Categories > Cartoons > Teen Titans > Aftermath Trilogy: To Ask and Be Answered
Chapter Four: Rumblings
Quick Author's sticky: Next Chapter will have BB/RAVEN, NIGHTWING/STARFIRE fluff, plus a surprise! I won't give that away, you'll just have to watch and wait.
Ryan Stuart, Red X is what they called him. He was shadowed in mystery. He smiled to himself in the darness. He was formulating a plan. He was waiting for John Thomson to meet him in a nearby alley, there they would discuss what their next move would be.
His plan: Have John Thomson, the Skull, as he insisted on being called, wreak havoc on the city. His plan was to infiltrate the Titans, gain Nightwing's trust, woo Starfrie away from him and when it was far too late for him to do anything, destroy him and his pathetic little group.
He saw Thomson waiting for him, "You made it. Any news?"
"Not much," John replied. "Except that the troops are almost ready...And you?"
"It's almost time for us to strike," Red X said. "The peices are all in place. Five months from now the Titans won't know what happened to their precious little city. So what's your plan?"
"Carry out a series of bank robberies, heists, that sort of thing."
"Murder?" Red X asked.
"Murder? Who said anything about murder?" John asked.
"You did it before. That girl in the cafe."
"Yeah, but that was an accident."
"So what? You have guts, you can do it again."
"Who's the target?" John aksed.
"Angel Logan. You remember her, she was one of the waitresses at the Brewers."
"Why her?"
"She's Garfield Logan's wife...Changeling's wife."
"Chageling's wife? That will be interesting...very interesting, indeed. Would she put of much of a fight?"
"Doesn't matter, she'll be easy to take out."
"So what are you going to do in all of this?" John asked.
"I will...infiltrate the Titans and destroy them...from the inside out." Red X's eyes gleamed beneath his mask.
"How can you be sure they will trust you. You remember the incident they had with that girl Terra."
"Yes, but I know how to play the hero, and I can pull the wool over Nightwing's eyes. He has never experienced a personal betrayal...Raven and Changeling, "Beast Boy," as they call him, have."
"They have?"
"Raven was betrayed by a mythical dragon named Rorek, who called himself Malchior. Changeling was betrayed by Terra-"
"-so what makes you think they'll trust you?"
"I've helped Nightwing before. If I can convince him that I'm on his side utterly and completely, I can do just about anything."
"When will we start?" Skull was eager to unleash vengeance.
"Five months, no more, no less. In five months, the Titans will experience a living Hell...and then we'll send them there personally."
"Very good," John said, hatred blazed in his eyes. He walked away without another word.
Ryan Stuart is a mystery. Not much is really known about this man who, ten years ago, had somehow managed to steal Robin's "Red X" suit. He was just a petty thief, stealing here and there, trying to make a name for himself. Of course, having clashed with the Teen Titans caused enough of a stir that he took full advantage of. Hitting plenty of cities and towns he was soon being called Red X the Master Thief and he was soon quite famous everywhere else except Jump City.
Now he'd come back to the place where it had all began, intent on making a name for himself in the place he had once called home. Nightwing, long ago when he was Robin had told him, "So you're not psychotic, you're just selfish". Indeed that was true. What else was he supposed to do? His discovery of this Red X suit had given him a new way to make a living, in his opinion.
Now he would topple Jump City's mighty defenders, and ease his way into a position of power and prestige. Once that was accomplished, he woud be set for life. Yes, indeed power would be so sweet. And with Starfire as his wife and Nightwing dead, what more could he want?
The trap was set. Soon it would spring...
5 Months Later...
Angel Anderson Logan had started comng into work less and less with the stages of her pregnancy increasing. There had been the usual thing, the morning sickness, the weird cravings and mood swings, but she'd handled it pretty well, and she was taking it all in stride.
Not much was happening, except for an occasional break in here and there, but it was becoming more and more frequent and that was disturbing. Worse yet, the more the Titans caught them, the more they just seemed to come. It was beginning to take it's toll on them, though they all refused to admit it.
The doorbell rang and with a whisper of "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," it opened to reveal Cyborg, who had decided to visit his friend and bring her some food.
"Hey, how are you Angel?" Cyborg asked, smiling and setting down the plate. "Gar would have brought it himself but he's busy."
"I see, how are things at the Tower?"
"Fine, why?" Cyborg looked concerned.
"I've been having dreams," Angel replied.
"You've been having dreams for the past month, why so worried?"
"Because I think that it's going to get worse."
"Come on, Angel, I thought you were an optomist now!" Cyborg teased.
"I am...but something's happening...I just don't know what it is." Angel frowned at her old friend. "Haven't you noticed....the change?"
"The crime rise? Yes," Cyborged sighed. "I don't know what's going on. It's been happening for three months now..."
"I know." Angel was thoughtful.
"Well don't wory, Angel. If we need you we'll yell. Hopefully, that won't be necessary and you can stay home and take care of yourself."
Angel laughed. "I hope so too."
Later on that evening, the Titans held a meeting at Titans Tower. Angel was there of course, but she seemed tired and the others tried to occomodate this as much as they could. Nightwing stood before the old giant screen they had used so long ago to play videogames; now it showed them a holograph of Jump City.
"So guys, you see that they've been hitting different places it seems, at complete random. They busted the convinience store just last week, and now it's the Burger Place. With all this going on, what do you think we should d?"
"I think we should split up, and take them down separately," Cyborg answered. "And don't forget about the fact that they've been getting more successful."
"That was not something I wanted to know," Starfire said quietly.
"There's something awfully familiar about thse opperations," Beast Boy muttered. "If only I could remember."
"Well, I guess this meetings over-"
"Wait," Gar interrupted. "I know where I've seen this opperation before!" he stared hard at the screen. "I haven't seen this kind of thing since I was Changeling and the Iron Fist was around."
"So they've been revived?" Nightwing asked.
"Yes, as much as I hate to say it." Changeling looked thouightful.
"Thanks Gar, that's going to make this more difficult."
"It's a good thing I thought of that."
"Why would they come back?" Starfire asked.
"They want me dead."
"But Beast Boy, Changeling /is /dead." Nightwing said. "You and Raven threw him into the other dimension."
"Yes, but not a lot of people know that. And very few people know about that part of my past."
"So...who would want you dead then?"
"John Thomson."
"But, as much as I hate to say it, you /killed /him!" Raven looked stunned.
"I guess I didn't and he's alive, and now he's out for blood."
"So now what do we do?" Starfire asked, unerved and uncertain now that she knew that a criminal organization that they had destroyed was reformed and revived, and that Beast Boy and Raven were in grave danger now.
"We do what we do to all criminals." Nighwing's face set with determined lines, "we take them down." Little did they know that this was the rumblings of a much greater storm that was to come. And when that storm hit, their beliefs, even their very lives would spiral down into a state of living Hell...
Quick Author's sticky: Next Chapter will have BB/RAVEN, NIGHTWING/STARFIRE fluff, plus a surprise! I won't give that away, you'll just have to watch and wait.
Ryan Stuart, Red X is what they called him. He was shadowed in mystery. He smiled to himself in the darness. He was formulating a plan. He was waiting for John Thomson to meet him in a nearby alley, there they would discuss what their next move would be.
His plan: Have John Thomson, the Skull, as he insisted on being called, wreak havoc on the city. His plan was to infiltrate the Titans, gain Nightwing's trust, woo Starfrie away from him and when it was far too late for him to do anything, destroy him and his pathetic little group.
He saw Thomson waiting for him, "You made it. Any news?"
"Not much," John replied. "Except that the troops are almost ready...And you?"
"It's almost time for us to strike," Red X said. "The peices are all in place. Five months from now the Titans won't know what happened to their precious little city. So what's your plan?"
"Carry out a series of bank robberies, heists, that sort of thing."
"Murder?" Red X asked.
"Murder? Who said anything about murder?" John asked.
"You did it before. That girl in the cafe."
"Yeah, but that was an accident."
"So what? You have guts, you can do it again."
"Who's the target?" John aksed.
"Angel Logan. You remember her, she was one of the waitresses at the Brewers."
"Why her?"
"She's Garfield Logan's wife...Changeling's wife."
"Chageling's wife? That will be interesting...very interesting, indeed. Would she put of much of a fight?"
"Doesn't matter, she'll be easy to take out."
"So what are you going to do in all of this?" John asked.
"I will...infiltrate the Titans and destroy them...from the inside out." Red X's eyes gleamed beneath his mask.
"How can you be sure they will trust you. You remember the incident they had with that girl Terra."
"Yes, but I know how to play the hero, and I can pull the wool over Nightwing's eyes. He has never experienced a personal betrayal...Raven and Changeling, "Beast Boy," as they call him, have."
"They have?"
"Raven was betrayed by a mythical dragon named Rorek, who called himself Malchior. Changeling was betrayed by Terra-"
"-so what makes you think they'll trust you?"
"I've helped Nightwing before. If I can convince him that I'm on his side utterly and completely, I can do just about anything."
"When will we start?" Skull was eager to unleash vengeance.
"Five months, no more, no less. In five months, the Titans will experience a living Hell...and then we'll send them there personally."
"Very good," John said, hatred blazed in his eyes. He walked away without another word.
Ryan Stuart is a mystery. Not much is really known about this man who, ten years ago, had somehow managed to steal Robin's "Red X" suit. He was just a petty thief, stealing here and there, trying to make a name for himself. Of course, having clashed with the Teen Titans caused enough of a stir that he took full advantage of. Hitting plenty of cities and towns he was soon being called Red X the Master Thief and he was soon quite famous everywhere else except Jump City.
Now he'd come back to the place where it had all began, intent on making a name for himself in the place he had once called home. Nightwing, long ago when he was Robin had told him, "So you're not psychotic, you're just selfish". Indeed that was true. What else was he supposed to do? His discovery of this Red X suit had given him a new way to make a living, in his opinion.
Now he would topple Jump City's mighty defenders, and ease his way into a position of power and prestige. Once that was accomplished, he woud be set for life. Yes, indeed power would be so sweet. And with Starfire as his wife and Nightwing dead, what more could he want?
The trap was set. Soon it would spring...
5 Months Later...
Angel Anderson Logan had started comng into work less and less with the stages of her pregnancy increasing. There had been the usual thing, the morning sickness, the weird cravings and mood swings, but she'd handled it pretty well, and she was taking it all in stride.
Not much was happening, except for an occasional break in here and there, but it was becoming more and more frequent and that was disturbing. Worse yet, the more the Titans caught them, the more they just seemed to come. It was beginning to take it's toll on them, though they all refused to admit it.
The doorbell rang and with a whisper of "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," it opened to reveal Cyborg, who had decided to visit his friend and bring her some food.
"Hey, how are you Angel?" Cyborg asked, smiling and setting down the plate. "Gar would have brought it himself but he's busy."
"I see, how are things at the Tower?"
"Fine, why?" Cyborg looked concerned.
"I've been having dreams," Angel replied.
"You've been having dreams for the past month, why so worried?"
"Because I think that it's going to get worse."
"Come on, Angel, I thought you were an optomist now!" Cyborg teased.
"I am...but something's happening...I just don't know what it is." Angel frowned at her old friend. "Haven't you noticed....the change?"
"The crime rise? Yes," Cyborged sighed. "I don't know what's going on. It's been happening for three months now..."
"I know." Angel was thoughtful.
"Well don't wory, Angel. If we need you we'll yell. Hopefully, that won't be necessary and you can stay home and take care of yourself."
Angel laughed. "I hope so too."
Later on that evening, the Titans held a meeting at Titans Tower. Angel was there of course, but she seemed tired and the others tried to occomodate this as much as they could. Nightwing stood before the old giant screen they had used so long ago to play videogames; now it showed them a holograph of Jump City.
"So guys, you see that they've been hitting different places it seems, at complete random. They busted the convinience store just last week, and now it's the Burger Place. With all this going on, what do you think we should d?"
"I think we should split up, and take them down separately," Cyborg answered. "And don't forget about the fact that they've been getting more successful."
"That was not something I wanted to know," Starfire said quietly.
"There's something awfully familiar about thse opperations," Beast Boy muttered. "If only I could remember."
"Well, I guess this meetings over-"
"Wait," Gar interrupted. "I know where I've seen this opperation before!" he stared hard at the screen. "I haven't seen this kind of thing since I was Changeling and the Iron Fist was around."
"So they've been revived?" Nightwing asked.
"Yes, as much as I hate to say it." Changeling looked thouightful.
"Thanks Gar, that's going to make this more difficult."
"It's a good thing I thought of that."
"Why would they come back?" Starfire asked.
"They want me dead."
"But Beast Boy, Changeling /is /dead." Nightwing said. "You and Raven threw him into the other dimension."
"Yes, but not a lot of people know that. And very few people know about that part of my past."
"So...who would want you dead then?"
"John Thomson."
"But, as much as I hate to say it, you /killed /him!" Raven looked stunned.
"I guess I didn't and he's alive, and now he's out for blood."
"So now what do we do?" Starfire asked, unerved and uncertain now that she knew that a criminal organization that they had destroyed was reformed and revived, and that Beast Boy and Raven were in grave danger now.
"We do what we do to all criminals." Nighwing's face set with determined lines, "we take them down." Little did they know that this was the rumblings of a much greater storm that was to come. And when that storm hit, their beliefs, even their very lives would spiral down into a state of living Hell...
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