Clouds were gathering outside as the Teen Titans filed into history class. Their teacher, Barbara Gordon, returned to their study of the Civil War and the Titans reacted as expected. Dick was interested, Donna was trying to fake any interest at all (the last thing she’d been interested in was their study of ancient Greece), Wally was speed-reading the textbook, and Roy was doodling on his desk.
Roy’s thoughts, however, were far away. He glanced out the window when he could get away with it, wishing he was somewhere that he could be busy. When he was busy, he could forget that footage that Mr. Jupiter had shown him…
On the top floor, Mr. Jupiter was wrapping up a meeting with Smith. “I understand that Garth will be returning to us soon,” he said.
“Yes,” Smith replied. “We have received a communiqué from Atlantis. King Orin stated that Garth would be leaving shortly; I have already arranged travel for him from the shore to here.”
“Good,” Jupiter said. “Did he say anything about Aquagirl?”
Smith shook his head. “Very little. Apparently his people are still attempting to free her from the programming that Orm subjected her to.”
Jupiter frowned. “It’s a pity…to steal a young girl and warp her mind like that. It’s inhuman.”
Smith smirked. “Indeed.”
Jupiter shot Smith a look. “You know what I mean.” He paused a moment. “I hope that Orin catches him. That monster must be punished for what he did to her.”
“I am sure that should Orin indeed capture him, he will be dealt with severely.” Smith’s tone was sure.
Jupiter nodded and Smith left the room.
Wally was practicing his diving when Wonder Girl entered the gym. He dashed over to her in a blur. “How are you doing?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said after a moment’s thought. “I’m just confused right now.” She sat down on a bench. “Back when we were in normal high school, Garth was the star of the swim team and I was his girlfriend. Then we came here and he dumped me for Tula. Now I’ve found out that Tula was influencing his mind, and I don’t know if we’ve still got a chance or not. I just don’t know if I want to go through that again.” Donna felt tears welling up in her eyes and ran into the locker room.
“But I was just asking because you’d looked upset after that test earlier,” Wally said seconds after the door closed. Wally shrugged and headed back to the diving board. He didn’t see the figure in the shadows on the track above the pool.
Smooth move, Harper, Roy thought. He’d been doing laps when he heard Donna come in. She’s still hung up on Garth. He started running again but he couldn’t escape his thoughts. I can’t blame her, either; I know what I did to her when I was out of control was wrong. Now she won’t even talk to me and I can’t blame her for that, either.
Roy stopped and slumped to the ground, thinking dark thoughts about himself and the mess that his life had become.
Aboard the LEGION cruiser Colu, Fleet Commander Vril Dox was holding a meeting. Officer Jo Nah glanced at his wife and stifled a groan. While Dox was an undisputed genius, he also lacked something that Nah preferred – an ability to present things and make them interesting.
“What?” Tinya asked.
“We’ve done this before,” Jo whispered back. “Every time he shows up we show up and do our best, but every time we can’t stop him.”
“This time will be different,” Tinya replied. She reached over and took her husband’s hand. “I know it will.”
Jo clasped her hand but deep inside he still wasn’t convinced.
Outside, the cruiser continued on course for Earth.
Later that night, Dick Grayson was finishing a workout in the gym. He dropped from the parallel bars into a perfect landing and then dusted the chalk from his hands as he headed into the locker room. He’d just opened his locker when he heard a sound from the running showers.
Dick opened the door while muttering about Roy leaving the water running again. He froze as he spotted the naked Roy sitting on the ground with a silver razor blade pressed against his wrist. The sound he’d heard had been Roy crying.
Roy looked at Dick through reddened eyes. “Just get out of here, Grayson,” he said. “This doesn’t affect you.”
“Roy, don’t do this,” Dick said. “Whatever’s going on, we can get Mr. J to help work it out.”
“Not this,” Roy said as he shook his head. “Do you know what they did to me?”
“Yes,” Dick admitted. “We had Mal pull up the video feed from Mr. J’s office after you left. I could read your lips and put two and two together.”
“I don’t want any of this,” Roy said. He dropped the blade and lowered his head. “I just want to go home,” he whispered. Dick knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. Dick awkwardly tried to give him words of support as Roy cried.
The next morning the two of them were in Jupiter’s office. Dick had already apprised Jupiter of what was going on. “I had been wondering when this would hit you,” Jupiter said. “I know that you have been through several traumatic experiences since you’ve been here with us.” Jupiter paused a moment, looked as if he was about to say something then changed his mind. “Mr. Grayson told me that you said that you want to go home,” Jupiter finally said.
“That’s right,” Roy admitted. “But I don’t have anywhere to go.”
“Actually, you do,” Jupiter said. “We have been in touch with the Navajo and they have told us that they would welcome you back to help with your healing process.”
“You’re kidding,” Roy said. “You talked to Brave Bow?”
“I did,” Jupiter said. He stood and walked around the desk. “If you wish, you can pack and we will have air transportation ready for you.”
“Thank you,” Roy whispered. He shot a glance to his side. “Can Dick come, too?”
“I don’t see why not,” Jupiter said. Roy jumped to his feet and started out until Jupiter’s voice stopped him. “Mr. Harper,” he said. Roy turned as Jupiter approached. Jupiter extended a hand that Roy clasped. “You will be welcome here when you are ready to return,” Jupiter said. “I only wish that this unpleasantness had never happened to you.”
Roy suddenly grabbed Jupiter in a hug before hurrying out of the office.
“Mr. Smith will have the jet ready when you’re prepared to depart,” Jupiter told Dick.
“Thanks, Mr. J,” Dick said before following Roy.
Jupiter closed the door and returned to his desk. He tried to bury himself in work to hide the guilt he felt for what had happened to Roy.
After Roy had his things packed, he and Dick were walking down one of the tower’s halls and Dick pointed a thumb at the lounge where Donna and Wally were. “Do you want to say goodbye?” he asked.
“No,” Roy said. “I don’t deserve to talk to Donna and it’s not goodbye. Maybe one day I’ll be back.”
“Let’s go, then,” Dick said.
“What’s up with those two?” Wally asked as he stopped playing ping pong with himself.
“No idea,” Donna replied as she read the newspaper. “This is really weird, though.” She pointed to the article as Wally appeared at her side. “This new hero’s gotten the name Mr. X because he’s apparently got some big X on his costume. The crazy thing is they still can’t get a firm description of what he looks like.” Donna turned from the table to face Wally. “I’ve been following his news reports since before we went to Atlantis and nobody knows anything else about him.”
“Maybe he’s shy,” Wally suggested with a shrug.
“I hope that’s all it is,” Donna said. “After what’s gone down with Starfire and Aquagirl, we don’t need somebody else showing up to pretend that they’re something they’re not.”
Hours later, Dick and Roy were aboard a chopper that was flying over the Navajo reservation. Smith had elected to remain at the airport where Jupiter’s private jet had landed and the two had transferred to this helicopter. Dick sat silently as Roy leaned into the window, eagerly watching for the town.
“There it is!” he finally exclaimed as he grabbed Dick’s arm and pointed. Dick fought down a smile as the helicopter landed in the center of town, attracting a large crowd. Roy pulled off his helmet and was getting ready to climb out of the copter when Dick stopped him. “Here,” he said as he handed Roy a coin.
Roy looked at it. It was silver and had a face on it he didn’t recognize. “What’s this?” he asked.
“One of the UP credits we got from that LEGION guy,” Dick replied. “It’s to remind you that when you’ve finished your journey here, you’re always welcome back with us.”
Roy grinned as he slipped the coin into his pocket. He reached out and shook Dick’s hand. “I think you might just be all right after all, Grayson,” he said. He opened the door and jumped out.
The pilot slid the door shut and the copter lifted back into the air. Dick watched from above as Roy approached a tall, older man and grabbed him. He somehow knew that this was the Brave Bow that Roy had talked about.
Dick sat and thought as the copter flew through the air. Roy didn’t even notice as it dwindled to a tiny silver dot in the sky before it vanished from sight.
In New York, the United Nations was in a full meeting. The meeting’s order flew out the window as the air filled with thick, sulfurous smoke, and the delegates were trying to figure out if this was another terrorist attack when they realized that they were not alone.
A woman dressed in a black hooded cloak now stood revealed as the building’s air conditioner dissipated the smoke. “Greetings,” she said. “My name is Raven. I am here to accept your surrender to my father. Your refusal will mean your extermination.”
Raven vanished in another cloud of smoke as chaos broke out in the chamber.
To Be Continued...
Next Issue: Roy is gone, but Garth’s back! But can even these four Titans hope to defeat Raven? And, even if they do, what happens when her father arrives?
Previous Issue | Next Issue