RookieBatman
12/16/2004, 16:11
Editor's Note: This story follows Action Comics: The Ending (http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=109140). If you haven't read that, you should read it first. This story ties into the Heroclix Role-Playing Strategy Campaign (see my sig line), and as such takes place in its own continuity.
I'd like to thank WakandaMan for writing this for me. (I did change a couple small things here and there, just in case anyone's keeping track.) Great work, WakandaMan! Write more!
Action Comics: The Beginning
The Arizona Desert. Six months ago...
A lone coyote limped along a dusty road, squinting in the blistering heat. It looked to the sky spotting something flying fairly low. The green-sheathed figure descended, causing the coyote to scurry under a nearby rock in fear.
“J’onn, is that you?” Hal said, peering after the coyote. “I know you’re out here somewhere.” A nearby cactus suddenly shifted shape, growing and twisting as it took on the familiar shape of the alien. “How did you find me?”
Hal smiled. “The ring was able to give me a rough idea, and then I just took pot luck. I wanted you to know that Orin and I are reforming the league and we want you to be a part of it. What do you say, old friend?”
J’onn looked down, not able to meet Hal’s eyes. “I am afraid I cannot. My weakness is too much of a detriment on the field. I had hoped that exposing myself to the constant heat would help me to gradually overcome my weakness, but it has not. I am not fit to be of any assistance to you.”
Hal’s brow furrowed in annoyance. “That’s not true, J’onn. Heck, even just as an advisor you are invaluable, and that’s without even mentioning the advantage of having a telepathic link between teammates. You’re one of the originals. It just wouldn’t be the same without you.”
J’onn frowned, deep in thought. “I will consider it.”
Hal’s brow stayed furrowed as his look stayed fixed on J’onn.
J’onn sighed heavily and then looked up at Hal. “I suppose… I could assist you in an advisory capacity. For a time, at least.”
Hal smiled in response. “Great! Meet us in the Watchtower tonight.”
As Green Lantern flew away the coyote timidly crept out from under the rock and approached J’onn. The Martian stooped down and rubbed the creature under the chin. He would miss the peace that he had out here. But the league was important… the most important thing of which he had ever been a part.
Central City…
“Boo-yah! Let’s take these jokers out, Gar!” Cyborg fired his plasma cannon wildly as his green friend transformed into a crocodile. Changeling gave him a toothy grin back.
“This is great!” He replied to his big metal friend. “I’ve been lone-gunning it for too long. Nice to have someone to tag team with,” he added, as he smacked the Weather Wizard in his chest with a leathery tail.
Cyborg picked up a nearby mailbox to finish of the hapless Wizard. “Sh’yeah. We’re the new Hawk and Dove, little buddy! Now let’s finish this loser!” The two heroes approached the fallen villain, intending to finish him off. But suddenly, Cyborg felt the strange sensation of being unable to move. Changeling shivered as he felt a cold chill pass up his body, and he also realized that his legs were stuck.
Weather Wizard smiled as he climbed painfully to his feet. “You heroes are not the only ones that work together. Allow me to introduce my partner in crime…Captain Cold!” The Captain stepped out of the shadows and gave a bow.
“Who are the losers now?” He asked. Changling tried turning into a snake to slide out, but the ice just grew to encase his smaller form. “How do you like my growing ice there, Beast Boy?”
Changeling frowned and stuck his tongue out at the villain. “It’s not Beast Boy anymore. I’m called Changeling now.”
Cold didn’t seem impressed. “Whatever your name is, it’s not going to matter for much longer.” Increasing the power on his cold gun he aimed it at the green snake’s head… and then a baton hit him in the face, knocking off his visor. A dark figure cart-wheeled onto the scene, quickly taking out both the Weather Wizard and Captain Cold with a roundhouse kick, while Cyborg managed to gradually defrost himself and Changeling with his weapons. Nightwing gave a slight smile as he quickly tied up the two villains with a bola. “Hope you don’t mind me dropping in.”
Cyborg grinned “Nah, that’s okay, we just about had these guys taken care of anyways.”
“Yeah...of course we did,” Changeling said, shifting into a green Arctic Wolf in an attempt to warm up. “Thanks for the assist anyways.” Suddenly he pricked his ears up. “Hey guys, there’s a bunch of rotten smelling guys making filthy comments toward some girl just a block from here.”
“So what are we waiting for?” Cyborg said, “Let’s go!” The three heroes charged around the corner to see the gang encircling a pretty young girl with very long hair and fairly tanned skin. It looked like the heroes were going to be too late, but then a bright flash of energy came from the girl, scattering the gang members. Between the shock of discovering that their prey wasn’t as helpless as they thought, and the three charging heroes, the thugs wisely took off running.
“Are…are you all right” Changeling stammered as they reached the girl .Although she was dressed in a large overcoat, now that they were closer he noticed that her skin was a strange orange color and her eyes were completely green.
Nightwing did a quick double take. “Hey I know you… you’re Princess Koriand’r, from Tamaran, right? We visited your planet on one of the Titans’ little trips.”
The girl blinked at him sweetly. “The Titans; yes. I remember quite well. In fact, I have come to join your team. I have grown tired of my life on Tamaran. Nothing exciting ever happens, not like when your Titans came to visit.”
Nightwing rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, sorry, Princess,” he said slowly, somberly. “But the Titans don’t exist anymore. We came up against a really bad guy and he pretty much destroyed us.”
A glint came into Cyborg’s eye. “Hey!” Nightwing turned around and Cyborg spread his arms out as if in presentation.
“What?”
“Why don’t we reform the Titans? With us and you and the Princess here, the four of us would be unstoppable!”
“It sounds like a great idea to me,” Koriand’r said, grabbing Nightwing’s arm warmly.
“I don’t know, guys,” Nightwing said. “I really don’t know.”
Keystone City - Home of the Flash…
“You shouldn’t push yourself so hard, Wally.” Barry said, looking on with concern.
Wally gritted his teeth and pushed upwards with his arms, biceps straining as they took the weight of his body. “I…nnh…have to…uhh…get my legs…working...huhhh…again.” He was using the kitchen bench as a railing, forcing himself to stand up. “Can’t…hhhh…let it beat….me.” He tried putting some weight on his legs and they crumpled underneath him. Before he had a chance to hit the floor though, Barry caught him. “Wally, you were paralyzed by Deathstroke; you’re lucky to be alive at all. I know this is hard for you, but you’ve got to slow down.”
Wally exhaled in defeat. “It’s just so frustrating. I can’t believe I was so stupid.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Wally. Sometimes these things just happen.” Wally looked as if he might cry. How could he blame himself for what happened to the Titans? As Barry wondered how he could snap his nephew out of it, there was a knock on the door. Instantaneously changing out of his Flash costume, Barry Allen opened the door, smiling when he saw who it was.
“Hal! Good to see you.” He was just about to ask him in when he remembered Wally’s fragile state. Probably better give the kid some space. “Let’s take a walk,” he said, stepping outside.
“Barry, I just wanted you to know that Orin and I are reforming the League and I want you on board. I’ve already talked to J’onn; he’s in, at least as an advisor. I’ve got a few ideas for some new members as well, but I wanted to come to you first.”
“Gee, I don’t know, Hal,” Barry said, pausing to think. “Wally really needs me right now. He’s become really depressed since the Titans split up. And without his parents, I’m pretty much all he’s got in the way of family.”
Hal dropped his eyes. He couldn’t really argue with that, could he? He and Barry were great friends, but blood was thicker than water. Barry took one look at his forlorn face and a small smile crept over his lips. “But then again,” he continued, “I am the fastest man alive. I’m sure I could find time for Wally and serving with the League.”
Hal grinned and slapped his friend on the back. “Great! Now let’s go recruiting!”
The Laughing Mule—A bar in the backblocks of Metropolis…
A good-looking young man with dark hair walked into the bar. He looked around, and then spotted an attractive girl sitting at a booth at the back. The man walked up to her table and casually sat down across from her.
“Thanks for meeting me, Donna. How have you been?”
The girl pushed her drink away and looked him over carefully before answering. “I’ve been better. How about you? Still fighting for truth, justice and all that jazz?”
“Yeah, you know me. Nothing can keep me from the life.” Grayson paused before he continued, not sure how to word it, then deciding to just speak plainly with her. “Listen, about what happened. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah well, aren’t we all?” She asked, a look of bitterness washing over her face. “Fat lot of good that does Arsenal or Tempest. Kid Flash isn’t so hot either. I thought working as a team meant we protected each other. You know, cover each other’s backs. What kind of leader are you?” Donna paused, and pursed her lips. “I’m sorry.”
Nightwing nodded. “No, you’re right. I guess we just weren’t ready. But look; there’s these new guys, Cyborg and Changeling, and that princess from the planet Tamaran. They want to reform the Titans, and I’m thinking about it. I took them up to the old Tower, and it was great. We got to talking about old times, and I realized that maybe we can really make a difference. I figured we’d be better off with you on the team.”
Troia looked dubious “Our old crew wasn’t. For all my power, I was helpless to save them. I don’t see what difference having me there is going to make.”
Nightwing was about to press his point. Despite how they ended, the old Titans had done a lot of good, and Donna had more than held up her end on a lot of occasions. But he could see it was pointless; she’d lost all faith in herself, and she’d have to get it back on her own.
There was a loud crash as someone at the bar smashed a glass. Using its shattered remains as a crude knife, he began waving it at the big guy next to him, who was very inebriated. Grayson had been aware that their voices had been getting louder, but only now realized how drunk they were. He was about to leap across the room and knock the drunk out of the way when the guy yelled out “Hawk!” In a flash he has transformed into a red and white costume and then punched his assailant, sending him flying across the room. It looked like the victim had a lot of friends in the bar though, as others started swarming the big man in costume. He shook them off, throwing them around and screaming something about his brother.
Nightwing looked at Troia. “You remember the old bait and trap routine?”
Donna almost smiled. “Sure.”
Nightwing quickly got up and circled the man moving in front of a metal support beam. He had to find a way of taking him down without making it obvious who he was. “Hey ugly!” He yelled at Hawk. “You think that beating up drunks is impressive? How about you try someone that’s totally sober?” Hawk screamed at him, not aware that Donna had moved around to his side. He charged, but Donna stuck out her leg, tripping him and sending him sprawling out of control towards Nightwing, who merely stepped to one side, allowing the brute’s head to connect with the pillar. There was a loud ‘KLONG!’ noise, and then the big guy slumped on the floor. The whole bar erupted in cheers, and Nightwing kindly offered to remove him from the premises.
Once they got outside, the two of them took the sleeping behemoth to Titans Tower to sleep off his headache. “He’ll feel that in the morning.” Donna quipped, and then added, “It’s nice that the Titans are getting back together. It really is. But I just can’t handle it right now. Too many ghosts, and too soon. Take care of yourself, though…and the rest of them.”
JLA Watchtower…
Hal cocked an eyebrow as he looked at the man on the viewscreen. The eye slits on the man’s mask appeared to narrow as he pondered his offer, his expression totally unreadable. Finally the man known to him only as Batman gave his reply, his voice smooth and deep.
“I appreciate the offer. I’m afraid, however, that Gotham City needs me. I cannot afford to divide my attention at this time.” Without another word he cut the signal.
Hal turned to Barry. “Well why am I not surprised? Actually, I’m surprised he even agreed to talk with us. C’mon, let’s go meet our other new members.” The two turned and walked into the main meeting room, which was full of colorful characters. Hal smiled as he spotted Aquaman in his bright orange top being harassed by the Robin Hood look-a-like’s political blatherings. Hal smoothly interjected himself into the conversation, smiling even wider to see Orin’s look of relief. “Sorry to interrupt guys, just making introductions. You already know Aquaman, of course. You may not know some of these others, though,” Hal said, coming to stand across from the Robin Hood-ish hero. “Flash, this is Green Arrow. I’ve been working with him a lot recently. In fact, he was partly responsible for inspiring me to reform the League.”
“Oh yeah,” Barry nodded, “I remember you telling me about him. Great to meet you at last.”
The archer smiled and shook his hand. “Pleasure’s all mine, I’m sure.”
Next up, Hal led Barry toward a young guy with a trendy-looking blue and yellow costume.
“Hey, I recognize you,” Barry said. “You’re that guy I’ve seen doing self-promotion on TV. Booster Pack, or something?”
The new superhero looked a little hurt for a second at Barry’s poor memory, but he recovered quickly, giving his best camera friendly smile. “That’s Booster Gold, my friend. As for my TV spot, how else do you think your green-garbed pal discovered me?”
Hal laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ve seen him in action more than those staged action sequences on his commercial.
“Those aren’t staged!” Booster retorted.
“Of course not,” Hal said, moving on. “And finally…we have the Atom.”
Barry looked a little perplexed. “We do? What is his power…invisibility?”
“Down here,” a tiny voice called out. Barry looked down to see a tiny man perched on the edge of the chair. Barry looked stunned as the tiny person rapidly grew up to normal height to shake his hand. “I suppose I should expect as much from subsisting beneath the customary periphery.”
Barry grinned, clearly impressed. “Sorry about that. You would think by now I’d refrain from looking just at what’s in front of me.” Hal could tell that these two were going to get along fantastically. He nodded at J’onn, sitting silently in one of the chairs, and then cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.
“Welcome to the first official meeting of the new Justice League. It’s good to see so many of you here. Our first order of business is clearly to elect a new chairperson. Barry was our chair for the old League…”
“…but I’m already dividing my time between my nephew and here as it is. Hal and I have talked about it, and we feel that the chair ought to be one of our former members.”
“J’onn has agreed to join us only on a provisional basis. He’ll be serving in an advisory capacity, and will provide us with a telepathic link-up while on missions but won’t be participating in them actively himself. That leaves just Aquaman and myself. Since I’m not really the command type, I hereby nominate Aquaman as our official chairperson.”
Orin looked genuinely surprised, and even moreso when J’onn seconded to the motion. “I…” he hesitated, looking around the faces for someone to object. When no one did he went on. “…accept your support, and thank you. I will endeavour to fulfill all the requirements of the position.” He finished, a little uncertainly, Hal thought.
“You’ll do just great.” Barry said. He clearly saw the hesitation as well. Orin gave a small smile. “Well, I suppose next off we need to give our new members a tour of our facility…”
Titans Tower…
Hearing an incredible screech behind him, Nightwing spun around, but the giant black bird was too fast. It grasped him in its powerful talons, dragging him towards the wall of fire. He struggled free, but the bird climbed, the momentum of its climb sending him into the flames. Nightwing screamed….
…and sat up in bed, bathed in sweat. The nightmares had been growing stronger over the last few nights, but this one had seemed more real than ever. Maybe he shouldn’t have come back here. Just being in the Tower again was haunting him with memories of the old team.
Even though it was not even Six a.m., he got up, showered, and then stumbled down to the kitchen for an early breakfast. He was surprised to see Changeling already up, cooking pop-tarts in the toaster. “Hey there,” the green kid smiled weakly at him, “You look like you just got run over by a freight train.”
“Bad dreams,” Nightwing replied, hoping that Gar wasn’t in his usual chatty mood this morning.
“Hey, me too…” Gar said, as Nightwing walked into the pantry, hoping to avoid a prolonged conversation, “…there was this freaky black bird thing, and so I go, hey, I can do better than that, and I turned into a Pterodactyl, but boy was that one strong bird, and it carried me along…”
Nightwing stuck his head back out of the pantry, his eyes wide. “What did you say?!”
It wasn’t long before Cyborg and Starfire also arrived, woken from the same nightmare as the rest of them. “What could it mean?” Starfire asked.
Cyborg rolled his eyes as wisps of black smoke drifted out of the toaster. “Hey Gar, you set the gauge too high again. How many times do I gotta tell you…” He stopped mid-sentence, staring as the black smoke began to grow into the shape of a large bird. A girl in a hood stepped out of the shape into the midst of them. All of the ersatz Titans took attack positions.
“Who are you and what do you want?!” Nightwing demanded.
Raven bowed her head submissively. “My apologies for your dreams. I have been attempting to contact you for some time but only just now managed to pierce the mystical barriers keeping me trapped. My name is Raven, and I need your assistance. A powerful being named Trigon has been enslaving the denizens of Azerath for some time. Will you aid us?”
“Wait, where is this Azerath?” Nightwing began to ask, when Cyborg interrupted him.
“You got problems, you came to the right place. Let’s go, Titans!” Raven quickly opened a portal and the team rushed in.
“Whoa, hold on, guys! Slow down,” Nightwing said, then followed reluctantly behind.
Trigon, it seemed, was the usual big angry demon type. Changeling charged in first in the form of a Rhino, only for Trigon to leap out of the way so that he crashed into a very solid boulder instead. Cyborg took a few shots at him, which he merely shrugged off, but Cyborg ran in and punched him through a wall. Nightwing shook his head at their brashness. Was he ever that young and careless? He threw a bola at the demons legs, slowing him down.
“Starfire,” Nightwing said, referring to Princess Koriand’r’s newly christened superhero name, “Start a strafing attack from above!”
“Right,” she said, shooting bolts of green energy at the demon. The mysterious Raven joined her, levitating rocks at him from the other side. Trigon roared in fury at the two-sided attack. Picking up one of the rocks that bounced off him, he threw it at Nigthwing. Nightwing dodged gracefully, but because of its size, the rock still clipped his shoulder, dislocating it painfully.
Trigon untangled the bola from his legs and threw it at the girls, the cord wrapping around both of them in mid-air. They fell to the ground in a heap. Trigon roared in triumph, and ripped a massive boulder from the bottom of the cliff face beside him. He advanced on the girls holding it above him, clearly pleased to have vanquished his long time enemy and her new allies.
But then there was a loud cracking noise. It seems the boulder he had removed was foundational to the cliff face, and now large chunks of it were raining down. A piece hit the boulder that Trigon was carrying, splitting it in half and staggering the demon. He stepped backwards, batting away the rocks with his arms and crying out. A large fissure opened up in the ground behind him. Cyborg staggered to his feet and spotted Trigon’s vulnerability. Firing his plasma cannon on maximum, he knocked the demon back into the fissure, just before the bulk of the cliff fell down on top of it, sealing him inside.
“Oh yeah, baby! The Titans save the day!” Cyborg grinned.
Nightwing grimaced as he pulled his shoulder back into place. Breathing heavily he said, “You got lucky. Next time could be a different story.”
Changeling groaned and got up, rubbing his head. “So we won right? So what’s the matter?”
Nightwing shook his head. “I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea. You’re all way too young and inexperienced to be doing this. I don’t want to be responsible for more deaths.”
Raven turned to the group, seeming to have not heard what Nightwing said. “Well, you certainly have my gratitude. And as a sign of thanks, I shall join your group.”
Cyborg shrugged. “Well that settles it, then. Me, Changeling, Starfire and Raven are the new Teen Titans. At least until Nightie over here changes his mind.”
And so it begins…follow the adventures of the Justice League of America and the New Teen Titans in the unlimited series, “on sale” now!
I'd like to thank WakandaMan for writing this for me. (I did change a couple small things here and there, just in case anyone's keeping track.) Great work, WakandaMan! Write more!
Action Comics: The Beginning
The Arizona Desert. Six months ago...
A lone coyote limped along a dusty road, squinting in the blistering heat. It looked to the sky spotting something flying fairly low. The green-sheathed figure descended, causing the coyote to scurry under a nearby rock in fear.
“J’onn, is that you?” Hal said, peering after the coyote. “I know you’re out here somewhere.” A nearby cactus suddenly shifted shape, growing and twisting as it took on the familiar shape of the alien. “How did you find me?”
Hal smiled. “The ring was able to give me a rough idea, and then I just took pot luck. I wanted you to know that Orin and I are reforming the league and we want you to be a part of it. What do you say, old friend?”
J’onn looked down, not able to meet Hal’s eyes. “I am afraid I cannot. My weakness is too much of a detriment on the field. I had hoped that exposing myself to the constant heat would help me to gradually overcome my weakness, but it has not. I am not fit to be of any assistance to you.”
Hal’s brow furrowed in annoyance. “That’s not true, J’onn. Heck, even just as an advisor you are invaluable, and that’s without even mentioning the advantage of having a telepathic link between teammates. You’re one of the originals. It just wouldn’t be the same without you.”
J’onn frowned, deep in thought. “I will consider it.”
Hal’s brow stayed furrowed as his look stayed fixed on J’onn.
J’onn sighed heavily and then looked up at Hal. “I suppose… I could assist you in an advisory capacity. For a time, at least.”
Hal smiled in response. “Great! Meet us in the Watchtower tonight.”
As Green Lantern flew away the coyote timidly crept out from under the rock and approached J’onn. The Martian stooped down and rubbed the creature under the chin. He would miss the peace that he had out here. But the league was important… the most important thing of which he had ever been a part.
Central City…
“Boo-yah! Let’s take these jokers out, Gar!” Cyborg fired his plasma cannon wildly as his green friend transformed into a crocodile. Changeling gave him a toothy grin back.
“This is great!” He replied to his big metal friend. “I’ve been lone-gunning it for too long. Nice to have someone to tag team with,” he added, as he smacked the Weather Wizard in his chest with a leathery tail.
Cyborg picked up a nearby mailbox to finish of the hapless Wizard. “Sh’yeah. We’re the new Hawk and Dove, little buddy! Now let’s finish this loser!” The two heroes approached the fallen villain, intending to finish him off. But suddenly, Cyborg felt the strange sensation of being unable to move. Changeling shivered as he felt a cold chill pass up his body, and he also realized that his legs were stuck.
Weather Wizard smiled as he climbed painfully to his feet. “You heroes are not the only ones that work together. Allow me to introduce my partner in crime…Captain Cold!” The Captain stepped out of the shadows and gave a bow.
“Who are the losers now?” He asked. Changling tried turning into a snake to slide out, but the ice just grew to encase his smaller form. “How do you like my growing ice there, Beast Boy?”
Changeling frowned and stuck his tongue out at the villain. “It’s not Beast Boy anymore. I’m called Changeling now.”
Cold didn’t seem impressed. “Whatever your name is, it’s not going to matter for much longer.” Increasing the power on his cold gun he aimed it at the green snake’s head… and then a baton hit him in the face, knocking off his visor. A dark figure cart-wheeled onto the scene, quickly taking out both the Weather Wizard and Captain Cold with a roundhouse kick, while Cyborg managed to gradually defrost himself and Changeling with his weapons. Nightwing gave a slight smile as he quickly tied up the two villains with a bola. “Hope you don’t mind me dropping in.”
Cyborg grinned “Nah, that’s okay, we just about had these guys taken care of anyways.”
“Yeah...of course we did,” Changeling said, shifting into a green Arctic Wolf in an attempt to warm up. “Thanks for the assist anyways.” Suddenly he pricked his ears up. “Hey guys, there’s a bunch of rotten smelling guys making filthy comments toward some girl just a block from here.”
“So what are we waiting for?” Cyborg said, “Let’s go!” The three heroes charged around the corner to see the gang encircling a pretty young girl with very long hair and fairly tanned skin. It looked like the heroes were going to be too late, but then a bright flash of energy came from the girl, scattering the gang members. Between the shock of discovering that their prey wasn’t as helpless as they thought, and the three charging heroes, the thugs wisely took off running.
“Are…are you all right” Changeling stammered as they reached the girl .Although she was dressed in a large overcoat, now that they were closer he noticed that her skin was a strange orange color and her eyes were completely green.
Nightwing did a quick double take. “Hey I know you… you’re Princess Koriand’r, from Tamaran, right? We visited your planet on one of the Titans’ little trips.”
The girl blinked at him sweetly. “The Titans; yes. I remember quite well. In fact, I have come to join your team. I have grown tired of my life on Tamaran. Nothing exciting ever happens, not like when your Titans came to visit.”
Nightwing rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, sorry, Princess,” he said slowly, somberly. “But the Titans don’t exist anymore. We came up against a really bad guy and he pretty much destroyed us.”
A glint came into Cyborg’s eye. “Hey!” Nightwing turned around and Cyborg spread his arms out as if in presentation.
“What?”
“Why don’t we reform the Titans? With us and you and the Princess here, the four of us would be unstoppable!”
“It sounds like a great idea to me,” Koriand’r said, grabbing Nightwing’s arm warmly.
“I don’t know, guys,” Nightwing said. “I really don’t know.”
Keystone City - Home of the Flash…
“You shouldn’t push yourself so hard, Wally.” Barry said, looking on with concern.
Wally gritted his teeth and pushed upwards with his arms, biceps straining as they took the weight of his body. “I…nnh…have to…uhh…get my legs…working...huhhh…again.” He was using the kitchen bench as a railing, forcing himself to stand up. “Can’t…hhhh…let it beat….me.” He tried putting some weight on his legs and they crumpled underneath him. Before he had a chance to hit the floor though, Barry caught him. “Wally, you were paralyzed by Deathstroke; you’re lucky to be alive at all. I know this is hard for you, but you’ve got to slow down.”
Wally exhaled in defeat. “It’s just so frustrating. I can’t believe I was so stupid.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Wally. Sometimes these things just happen.” Wally looked as if he might cry. How could he blame himself for what happened to the Titans? As Barry wondered how he could snap his nephew out of it, there was a knock on the door. Instantaneously changing out of his Flash costume, Barry Allen opened the door, smiling when he saw who it was.
“Hal! Good to see you.” He was just about to ask him in when he remembered Wally’s fragile state. Probably better give the kid some space. “Let’s take a walk,” he said, stepping outside.
“Barry, I just wanted you to know that Orin and I are reforming the League and I want you on board. I’ve already talked to J’onn; he’s in, at least as an advisor. I’ve got a few ideas for some new members as well, but I wanted to come to you first.”
“Gee, I don’t know, Hal,” Barry said, pausing to think. “Wally really needs me right now. He’s become really depressed since the Titans split up. And without his parents, I’m pretty much all he’s got in the way of family.”
Hal dropped his eyes. He couldn’t really argue with that, could he? He and Barry were great friends, but blood was thicker than water. Barry took one look at his forlorn face and a small smile crept over his lips. “But then again,” he continued, “I am the fastest man alive. I’m sure I could find time for Wally and serving with the League.”
Hal grinned and slapped his friend on the back. “Great! Now let’s go recruiting!”
The Laughing Mule—A bar in the backblocks of Metropolis…
A good-looking young man with dark hair walked into the bar. He looked around, and then spotted an attractive girl sitting at a booth at the back. The man walked up to her table and casually sat down across from her.
“Thanks for meeting me, Donna. How have you been?”
The girl pushed her drink away and looked him over carefully before answering. “I’ve been better. How about you? Still fighting for truth, justice and all that jazz?”
“Yeah, you know me. Nothing can keep me from the life.” Grayson paused before he continued, not sure how to word it, then deciding to just speak plainly with her. “Listen, about what happened. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah well, aren’t we all?” She asked, a look of bitterness washing over her face. “Fat lot of good that does Arsenal or Tempest. Kid Flash isn’t so hot either. I thought working as a team meant we protected each other. You know, cover each other’s backs. What kind of leader are you?” Donna paused, and pursed her lips. “I’m sorry.”
Nightwing nodded. “No, you’re right. I guess we just weren’t ready. But look; there’s these new guys, Cyborg and Changeling, and that princess from the planet Tamaran. They want to reform the Titans, and I’m thinking about it. I took them up to the old Tower, and it was great. We got to talking about old times, and I realized that maybe we can really make a difference. I figured we’d be better off with you on the team.”
Troia looked dubious “Our old crew wasn’t. For all my power, I was helpless to save them. I don’t see what difference having me there is going to make.”
Nightwing was about to press his point. Despite how they ended, the old Titans had done a lot of good, and Donna had more than held up her end on a lot of occasions. But he could see it was pointless; she’d lost all faith in herself, and she’d have to get it back on her own.
There was a loud crash as someone at the bar smashed a glass. Using its shattered remains as a crude knife, he began waving it at the big guy next to him, who was very inebriated. Grayson had been aware that their voices had been getting louder, but only now realized how drunk they were. He was about to leap across the room and knock the drunk out of the way when the guy yelled out “Hawk!” In a flash he has transformed into a red and white costume and then punched his assailant, sending him flying across the room. It looked like the victim had a lot of friends in the bar though, as others started swarming the big man in costume. He shook them off, throwing them around and screaming something about his brother.
Nightwing looked at Troia. “You remember the old bait and trap routine?”
Donna almost smiled. “Sure.”
Nightwing quickly got up and circled the man moving in front of a metal support beam. He had to find a way of taking him down without making it obvious who he was. “Hey ugly!” He yelled at Hawk. “You think that beating up drunks is impressive? How about you try someone that’s totally sober?” Hawk screamed at him, not aware that Donna had moved around to his side. He charged, but Donna stuck out her leg, tripping him and sending him sprawling out of control towards Nightwing, who merely stepped to one side, allowing the brute’s head to connect with the pillar. There was a loud ‘KLONG!’ noise, and then the big guy slumped on the floor. The whole bar erupted in cheers, and Nightwing kindly offered to remove him from the premises.
Once they got outside, the two of them took the sleeping behemoth to Titans Tower to sleep off his headache. “He’ll feel that in the morning.” Donna quipped, and then added, “It’s nice that the Titans are getting back together. It really is. But I just can’t handle it right now. Too many ghosts, and too soon. Take care of yourself, though…and the rest of them.”
JLA Watchtower…
Hal cocked an eyebrow as he looked at the man on the viewscreen. The eye slits on the man’s mask appeared to narrow as he pondered his offer, his expression totally unreadable. Finally the man known to him only as Batman gave his reply, his voice smooth and deep.
“I appreciate the offer. I’m afraid, however, that Gotham City needs me. I cannot afford to divide my attention at this time.” Without another word he cut the signal.
Hal turned to Barry. “Well why am I not surprised? Actually, I’m surprised he even agreed to talk with us. C’mon, let’s go meet our other new members.” The two turned and walked into the main meeting room, which was full of colorful characters. Hal smiled as he spotted Aquaman in his bright orange top being harassed by the Robin Hood look-a-like’s political blatherings. Hal smoothly interjected himself into the conversation, smiling even wider to see Orin’s look of relief. “Sorry to interrupt guys, just making introductions. You already know Aquaman, of course. You may not know some of these others, though,” Hal said, coming to stand across from the Robin Hood-ish hero. “Flash, this is Green Arrow. I’ve been working with him a lot recently. In fact, he was partly responsible for inspiring me to reform the League.”
“Oh yeah,” Barry nodded, “I remember you telling me about him. Great to meet you at last.”
The archer smiled and shook his hand. “Pleasure’s all mine, I’m sure.”
Next up, Hal led Barry toward a young guy with a trendy-looking blue and yellow costume.
“Hey, I recognize you,” Barry said. “You’re that guy I’ve seen doing self-promotion on TV. Booster Pack, or something?”
The new superhero looked a little hurt for a second at Barry’s poor memory, but he recovered quickly, giving his best camera friendly smile. “That’s Booster Gold, my friend. As for my TV spot, how else do you think your green-garbed pal discovered me?”
Hal laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ve seen him in action more than those staged action sequences on his commercial.
“Those aren’t staged!” Booster retorted.
“Of course not,” Hal said, moving on. “And finally…we have the Atom.”
Barry looked a little perplexed. “We do? What is his power…invisibility?”
“Down here,” a tiny voice called out. Barry looked down to see a tiny man perched on the edge of the chair. Barry looked stunned as the tiny person rapidly grew up to normal height to shake his hand. “I suppose I should expect as much from subsisting beneath the customary periphery.”
Barry grinned, clearly impressed. “Sorry about that. You would think by now I’d refrain from looking just at what’s in front of me.” Hal could tell that these two were going to get along fantastically. He nodded at J’onn, sitting silently in one of the chairs, and then cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.
“Welcome to the first official meeting of the new Justice League. It’s good to see so many of you here. Our first order of business is clearly to elect a new chairperson. Barry was our chair for the old League…”
“…but I’m already dividing my time between my nephew and here as it is. Hal and I have talked about it, and we feel that the chair ought to be one of our former members.”
“J’onn has agreed to join us only on a provisional basis. He’ll be serving in an advisory capacity, and will provide us with a telepathic link-up while on missions but won’t be participating in them actively himself. That leaves just Aquaman and myself. Since I’m not really the command type, I hereby nominate Aquaman as our official chairperson.”
Orin looked genuinely surprised, and even moreso when J’onn seconded to the motion. “I…” he hesitated, looking around the faces for someone to object. When no one did he went on. “…accept your support, and thank you. I will endeavour to fulfill all the requirements of the position.” He finished, a little uncertainly, Hal thought.
“You’ll do just great.” Barry said. He clearly saw the hesitation as well. Orin gave a small smile. “Well, I suppose next off we need to give our new members a tour of our facility…”
Titans Tower…
Hearing an incredible screech behind him, Nightwing spun around, but the giant black bird was too fast. It grasped him in its powerful talons, dragging him towards the wall of fire. He struggled free, but the bird climbed, the momentum of its climb sending him into the flames. Nightwing screamed….
…and sat up in bed, bathed in sweat. The nightmares had been growing stronger over the last few nights, but this one had seemed more real than ever. Maybe he shouldn’t have come back here. Just being in the Tower again was haunting him with memories of the old team.
Even though it was not even Six a.m., he got up, showered, and then stumbled down to the kitchen for an early breakfast. He was surprised to see Changeling already up, cooking pop-tarts in the toaster. “Hey there,” the green kid smiled weakly at him, “You look like you just got run over by a freight train.”
“Bad dreams,” Nightwing replied, hoping that Gar wasn’t in his usual chatty mood this morning.
“Hey, me too…” Gar said, as Nightwing walked into the pantry, hoping to avoid a prolonged conversation, “…there was this freaky black bird thing, and so I go, hey, I can do better than that, and I turned into a Pterodactyl, but boy was that one strong bird, and it carried me along…”
Nightwing stuck his head back out of the pantry, his eyes wide. “What did you say?!”
It wasn’t long before Cyborg and Starfire also arrived, woken from the same nightmare as the rest of them. “What could it mean?” Starfire asked.
Cyborg rolled his eyes as wisps of black smoke drifted out of the toaster. “Hey Gar, you set the gauge too high again. How many times do I gotta tell you…” He stopped mid-sentence, staring as the black smoke began to grow into the shape of a large bird. A girl in a hood stepped out of the shape into the midst of them. All of the ersatz Titans took attack positions.
“Who are you and what do you want?!” Nightwing demanded.
Raven bowed her head submissively. “My apologies for your dreams. I have been attempting to contact you for some time but only just now managed to pierce the mystical barriers keeping me trapped. My name is Raven, and I need your assistance. A powerful being named Trigon has been enslaving the denizens of Azerath for some time. Will you aid us?”
“Wait, where is this Azerath?” Nightwing began to ask, when Cyborg interrupted him.
“You got problems, you came to the right place. Let’s go, Titans!” Raven quickly opened a portal and the team rushed in.
“Whoa, hold on, guys! Slow down,” Nightwing said, then followed reluctantly behind.
Trigon, it seemed, was the usual big angry demon type. Changeling charged in first in the form of a Rhino, only for Trigon to leap out of the way so that he crashed into a very solid boulder instead. Cyborg took a few shots at him, which he merely shrugged off, but Cyborg ran in and punched him through a wall. Nightwing shook his head at their brashness. Was he ever that young and careless? He threw a bola at the demons legs, slowing him down.
“Starfire,” Nightwing said, referring to Princess Koriand’r’s newly christened superhero name, “Start a strafing attack from above!”
“Right,” she said, shooting bolts of green energy at the demon. The mysterious Raven joined her, levitating rocks at him from the other side. Trigon roared in fury at the two-sided attack. Picking up one of the rocks that bounced off him, he threw it at Nigthwing. Nightwing dodged gracefully, but because of its size, the rock still clipped his shoulder, dislocating it painfully.
Trigon untangled the bola from his legs and threw it at the girls, the cord wrapping around both of them in mid-air. They fell to the ground in a heap. Trigon roared in triumph, and ripped a massive boulder from the bottom of the cliff face beside him. He advanced on the girls holding it above him, clearly pleased to have vanquished his long time enemy and her new allies.
But then there was a loud cracking noise. It seems the boulder he had removed was foundational to the cliff face, and now large chunks of it were raining down. A piece hit the boulder that Trigon was carrying, splitting it in half and staggering the demon. He stepped backwards, batting away the rocks with his arms and crying out. A large fissure opened up in the ground behind him. Cyborg staggered to his feet and spotted Trigon’s vulnerability. Firing his plasma cannon on maximum, he knocked the demon back into the fissure, just before the bulk of the cliff fell down on top of it, sealing him inside.
“Oh yeah, baby! The Titans save the day!” Cyborg grinned.
Nightwing grimaced as he pulled his shoulder back into place. Breathing heavily he said, “You got lucky. Next time could be a different story.”
Changeling groaned and got up, rubbing his head. “So we won right? So what’s the matter?”
Nightwing shook his head. “I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea. You’re all way too young and inexperienced to be doing this. I don’t want to be responsible for more deaths.”
Raven turned to the group, seeming to have not heard what Nightwing said. “Well, you certainly have my gratitude. And as a sign of thanks, I shall join your group.”
Cyborg shrugged. “Well that settles it, then. Me, Changeling, Starfire and Raven are the new Teen Titans. At least until Nightie over here changes his mind.”
And so it begins…follow the adventures of the Justice League of America and the New Teen Titans in the unlimited series, “on sale” now!