Titans Tomorrow #1

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Titans Tomorrow #1
Once and Future

Written by Joel Sawyer
Edited by Daniel Dyer

The first noise did not alert her. The second and third she passed off as an animal. After that, she knew something was coming. As she began to check out the house, the front door opened and a woman wearing a flowing, blood red robe and chrome skull helmet and mask stepped in.

“Dawn Granger,” the woman boomed, “you have been judged guilty, and the sentence is... death!”

This is not good, Dawn thought. I can still transform, but recovering takes me days. I’m almost seventy. Then she confronted the intruder. “Guilty for what?” she spat. “What have I done?”

Judge smiled underneath the mask. “You will not receive the benefit of that information. Jury, execution by hanging.”

With that, a thin cable shot from a side hallway. “Dove,” Dawn barked, and in an instant, the old woman disappeared, replaced by a younger, stronger woman in a white and blue, vaguely bird-like costume. As her enhanced senses came into play, she realized how much trouble she was in.

Dove ducked and rolled as the noose flew over and past her. Even as she jumped at the lariat wielder, two more entered the room from the other hall. “Surrounded,” she whispered. Each of them wore a near identical crimson robe and metallic skull helm, individualized only by the weapon each one carried. One with a huge knife stepped between her and the hangman.

“Prepare yourself, Lynch,” the bladesman stated. “Poniard will keep her at bay.”

“Thank you, friend,” Lynch replied.

Poniard attempted to block Dove’s charge, but Dove grabbed him and redirected his move. Poniard crashed through a solid wood table and into a glass cabinet.

“Silent Vapor,” Judge commanded. A new robed man entered the front door and stood next to Judge. Gas erupted from a nozzle on his wrist. Some kind of anesthetic, Dove realized, taking a deep breath and holding it.

I have to get outside, where I can move, Dove thinks. She had advanced senses and reflexes and a mind that can imagine a hundred possibilities at any given moment, but she lacked any knowledge of her attackers. She dodged the flying knife, she sidestepped the lariat again, and she flipped the assassin whose fingers appeared to be syringes, but the sixth intruder simply brushed her foot with his fingertips and electricity ripped painfully through her. Convulsing, her muscles contracting automatically, she inhaled lungfuls of searing, paralyzing gas. Her strength begins to fade.

“Remember how quickly she heals when she is Dove,” Volt intones. “String her up now.”

As the Jury prepared for the execution, Judge coldly told Dove, “You should know, Ms. Granger, that we passed sentence on your sister Holly last night.”

---

[Spider-Man Beyond]

It’s funny, but I had just mentioned the Carrie earlier that day that we really didn’t face real villains very often. The number of new metahumans had been dropping for years. Those of us who did emerge stood out more. Of course, I’m half-Tamaranian, with orangish skin and green, pupil-less eyes, so I’ve always stood out even in the costume crowd. And I’m not shy. I’m the son of Dick Grayson and Princess Koriand’r of Tamaran (and neither believed they could even have a kid together. Even from the start, I liked things dramatic!), so I have a legacy to uphold. That’s what I was thinking when we learned that Two-Tone had returned.

“There he is,” Cardinal shouted through the wind. Two-Tone, a wild, unpredictable criminal who bragged about his short-range teleportation powers, stood on a rooftop defiantly with his disk of scans in his hand. With the proper equipment, you could make counterfeit creds that wouldn’t be recognized until spent.

“You two, again,” Two-Tone bellowed, his deep voice booming from his half navy blue, half white face mask. He dressed more like a luchadore than a criminal. “They just don’t make heroes the way they used to. Your old man would be so proud of you!”

“He’s trying to push your buttons,” Carrie hissed.

“I know,” Starbolt replied. “I’m going to push something else instead.”

With practiced ease, Starbolt and Cardinal drifted apart as they flew over downtown Ivy City. Cardinal gained a bit of altitude, her streamlined red and blue costume designed to decrease windshear. She wore no mask. What’s the point when you have a ten-foot wingspan? She always wore the red scarf that almost matched the red of her hair and wings. With a nod from Starbolt, she dove toward Two-Tone, who turned and jumped over the side of the building, out of sight.

Immediately, to Cardinal’s left and behind, Two-Tone popped out from around a corner and shot at her with a yellow beam. With her advance hearing, she knew it was coming, and only took a glancing shot to her hip. Starbolt altered course and fired off a blast of pure willpower, but Two-Tone disappeared around the corner while grinning from ear to ear.

Two-Tone’s next blast caught Starbolt square in the back.

“Forget spanking. I bet Mama blasted you just like that when you were bad, huh?” Two-Tone laughed from his new location, then suddenly vanished.

“He’s never had an energy weapon before,” Cardinal stated.

“He’s wearing new wristbands.” Starbolt continues, “Probably a device.”

“And now, he’s gone.”

Starbolt responded, “Don’t think so. He’s having way too much fun.”

They circled for about 45 seconds more, then another blast slammed into Starbolt’s head. Cardinal caught and lowered his stunned form to a rooftop, then she launched herself at Two-Tone’s new location.

Two-Tone laughed. “You can’t catch me, girl. I’m too...”

Cardinal shrieked, and a wave of concussive, sonic force surged toward the surprised criminal. He dove out of sight, but Cardinal dove right after him.

As Cardinal chased Two-Tone past the plasti-shell sided buildings, she noted how fast he really was. Not speedster fast, but noticeably quicker than any world record athlete. She chased him quite a ways before realizing he was drawing her away from the groggy Starbolt. As she veered away, he disappeared with a chuckle.

---

[Spider-Man Beyond]

On the rooftop of the synth-skin clinic, Starbolt tried to rise as Two-Tone approached him. “You’re such a bleep, Starbolt. Do you know how much fun it is to beat you like this?” The criminal shot Starbolt at point-blank range.

Starbolt stumbled, then smashed Two-Tone across the bridge of the nose, which spurted blood.

“Gaaaa,” Two-Tone gurgled, eyes wide.

“I agree,” Starbolt replied, “You’re using a blast that simulates solar energy. I absorb solar rays, just like Mom. How did you miss that?”

Starbolt psi-blasts Two-Tone, causing an instant migraine. As Two-Tone cringed, Starbolt shattered the infocard with another blast, and stripped him of the energy bands. As Cardinal glides in, Two-Tone again pops out of sight.

“Now he‘s gone,” Starbolt told his friend. “Its so much easier when we don’t have to recover the goods. There is something about his teleportation that I’m not getting, though, something that bugs me.”

“Think about it on the way to the Roost, Rob,” Cardinal suggested.

Star grimaced. “I’ve asked you not to call me that.”

Cardinal giggled. “C’mon, Ryand’r. I can tease you a little. Besides, your costume is nearly identical to your Dad’s first Nightwing uniform, and you chose short pants. There hasn’t been a Robin in years. ‘Robin and Cardinal.’ Doesn’t it sing?”

---

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Everything changed in that one moment, although I didn’t know it yet. I’m a princess, but third child not heir to the throne. With Mom and Dad working so hard to democratize Markovia, there may be no more Kings or Queens, anyway. I’ve been kind of directionless, so I think events really worked to my favor.

Tamara looked up suddenly, eyes wide in surprise. She heard it, she knew she did, but what was it? It wasn’t sound, exactly, more like an impression of something far away. She sighed, thinking, Mother knows so much more about this than I do.

It takes her only 2 minutes to find the Queen of Markovia despite the size of the mansion they live in. They shared a link in power, and can feel each other within a certain distance. Queen Tara stood with Prince Logan, whose green hair and skin always stood out in a crowd. Tamara could have been a teen photo of the queen, the same blond hair, round face, slightly pouty lips, and shiny, blazing blue eyes. The parents turned to look at their daughter, the Queen not looking too surprised.

“Did you feel it, Mother?”

“I did,” Tara Markov-Logan replied. “Something offends Mother Earth. Far Away.”

“Would either of you mind if I go check it out?”

The Royal Marrieds think almost the same thing. Tara was fifteen when she gained her powers, sixteen when she betrayed the New Teen Titans. Garfield Logan was just a kid when he was hanging around the Doom Patrol. Gar turned toward his seventeen year old daughter.

“Be careful,” he told her. “My contacts tell me something funny is going on in the world. New supers are emerging all of a sudden. Tara and I can’t just go out and search with you, but if you find something and need backup, call us. You know our bodies were de-aged, and physically we’re not that old yet.”

“Thanks,” Tamara said with a smile. “I’ll leave for America as soon as I can.”

---

[Spider-Man Beyond]

He was such a nice boy, but didn’t have a clue what I am. I liked him, but we could have never been together. He was terribly fascinating, but once I felt that tremor that sliced through the natural world, I had to find out what caused it.

Another girl, small and light, almost child-like with white curly hair, suddenly looked up and away.

“Liana, are you alright?” Jason Rhodes asked with concern.

The girl smiles and blushes a little. “I’m sorry,” she said meekly. “I became distracted.”

“I’m saying, I know you have powers. Everyone knows that. But you shouldn’t say that you aren’t human.”

“You would not believe what I am, Jason. Please excuse me, Jason, but I must go.”

“You’re always so formal and dramatic,” Jason said with a hopeful smile. “I could go with you.”

“No, Jason. I won’t be back to school, tomorrow. Perhaps not ever.”

“But where are you going?”

“Probably to meet my destiny, to do what I was born to do.” With that, Liana stood up, kissed the teenage boy, and walked away, leaving Jason more mystified than ever about the white-haired girl.

---

[Spider-Man Beyond]

I’ve been in awe of Starbolt’s parentage since we’d met, even more so when I learned who Nightwing really was. It’s nice having someone around who understands. Flying is fun, but my wings are hard for some to accept. So I do care about him, not really romantically, but we’re family. It was difficult for me when we got the message.

The Roost. More of an office than a heroic headquarters. No supercomputer, no holding cells, no infirmary, just a place to receive messages, see visitors, and recover from their heroic activities. Their rooms were upstairs.

“Why does he always teleport to somewhere we can’t see?” asks Starbolt. “He always comes around a corner, or from behind something.”

“Look, Ry, Jon’s calling us.” Cardinal moves over to the communications console, which isn’t much more than that found in every other home in Ivy City. “Answer,” she states, then said, “Jon, you there?”

“Carrie?” A young, black haired boy appeared on the screen as he said, “Where have you been?”

“Check the news, reject. We stopped a robbery.”

“Is Ryand’r there? He’s the one I need to connect with.”

Starbolt stepped over to the console.

“Great,” Jon continued. “Ry, check in with your mother. Someone is trying to kill former Titans. Holly and Dawn Granger have been murdered, and someone wrecked Vic Stone’s mechanical parts as well.”

“Vic was already deleted, Jon,” Starbolt stated.

“Maybe, but he died once and came back. Whoever’s doing this seems to know a lot, like secret ID’s and such.”

“So what’s the words?” asked Cardinal.

“All we know is that there are multiple attackers. Holly was taken by surprise before she could change into Hawk and killed by an object slicing through her chest and vitals. Dove put up a fight. She was partially anesthetized, then hung from the rafters of her house. All potential targets are being contacted.”

“You think we are targets?” Star asked.

Jon replied, “Don’t know, but Bart said we shouldn’t take any chances.”

“Who’s most likely to be hit next?” Cardinal inquired.

“Miss Koriand’r spoke to Tim Drake. He thinks they’re going for the easiest targets first. Several ex-Titans are still powerful even at their ages, or in defensible positions. Tim expects that he or Roy Harper are the most likely targets.” Jon contined, “Of course, no one can reach Raven anymore.”

---

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Even just before she appeared, I was overwhelmed. I’ve always been sensitive and totally fascinated by mystical things. Since graduating high school, I’ve been going to various sites that hold ambient magical energy. I’m a nerd, a role-gamer, socially inept, but apparently my quest for all things mystical had gotten me noticed.

David Dagon stood at a site out in the woods which fairly throbbed with energy. The hair on his arms and chest stood up even as his shoulder length black hair fluttered in the wind. He lifted a voice recorder, just a tube with a mic at the top, and spoke.

“I’m standing in the area where there was once a magic school, where the Spectre killed or thought he killed Blackbriar Thorn. Based on what I’m feeling, the stories are true. Even after forty years, I feel more energy here than any previous site I’ve visited. This is quite exhilarating, like reaching 20th level.”

David felt a force, like someone slapped him on the forehead. Dark smoke exploded silently from the earth, and from the smoke stepped a tall, thin woman dressed in a long, blue, hooded cloak. A small jewel glittered from her forehead. He had seen pictures, even video, of her from years before.

“You... you’re Raven,” he stammered.

“I’m pleased that you know of me, David Dagon,” she replied with a slight smile.

“Who wouldn’t?” he asked. “You were a Titan.”

“Many would not recognize me anymore, and most of those that do know me would fear my wrath. David, you dream of powers, of heroes, of saving the world. This world has need of new heroes, and at least a few who know about things arcane.”

David’s eyes practically popped out of his head. “You don’t mean me. I’m a researcher. I have no powers of my own.”

“Because of your research, you understand more about magical items, events, and places than anyone who hasn’t been part of them. You have a destiny, David. In a timeline that no longer exists, you became a great hero. As a Lord of Order, I wish to make that happen. But only if you are willing.”

David stared at her. “Did you know this other David Dagon, or do you just know of him?”

“I met him,” she answered.

“Were you friends?”

“No. That is part of why I am here.”

David paused for a long moment, then cracked a huge grin. “Who am I to stand in the way of destiny,” he said. Raven smiled, and engulfed him in her soul-self.

---

[Spider-Man Beyond]

It’s in my blood, it’s in their blood. Very few of us can ever walk away for good. Lord, I can’t believe that it’s my face in the mirror. Sixty-six years. Why couldn’t I be the one who was de-aged or frozen in time, or whatever it is that keeps Wally young. Ollie, too. Dying a couple of times seems to have extended his life. Someone explain that to me. Oh, well. I still look younger than he does.

Roy Harper moved sharply across the apartment. He wouldn’t be beating any real athletes anymore in fair competition, but he could still run a marathon or split an arrow with his second shot. He knew he couldn’t win the fight with old age, but he would try.

A tiny beep rings in his ear. “Roy Harper,” he said to the air. From a device that looks much like a 20th century hearing aid, a voice whispers. Roy smiles.

“Gabe, nice to hear from you. You know I can’t call you Ollie, not as long as Ollie is still kicking. At this point, I’ll probably call you Gabe until I die. What are you doing in town? Sure. How about lunch? Yeah, I... wait. Someone’s here.”

It was a silent proximity alarm, blinking at the rear patio door. The place had two-level apartments, and only twelve tenants which the system was programmed to recognize. No one should be around his 2nd story balcony.

As he moved to reach a weapon, the balcony door shattered, the shards flying inward at Roy.

“Roy Harper, you have been judged guilty, and the sentence is death,” Judge stated.

To be continued...