Titans West

High above the state of California, Gar Logan put the T-jet on autopilot and walked back to the cabin where his teammates waited.

"Now what?" Flamebird asked.

Gar slumped down into a seat. "I've got no idea," he said.

Karen spoke up. "Mal's working with Questor back in LA to help us," she said.

"Well, the first thing we're doing is Leonid." Red Star looked up as Gar said his name. "Leo, we've got to get you to Washington. You should be safe in the Russian embassy."

"Yes. That is considered Russian territory, so it is illegal for the DEO to go there!" Leonid said.

"Unfortunately, the rest of us are Americans, so it won't work for us." Gar thought a moment. "And if we try to get out of the country, we automatically look guilty."

"Don't we already?" Terra asked. "I mean, we lit out of HQ pretty quickly."

Gar shook his head. "That couldn't be helped. We can't do anything if we're in jail."

"Well, we can't stay in the air forever," Bette said, pulling her mask off. "Where can we go?"

"How about Canada?" Cody asked. "That'd get us out of here. Or Mexico?"

"I got it!" Vibe said. "Why don't we go back to Detroit? I can still get into the old JLA base there, and we should be able to refuel the jet!"

Gar stood. "Detroit it is, then." He returned to the cockpit.

A sweating Dakota Jamison stood as she was summoned into Director Bones's inner office. She swallowed hard as she entered and stood before his desk.

Bones just sat there a moment and stared at her before speaking. "Report," he finally said.

"We... We carried out the strike as planned in order to recapture Subject Driscoll. Unfortunately, the entire team was able to escape in their jet."

Bones took another pull off his cigar. "Escaped." Bones tapped his finger on his desk. "How did they escape? You had our best troops with you!"

"I... Perhaps they had prior knowledge," Jamison said weakly.

Bones stood and glowered at Jamison. "The only personnel who had any advance knowledge of this operation were you and me. I hope that you are not suggesting that I leaked any information to them."

"No, sir!" Jamison said as the color drained from her face.

Bones sat down again. "You are ordered to return to California and lead the search through their headquarters. You are in charge of this investigation, Agent Jamison, and failure is not an option." Jamison was grateful when he finally gave her the chance to flee his presence.

Terra walked into the cockpit and lightly knocked on the wall behind Gar, who looked up. She handed him a cup of coffee and sat down in the copilot's seat.

"How're you holding up?" she asked.

"Not too bad," Gar said, taking a sip.

"Let me know if you start getting tired," Terra reminded him. "Leo can fly this just as well and he's fresh."

Gar smiled. "Shouldn't we be married before you start trying to take care of me like that?"

Terra grinned. "I just want to make sure that I'm in one piece when we land."

Gar chuckled as he took another drink of the coffee and placed it in a holder. "How's it going back there?"

"Not bad. Everybody's wondering what's going to happen. At least they were."

"Were?" Gar asked. "What did you do?"

Terra smiled impishly. "Well, Vibe got his Atari on board, so there's a Space Invaders tournament going on back there now."

Gar smiled back. "Good. I'm glad that he got that on board, actually. We're going to need something to take our minds off things."

"Yeah," Tara said. "Too bad about the movie."

"I know," Gar replied. "Once we get this sorted out, we'll go."

"What if we can't?" Tara asked.

"Don't think like that," Gar said firmly. "We'll get this all worked out and then we'll head back home."

Tara nodded but stayed silent as the clouds outside zipped by.

In Los Angeles, Mal Duncan sipped a cup of coffee. Unbeknownst to the DEO, he was safely hidden in the former Titans West headquarters beneath the Blue Note. He smiled as he checked an email under a pseudonym. The only one was from Sarah Simms.

"You're going to try and get out to HQ to do a damage report?" he murmured under his breath. "Good luck." He frowned as he changed tacks and brought up the news.

"Nothing?" he asked. "The DEO comes charging after the team and there's nothing in the press?" Mal sat there and drummed his fingers on his coffee mug as he tried to figure this one out.

Debris crunched underneath Dakota Jamison's boots as she entered the deserted Titans West headquarters. She stepped across the scarred floor, kicking a deflating basketball out of her way as she went. A DEO trooper stepped in front of her and saluted.

"Agent Jamison!" he said. "I've been assigned to guide you through the area."

Jamison nodded. "Let's go to their computer room," she said. As they walked through the base, Jamison began her inquiries. "Have we been able to learn anything from their computers?"

"No, ma'am," the trooper replied. "It appears that they were able to wipe the system before their escape. We've discovered a purge command on the main console. All they had to do was hit it and everything was gone."

"What about address books, personal letters, anything like that? We need to know where they may be going."

The trooper shook his head. "Nothing. No address books in any of the rooms we've searched. There was one half-written letter in one of the rooms, but no address on an envelope or anything."

Jamison scowled. "There must be something." She stopped and whirled down a hallway leading to the Titans' bedrooms.

She stepped inside Vibe's room and looked around. Every drawer from every piece of furniture was pulled out and dumped on the floor. Another trooper was poking through the contents.

Jamison stepped forward and pulled out a pair of leopard-skin bikini briefs from the pile. "This is the best you can find?" she demanded as she threw the underwear at the trooper. "I want the Titans, not their underwear!"

"Ma'am!" a trooper called. Jamison stepped over and the trooper handed her a small framed photo of Vibe's family. Jamison smiled.

"Excellent work. This is what we want." She handed it to a trooper. "Send this to our main office. I want these people found and brought in for questioning." She walked out, past another trooper who was cataloging stacks of Playboys found in Risk's room.

In this Detroit neighborhood, nobody even looked up as the T-Jet lowered itself into the hidden hangar of the old JLA bunker. As the engines shut down, Vibe hopped down the ladder and looked around.

"Man!" he yelled. "It's great to be home!" The team filed out and gathered at the base of the stairs.

"Where's the kitchen?" Risk asked. "I'm starving!"

"Right this way," Vibe said with a flourish. The team started down the hall to the kitchen.

All except one. Flamebird looked around the room and shivered. For some reason, all she could see was not the well-maintained hangar, but a room with cracked concrete walls and paint peeling off. Bette pulled her cape around her and started running down the hall after the rest of the team.

In the kitchen, Vibe's head jerked up as an alarm started sounding.

"What's that?" Risk asked, reaching for some mustard.

"Intruder alarm!" Vibe yelled. Gar joined him as they ran toward the old monitor room. Once there, Vibe sat down before the mammoth screens and began activating them.

"There!" Gar said, pointing at a screen. "Looks like a girl."

"Rosita," Vibe breathed. He jumped up. "She's my sister!" Vibe ran out, leaving Gar to study the monitors.

Rosa Ramone ran into the empty courtyard of the deserted factory that housed the bunker. In front of her, the door flew open and Paco ran out. He grabbed her and pulled her inside.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Mama and Papa... They came and arrested them!"

Paco's jaw dropped. "Why?" he asked.

"They wouldn't say. They tried to get me, too, but I was able to outrun them."

Paco scowled. "I think I know why." He turned toward the door. "Stay here. The others'll take care of you." He walked outside and was gone.

In Los Angeles, a scowling Dakota Jamison glared at the silent computers in the monitor room. Even the best DEO techs had not been able to extract any secrets from its destroyed memory. She drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair as she tried to think of something else to try. Suddenly her cell phone rang. She opened it and smiled as she was informed about the Ramones being arrested.

"Excellent. See if you can find out where the fugitives are going," she said. "We've also received word that there's an old bunker around there that the JLA used to use. See if you can find out where it is." She slapped the phone shut and sat in the chair, a smile spreading across her face.

The Ramones were escorted to a small room, where their visitor awaited.

"Hola, mama, papa," Paco said. "It's me. Armando."

"Armando," his father said, picking up on his lead. "It's so good to see you."

Paco stood and hugged both his parents. "Are you doing okay?" he asked.

His mother smiled slightly. "Yes. We are both being kept separate from the others here, so we have had no problems."

Paco took his mother's hands and leaned toward her. "We'll get you out of here," he said. "Don't worry."

His father shook his head. "No. We are safe here. Just take care of your family out there. We are not being mistreated and the government is protecting us."

Paco nodded. "All right, Papa." He embraced his parents again.

"Be safe," his mother whispered in his ear as she kissed him on the cheek. Those words still rang in Paco's ears as he left the prison.

In the bunker, Bette left the others and wandered through the empty building. She pushed a door open and gasped. There before her was an empty conference room. She lightly touched a chair with Aquaman's stylized A on it and looked around. She closed her eyes and saw this room, with water stains on the ceiling and cracks through the table. She knew there were several people there with her, but their faces were not clear. She turned to the head of the table and saw a man with green skin and a long ponytail sitting there. "Bette!" he called out in Gar's voice. "Bette!"

Bette opened her eyes and saw Gar, the young Gar, standing there with a concerned look on his face. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Bette smiled. "Yeah," she said. "Just a little overwhelmed."

Gar smiled back and gave Bette a quick hug. "Having to clear out two steps before the government can do that to you," he said. "We're all starting to sort out sleeping arrangements. Come on down when you're ready and we'll get you set up."

"Sleeping arrangements?" Bette asked.

"Yeah. We're going to spend the night here and then tomorrow we'll figure out what to do next." Gar smiled again and walked out. Bette followed, still feeling the ghosts of a possible future only she had seen silently watching her.

Vernon Questor sat behind his desk. His office window had been replaced, but he still felt the cold wind on his back. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. On the desk was a letter from his company's attorneys answering his questions about trying to help Cody. So far, Questor wasn't liking the answers he was getting. With a sigh, he put his glasses back on and resumed reading.

Dakota Jamison picked up her cell phone as it started ringing again. She smiled hungrily as she was informed that the JLA bunker had been located. With a smile, she ordered the strike.

Bette Kane stepped outside and looked up at the stars. Her eyes shot wide open as a hand was clapped over her mouth. A sweet-smelling handkerchief was placed beneath her nose and she blacked out. A moment later both she and her kidnapper were gone.

Gar looked up as a familiar mask appeared on the screen in front of him. "Oracle," he greeted.

”Gar, you've got to get out of there!” Oracle said urgently. ”I just received word that the DEO is en route as we speak! They're coming for you!”

"Thanks, Oracle! We're out now!" Gar hit the emergency alarm and ran in search of the others.

He found them in the hangar. "Where's Bette?" he asked.

"I believe that I can answer that question," a silky voice said from behind them. Gar whirled around and saw a man dressed all in black standing there.

"Shade?" Gar asked.

The Shade smiled. "Yes. I believe that we should depart now," he said. "I have no desire to spend an evening being interrogated by your little DEO friends." The Shade turned and entered the jet.

Seconds later, the jet was airborne. Below, DEO troops stormed into the now-deserted bunker.

"What's going on?" Gar asked. Leonid had agreed to pilot the jet for a time.

Shade rested his hands on top of his cane. "It's a long old story. Ever since Jack Knight departed my home city, I have been in pursuit of a villain calling himself the Spider."

"Why do you want him?" Terra asked.

"Because he and his forebears have been trying to kill me for over a hundred years," the Shade said. "All I do is return the favor.

"I tracked the Spider to Detroit. It looks as if he is using the lovely Ms. Flamebird to draw you out into the public eye, and me as well."

"Why does he want to do that?" Vibe asked.

"As I said, his family's sole goal is to ensure my death. I can't begin to tell you how many Ludlows have failed."

"And died," Gar finished.

"Yes," Shade said.

"So you just kill these folks?" Risk asked.

"Oh, no," Shade said. "I have never attacked them. I simply respond to their efforts." Shade smiled as he remembered the one Ludlow who he had not killed.

"So where are they?" Gar asked.

"I believe that the Spider has returned to darken the streets of my fair Opal. Your teammate should be there as well."

"Opal it is, then," Gar said as he rose and walked to the cockpit.

Outside, the silver jet changed course and streaked toward the city of Opal.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I know that there will probably be a few questions about the Shade, so here's a little explanation. In the late 19th century, the Shade was captured by the Ludlow family, and was set up to take the blame when they killed a rich man. The Shade repaid them by executing the entire family except for two small children. Years later, he was attacked by these (now-grown) children and learned that the family had dedicated themselves to killing him. Over the next 100 years, the Shade would be attacked by the Ludlows, and would kill his attackers.

The Spider first appeared in the Grand Guignol storyline in Starman, and was the son of the original Spider, a villain masquerading as a hero during the 1940's and early 50's. The new Spider escaped at the end of the story.

For more information, check out the excellent Shade miniseries for more about the Shade's battles with the Ludlows, and, of course, the 1994 Starman series, which is mostly set in Opal City.

Next Issue: On the Run: Opal!

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