Sorry for the wait guys. It's been a while! I just couldn't find the right way to end this! But I hope this is good enough.Tell me what you thought of this story as a whole in a review! I'd like to know if you enjoyed it or if you think I still need work. So, read and please review!
With a thud, Shane hit the ground and rolled several times before coming to a stop. She clenched her eyes shut, a hand gripping her side, where a rib twinged in pain. A snort of laughter issued from the attackers lips as they approached her.
"This is the new one they so proudly introduced?" they spat. "Pathetic." They drew closer, a hand held out. A glowing red energy began to manifest on their palm. Shane tried to drag herself out of aim, but it was useless. "Goodbye, child." They fired the blast, aimed at her temple, and with a sickening crunch, it hit its target.
With a manic grin, the villain turned to walk away. But his ego would not allow him to leave until his saw his prey sprawled dead on the floor. He needed that sick satisfaction of a job well done. So, he paused and peered through the clearing smoke to find his victim. Yet, instead of the bleeding mass he expected to find, he found nothing but an blackened crater in the pavement.
"What?!"The victorious smile on his lips fell in disbelief. He rushed forward and crouched down at the spot of impact, casting his eyes this way and that to find where she might have disappeared to. He found nothing but swirling smoke and rubble. "Where-?"
"Looking for me?" a voice whispered in his ear. He spun around and staggered back, eyes wide.
"How in the hell-?!" His cry was cut short as a gleaming flash of metal whistled through the air. A gurgle came from his throat and he looked down slowly. The villains hand came up to grip the handle of the dagger lodged deeply in his chest. His face froze into a mask of shock as he stumbled forward and fell, blood pouring from the wound. Shane clutched her ribs and looked down at the fallen man, panting.
"Pathetic, huh?"
Slowly, he, along with the street that served as their battleground, began to fizzle out like static. It became nothing more then a large, empty, white room with blue circuitry undertones. The only thing in the room besides the blank expanses of wall was a single door.
"Simulation Ended." a droid like voice informed her. Shane exhaled slowly, grabbing her knife from the floor and sliding it back into one of the many sheaths on her belt, along with all the other knifes she possessed. She headed across the room and out the door, mentally cursing herself for her poor performance. Outside waiting were the five Titans, standing beside a one way mirror that looked into the room. A cheer arose as she emerged. She met the call with a small smile.
"Not bad, not bad!" Beastboy exclaimed, slapping her on the back.
"Most...impressive." Starfire said with a faltering smile. Her face was a bit pale as she spoke. "But, might I inquire as to why it was necessary to make him bleed so much?" Shane laughed and shook her head.
"No, I suppose it wasn't."
"You do realize that we can't kill people once we're really out there, don't you?" Robin asked, stepping forward with the air of command. Shane nodded.
"Yeah, I know. I figured since he was a hologram, why hold back, you know?"
"Well, don't make a habit out of it."
"I won't."
"Other then that, you did pretty well." Robin admitted.
She glanced through the window into the empty room and sighed. "Yeah, but...I can't believe I let him catch me off guard like that."
"Don't worry about it. You did fine, Shane." Cyborg said. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a comforting squeeze. She grinned, her disappointment in herself forgotten for the moment.
"Dude, ew." Raven cracked Beastboy in the back of the head.
"Shut up." Raven murmured.
---------
She peeled off her dampened uniform and threw it in the corner of her room, making sure to remove the yellow communicator from her pocket and place it on her bed in case anything arose. She transported herself into the bathroom and turned on the shower, watching as the room slowly filled with steam.
Satisfied, she stepped in. As she slowly unwound underneath the steady beat of hot water, her mind drifted back to when she first became a Titan.
"I'm a Titan?!" Shane asked, gazing uncertainly at the Titan symbol emblazoned on the front of the small device that she held in her palm.
"If you accept our offer, friend." Starfire said. Shane tore her eyes from the communicator and looked at Cyborg, who stood beside her, smiling. Only a few minutes ago she had been flipping through an old photo album with Cyborg in his room, looking at photos of the Titans in their teams earliest years, and now she was being asked to be part of that team. She would've laughed and called that ironic if she hadn't been so shocked.
"We've seen what you can do, and we know you'll be a great addition to the team." Robin said, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling. All it took was a reassuring nod from Cyborg to make up her mind. She closed her fingers around the communicator and looked up at them, a bold smile on her face.
"So, which room is mine?"
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Even though Shane was happy with her new life, something always remained in her heart. A fondness, a longing, a desire to see the home and family she once called her own. Some days she would just ignore it. Some days she would try and distract herself from it with having fun at the tower. But some days she couldn't. Some days the memories of what was and what will never be wouldn't leave, no matter how persistently she tried.
This was one of those days. Sighing, she swung her legs over the edge of the roof and leaned back on her arms, gazing out across the calm waters of the bay.
"I didn't know you came up here as well." Shane glanced over her shoulder. Raven, who was surprisingly uncloaked, was walking across the roof toward her.
"I don't." Shane said. "I know this is your place. I'll leave if you'd like-" Shane pushed herself up a bit.
"It's fine. I...I enjoy the occasional company," Raven admitted. "every once and a while." Shane nodded and sat back down. Raven sat a few feet away from her and stared out at the ocean with her. Out of the corner of her eye, Raven observed the girl. Subtle things, like a small sigh carried away in the wind, or the drawing of her knees up t her chest informed her of Shane's troubled mood. Frowning slightly, she turned her attention back to the water and said,
"It's not like me to ask, but... is something wrong?" The question caught Shane off guard. Like Raven said, it wasn't like her to intrude upon other peoples feelings or situations. The case was even more so when Raven was dealing with Shane.
"...Yes."
"Care to share it?"
"I don't know..."
"Look, I'm already putting myself out there more then normal." Raven cut in, with her standard glare. "Don't make it harder for me. Just come out with it." Shane chuckled.
"Alright." She sighed, propping an elbow on her knee and resting her head in her hand. "Do you ever feel like you want to go back? Like you want to go back and live the life you had before the Titans?" Raven continued to fix her with her mask of serious observation. "It's- It's not that I don't love being here, I do." Shane added quickly. "But, I miss my old life. I miss the simplicity of normality. I miss my family."
"We all do." Raven tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked away. "Of course, most of our families are dead, but that doesn't mean we don't want to go back to the way things used to be. All of us secretly feel this way. But we learn to deal with it. It's just another part of putting on the proverbial facade of masks and capes."
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Silence was a rare but welcome thing in the tower. So rare was such an occurrence that it was nearly considered a blessing. And when such a blessing was bestowed on the main room, one would have top be insane not to take advantage of it and enjoy it for all that it was worth. Determined to not be considered mental ward worthy, Shane had curled up on the sofa with a blanket and a mug of coffee stolen from Cyborgs garage.
Not that he would've noticed. He was too busy working on his baby. As for the other Titans? Robin was reviewing a pile of records on some recently incarcerated convicts. Raven and Starfire were in Ravens room for the talk of girls, and Beastboy was off being Beastboy somewhere.
She sighed contently, eyes on the tv, which was playing a rerun of some cliche sitcom. Strangely enough, the audio for the show began to sound garbled and distorted, like someone was taking a tape recorder and speeding it up and slowing it down randomly. Eventually it went out all together.
I'm going to have to have Cyborg take a look at that... Shane groaned as the video was peppered with static and began to warp just like the audio did. Soon, it went out as well. "Oh, come on!" she cried.
Sighing, Shane got to her feet and made her way to the screen to fiddle with the controls. Just as her fingertip grazed one of the many buttons on the control panel, the picture and sound came back. But is definitely wasn't what she was watching before. Instead, the screen was white. Blindingly white. She stepped back a bit, blinking. Slowly, the white faded to a dark, blood red, with black silhouettes of cogs and machinery in the background. A shadowed figure strolled, almost casually, into the field of view. When it tuned to face the camera, the dim light struck its face- an orange and black mask with a single cold, mocking eye.
Slade.
A strangled gasp caught in Shane's throat. She may have not had any experience with him, but she had seen enough police files, records, and pictures to loathe the man.
"Hello, Titans." A shiver ran down her spine, making her shudder. "It's been far too long." Her fear finally pushed through the lump in her throat and she managed to scream out,
"Help!"
"Out to ruin my fun, I see?" Slade cocked his head to the side and tutted. "So rude."
"Shane!" Cyborg cried, the first to reach the room. Robin came a second later, shouting,
"What is it? What's the trouble?" Shane turned shakily and whispered,
"Slade."
-------------
Robin gripped the edge of the control panel so tightly is almost broke.
"What do you want Slade?" he growled. "Why are you doing this?"
"Oh Robin, don't be so conceited." Slade clucked, his words dripping with a hidden evil. "I'm not here for you." He shook his head and laughed. "No, no, I'm here in honor of your latest addition." Shane's eyes widened. "I've heard of your heroics with the Titans, Shane. And I thought, now what kind of friend would I be if I didn't bring you a welcoming gift?"
"W-What did you do?" Shane felt herself trembling as she spoke.
"She's quite adorable, you know." Slade continued. "It's a shame, Titans, that you haven't met her. A delightful one, that girl is. Oh, and her voice is..." He paused, a sickeningly happy, twisted tone seeping into his words. "Well, why don't you see for yourself?"
The shot flitted from Slade to a large, harshly lit room. A single figure sat,alone, in the middle of the room in a chair. They were small, and gave the appearance of someone who was broken and scared. "Darling, why don't you smile for the camera?" The person became clearer as the camera drew closer.
A bit of blood and dirt was streaked across their face and hair, mixed with tears. Bruises adorned their shoulders and arms. One eye was blackened. "Go on. Don't you want to talk to your sister?" The girls head snapped up and her face came into view. Shane's heart skipped a beat and tears began rolling down her cheeks. Oh gods, no, please no!
"HELP ME SHANE!"
It was her sister.
It was Boo.
Slade had Boo.
"Slade, you sick son of a bitch!" Shane screamed through broken sobs. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"I don't think you're in a position to threaten me. I'm the one with the bargaining chip." Slade replied.
"You keep your goddamned hands off of her!" He only laughed and said,
"Welcome to the Titans, Shane."
The transmission cut, and the screen went blank. Shane dropped to her knees, shaking with silent screams of rage and despair. The most evil, twisted, cynically cruel man the Titans had faced now had her sister. And she was nearly powerless to do anything about it.
"Shane, I promise-" Cyborg said, ensconcing her in a protective hug. "I promise- we'll get her back."
"I thought this was the beginning of a new life."she choked out. "But I was wrong. It's just the continuation of a nightmare."