Genesis, Part Three:
“Training”
Roy Harper finished off the song with a cymbal crash and Lloyd, the lead singer for Great Frog, turned around with a smile. “Not bad,” he observed. “Looks like you’ve been keeping up with your practice.” ”Yeah,” Eric, the bass player, added. “Seems like ever since this Jupiter guy got you we never see you around anymore.” Roy shrugged. “What can I say?” he asked. “Guy keeps me busy.” Lloyd set his guitar down and pulled out a familiar zip-lock bag. “Too busy for this?” he asked. Roy smiled as he accepted a hand-rolled cigarette. “Oh, yeah,” he said after taking a pull off it. “Guy won’t even let us smoke around there.” ”You’re kidding!” Eric exclaimed. “Not even tobacco?” Roy shook his head. “Nope. Nuts, isn’t it?” Lloyd rubbed his chin. “They search your room very often?” ”Not that I know of. Why?” Lloyd smiled. “Give me a few days. I may be able to hook you up.” Garth stopped doing laps in the pool and glanced up to see Donna flying around the ceiling. “That looks like fun,” he said. “It is!” Donna said with a smile on her face. “Hold up your arms.” Garth did so. “Why?” he asked. Donna swooped down and grabbed his arms, pulling him aloft as well. Even though they were indoors, Garth laughed with joy. He didn’t know why, but being weightless like that just felt… natural to him. “You’re sure?” Dick asked over the phone. He quickly scribbled down an address. “Got it. It may take me a day or two to get away.” He listened a moment. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” He ended the call and sat at his desk, staring at a piece of paper. “Gotham,” he said with hatred in his voice. Jupiter folded his hands and studied Mr. Smith, who stood before him. “This is quite telling,” he said, gesturing at the folder in front of him. Inside was Mr. Smith’s report on the events in Hatton’s Corner. “Yes,” Smith agreed. “If it were not for fortune shining on Mr. Grayson, things would have escalated extremely quickly.” “I am surprised that you stayed in that storm cellar,” Jupiter said. “I would have thought you’d prefer to be on the battlefield.” Smith inclined his head slightly. “I was prepared to go,” he said. “However, I did not judge my interference necessary.” “An interesting take,” Jupiter said. “Why did you feel that way?” Smith smiled. “Because Grayson was still standing. And I have noticed that he can get quite…creative when he needs to.” Jupiter nodded and glanced at a clock. “Make sure they assemble in the briefing room at 10:00 tomorrow morning in full uniform. I believe that the virtual reality training room is online. If they’re going to work on their teamwork, I’d prefer that they not run the risk of dying while they do so.” The next morning, the team had assembled in the briefing room. Mr. Jupiter walked in and faced them. “Good morning, although I believe your feelings may change when you see what I have in store today. Follow me.” The bewildered Teen Titans followed Mr. Jupiter as he led them to a large steel door. A young man was working at an access panel. He turned and saw Mr. Jupiter, then whispered something to him that drew a nod from Jupiter. “This is Mal Duncan,” Mr. Jupiter said. “He is the head programmer for this device. You’ll all get to meet him after you finish here.” Jupiter led the way into a large (and quite empty) room. “What’s this?” Roy asked. “Disco lights gonna start shining so we can dance?” Jupiter smiled. “Nothing quite so jovial.” ”What is this place?” Robin asked. Jupiter simply smiled and stepped out. The large door slowly shut behind him. “Great,” Robin said. “Maybe it’s a test to see if we can get out,” Aqualad suggested. “You know, see if we can escape.” Robin rubbed his chin. “It’s worth a shot,” he said. “Wally, check the walls. See if there’s anything that looks like a way out. Donna, you’ve got the ceiling.” “Done,” Wally said. “Nothing except the door.” ”You didn’t even move,” Aqualad said. Wally just smiled before he handed a belt to Aqualad. Garth looked down and saw that his belt was missing. “Now that is fast!” he said as he accepted the belt and refastened it around his waist. “Nothing up here, either,” Wonder Girl said. “You want me to see if I can punch through it?” ”No,” Robin said. “Come back down. If this was an escape simulator, it wouldn’t be that easy.” “So what is this anyway?” Roy demanded. “I’ve got better things to do than being cooped up in a box!” “Like what?” Wally asked innocently. “Beating on your drums all day?” ”Back off, flasher,” Roy said. “This doesn’t concern you.” “Don’t you treat him like that, you jerk!” Wonder Girl yelled as she landed between the two. “Just because he’s a little younger than the rest of us doesn’t give you that right!” ”Shut up, fish bait,” Roy said. “Why don’t you just go powder your nose or something?” ”Hey!” Aqualad yelled, grabbing Roy’s arm. “Don’t you talk to her like that!” In the control room, Mr. Jupiter wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Doesn’t seem to be going too well, does it?” Mal asked. Smith stepped forward. “If they wish to fight, then let us give them something to fight other than each other.” ”I agree,” Jupiter said. “Before they kill each other, start the simulator. Level One, I think.” “You got it,” Mal said as his fingers danced across the keyboard. “Shut up!” Robin ordered as the room started to shimmer and change. “Something’s happening!” ”About time,” Speedy muttered. Robin shot him a look but said nothing. The room slowly transformed itself into a city street. Traffic had been blocked off and they saw a bank with the front windows blown out. “Well, well, well,” a man said as he stepped out. He wore a garish yellow and purple costume and carried a golden trident. “Look what busted out of the nursery.” “I’ve got him!” Kid Flash yelled as he darted forward. “Flash, wait!” Robin called. “We don’t know what he can –“ The villain grinned and fired his trident. A sheet of ice formed under Kid Flash’s boots, sending him crashing into a nearby mailbox. “I think I goofed,” Wally said as he fell into unconsciousness. Robin sighed. “Stay back,” he told the other three. He turned back toward the villain. “What do you want?” he asked. Trident smiled. “What do I want? Nothing but a little piece of this bank’s assets. Oh, yeah. I also want you four dead!” He let out a stream of fire that the team dodged. Aqualad fell to the ground. “Donna, get that hydrant open!” Robin ordered. Wonder Girl ripped open a nearby fire hydrant and covered Aqualad with the spray. “Great. What now, leader-man?” Speedy asked. Robin smirked. “You got your grappler arrow?” ”Yeah,” Speedy said. “I get the idea.” Speedy notched his grappler and let fly. The arrow wrapped itself around the trident. Speedy grabbed the line and pulled. Trident smiled. “Nice try, kiddo.” A force blast shot out from the trident and slammed into Speedy, who was down and out. “What now?” Wonder Girl asked. “How’s Garth?” Robin asked. “He’s still out of it. I don’t know if he’ll be able to do anything else or not.” Robin scowled. “Great. Then it’s up to us.” He thought a moment. “That trident’s what his powers are coming from. We’ve got to get rid of it.” ”I’m open to suggestions,” Donna said. Robin smiled. “I’ve got an idea.” A moment later, Robin stood up. “Got a proposal for you,” he called. “What could you possibly offer me?” Trident snarled. “Give me your weapon and the money.” Trident laughed. “What sort of deal is that? What do I get?” ”For starters, my partner doesn’t drop that car on you.” Trident looked up and saw Wonder Girl flying above him holding a Cadillac. He dropped the trident and the money. “You win,” he said. Slowly the scene faded away and the doors opened. Smiling, Mal turned back to Mr. Jupiter. “What do you think?” he asked. “Very interesting,” Jupiter said. “Very interesting indeed.” Next Issue: Who, or what, is the Beast Boy? Previous Issue | Next Issue |
