the leader shouted and aimed his gun at me.

Supergirl let out a cute protective growl though and blurred at him. I heard cracks and screams before the guy was groaning on the floor, his limbs pointing in weird directions like a twisted pretzel.

"Woops? Did I go to far?" she asked.

"Fuck no! He tried to shoot my baby!" The mother called out behind us.

Fair enough. We both noticed the final guy trying to back away slowly and smirked at him at the same time.

He let out an actual squeal of fright and then I grimaced when I smelled and saw the stain forming on the front of his pants. I didn't feel like putting my hands on a guy who just pissed his own pants so I picked up one of the guns off the ground and chucked it right at his head.

…It only took us a few seconds total to clean house.

By the end, the gang was moaning on the floor, weapons scattered all over the place. We weren't exactly gentle, but we could have gone harder on them. But we also didn't want to traumatize the civilians any more than they already were.

As soon as we finished, people started standing up, a cautious wave of relief sweeping through the bank. A few of them managed shaky words of thanks. One older guy shook my hand, tears shining in his eyes. I just nodded, telling him it was okay, that they were safe now. Supergirl gave a worried glance toward the mother and child, then offered a small smile when she saw they were unharmed.

Outside, I heard sirens blaring. The sliding doors opened to a sea of flashing lights, with squad cars and a small army of cops pointing their guns at the bank. Commissioner Gordon stood up front. He eyed me and Supergirl as we walked out and the rest of the officers lowered their weapons.

"All clear," I called. "Bad guys are all inside, and nobody's seriously hurt… Except for them of course."

Gordon hesitated for a beat, then waved us over. "Good work," he said, eyeing the battered criminals getting dragged out in cuffs. "Can't say I expected super-powered folks to show up in Gotham. Batman gets pretty territorial, you know."

I shrugged. "We've got an arrangement," I told him. "He's fine with me helping out. And I promised him if I brought Supergirl along, we'd leave the city in one piece." Okay, it was less of a promise and more of me just sending him a random text message saying we were going to patrol in Gotham, but he never responded back so I took that as meaning we had his permission.

Supergirl huffed at me. "I'm not that clumsy," she grumbled, rolling her eyes.

Gordon actually chuckled. "Sure, sure," he said. "Anyway, thanks for the assist. Saved us one hell of a standoff."

I gave him a nod as more cops swarmed past us, some of them gawking at the scene inside, others checking on the civilians.

Supergirl reached out and lightly bumped my shoulder with her fist.

I shot her a grin. "Nice teamwork," I said.

"Let's go see who else needs saving!" she smirked and rocketed off into the air. Her take off was so powerful that she left a large crater of cracked asphalt.

Gordon gave me a dry look when he noticed the damage. "Not that clumsy huh?" he repeated what she'd said a moment ago.

"Yeah… She's still learning control…" I said before floating off after her. Taking off before he'd make either of us pay for it or have to fix it.

…

…We wrapped up our patrol a bit later. We'd been out for hours, blasting across state lines, dealing with all kinds of petty crimes. By the time we touched down in Diana's backyard, the sun was hanging high, close to noon.

We landed behind a tall fence, making sure we didn't freak out any of her neighbors. Kara gave me a tired smile as we made our way to the back door. Through the glass, I could see movement in the kitchen—everyone looked awake.

Sure enough, Raven spotted us and flicked her wrist, opening the sliding door with a casual flick of her magic. "Welcome back," she said.

I tossed her a quick nod and stepped inside.

Diana was sitting at the table with Shayera, both nursing cups of coffee. Grail was off to the side, leaning against the counter with a box of Pop-Tarts in her hand—empty, from the look of it. The daughter of Darkseid sure liked her sugary snacks.

"Sup," Grail greeted us, glancing at me and Kara. "How was your date? You were both gone a couple hours. Did you two fuck?" she asked bluntly.

Kara's cheeks went bright red in an instant. "No! We didn't do…that! We went on patrol and saved a lot of lives," she snapped, glaring at Grail.

"Lame," Grail replied in a bland tone.

I snorted, trying not to laugh at how fast Kara got flustered. I looked around the kitchen, then let my gaze wander into the living room. That's when I noticed the boxes—piles of them along the walls, some taped up, others half-filled. Most of Diana's smaller stuff, like her trinkets and pictures, was nowhere to be seen.

"Are we moving already?" I asked. "We literally just talked about this last night."

Karen walked in from the garage, hauling a large box labeled GARAGE STUFF. "Sharing a bed with Raven was nice, but I'd prefer my own room," she said with a shrug. "The garage is all packed, Diana. Cool car, by the way. Didn't know you even had one."

Diana set her mug down and smiled. "Thanks. I haven't driven it in forever, so I'm not sure if it even starts." she shrugged at Karen and turned back to us, "and yes, we're officially moving. We need more space."

Kara glanced at the boxes, then at Diana. "So you're buying a new, bigger house just like that?"

"Yep," Diana answered with a nod. "Don't worry, you're invited too, Kara. I've been looking at places with enough rooms for everyone, plus maybe a few spare buildings for your tinkering. Titus told me about your Kryptonian medical tech idea, and I think it's wonderful."

Hearing that, I slid an arm around Kara's shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze. "She's got some badass designs," I said, proud of her.

…

We had everything packed up in a matter of hours, which wasn't exactly surprising given how many of us had superpowers or, in Raven's case, magic. After loading boxes and furniture into Raven's pocket dimension, the house was practically empty.

I floated outside with Diana, hovering above the place we'd called home for a while. She leaned over and pressed a quick kiss on my cheek. "I'm keeping the property," she said. "Might use it as a safe house, or just a spot to get away from everything now and then." She seemed a little nostalgic as she looked down at the quiet yard. "But it's time for a new chapter for all of us," she added.

I couldn't argue. With everyone on board for a bigger house, it felt like we were moving forward together. Still, there was one question weighing on my mind. "So where exactly are we planning to move?" I asked, glancing at the others hovering nearby.

"Florida," Shayera spoke up immediately.

"California," Karen countered without missing a beat.

They turned toward each other in midair. For a second, it felt like a showdown was brewing.

"Why the hell would you want Florida? It's humid and hot as balls," Karen said, giving Shayera a look.

Shayera crossed her arms. "You're a Kryptonian. You can soak up all the sun you want, so why does heat even bother you?"

Karen rolled her eyes. "Maybe it doesn't bother me, but it'll probably bother Raven. She's not exactly into bright, sunny places."

Raven floated just off to the side, arms folded. "It doesn't really matter," she said. "Though I admit, I've never been a big fan of constant sunshine."

Karen's eyes widened like she'd just remembered something. "Oh, right… 'cause you're—" She stopped when Raven shot her an alarmed stare. "Never mind," Karen mumbled. None of us pushed her on it, not even Grail, who usually didn't give a damn about being polite.

I was curious as well, but I knew she'd probably tell me when the time was right. I didn't want to be the pushy boyfriend.

Speaking of Grail, she shrugged and said, "You bitches can all play Suzie Homemaker wherever you want. Just call me and Titus—when you've decided on a place." She paused, noticing Raven eyeing her suspiciously. "What?"

Raven tilted her head. "How do you even know who Suzie Homemaker is?"

Diana let out a small laugh. "She's been watching too much TV and enjoying the couch life," she said, earning herself a glare from Grail. "So I take it you're not coming house-hunting with us?"

"Hell no," Grail said, then turned her attention to me. "You took Barbie on a date earlier, and now I want to have some fun. Besides, you owe me for saving your ass from the discount version of my dad that your alternate dad turned into."

All of us just stared at her, trying to sort out that bizarre statement.

She huffed, looking a little annoyed. "It made sense in my head."

Before I could even respond, Grail latched onto my arm, gave me a half smirk, and shot off into the sky, dragging me away from the group. The others didn't protest—either they were too stunned or just didn't feel like tangling with Grail.

I chuckled as we flew away and called out that I'd see everyone later! She dragged me a couple hundred miles through the air before we finally stopped. It looked like she wanted us to be alone.

I was wondering where the hell I could take Grail for a date. She wasn't exactly the roses-and-candlelight type, so I figured I'd have to get creative.

Turned out, she had other plans altogether.

"We're not going on a date, dumbass," she told me as soon as I brought it up. Oddly enough, that was almost affectionate coming from her. "We're getting some fucking revenge."

That made me blink. "Revenge on who?"

She shot me a fierce look. "The people who captured me and messed with my head. Who else?"

I raised an eyebrow. "So, you want to go after them? Do you even know who they are?"

"Fuck no," she admitted, her confidence dipping for a moment. "But while you were stuck in that other universe, I did some thinking. I'm pretty sure the same assholes that grabbed me also sent you away. They must've been scared shitless of us teaming up."

I mulled that over. It half made sense—if I were running some secret operation, I wouldn't want someone like Grail teaming up with me either. "But we don't really have a lead, do we?" I asked.

Grail just grinned, a wild gleam in her eyes. "Leads? We don't need that shit. Let's just track down every villainous group we can think of and beat the living crap out of them until one squeals. They had to be part of some organization, so eventually we'll corner someone who knows something."

That made me swallow hard. "That sounds… not exactly legal," I pointed out, picturing the chaos of us barging into random hideouts looking for answers. "But maybe if we keep it low-key—"

Who was I kidding? She was the opposite of low-key...

"As long as we don't blatantly kill anyone I suppose we could give it a try?" I said with a questioning shrug.

"Fuck yeah! Who do you want to go after first...?"

XXX