Titans West

Gar Logan ran through the debris of Azarath. He'd just heard Lilith calling him. What's happened now? he thought as he ran. He worried that the original Terra may be breaking free once more.

He reached a clearing that had once been a temple and stopped. Tara smiled at him. "Are you-" he asked.

Tara nodded. "I'm fine," she replied. Gar grabbed her in his arms and pulled her tight as tears started to run down his cheeks. With a mysterious smile, Lilith opened a space warp and they were gone.

Leonid Kovar and Sonya Romanov walked arm in arm through the mall. "So," Leonid said, "What did you think of your lunch?"

"Most confusing," Sonya replied. "I still do not understand the Americans' obsession with that clown."

Leonid smiled. "It is not obsession."

"Worship, then."

Leonid fought down a laugh. "One day I must take you to Big Boy. I look forward to your observations on him."

"Big Boy?" Sonya asked. "Isn't that where the bad bald man hid?"

Leonid thought a moment. "We really must discuss your viewing habits."

Jason Parker was walking across the UCLA campus when he saw a familiar face coming toward him. "Hi, Alex!" he called.

Alex Richards smiled as she walked up to him. "Long time no see," she said. "Matter of fact, the last time I saw you, you were being chased by a wall of dirt*."

(It happened in TW #5 - db)

Jason shrugged. "What can I say?"

Alex thought a moment. "You're right. We are in LA." They started off together. "So, how's it been going?" Alex asked.

"Okay," Jason said. "How'd you do on finals?"

"Same as usual," Alex replied. "Kept my 4.0. How about you?"

"Not that great," Jason said. "My mom was pretty sick and I was with her, so I missed the finals. Those make-up tests were killers."

"Hey!" Alex called, waving at someone. "There's somebody I want you to meet. It's the guy I've been dating."

Despite himself, Jason felt a ping inside him as the friend waved back. After all, he and Alex had dated for a little while when he'd first gotten to the school. That ping grew into a black pit as he recognized the man whose arm Alex was currently wrapped around.

"Jason, this is Cody!" Alex said, smiling.

Cody Driscoll smirked. "Don't worry," he said to Alex. "we've met."

Karen Beecher pulled up to the curb where her husband was waiting. "Come on," Mal griped. "They could at least let me out of this wheelchair."

Karen grinned as she helped him up. "Don't worry about it, Grandpa," she said. "It's just standard practice."

Mal scowled as she helped him into the car. "I had a heart attack. I'm not paralyzed. I can walk."

"And knowing your luck you'll fall, which means you'll be right back in there. So you're riding. Now watch your fingies." Karen checked to make sure Mal's hands were inside the car and slammed the door shut.

"Anything just so you can play nurse," Mal said.

"Well, actually, Doctor was the game I had in mind."

Mal thought a moment. "Honey, drive faster."

Karen grinned as she pressed the gas pedal closer to the floor.

Bette Kane swung her feet over the arm of the couch. "So he's doing fine," she said.

"That's good to hear," Hero Cruz said on the other end of the phone. "I was a little worried about all that he went through."

Bette smiled. "I know. It's weird that going through hell like that is getting to be an everyday thing."

Cruz giggled. "Yeah. Well, I've got somewhere I've got to be tonight. Kisses!"

"Kiss, kiss," Bette replied. As she hung up the phone, Paco Ramone walked in.

"Who's on the phone?" he asked.

"Just Cruz," Bette replied.

"Huh." Paco sat down on the couch beside Bette. "You know, there's just something about him. I don't know what it is."

Bette grinned. "Really?" she asked playfully.

"Yeah." Paco leaned back. "I don't know. I just get some weird feelings from him, and I can't tell what they are."

Bette smiled. Girl, you have got yourself one fine tushy there with him, Cruz's voice repeated in her mind from the telephone conversation earlier.

"I can't possibly imagine what they could be," Bette said, fighting back a smile.

Across the city, a bus tore through the crowded streets. A madman was aboard the bus, threatening it with a bomb. The driver, a very attractive young lady, screamed as the bus ran over a young man with blond hair who stepped into the street.

"I love it when they go squish!" the madman said. He leaned forward, hoping to see a red streak on the windshield from the impact.

Under the bus, Risk waited until the bus rolled over him. He leaped to his feet and grabbed hold of the back of the bus, fighting to bring it to a stop. His feet began digging furrows out of the asphalt as he pulled the bus back.

Behind the madman, a mist began to form. Slowly it began to draw itself into a cloud. The madman stumbled backward as the bus's speed slowed drastically, throwing passengers from their seats.

"What are you doing?" he demanded as he leaned over the sobbing driver. "If you stop, I'll blow this thing up!"

"I'm not doing anything," she replied as bravely as she could.

On the sidewalk, a man pulled his coat collar up higher to hide his red skin. Carefully, Joshua focused his powers to melt the bus's tires, successfully helping Risk slow the vehicle.

The madman looked down and saw that the gas was pressed to the floor, and yet the speedometer showed that the bus was indeed slowing.

"How?" the madman asked and then the cloud was upon him. The madman screamed as he was engulfed by the cloud. A moment later, he fell to the floor, shivering. Two fresh puncture wounds marked his neck. The cloud quickly drew in upon himself and Dagon emerged.

"It's all right," he said as he leaned over the driver. "It's all over. Stop the bus."

Shaking, the driver obeyed. Dagon clicked on his radio. "All done here, Risk."

"Good work," Risk replied. "I was getting tired of slowing this thing down by myself. We're done here."

Dagon nodded and stepped out into a crowd. After all, the Overseers were celebrities.

Cruz looked around the crowded club and felt disoriented. The small pill had dissolved on his tongue, and now things were really getting going. Sucking on his pacifier, he wandered through the rave. Ignoring the throbbing beat and flashing spotlights, he found what he was searching for and quickly hurried into the bathroom.

After he'd finished, he started washing his hands. He turned and saw someone he'd never expected to see. "Hi!" he said as he walked forward and gave the other person a hug, then a kiss on each cheek. "I never thought I'd ever see you here!"

The other person smiled. "You never know who you'll see." The other person leaned closer to Cruz. "Why don't you finish up there and then maybe we can find somewhere that we can be alone."

Cruz grinned and turned back to the sink. He looked down as he rinsed his hands. The next thing he felt was the other person's hand grabbing the back of his head and ramming it into the sink. Cruz let out a cry as his front teeth shattered, sending pieces of tooth down the sink. Cruz fell to the floor, holding his dislocated jaw.

The other person smirked as they locked the door. "Reaching for your little toy? We can't have that." The person kicked Cruz's H-dial away from him. It skidded across the filthy linoleum and stopped underneath a toilet. The person then expertly snapped Cruz's fingers one by one. Just for good measure, the person also dislocated his arms, then stepped back to admire the scene.

"You know, something's missing." The person reached under their overcoat and pulled out a silver device. "Here we go." The person gently laid the bomb on Cruz's chest, then pulled out duct tape and fastened it to him.

"Why?" Cruz tried to ask, although his jaw prevented him from doing more than mewing like a kitten. Still, his eyes asked the question.

"Why?" the bomber asked. "Is that what you asked? I'll tell you why." The bomber knelt down and quietly whispered into Cruz's ear. "Because I hate you. And because I can and I want to." The bomber stood up and clicked a button on the bomb. "Sayonara, sucker." The bomber walked out, making sure the door locked as they left.

Unable to move, all Cruz could do was watch the red digits on the counter as they counted down. With tears streaming down his face, Cruz screwed his eyes shut as the time reached 1.

Boom.

To Be Continued...

Next Issue: Gar and Tara are back, but the Titans West world is about to be shaken to its foundations! All it will take is "One Second."

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