TITANS TOMORROW #10

[Glippernip]

TITANS TOMORROW #10

Where Is Donna Troy
Part 2: Across the Universe[/b][/u][/center]

Written and Edited by Joel A Sawyer


After phantoms of deceased Teen Titans appeared to their loved ones, and after Fusion met team-mates that no longer exist, Titans old and new gathered at an old Titans Tower in San Francisco to solve the mystery. Moments ago, Raven appeared, telling the gathered heroes that this was no enemy attack. It was Donna Troy, one of the original Teen Titans, calling her friends for help.

They were all silent, then Terra (Tamara) asked, “So when do we leave?”

Raven gave her a soft smile. “I cannot bring all of you. I can only transport a few, and it must be those Donna truly loved...Wallace, Garfield, and Koriand’r.”

“That’s not enough,” Static said, “Now, I know I never really knew Troia. She disappeared early in my career. Four just isn’t enough, particularly when you all are so old. No offense.”

“You’re no spring chicken either, Virgil,” Tara Markov-Logan chided.

“Oh, I know I’m not up to something like this anymore,” Static replied.

“I’ll go,” Starbolt offered, “I look a lot like my dad. Donna might respond to that. How many others can we bring?”

“One more,” Raven answered, “Bridging dimensions uses so much energy, and I can only rely on my inner power once we leave this plane.”

Ryand’r looked at his team, then stepped up to Fusion. “Are you up to this?”

“Me,” she whispered, “Why?”

“Fern and Terra’s powers are of the Earth, so we don’t know how they will work in another place. Gabe wouldn’t be able to make repairs to his gear, and some of Carrie’s ability relies on magic as well. Personally, I’ll enjoy your company more than Taurus or Charlie.” Starbolt leaned in and whispered, “And you could prove yourself to the original Titans. Those four have fought Dr. Light more than anyone. Your heritage won’t matter one bit to them if you help bring Troy back. And she somehow recognized you, too.”

Ry couldn’t see it behind her mask, but Fusion stared into his eyes for a long moment before saying, “OK, I’ll go with you.”

“Then gather close, my friends,” Raven commanded, “We do not have much time.”

Wally West in his old Flash uniform, Princess Koriand’r in a one-piece that still accented her body perfectly, Animal Man in an older costume of purple and white, and Starbolt and Fusion stepped over to the Lord of Order, and Raven surrounded them with her cloak.

“Are you sure you know where we are going?” Kory asked.

“I’ve been waiting for a signal from Donna for a long time,” Raven replied, “I am ready.”

In a billowing cloud of acrid smoke, they vanished.

“That’s just great,” Battalion shouted, “What do we do now?”

“Anyone got any cards?” Static asked.

“By the way, Uncle Virgil,” Tamara said crossly, “I wanted to ask you about a guy calling himself Mop Man...”

Static gulped.

***************************

[Glippernip]

The journey passed quickly, with the five passengers engulfed in a cool, calming void.

“Where are we?” Fusion asked, a bit fearful.

“Raven’s soul self,” Flash answered. He didn’t really look seventy years old, he looked in his early fifties, and his red hair was only streaked with grey. “We haven’t met. I’m Wally. I used to be the Flash.”

“I’m Fusion,” she whispered.

“She’s the grand-daughter of Dr. Light,” Starbolt added helpfully. Alexandra shrank back, mortified.

“Don’t worry about it,” Animal Man told her, “My wife tried to assassinate us, Starfire’s sister tried numerous times, and don’t even ask about Raven’s dad.”

“And Gar’s jokes have come close to killing us an alarming number of occasions,” Wally said with a smirk.

“This is what I grew up with,” Starbolt explained, getting a laugh from both of the men and a warm smile from Starfire.

“Cover your eyes, you are exiting into sunlight,” Raven’s voice echoed into their heads. Only Animal Man and Wally did so. Fusion had her screen up to protect her, and Tamaraneans did not fear sunlight under most conditions. Suddenly, the void disappeared, and they stood in a grassy field. In the distance, miles away, lay a large, shining city that none of them recognized. The air smelled clear, pristine. A light breeze blew across them, the temperature was perfect, and a medium sized grasshopper perched itself on Starbolt’s shoulder.

“Schway,” Fusion offered, “Raven, you can plan my vacation anytime.”

“Raven?” Kory asked, looking at her friend.

“I don’t understand,” Raven said, dismayed, “She should be here.”

**************************

[Glippernip]

They spent the next hour speaking softly as Raven meditated, hoping to discover what had led her astray. It seemed peaceful. It was Starfire who noticed several approaching aircraft coming from the direction of the city. The lead craft, a multi-person air car that none of them had seen before, didn’t actually land. It simply lowered to about six foot from the ground, and six individuals jumped down. They each wore a uniform, costumes really, much like a hero team from the Titan’s planet. An older man in a two-toned brown, almost military outfit and green goggles stepped to the front. The other newcomers apparently looked to the man as their leader.

“My name is Challenger,” the older man stated, “In the name of The Free Republic of Georwell, you will submit yourselves to us for interrogation.”

The Titans looked at each other. The Flash asked, “On what grounds. We haven’t done anything but sit here peacefully.”

“You have entered a protected zone,” Challenger explained calmly, “Your scans do not recognize in our central computer, so you are unregistered. Unregistered, that means you have no permit to leave your hub city. Lastly, scans show some of you with paranormal abilities, also unregistered. Are those sufficient grounds?” Challenger’s voice was thick with sarcasm.

Koriand’r stepped forward, arms outstretched and hands open, palms up. “We are not from your world,” she began softly, “We are looking for a lost colleague and came here by mistake. If you give us a little time, we will leave your world.”

“Ha! Not the first time we’ve heard that story,” a muscular man with thick wavy black hair and a thin moustache barked. He wore a red and blue costume with no mask, just a red head band.

“On my mark, Demon,” Challenger interjected, then he addressed the Titans once more, “Even if your story were correct, ignorance of the law is no excuse. We will escort you to the city, one way or another.”

The Titans glanced at each other as Raven passed them a silent message. “Oh, goody,” Logan said, “I haven’t played this game in a while.”

Koriand’r dropped her arms and clenched her hands into fists. “We will have to do this the other way,” she said, “We will not go with you.”

“Justice Machine,” Challenger shouted, “Take them down!”

***********************

[Glippernip]

Everyone moved at once. Starfire and Starbolt launched into the air and Raven vanished in a dark cloud of smoke. Challenger drew a large pistol that fired a strange band, which wrapped around Starfire’s arms. One of Challenger’s team, dressed in blue and white, grew to twenty foot tall and grabbed Starbolt, who gave the giant a psi-bolt. Flinching, the giant threw Ry into the ground. “Titan scores first blood,” he roared.

Animal Man changed into a green gorilla and charged a blond woman in a green outfit and cape, but Demon intercepted, knocking Gar off course. Logan grinned through ape lips. “You're in for a fight. I can change into any creature I can envision.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Demon replied, taking a fighter’s stance, “I’m Demon. I’m faster than anybody.”

A young red haired girl in a red and orange skin-tight costume ignited in flames and tried to surround Wally with a ring of fire, but he wasn’t there by the time the ring closed.

Wow, a girl that young should not look like that, or wear something that tight, Wally thought, but then I guess my daughter Iris had her moments. “You’ll have to be faster than that, girl,” he called to her.

“The name is Blazer,” she called back angrily, “and I’m fast enough for you.”

She had to put it that way. I feel like a dirty old man, Wally again thought. Then he began to run, and the chase was on.

Fusion charged at Challenger, but felt sudden pressure against her field as a huge hand wrapped around her waist and swept her up into the air. “This isn’t the proper way to pick up a girl, big guy,” she said.

“I am Titan,” the giant replied, “and I didn’t understand you inference.”

“That’s because you use words like inference,” she taunted, dazzling Titan with a spectrum directly into his oversized eyes. At that moment, after 45 seconds of high-energy burn, Starfire broke her bonds (SHOOOM!)and fired a starbolt(SKREEEE!) into the blinded giant’s chest.

“Gahhhh!” he bellowed. Both Demon and Animal Man leapt out of the way as Titan fell on his back.

Demon took advantage, catching the emerald ape in a full nelson. “No one beats Demon,” he rasped, “No one.”

Gar transformed into a hornet and stung Demon on the arm, then changed into a kangaroo and kicked him. Demon slid across the moist grass, adding dull green to his royal blue and red jumpsuit. He rolled to his feet and circle kicked the charging cheetah in the head.

Still chased by the flying Blazer, Flash sprinted past Demon, sending the martial artist flying. Even as Demon flipped and landed on his feet, Wally turned and, moving his arms in small circles at super-speed, created a whirlwind that extinguished Blazer’s fire. The older teen gasped, suddenly unable to breath. Wally left her laying on the grass, gasping for air.

A middle aged man, dressed not in a costume but in a three piece suit and cane, stepped forward. “Of course, it is up to me to save the day,” he said dramatically.

“Shut up, Talisman!” Demon shouted while dodging the green eagle that swept past him, “I’m weary of you taking credit for our success.”

“Just watch as I, Talisman, vanquish the runner,” he continued, as if Demon had not spoken. A blade popped out of the cane that Talisman carried, and he held it up. “En Garde,” he challenged. Wally obligingly ran towards the swordsman. As the speedster approached, Talisman balked and began to back away, uncertainty suddenly written on his face.

Then, Wally slipped.

In hindsight, he didn’t even know what he slipped on. As Flash tumbled past Talisman, the man in formal wear threw his hands in the air as if to say ‘Ta-da!’, and shouted, “As luck would have it!”

"He's gonna be insufferable, now," Demon groaned.

“Diviner, ready,” Challenger barked. The mature blond whom Animal Man had charged earlier fell in beside her Commander and the duo performed a flawless double-kick that knocked Wally West out cold.

“Our marriage should have worked that well,” Diviner told Challenger.

Now a bear, Gar move toward Demon, who neatly flipped the ursus over toward Blazer, who shot Logan with a flamethrower blast. As the smoke cleared and stung his nostrils, a small green head popped out of a green tortoise shell. Just as fast, the reptile transformed into a tiger and charged Blazer shouting, “Look at me! Tawky Tawny!” With perfect accuracy, Challenger shot him with a tranquilizer from one of his pistols.

“Sorry, guys,” Animal Man said as he lost control of his motor functions.

Starfire shot starbolts at Demon, leaving burn patches in the grass but missing her constantly moving target. Challenger, still with a pistol, fired at Fusion, only to have the energy pulse deflected.

“Starfire,” Fusion yelled, “shoot me!”

Koriand’r didn’t hesitate, trusting that this young woman knew what she could do. Fusion deflected the bolt toward Demon, and though it took her a second to correct her aim, Starfire maintained the bolt until Fusion guided it across Demon’s leg. He yelled and collapsed, gritting his teeth against the pain.

Steaming from the power of Kory’s bolt, Fusion caught Diviner with her spectrum blast, then sprinted in for a high speed punch. Though blinded, Diviner still flipped Fusion toward Blazer, who flamed her. Already heated up, Fusion passed out.

Starfire blasted Blazer, knocking her senseless, then ducked around Titan’s huge hand to punch him in the face. Challenger again fired, this time strafing Starfire with pellets that exploded into thick blobs of heat resistant foam. As she struggled, another volley of pellets froze the foam, locking her in.

“Good work, Justice Machine,” Challenger called while holstering his weapon.

“Challenger, just one thing,” Diviner said as security forces landed to secure the prisoners, “I monitored them from the moment we landed, including their vital signs. Jaiime, they believed what they told us.” She finished emphatically, “They were very surprised by out reaction.”

***************************

[Glippernip]

Georwell- A relatively small world and the central planet of an interplanetary empire. Mind you, not a huge ‘Star Trek’ alliance of worlds, just fifteen populated planets and moons with another 30 or so colonies, 99% human population. For many years, the populace of Georwell benefited from incredible technology: Advanced solar and wind power grids, weather control, anti-grav vehicles. If you were a citizen, life was generally a breeze. It wasn’t so easy if you were a sub-citizen, but if you are lucky, you won’t see one of them very often. The Officer Friendly surveillance systems and Freedom Militia saw to that. As long as you followed your curfew, made sure your permits were in order, and alerted your district manager to any abnormal occurrences, life was good.

***********************

[Glippernip]

They had been awake for a short time before a man entered the room. He wore a cross between a costume and military dress uniform, purple in color, large collar rising behind his head. He approached the stasis tubes that held the five invaders and glared at each of them in turn.

“You are in the Citadel of Justice, City of Martel. I am Zarren, Commander of the city’s security forces. Do not consider escape, as The Justice Machine resides in this building, so you would face them again. You are unregistered paranormals, which makes you extremely dangerous to the peach of my city. Where are you from?”

“Another world, called Earth,” Wally stated, “We don’t belong here, and would leave if you let us.”

“So you can bring an invading army? If you are telling the absolute truth, then you are spies. The only way to save your lives now and possibly live out your days in a useful, sub-citizen capacity is to tell me where you are from and who you work for!”

**********************

[Glippernip]

The Justice Machine trained hard, working themselves to a sweat. Titan periodically grew and shrank to various sizes while keeping 10 tons lifted above his head. Blazer, on fire, flew an aerial obstacle course. Demon jumped and flipped through a ground based confidence course using acrobatic moves no one in Georwell could imitate. Diviner, with more passive abilities, practiced martial arts with a holographic trainer. Challenger shot moving targets as he argued with Talisman.

“Talisman,” Challenger barked, wiping away the sweat from his forehead, “find something and get to work. Practice with Diviner.”

“Why should I?” the gentleman argued, “My karma is nothing I can train. As long as my cause is just, I’ll get extremely good luck.”

“In case your luck fails you, and need I remind you that it has failed in the past. Practice your combat skills now or I’ll banish you from the Machine!”

Talisman bustled away as Demon launched from suspended rings, flipped four times through the air, and landed neatly in front on his leader.

“I need to speak with you, Jaiime,” Demon said.

“Not now, Demon. We need to train, to be ready.”

“It has to be now,” Demon responded, uncharacteristically calm, “You know me. I’m always ready to fight, to volunteer for every suicide mission. Those paranormals we captured today, I see their side of the story. If they did just arrive, they shouldn’t be shunted aside like any other citizen. Beside that, I think they were holding back.”

“They won’t be shunted aside,” Challenger huffed.

“What do you mean,” Titan asked, shrinking to his normal 6' 7" frame, “You have heard something?”

“Zarren is charging them with treason,” Challenger hissed, “He wants them mind-wiped and reprogrammed to bring their power to our side.”

For a moment, silence.

“That’s inhuman,” Blazer blurted.

“Jaiime, that is killing who they are,” Demon growled, “That is reserved for unrepentant murderers and rapists. Most wrong-thinkers never have their minds wiped!”

“Of course I understand that, Gabel,” Challenger shouted, “But what can I do about it? Cross Zarren?”

“Let us talk to them,” Diviner answered.

**************************

[Glippernip]

The Justice Machine entered the hall together. Zarren watched them approach.

“Ah, my Machine,” he said, “I’ve been viewing film of your battle today. Most glorious. The populace will be pleased with the new footage. You are a boon to all citizens!”

“Thank you, Director Zarren,” Challenger replied, “We wish to speak to the prisoners.”

“Of course. A little gloating is allowed, after all.”

Zarren walked away. The Machine regarded their opponents. Demon scrutinized Garfield Logan.

He is strangely bright-eyed and unconcerned for his current circumstance, Demon thought. “You were holding back,” he suggested.

“Why would I do that?” Animal Man asked, completely straight faced.

“You change into animals,” Demon explained, “I’ve imagined a dozen things you could have done to me, and that’s assuming that you cannot reproduce venom.”

“Well,” Logan replied, “from our point of view, the fight was pointless and unrequired. This way, instead of trying to dodge patrols all day, we could bide our time here until we got the word that it’s time to go.”

“You think escape will be easy,” Challenger asked.

“Easy? No,” Starfire piped in, “but escape is assured.”

“Even if we stopped you,” Titan asked incredulously.

“We only came here searching for a friend of ours, and landed here in error,” Starbolt offered, very calmly, trying to channel a bit of Connor Hawke, “Our only wish is to continue our journey, not to stand and fight. Honestly, we could bring this entire Citadel down.”

“And now you threaten us?” Talisman laughed.

“No threat,” The Flash joined in, “You have great power, so you should know what we mean. If we fought toe to toe with you, the damage could be unreal, regardless of how we try to limit it. Our powers are destructive. You’ve already realized we didn’t show all of our abilities.” Vibrating his body at super-speed, Wally stepped out of the restraining device. “We could leave any time,” he added, “We just didn’t want the violence.”

“What is different now,” Challenger asked.

“Because our sixth member has told us she’s ready to go,” Wally stated.

Zarren, across the room, noticed Flash standing outside his containment and nearly exploded. “Justice Machine,” he shrieked, “Capture the invader!”

Challenger’s stare didn’t waver. “Let them loose,” he said.

“Unbelievable,” Zarren bellowed, “You don’t have the authority, Challenger.”

“Check your data,” Demon laughed, “Article 174, sections 3-8. As the field commander that captured them, Challenger can designate a combatant friend, enemy, or neutral.”

“Furthermore,” Challenger added sternly, “you cannot name them traitors when there is no record of them living in Georwell.”

Zarren stood shocked, his jaw hanging open, “You cannot! Their powers...”

“Correct,” Challenger finished, “Their powers. Not ours. The fact they have abilities does not give us a right to enslave them.”

The Titans stepped from their platforms as Raven appeared, her dark smoke billowing along the floor of the pristine white chamber.

“You people took a large chance,” Talisman said to Starbolt, “I wouldn’t trust my luck on that kind of wager.”

“Wasn’t a wager,” Starbolt responded, “Raven’s an empath. She believed you were reasonable persons with noble intentions.”

“But she couldn’t be sure of us.”

“No,” Ry said, “but we trust her judgement.”

Animal Man stepped up to Demon, who smiled. “You still wouldn’t have beaten me,” Demon said.

“Perhaps,” Logan mused, “I’m Gar Logan.” Shaking Demon’s hand, he finished, “I hope next time we meet, we’ll be on the same side.”

With another burst of smoke, the Titans were gone.

*****************************

[Glippernip]

They arrived in a destruction zone.

Obviously, a city had once sat here near the ocean, but whatever used to be here was currently a burned out, bombed out ruin.

Raven looked stricken. “I do not understand this at all,” she whispered, “She is not here, either.”

This time, response came in less than ten minutes. Flash came back from a super-speed recon while Starfire and Starbolt took to the air, straight up for a birds-eye view.

“Its bad,” Wally said upon his return, “No doubt this is San Francisco. I found some residents. This was a nuclear attack a long time ago. It took ten years before anyone could live here again.”

As Raven meditated, a shimmering doorway came into view, and seven beings stepped out. The man who stepped to the front was huge, standing 6' 6" and weighing at least 300 lbs of solid muscle. He wore an outfit of white, deep blue, and maroon. He wore no mask, but a black headband adorned his blond, military cut hair. On both the left side of his chest and again on the head band, a Nazi swastika.

“I am certain you speak this mongrel language,” the big man stated with a Germanic accent, “You will submit to us.”

“And who are you?” Animal Man asked.

The big man looked at Gar with complete disgust. “I am Hauptmann Englande, Commander of The Third Reich’s Lightning Force, and we are taking you back to the Motherland!”

“Deja vu,” Fusion added.

To Be Continued...