Titans West

Cat Grant smiled and stepped toward the camera. "Hi, and welcome to Cat! Today we're talking with some very special people. Over the past few weeks, California has been protected by a new group of heroes, who are taking the state by storm! Please welcome Risk, Breathtaker, and Joshua from the Overseers!"

To thunderous applause, the three walked out and took their seats.

"Welcome to the show, guys."

Risk smiled. "It's a pleasure to be here, Cat."

"I guess that the first thing our viewers would like to know is, why LA? The West Coast branch of the Titans were already operating here."

Relaxed, Risk leaned forward. "To be honest, we weren't looking to settle here. Unlike the Titans West, we don't work exclusively in one area. We're ready to go wherever we're needed."

"Interesting," Cat said. "Speaking of the West Coast Titans, you used to be a member. What happened?"

Without moving her head, Breathtaker's eyes darted over to Risk.

Risk smiled. "We just had a minor disagreement or two. In the end, I decided to leave and wound up joining this team."

The television set switched off. A moment later, the remote flew into the wall.

"Was that necessary?" Tara asked. "I was watching that. Cat!'s my favorite show."

"A minor disagreement?" Vibe replied. "He nearly killed me, chica! That's a bit more than a minor disagreement!"

"That's still no reason to break the remote," Tara said.

"Fine," Vibe said. He raised his finger and fired a tiny pulse, which turned the TV back on. "You can watch this. Me, I'm outta here." Vibe stood and walked out.

Tara leaned back and started watching again.

"And now let's bring out your fan club!" Cat said. Ten women all dressed like Breathtaker with their skin colored light blue walked out carrying roses. As they handed the flowers to Breathtaker they started crying. The sight of one of their bellies sticking way out from under her belly shirt prompted a shaft of earth, which turned the TV off.

"Maybe it would be a good idea to see what Gar's up to," Tara said as she left the room as well.

Breathtaker and Provoke sat in front of the large oak desk. "Excellent job on that talk show," Bones said.

"Thank you, sir," Breathtaker said.

"No prob," Provoke said.

"I must say," Bones said, "I am quite pleased with your participation in this little venture, Provoke. You have done quite well."

"No worries," Provoke said with a shrug.

"Quite," Bones replied. "However, you must not let this fail."

"No worries," Provoke said, getting nervous. "I'm in complete control."

"Indeed," Bones said. "I don't want you getting complacent. You can't let this falter even for an instant."

"I understand," Provoke said.

"Be sure that you do. The project's success depends on this."

Bette Kane paced in front of Gar Logan in his Questcorp office. "Bette, that carpet's expensive. You're going to wear a hole in it if you don't quit that."

Bette plopped down in front of the desk. "I don't like it."

"What?" Gar asked.

"These Overseers. I don't trust them."

Gar frowned. "I know. I really don't trust the DEO ever since our run-in a while back."

"Run-in?" Bette asked. "They hounded us across the country!"

Gar nodded, conceding the point. "Still, I'm hoping that this is what it looks like. I wouldn't mind seeing some other heroes start working out here. I mean come on! In New York you can't swing a cat without hitting at least half a dozen heroes!"

"Are you saying that as a former New Yorker, or as a cat?" Bette asked.

"Both. The bottom line is, if we do anything to these guys, Bones will crucify us in the media. I say we do our thing, they do their thing, and we'll see how this works out."

"I don't like this!" Bette said, jumping to her feet again. "Something stinks!"

Gar dropped his pen on his desk, giving up on the pile of paperwork he'd been working on. "Bette, we're ready. If they try anything, we're set for them."

"I hope you're right," Bette said.

Jason Parker walked out into the sunshine. "Hey, Alex," he said as the smiling girl came toward him.

"How'd you do?" she asked.

"I passed," he said with a smile on his face.

"Good. I'm glad our cram sessions helped out. It'd get really boring without you around here."

"Come on, Alex. We're in LA. Craziness is everywhere." As if to prove their point, a young man with more pins in his face than a sewing circle and lime green hair sticking up in a tuft on his head walked past.

"I'd hate to work on that," she said. "I'd be afraid I'd get poked while trying to give him anesthesia."

Jason laughed. "That's what I like about you, Alex. You're always willing to try new things. Come on. I'll treat." The two friends walked into a nearby Starbuck's.

Still, as the door closed, Jason found himself looking into the sunshine, thinking of his dream the night before, and the knowledge of what was coming.

Later that evening, the Titans were assembled in their headquarters. "And that's all the business I have," Gar said. "The repair crews should only be around for a few more days, and then that nightmare'll be done." The team's attention turned as the monitor behind the table blinked on. Risk was there.

"Hiya, kids," the sneering Risk said. "Feel like a little fun? We've got some boredom we need to get out of our systems. Meet us at the address printing out now and we'll have some fun." The monitor blinked out.

"That's it," Bette said. "We've got to deal with this now."

"Bette's right," Karen said. "If we don't go, who knows what lengths they'll go to to get us there?"

Gar frowned as he evaluated his options. "All right," he finally conceded. "Get to the jet. We're on our way."

Inside Overseer headquarters, Risk stepped back from the monitor. "Excellent work, Mr. Driscoll," Bones said. "Let's get moving, people. Time to kill the Titans."

Golden Eagle softly toggled the microphone in his cowl on. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary," he whispered. "Just a regular warehouse. Infrared's not showing anything." He failed to notice the mist forming a shape behind him. Eagle let out a cry as Dagon backhanded him onto a lower roof.

"Eagle's in trouble!" Changeling yelled. "Let's go!"

The jet's hatch opened and there stood the Overseers. Risk smiled a sadistic little smirk. "Well, well, well. Hiya, Greenie. Good to see ya. You bring that useless Taco with you, too?"

His teeth clenched in fury, Vibe started forward. A red hand clamped down on his arm. "No," Red Star said softly. "I will handle this myself."

Risk's eyes widened as Red Star stepped directly in front of him. "So, tovarisch," he said coldly. "You wish to become a man? Allow me to instruct you on what exactly that means." Red Star ignited and took another step. "Prepare for your first lesson."

"Scatter!" Changeling yelled. "Coordinate on a target and take them down!"

Above, Dagon had rolled Golden Eagle onto his back and crawled onto him like an animal. Eagle fought to keep Dagon's head away from his throat. Dagon finally saw an opening. He drew his head back and his mouth opened, exposing his fangs. Dagon drove forward and his fangs penetrated Eagle's neck. Instantly Dagon screamed and flew backward.

Not time yet, a voice only Eagle could hear said. As Dagon dove into the battle below, laughter filled Eagle's ears.

Breathtaker flew to the side, narrowly dodging an earth explosion that shot upwards, courtesy of Terra. "Not bad, dear," she said. "But you really shouldn't stay so still." Below, Terra grabbed at her throat and fell to the ground as the air was pulled out of her lungs. 'Don't worry," Breathtaker said as she hovered overhead. "They say it's just like going to sleep." Breathtaker screamed as she was suddenly struck by five stingers.

"Looks like you should listen to your own advice," Bumblebee said as Breathtaker fell to the ground. A second later she screamed as she was enveloped in fire. As she plummeted to the ground, the flames faded, replaced a moment later by the sharp impact of the ground.

From behind, Joshua smiled. "I thought this was going to be tough."

Flamebird dove to the ground and rolled as one of Harm's blades slammed into the concrete where she'd been a moment ago.

Harm smiled. "You're fast."

"Not so bad yourself," Flamebird replied.

"More than you know," Harm said. At that moment, Flamebird's eyes widened as a large part of her cape fell to the ground.

"Great," Flamebird said as she reached for her belt.

Harm just smiled and raised his sword. He fell forward as Changeling, in the shape of a rhino, plowed into him.

"Bette!" Changeling said as he returned to human form. "Are you okay?"

"I wouldn't worry about her, mate," Provoke coldly said from behind him. Gar turned and saw Terra standing there. "Go ahead, sweets. Kill him."

Terra raised her hands and the earth began to bend to her commands.

Vibe turned as Dagon landed in front of him. "So, another one. I'm thirsty."

"Go get yourself a Coke or something," Vibe said, his mind whirling.

"I don't think so," Dagon said, taking a step forward. He was slammed back by a sound wave.

"Nice try," Dagon said. "Now it's my turn."

Vibe sprinted for cover.

Risk staggered backward. His shirt was torn, and he was actually bleeding! He smiled as he dodged another of Red Star's punches. "Come on, Red Star," he said. "You've actually got some potential. Join us. The Titans won't matter in a few minutes anyway."

"I think not!" Red Star yelled as his fist slammed into Risk's face. "You are nothing but a coward. You Overseers all are. You attack as a pack. As a man, you cannot stand on your own two feet!" Red Star loosed a kick to Risk's knee, resulting in a sickening crack. Risk let out a cry as he fell to the ground. He smiled and fired a kick of his own at Red Star. It hit somewhat north of the knee and he crumpled. Kneeling, Risk made his way over to Red Star and began to choke him.

Golden Eagle touched his throat and rubbed away the small amount of blood that had gathered. "He actually bit me!" Eagle said with disbelief. He looked down and saw Risk strangling Red Star. "No way!" Eagle said to himself as he rose into the air. He dove downward, pulling a screamer out of his belt as he went. He landed behind Risk and quickly slipped the sphere into his ear.

"What?" Risk yelled as he swung. The force of the blow would have crushed Eagle's armor if he hadn't already been on the move. A second later, Risk screamed at the top of his lungs as the device activated, filling his head with piercing sound.

"You okay?" Eagle asked, landing beside Red Star.

"Yes," Red Star said. "Excellent work incapacitating him. Now we must assist the others."

Provoke smiled as Terra's earth columns started to rise. He lit a cigarette and prepared for the show. Suddenly Terra's head whipped around to him.

"Get out of my head!" she yelled. "You can't make me attack them again!"

"Now, wait-" Provoke started to say. He was pounded into unconsciousness by the earth moments later. Terra fell to the ground holding her head.

"Tara?" Gar asked as he walked to her.

"Help me, Gar," Terra said, her eyes filled with tears. "He brought her back. She wants out."

Gar pulled her close, knowing exactly who she was talking about.

Flamebird ran toward Vibe as he kept firing sound wave at the advancing Dagon. She stopped suddenly as a strong arm wrapped itself around her throat.

"Remember me?" Harm asked.

"Actually, yes," Flamebird said, using a judo flip to send him flying. "And you can stay gone as far as I'm concerned."

"Too bad," he said, landing on his feet. "That's not an option."

Flamebird threw her disk at him and he caught it effortlessly. "A toy," he observed. The kicks to the ribs that Flamebird delivered next were not. She fired her flash and he fell to the ground, holding his eyes.

Vibe backed up another step and fired a sound wave overhead. Dagon dove out of the way as a stone ledge fell to the ground beside him. "You missed," Dagon observed.

"No way," Vibe said. "I hit it dead on."

Dagon looked up just in time to see a large girder falling toward him. He let out a cry as the girder struck him.

In a nearby bunker, Director Bones studied the monitors before him. "That's enough," he said. "Recall the spy-eyes and then put me through."

Joshua looked around and saw that the rest of the team was down. Suddenly a speaker on top of a neighboring building crackled to life.

"Attention," came the cold voice of Director Bones. "You have five minutes to vacate the area. Self-destruct has been activated."

Joshua ran to Dagon and together they started gathering up the fallen Overseers.

"Gar, we've got to get out of here!" Flamebird yelled.

"I know," Gar said. "Get the others moving!" As quickly as possible, the Titans climbed aboard the T-jet. It soared into the sky as the warehouse site of their battle vanished in a ball of flame.

Bones replaced the microphone. "Start getting me analyses of that battle. I want to know how each of those Titans will react in a combat situation. I'll meet with the Overseers personally when they return." He turned and strode out of the bunker.

Back in the base, the Titans, minus Terra, were assembled around the table in the conference room. "What is he up to?" Flamebird demanded. "They were winning! Why risk killing his own team?"

"And why give us warning?" Red Star added.

"I don't know," Gar said. "There is one thing I need to say, though. Provoke messed around with Tara's mind during that fight and she thinks that the other Terra's trying to come back. We're going to go find Lilith and work with her to reign that in again."

"You mean you're-" Flamebird asked as her voice trailed away.

"We're not quitting," Gar said. "We're just taking a leave of absence. Plus, there are a lot of other things we need to work out between us, and in the middle of a battle with the Brotherhood's not the place to do it." Gar walked over and rested a hand on Flamebird's shoulder. "Bette'll do a great job running things while I'm gone." Bette looked up, speechless, her eyes filled with tears.

After the goodbyes were finished, Gar walked to the garage, where Tara and his Viper were waiting. "Are you sure you don't want to say anything to anybody?" he asked.

Tara shook her head. "I can't. It's almost all I can do to keep control."

"Don't worry," Gar said, pulling her close. "We'll find Lilith and she'll fix all of this." Gar gently kissed her and then they climbed into the car. A sobbing Bette watched as the car pulled out of the drive and was gone.

Next Issue: WHAT? Gar and Tara are gone! How will Flamebird respond as team leader when her first challenge is against the Royal Flush Gang?

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