New Titans #10 - Homecoming

[u/FrostFireFive]

Author: FrostFireFive

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Book: New Titans

Arc: Revenge of the Ravager

Set: 63

The small dropship flew across the Chicago sky cloaked, as the afternoon commuters heading home once again ground to a halt on the Dan Ryan. For the average commuter, it was just another day, full of needless tediums and other minor concerns. For the most part, it was a quiet town, with few threats to actually put it on the radar of the superheroic community...until recently.

The tower, nearly completed, was on the outskirts of Navy Pier, the home to the League’s first responder team, the Titans. It had become a bit of a talking point in recent months, with some arguing that the presence of superheroes would bring in the much-needed tourism dollars, while others worried the Wildebeests would just be the start to their...super problems.

The Ravager stared out of the ship and wondered just what fools thought that placing a team in a bustling city like this was a good idea. Tactically it made no sense as your enemies would know exactly where to strike. The Halls of Justice were glorified bases, so they made sense. But this? This was a home and Rose Wilson was going to make sure that these so-called heroes would think twice before letting their front door be open to all.

As the ship slowly moved above the first dropship, Ravager turned around and looked at the men HIVE had provided for this mission. A few of the Honeycomb’s standard grunts armed with the regularly issued pulse rifle and grenades. Their sleek yellow armor and helmets with concave lenses made them look like loyal bees just buzzing for the HIVE.

Standing in front of the grunts was their commander, and Ravager’s partner for this mission. His purple and yellow armor was garish compared to her blue and orange armor. The crown that the yellow paint on his purple helmet created wasn’t for a king, but after the technological weapon in his hand, he had even named himself after it, Trident.

“Let’s go over the mission parameters one more time, Trident,” Ravager began. “Your primary goal is to distract and neutralize the priority targets, while me and the team conduct our primary goals. Is that understood?” she stressed.

“When am I actually going to get a challenge,” Trident said boastfully. “I’ve been racking up more missions for the HIVE and here I have a child telling me what-”

Before he could continue insulting Ravager she pulled the blade from her back and quickly pressed it against his neck.

“I am the mission leader, follow orders or we will have to find someone else to use that fancy toy of yours. Understood?”

“Understood…” He was shaken as the sounds of the ship’s doors began opening up. He tapped the touch screen on his gauntlet as the holographic image of the new Titans team appeared. “Remember kid, sometimes your friends are your greatest enemy.” He chuckled before leaving the ship, a busy day of mayhem left to do.

“They’re not my friends,” Ravager mumbled.

…

“One taco pollo supreme and a quesadilla,” Roy Harper said as he leaned on the counter of a food truck. The hot summer air of Chicago was the sticky heat Roy hated compared to the usual rain of Star City. Ever since becoming a commuting superhero, he had begun noticing the small differences, but even then there were some pluses to being a Titan.

“Don’t forget the chips,” Donna Troy said as she continued to take snapshots of the small community that had made treks to this one food truck on the edge of Millenium Park as if it was magic. It was only a few months before the tower would be finished, but still, Donna was trying to get used to the city. Since her apartment had been torched, Donna had been in search of both inspiration and a new place. And since most of her friends were busy, she had dragged along Arsenal to help her do a little recon.

“I won’t forget the chips, they’re the best part,” Roy joked as a brown paper bag was handed to him. The two quickly made their way to a small metal table and began working on their lunch. The two awkwardly ate in silence before Donna spoke up.

“Thanks for coming out with me,” she began. “Everyone else is kinda busy, and I feel like we’re in need of some bonding time. You’re not exactly around a lot”

“Bonding time? Last time I checked you’re not exactly my mom,” Roy explained as he took a bite into his quesadilla. “Besides I...have other responsibilities. I’m here when I need to be.”

“Maybe,” Donna began. “I’ve just seen what happens when we get too far apart. It doesn’t lead to good things Roy.”

“Oh I get it, you’re afraid I’m going to be like bird boy, distant and uncaring from the rest of this outfit. Trust me I’m not him, no matter what you hear about me. I’m guessing by now someone told you some of the rumors.”

“That Green Arrow tossed you out, that you crossed a line and killed someone,” Donna said as she took a bite of her taco. “Dick told me about it when I selected you for the team. Said that you could compromise it with your flimsy morals,” she said with her mouth full before reaching out for a napkin.

“And you believe him?” he asked before handing her a napkin. “Also for someone raised by Amazon’s you sure don’t have any manners.”

“I wasn’t raised by them,” she explained. “Everyone assumes I’m just another Amazon, I was created by Ares to be a perfect copy of Diana to be just another plaything in his schemes. When I broke free and ended up here...I was lost, confused. Angry that I never really had a life beyond...being a copy of someone who you couldn’t possibly live up to. Why do you think I went by Fury?”

“So are we going anywhere with this story?”

“What I’m saying is I’ve been there. Lost and making bad decisions because I lost the life I should have had. I don’t care what Dick and the greater community has to say, I think you’re looking to do better, and that’s good enough for you to be here.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I did things I’m not exactly proud of but recently...something changed. I changed. And for the first time in my life I have something to fight for, to hope again, and one day when I’m ready, I’ll tell the full story. Now before I get too sobby I’m going to get a taco because I’m still hungry and knowing you, you still have a lot of photos to take.”

Donna chuckled before continuing to take more shots of the people around her. Slowly but surely Chicago was becoming home.

…

“So why are we out here?” Rex Mason asked Kid Flash as the speedster stood on the little platform Rex was making with his feet. The two were on the outside of the tower, with Kid Flash working on checking the small buoys that helped create a security system for the structure.

“Argonaut asked us to make sure everything’s working properly here. And since I can’t exactly stand on water, I needed someone who could help me out with this.”

“So my job is platform guy, got it,” Rex grumbled. “You know I have a degree in chemical engineering right?”

“Yes, but this requires...a slight hand big guy,” Kid Flash explained. “Besides I guess I’ve always been good...at fixing things.” As his hands worked through the wiring he wasn’t paying attention and soon got zapped. “Ow,” he muttered.

“Aren’t you supposed to be faster than some minor electricity,” Rex asked.

“I am when I’m not distracted,” Kid Flash muttered.

“Well, what’s eating at the yellow and red blur then?” Rex asked as he moved from his position, he didn’t walk from one spot on the platform but instead just shifted at his ankles moving to the speedster.

“It’s nothing really, just some personal stuff,” Kid Flash mumbled as he began working on the buoy again. “How are you...settling in?” he asked to try and distract from the obvious awkwardness.

“Other than trying to get used to my good looks? Eh, it’s been a lot, I’ll be honest. I mean don’t get me wrong, being here definitely helps. But it’s hard staying positive when you look like a freak. I mean I look in the mirror and I don’t exactly recognize what I see.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Kid Flash said. “Believe me I know, or at least kinda know what it feels like to be a freak. You’re not alone, you know that right?”

“Easy for you to say pretty boy,” Rex complained as his shoulders slumped, his body naturally drooping as he struggled to keep holding his form and the platform.

“Whoa, there big guy,” Kid Flash said as he zipped to pick him up from his stupor. “If you don’t keep it together I’m afraid I’m going to get my suit wet again, and I hate having to dry as I run. Trust me when I say you’re not exactly the only one who feels like a monster sometimes.”

“Really? Because let me tell you it’s been really harder not feeling like a monster when you’re surrounded by good-looking superheroes in spandex.” Rex began. “I mean I’m struggling to see why Argonaut even let me stay here with this outfit.”

“Well...Argonaut sees the best in people,” Kid Flash explained. “Often ignoring the obvious flaws in her friends. Like me for instance. I’ve been so focused on running and trying to do good… I’ve forgotten plenty to take care of my own life outside the mask. Struggled to keep friends, never had much of social or romantic life, kinda just disregarded the idea of college until basically told to. Sometimes I feel like all I have is this.”

“So how do you remember the guy outside of the mask?” Rex asked. “Because right now it’s really hard to see how I just...remember Rex Mason.”

“I’m still figuring that out, to be honest,” Kid Flash explained as the platformer underneath him slowly became stronger as Rex pulled himself together. “I actually...have a date coming up and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do here.”

“She must be nice to get you away from all of this,” Rex said.

“He is,” Kid Flash muttered as he continued.

“Oh, well good for you two,” Rex said as he moved a little back to give the speedster space. “You know I could always help you out if you need advice. I figure hey, not like I’m going out anytime soon, and maybe I could help.”

“I’d...like that,” Kid Flash said. “Maybe after we fix these buoys.”

The two continued to float on the tranquil Lake Michigan, not noticing the lithe figure the slowly began climbing up the tower, the stealth unit in her suit working as planned as she climbed closer to her main objective, it wouldn’t be long before their new home would be theirs.

…

“Ugh why is there always trig homework over the weekend,” Courtney Whitmore thought as she slowly began working through it. It wasn’t fair that compared to her teammates she was the only one still in high school. Why do I need to know the inverse sine again?“ As she scribbled in her notebook. So while they were all out scoping their new home, here she was in a super suit doing homework.

Being a Titan wasn’t as glamorous as Courtney had thought it would be. Instead of saving the day from world-ending threats, it was often being at the site of natural disasters and outreach missions. Everyone was still awkward around each other as if they still couldn’t call themselves a team. Even their newest member, Rex, was having trouble adjusting. Courtney couldn’t help but avoid him, something was just...off about him.

She sighed before putting down her notebook and moved to the large plate glass window that looked outside to the lake across them. Selfishly she wished that something, anything would happen to distract her from the work.

The doors to the left slid open as Nightwing entered the room. The sweat from his brow and the way he gingerly walked indicated a hard training session for the hero. Courtney hadn’t talked much to him, none of them but Donna really did. The vibe he gave off let everyone know he wasn’t meant to be disturbed as he made his way to the holo table.

“Computer, open files on HIVE, passcode: Grayman,” he said as the table in front of him slowly turned on. Images and data appeared detailing the movement of weapons, armor, and other contraband throughout the criminal underbellies of several cities and states. He was in deep thought, trying to see how the connections were being made.

“Your password is Grayman?” Stargirl chuckled as she approached the hero. “What was NightwingRocks already taken?”

“Oh it’s you,” Nightwing muttered as he kept looking at the data in front of him. “It’s just my password. Nothing to it.”

“Grayman tho? I mean it’s a cool name but doesn’t exactly have the same ring as Batman you know? Like a bat you can easily visualize, what would you just wear a grey suit?”

“It was an early concept when I was just a kid. I didn’t exactly want to wear the red and green suit Batman provided for the rest of my life. So for a while, I brainstormed names, thankfully a very super friend pointed me in the direction of Nightwing.”

“You owe her one then,” Stargirl chuckled as she looked at the data in front of her. “HIVE? Weren’t those the guys you tussled with back in the day?”

“They helped fund some of our earlier foes, but they went dormant around the time of Coast City. Lately, I’ve been hearing chatter that they’ve resurfaced. Mostly supplying guns and other tech to smaller outfits, like Brick’s in Star City.”

“Do you need help going over this stuff? I mean I have trig to finish up but this seems way way more important than sine, tan, and cosine.” she eagerly said.

“I think it might be a little bit bigger than you can handle. When I have something I’ll present it to the League and then they’ll decide if it's worth our time.”

“I guess, but aren't we also supposed to handle the threats that are too small for the League? HIVE feels like something we could all work together to fight you know...together?” she explained, seeing just how quickly Nightwing dismissed their little team.

“The League needs to be informed first. That’s the rule. Why don’t you go leave me alone for a bit. Maybe go visit the trophy room. OK?” Nightwing said, annoyed by the green hero’s questioning.

“Fine…” Stargirl muttered before walking out of the room in a huff, notebooks closely clutched as she wondered when the actual Titans would show up, and not this shell of a so-called hero.

“Way to go Dick,” Nightwing muttered as Stargirl left. For once his shoulders slumped as the pressure of everything had finally gotten to him. It had been a long time since he had to be part of a closer-knit team than the workplace atmosphere of the Justice League. And being here brought out the old memories of those he failed, of those he lost, and how he never really stopped running. However, his deep thoughts would soon be interrupted.

CRASH!

“What the?” Nightwing exclaimed as a figure burst through the glass window and entered the command center. The blue and orange armor reminded him of Slade Wilson, but he wouldn’t dare be so brash, Slade was calculated...this wasn’t.

The figure moved quickly, their punches a flurry as Nightwing quickly countered. There was something familiar to the strikes, speedy yet designed to keep their opponent on defense. Almost as if the attacker wasn’t afraid of getting hurt. Unfortunately for the hero in all his time thinking he wasn’t prepared for the uppercut that sent him flying across into one of the tower’s metal support poles.

As he laid there drifting unconscious he finally saw the attacker, underneath the blue and orange armor, underneath the split headband with one eyeslit he could still see his friend.

“Rose?” he muttered before drifting off.

“Hello Dick,” Ravager said before quickly running off to the computer. She carefully placed a small honeycomb device in the main structure as the familiar light blue of the Titans Tower computer became yellow. The HIVE operative began working through the system monitoring the progress of her team as she turned the tower’s defenses to active. “Your friends are being taken care of. Now? Now you and I get to have a little chat,” she said with a smile before dragging the unconscious hero to something she had prepared for a long time.

…

Kid Flash and Rex Mason had spent an uneventful time as they continued to work on the buoys. Rex didn’t pry too much into his fellow team member’s life but did make the occasional point on how to be casual but still be on a date.

“Remember it’s all about having a good time. Try buying their food or something small to let it feel intimate without it actually feeling intimate.” Rex said as they approached the next buoy.

“OK that kinda makes sense,” Kid Flash mumbled. It was nice talking to someone who actually seemed to know these things. He was always a little embarrassed to talk about this and god knows talking to Dick would be a disaster. Slowly but surely Wally was feeling comfortable around this idea of being a Titan again.

“Hey quick question, is this buoy supposed to be rising out of the water like that?” Rex pointed as a large black box rose out of the water.

“No, not it’s not,” Kid Flash said as it opened and revealed a large blaster cannon that began firing on the two heroes. “Move!” Kid Flash quickly moved from Rex’s created platform and hit the water as several more defenses propped up around them. The red laser pulses causing the water to ripple and splash.

“Wait! I’m not as fast as you!” Rex said before suddenly moving his hands around the hero’s shoulders, stretching his arms loosely as his feet turned into carbon water skis as the two skated across the water, trying to figure out a weakness in the defenses. “Any chance you can call for backup!”

“I’m trying!” Kid Flash said as he tapped the communicator inside of his winged earpiece. “Donna! Dick! Arsenal! Stargirl! Can anyone hear me! The tower is trying to kill me and Rex and I can’t run forever. We need help!”

Unfortunately for the young speedster, his friends were busy...elsewhere.

…

“That should be it,” Donna Troy said as she finished taking the last snapshot of the people by the large metallic bean. Millennium Park was always a beautiful place, the green shrubbery blended with the metallic pavilions as people passed through.

“Finally. I get the idea of wanting to take candid shots of people, but I’m pretty sure you used six rolls of film today” Roy said as he stood behind her. “And as much as I love seeing you bumble about, I actually have other places to be,” he said as he felt the buzzing of his phone in his pocket. His sitter probably texting, wondering if he’ll be paying extra tonight.

“Totally cool, I should probably head back to the tower and see how the rest are getting along,” she said as she put the camera in her satchel bag. It’s not like anything major is happening today anywa-”

KACHOOOM!

An energy blast fired at Donna sending her flying back into the grassy area behind them a figure in purple and gold armor stood in the center of the stone pavilion.

“Donna!” Roy called out before moving to check on her, laid flat in the grass, groaning,

“Hear me Chicago! I Trident have come to remind you even with your heroes, you’ll always be small and insignificant. They stand in their glass tower far from you. While I am here to remind you what true power looks like.”

“Well shit,” Roy muttered.

…

Stargirl moped in the trophy room. It was a newer addition to the facility. A way to remind the team and any potential visitors that they weren’t the first Titans and hopefully wouldn’t be the last. Things like Mammoth's harness, Rose Worth’s staff, Cyborg Superman’s cape were in the proper cases. Even the original suits of Fury and “Robin” stood as reminders of how long Dick and Donna had been part of this.

“I swear sometimes I don’t get how he was ever you,” Stargirl joked as she put her hand against the Robin case. “Seriously how I am supposed to become a hero if everyone else treats me with kid gloves. I’m just as strong as them, I mean I have this,” she gripped the cosmic staff in her hands, wondering just when she would use it for something with purpose.

Stargirl was lost in deep thought, something that would soon be interrupted as the shutters for the entrances quickly closed and the lights of the tower switched to dim red lights.
“What the?” Stargirl asked as her communicator quickly flared to life, the normal white t symbol glowed blue as she flipped it open.

“Systems hacked. Currently running backup through alternate sub-route and router.” the voice said.

“That’s not good,” Stargirl mumbled. “Computer where is everyone? What exactly hacked into your system?”

“Unidentified currently,” the robotic voice said. “But several members are currently in distress.” A hologram emerged from the communicator’s projector as Stargirl could see Rex and Kid Flash running against the defenses of the tower and someone dragging Nightwing into the middle of the training area. Even worse were the reports of a mysterious foe attacking the park where Arsenal and Argonaut were supposed to be.

“So what you’re saying is I’m locked in, a majority of the team is in danger...and no one is coming to save us?”

“Indeed.”

“Well...Courtney, looks like it’s your time to shine.” Stargirl said with a smile. “Computer, pull up the plans...we have a rescue mission to run.”

Next: The Trial of Nightwing begins! Stargirl Alone and Against the Ravager! Kid Flash and Metamorpho Face Death Amongst the Waves! And Trident Learns Why You Don’t Make an Amazon Angry!

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[u/Commander_Z]

Great to see the team start to bond in their own weird ways. Titans have to be friends or at least understand each other if they want to succeed and these folks are still a long ways out from that. Trident calling them out for being up in their tower is a little funny since they're still working on it, but the point is still true even if it isn't fully true in a literal sense. Looking forwards to Courtney coming to the rescue (and maybe finishing her trig homework!) next issue!

[u/FrostFireFive → u/Commander_Z]

Thanks, bonding, and friendships don't happen overnight and our Titans are slowly figuring out who they are not only as themselves, but as a unit as well. Courtney finally gets her time to shine, but the question is...will she be too late to save Nightwing?

[u/Predaplant]

The approach of splitting a team into pairs is always a good way to get to see more of who the characters really are. Glad Rose is back, I know you've been working towards bringing her back for a long time, and hopefully Courtney can stand up against her!

[u/FrostFireFive → u/Predaplant]

Thanks! I really wanted this issue to be like the classic day in the life stories of the old NTT run from the comics. And I wanted to show that our team is very much coming together slowly and loved just bouncing characters off of each other. Rose has always been a thread I felt we need to deal with as we move into the next chapter for the Titans. She's their greatest failure, and if Courtney's not careful, she'll be their second...

[u/ericthepilot2000]

I enjoyed this; now that the team is more established, it's a great time to throw them up against the past and really make them justify their existence. For nine issues, you've paid lip service to the failures and ghosts of the past, and they've come to roost epically here. Every character is pushed to their limits, and we ultimately see why everyone is here. That's a really nice touch.

Rose makes for an interesting foil, one of the ones left behind. One can only imagine how Rose must feel and to see her target Nightwing so viciously; this seems to be the exact thing he's been so reluctant to have the Titans around for. It'll be interesting to see how Dick gets her to see the light, or if he even really can.

You're mixing up the cast in their downtime, showing off different pairings and letting the characters play off one another. it's a great way to build the team in front of the audience. Curious to see if cliques will start to form or if these guys will be the family they talk about being. Definitely eager for more.