Titans West

Two men walked onto the platform at an Amtrak station and looked around. Not seeing anyone suspicious, they started speaking in low tones as they walked to a bench.

"So this is it," Cody Driscoll said.

Leonid Kovar nodded. "Yes. I regret having to leave like this."

"Hey, your government can protect you. I just wish that we could say the same thing."

"Speaking of which, you should not have come," Leonid said firmly. "They will be looking for you more carefully than for the rest of us."

Cody shrugged. "I had to come and see you off," he said.

”Train no. 4635 to Washington D.C. now preparing to depart”, the intercom said.

"Well," Cody said. Suddenly he stepped forward and gave Leonid a crushing hug. "Take care of yourself, man," he said as he released him.

"And you as well," Leonid said. He smiled and climbed aboard the train.

Cody watched until Leonid was out of sight, then turned. He walked out of the station and hurried down the street, fighting back tears the entire way.

Gar Logan sighed as he poked the fire with a stick. "You know, it's bad enough that we're hiding in an abandoned building. At least they could have kept the lights on."

Tara Markov smiled. "Could be worse," she said. "It could be raining."

Just then thunder rolled across the sky.

"Thanks," Gar said as rain began pouring down.

Inside, Bette Kane looked out through the broken window and shivered. She rubbed her arms and turned back to a cup of coffee that was still warm, thanks to an old kerosene heater that had been in the Goodwill they'd shopped at earlier. She sipped the drink and her thoughts turned back to a time that had never been...

Alarms shrieked around her as red lights flashed. A man with a long blue cape and a hat that hid his eyes stood behind her. Before her stood the ever-enigmatic Shade, a woman with long blonde hair, and an older, tired-looking Gar Logan.

"They need me here!" she yelled. "I can't just leave them!"

"Bette." Bette was shocked at the calmness and resignation in Gar's voice. "If I could, I'd go back. I can't. This is my world. Go live your life. Maybe you can help prevent this." Bette blinked away tears. "But I can't go! You need me!"

Gar shook his head. "I need you back then. Bette, you can do more good back there than now."

"All right," Bette whispered as tears flowed down her cheeks.

Bette couldn't even look as Gar stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry about me," he said. "Don't worry about any of us here. You know we've always got a plan. Go back and live your life." Bette opened her eyes as Gar gently lifted Bette's chin with his finger and looked deeply into her eyes. "Bette," he whispered before he passionately kissed her. Bette closed her eyes and kissed him back. "I love you. I've always loved all of you guys. Go to them." Bette tried to wipe her eyes as she stepped forward and took the mysterious man's hand...

Bette was jolted back to reality as lightning streaked across the sky and she heard the thunder. Bette tried to shake her head to clear it and then turned back to the heater.

Paco Ramone walked down the darkened streets. As rain pelted him, he remembered his childhood in Detroit. He thought of the time he'd spent as a member of the Lobos street gang. He stopped in front of a bookstore and looked up. Instead of the streetlight, he saw his sister's face. As Paco leaned against the building, the rain mixed with the tears running down his cheeks. His fists clenched as he thought of a smiling Cody Driscoll and his sister being gunned down.

Karen Beecher stepped into the room and saw Jason Parker sitting there, reading. "What are you reading?" she asked.

Jason sighed. "Trying to keep up with my classes," he said, laying down the textbook. "What about you?"

Karen sighed as she pulled out her stinger gun. "Thought I'd better clean this. I haven't since we had to use it in Gotham."

Jason nodded. "How're you holding up?"

Karen laid the gun down. "I just keep wondering about Mal," she said. "I don't even know if he's still hiding out or not. I don't even want to think about how he feels about me."

"Believe it or not, it's probably easier for him," Jason said. "At least he can do something other than just running and hiding."

"I know," Karen said. "I just wish that this was all over."

Jason smiled. "Don't worry about that," he said. "We'll find the Teen Titans, and then Damage can pull his government strings and this will all be wrapped up."

Karen nodded quietly. "I know," she said. "I know that's what we keep saying, but I just wonder if it's really going to happen or not." The two friends sat together silently, illuminated only by candles.

"Man, does this place suck," Cody said as Gar led him inside the crumbling tenement.

"Well, you were gone!" Gar said. "Have you got a better place for us to go?"

Cody smiled. "Indeed I do. I walked by it after I saw Leo off on the train. We should be able to head in there tomorrow."

"Just so long as there are some real beds," Tara said. "I'm not looking forward to sleeping on the floor tonight.

"And I think we know what Bette's going to say about needing a shower," Gar added.

"Don't worry," Cody said. "We'll head up there tomorrow morning."

Dakota Jamison drummed her fingers on the chair arm. She was seated at the head of the table in the Titans West conference room. "Where would they go?" she whispered. She studied her Palm and read through the latest dispatches from DEO headquarters. She nearly dropped it when she saw an item about the Teen Titans relocating.

Jamison's cell phone was open as she ran out of the room. "Get the plane ready!" she yelled into it. "Alert the director. They're going to New York!"

"So we still haven't heard anything?" Questor asked.

Mal shook his head. "Not a thing. About all I've seen the DEO doing is closing down my restaurant."

Questor steepled his fingers. "Interesting. If you would like, I will forward that to my legal team."

"Go ahead," Mal said, shrugging. "Can't hurt."

Questor made a quick notation on a notepad. "Done. My legal team is already preparing to challenge the DEO's stance on this matter."

"Sounds good," Mal said. "I'd better cut this off before we get traced."

"Agreed. May fortune smile on us." Questor's image vanished off the computer monitor.

Mal leaned back and studied the screen.

"New York?" Director Bones asked.

"Yes, sir," Jamison replied. "We have a definite lead on them. They're trying to rendezvous with the Teen Titans."

Bones thought a moment, his gloved finger lightly tapping on a folder lying on his desk. "This could spiral out of control very quickly," he mused.

"I agree," Jamison said. "Just give the word and we'll take them down fast and hard."

"I'm not sure that is the correct choice," Bones said. "Unfortunately, I have to devote my primary attention to another project.*"

(*Which other project? Find out in Titans West Annual #2 - coming soon! - db)

"I understand," Jamison said. "I'm just worried that our agents may not be able to handle this situation!"

Bones nodded slowly. "I am beginning to agree with you," he said. "However, I’m not sure that the problem is with the agents. Perhaps the problem is with their commander."

Jamison gulped. "We will capture them in New York," she finally said, knowing her job was definitely on the line.

"I want this handled quietly, and preferably without the Teen Titans involved," Bones said coldly. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Jamison said. An instant later, Bones broke the connection. Jamison leaned back in her seat aboard the jet, deep in thought.

In New York, another plane was just landing. Donald Fite and Ishido Maad disembarked. The two longtime partners simply looked at each other, nodded, and headed toward a waiting limo.

The next morning, Cody smiled as he led the team into an old video store.

"You're kidding," Tara said.

"Nope," Cody replied. "This was our old base back when I was with the Teen Titans. It should be all set up for us." He slipped a key into a lock and opened the back door. He led the team into a large entertainment area.

A young man jumped up from the couch, where he was watching a rerun of "Just Shoot Me." "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Who am I?" Cody asked as he cracked his knuckles. "I think I should be asking the questions. You're trespassing."

The young man ran toward them. "He's all mine," Cody said. The stranger grabbed Cody and threw him through a bookcase, then jumped after him.

With one punch Cody sent him back into the main room.

"Doesn't he look kind of familiar?" Bette asked.

"Doesn't matter," Paco chimed in. "He's gonna be unconscious real soon."

Gar just looked around as Cody and the stranger battled each other. "I don't believe this," he said. "I just don't believe this."

Karen just wearily rubbed her eyes. "The sad thing is that I can. Didn't we used to have things pretty good?"

"Yeah," Tara said, watching as Cody and the mystery man flew past, landing in another bookcase. "You know, I really hope we don't have to pay for all this."

In the next room, a man dressed in a dark costume slapped his hands down on the table. "What is going on out there?" he asked. The others in the room shook their heads and let him know that they didn't know. He closed his eyes as he heard another crash from outside.

"That's it. I've had enough of this," he said. He stood and ripped the door open.

Bette turned her head as the door flew open. Cody didn't even notice as he straddled the mystery man, trying to pull his arm behind his back.

"Gar," Bette whispered. "Remember how we were looking for the Teen Titans? I think we've found them."

"What is going on out here?" Damage demanded, looking down at Cody and Omni. Behind him stood Fast Track, Zan, and Jayna.

Next Issue: On the run with the Teen Titans!

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