Titans West

Gar and Bette sat alone in the conference room. Vibe had just left, closing the door behind him.

"So what do we do?" she asked.

"I don't know," Gar replied. "I mean, I met him back during the Crisis. He seemed like a good guy. And we got word from the Watchtower that J'onn J'onzz is vouching for him..." Gar rubbed his temples. "Didn't life used to be simpler?"

"Seems like it," Bette replied. "You want to let him in on probation?"

"That sounds best," Gar said. "That way we'll be able to keep an eye on him until we get a good feel for him."

"I'll go ahead and get him a room assigned," Bette said, standing.

"Don't put him too close to Cody," Gar instructed. "I think that those two may be a little like fire and gasoline if we're not careful."

"No problem," Bette said. She walked out, leaving Gar alone.

That night, Paco tossed and turned in his new bed as he dreamed...

He was back on the street corner in New York again. Before him stood the Ivodroid he had suddenly found himself fighting. He heard his brother's cry and slowly turned. This time, though, it felt like he was moving in syrup. The Ivodroid ran over and caved the side of his brother's head in with one punch. Vibe let out a cry as he was splashed with his dead brother's blood. He couldn't move as the Ivodroid's icy-cold hands surrounded his neck and began to squeeze...

Paco shot upright in his bed, screaming. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. "Man," he whispered as he threw the covers aside and stood. He padded on bare feet into his bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. "Aren't these stupid nightmares ever going to stop?" He stared into his own eyes in the mirror. "Man, what's going on with me?" He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his face and chest before tossing it into a corner. He then walked back into his room and slumped down into a chair. He turned on the TV to Nick at Nite and finally nodded off watching a rerun of Different Strokes. This time, however, he didn't dream.

The next morning, Red Star looked up when he heard a knock on the door. "Come," he said.

Karen Beecher walked inside and stopped. Risk had asked her to stop by, but the room had undergone a complete transformation. All of the letters and drawings from Pantha and Baby were gone. The room now looked almost like a barracks.

"Hi, Leonid," Karen said as she stepped inside and closed the door. "I wanted to see how you're doing."

"I am well," he replied.

"That's not what I mean and you know it," Karen replied calmly. "Ever since the word came in from New York about Baby and Pantha you've been distant. Now I come in here and you've gotten rid of everything that reminds you of them. You're not well. You're hurting."

"Why do you think so?" Leonid snarled. "Are you the local relationship expert? Ms. Beecher with the perfect life? You do not...Can not…understand!"

"Yes, I can," Karen said calmly as she sat down on his bed. "A few years back, Mal and I decided to start a family. We had a beautiful little girl." Karen paused to wipe a tear from her eye. "Her name was Tami. She was born sick... She died a week after her first birthday."

"Bozhe moi," Leonid whispered. "I am so sorry."

Karen smiled as she wiped her eyes. "It's all right. It just still hurts sometimes. But I wanted to give you this." Karen handed a small card to Leonid. "It's a group for parents who have lost children. I don't think I would have made it through if I hadn't found them."

Leonid read the card and slid it into his shirt pocket. "Thank you," he said. He stood and Karen gave him a hug.

"Don't forget that you've got friends here," she said before leaving.

"Thanks, Karen," Risk said softly as she exited Red Star's room.

"That's okay," Karen said. "He needs help. I'm glad that he's got friends like you who are willing to help him." Karen gave Cody a quick squeeze on his shoulder before she walked out.

Tara lightly knocked on Gar's door and walked in. Gar sat there at his desk looking over some reports on his computer. What'cha doin'?" she asked playfully.

Gar turned his head and smiled. "Hey, Tara. Well, one of the joys of being a member of the Questcorp board of directors is I get to read all of this financial junk." He reached out and snapped off the monitor. "What have you got planned for today?"

Tara smiled. "I thought I'd see if you might like to try out that new deli a block down the street."

"Sure," Gar said. "Let me get cleaned up and I'll be set to go." Tara plopped down on the bed, grinning. Gar playfully grabbed her by the arm and deposited her in the hall. "That means you wait out here." Tara laughed as Gar closed the door.

"That girl," a smiling Gar muttered as he locked the door. He shook his head and headed for the bathroom.

The host trundled up to the main computer and the thought jumped into the computer. The thought quickly worked and lights began flickering throughout the console. The thought jumped back to the host as the instructions it left were transmitted to the soldiers. The host slowly rolled back into the shadows.

Gar and Tara sat under an umbrella at the outside deli. Their plates sat empty before them and their glasses were also drained. "Not bad," Gar said.

"I don't know," Tara said. "I've had a bit better."

"Yeah, but-” Gar cut off as an alarm pierced the quiet of the street. They looked across the street at the jewelry store as an energy beam blew out a front window. "Call in the team," Gar ordered. "I'm going to check this out." Gar changed into a bird, which flew across the road and landed outside a window. Looking in, he saw familiar furry shapes. "Oh, no," he whispered. Suddenly a fist smashed through the glass. Gar returned to human shape as he fell to the alley below, landing in a large pile of garbage. Above, the feral face of the Wildebeest looked down, and then returned to his allies.

Jason Parker sat on the edge of Sarah Simms's desk, discussing repairs to the Titans West headquarters. They both looked up when a shrill beeping was heard. Jason pulled out a small beeper and switched it off.

"Gotta go," he said.

"Good luck," Sarah replied. Jason ran out and soon Golden Eagle was soaring toward the jewelry store robbery.

The rest of the team arrived quickly at the store. Red Star spotted Tara. He waved and she hurried over.

"What's going on?" Flamebird asked.

"Gar and I were having lunch when we heard the alarm go off. Something big's in there. He went over to check it out, but I haven't seen him since!"

"So we go in there blind," Flamebird said. "All right, let's go, but be ready for anything." As one, the team strode across the street as the gathering crowd let out a cheer. The team dove as energy beams ripped the front of the store apart.

"Get those people out of here!" Flamebird ordered as the crowd scattered. Red Star instantly ignited and ran toward the store. Flamebird saw Bumblebee and Golden Eagle rushing to move the people when she heard a horrific scream from Red Star. Bette grabbed Vibe, Risk and Terra and hurried into the store. She would never forget the sight she saw.

There was Red Star, being held aloft by the throat. He wasn't even trying to resist as the golden-gloved fist of the Wildebeest closed. He was just whispering, "Why, Baby? Why are you trying to hurt me?"

"LEO!" Risk yelled. He ran past the others and punched the Widlebeest as hard as he could. Its arm separated and Red Star fell to the ground, the Beest's arm from the elbow down still clamped to his throat. Wires and servomotors poked out from the severed joint. Red Star didn't even seem to notice.

Flamebird ran forward and started fighting to release the pressure on Red Star's neck. Then she looked up and saw five more Beests behind this one. "Take them out!" she yelled.

Terra zipped forward on a boulder, pelting her opponents with rocks. The Beest that Risk was fighting continued spewing oil and sparks but also kept on fighting. Vibe took a step back.

"God, no!" he thought. "They're robots! Ain't nothing I can do against them! I'm gonna die!" Vibe's breathing got quicker and quicker as he remembered his dream.

One more punch from Risk sent the Beest's head flying and it collapsed to the ground. He reeled backward as an energy blast from another Beest slammed into him and knocked him to the ground.

Vibe could only watch in horror as Flamebird fell to another blast. Terra took out another Beest but was unable to stop four more.

Vibe backed into the wall as sweat streamed down his face. Instead of his fallen teammates, all he could see was himself, sprawled out on the carpet. Then he blinked and cleared his vision. He saw Flamebird, lying beside the shivering Red Star. Terra was slumped on top of a pile of rubble. Risk was just starting to barely move.

"Okay, you bastards!" Vibe yelled. "You want to kill me? Ain't gonna be easy, Eses!"

Behind the store, Gar rubbed his head. "Man, that thing's got a punch and a half." He looked up as he heard something. Gar yelled as he shifted into a rabbit that hopped for safety. Behind him, you could actually see Vibe's force wave as it smashed through the back wall of the store.

"What was that?" Eagle asked as he and Bumblebee whirled around to examine the store.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out!" Bumblebee quickly flew to the store. She stepped over the shattered front windows and looked inside, rushing forward to catch Vibe as he toppled over. Scattered around the damaged store were piles of robotic parts.

Karen knelt so she could lay Vibe down on the ground as he looked up at her and let out a little chuckle. "Guess I maybe overdid it a little, huh?" he asked before he passed out. Karen just looked around as the others started to get to their feet. Red Star, who was crying, was being supported by Flamebird.

Gar stepped in and looked around. "Was that Vibe?" he asked. He just shook his head in surprise when Terra nodded yes.

After explaining everything to the police, the team returned to headquarters. "How're you holding up?" Karen asked Vibe.

"I'm okay," he said, "just kinda wiped out. Nothin' a good night's sleep shouldn't take care of."

"Good," she said. "Still, I want you to take it easy for a few days. After that, I want to run some tests on you to make sure that massive discharge wasn't harmful."

"Whatever you want," he said. "Just so long as I can sleep for a few days."

Gar stopped as the team entered a hall and he saw Mal on the floor. "Mal!" he yelled as he ran forward, followed by Bumblebee. "What's happened?"

"Is he okay?" Bette asked as Karen started checking his vital signs.

"I'm sorry," a voice from above said, "but none of you will ever be okay again." They looked up and saw their enemies. Pteradon. Behemoth. Gorgon. Harpi. Above them was their leader. Gar's blood chilled as he recognized Mento.

To Be Continued...

Next Issue: The Hybrid's back and ready to fight! And what's up with Mento? Isn't he dead? And what is ‘the thought’? Be here next time as the revelations begin!

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