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 Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 8:20 am
Damn.
That was it all right. Donna's necklace. The one I'd...
...The one we'd all seen her buried in.
"No one's going to turn their back on anyone, Cassie. I don't know how you got that, but I'd know that necklace anywhere, and--"
"Hey Cyborg! The gym's great, you gonna force-feed that sow-flay to me now? Why couldn't we have ordered pizza or something?"
Nice one, Vic. You just HAD to be leader, didn't you?
Discreetly closing Cassie's hand around Donna's necklace, Vic whips around to face the hockey-jersey-clad Tad with the shiniest smile he can muster.
"Hey Nite-Wing, glad you made it. Lucky for you, my souffle met an untimely demise, so Domino's came to the rescue. There should be plenty left upstairs..."
'Course, d**k's upstairs.
Great.
"...But before you head up, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
Swinging an arm around Tad's shoulders, Vic guides him over toward Cassie.
"Nite-Wing, I'd like you to meet Wonder Girl. Wonder Girl, this is Nite-Wing... our newest recruit."
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:35 pm
I looked over at Nite-wing and shook his hand.
" Hi nice to meet you."
I watched as Nite-wing went off to go get some pizza and then I whispered over to Cyborg.
" Hey.. does 'you-know-who' know anything about this?"
As I was talking to Victor the sky started to turn weird colors. First red, then purple, then green... A portal opened up. Though it both Cyborg and I could see Donna in plain sight. I flew towards the portal but it quickly closed leaving me angry and confused. I looked over at San Francisco but something was wrong. There no cars moving, no busy people.. no one.
" What's going on..?"
Ares then appears in front of them in plain sight. Normally he would just want to talk to Cassie but this time it didn't seem to matter who was present.
Ares: " The source young one, it is the source's doing. The source is evil at it's core. It exists in everyone and it has been growing though out the years. It's chosen victim was once a strong man who while the source had taken control of him once died doing a heroic act."
Cassie: " Who.. who are you talking about?"
Ares holds up a mirror in it is an image of Parallax, Hal Jordon, and the Spectre fighting..
Cassie: " A Green Lantern, the Spectre,... and who's that other guy?"
Ares: " Parallax. He's one of the tools of the source."
My eyes grew wide. Okay, I admit I had never met Parallax before in my life but I had heard the stories. A crazy guy who killed almost the entire Green Lantern core and could toss around Superman like a rag doll. Not someone I ever want to met or go up against.
Cassie: " Pa..pa..pa..Parallax.. but isn't he dead?"
Ares: " Yes.. and no.."
Cassie: " Why are you telling all of this to me? Why not Diana? Or the Justice League?"
Ares: " Because there is no Justice League left."
Cassie: " W-H-A-T?!!!!"
Ares: " Batman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern (John Steward), Aquaman, and Wonder Woman are all trapped in a void between deminsions. The same can be said for your so-called Justice Society and the rest of mankind."
Cassie: "How? When? Why are we still here?"
Ares: " Parallax put them there while he reshapes things. People started dissappearing after you fought those demons...even though I believe they started dissappearing even before that. What that actually was is a rip between different deminsions. After that happened I placed a barrier around all the Titans old and new so none of you would end up in that void. "
Cassie: " Why us?"
Ares: " Because the gods look out for their own.."
Cassie: "I'm not a god."
Ares: "You are relative wether you know it or not. The Titans are needed for this mission. Not the JLA. Not the JSA."
With that Ares vanished. Personally I still didn't understand why us.. I mean Hal Jordon was a member of the JLA and as Spectre of the JSA. Never a Titan. And 'the source' what the hell was he talking about? Parallax .. I've fought alien monsters, stood up to the gods, fought Brother Blood, Slade, magicians, government agents,... yet I don't think I've ever been as scared as I am right now. I've never met him.. but for some reason the name ' Parallax' sends a cold shiver down my spine. I look over at Victor. Looking in his eyes I could tell that he saw Ares and heard every word of what we were talking about. I don't know why I did.. but I felt weak. I ran up to Victor and gave him a hug.
" What are we going to do?"
(( Kyle if you ARE still interested in the rp this would be a good time to post.))
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2004 12:24 pm
(( Hope you don't mind me joining in))
I've never been much of a people person. Even when I was little I was always the quiet kid in the back who kept to myself. Not because I was shy, or anti-social, I just liked to observe things. I'm the type of person who's always been very detail oriented. I hate when I over look things, however I will admit that I've been guilty of doing such a thing more times then once.
One thing I know is that if you're always talking, always distracted, then you can't concentrate and you will miss out on important details.
Watching how the old Titans were talking to Cassie, I think that they missed some very important details. Like how was she walking and talking like normal after just a short while ago she was barely able to move? What was that thing she was carrying? Also do they really think Cassie would just mention Donna's name for no reason but to bring up old scars. I may have not known Donna that well, but I knew Cassie.
She wouldn't do that. Cassie loved Donna.. Donna was her sister. Nightwing, Flash, Arsenal, and Tempest may have known Donna longer but that doesn't mean that they cared about her anymore then Cassie. I try to put myself in Cassie's shoes. What if it was d**k?
What if d**k had died only later on I found out he might still be alive or might comeback. Could just turn my head away from that? .. No, of course I couldn't... and I knew that's how Cassie felt about Donna. But I also think back to a time when we thought that Jason Todd had come back from the dead, only it wasn't him, it was a clayface. A trap made out for Bruce.
I know that this whole thing could be a trap. But that didn't matter, I know Cassie, and I know Cassie's stubborn. She won't stop till she finds out what's going on... and she's not afraid to get in over her head. I recently lost someone close to me because she decided to get in over her head. She was very stubborn but I loved her very much,.. Now she's dead. I couldn't save her. I should've been able to save her but I couldn't and now Stephanie's dead. I wasn't going to just stand by and let Cassie get into a situation she couldn't handle.
I look out the window.. What the? The sky.. it's changing color.. very strange. I get on my communicator to try and reach Oracle.
" Oracle, it's Robin.. come in.. Oracle.?.. Oracle come in..?"
Okay so she's not there.. let's try Batgirl..
" Batgirl.. it's me.. Are you there?"
No, Batgirl.. I'll call Alfred..: No answer.. Now, I know something's wrong.
I walk over to d**k.
" Something's wrong, I can't get though to Batgirl, Oracle, or Alfred... That.. and take a look out the window"
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2004 7:43 pm
Being a superhero prepares you for a lot of things.
But seeing your dead teammate staring back at you, alive as the last time you saw her... nothing prepares you for that.
"I, uh..."
I've never been much for hugging-- most folks find ice cold metal somewhat off-putting in those "warmth of human contact" moments-- but I give in for a moment...
...Okay, two moments. I've got a lot on my shoulders here...
...And then it's back to arm's length for Cassie. For everybody. I've got to tell a Tower full of Titans that their friends...
"Cassie, I know what I saw, so I'm going to trust you, but I need you to level with me..."
Their teammates...
"You've dealt with Ares more than anyone here, so you know best if he can be trusted. What he said about backing you up, do you believe it?"
Their families are gone...
...and somebody they thought was long dead, isn't.
Make that two. One we didn't want back. Ever.
"Because he's not looking out for all of us, Cassie. We're going to have to fight, and I need you to promise me that no matter what Ares tells you, you stick with the Titans..."
It's going to be ugly. I saw how Wally reacted to the news about Donna, how d**k wanted to play the doubting Bat. No one believes in the Titans yet, and as the leader of a group they still think is a joke, I'm supposed to rally the troops.
Right.
"...We're gonna need everyone we can get."
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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 6:44 pm
I looked over at Vic. I knew that look. It was the same look Diana gave me when she first found out that I had been talking to Ares. It's the 'do what you're doing?' look as well as the 'Don't him fool you, don't betray us' look.
" Ares may be the god of war but I believe that he spoke the truth. He's never lied to me before and he knows that if we get lead into a trap he's going to have an angry Zeus to deal with and he doesn't want that."
I couldn't believe Vic would believe that I would betrayhe Titans. But if it became between the gods and the Titans.. would I? I remember the story of how Zeus with his brothers and sister fought the Titans and won. The titans were the bad guys. But this wasn't like that. The Teen Titans were my friends,my allies.. but Zeus, Ares, the amazons..they were my family. I don't think Vic understood my attachement to gods or the fact that Ares, even though he was the god of war, has looked out for me. Still the question rang in my head. ' Could I ever betray the Titans? Could I ever turn on my friends? The people I grew up with...' I knew the answer although I didn't want to admit it. The answer was yes.. Still I couldn't tell Vic that.
" The Titans are my friends I would never want to do anything to hurt any of you... Vic, Do you know anything about Parallax?"
Vic and I started walking inside. To see who was going to believe us.. and who was going to fight.
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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 7:28 pm
Vic and Cassie come inside to the stoic eyes of the Flash.
"Parallax."
Cassie gulps. The Flash reaches up and pulls off his cowl.
"Damn it. Hal..."
It's bad enough that things are going absolutely insane, but now we have to deal with...Hal?
It doesn't make sense. He's supposed to be the Spectre. He's supposed to be one of the good guys. He's...
He's someone I have an axe to grind with. Ever since I trusted him to erase my identity from the public, my life has been nothing but Hell. I lost Linda, I lost my memories, I lost...
Damn it, Wally, focus! Not everything is about you!
"We need to get organized. d**k?"
"Yeah?"
"You're the leader."
Vic's gonna protest. I shoot him a look that says it's a bad time. He backs down.
Good. d**k's in charge, but I'm going to keep us together, no matter what.
God, I'm in a bad mood.
"What do we do now?
Everyone looks at d**k, and I can almost see the leadership part of him activating...
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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 7:44 pm
It was one of those days, a day where the weight of everyones problems comes crashing down atop your own. It was something that Bruce taught me to deal with. . .and I was worried because I had laundry to do.
"We call in everyone. . .I don't care where they are!"
There was a stern tone to my voice that has been honed to perfection over years of leading a group of hot-headed heros.
"If Parallax is for real. . .we find Lantern first."
He was in my cell phone, but of course, that was on my dresser probably ringing like hell right now. Taking a moment to glance around the room, someone new was in our midsts, someone I missed last time I looked around.
"And when was someone going to tell me this punk was allowed on our Tower?"
Balling my fists, it's hard to actually keep things in order when your insides are wheeling all about!
"If we are going to do anything, we need an allianace, but first, we weed out the rats."
Damn, i'm sure this guy was dead. . .
It doesn't matter, I can take him back to the cell he belongs in.
"Wally, round up everyone, i'm not sure Oracle is going to be involved in this."
"Find Mr. Rayner, then go about bringing in the crowd."
Nodding to the speedsters, the crowd of course meant the original Titans, the only group to actually accomplish something since its formation.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2004 3:00 am
[Tad saw Nightwing giving orders. He blinked a couple of times.]
Hey Cyborg? I thought you were the leader? What's he doing here? And what's he mean "our" tower?
[Tad nodded in d**k's direction. To say the two of them had history, would be a bit of an understatement. Nightwing had Tad arrested for killing an undercover Federal Agent. Tad didn't know he was a cop at the time, though. That was their conflict... Tad didn't mind killing the guilty, whereas Nightwing did. But, while the two had differing viewpoints, Tad still liked Nightwing. He was a fellow crimefighter and a good guy, even if he wasn't "active" enough in the Do-gooding.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2004 10:39 am
Damn, that stung.
Wally and I are tight, and--
--And now is not the time. He's right. Everyone will listen to d**k.
"Hey Cyborg? I thought you were the leader? What's he doing here? And what's he mean 'our' tower?"
"Tonight was supposed to be an anniversary party Tad, but things are about to get real serious. I may be the leader of the current Titans, but this thing's gonna take last one of us, new AND old. They know him better, so he's in charge of this one. Now if you'll excuse me for a minute..."
He's a good kid.
Misguided, but a good kid. He just needs somebody help him figure out what this hero thing is all about, somebody to bring him back in line, somebody to support him for a change.
He needs The Titans.
And what he doesn't need, are his legs cut out from under him.
I pull d**k aside, and it aggravates him, I can see it in his eyes, but this needs to get taken care of now, before it all goes down.
"This 'punk' is the Titans' newest recruit, d**k, and if you're looking to build an alliance here, I suggest you drop the 'rat' comments with a quickness. Now, I know you've got a knack for breaking things up, but this is NOT the time. You don't have to like him, but I'm taking a chance on the kid, and he's not going anywhere."
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2004 4:03 pm
I looked at d**k and then looked at Cyborg.
" I'm taking orders from him. He's the one who disbanded the Titans in the first place. When I tried to talk to you about what happened him and Wally jumped in on our conversation and started to get upset with me when all I wanted to do was talk. I even heard that the Outsiders got upset with himand he's no lonegr the leader. You'll excuse me if I'm onw to play the Nightwing is holyer then thou game. But what Wally and him are doing is just plain out rude."
I started walking away from everyone. I couldn't believe this. Don't get me wrong I had respect for Nightwing. Lots. He's one of the orignal Teen Titans after all but this time he over stepped his boundaries.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2004 4:26 pm
Perhaps the time has come for me to rejoin, to let go this self-induced exile. Perhaps not.
Finding out that my father, well one of them, is Lex Luthor has struck a blow to my psyche that I may not ever recover from. Fighting a young version of Clark calling himself Superboy, fighting a clone of myself named Match, hell finding out Im a clone and not a real person, none of that was as hard as this.
I remember that time I saved the Green Lantern in that pit of lava, and that time I accidently shot Clark in the back with my heat vision. I remember how easy school always seems. You know what? Neither the Justice League of Experienced Superheroes nor Smallville High School teaches you how to deal with stuff like what Im going through.
Even Tim, in all his brilliance (smarter than Batman, in my opinion) has no idea what to do with me these days. He seems to be just ignoring me lately. I cant really blame him though. He has his own problems, and doesnt need mine on top of that.
I know I have to be strong for Cassie, but I just dont know what to do anymore. These thoughts, feelings...
Am I really a hero?
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2004 4:35 pm
The fact that d**k had taken charge wasn't odd at all. In fact I expected it. I also wasn't surprised about Cassie's reaction to it. I walk up to Nite-wing.
" Hey listen.. I need your help with something..Come with me"
Tad and I walk down the hall till we see Cassie.
" Cassie, come with me to the moniter room."
I lead the two of them into a small moniter room far away from the others.
" Okay, here's the deal. I've been paying close attention to what's been going on and I have a plan which might work. But we can't tell the others."
" Why not?"
" Because, they wouldn't understand.. I've hacked into a satellite.. across the globe Gotham, New York, London, Tokyo... there's no people all of them have been emptyed out. I think that the Titans are the only ones left.. But this from what I've overheard from Cassie's conversation this is because of Parallax, a guy who just by thinking about it can throw Superman around like a ragdoll."
" Get to the point!"
" The Titans alone can't do it.. We need more manpower.. more weapons. That's why I made a deal with Darkseid."
"Great Hera! Tim! What were you thinking?!"
"I had to"
"It's Darkseid!"
" It's for the best"
"It's Darkseid!"
" Cassie, I know. I know who he is and what he's done. But right now.. it's the best option I could think of. I'm suppose to meet him 5 miles north of what use to be Coast City. He's bringing us weapons.. I was hoping you and Tad could come.. in case something goes wrong."
"I don't like it."
"I know"
" But I'll go anyway. If nothing else then to make sure you don't get yourself killed"
" Thanks Cass"
We come out the room and head to roof of the tower where Nightwing parked his jet. I looked over at Cass.
" It's better if Tad and I ride in the jet.. It would probably feel awkward flying while carrying both of us."
" Does Nightwing know you're taking his jet."
"Oh, he'll probably figure it out in a few minutes.. That's what he gets for leaving his keys next to the pizza"
Tad and I get in the jet. We fly off with Cassie flying right beside us.
((OCC: I try not to do the actions for other people's characters.. I pm Cassie about it though.. I hope Tad's okay with it.))
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2004 5:03 pm
Everyone had voiced their opinion, and that was all to fine with me. . .they weren't my group, let them get themselves killed because of dumb mistakes. . .mistakes i've made and corrected, knew how to counteract. Either way, I was done. I didn't need to be battered by these naive kids anymore, laundry called anyway.
"Wally, it was good seeing you, anytime you want to come by, don't hesitate."
With a nod it was done, I was out. . .
Turning my back was easy, walking away was even easier. . .this was what Bruce did, this is was I would do. Screw the team, all they were are a bunch of targets that would get hit and later on blame me for some crucial decision that wasn't made quick enough. But what did I know? Not like i've lead a team identical to this. . .oh wait.
No glances over the shoulder, no facial expressions. . .nothing. Well, the echo of my feet walking away, but even that ended once I stepped outside.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2004 5:52 pm
Oh, yeah.
d**k walks away from the group, as Wally slaps a hand to his forehead.
I remember now the downside of being a teenager. And dealing with d**k. So much for a plan to rebuild his confidence while tapping his leadership abilities. What was I THINKING?! That people could put their emotions on hold long enough to save the UNIVERSE?
...Not like I've helped, biting people's heads off, running around like I know what the hell I'm doing. Hearing Linda's voice got me spooked, and I went into butthead mode. Now, it's up to me to salvage things.
"*Sigh...* Gar. Get Cassie. And Tim, too, because he's with her."
"How'd you-"
"I'm the fastest man alive. I'm going to notice someone slipping away. Round them up. Vic."
"Yeah, man?"
"Cosmic forces at work, Vic. That means cosmic help. Think of any?"
"I'll contact J'onn at the Watchtower. I don't exactly have a direct line to New Genesis here, Wally. Or Waverider on speed dial."
"Good enough. I'm leaving this in your hands."
"What about d**k?"
"He'll be back when he's done getting his head out of his butt."
"Wait, you're leaving? Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go find Green Lantern."
Easier said then done...no one's seen Kyle in months.
Wally's image blurs, and he's gone in an instant, leaving Cyborg and the rest of the Titans. A scarlet blur races across the countryside as Wally runs, reaching a gigantic research building in the matter of seconds.
STAR labs. When in doubt, this is the place to go for answers.
Wally runs inside, coming to a stop in the middle of two white coat-clad scientists, one man, and one woman.
"Adjust the ratio by .02 degrees, Tina."
"Done, Jerry."
"Tina, Jerry."
The McGee's turn around, to see the Flash.
"It's been a while."
"Flash! Yes, it has been a while. I'm assuming you're here because of the..."
"Yeah, the...thing. Jerry, I know that interstellars aren't exactly your specialty, but I don't have any other 'ins' with STAR labs."
"What are you looking for, Flash?"
Tina still makes my heart race a little bit. We had a 'thing' back when my own head was firmly up my butt. Since then she and her husband got back together, and when I've been in a bind they've been great allies.
"I'm looking for a way to find Green Lantern, Tina. We need him, and we need him as soon as possible."
Jerry looks at Tina, and she looks back at him. They work best when they pool their brains, which is why I'm not surprised that they shout out in unison-
"THE INTERSTELLAR SPECTROMETER!"
"Sounds great. Does that come in a plain brown label when you order it through the mail?"
"No, no, Flash. It's a device STAR has been working on to detect anomalous energies in deep space. Your friend gives off a great deal of energy, and with it, we should be able to pinpoint him."
"I like. What do you need from me?"
"Information on the wavelengths of the energy he manipulates. And, once we find him, ideas on how to contact him would be nice."
"Can do. All we need is a location, and I can dig up someone who'll be able to contact him."
Jerry runs off to boot up the Spectra-thingy. Tina stays behind, which makes me more then a little uncomfortable.
God, I miss my wife.
"Flash...are you sure Green Lantern can help?"
"Positive. If there's one person in the universe who can handle what Parallax is capable of dishing out, it's GL. During Zero Hour, he took Hal out. Cold."
"Speaking of cold, Flash, that's the other thing that bothers me. Didn't Parallax reignite the sun after it was extinguished?"
Flash sets down a file of notes he's been paging through, and nods.
"He did. Hal Jordan gave his life that day. Which is why Parallax being back is a hell of a kick in the pants. And why we need Green Lantern."
Tina nods, as her husband returns to the lab.
"This way, Flash. The Spectrometer is running it's activation cycles now."
Damn it, Kyle, I damn sure hope wherever you are, you didn't turn your cell phone off.
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 12:23 am
(ooc: Tim... made a deal with Darkseid? WTF?)
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