Titans West

"Where is he?" Flamebird yelled as she ran into the emergency room. Tears streamed down her face under her mask. Karen Beecher stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

"They're in here," Karen said as she led Flamebird toward an elevator. "Just stay calm. He looks bad, so go ahead and brace yourself."

Flamebird nodded. "I understand," she said, fighting back tears. "How's Tara?"

Karen pushed a floor button and leaned back against the wall. "Tara doesn't know how lucky she was. She got through that explosion and only twisted her ankle."

Flamebird paced the small elevator as it crept upward. "So what happened?" she asked. "Has Tara been able to tell us anything?"

"Not much," Karen replied. "She was in her room when she heard Gar calling her. She got to the monitor room just in time for him to throw her into the escape tunnel. She fell down the stairs and that's how she hurt her ankle. Gar ran in after her and tried to close the blast door but it jammed. The blast happened and she was only able to save them both by using her powers to create earth shields around them."

"So Gar was hit by the blast head on."

Karen nodded. "Right." The doors opened with a soft ding. "Come on and I'll take you to him. Just remember to keep yourself under control."

"You make it sound like he's nothing but a skeleton," Flamebird said.

"I'm trying to prepare you." Karen opened a door. "We're here."

Jason Parker slowly circled over the smoking remains of the headquarters. "Ready to land?" he asked.

"Anytime," Vibe replied, hanging from Eagle's arms. "We can't tell anything from up here." The two Titans landed and looked around.

"Man, where are we?" Vibe asked. "Is this the main hallway?"

"I don't know," Eagle replied. "What could have caused this?"

"No idea," Vibe said, stooping down. He picked up a piece of half-melted plastic and ran his thumb across it. "I know where we are," he said. "My room."

"How can you tell?" Eagle said, walking over.

Vibe just held up the plastic. It had once been an Atari game cartridge. "I guess it was right," Vibe said. The name of the game was Superman. "He really is indestructible."

Eagle smiled. "If we're in your room, then that means we need to head that way." Eagle set off through the debris.

Tara Markov looked up as Karen Beecher led Flamebird into the room. Bette pulled her visor off and laid a hand on Tara's shoulder. Tara looked up with tears in her eyes. "How're you doing?" Bette asked softly.

Tara just shook her head. She picked up her crutches and walked out.

Karen led Bette over to the bed. Bette longed to pinch her nose shut. The smells of the medicines were combining to form a sick smell like rotting popcorn on top of burned bacon. Bette fought back a cry as she saw Gar.

"He had third degree burns over most of his body," Karen said, fighting to maintain her clinical distance. "He's lucky to be alive. If it wasn't for Tara's earth shield, he wouldn't be."

Bette looked down at Gar. His entire body was wrapped in bandages, making him resemble a mummy. The only things peeking through the bandages were breathing tubes from the respirator and IVs. "Can he hear us?" Bette asked as she reached down to rub the bandages over his hand.

Karen shook her head. "No. They're keeping him unconscious. Otherwise, the pain would be too much."

"I've got to get out of here," Bette said.

"I understand," Karen said. She gently led Bette from the room.

Mal Duncan sat at a computer terminal in the old Titans West headquarters beneath the Blue Note. "It looks like we didn't lose anything," he said. "Everything from the old computer core was also set up here."

"Impressive," Leonid Kovar said as he looked around. "And no one knows this place is here?"

"Nobody outside of the team," Mal said. "We always kept this place a secret. Not even the DEO could find it."

"The DEO?" Leonid asked. "Why do you say that?"

Mal grinned. "Where do you think I was while the rest of you were running around the country?"

Leonid looked around. "Incredible. Can I get a tour?"

"Sure," Mal said as he stood. "Let's start over here."

In the hospital, Flamebird walked into a small waiting room. Tara sat there, staring at the television without watching it.

"I'll go grab you guys something to drink," Karen offered. "Bette, don't worry about anything. I've got this corridor sealed off. Nobody's in here but people from STAR."

"Thanks," Bette said. Karen smiled and walked out. Bette turned to Tara. "How's your leg?"

Tara shrugged. "It's okay," she said. "I smuggled a little dirt in through a window and put it in my cast. I remembered Brion* telling me that helped him heal once."

(*Brion Markov - Geo-Force from the Outsiders and Tara's brother - db)

"What about the other one?" Bette asked.

Tara thought a moment. "She's gone again. Lilith helped me get my mental barricades back up where they needed to be. She's no problem anymore."

Bette's jaw dropped as she saw something on Tara's finger. "Is that-"

Tara nodded sadly as she looked at the ring. "Yeah. It was in Gar's pocket. I figured I could wear it until he wakes up. You know, just to keep him with me."

"You're really lucky," Bette said.

"I know," Tara replied. "I do need to know. Was there ever anything between you two back in the old days?"

Bette smiled. "No. There couldn't have been. I was dating Charley, but the only guy in my mind was Robin. And Gar... Well, all Gar had ever wanted was to be a member of a team. The Doom Patrol and the Teen Titans had both rejected him because his guardian wouldn't give the okay for him to join. I think he just joined us so he could belong. And, of course, if we'd really been great, then maybe the Teen Titans would have asked him to join them."

Tara shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Bette, there's something else I need to ask you and it's really weird for me, but I've got to know."

"Go ahead," Bette said.

Tara looked straight at Bette. "Did you ever sleep with Gar?"

Bette thought a moment. "Yes," she finally admitted.

Breathtaker soared over the buildings of the college campus. "I see them," she reported.

"Excellent," Risk replied in her ear. "Dagon, take them."

"Understood."

Four gunmen had taken over a floor of the administration building. They were doing everything to maintain control on the situation short of noticing the thick cloud appearing in their midst. Less than five minutes later it was over. And the Overseers were again surrounded by the media.

One of the members of that media was currently en route to a meeting. Bethany Snow smiled as she relaxed in the back of the limo. After the car stopped, the chauffeur walked around and escorted her out of the limo and into a darkened office.

"Sit down, Ms. Snow," a gravelly voice said. She obeyed. A small television screen flickered in front of the other person. Straining, she could see that it was footage of the day that the Teen Titans had broken Brother Blood's church. She gasped when the footage snapped off and a man with a skull for a head swiveled around to face her.

"You remember that day well, don't you, Ms. Snow?" Director Bones asked her. "The day the Titans destroyed your church and your career."

"I remember," Snow said with a scowl.

"And then you went from an anchorwoman for WUBC to a reporter for a little hole in the wall station in Fresno." Bones shook his head. "It's a realy shame."

"I am quite aware of my personal history," Snow said.

"That's why you're here, Ms. Snow." Bones leaned forward. "I am sure you've heard of the explosion of Titans West headquarters that injured one of your old friends, Gar Logan."

"Go on," Bethany Snow said.

"All I want you to do is cover the Titans West for me. I don't want a smear campaign, just fair, unbiased, reporting." Bones finished with a space between the last few words, then studied Snow's face.

She smiled. "When do I start?" she asked.

Tara closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair. Tears started running down her face. "Thank you for being honest with me," she said.

"No, Tara," Bette said, leaning forward. "It wasn't like that at all."

"How was it, then?" Tara asked, trying to keep her voice civil. "Hot and sweaty? Cheap and disgusting? A drunken romp?"

Bette smiled despite herself. "Let me explain. It was back in the old days. We were trying to track down a villain - I don't even remember who anymore. Back then, our computers were really slow. We were waiting on an analysis so we sat down on the couch in our old base to finish." Bette smiled a sheepish smile and continued. "We were both exhausted. I just closed my eyes to rest them for a minute and opened them up again about twelve hours later. We'd fallen asleep on the couch. The funniest thing was that Gar had pulled my cape off during the night and was curled up under it like Linus. I half expected to see him sucking his thumb!"

Tara burst out laughing for the first time in days. "You're kidding! That's it?"

Bette nodded. "That is the closest I've ever come to a night of passion with Mr. Garfield Logan. Actually, I was pretty hot. Do you know how hard it was to sew that cape back onto my uniform? I was furious!"

The two women laughed and continued talking. Karen, approaching outside, smiled and set the drinks down. "I can't interrupt this," she said to herself and walked back down the hall.

In his room, all was quiet as Gar Logan lay in the bed. His mind, however, was racing. Gar looked around and saw himself in a black room. Suddenly he realized he wasn't alone. "Who's there?" he demanded.

"Just a friend," the Phantom Stranger said as he stepped forward. "And we have a few things to discuss."

To Be Continued...

Next Issue: What is that Phantom Stranger doing with Gar? What is Bones up to with Bethany Snow? And how will the team react when five very familiar villains return?

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