Titans West

Armando knelt on the ground, hiding behind the stoop of an apartment building. He shifted position every now and then as he watched the person he was looking for sitting down a couple of buildings. He watched as a young boy showed him a notebook. He watched as the man looked disgusted and said something he couldn't quite catch. The man stood and began walking away. From a distance Armando saw another man in a brown trenchcoat approaching. His fist clenched as he realized that this was it!

Armando crept silently closer, hiding behind some battered trashcans. A surge of adrenaline shot through him as he heard the approaching person call the man's name. He watched with pride as the man fought with every bit of his powers and sent the man, now revealed as a robot, down. The man sent the boy to go call the police and approached to investigate the robot. Armando tensed for the moment he knew was coming. He saw tiny seams appearing around the robot's wrists and knew it was time.

"Paco!" Reverb yelled as he jumped up and ran toward the two. Paco turned and the robot's hands launched for his throat. Reverb slammed into him and the hands flew past and embedded themselves into a building. The robot shakily stood.

"You...have help?" it asked. "No matter. He will...die as well."

"Not today!" Reverb shouted as he released a shockwave from his hands that slammed into the robot's head. The robot made a clicking noise as it fell to the ground.

"Is it dead?" Paco asked.

Reverb nodded and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Yeah. It should be."

Paco turned. "Now who are you?"

Reverb smiled. "You can't tell?"

"`Mando?" Paco whispered.

"Yeah," the smiling Reverb replied. "Come on. We've got an appointment to keep and I've got a long story to tell you." Reverb put his arm around his brother's shoulders and the two walked across the street to an apartment building.

"Now, `Mando, what's going on?" Paco asked. Reverb shook his head.

"Not yet; head on in, I'll be there in a second." Paco shrugged his shoulders and walked in. Reverb frowned and walked out into the street, where he retrieved the fallen robot. As he started to pick it up, he noticed light reflecting off of something lying in the street. He saw what it was and smiled. He slid the sunglasses into his Conglomerate jacket pocket and returned to the robot. He grunted as he picked it up and then slowly entered the apartment building.

"Welcome back," the smiling Barter said as he gently set his cat down on a glass display case. "I see you've retrieved the item we agreed on."

"Yeah," Reverb said, "and a heavy item at that. Why do you want this thing, anyway?"

"There's a large demand for items constructed by Professor Ivo," Barter said as he almost effortlessly lifted the robot and placed it behind a counter that held a golden sarcophagus. "These Ivodroids are even more sought after. Makes me hate to place those other robots back in New York."

"Yeah, well, that was your idea," Reverb said. "You said you didn't want to mess with the timeline."

"Quite right. I've found that meddling in events of the past and not cleaning up after yourself can have quite...unpleasant consequences." Barter lifted another small device and attached a container. "Now, let's get the second bit of business taken care of."

Reverb held up a hand. "Has he gone back yet?"

Barter smiled around his cigar. "Of course not. That was part of our arrangement. He doesn't go back before you do. You can go before him or you can go back together, buyer's choice."

Reverb nodded. "How does this thing work?"

Barter turned the device toward him. "Just place your hands inside the apparatus and I'll handle the rest."

Reverb slid his hands inside the device and Barter fastened it shut. He then walked to the other side and activated it. Armando closed his eyes as the worst pain he'd ever felt enveloped him.

An instant later it was over. He opened his watery eyes as Barter freed him from the machine. "All done," Barter said. He consulted a small panel on the machine where a green light was blinking. "And totally successful, too." Barter reached out and shook Reverb's hand. "It has been a pleasure doing business with you. If you ever find yourself in need of my special assistance again, please don't hesitate to call." He handed Armando a business card and led him toward the door. "I'm sure you'd love to stay and chat, but you have quite a bit to do, don't you?"

Armando nodded once. "Yeah. We're going back together."

"Good," Barter replied. "Have a nice day." Without looking back, Armando walked through the open front door.

Armando looked around and realized that he was standing in his family's living room with Paco beside him. "Mama!" he called.

She walked in. "Si?" she asked. Then she realized who was beside him. "Pacito? Pacito!" she screamed, crying as she ran forward and embraced him.

"It worked, Mama," Armando said in Spanish. "It worked."

Later, seated at the kitchen table, Paco finally got the words out. "What's going on?" he asked. "Can anyone tell me?"

"Such a healthy appetite," his mother doted as she whisked away his empty plate, replacing it with a full one.

"Yeah, not bad for somebody's who's been dead for five years," Armando replied.

"Dead?" Paco whispered. "What do you mean?"

"Simple. When I showed up, you were about a stranglehold away from the great beyond."

"How did you do this?" Paco asked.

"I made a deal with a man named Barter. I gave him my powers to get you and bring you here. The robot that was attacking you was the price of my ticket."

Paco just sat there and stared at the food on his plate. Armando patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, hermano. It's a lot to take in, and you've got a lot of catching up to do." Paco nodded.

Two weeks later, Armando stood in his bedroom as Paco inspected his new costume. "Not bad, but it's still missing something," Paco said.

"Here," Armando said. He picked up his jacket and ripped the Conglomerate emblem off the back before handing it over. "Go ahead and take it. I'm not going to need it anymore. Besides, there's something in the pocket for you."

Paco slipped on the jacket and then reached into the pocket. He smiled as he pulled out the pair of sunglasses he'd dropped in the past. "Oh, yeah," he said as he put them on. "This is great! Just one more thing left to do."

Gypsy stood outside the old JLA bunker in Detroit, shivering. She heard a cape fluttering and looked up to see J'onn J'onzz descending. "Gypsy," J'onn said. "You were summoned, too?"

"Yeah," she said. "Do you know what this is about?" J'onn shook his head. "Great." She looked into the courtyard in front of the building. There stood a statue of her two fallen teammates. The base was engraved 'In Memory of Those Taken From Us Too Soon.' "Statue doesn't look bad, does it?"

"No," J'onn said. Suddenly he looked up. "Someone's coming."

"You got that right," Paco said as he stepped forward. "Hiya, Gyps."

Gypsy's eyes filled with tears as she ran forward. "Paco!" She grabbed him in a tight embrace.

"It's good to see you," Paco said. "Hey, Big Green," he said, extending his hand.

A smiling J'onn took it. "It is very good to see you again," he said.

Paco looked back at the statue. "Heh. Figures old man Heywood would make Steel look so much better than me."

"I suppose they'll have to update it now," Gypsy said. "How did you - Oh, never mind!" She hugged him again.

After brief explanations, the three friends went to a small diner where they'd eaten together during the League's stay in the city. J'onn (in his disguise as John Jones) leaned forward. "So what are your plans now?" he asked.

"I've thought a lot about that," Paco said. "I don't see a lot of future for me with the JLA, because I'm just freaked out by the idea of the base on the moon. I'm not joining the Teen Titans. I mean, they're just a bunch of kids that I've never heard of in my life."

"They are all pretty new," Gypsy agreed.

"I'm too young for the JSA, and I'm definitely not interested in the Suicide Squad. I think I'll head out to California and see what Changeling's got going out there."

"Are you sure they'll accept you?" J'onn asked.

"Sure! `Mando, my brother, said that he's checked them out."

"So you join them just like you did us," J'onn said, smiling.

"Course! It worked with you and Aquaman."

J'onn stood. "I fear I must go. I've got to relieve Green Lantern on monitor duty in the Watchtower."

Paco nodded. "I understand. Hey, let Bats and Aquaman know about me if you see them."

"It will be my pleasure," J'onn said. He gave Gypsy a quick hug and walked out, smiling still.

"So, you're going out to California?" Gypsy asked.

"Yeah. I just wanted to see you guys before I left. If you ever bump into Vix, let her know I'm ok."

Gypsy nodded. "Sure, I will. Do you want me to pass along a message to Ralph? We still keep in touch."

Paco thought a moment. "Yeah. Let him know I'm sorry."

"I'll do that." Gypsy stood. "We'd better get going."

"Yeah," Paco agreed. "My flight takes off in a couple of hours and my brother's waiting for me at the airport." The two friends hugged outside the restaurant. "Take care, Gyps." Gypsy watched through tear-filled eyes as Paco walked down the street and climbed into a cab. Then she hailed one for herself so she could get to the airport for her flight back to New York.

A tired Gar Logan led the team back into Titans West Headquarters. "If I never see Barter again it'll be too soon," he said.

"I agree," Flamebird replied. "At least everything worked out."

Gar stretched as behind him, the rest of the team headed for their rooms. "Except for this catch in my back." He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I'm going to bed for about a hundred years. Wake me up then." He walked into the monitor room and stopped. Before them stood a man in a black bodysuit with a red V on his chest and red boots with yellow V tops. He wore a black leather jacket and dark sunglasses. He also sported a goatee and golden hoops in both ears with a short, stylish haircut.

"Who are you?" Flamebird asked.

"Me? I'm your newest member! You can call me Vibe!" Paco replied, with a wide smile on his face.

To Be Continued...

Next Issue: The team reacts to Vibe’s appearance, and the Wildebeests return!

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