Teen Titans: Millennium

“Effective immediately, you are all restricted to this building.” Loren Jupiter’s tone was firm. “Following the incident with the aliens, we may have caused an interstellar incident. The Teen Titans will remain invisible until the diplomats manage to work out any difficulties.” He didn’t even ask for questions. “Dismissed.” He briskly strode out of the briefing room.

The Titans began murmuring among themselves. Eventually all their eyes turned to Dick Grayson.

”What now?” Donna Troy asked.

“Apparently we’re grounded,” Dick replied. He turned to look at the others. “We’ll play along for now. Let’s see how long Mr. J keeps us locked up for.”

That very topic was under discussion in Jupiter’s top-floor office. “How long do you think we can keep them here?” Jupiter asked.

Mr. Smith thought a moment. “If they follow your orders, they should remain here indefinitely.”

A sarcastic smile crossed Jupiter’s face. “And if they respond as they usually do?” he asked.

Smith shrugged. “They may already be gone,” he admitted.

Jupiter began pacing again. “We have to do something,” he said. “I just wish they could understand why I’m having to do this.”

“This is ridiculous,” Aqualad ranted as he paced. “Why are we doing this?”

“Simple,” Dick Grayson said. He closed his book, finally giving up on his studying. “When Starfire attacked that alien ship, she could have caused an intergalactic incident. The White House doesn’t like that sort of thing.” Dick leaned back in his chair. “You’re some kind of prince, aren’t you? I’d think that you’d be more familiar with how governments work.”

Garth kicked the chair out from under Dick and stormed out of the room. Dick picked himself up and stared after him.

Wally West ran through the streets of Metropolis as Donna Troy soared above. “Can you see anything?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Wally whispered. He skidded to a stop and peeked around the corner. “Wait a sec.” His eyes narrowed as he studied the scene. “What kind of loser is this?”

“Fear the Catman!” the criminal yelled. He was wearing a yellow and orange costume and carrying big bags of money, conveniently labeled with large dollar signs on the sides.

“I see him,” Wonder Girl replied. “Can you take him?”

”Easily,” Wally said with a smile. “On it.” Kid Flash zipped forward.

“An enemy!” Catman yelled. “My cat-like senses have alerted me to your presence! Take him, my army!”

“Army?” Wonder Girl and Kid Flash asked at the same time.

At the villain’s command, a horde of cats streamed forward, forcing Kid Flash to slow to a stop. As soon as he did, the cats began climbing him.

Wonder Girl swooped down and grabbed Kid Flash, pulling him free of the feline carpet.

“This is nuts!” Kid Flash said. “How can that loser be doing this?”

“I’m getting an idea,” Wonder Girl said with a smile. She lowered Kid Flash onto a nearby rooftop. “Time me.” Kid Flash smiled as Wonder Girl jumped off the building.

She easily flew over the horde of cats and laid out Catman with one punch. She then grabbed him by the cape and pulled him upward.

“How’d I do?” she asked as she landed beside Kid Flash. She dropped the unconscious Catman, who fell to the roof with a thud.

“Not bad at all,” Kid Flash replied as everything except the two Titans went fuzzy and began disappearing.

“Good job, guys,” Mal Duncan’s disembodied voice said. Donna Troy and Wally West started toward the exit as the door cycled open.

“Catman?” Donna asked as they walked out of the training room. “Where did you come up with that one?”

”Hey,” Mal said as he scooted back from his control console. “Mr. J said that he wanted some `different’ villains.”

“That’s different, all right,” Donna said. A gust of wind from behind her indicated that Wally had gotten bored and taken off. “An army of cats? We’d never see that in real life.” Mal laughed as Donna left the room. Despite herself, she felt a smile crossing her face as well.

Garth opened his eyes. Behind him, a pale blue glow still surrounded Tula’s hands (which were on either side of his head), but faded quickly. He turned. “This book is amazing,” he said. “It is so complete, I can almost feel like I am walking through my ancestral home.”

Tula smiled. “I know. It is good to see that you are remembering Atlantis. You were so young when we had to flee the city.”

Garth returned her smile. “I suppose that my ancestral memory is just strong.”

Tula gently touched his cheek. “Of course it is. You are the Crown Prince of Atlantis. It is your destiny to return home to your people.” She leaned closer and the two kissed. As they did, the blue glow spread from Tula to envelope Garth’s head once more.

Dick Grayson sat in front of a computer terminal in the tower’s basement. He clicked the mouse button and Roy’s attack on Mr. Jupiter replayed again. His ears twitched as he heard the door begin to open. In one smooth movement he popped the disc containing the video out of the drive and slid it into his pocket. The video instantly vanished, replaced by a webpage on the American Revolution.

“Dick?” Mal asked as he stepped inside and turned on the lights. “What’s going on? You hiding in here or something?”

“No,” Dick said, turning to face him. “Just trying to get some research done, and I get more done down here. Less interruptions.”

Mal nodded, although he didn’t look like he completely bought the story. “Right. Well, I’ve got to get back upstairs and log this. You know that Smith’s going to want to know what that anomalous activity down here was.” Mal looked around. “I’m surprised that any of this stuff still works.” He shook his head as he stepped out.

Dick popped the disc back into the computer and watched the attack again. “Come on, Roy,” he whispered. “Give me some reason we should help you.”

Starfire dove off the diving board and splashed into the pool. She smiled widely as she surfaced and shook water out of her eyes. She just had time to look up as a blur whizzed into the boys’ locker room, back out, and onto the diving board. Starfire instinctively launched into flight as Wally performed a jaw-dropping aerial routine before sliding into the water with a tiny splash. He surfaced, spitting water into the air and saw Starfire. “Hey, Koriand’r!” he called. “I didn’t know you were here!”

“That was most impressive,” Starfire said as she lowered herself into the water again. “I must admit, it was also most surprising.”

“Robin’s been teaching me,” Wally said, grinning at the compliment. “I don’t think I’ll ever get as good as he is, though.”

Starfire gave him a warm smile. “I think that you are well on your way,” she said. She glanced at the clock. “Please excuse me,” she said as she climbed out of the pool. “I have a study session with Donna I must attend.”

”No problem,” Wally said. He was back on the diving board again. “Have fun!”

Tula watched the exchange from above and slipped back into a shadowy corner. She shivered. Something bad was coming, and she could not figure out what. She resumed her lotus position, closed her eyes, and continued her meditation.

That night, the tower had shut down for the evening. Almost all of the day shift personnel had departed, and the Titans were in their beds, asleep.

Mal Duncan scowled as he rummaged around inside an access panel of the VR generator in the training room. “Come on,” he muttered as he tried to snap another chip into place. “Mr. J wants this up and going yesterday.” Finally the chip went into position and Mal smiled.

He returned to his terminal and activated a command. He couldn’t believe what he saw.

You have been discovered, a deep, evil voice noted.

“Not for long,” the Titan vowed. The Titan’s eyes narrowed as they fell upon the unblinking gaze of the room’s security camera.

“That can’t be right,” Mal gasped. He began reaching for the telephone to call Jupiter, then the alarm button, and then he changed his mind again. He picked up the phone and frantically dialed Jupiter’s home number. He was listening so intently to the phone ringing that he didn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind him.

A hand with a grip like steel grabbed the back of Mal’s head and shoved it into his computer’s monitor. As Mal fell to the floor, the same hand gently replaced the receiver, disconnecting the call to Jupiter.

The Titan looked down and smiled as Mal’s eyes didn’t try to open. His hair was singed from the electrical discharge of the shattering monitor and blood flowed freely from cuts the glass had made on his face.

Well done, the voice noted. He will not awaken. Soon it will be time for the rest.

With approval from the master, the Titan turned and left the room, leaving Mal lying in a heap on the floor.

Next Issue: The traitor begins taking out the rest of the Titans as the shocks come a mile a minute! And as if the traitor’s identity isn’t shocking enough, the last scene will really blow your mind!

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